Top 4 Ways Social Media is Helping to Reshape Marketing

Transcription

1 Top 4 Ways Social Media is Helping to Reshape Marketing How implementing social media into your business strategy can position your brand for the better Inside, you ll find information on: The ever-changing social media landscape How to identify and understand your target audience online Crafting content for today s audiences Social engagement and tips to enhance your presence come meet us: 205 rockingham row, princeton, nj 08540

2 Introduction: the ever-changing social media landscape Social media is one of the most engaging and cost-effective ways to achieve awareness about your brand. It is today s most easily accessible communications channel and, as technology advances, it s only going to evolve and expand. In this constantly evolving, social media-oriented, customer-centric world, an active social media presence is an essential tool for businesses in just about every industry. However, social media is also one of the most complicated and time-intensive channels for brands to manage. In the ever changing social landscape, those who are charged with managing a brand s social media presence are constantly being pushed to try new things, connect with people in new ways, and always be at the forefront of emerging trends and information. That s why it s more important than ever for your business to get ahead in today s new mobile-social world. In this whitepaper, we tell you the top five ways social media is helping to reshape marketing and offer our insights into the social media landscape to provide you with the tips you need to make your business social strategy thrive. Social media is the new form of advertising. For nearly two decades, social media has been transforming consumer s decision making and information seeking abilities ten-fold. The key word? Social. For the first time in the history of marketing and advertising, you can reach audiences where they are already communicating in a way that is more authentic and engaging than traditional methods. Social media marketing, whether through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or the latest emerging social medium like Snapchat or Instagram, allows your brand to communicate directly with your audience and expand that audience exponentially. social is the top internet activity 1.4 billion billion Facebook users twitter users linkedin users google+ users instagram users pinterest users youtube users Americans spend an average of 37 minutes on social media each day, which is more time spent doing any other activity on the Internet, including . On average, each Facebook user has an estimated 200 friends.

3 who s on social media 1 % of online adults who used social media in 2014 know your audience However, there is no value in the statement, post it and they will come. You can t just share a link to your content and wait for thousands of likes and shares all at once. If you want your content to succeed, you should first remember that all social media networks are different from one another and there are many different audiences with different interests and needs. In addition to identifying who you are going to share your content with, you should always craft your writing according to where it will live and how it be shared. How do your audiences like to get their information? Thriving in your social media efforts means you must go beyond simply writing content. Your content needs to accomplish two goals: first, appeal to the end user (customers, clients, prospects, readers, etc.) and second, solve a particular problem. 62% 74% 71 facebook Examine your audience with a fine tooth comb and look at the different types of content they are engaging the most with and find the most valuable. Determine what types of content they like, comment on, and share the most and build content around your findings. Answer any question they might have. Be a thought leader and provide them with the latest information in their industry, and of course always stay at the forefront of new ideas. 28 linkedin Today s social user 28 pinterest 52% 56% 53% 52% of online adults now use two or more social media sites, a significant increase from 2013, when it stood at 42% of internet users. For the first time, more than half of all online adults 65 and older (56%) use Facebook. This represents 31% of all seniors. roughly half of internet-using young adults ages (53%) use Instagram. And half 0f all Instagram users (49%) use the site daily. For the first time, the share of internet users with college educations using LinkedIn reached 50%. Women dominate Pinterest: 42% of online women now use the platform, compared with 13% of online men. 26 instagram 50% 42% 23 Pew Research Center s Internet Project Surveys, data collected September & September 18-21, N=1,597 internet users ages 18+ twitter

4 2 embracing your audience through content Once you ve established who your audience is and the types of content they are interested in, you can start to craft your overall strategy and messaging plan. The key? Consumers like to be communicated with - not to. With social media, people can now directly communicate with your brand in a way that is more personal and in-tune with the ways that they re already communicating. It also makes you come across as more accessible and more authentic to a new customer as well as familiar and recognizable to existing customers. All the while, by building an active social presence that shares relevant information, your company builds trust and credibility with your audiences. 78% 78% of consumers believe brands social media posts directly impact their purchase decisions 4/10 social media users have purchased an item online or in-store after sharing or favoriting it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest 31% 31% of shoppers say posts from their friends on social media directly influence their shopping and purchasing decisions 50% Every day, 350 photos are uploaded on Facebook, 50 on Instagram, and 500 billion tweets are posted 50% of purchasing decisions are influenced by word of mouth 1,000 customers can generate 500,000 brand conversations

5 3 crafting valuable and sharable content Why is sharing content that is relevant and engaging to your customers so important? No matter what you re creating, whether it s a blog post, an ebook, infographic, whitepaper, or video, it s important to keep its share-ability in mind. After creating a piece of content, ask yourself: Would I find this piece of content valuable, and if so would I share it with my friends or colleagues? Then, consider sharing a mix of curated, original, and user-generated content. User-generated content What is it? Where does it come from? Why does it matter? User-generated content (UGC) is any form of media that is created by users of an online system or service. It is often made available via social media websites. UGC can include blogs, social posts, chats, tweets, podcasts, pins, digital images, video, audio files, and other forms of user-created media For example, you might see your favorite clothing company re-share one of their customer s personal Instagram pictures because the person wore their clothes and tagged their brand in their post. People like and identify with the authenticity of a real customer s promotion of a product. Try showcasing your most enthusiastic customers this way. It can be a great strategy for influencing potential customers about your brand s customer satisfaction and also for encouraging current customers to continue sharing their content with your brand and your followers. 92% 92% of consumers trust the recommendations of family and friends over ads. 71% of all user-generated content is by consumers years old. 28% increase in brand engagement when you combine professional and UGC content. 68% 68% of peer reviews and 64% of professional reviews are considered trustworthy. 51% of consumers trust UGC over a brand s website and is trusted 50% more than other media. UGC is 20% more influential on purchases than all other media types and is 35% more memorable. 71% 51% 28% 20%

6 best times to post on social media 4 Facebook 1-4pm twitter 1-3pm linkedin 7-9am, 5-6pm key to successful engagement As society continues to move online, it s more important than ever to meet customers where they are already engaging. Through such interactions, you are encouraging your brand loyalty and meeting the needs of your customers on a level that for them, is effortless. Identifying your most enthusiastic customers will help you better engage with them. Identify your most vocal customers. Track them with a social relationship platform that allows your team to tag and classify them as an advocate. Listen for conversations happening about your brand outside of your social channels. Don t be afraid to engage in social conversations. Reach out to your audience they are your best advocates. Encourage social media contests where you give your audience an incentive to engage. Constantly identify hashtags/trending topics worth involving your brand in. google+ 9-11am pinterest 2-4pm, 8pm-1am instagram 12-8am youtube 9-11am, 2-4pm facebook users share 1 links every 20 minutes of users 52% use site daily pinterest 83% of users are female all about discovery twitter 5,700 tweets happen every second google+ 540 active users year olds are 25-35the most active instagram 150 # active users brands participate through use of the hashtag linkedin business oriented social networking site of the world s 50% hires

7 we re princeton partners - your strategically minded, socially focused, creatively powered agency. In this crazy, search-oriented, customer-centric world, customers are looking for you. We help them find you. Then we inspire them to become your best advocates. We do it with images and video, content and experiences, traditional, digital, PR and the most advanced social media approach whatever it takes. Running through it all is your brand s story, told so clearly and compellingly that it spreads throughout the marketplace. From creative visual expressions to detailed customer behavior mapping, we help you build success not just today, but over time. So call us and plant your flag. Water it and let it grow. Sound impossible? Well, didn t we say this world is crazy? Come on. Let s get started. connect with us Like what you found in our whitepaper? Stay tuned for the latest in marketing, branding, and advertising insights by connecting with us on social media and in our blog. come meet us: 205 rockingham row, princeton, nj 08540