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Top 4 Ways Social Media is
Helping to Reshape Marketing
How implementing social media into your business strategy can position your brand for the better
Inside, you’ll find information on:
•
•
•
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The ever-changing social media landscape
How to identify and understand your target audience online
Crafting content for today’s audiences
Social engagement and tips to enhance your presence
come meet us: 205 rockingham row, princeton, nj 08540
Introduction: the ever-changing
social media landscape
Social media is one of the most engaging and cost-effective ways to achieve
awareness about your brand. It is today’s most easily accessible communications
channel and, as technology advances, it’s only going to evolve and expand.
In this constantly evolving, social media-oriented, customer-centric world, an active
social media presence is an essential tool for businesses in just about every industry.
However, social media is also one of the most complicated and time-intensive
channels for brands to manage. In the ever changing social landscape, those who
are charged with managing a brand’s social media presence are constantly being
pushed to try new things, connect with people in new ways, and always be at the
forefront of emerging trends and information.
That’s why it’s more important than ever for your business to get ahead in today’s
new mobile-social world. In this whitepaper, we tell you the top five ways social
media is helping to reshape marketing and offer our insights into the social media
landscape to provide you with the tips you need to make your business’ social
strategy thrive.
Social media is the new form of advertising.
For nearly two decades, social media has been transforming consumer’s decision
making and information seeking abilities ten-fold. The key word? Social. For the first
time in the history of marketing and advertising, you can reach audiences where
they are already communicating in a way that is more authentic and engaging than
traditional methods.
Social media marketing, whether through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or the
latest emerging social medium like Snapchat or Instagram, allows your brand to
communicate directly with your audience and expand that audience exponentially.
social is the top internet activity
1.4 228 347 540 300
billion
million
million
million
Facebook users
twitter users
linkedin users
google+ users
million
70
million
instagram users pinterest users
1
billion
youtube users
Americans spend an average of 37 minutes on social media each
day, which is more time spent doing any other activity on the Internet, including
email. On average, each Facebook user has an estimated 200 friends.
who’s on
social media
% of online adults
who used social
media in 2014
1
know your audience
Today’s social user
52%
52% of online adults now use two or more social
media sites, a significant increase from 2013,
when it stood at 42% of internet users.
56%
For the first time, more than half of all online
adults 65 and older (56%) use Facebook. This
represents 31% of all seniors.
53%
roughly half of internet-using young adults
ages 18-29 (53%) use Instagram. And half 0f all
Instagram users (49%) use the site daily.
50%
For the first time, the share of internet
users with college educations using
LinkedIn reached 50%.
42%
Women dominate Pinterest: 42% of
online women now use the platform, compared
with 13% of online men.
28
28
facebook
linkedin
71
pinterest
Examine your audience with a fine tooth comb and look at the different types of
content they are engaging the most with and find the most valuable. Determine
what types of content they like, comment on, and share the most – and build
content around your findings. Answer any question they might have. Be a thought
leader and provide them with the latest information in their industry, and of course
– always stay at the forefront of new ideas.
74%
26
instagram
In addition to identifying who you are going to share your content with, you should
always craft your writing according to where it will live and how it be shared. How
do your audiences like to get their information? Thriving in your social media
efforts means you must go beyond simply “writing content.” Your content needs to
accomplish two goals: first, appeal to the end user (customers, clients, prospects,
readers, etc.) and second, solve a particular problem.
62%
23
twitter
However, there is no value in the statement, “post it and they will come.” You can’t
just share a link to your content and wait for thousands of likes and shares all
at once. If you want your content to succeed, you should first remember that all
social media networks are different from one another and there are many different
audiences with different interests and needs.
Pew Research Center’s Internet Project
Surveys, 2014. 2014 data collected
September 11-14 & September 18-21, 2014.
N=1,597 internet users ages 18+
2
embracing your
audience through content
Once you’ve established who your audience is and the types of content they are
interested in, you can start to craft your overall strategy and messaging plan. The key?
Consumers like to be communicated with - not to.
With social media, people can now directly communicate with your brand in a way that
is more personal and in-tune with the ways that they’re already communicating. It also
makes you come across as more accessible and more authentic to a new customer
as well as familiar and recognizable to existing customers. All the while, by building an
active social presence that shares relevant information, your company builds trust and
credibility with your audiences.
31%
78%
78% of consumers believe
brands’ social media
posts directly impact their
purchase decisions
4/10 social media users have
purchased an item online or in-store
after sharing or favoriting it on
Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest
31% of shoppers say posts
from their friends
on social media directly
influence their shopping
and purchasing decisions
50%
Every day, 350 million photos are
uploaded on Facebook, 50 million
on Instagram, and 500 billion
tweets are posted
50% of purchasing
decisions are influenced by
word of mouth
1,000 customers can generate
500,000 brand conversations
3
crafting valuable
and sharable content
Why is sharing content that is relevant and engaging to
your customers so important?
No matter what you’re creating, whether it’s a blog post, an eBook, infographic, whitepaper,
or video, it’s important to keep its “share-ability” in mind. After creating a piece of content,
ask yourself: Would I find this piece of content valuable, and if so…would I share it with my
friends or colleagues?
Then, consider sharing a mix of curated, original, and user-generated content.
User-generated content
What is it? Where does it come from? Why does it matter?
User-generated content (UGC) is any form of media that is created by users of an online
system or service. It is often made available via social media websites. UGC can include
blogs, social posts, chats, tweets, podcasts, pins, digital images, video, audio files, and
other forms of user-created media
For example, you might see your favorite clothing company re-share one of their customer’s
personal Instagram pictures because the person wore their clothes and tagged their brand
in their post. People like and identify with the authenticity of a real customer’s promotion
of a product.
Try showcasing your most enthusiastic customers this way. It can be a great strategy for
influencing potential customers about your brand’s customer satisfaction and also for
encouraging current customers to continue sharing
their content with your brand and your followers.
92%
92% of consumers trust the
recommendations of family
and friends over ads.
71%
71% of all user-generated
content is by consumers
25-54 years old.
28%
28% increase in brand engagement
when you combine professional
and UGC content.
68%
68% of peer reviews and 64% of
professional reviews are considered
trustworthy.
51%
51% of consumers trust UGC over a
brand’s website and is trusted 50%
more than other media.
20%
UGC is 20% more influential on
purchases than all other media types
and is 35% more memorable.
best times to post
on social media
4
Facebook
1-4pm
twitter
1-3pm
key to successful engagement
As society continues to move online, it’s more important than ever to meet
customers where they are already engaging. Through such interactions,
you are encouraging your brand loyalty and meeting the needs of your
customers on a level that for them, is effortless.
Identifying your most enthusiastic customers will help you
better engage with them.
• Identify your most vocal customers.
• Track them with a social relationship platform that allows your team
to tag and classify them as an advocate.
• Listen for conversations happening about your brand outside
of your social channels.
• Don’t be afraid to engage in social conversations. Reach
linkedin
7-9am, 5-6pm
out to your audience – they are your best advocates.
• Encourage social media contests where you give your
audience an incentive to engage.
• Constantly identify hashtags/trending topics worth
involving your brand in.
google+
9-11am
facebook
users share
1 million links
every 20 minutes
52% of users
use
pinterest
2-4pm, 8pm-1am
site
daily
pinterest
83% female
of users are
all about
discovery
instagram
12-8am
twitter
540 million
active users
25-35
year olds are
the most active
instagram
150 million
active users
brands participate
through use of
#
the hashtag
linkedin
5,700 tweets happen
business oriented
second
50% h i r e s
every
youtube
9-11am, 2-4pm
google+
social networking site
of the world’s
we’re princeton partners -
your strategically minded, socially focused, creatively powered agency.
In this crazy, search-oriented, customer-centric world, customers are looking for you.
We help them find you. Then we inspire them to become your best advocates.
We do it with images and video, content and experiences, traditional, digital, PR and
the most advanced social media approach—whatever it takes. Running through it all
is your brand’s story, told so clearly and compellingly that it spreads throughout the
marketplace.
From creative visual expressions to detailed customer behavior mapping, we help
you build success not just today, but over time.
So call us and plant your flag. Water it and let it grow. Sound impossible? Well, didn’t
we say this world is crazy?
Come on. Let’s get started.
connect with us
Like what you found in our whitepaper?
Stay tuned for the latest in marketing, branding, and advertising
insights by connecting with us on social media and in our blog.
come meet us: 205 rockingham row, princeton, nj 08540