Social Media Week 2016

This year SMW started from talking about the future of communications. It is not a secret that social media became a crucial part of our everyday life.
“Average person checks mobile device approximately 30 times a day and that number significantly increases,” said Michelle Klein, Head of Marketing for North America at Facebook, “For younger persons it is 157 times per day that is 10 times an hour.”

It seems like people really have fear of being offline. So what does it mean for marketers? Opportunities. Today we have millions of ways to connect people through mobiles.
Considering the best technology communication, Michelle Klein mentioned four things:
  1. It makes what we are already doing easier, better and faster
  2. It is able to connect us through storytelling
  3. Connection needs to be more immediate, expressive, and immersive
  4. It is constantly adapting and constantly opened to changing

All of that will help brands to be prepared for the future: One-to-one communications, 3D advertising, Augmented and Virtual Reality and others.

Many experts at SMW sessions were uniform in the view on Snapchat as a perspective social media platform. Of course, brands want to go where their audience live: 100 millions of people use Snapchat daily. The demographics of this audience is 18 to 24 years old that seems to be not a target for the many brands. However, companies look at Snapchat like the way to grow their own audience.

Carla Zanoni, Executive emerging media editor, Wall Street Journal explained, “18 years old people in a few years will be 24. If you have an audience that is native to Snapchat, they understand this platform, they are living and breathing there. We are investing in developing our voice on an audience while they grow and while they use the platform.”

Building relationship with this audience is primarily based on creating an interesting content. People say that Snapchat is the most authentic social media platform. Best companies create live and unique content and differentiate it from the one they use for other platforms. For instance, brands post lots of behind the scene things there. 

For companies using Snapchat, the challenge is to keep corporate tone of voice when they post something interesting for young people to watch. Brands have to use more general language for Snapchat stories, not so polished. Another issue is how to measure the effectiveness of this platform. Social listening and qualitative research - no news here.

The third panel I listened to was about content as a brand’s most essential resource. There were several insights I got there.  First of all, definition of advertising is changing. Millennials are with their mobiles 24/7. If marketers want to reach the audience by social media, they have to create the content that as interesting and engaging as any other piece of content exist out there.

“Advertising is built for the brand and content is built for the audience.” Pat Connolly, VP of Marketing Solutions, Conde Nast.
Today consumers make decision and brands have to competing for their attention by telling amazing stories. Looking at consumers’ journey can show the value of this content. One way or another, engaged user is a better customer.

Pat Connolly added, “The reality is that marketplace and advertising really shifted from brand terms to the consumer terms. That is why content is so important today. World we are living today is the world of choice. It is a consumers driven culture where they can go anywhere they want for that content.”
Marketers have to fill social media with ‘natural’ content. Experts believe that the idea of humanizing the brand is extremely important for social media.


More interesting statistics from SMW:
Adults check approximately 27 different apps per month.
4.4B people in the world are without internet
About messengers:
6 of the 10 most used apps globally are messaging apps
1B WhatsApp, 800M Messenger, 650M WeChat, 250M Viber, 215M Line monthly active users
About Snapchat:
100M daily active users
400M snaps everyday
70% users are women
58% users would be open to purchase a product from a brand that they receive coupon from on Snapchat
About Pinterest:
87% users have used Pinterest to help decide what to purchase
39% of pinners have replaced search engines with Pinterest
72% of pinners say they were introduced to new brands on Pinterest
9 out of 10 people who click through to a site from Pinterest, will purchase same day


P.S. Bonus of volunteering at SMW was a pass to the VIP closing party.
-- Yulia Lesnichaya

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