social in 2015: the edit

1 1 Confidential © 2014 Confidential © 2014 28/01/2015 1 28/01/2015 1 Confidential © 2014

Social in 2015: the edit Here’s what you need to know right now.

2 2 Confidential © 2014

What’s in this deck for me? We all know social is to be taken seriously. 74% of internet users are registered on a social network. Probably now including your Dad. Brands need to be present.

But with the landscape evolving so fast it can be hard to keep up - and easy and comforting to hide under the duvet and stick to what you know.

That’s where this deck comes in. We’ve trawled through millions of predictions and all the latest platform news to bring you the 5 things you need to think about in 2015. Yes, there are cats, so please read on…


Facebook’s organic reach almost disappeared through 2014, panicking some Page owners and ensuring more marketing money was spent on the platform.

Social in 2014: The headlines

As Facebook ramped up their ad options, so did other social platforms, with Instagram introducing Promoted Photos outside of the US, and Twitter introducing native video, amongst many other ad formats.

Social got serious, with more brands sharing content, using platforms as extensions of their advertising campaigns, and in many cases making campaigns social first e.g. Domino’s Meltdown

In 2014 even more social platforms emerged. Some are interesting, some will fade away by 2016. While Facebook is still the big player, niche networks are appearing, and sticking around e.g. Ello, Fitocracy, Jelly, Tinder


5 actionable, effective things to do in 2015


#1: Think outside the facebook box


The truth

It’s time to test and learn, looking beyond Facebook as the primary social channel, towards more strategy appropriate channels


Facebook is reducing organic reach of Pages Organic reach will soon be a thing of the past for most Pages.

Other social networks are catching up Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, and even Google+ have all grown more than Facebook in the last 6 months - Tumblr has increased its MAUs by 120% (Source: GlobalWebIndex, Nov 2014)

Niche networks are emerging - Millenials have been abandoning Facebook – a Piper Jaffray report showed teen Facebook use fell by nearly 30% in 2014 - Some cater for those wanting a more personalised experience e.g. Fitocracy, Foodie

Twitter is expanding its advertising remit - Twitter will challenge Facebook in 2015 for innovative advertising options - Twitter is also partnering up with companies such as Nielsen to offer additional insight into user behaviour for advertisers

The evidence


What does this mean?

Putting all your resources into Facebook

Investigating which social networks your live on E.g. sports fans love sharing on Twitter, millenials prefer Instagram

2014 2015

Hoping for organic reach on Facebook

Experimenting with link posts & videos to get organic reach on Facebook. Optimising for organic reach on other platforms

Facebook Promoted Posts Twitter Cards, Snapchat’s Our Story, Instagram Promoted Posts


§  Find ways to post efficiently on Facebook (fewer, better posts), while looking at other networks

§  Beware of brand new networks that might seem ideal for your brand – critical mass is essential before jumping on board

§  Ensure the platform suits your audience AND your brand. If you’re not a very visual brand, Instagram might not be your ideal space

three takeaways


#2: get smart with social measurement


Engagement Rate won’t be enough in 2015. It’s time to use social to its full potential

The truth


Social is your new ad platform - Social ad formats are becoming more advanced - at least one person in your team should be in the know and prepared to test - Facebook Atlas, and G+ using the GDN for promoted posts are evidence of social ads breaking out of social

Analytics are getting smarter - Engagement Rate is just a starting point - Retargeting, advanced video analytics, and post-exposure brand surveys are showing true social ROI - Different measures have different weights – a like is not equitable to a share. A comment may be negative

It can be a great traffic driver - Buzzfeed – an online publishing success story – gets 5x it’s traffic from social vs. search (Source: Buzzfeed Insights, Nov 2014) - But much social traffic isn’t tracked – what do you need to measure to show ROI?

It’s not just about Grumpy Cat memes Social is becoming a market place: Twitter and Facebook are testing Buy Buttons, Tumblr is adding CTA buttons to posts from certain sites e.g. Etsy – these are the things that will show true value

Why?


What does this mean? Reporting Engagement Rate

Reporting social referral, share rate, sentiment, click through rates, brand preference

2014 2015

Promoted posts and tweets

Twitter Cards, lookalike audiences, Promoted Pins, Sponsored Photos

Dead-end posts Social as a traffic driver

Standalone social Social as an extension of your website – shared articles, Buy Now buttons


§  Know your strategy inside out to ensure you: - Report what matters to your business - Create content that serves your business needs

§  Don’t run before you can walk with social advertising

§  Don’t do everything - choose to do a few things really well

three takeaways


#3: social wants to go shopping


The truth

Social media channels are introducing new ways to shop without leaving their platforms, providing a one stop shop for consumers and a data mine for marketers


The evidence

Moving beyond engagement - Social networks are looking to move beyond engagement to monetize their platforms - ROI is much easier to measure if you have direct sales figures from social activity

Buy buttons - Twitter and Facebook have launched ‘Buy’ buttons allowing users to purchase items without leaving the platform - Perfect for lower priced, impulse goods and services

Personalisation is powerful - Data on consumers allows brands to target deals and offers to maximise cut through - Data insights gleaned around shopping habits would be invaluable

Checkout processes are too long - The average abandonment rate of online baskets is 68.07% - Buying direct from a tweet or post in feed, especially with timed deals for example, capitalises on impulse buyers with no need for a basket or inputting lengthy details



Measuring engagement Measuring sales direct from social messaging

2014 2015

Globally appealing content

Locally focused content with personalised deals and short-term offers

Your goods get left in a basket

Your goods get pushed for two-click impulse purchase


§  People are unlikely to buy: -  High price items -  Brands they do not already know §  Risk of appearing spammy if you bombard

people with flashsales and deals. Beware “Groupon Remorse”

§  Operational difficulties as retailers face changes in product demand. Receiving goods will need to be as quick as buying them

three takeaways


#4: do “always good”, not “always on”


What?

Budgets aren’t infinite. It’s time to do a few things well, rather than everything, all the time, in a mediocre way

The truth


One good piece of content = 10 average ones - A good piece of content can be cut, re-cut, extended and reused. Great quality content is what Facebook wants in its newsfeed - Fewer posts = more time to test

Community is (almost) dead - The original idea of ‘Always On’ went hand in hand with community building - The reality is that most brands aren’t building true communities, they are pulling people towards their content and providing another Customer Service channel

We are drowning in content - 90% of the world’s data was generated in the last two years. - Create disruptive content which stops the scroll - Pinning, promoting and seeding will surface your best content

Content curation isn’t a dirty phrase - Sharing other creators’ content can be a simple way to bolster your calendar - Choose content from trusted partners, and brands that compliment your tone of voice - UGC can also be a great way to tell your story

Why?


What does this mean? Creating a huge suite of content for every channel

Taking select pieces of great content and adapting them/extending them for each channel

2014 2015

Posting multiple times a day

Pinpointing the correct posting frequency for each channel, for your brand

Only posting your content Posting curated content from other trusted brands and partners

Creating content in silos Sharing content across the business, creating a repository of ‘evergreen content’


§  Don’t suddenly stop posting. Ensure you have enough content to post semi-regularly, and if necessary only promote to fans/followers

§  Ensure your ‘evergreen content’ has value and isn’t just posting for the sake of it

§  Curated content won’t work for every single brand – do due diligence before basing your content plan around it

Three takeaways


#5: video video video (stay with us…)


The truth

Video has been touted as the next big thing for, well, ever. In 2015 it really is. But as major networks push video to the forefront of their platforms, how is best to use it for your brand?


The evidence

Massive increase in video uploads - Facebook has seen uploads increase 75% during 2014 - 12 million Vines are uploaded to Twitter everyday. Lo-fi is ok in this age of democratised content production

Networks are pushing video to the forefront -Twitter is launching native video capabilities allowing shoot and edit within its app - Facebook’s algorithms and autoplay surface and highlight video in newsfeeds

Think outside of YouTube - Facebook is racking up a billion video views A DAY and outperforming YT links on the site - 75% of video views occur outside of the YouTube ecosystem

Native video ads - If you produce great, compelling video content, you can make sure it’s seen by the right people as video play ad units are released across major networks



One shiny hero video a year

Variety of videos for different platforms, to suit your business objectives. Lo-fi is ok.

2014 2015

YouTube links in social posts

Native video with autoplay in-stream

Reposting your TV commercials to YouTube

Crafting tailored video content for your platforms and audiences


§  Yes, video engagement rates are impressive, but only if your videos are good. Think “what’s in it for them” when creating content.

§  Aim for ‘valuable virality’. What’s the use of your video being seen by millions if they don’t remember it was you who made it?

§  Be imaginative. How can you use video to your best advantage? Look at the old classic General Electric ‘6 Second Science’ series and think how you can make your video something people want to talk about

three takeaways


What your boss needs to know


ü  Facebook is not going anywhere, but its realities need to be addressed. Make it work for you – not the other way round

ü  Your social platforms are generating data all the time. Likes won’t win the heart of the MD, but using smarter analytics to show ROI and brand preference will

ü  Social commerce could make your business more profitable – moving social out of the discovery phase, into the purchase phase. Now is the time to get your house in order to push for that 2-click purchase

ü  Do less content. Do it much better. ü  Whether you’re a multi-national brand, or a SME, make 2015 the year you nail your video

strategy

Key takeouts


Thanks [email protected] Julia: Digital Content Strategist

[email protected] Hannah: Senior Social Media Manager

Any questions about social: [email protected]

social in 2015: the edit

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