After looking at the analytics from 2014 and 2015 have revealed, brands, agencies, and marketers have all realized the importance of social media as a driving force. Social media is not only where we connect with friends, but also increasingly consume entertainment content, support our favourite causes, and increasingly make purchase decisions.
The rise of “small data”
Instead of looking at larger buying trends for decisions pertaining to marketing spends, marketers are now going to increasingly focus on the small events in a target consumer’s life. For example, significant lifestyle events (e.g. having a baby, a wedding, buying real estate) all influence purchasing habits. This is when a social media marketer ideally will have a substantial amount of advertising influence.
Many ecommerce companies entrust their social media marketing Sydney mandates in the hands to Think Big Online, known for their dedicated online product sales practice.
By using behavioral data to create customized content, brands can influence people to purchase their products, and simultaneously create product advocates. An example from Australia is the Coca-Cola campaign that used Twitter’s Tailored Audiences for personalized tweets using consumer’s first names in the Share-a-Coke campaign, which successfully increased Australia sales by 7%.
Live Real Time Content is going to be Hot
The sudden surge in popularity of platforms that allow real-time video sharing (like Twitter’s Periscope and Snapchat Stories) will make consumers the new brand advocates and curators as established in the research conducted by reputed digital agencies like http://www.thinkbigonline.com/. According to Comscore, Snapchat has achieved market penetration of 32.9%, and brands have already begun to benefit from it. iHeartRadio successfully generated 340MM views from their real time sharing platform, and Cosmopolitan Magazine received 3MM a day via their ‘Discover’ platform.
User generated Content is King
People who have become social media influencers, even among small niche groups, are undeniably the influencers of purchase decisions. They can directly impact public opinion and sales. Considering that consumers engage with over 11 pieces of content before making any purchase, online or offline, user generated content can play a big difference. One of the biggest sources of blogger revenue is affiliate links, which clearly shows the power of native influence.
Immersive Video and GIFs are becoming Popular
Facebook is rapidly expanding its Video and GIF capabilities, and is already tinkering with Virtual Reality devices. Already, Cinemagraph generate 60% more engagement than images, and Facebook and Twitter are all rapidly working to integrate more video and gif content. 360 degree video and VR is said to be new horizon for Facebook and Google, and it will definitely influence how consumers interact with brands, and products. The day isn’t far when 360 degree videos are a necessity for every flagship product out in the market.
Brands are Playing with Messaging Like never before
It’s a sign of things to come that one can now send money, book a cab, and even do shopping right inside Facebook Messenger. The messaging app is being made into a platform, and Facebook has opened it up for developers to create its own standalone apps. WeChat is a great case study with regard to this – it contributes to $1.76bn in lifestyle spending in China.