Arik C. Hanson, ACH Communications

Arik C. Hanson ACH CommunicationsJanuary 27, 2017SMB MSP

9 Social MediaTrends to Watch in 2017

ACH

1

ABOUT ARIK20+ years experience; solo since 2009; @arikhansonBlogger, podcaster, e-newsletter maker, board member, event organizer

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

2

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS!!!!

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

ITS NOT ALL GARBAGEJust 95% of it.SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

TODAY:Hit on 9 trend du joursSuggest 9 more realistic trends to capitalize on in 2017And WHY theyre actual trends that might impact your work in the year aheadSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

5

#1 Trend du jour:

Organic reach is officially dead.

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

ACH

ACH

But realistically

Less is the new moreSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

84 Facebook postsin ALL of 201621 posts in December6 posts in November6 posts in October5 posts in September6 posts in August2 posts in July12 posts in June 0 posts in May4 posts in April9 posts in March8 posts in February5 posts in January

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Target9

44 Facebook postsin ALL of 20161 post in December2 posts in November0 posts in October1 post in September4 posts in August6 posts in July5 posts in June 2 posts in May5 posts in April3 posts in March8 posts in February7 posts in January

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Oreo10

Just 22 Instagram postsin ALL of 2016SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Sharpie11

WHY?Increased and proven-effective and efficient advertising optionsMore time to focus on better creativeOpportunity to jump off the volume-driven content marketing bandwagon

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

#2 Trend du jour:

2017 is THE year for VR/AR!SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

But realistically

Using more immersive video is more probable in 2017 for most brandsSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

WHY?Audience adoption of VR/AR still not quite thereIs the Glasshole effect still in play (just a little)?Brands still learning to embrace live and 360 video.

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Project sales by device: Samsung Gear 5M; Oculus 3.6M; For reference: 186M adults own a smartphone in the US15

Use live social video to educate

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

How many people get direct access to a Mayo Clinic colo-rectal surgeon?

Use live social video to broadcastSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

1.2 million views. For reference, Today Show has average daily viewership of 4.8 million.17

Use live social video as a traffic driverSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Holy engagement Bat-man!SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Store traffic = Holy GrailSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

360 video simulating VR

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

#3 Trend du jour:

EMOJIS! EMOJIS! EMOJIS!

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

22

Sure, emojis work every once in a whileSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

And of course, Chevy introduced us to the first-ever all-emoji news release earlier this year! 23

But brand emoji over-saturation is upon us.59% of top brands tweeted using an emoji in Q4 201540% of top brands posted on Facebook using an emoji in Q4 2015775% increase in emoji usage in marketing messagesBrands sent 145 million emoji messages in June 2015SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

And this is usually the result.SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

The Breakfa-emoji keyboard from Holiday Inn Express!25

So, realistically

Using long-form content on short-form channels is often a more effective storytelling tool

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

WHY?The snackable content mythNot every brand should be using poop emojisPeople dont bristle at reading more in-appSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

2000+ characters, 337 words.28

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

2,000 characters, 333 words29

#4 Trend du jour:

LinkedIn Publishing for thought leadershipSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

SMB MSP

Not saying thats a bad idea, but

ACH

ACH

Competition is pretty stiff these days.

Instead, Id consider

Using LinkedIn Publishing to help close the ever-widening chasm between employees and company leadersSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

WHY?Exec/employee gap has never been wider (in pay, comms channels)Employees frequently tune out corporate communications channels (sorry internal comms friends!)Surprisingly, it may be easier to cut through clutter on LinkedIn than employee email

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

35

Why will more leaders start using LinkedIn Publishing to close the gap?LinkedIn still THE professional social network.Little competitionespecially among executive suiteWont generate reach of Facebook, but will reach the RIGHT audience.Appears more human than other corporate communications channels.

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

#5 Trend du jour:

Employee social advocacy programsSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

37

But, new Gallup poll says41% of employees dont know what differentiates their companys brand26% of U.S. workers feel their organization doesnt always deliver on the promises they make to customers71% of Millennials are not engaged or actively disengaged at work.SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

So, realistically

Refining and evolving Employer Brand Social will provide more value in the long runSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

39

Consider

* Companies with a strong employer brand have a 3X more applicants per job post on LinkedIn

* 69% of job seekers would not take a job with a company with a bad reputation even if they were unemployed

* Companies with a strong employer brand have a 28% lower turnover rate than peers with weaker employer brandsSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

40

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

WHY?Business needEconomy is relatively strong + Age of the job seekerMillennial and Gen Z job search strategies are changing (as are Gen X and Y)Many HR teams running these channels now (and its not working so welltime to get involved PR/marketing friends!)SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

#6 Trend du jour:

Engaging influencers to extend brand reach

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

44

But also consider

Engaging influencers as freelance creatives to develop break-through, interactive creative assets

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

WHY?Breaking news: Creative is expensiveWho has a better feel for your target audience: An influencer or your ad agency?Who has a better grasp of interactive and immersive media: An influencer or your ad agency?SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Case in pointSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Case in pointpart deux

ACH

ACH

Only in MN48

Content for web siteContent for reachContent for social

ACH

ACH

Why was this so brilliant? They used the influencers to reach new audiences outside MN, sure. But, they also used them to develop top-notch creative they used: 1) On their web site, 2) On social channels, and 3) On the influencers social channels49

#7 Trend du jour:

Social media consolidationSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

But

The slow, painful death of engagement (and maybe an entire platform) is just as likely--and you should be adjusting appropriatelySMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Why is engagement (slowly) dying?SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

An increasing number of brands arent interested in engaging with fansSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Media is actually ignoring engagement altogether.SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

I thought this quote from Jonathan Smith, editor in chief at Vice:(Vice does not have the) time or desire to continue monitoring that crap moving forward.54

Comments/Shares tougher to come bySMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Even with paid support!55

And Twitter is slowly dying, too.Twitter increasingly not a safe place for users.Its still not an easy place for new users.Its not nearly the engagement tool it once was for brands (now more of a media/celebrity tool).Its almost a confirmed non-traffic driver at this point for brands.Question #1: Are you spending time on the *right* platforms? Question #2: Have you conducted an audit recently?SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

#8 Trend du jour:

Snap Spectacles and POV marketing!SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

SMB MSP

I mean, this was pretty cool, State of Hockey...

ACH

ACH

But realistically

Utilizing expanding ad options on Pinterest could be a bigger game-changer for more brands (and its much more measurable!)

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

59

Consider the facts:Pinterest = second largest social media driver of retail e-commerce traffic

55% of U.S. Pinterest users shopped for products - more than on any other social network

Promoted Pins are driving double-digit lift across the funnel

ACH

ACH

1 - beating out Instagram and Twitter, but just behind Facebook2 - Only 12% of Facebook and Instagram users did so3 Funnel--(brand/product awareness, brand perception, brand favorability and purchase intent); for several categories: a makeup brand, drugstore beauty, big box retailer beauty and food brands.60

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Taco Pizza Rolls328K pins; Floating decks49K pins (and God knows how much traffic to the OEP and HD sites!)61

WHY?Pinterest is an extremely underrated traffic driver (remember the holy trinity of social metrics?)More applicable for more companies in 2017: Snap Spectacles or spending $500 to promote a Pin?More applicable for more companies in 2017: An active Snapchat account, or an active Pinterest page?

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

62

#9 Trend du jour:

The rise of the Chatbots!SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Chatbots offer flexibility in order to automate tasks, and assist in retrieving data. They arebecoming a vital way to enhance the consumer experience for the purpose of better customer service and growing interaction. Unnamed Social Media GuruSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Enhance the customer experience? From whos perspective? Which customers, exactly, prefer a robot to a human being? This reads like an Onion quote.64

But maybe

The pendulum is on the verge of swinging way back from uber-automation to more personal, authentic contentSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

65

The environment is ripeThe advent of fake newsTrust is down across the board (See: Edelman Trust Barometer)Content shockSMB MSP

ACH

ACH

Fake news means fewer people trusting what they read via social; Trust is down in business, media and government from 2016; content shock has meant people just glancing at contentwere all on content overload66

So, what does more authentic content look like?SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

More social ready imagery

ACH

ACH

Catalog-level photos may actually reinforce, stiff corporate stereotypes

68

More live video

ACH

ACH

You cant fake live! Beth Vice Chair at GE

69

More straight talk from executives

ACH

ACH

Mojang founder, Markus Persson wrote this after selling Minecraft to Microsoft in 2014

70

9 Social Media Trends#1: Less is the new more#2: More immersive video more common#3: Long-form content on short-form channels#4: LinkedIn Publishing to close employee-exec gap#5: Refining Employer Brand Social#6: Engaging influencers as freelance creatives#7: Prepare for the Twitter exodus (and death of engagement)#8: More Pinterestless Snapchat#9: Pendulum will swing back to more authentic content

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH

71

@arikhansonarik@arikhanson.comarikhanson.com (sign up for Talking Points)

SMB MSP

ACH

ACH