5 key trends in social media

5 WAYS FOR BRANDS TO WIN IN THE SOCIAL SPACE

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SEYMOUR SLOAN IDEAS THAT MATTER

HERE’S WHAT WE LEARNED DURING 2014

Beyond the hype of social media

and its evolution across apps,

channels and devices, one

underlying theme holds true:

at its core, social media

is and always has been

a natural human behaviour

and not just a medium. These five trends can help marketers create

and evaluate social media content:

EVERYONE IS A CONTENT CREATOR

AND THAT’S A GOOD THING

RELEVANCE AND RESPONSIVENESS

ARE THE NEW GOLD STANDARD

STORYTELLING WILL NEVER GO AWAY

NO ONE IS READING ANYMORE

INNOVATION IS AT THE HEART OF

CONTENT CREATION

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#1

KEY TREND




EVERYONE IS A CONTENT CREATOR: IF YOU CAN’T BEAT ‘EM, JOIN ‘EM

At one time, marketers and publishers were

the sole proprietors of media messages.

Today, thanks to platforms like Vine and

YouTube, everyone is a (viral) content-

creator.

And this democratization of social content

brings with it both challenges and

opportunities for brands. Consumers have

become increasingly jaded toward

marketing messages, especially online

where they head for the close button as

soon as a banner pops up.

The rise in mobile-based social media

consumption has made this even more

challenging.





TIPS FOR MARKETERS

Armed with the “four C’s”—collaboration, co-creation, curation

and crowdsourcing marketers can empower consumers to

talk about their brand:

In business and in content marketing,

COLLABORATION IS THE NEW COMPETITION

aiding brands in content discovery.

Investing in relationships with bloggers and influencers is the

new celebrity endorsement. Not that David Beckham’s H&M-

brief-sporting-days are numbered, but marketers might be

better served CO-CREATING WITH BLOGGERS to drive

deeper engagement

with fans.

What better way to involve users, than to have them

help CROWDSOURCE YOUR CREATIVITY? For example,

Airbnb’s “Hollywood and Vines” short "lm invited users from

around the world to submit their six-second videos and each

of the Vine directors whose content was selected received

$100 Airbnb coupons.

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#2

KEY TREND




BE RELEVANT. BE RESPONSIVE.

THE AVERAGE CONSUMER CHECKS

HIS OR HER PHONE 150 TIMES A DAY.

This new cultural attachment to mobile

devices even sparked the genesis of the

word

Nomophobia, or the fear of losing one’s

phone.

In this new reality of the “always on

consumer” and the tremendous data mining

fuelled by smartphones, it’s all about

context. And with location-based technology,

marketers can

target contextual messaging to a consumer

whether he or she

is in line at the grocery store, watching TV,

or even watching

TV on an iPad while eating dinner.





TIPS FOR MARKETERS

Armed with the “four C’s”—collaboration, co-creation, curation and

crowdsourcing marketers can empower consumers to talk about their

brand:

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Brands that understand and respond to the

micro-cultures of their target audiences get the most out of their media

spend. Take Visa’s NFL sponsorship campaign on Facebook; by glorifying

the NFL Steelers culture using its symbol, “the terrible towel”, the NFL

forged an authentic connection with fans.

BE RESPONSIVE. By now, you’re probably familiar with Oreo’s real-time

lightning in a bottle epitomized by its Super Bowl “Dunk in the Dark” tweet.

But beyond the real-time war room, effective marketing responsiveness is

more about an always-on ethos that’s committed to customer experience

(think moments of surprise and delight) and quality service.

HARNESS THE POWER OF NOW. In our instant gratification world,

consumer priorities are shifting from where products are from, to when they

can be delivered. Popular new apps are driving Amazon Prime’s two-day

delivery into extinction with premium one-hour delivery options. Brands that

can bank on this growing appetite for urgency in content and service will

get ahead.

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#3

KEY TREND




LESS SELF-PROMOTION. MORE STORYTELLING.

With content generation on the rise and attention

spans on the decline, social engagement has

never been more challenging. But regardless of

the medium, the common denominator across

successful content marketing will always be great

storytelling.

A truly great story captures emotion and

transforms a brand from a simple transactional

machine into a multi dimensional living, breathing

thing—from something people buy into, to

something consumers join and even befriend.

Brands that have mastered this have taken a truly

transmedia approach—recognizing the increasing

possibilities of a seamless, online and offline world

and the multiple canvases it provides. In its ideal

state, this kind of storytelling unfolds new

experiences across different devices while

harnessing the unique functionality of each

medium.




LESS SELF-PROMOTION. MORE STORYTELLING.

TIPS FOR MARKETERS



brand:

CULTIVATE PURPOSEFUL STORYTELLING. This requires an

experiential approach to set stories in motion. Stories that entice

consumers to celebrate moments of discovery and claim bragging rights by

sharing that personalized excitement online.

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE. To maximize the impact of content

marketing, often a cost- and labour-intensive production, marketers should

ask themselves how they can “atomize” a story across media channels to

engage diverse audiences.

BRAND-TERTAINMENT. As brands follow a more purpose-led storytelling

approach, we’ll see the rise of more media like Chipotle’s critically

acclaimed “Scarecrow” "lm. A piece that associates the brand with social

consciousness around food sustainability, versus a self-promotional cry for

more burrito-buys, giving consumers a reason to share.

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#4

KEY TREND




LET’S GET VISUAL

The phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words”

may actually be an understatement. The average

person processes an image 60,000 times faster

than text and at the rate that we consume and

share media it’s no wonder that people are reading

less.

70% OF SOCIAL MEDIA IS COMPRISED OF

IMAGES, and with the rise of so many visually-led

channels consumers have become both creator

and curator in our increasingly visual culture.




LET’S GET VISUAL

TIPS FOR MARKETERS



brand:

THE NEW VISUAL VOCABULARY. Memes are spontaneous, relatable

pictures and their short captions are entertaining glimpses into recent

cultural shifts. Look up “Bad Luck Brian” for an example of a really popular

meme.

VIDEO TAKES OVER. If you want attention for your brand these days,

research shows you’ll get far more eyes and ears on it with moving images

than with static ones. In fact, the average user spends 88% more time on a

website with video.

SPEAK AND LISTEN VISUALLY. Brands should be judicious about

images they use and prioritize being visually literate, versus just pushing

content; things like using emojis for customer reviews.

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#5

KEY TREND




WHEN BRANDS INNOVATE

The stamp of successful content marketing will

always be its quality, but as social media

undergoes enormous shifts, marketers must

always keep their eye on the next frontier.

Whether that means optimizing content

consumption for wearables, or creating apps that

go beyond promoting a brand and its products to

actually provide content that engages their core

target. Smirnoff’s "Mixhibit" app allows users to

pull photos from their social networks, arrange

them artfully, add a custom track and then share

their creation with their friends.




LET’S GET VISUAL

TIPS FOR MARKETERS

INNOVATION CAN COME FROM ANYONE AND ANYWHERE. The world of

e-commerce has been socialized with face-to-face selling experiences

powered by products like Google’s “Shop the Hangout.”

WELCOME TO THE SHARED, COLLABORATIVE ECONOMY. An economy

where consumers want to share products and content. Airbnb does a good job

of embracing this new model by enabling peer-to-peer communication,

increasing the transparency and reliability of customer reviews.

MIND THE CULTURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL SHIFTS. We’re moving to

the “internet of things” with complete interconnectedness of products and the

omnipresence of smart technology. This will enable far greater collaboration

and a whole new consciousness about consumption. For example, the

popularity of Zady.com reinventing conscious consumerism for the digital age.

GOODBYE “MATCHING LUGGAGE.” There’s an easy, not altogether

surprising tendency to translate one form of media into its matching luggage in

another medium. But it’s an unsustainable tendency because every medium

carries its own functionality. Case in point, the mobile enabled social

movement comes with its own constraints; brands must replace abstract

functions like “clicks” for the tap and swipe gestures

that to a degree define the mobile ecosystem.

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CONCLUSION

• Content is king

• Mobile has changed everything

• Democratization of content has

changed everything, again

• It’s not quantity but quality—where

you are and what you’re saying

• It’s about creating an experience that

people want to share; from rich

storytelling to innovative new

content-consumption experiences




TALK

TO US CONTACT:

Terry Chapendama - Director

[email protected]

Read our blog at:

www.seymourthinks.wordpress.com

Follow us on twitter

@seymoursloanuk

Visit us online www.seymoursloan.com

ABOUT Seymour Sloan

We formed the company in order to do

special things for our clients through the

creative use of new technologies and

techniques.

We help companies understand a

complex and ever-changing technology

landscape, along with changing

customer behaviours, developing

strategies and solutions to maximise the

opportunities available. We operate at

the intersection of digital, strategy and

customer, building a track record of

driving customer growth across our

three core industries.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.seymourthinks.wordpress.com/

http://www.seymoursloan.com/

5 key trends in social media

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