The Future of Social Media?

In an article published on iMediaConnection last May, a media and marketing blog, author Chris Marentis laid out his 5 predictions for the future of social media, or as he implied "the true merits" of social media. As time goes on, he argued, and social media becomes more universal, the most valuable aspects of social media will become more apparent. He predicted what these will be:

1. Social Media will make big data bigger - OK, we could have guessed this one. This isn't so much a prediction as it is an observation. As we know, Facebook's push toward Messenger and the amazing Facebook Connect function have given Facebook vast amounts of data on users' locations, usage behavior, and more. This kind of data collection is only growing as more apps and social media sites link up and share information. 
2. Mobile Entertainment is on the rise, and social media will become part of that new ecosystem  - Again, ok, not a big jump. Netflix and Hulu already try to share everything I watch on Facebook with my friends...
3. Marketing programs will reintegrate - Specifically, this is referring to the fact that more of an effort will need to be paid to the integration of multiple marketing campaigns and channels running at one time. For example, it will become more and more important that messaging reinforce itself across platforms - digital, print, tv, etc. - and be backed up with complementary and well executed social media marketing. This makes sense, since social media is where the loyalty and brand community is actually developing. 
4. Content marketing will grow - I think it is easily predicted that content production will increase as more people are introduced to environments where they are encouraged to publish content. However, Marentis specifically predicts that there will be a new market for simpler and better designed content management systems (CMS) as well. This is an interesting one.
5. The power of your network will deliver - Social media networks will become more valuable and will be necessary for entering markets. However, creating a respectful relationship with your following will also become vital, and privacy concerns will take center stage. Marketers will need to be careful to not over- or misuse their followers' information lest they face a real and present danger of social media backlash.

Some of these are more observations than predictions, but the points are valid nonetheless. We have already seen that in the cases of privacy and big data, there have already been huge moves forward in these predicted directions for the industry. While I think we could definitely add some more predictions to the list, maybe I should start investing in CMS tech companies...

Tourism New Zealand is a great case study for digital marketing

While I was doing some research on New Zealand tourism for a family trip next winter, I came across an interesting interview on Skift.com with the CEO of Tourism New Zealand, a destination marketing company. This article caught my eye because it reads like a perfect case study on the kind of company/product that would be perfectly suited to digital marketing and the techniques we have learned in class for marketing via search engine optimization, display, and social media.

Tourism New Zealand was intimately involved in the branding and promotion of the country of New Zealand after the Lord of the Rings movies came out. Their strategy relied heavily on "laser focused" digital marketing. In the interview CEO Kevin Bowler talks in particular about a strong focus on search engine optimization and display networks, extolling the importance of identifying your niche market and targeting them effectively.

"We get about 2.8 million visitors a year, which is pretty small in comparison to a lot of major destinations. They tend to be attracted to New Zealand’s outdoors, spectacular scenery and nature. They are not your average international traveler; they are not looking for an ordinary destination. 

We use a lot of digital media to reach that group. We’re very active with Google. We spend quite a bit on search engine marketing and use their display network to leverage intelligence on what people are searching and to identify people who are interested in the types of activities that our destination does really well. 

We’re basically looking to connect our assets and stories with people who are interested in the sort of destination that New Zealand represents. Rather than thinking about mass channels, we spend much more on finely targeted channels."

Bowler also noted some interesting trends that he has seen over the life of their tourism campaign:

"One of them is the trend towards video. People want to consume a lot of destination video content and we’re producing a lot more of it. Even two years ago, the level of interested in video was much lower than it is today. 

The other trend that overlaps with video is access to the site via mobile devices and tablets. It is growing really fast and we expect access from mobile devices to soon be bigger than access from PCs."

It is interesting to see that such a large and long-lived digital marketing campaign has been successful using the same exact techniques we have been learning in class. Definitely check out the interview for more detail.

The State of Digital Marketing in 2015: Infographic

Once again the internet has produced a handy dandy infographic on digital marketing facts and strategy! This gem is courtesy of Smart Insights and TFM&A. 

This infographic gives great high level facts on the general market for digital content, the devices that are being used, and the most effective forms of marketing from SEO to display. 

Interestingly, according to this graphic, almost 70% of companies in the survey either had no plans for a digital marketing strategy or were only beginning to role out their strategy in the coming 12 months. This suggests there is still a very large opportunity for digital marketers to ply their trades for new businesses. It also means there is likely a huge opportunity for education on digital marketing and its rewards. 

FCC Votes for Net Neutrality!

GUYS! GUYS!

The FCC voted for net neutrality!!!

Net neutrality is the principle that all websites on the internet should be treated equally, and big time sites like Netflix and Hulu shouldn't be able to pay for better bandwidth from ISPs. Essentially, this decision means that the FCC is treating the internet like a public utility.

This is a big deal. Although this definitely doesn't mean the battle for net neutrality is won (ISPs will likely bring suit against the FCC to try to finagle a deal that will allow for special treatment of certain sites.), this is a huge step forward for proponents of net neutrality.

Interestingly, this is an issue that has united both major internet companies like Google and Facebook and individual activists. I wonder if this has something to do with where these two giants get their money.... Internet companies would be in a stranglehold if they decided not to "play" in a non-net neutral environment. For example, if Bing chose to pay for speed, but Google did not... Bing could surpass Google in search over time because of speed discrepancies. Not to mention these large internet staple companies were once newbies, and in a non-net neutral environment, well they would have been in a very tough bind....

This is definitely a step in the right direction in my opinion, but it is also only a first step in this battle. It is also a step in the direct of more regulation of the internet in general, and that... well that's a little more ambiguous...

Check out Mashable's coverage of this decision here. 

Content is key for marketers: Infographic

Captora recently released a slick infographic describing the benefits and breakdown of content marketing. Some of the interesting facts below include:

• 61% of consumers are more likely to buy from companies that create custom content. 
• Blog posts require very low time investment and have a high ROI. 
• 60 characters is the optimal character length for content titles.
• The majority of content shares occur on Saturday (18%).

The graphic is an interesting reference and reinforces what we already know.... content is key in marketing. Check it out below!

Citi Partners with Zillow in Digital Marketing Push

In a move that proves that good old fashioned targeting and strategic marketing alliances are not old hat for digital marketers, Citi has partnered with Zillow. This new marketing move will push Citi ads to StreetEasy and Zillow users and will promote the Citi brand and deals to certified preapproved buyers. 

• This tidbit definitely made me wonder whether other similar partnerships between banks and vendors might arise in the near future. There is potential for valuable ad partnerships for banks with car companies, large retail chains with lay away programs, even with behemoth vendors such as Amazon or shopping aggregators like ShopStyle. All of these would provide the equivalent of qualified leads to the banks and would have many of the benefits of SEO, most importantly the value gleaned from knowing the site visitors' intent. These partnerships could be very valuable and boast much better conversion rates than ordinary banner advertising....

http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origination/citi-launches-digital-marketing-push-with-zillow-1044113-1.html

Facebook Is Trying to Perfect Newsfeed

Facebook has started trying to perfect what its users get out of Newsfeed by asking them directly what they like and want. Currently, Newsfeed is curated by an algorithm that processes what you like and comment on, but it turns out that our activity on Facebook is highly affected by the variety of content we're shown. As you might have guessed, we are disproportionately likely to react to and affirm emotionally compelling content. That ASPCA puppy video... we're all over it. Mainstream news content? Not so much...

As a result, Facebook has started trying to ask users directly what they like and want to see in order to better determine what users desire in their newsfeed.

"The project works like this: each of these 600 Facebook users is presented with 30 top News Feed stories in a random order. Then they go through each story one by one. They can comment, share, follow a link, or choose to ignore the story. After that they answer eight questions about each item, including how much they cared about the subject of the story, how welcome the story was in their News Feed, how entertaining it was, and how much the story connected them to friends and family. Finally, they are asked to write a few sentences describing their overall feelings about the News Feed story."

It is in Facebook's best interest to learn how to better curate content for its users:

"Facebook made $2 billion in ad revenue last quarter, more than two-thirds of its total $3.59 billion in ad revenue for 2014. And where do those ads live? In News Feed. If the social network can crack the problem of what users really want from News Feed, they can presumably apply those learnings to ads, too."

So, if this experiment pans out, it may make Facebook's advertising worth significantly more.

http://www.wired.com/2015/01/facebook-making-news-feed-better-asking-real-people-direct-questions/

Snapchat Launches Discover

Snapchat isn't just for silly videos and photos anymore. They have officially launched Discover, a new way for media companies to publish content for Snapchat users. Discover will allow Snapchatters to access special content which will only be available for a limited amount of time, keeping in line with the app's general theme. Currently, content is available from media outlets like ESPN, National Geographic, People, and Cosmopolitan and features interactive articles and photos designed specifically for the app.

Snapchat Discover Media Platform

This is the first time outside media creators have been able to post content to the app, but it is not Snapchat's first attempt at monetizing its service. Already companies have begun to leverage the popularity of Snapchat by posting advertisements as "snaps" to users' apps alongside other user generated content.

It will be some time before we see whether Snapchat's new move is a win, but for the time being, it is one more digital door allowing media companies to deliver content (and thus market to) users.

The most trusted name in news is... Google?

This week the public relations firm Edelman released a report showing that online search is now a more trusted source of news and information than traditional news media. Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, this effect was even more pronounced among millenials.

At this point, you are probably a little confused. Google isn't a news outlet. It does not generate content or track down leads. How can Google be a more trusted news source than an actual news site? What's going on here?

Well, here is how I have been thinking about this.  As more news media moves online, users are more comfortable consuming their news and information entirely from the internet, but as with most things on the internet, we want choice! (After all, have you ever searched for a relatively specific search term, but still felt annoyed or let down when the search engine only returns one or two relevant hits?) Users are no longer limited to the magazines to which they can afford to subscribe or to their local news stations. More sources, more details, and more viewpoints are becoming better. As Quartz explains: "Getting an at-a-glance look at a wide range of stories deemed relevant by a search-engine algorithm—be they from traditional news outlets, blogs, advertisements, and much else besides—is more comforting to the curious reader, it seems, than simply pulling up a single news outlet’s site." And given the inherent biases of so many news outlets these days, perhaps this approach is actually more balanced overall... but that is a discussion for another blog.

So what does this mean for digital marketing and for search engines? Well, on the one hand, this trust gives search a level of credibility and power with consumers, making paid search and search engine optimization even more valuable as marketing tools. Users clearly trust the algorithms to effectively curate their worldview, so imagine how much more likely they are to select an ad or a site that was picked for them and presented as highly and specifically relevant. On the other hand, this revelation should serve as a warning to companies like Google not to overdo it or to lose sight of their core competency. If advertising is not judiciously vetted and well matched to users or if search results become too easily manipulated by crack marketing teams, search engines could lose that valuable trust as quickly as they earned it.

Consumers trust Google's news algorithm more than traditional media organizations
Google is now a more trusted source of news than the websites it aggregates