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Friday, January 30, 2015
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Sunday, January 25, 2015
Social Media Trends in 2015
Social Media Trends in 2015
It was a great year for social media in 2014, but what are the biggest trends to expect in 2015? We’ve collated the leading contenders.
It was a great year for social media in 2014, but what are the biggest trends to expect in 2015? We’ve collated the leading contenders.
1. Video is bigger than ever
We will see video dominate social media channels in 2015 as it becomes the medium of choice.
Last year Facebook surpassed YouTube on video views via a desktop, amassing one billion views a day -this was probably due to recent algorithms showing more videos on everyone’s Newsfeeds and its ‘autoplay’ feature.
More and more brands are jumping on this bandwagon with subtly branded videos popping up everywhere, not just on YouTube but Facebook, Vine, Instagram and Snapchat. According to Cisco, video will account for 69% of consumer internet traffic in two years’ time.
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2. Organic (free) Ad reach is dying out
Historically, a post from a Facebook page with thousands of likes would typically reach about 16% of fans.However in 2014, it declined to around 6% as a report from Ogilvy states, forcing brands and companies to embrace its paid social advertising.
There’s more content than ever inundating users’ Newsfeeds, and recent algorithms mean organic reach might soon be a thing of the past. This doesn’t just apply to Facebook, but Twitter’s promoted tweets and Instagram’s sponsored ads, to name a few.
However a recent study from Forrester found that Instagram offered the most reach out of seven social channels with a per follower engagement of 4.21%. This means that for brands to remain relevant in 2015 they will have to up their spending on social media and diversify their strategies – Facebook likes isn’t the main goal any more.
3. Social media goes niche
2015 will see the rise of smaller, niche social media trends with a focus on hobbies, passions and privacy/anonymity.
Recently there has been a notable increase in focused social platforms becoming interest based and adapting to individual audiences such as; Fitocracy for fitness fans; Foodie for food lovers or Polyvore for shoppers.
While Ello, which has labelled by some as ‘hipster’, promises users to never sell their information to third parties or monitor their posts as it’s “creepy and unethical”. It’s difficult to predict whether this millennial–marketed platform is a truly substantial contender for Facebook or a fad.
These are also Facebook’s independent Rooms and Whisper to throw into the mix, which are heavily geared towards anonymity. It will be interesting to see how brands target users of this trend.
4. Shopping on social
The first tentative steps towards Scommerce happened last year; the concept was probably obvious looking back. There have been various efforts to integrate commerce across social media channels, from Twitter to Pinterest.
Twitter created their Product Cards which feature an image, description and any key details – great way to highlight products and services to users.
Nordstrom’s innovative use of integrating Pinterest included their most popular Pinterest products with labelled signage instore and the Nordstrom hahstag. Jeff Bullas states “the campaign was so successful that today every Nordstrom outlet across the US showcases its most popular items on Pinterest with a ‘Top Pinned’ section inside physical stores.”
Twitter introduced the ‘Buy’ button to a segment of users in beta testing, with Facebook following suit. The ‘Buy’ button could potentially enable brands to increase sales though the simplified process (customers aren’t redirected to brand’s website).
From: http://oursocialtimes.com/social-media-trends-in-2015-2/
From: http://oursocialtimes.com/social-media-trends-in-2015-2/
Friday, January 16, 2015
The WeTubeU Team!
Saturday, January 10, 2015
How You Can Embrace the Holy Grail of Online Marketing - From entrepreneur.com
How You Can Embrace the Holy Grail of Online Marketing
By: Mikal E. Belicove
Unless you’ve been sitting in front of a cathode-ray tube TV for the past few years, you’ve seen how important video has become as a marketing tactic.
By: Mikal E. Belicove
Unless you’ve been sitting in front of a cathode-ray tube TV for the past few years, you’ve seen how important video has become as a marketing tactic.
In fact, paid advertising on YouTube converts more customers than any other online platform, according to AOL Platforms. The number of digital video viewers in the U.S. is expected to increasen by more than 22 million between 2013 and 2017, according to eMarketer.
“Ultimately, video is so effective for business marketing because it works,” says Bettina Hein, founder and CEO of Pixability, a Boston advertising and video marketing platform for YouTube. “As the star power—and business pull—of video-content creators only grows, we’ll see more brands effectively leveraging their industry’s independent creators to cross-promote and co-create.”
The beauty of online video is the fact that interactions and conversions can be tracked and measured—something brands could never do with precision on TV. According to the latest data available from the National Venture Capital Association, of the 4,041 VC deals struck in the last year, more than 10 percent (455) were for media and entertainment startups like those that help businesses and brands generate awareness and sales online.
As evidence of interest in the online video space, Disney this year acquired YouTube video supplier Maker Studios for a reported $500 million, while Otter Media—a joint venture between AT&T and The Chernin Group—has taken a majority stake in Fullscreen, the largest independent YouTube network. Not to be left out, AwesomenessTV, one of the most-subscribed-to teen networks on YouTube, was acquired by DreamWorks Animation SKG, which went on to purchase Big Frame, a multichannel network that connects YouTube creators and advertisers, for $15 million.
So what’s next for online video, and how can entrepreneurs take advantage?
Crowdsourcing platforms are promoting independent filmmakers and producers to small companies that want to leverage user-generated video. By partnering with the likes of Tongal.com, Poptent.com or Zooppa.com, a company can have its video marketing assignment seen by thousands of filmmakers across the world, many with built-in followings. The results can be used to help a business tell its story, engage its audience and drive awareness and traffic.
Additionally, companies are turning to online native advertising (aka product placement)—no longer a tactic used exclusively in television or the movies. By aligning your business or brand with a YouTube creator whose following matches your target demographic, you can knock off multiple birds—content creation, audience alignment and a high-profile endorsement—with one stone. Branded Entertainment Network, Sponsify, MediaSpike and Brandertainer are among the companies that facilitate native advertising in online video.
Finally, there are the networks, which affiliate themselves with multiple online video channels. For businesses that possess the in-house talent and creativity to launch a YouTube channel, these networks can offer assistance with programming, funding, digital rights management, audience development and product placement under one roof. Among such networks are Collective Digital Studio, StyleHaul and ChannelFlip.
As it turns out, the means for effective storytelling no longer resides exclusively within your four walls. Outsourcing for the creativity, production value and distribution you need to compete in the age of video makes sense now more than ever before.
From: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239677
From: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239677
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