Nowadays, the current environment is closely analysed to understand what’s happening, where focus is being placed and how this is affecting marketing activity.In line with this, the marketing’s main point of the moment is content. The topic consistently emerged, even across elements of personalisation, relevancy and engagement and, more often than not, social media was often seen to sit at the core of this.
Slim Down, Shape Up
Quality of fans will matter more than quantity this year, as marketers look to find a creative way to drive more relevant interactions with consumers. This year, there is some significant changes in how brands and consumers use social media, which could prove to be quite a rude awakening for many marketers. It was predicted that the community curating with continue, with consumers limiting their friends on Facebook, hiding irrelevant content from their newsfeeds and clicking “unlike” or “unfollow” on brands that aren’t adding any value to their life. To face this phenomenon, brands will need to think very carefully about what content they put out into the social media, ensuring it is relevant and interesting to consumers.
Employee Involvement
Brands will need to think long and hard about creating inspired content this year in an effort to try and get employees to share content via their personal profiles. There is a huge amount of intimacy, influence and trust that exists with personal social accounts, in comparison to faceless brand profiles, but says often, because of fear of saying the wrong thing, employees choose not to say or share anything related to their companies. Having employees share content essentially turns them into brand advocates, and advocates that consumers can put a face to and trust. But in order to fix the current fear that many employees have, social media policies need to be created to act as a guide. However, unless employees are regularly encouraged and rewarded for their efforts, and unless the content that is being created is authentic and worthy, then the chance of this sharing happening is slim to none.
The Movement to Continuous Marketing
Social media is requiring more time, money and staff than ever before as marketing moves from ‘campaign marketing’ to ‘continuous marketing’. Gone are the days where a brand would chose one channel (television or radio) and plan their campaigns for the year. Now, marketers are on a consistent and continual social media treadmill. Each year another social media network pops up and currently there are more options than most people can keep track of, creating high levels of chaos for marketers and brands as they try to connect with consumers across the board. Social marketing is a big daily commitment, one that can’t just be outsourced to the current intern. Instead it is something that needs focused attention and serious investment, and above all, it needs creativity and inspiration.
Social Brand Conversations
The tone used on social media platforms and the content produced can literally make or break a brand’s presence in the social space. In 2013, it is essential for marketers who are using social platforms to carefully consider their brand’s presence. The messages and content that is placed online needs to be consistent and appropriate, targeting the right audience and putting out the right message.
B2B Social Media
The report also suggests that an increasing number of B2B marketers will try to raise their social media game in the coming twelve months or so.
While many marketers are still convinced that social media has no benefit in the B2B world, it helps add to the client relationship by building trust. It is true that B2B success in social media is vastly different to other industries. The key is creating relevant content that is both interesting and easily consumed by readers, such as infographics or podcasts.
Instagram and Beyond
Finally, one of the report’s contributors, Mark Schaefer, emphasises his belief that the biggest social media trend of 2013 will be the emphasis on visual content, saying that if you are serious about social this year then you need to be thinking visual communication and you need to be thinking of Instagram.
Instagram is a very powerful social tool for brands, allowing businesses to connect to consumers in a visual way that is far more personal than that which can be achieved through text.
Schaefer compares the voyeuristic nature of the social network to gossip magazines and reality television, which shows the popularity of the mobile app is on the rise. It was found that 61% of those surveyed who had an Instagram profile had used it in the past 24 hours (this figure was only surpassed by Facebook) and 48% were using it more often than other platforms. A huge 83% had even used the social media network while at work.