INFLUENCE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR:

Transcription

1 INFLUENCE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR: DIGITAL MEDIA TRENDS & STRATEGIES FOR 2015 BY ASHTAN MOORE MCBEE DIGITAL 2015

2 ONLINE AUDIENCES ARE SAVVIER THAN EVER BEFORE Consumers are now living in a whirlwind of visual banners, paid ads, and promoted content. As a result, these online users are increasingly coming to expect personalized content, compelling video and relevant ads that is, a digital experience tailored to their own tastes and desires. Brands cannot afford to ignore this trend: bespoke content that caters directly to their specific audiences is now a necessity. ESTIMATED ACTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA USERS BY PLATFORM, 2014 FACEBOOK 1.35 * TWITTER INSTAGRAM MILLION MILLION LINKEDIN 332 MILLION PINTEREST 70 MILLION MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR 2015 YOUTUBE 1 * 2

3 THE NEED FOR SIMPLE, STREAMLINED DIGITAL STRATEGIES WITH MEASUREABLE RESULTS IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH. With a digital audience that is savvier and more fickle than ever before, it s the responsibility of the marketer to embrace the new mediums that allow them to connect with an interested consumer. Audience preferences now change so rapidly that broad-stroke ad campaigns and cookie cutter marketing efforts are no longer effective. Digital, marketing, and social professionals must adapt or risk losing customer attention and ultimately market share. The following provides our analysis of the latest platforms and trends and lays out effective, straight-forward principles and tips so that you can be more relevant, more deliberate, and more effective in MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

4 CONTENT IS KING, BUT THIS ISN T A MONARCHY To understand the depth of content through which that the average internet user must daily navigate, and subsequently why it is challenging to capture their attention, let s take a look at the amount of content that s being pushed to the world each day: SOCIAL MEDIA: OVER 5,700 TWEETS ARE SENT PER SECOND OR 500 MILLION TWEETS EACH DAY. ON AVERAGE, PINTEREST EXPERIENCES TV DIGITAL OVER 5 MILLION NEWSPAPER PINS EACH DAY, OR NEARLY 3,500 PINS PER MINUTE. THERE ARE OVER 4.75 PIECES OF CONTENT SHARED ON FACEBOOK EACH DAY, WITH USERS SPENDING A CUMULATIVE 20 MINUTES ON THE PLATFORM. MORE THAN 55 MILLION IMAGES ARE UPLOADED TO INSTAGRAM EACH DAY AND USERS COMMENT ON THESE IMAGES AN AVERAGE OF 1,000 TIMES PER SECOND. ACROSS 2.1 MILLION LINKEDIN GROUPS, MORE THAN 200 CONVERSATIONS ARE TAKING PLACE EACH MINUTE. THERE ARE MORE THAN 100 HOURS OF VIDEO UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE EVERY MINUTE, AND OVER 1 VIDEO VIEWS PER DAY. DIGITAL ADVERTISING GROWTH TV DIGITAL NEWS PAPER MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

5 CONTENT IS KING, BUT THIS ISN T A MONARCHY Clearly, there s an information overload happening. There is far more content than users can parse. Your responsibility is to create content that cuts through the noise, captures undivided attention and delivers your message in just a few seconds. OPPORTUNITY Social media user bases are at an all-time high, and they continue to grow. Use these platforms to tell your brand s story through engaging content campaigns customized for your audiences. FIVE PIECES OF CONTENT ARE SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA DAILY MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

6 HOW DO YOU CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF YOUR AUDIENCE? STAND OUT AND BE HEARD WITH A UNIQUE BRAND VOICE FIRST, DEFINE YOUR BRAND VOICE. A UNIQUELY CRAFTED VOICE WILL CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF A VIEWER AND CREATE A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE, HELPING THEM RECOGNIZE YOUR CONTENT IN SUBSEQUENT VIEWINGS. DECIDE IN ADVANCE IF YOUR AUDIENCE WANTS YOU, FOR EXAMPLE, TO BE SHARP-TONGUED AND FUNNY, PROFESSIONAL AND BRIEF, OR SOMETHING ELSE ALTOGETHER, AND ALWAYS ALIGN YOUR CONTENT WITH YOUR VOICE. SECOND, ALWAYS DEVELOP CONTENT THAT IS SIMPLE, ENGAGING AND ATTRACTIVE. PROVIDE VALUE BY CATERING TO YOUR AUDIENCE S INTERESTS IN CREATIVE WAYS. GIVE THEM A REASON TO FOLLOW YOUR UPDATES GIVE THEM A REASON TO WANT TO LISTEN TO YOU. OPPORTUNITY - Make regular, creative content updates that are relevant to your audience, insightful and that make use of your unique brand voice. Put yourself into your audience s line-ofsight and give them a reason to come back. THIRD, UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF BREVITY. USE SHORT, CONCISE UPDATES THAT ARE EASY TO CONSUME AND SHARE. PAIR IMAGES WITH YOUR MESSAGING WHENEVER POSSIBLE, AND TRY TO STAY AWAY FROM THAT STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY WITH THOSE TWO GUYS SHAKING HANDS. EVERYONE HAS SEEN THAT ALREADY. FIND SOMETHING NEW. MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

7 DIGITAL ADVERTISING THE MARKETING TIPPING POINT HAS ARRIVED Once upon a time, digital advertising was a throwaway measure, rarely implemented and even then, only when there was leftover cash in a marketing budget. Today, it s at the core of any brand awareness and marketing campaign. Digital advertising effectively drives engagement, ensures traction and raises visibility for your goods or services. And digital ad spends are skyrocketing. Fortune 100 companies, mid-size business, and even your local mom & pops are quickly realizing that a targeted digital spend with defined demographics will generate attention for their brand, service or product: 2013: MOBILE ADVERTISING REVENUE JUMPED 110% - MAKING FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF TRIPLE-DIGIT GROWTH 2014: DIGITAL AD SPENDING GREW 14.8% TO MORE THAN $137.5 AND ACCOUNTING FOR A QUARTER OF THE YEAR S ADVERTISING SPEND 2020: DIGITAL AND INTERNET ADVERTISING IS PROJECTED TO OVERTAKE TELEVISION ADVERTISING MOBILE AD REVENUE (PROJECTED) MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

8 DIGITAL ADVERTISING THE MARKETING TIPPING POINT HAS ARRIVED Digital advertising also allows you to be more nimble and cost-effective. Very small budgets can be used to test different audience variables and pinpoint the type of advertising that grabs their attention. Speed and research is key here these smaller campaigns should be run simultaneously, and the most successful of them should formulate the core of a larger campaign. Let s look at a real world example using video content marketing as our mini-study. Below we outline the cost and reach of a television ad spot in the Super Bowl versus the YouTube Advertising platform: BROADCAST SUPER BOWL AD NARROWCAST YOUTUBE ADVANCED AUDIENCE TARGETING IN 2015, THE SUPER BOWL HAD 112 MILLION VIEWERS AND ONE THIRTY-SECOND COMMERCIAL COST $4.5 MILLION. THIS TRANSLATES TO A COST-PER-VIEW OF $0.04 FOR A VERY GENERAL AUDIENCE. IN 2014, YOUTUBE HAD OVER 1 VIEWS PER DAY, WITH NO MINIMUM COST FOR A CAMPAIGN AND AN AVERAGE COST-PER- VIEW OF $0.04. THAT S NO MINIMUM SPEND AND THE SAME COST-PER-VIEW TO REACH A TARGETED, RELEVANT AUDIENCE. OPPORTUNITY - Highly advanced audience targeting + small minimum spend requirements = the ability to target and test different digital advertising platforms. You re placing your content directly in front of the eyeballs of the audience that you want to reach, without wasting any money on the audiences that you don t. MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

9 ONLINE VIDEO A CANARY IN A COAL MINE We used video as an example for digital advertising because it s also one of your most important online content delivery systems. The growth of online streaming video consumption has led to a marked decrease in traditional television subscriptions, and subsequent television advertising revenue. There is little doubt that advertising is changing: CONSUMERS ARE SPENDING MORE & MORE TIME ON MOBILE DEVICES, COMPUTERS, & OTHER DIGITAL MEDIUMS, & THEREFORE SO SHOULD YOU. MINUT 177 ES / DA Y 8 US DAILY AVERAGE (MINUTES) TIME SPENT ON MOBILE DEVICES MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

10 CONSUMPTION HABITS & DESIRES In 2005, high-speed connectivity was considered a luxury. Its scarcity made video consumption slow and frustrating owing to long download times. Today, with high-speed connectivity readily available for homes, mobile phones and offices, high-quality video streaming and playback is now available at our fingertips. IN 2005, AN AVERAGE OF 8 MILLION VIDEO VIEWS OCCURRED PER DAY ON YOUTUBE. IN 2015, MORE THAN 1 VIEWS HAPPEN EVERY DAY. MORE THAN 12 MINUTES, OR 22,831 YEARS OF VIDEO FOOTAGE IS CONSUMED EACH DAY. OPPORTUNITY - People are watching a tremendous amount of online video. But just as with social media, the concept of breaking through the noise is equally important when creating videos and motion graphics. It s not as simple as uploading a video and expecting your audience to click play. The need for creativity, brevity and engaging content creates in turn a need for content that outshines your competitors. Before writing a script, storyboarding motion graphics or beginning filming, here are some key concepts to bear in mind: IDENTIFY YOUR AUDIENCE BE SELECTIVE WRITE CONCEPT / STORYBOARD DON T WING IT GET FEEDBACK ASK YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE BE BRIEF KEEP IT UNDER A MINUTE BE CLEAR SPEAK TO YOUR AUDIENCE OPPORTUNITY - Viewers want to see short, punchy and engaging videos that draw them in. Don t be boring. Tell your story. Developing a video that viewers enjoy and launching it with a strategic plan will set your video apart and give it impact, reach and exposure. MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

11 GOING BEYOND YOUTUBE YouTube s advertising platform is only one of many available digital advertising options available in the online space. The possibilities today include: WHAT WHY HOW SEARCH ENGINE ADVERTISING. CONTENT AMPLIFICATION. SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING. RETARGETING & RE-SERVING. HYPERLOCAL ADVERTISING. As of January 2015 there are more than 47,000 Google, Bing, and Yahoo searches taking place per second, or over 4 billion per day. Each keyword phrase typed into a search engine can display your targeted ad alongside the organic search results. You can also define advanced targeting such as mobile or desktop only placements. This type of advertising allows you to amplify catchy taglines that drive visitors to your content across top publisher sites such as AOL, the Atlantic, CNN, ESPN, Slate and many more, with a reach of over 87% of the online population. This platform can also be used to amplify third-party media hits and endorsements of your product or brand. Social media advertising allows us to utilize the strength of the user bases on popular social sites to raise awareness and encourage engagement with your campaign by serving content directly to timelines of your target audience. Remember that visualizations, such as images with impactful facts, typically have the most success. Retargeting allows you to continue to serve ads to visitors of your website across the majority of top publisher sites. Although they may have visited your site and not absorbed your messaging you can continue to show them visual banner campaigns on other websites and popular social media sites. Hyperlocal advertising allows you to target audiences in an extremely specific geographical location, in some cases down to the house or building. This method allows us to craft very specific and customized campaigns for bespoke audiences. USE CASE: When you re aware of the search habits of your intended audience, purchase advertising placements for these keywords. USE CASE: Amplify strong third-party media hits or external endorsement of your product or brand. USE CASE: Expand the reach of strong visual campaigns and calls-to-action by drawing the audience s engagement from their social media timelines. USE CASE: Make a second impression and draw visitors back to your site to complete a purchase or a call-to-action. USE CASE: Deliver extremely specific messaging to a very tight market segment. OPPORTUNITY - Each platform offers you a unique way to tell your story and reach your audience. A strategy that leverages a tactical mix of the above will have powerful and measurable results. FACT: MAJOR BRANDS SUCH AS PEPSICO S RUFFLES AND KRAFT S NILLA WAFERS HAVE SHIFTED THEIR ENTIRE AD BUDGET TO DIGITAL. MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

12 ONLINE CONTENT CONSUMPTION RELEASE PLAN Now that you ve built your content plan and are publishing on a regular basis, and your video is ready for launch, all you have to do is upload everything and people will come by the hundreds of thousands SAID NO ONE EVER. Please immediately refer to the follow graphic (if you have a printer handy, this is worth your ink): NOBODY IS GOING TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOU IF YOU DON T HAVE A RELEASE PLAN KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE AND KNOW HOW TO CONNECT TO THEM. That s right: Just because you launch a website, create a video or build a content campaign, it doesn t mean there s going to be a line around the block to see what you ve done. You have to define your audience and understand the channels and platforms that will connect them to you. Send out blasts, push your content via your social media channels and elevate the launch with a significant advertising spend. YOUR LAUNCH PLAN: YOUR PAID PROMOTION BUDGET FOR YOUR PROJECT NO MATTER WHAT IT IS SHOULD BE AT LEAST TWICE THE SIZE OF THE PRODUCTION COST IF THIS ISN T POSSIBLE CONSIDER SCALING BACK PRODUCTION SO THAT YOU CAN GUARANTEE THAT YOUR FINAL PRODUCT WILL BE SEEN USE AT LEAST TWO ADVERTISING TYPES TO TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE, SUCH AS SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA TEST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EACH PLATFORM AND TWEAK YOUR CAMPAIGN BASED ON THE ANALYTICS FOR GREATER SUCCESS MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR

13 IN SUMMARY Your 2015 Digital Opportunities: IS YOUR YEAR TO TEST DIGITAL TACTICS. GO. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA NEEDS: RELEVANT CONTENT + UNIQUE VOICE. 3. YOUTUBE VIDEO ADVERTISING ALLOWS YOU TO PINPOINT YOUR AUDIENCE. 4. INTENTIONALLY LEVERAGE A VARIETY OF ADVERTISING PLATFORMS FOR THE HIGHEST ROI. 5. DON T MAKE BORING VIDEOS & HAVE A PROMOTIONAL BUDGET. Part of your challenge in 2015 will be determining where to allocate your digital and marketing budgets for the highest gain, or return-on-investment. With the right amount of strategic thinking and advance planning, creating a bold social media voice or and ultimately building a robust digital advertising presence is within reach. Remember to engage and provide value to your your audience by creating informative, functional and useful content streams and begin to test the performance of digital advertising campaigns with relatively small trial spends. This is the first of a series of McBee Digital: Influence pieces to be published throughout Follow us on our social media channels and stay tuned for more insights and tactics for your brand. ABOUT ASHTAN MOORE DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Ashtan Moore helped to spearhead the launch of McBee s digital services division and presently serves as Digital Media Director. Leveraging over a decade of experience in online identity management and strategic brand development, Ashtan develops strategies and manages solutions to help brands tell their story online to enhance their digital footprint and communicate to key audiences. AMOORE@MCBEESTRATEGIC.COM / MCBEEDIGITAL.COM / MCBEE DIGITAL NAVIGATE THE DIGITAL SPACE IN THE NEW YEAR