10 Years of Instagram

“Doin’ it for the Gram”

“Slide into my DMs”

“Double tap to like!”

Who knew that Instagram would have such a cultural impact when it launched a decade ago?

Nowadays we take the channel for granted. It’s the second biggest social channel in the world. It’s part of the Facebook portfolio of apps, and it is used by everyone, from normal people to politicians to sports and music superstars.

This Guardian Today in Focus podcast is an interesting summary of the Instagram decade. 

I wonder which channel we will be talking about in 2030? 

Using the Zeitgeist on Social Media

The 2018 World Cup. Love Island. Wimbledon. Queer Eye.

If you haven’t heard of any of these events or programs over the last month then where the hell have you been?!

Only joking…slightly!

There’s nothing wrong with having zero personal interest in some, or all, of the above but there is something to be said in following the current cultural zeitgeist if you manage social media channels for your business, or someone else’s.

Mainstream Audiences

I completely understand if you have zero interest in all of the above from a personal perspective but if you’re marketing to a mainstream B2C audience between the ages of 18 – 50 you can guarantee a lot of them do.

A quick walk down any street, head-pop into any workplace or brief glance at social media would reveal as much.

The UK and Ireland was awash with Love Island drama, last minute World Cup goals, the will-he-won’t-he play Andy Murray saga, and the joy of a rebooted series on Netflix.

Obviously much more was happening but that’s beside the point. From a social media marketing point of view this was all great content fodder brimming with potential. There were countless angles on which to grab attention and create humour, debate, emotion, news etc.

Multiple brands and businesses, local and national, jumped on board with plenty of success and the last 4-6 weeks is a mini case study in the power of the zeitgeist, especially when it comes to social media.

Industry Specific

All of that might seem fun but completely distant, almost untouchable, for B2B or niche industry marketers out there, however the lesson is still applicable.

In every industry there are news stories, waves, trends and points of discussion that represent the mini zeitgeist of that market.

Just this week the ridiculously successful children’s SLIME market (seriously, slime?!) was rocked with news of potentially dangerous chemicals.

Maybe this represents the perfect opportunity for someone producing hand-crafted, 100% organic, locally sourced slime…

If that isn’t yet a thing then get in touch (if you can make slime) and we’ll make a fortune together!

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Moving swiftly on…

This isn’t a catchall silver bullet, simply another tactic or mindset that can be incorporated into an overarching social media strategy to great effect.

The power of the zeitgeist isn’t new in marketing or social media but this summer has been another reminder that “trending” is important for a reason.  

The Death of Facebook…Again?

If you’ve followed the rise of Facebook over the last decade you’ll probably have heard about “the death of Facebook” on more than one occasion.

As the world’s biggest social media platform Facebook is an easy target for everyone from advertisers to governments to regular users in the general public. As a result, we’ve seen this type of headline time and time again.

Is this really the end for Facebook? What does the future hold for the channel synonymous with social media?

Pivot, Pivot…PIVOT!*

You don’t need an MBA or years of experience in the business world to recognise that Mark Zuckerberg has been a pretty impressive founder and CEO up to this point.

With this in mind, and a history of acquisitions including Instagram and aggressively attacking competitors like Snapchat, it’s fair to assume that Facebook will pivot and react, as and when younger audience attention shifts.

However, even with this in mind it’s unlikely Facebook will ever again become the “go-to” place for younger audiences. This is primarily because it now has such a large adult and senior audience that the numbers will almost certainly always skew upwards.

Also, when you combine the fact that Zuckerberg is unlikely to turn his back on the highly lucrative mature audiences anytime soon with the age-old understanding that kids, teens and younger groups always want their “own” space, on and offline, it’s safe to say Facebook will most likely never return to its younger, cooler image of approximately 2008-2012.

*Who got the Friends reference?

Segmented Digital Messaging

Marketers and advertisers are no strangers to segmented audiences and messaging and this may develop further in the coming years, more so than even at present.

To a certain extent businesses, marketers and advertisers already understand that different social media channels mean different audiences (think Snapchat for under 25s etc.).

As a result, and if younger users continually drop-off, or never join, Facebook the social media channel could simply become a platform to reach audiences in the over thirties market.

This would essentially represent a 180 degrees flip, as for years the channel was seen as a platform to reach teenagers, university students and those in their early twenties, but wouldn’t kill the channel by a long shot.

In the near future you could see marketers use Snapchat and Instagram to reach anyone under thirty, Facebook for over thirties and one or two other experimental channels for teenagers or seniors.

Part of the Mainstream

With all of the above in mind one of the most likely developments (it’s happening already) is that Facebook simply becomes part of the mainstream media machine we’ve all known, in some shape or form, throughout our lives.

For many the Brexit and US Presidential political results of 2016 represented a watershed moment as Facebook had reached the mainstream as a key media channel. It could even be this increased awareness, of the channel and its powers over society, that is leading to younger audiences moving away.

Whatever the reasons, becoming part of the mainstream media offering in no way means Facebook is nearing grim death. It might simply no-longer be where the cool kids hang out…although some would say that happened years ago!

What to Do?

As always it’s best to let these things play out and simply maintain an awareness of any major changes.

If you’re in the business of marketing or selling to anyone over the age of 25 then this is probably a non-issue. If you target teenage or young adult markets it’s time to get experimental…if you haven’t already.

Any other questions on social media for business, or digital marketing in general, contact me here.

Branding is More Important than ever in the Internet of Things

Recently I had a conversation with a friend who was eulogising about the benefits of having an Amazon Dash Button connected to their fridge at home.

For the uninitiated, the Amazon Dash Button is the latest brainchild of Jeff Bezos’ team and falls under the category of an “Internet of Things” product. Essentially this button lets any user simply reorder a product with one simple click – nothing more, nothing less.

A general rule of thumb in the web 2.0 world is that a customer should be no-more than “three clicks” away from exactly what they want on your website at any one time. The Amazon Dash Button crushes that level of efficiency and thus pushes the consumer journey on yet another step.

So far so good. Right?

From a practical point of view this sounds perfect for the consumer. They get exactly what they want with minimal fuss.

The dark side, however, is that we enter product or brand echo chambers from which we never escape without proactive action.

Think of the echo chamber issue that’s currently impacting social media, news and politics and then multiply it into every other facet of your life and beyond.

Products of the Near Future

As briefly mentioned above, the Amazon Dash Button is already here. You can buy multiple variations for different parts of your home (fridge, washing machine, bathroom etc.), set it up via your smart device and Amazon account, and never again go without your favourite brands.

Current options include the ability to re-order Heineken beers, Dettol bleach, Duracell batteries, Listerine mouthwash and so much more.

Next up is British Gas’ Hive product. Hive is a smart home heating system that, once installed, allows you to control your home temperature, turn heating on and off and control hot water all from the screen of your smart device, no matter where you are.

Another interesting smart, Internet of Things, product is the FitBark.

It might be pretty obvious but, if you haven't already guessed it, the FitBark is essentially the FitBit for dogs and it’s yet another example of smart products entering every facet of our lives, and this is just the beginning! 

Why Branding is Critical

With all of that in mind, branding is becoming even more crucial than ever before.

Imagine a world where a household only drinks and reorders (through one simple button click) one type of beer. No more competition for shelf space at the supermarket or local off-license, no-more price promotions to entice new customers…

Just one beer bought over and over again through the power of that one initial message, campaign or advertisement that cut through the noise and converted.

That’s what we’re potentially talking about in a product echo chamber world and the same scenario can be replicated over and over again. One gas supplier, one toothpaste, one mouthwash, one dog product brand, on and on and on…

Product and brand monopolies aren’t new ideas but this level of convenience paired with the monopolisation of our data, on personal, public and societal scales, means top-level branding and consumer awareness is becoming even more important than ever before.

Moving Forward

Feeling gloomy? Don’t be!

This is just the latest business challenge and the best always overcome and succeed.

This new and developing Internet of Things reality simply means a re-focusing and doubling down on branding is an essential part of any consumer brand strategy.

From a practical point of view it means focusing on developing brand, creating awareness and capturing attention via social media (where modern attention primarily exists) and other key channels. It means tapping into consumer wants and needs more than ever before, delivering a brand story that aligns with customer values and resonates over time, and it means providing the highest quality possible because these product echo chambers will most likely reward quality alongside, or potentially above, price.

The Internet of Things is here, the first and second waves of products is also here but in the fantastic words of Ray Dalio (billionaire investor) just remember - “If you worry, don’t worry and if you don’t worry, worry!”

Content Marketing: Learning from HP’s The Wolf

Content marketing, in all its various forms, has been around for decades but it’s probably fair to say that the digital age has lead to an explosion in both quantity and importance over the last few years.

Unfortunately quality isn’t always at the forefront of the content marketing world but in HP’s 2017 mini series The Wolf we have a standout winner and something to draw serious lessons from.

The Wolf by HP

If you’re not yet acquainted with it, The Wolf is an online mini series, created by HP to highlight IT security and cyber crime risks in printers, staring Christian Slater.

See below to watch The Wolf and the sequel The Wolf: The Hunt Continues.

Eagle-eyed readers, or TV bingers, might recognise Slater from his most recent hit, Amazon’s Mr Robot. That series revolves around the dark underbelly of the digital world so it’s clear why The Wolf producers cast the Hollywood star in their new content marketing extravaganza.

Why You Should Care About The Wolf

If you’ve got this far then you might be wondering why you or any other business or marketing person should care about The Wolf or whatever the hell HP are doing.

Well, think about it. Did it captivate you? Did it grab your attention and convey important messages?

HP are banking on getting affirmative “Yes!” answers to all of the above questions and the majority of viewers and readers probably answered exactly that.

By creating something captivating HP were able to deliver key business messages, aligning closely with their own products and services, whilst retaining consumer attention.

If you were like me you didn’t switch off once throughout the entire 14 minutes over the two videos – a miracle in the social media age of short form content!

The SME Option

So what does this mean for the average SME out there?

I know, I know… We don’t all have six figure budgets to blow on incredible directors, producers, Hollywood stars and A-list screenwriters!

However, that isn’t the excuse and permission to do nothing. It’s a limitation and nothing more.

Huge brands like HP don’t waste money on projects like The Wolf for goodwill or entertainment, they do it because they understand that consumer attention is the most valuable commodity in the business world and they won’t capture it with bland, boring, predictable messaging and content.

So for SMEs it means we have to try to create content that captivates, entertains, educates, informs and more!

This can be at whichever level you operate, locally, regionally, nationally or beyond, and however you like, but as the Internet gets noisier it becomes ever more important.

Creativity is a huge currency in a world that is now saturated with marketing and advertising messages so with that in mind, get brainstorming and if you don’t have the creativity, draft in someone who does.

Without creativity your business will never stand out from the crowd, on or offline. This is true in both B2C and B2B because in both markets you’re trying to connect with, and capture the attention of, another human and we’re all the same in that we’ll only respond to something that triggers something inside us.

Take a leaf out of the HP book and go for it.

Getting Awareness Through Engagement on Social Media

“Engagement” and “Awareness” might sound like digital marketing buzzwords (they are…but hear me out…) but they are absolutely crucial in today’s social media marketing world.

In many cases the two elements go hand in hand in a social media context as more engagement generally leads to more awareness via the “word of mouth” friendly algorithms of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter etc.

The result of this means that we need to constantly keep both elements at the forefront of our minds throughout the content creation process.

Why Awareness is Crucial

Awareness, attention, exposure… Each word carries its own slight variation in meaning but at the core, they all mean the same thing in a marketing and business context…

You need EYES and EARS on your business before you can ever generate qualified leads or sales.

You might have the best product, service or message in the world but if nobody is listening then nobody will care. You have to grab that attention first, way before a potential sale can ever be considered, by you or the customer.

How do we grab attention and get eyes on our business in a social media world?

Engagement.

Why Engagement is Key

Obviously there are more ways to grab attention than just engagement but it can be a seriously powerful element within your social media marketing plans as it creates that “word of mouth” reach that otherwise could only be achieved via paid for advertising.

Of course, you could always combine the two for double the fun…

 What is engagement on social media? For me it’s all about comments.

I know that you can include likes and shares in the engagement bubble (and they’re worthwhile in their own way) but comments generate a different level of traction, which in turn gains the customer eyes and ears we all seek out.

If you look at Facebook in a 2017 world, the content that achieves the widest organic reach generally encourages comments. These comments could be loosely split into three categories – answers, debate and the tagging of other Facebook friends. 

Asking for It!

So, how do we get this engagement and the resulting awareness?

One of the easiest and most effective ways of creating more engagement is by simply asking for it!

Think about it (or even better, check your newsfeed and see), how many times have you seen a piece of content that says “tag a friend”, asks a question or some other variation of the two?

The businesses, brands and personalities behind these pieces of content know that engagement is crucial to spreading reach and awareness far beyond their budget capabilities and they know that asking for it works!

Creating

If you’re still with me (and believe in everything that has been said above…) then it’s time to start the creation process.

Think about the things (topics, issues, debates, jokes etc.) that really get your customers talking and go from there!

If you have any questions, contact me here!

Don’t Build an App for Your Business! (Unless It’s Absolutely Necessary…)

Small businesses do not need their own smartphone or tablet apps.

This might seem strange, coming from a “digital marketing” person, but since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, and the subsequent smartphone takeover of our culture, there has been a growing “app trend” amongst small businesses and it’s wasting their time and money.  

The worst thing about this trend is that the small businesses involved aren’t actually to blame. It’s the app building companies and developers who swoop in, promise the world and then make a swift exit upon completion and sign-off.

Whether they do this innocently and naively (unaware of the current digital marketplace) or do so knowing full well that the new app will provide little benefit isn’t for me to say. Both options reflect badly.  

The primary reason that it reflects badly is because the “build your own app” deal rarely represents the best use of time, money and other resources needed for the business involved.

Why is this?

The Crowded Marketplace

You’ve most likely already experienced it in some shape or form.

You visit a small local business (an SME in professional terms) and are either asked to download their new app or notice it via in-store or online marketing messages.

These apps usually encourage you to download with the promise of exclusive offers, more content or some other feature.

Unfortunately, very few of us ever actually care enough to download the app in question.

We might love the local business, they could be our favourite barber, café or restaurant, but our smartphones are already crammed with much bigger, more unique apps vying for our attention and phone memory/storage.

The app stores are packed with thousands of apps fighting for our downloads and gaining a critical mass of downloads (to make the project worthwhile) can be almost impossible. Especially if you’re not offering something unique or valuable.

If customers can book their stay using AirBnB, order takeaway via Just Eat, or learn more about your business on Facebook or even on your official website, then that’s most likely where they’re going to go right now. This means you’re always going to be fighting an uphill battle unless your app offers something truly unique via functionality.

Follow the Attention

So, what next?

Well, if that’s the negative the positive is that as business owners and managers you have countless options out there waiting to be properly exploited.

Whether you’re looking to attract customers online or offline the key is to follow the attention.

In a digital marketing context this means using the biggest channels currently available to us. Right now that generally means some combination of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIN and Google Search but if you want to research this yourself do three things today:

Audit what digital apps/websites you personally use on a daily basis

Ask friends, family and colleagues what they use on a daily basis 

Check out Apple/Android’s Top Free Apps lists for a UK or global picture

After you’ve done this you can then make an informed decision on what channels to use for your business and move forward.

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Apps are brilliant. From Headspace to YouTube and Spotify to Soundcloud we can do and enjoy so many things using our smartphones and tablets but unfortunately, small businesses will rarely be able to crack this market.

If you properly research what you, your friends and family use on a daily basis you’ll quickly notice that the majority of people only use 5-10 apps ever and muscling in on that market is a huge task.

Focus your efforts on moving with public attention and go from there.

If you’ve made the first leap but aren’t sure how to use social media channels and Google Search for your business get in touch here!

Marketing to the Masses and One on One

In amidst the usual Donald Trump news, never-ending Brexit talks and St Patrick’s Day celebrations last week you may or may not have noticed the results of the Dutch general elections come and go.

The elections aren’t, and would never be, a major concern for anyone in Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK but one story stuck out for me on a purely marketing basis…

The Jesse Klaver Method

Last week, despite the centre-right party VVD becoming the largest party in the Netherlands, one of the biggest stories was the rise of the GreenLeft party.

The GreenLeft, founded just 25 years ago, mostly by outsiders, pacifists and radicals, has now become the left’s biggest party in the country under the guidance of their 30 year-old leader Jesse Klaver.

Reading into the story revealed that one of the key reasons for this growth was Jesse Klaver’s use of digital tools and his focus on delivering key party messages first on a one-to-one basis and then to hundreds and thousands afterwards.

Klaver used Meetup.com, first starting in 2015, to make direct and constant contact with tiny groups of people that eventually built into a huge network of supporters and followers.

The entire campaign culminated and ended with a massive event in Amsterdam where 5000 people were present and another 5000 watched via Facebook Live!

Social Media is Personal

You might be reading thinking, “Why as a business or marketer should I care?”

The reason I think we should all care as marketers and businesses, and the reason the story stood out to me in the first place, is because digital marketing is about marketing to the masses AND one on one.

It’s about doing both and sometimes the second half of the equation seems to get forgotten.

With the rise of different social media channels and incredible advertising platforms the focus has become more and more about reaching as many people as possible all at once and while I agree with this I also think it’s important we remember how powerful the “one on one” side can be.

Replying to comments on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter and engaging with individual people on Instagram can slowly build up over time just as all those Meetups did for Jesse Klaver.

Thankfully, these types of actions perfectly compliment larger tactics like advertising campaigns and email marketing.

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I’ve found that this approach works especially well when marketing specific events as there are always one or two inevitable queries or questions that go unanswered in broader marketing messages and campaigns.

What do you do to combine both tactics? Let me know.

Can a Business Use Memes for Marketing?

When you think about it, the Internet is a seriously strange place and since the birth and boom of social media we’ve seen an amplification of all that weirdness out there.

Take a minute and think about the most common things you see on a platform like Facebook. If you’re like most Facebook users you’ll probably see your fair share of cat videos, local town drama (via friends or family), content from businesses and brands and finally memes.

Hold on… What the hell is a “meme”?

What is a Meme?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary a meme is –

“An element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.”

Urban Dictionary define it as-

“in blogspeak, an idea that is spread from blog to blog”

Essentially it’s a small piece of content, usually an image or GIF, influenced by or referencing something in pop culture that then gains virality.

If you’re still not sure, take a look at the images below and chances are you’ve seen a few memes during your time Internet browsing over the last few years.

Can a Business Use Memes?

So, why the hell are we talking about memes in the first place?

Well, as social media marketing is about joining the conversation and gaining as much exposure for your business as possible, memes, in the right circumstances, represent a great marketing opportunity.

The opportunity is twofold:

• So many businesses out there struggle to constantly generate the fresh and creative ideas needed in a fast-moving social media focused world.
• Memes by their definition are (more) shareable pieces of content so if you time it right and use the right meme with the right audience you could increase your reach way beyond normal results.

Are Businesses Actually Doing This?

As with every tactic some audiences will be more responsive than others but plenty of businesses out there use memes to increase exposure and engagement on social media channels.

Cool FM is a great example here in Northern Ireland and just this month Nintendo used the “Roll Safe” meme for a funny piece of shareable content. If you’re not familiar, the Roll Safe meme, which gained popularity in January 2017, originally comes from a BBC3 comedy and features logically sound but absurd advice.

See an original example alongside the Nintendo version below.

So What Next?

This isn’t about thinking memes are crucial to digital marketing (or even viable for some businesses and audiences) it just about highlighting that sometimes ideas are right there in front of you in your newsfeeds.

Keep an eye out for memes from now on in your personal social newsfeeds, see if you can spot businesses using them and, if you’re brave enough, give it a go yourself!

What is a #Hashtag?

The hashtag (this symbol ---> #) celebrates its 10th Internet anniversary this year but if you’re still struggling to get to grips with it never fear, read on…

What is a Hashtag?

The hashtag is simply a short text-based link preceded by the pound symbol (#) and it was first used in 2007 initially by Twitter developers to group together topics, content or conversations.

Since its initial inception the hashtag has taken on a life of its own and can now be seen on most major social media channels including Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. You’ll also occasionally see hashtags on Facebook posts but they are less commonly used on the world’s biggest social platform. 

Why use Hashtags?

Put simply the correct use of hashtags can increase exposure and put your content in-front of people that would never otherwise come in contact with your brand, business or profile.

Not bad for a little symbol and a piece of text.

As a general rule of thumb social media channels, such as Twitter or Instagram, require users to follow your profile in order to see your tweets, text, image or video posts.

Hashtags allow you and users to bypass this.

When you post a piece of content using the hashtag #NorthernIreland people searching for anything #NorthernIreland related will get the chance to see your post even if they don’t follow your profile!

This is especially great when you’re just starting out, with zero or very few followers, or trying to build a following, as it puts your message and content in front of interested groups of people.

How to Use Hashtags?

For this section we’ll stick to Instagram and Twitter as they’re currently the biggest social media platforms when it comes to hashtag use.

To use hashtags you simply post your tweet (if you’re on Twitter) or image/video (if you’re on Instagram) and type to add hashtags within the text or caption sections of the post. Nothing more complicated than that!

It’s important to note that hashtags:

• Can’t include spaces (So you type #ManchesterUnited rather than #Manchester United)
• Can’t include punctuation
• Can’t include the @ symbol
• Can include numbers
• Can include upper and lower case letters (They don’t make a difference)

Those are literally the only limitations. After that your hashtag can be whatever you want it to be! So you can use #candles if you craft and sell candles or #Elvis if you want to discuss the King.

The possibilities are endless but the skill, when it comes to business use, is finding the right hashtags to increase your exposure and awareness…

Where to Use Hashtags? 

As previously stated you can use hashtags on Facebook, as the social media platform first introduced them in 2013, but in reality hashtags are biggest on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest at the time of writing.

When considering which hashtags to use on Twitter you might want to look at the “Trends” section of the app which highlights popular, or widely used, hashtags specific to location.

When using hashtags on Instagram it’s well worth being aware that you can include up to 30 hashtags per post. This can give you the scope to tag everything including your product or service, industry, location and anything else related.

Which Hashtags Should I Use?

As said before hashtags can be anything and everything meaning each brand, business and industry could have completely different hashtags to the next.

To begin with it’s always best to keep things simple and simply hashtag whatever your content is about. So if you’re tweeting about surfing in Northern Ireland you might use #Surfing and #NorthCoast and so on.

When you want to discover more and begin researching which hashtags to use, take a look at competitors within your market to get some basic ideas. After that you might want to push the boat out further and experiment with popular hashtags that don’t necessarily directly match up with your business but could represent a great opportunity.

Should I Create My Own Hashtag?

People create their own hashtags all the time. It’s a daily occurrence worldwide and a quick look at Twitter or Instagram will reveal as much.  

Having said that, for businesses lacking the ever-present exposure of the world’s biggest brands (Apple, Coca Cola etc.) it may be better to focus on popular or regularly browsed hashtags rather than inventing new ones.

As ever it’s about experimenting with what works and what doesn’t. You could stumble across a hashtag your followers/customers love.

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This is just a brief overview and the best way to learn is to start doing! So get out there and hashtag until you’re an expert!