2015 is finally upon us, and that means more changes are in the works. Social media marketing best practices and approaches are written in pencil because nothing stays the same. Much of this is driven by how some of the top social platforms are evolving. Here are a few predictions of what we may see from them in 2015.
Read MoreThe age of Facebook, Twitter and the mass social networks is here. Marketers have embraced the platforms for their potential to reach large numbers of consumers, deliver customer service and create highly targeted ads through the context of personal relationships. Now, a new type of social networking is on the horizon, and marketers are going to have to contend with the fact that the rules for social media marketing are changing… again.
Read MoreThe social media acqui-hiring trend is heating up. Last week, Facebook acquired the social conversations start-up Branch, which comes with the social bookmarking service Potluck, to build out what Facebook calls its Conversations Group. The team at Branch was invited by Facebook to do what its always done but with Facebook support and capital behind it to "build Branch at Facebook scale." That kind of invitation would be nearly impossible for any entrepreneur to turn down, and it signals a growing trend.
Read More“Things I’ve Learned from Lately” is a regular compilation of articles that have made me a smarter marketer. Hopefully, they’ll help you, too.
This Week: Foursquare: Monetizing without Getting Too Creepy, A Future in Question for MOOCs, When Social Networks Become One and Creating a Safe, Fun Place for Kids Online.
Read More“Things I’ve Learned from Lately” is a regular compilation of articles that have made me a smarter social media marketer. Hopefully, they’ll help you, too.
Different Networks for Different Reasons – LinkedIn polled more than 6,000 social media users to better understand their mindsets when accessing social networks. The poll found that people express different mindsets when engaging with different social platforms depending upon what they’re doing: socializing, wasting time or professionally investing time.
Key Takeaway: It shouldn’t come as a surprise that users behave differently on different platforms, but this should be taken as an even greater sign that a brand needs to mold itself to the platform vs. asking the platform to mold itself to the brand. Any brand on any network should add more value to the value already being generated by the existing community.
It’s Not What You Say, It’s When You Say It – HubSpot published a piece stating that when you post content is just as important (maybe more important) than the content you put out there. But HubSpot takes it a step further by not just telling marketers to post at the right time but also how to determine that right time.
Key Takeaway: Social media is 24/7, and that means brands are forced to connect with people outside of business hours. Make sure you’re giving your content a chance to succeed by posting it at the right time, not anytime.
You Have Nothing Without Integration – SmartBlog asked its readers: Which do you think is more difficult: planning a social media strategy or implementing it? 65% answered implementing it, and 35% answered planning it.
Key Takeaway: Planning and implementing are essential because an idea from planning is only as good as its implementation and execution. Mistakes happen when both don’t come together.
Jesse Stanchak says it best in her commentary on the poll results in which she says, “When the left hand doesn’t talk to the right, both suffer.”
Social media marketing touches every part of an organization, and to be successful, people need to communicate with others in a way that they may not be used to. Still, it’s essential, and this poll says to me that it’s one of the hardest things someone can do. Let’s start communicating.
Still Not Convinced? – A study by Appirio found, among other things, that 13% of respondents consider their businesses “anti-social” and have no plans or interest to invest in social media.
Key Takeaway: Either the respondents with no interest are the smartest business leaders out there or missing the boat big time. I find it hard to believe that any business should completely steer away from social media.
Facebook for Commerce – Mitch Joel weighs in on Facebook’s advertising merits and pitfalls, while digging into the potential of the newly relaunched Facebook Gifts. He weighs in on the potential to create an engaging experience that builds a direct relationship between Facebook and its users by merging the digital world with a physical payoff (the gift).
Key Takeaway: Facebook hasn’t cracked the code just yet, but as Mitch points out, it has the tools and the resources to compete, even to the level of Amazon, from an e-commerce perspective. Yes, Facebook’s had its issues, but it also has an infrastructure unlike any other.
The proliferation of social networks has continued on a massive scale. We're not seeing a decline in the number of social networks. Instead, we've seen mass social networks like Facebook only get larger, while more niche social networks like Path and Instagram grow in popularity.
It's interesting because there's no clear direction on what people crave from their social networks. They want to connect with many but at the same they crave more intimate and focused conversations.
There's a Place for Both
In reality, there's no need to put one before the other. Both niche and mass have a place.
Mass networks like Twitter and Facebook allow us a channel to gather information as well as interact with people we wouldn't typically. This is where the "echo chamber" myth of social networks is debunked. We connect with many individuals who are creating and sharing information we wouldn't typically see, building our minds and our views on the world. There's inherent value on this.
On the other side of the coin, niche social networks allow for deep relationships to grow deeper. We can connect in a more intimate setting with those we're closer to. A social network like Path allows us to keep track of those we're truly invested in.
Niche and Mass Converge
Niche and mass networks are not separate entities. The incredible amount of data and knowledge networks have gathered about us and our social connections can create very niche experiences. Google+ uses your social connections on its mass social network to deliver very micro-targeted search results with Search plus Your World based on your connections. For example, I may be wondering what video game to purchase, so I do a very specific Google search on recent video game releases. I may then see that one of my friends recently purchased Mass Effect 3 and loves it. A very specific search on Google used a mass social network to create a niche experience only I could have had.
Making Niche and Mass Work for Marketing
This convergence offers opportunities for marketers. We can use niche social networks to show our brands through the context of relationships. While mass social networks offer avenues for us to distribute content and encourage others to share it, allowing it to spread.
It's an interesting dichotomy, but both mass and niche bring opportunities. It's the responsibility of marketers to frame their actions through the lens of the relationships existing on the different platforms.