1. Where did it all begin?

2. Where are we now?

3. Who’s doing it well?

4. What’s the formula for success?

5. Where are we going next?

What I’m going to talk about

A bit about me...

• Passionate about all things digital

• A social media and digital marketing enthusiast

• An avid blogger since 2006

• Currently Earned Media Manager for

Nationwide – focusing on strategy, new trends

and implementation

Content is the ‘glue’ which binds earned media efforts

… and a focus on producing

great content.

Content can be seen as the

‘glue’ which binds earned

media marketing activity, which

includes social media as well

as email, SEO, PR.

What is social media?

Horizontal, peer-to-peer, conversational transfer

Where did it all begin?

1. Literacy – the ability to read, write and

operate technology

1. Low/ zero cost of information

Social media environments – two key requirements :

Share it like Cicero

Whist we often think of social media as

being a relatively new phenomenon, social

media could be said to date back to

Roman times.

There were no printing presses and the

copying of books was done entirely by

hand. There were no formal publishers,

either, so Roman authors relied on word-

of-mouth recommendations and social

distribution of their works via networks of

friends and acquaintances.

Source : Tom Standage

The coffee house culture

Fast forward 1,500 years to the

coffee houses of the 1600’s and

again evidence of social media was

around.

There were coffee houses for

different subjects, something we

see today on sites like LinkedIn and

Facebook.

And class didn’t matter – the coffee

houses generated conversation and

education amongst a wide cross-

section of society.

Source : Tom Standage

Social notworking

As a result of innovation, including the steam press, newspapers and

eventually television, we moved from a two-way, peer-to-peer,

conversational system…

… to a one-way, mass message broadcast system

The people’s radio

An infamous example of this one-way

communication with only very limited

access was the Volksempfänger – or

‘the people’s radio’ – which imposed

the view and vision of one man (Hitler,

the Führer) to an entire nation.

There were no outside broadcasts, no

other conversation and certainly no

alternative points of view, which is the

absolute antithesis of what we

consider to be social media.

How we often think of media: ‘old’ vs. ‘new’ media

The reality: ‘really old’, ‘old’ and ‘new’ media

The Internet is born!

But of course, the origins of

social media in the digital age

began in the early 1960’s, with

the advent of the internet…

World Wide Web – 1.0 and 2.0

…And later email, before the World Wide Web was born

and revolutionised modern communication.

The Trailblazers

The birth of the World Wide Web soon led to the

early social networking platforms and sites,

including AOL Instant Messenger, Friendster and

MySpace.

Whilst it’s probably safe to say that although most

of these sites here have long since disappeared or

fallen out of the public consciousness, they led the

way for the social world we see today.

Five key tenets of social media

Where are we now?

MySpace is usurped

Source : Comscore/ Reuters

With the decline of

MySpace, and the

opposing fortunes

of sites like

Facebook and

Twitter, we started

to see the dawn of

the modern social

media landscape.

Social media is more than just Facebook and Twitter

Source : Brian Solis/ JESS3

In today’s world, there are

literally hundreds – perhaps

thousands – of social networking

sites, platforms and apps,

catering for a multitude of niches,

themes and interests.

Facts and figures:

• Facebook has over 1.35

billon users

• Twitter is the fastest

growing social network

with over 550 million

users

• Over 500 million

registered users on

Google+

• Instagram is now bigger

than Twitter!

Source : Search Engine Journal

Who’s doing it well?

Social media and business

Source : Search Engine Journal

Unsurprisingly, businesses

and marketers have taken

to social media to exploit

the opportunities on offer,

something that is likely to

continue across all sectors

and industries.

Case study: Red Bull has a clear raison d’être

Red Bull has successfully used

social media to propel the brand

into the public’s consciousness by

establishing a clear, concise

raison d’être and purpose for their

brand and presence on social

media.

There’s very little – if any –

mentions or images of the drink.

They are all about a lifestyle –

extreme sports – and the events

and athletes they sponsor.

Red Bull creates experiences within their channels

Red Bull has also created

a reason for users to visit

them on their social

channels. On Facebook

followers can take part in

games and apps, whilst on

Instagram they can view

the brands latest videos

and pictures from around

the world.

Visa integrated social into their Sochi 2014 campaign

Visa on Twitter

Visa on Vine

Case study: Bank of America – consistent branding and UX

As with Red Bull, Bank of America has a consistent theme and

purpose: “to supply our customers with the resources and

answers they need to support their financial lives”.

Tools and calculators in multiple places…

Also like Red Bull, Bank of

America recognise the

importance of producing great

content for their customers on

the platforms of their choice,

such as Facebook…

…also link back to their owned media channels

… as well as linking back to their website and other owned media

channels for important pieces of content. They also have a consistent,

on-brand, professional presence and user experience across a variety

of core social platforms.

What’s the formula for success?

So what’s the secret to success?

Five key tenets of social media

Social media should link with the brand’s core values

Drive awareness through paid, earned and owned channels

Social media is another channel in which to distribute and promote

content and should be used to drive awareness in tandem with other

media channels and the brand’s digital real estate.

Develop a content strategy

Source : Altimeter Group

A content strategy allows brands to develop an effective ‘culture of content’ that puts the

emphasis on developing content that meets both a brand and user’s goals…

The value of content at given quality levels

Source : Moz

... which in turn helps us to focus on producing the best, most relevant content for our

owned and rented channels.

Only great content will cut through the clutter

Source : Velocity Partners

So be confident in the content your brand stands for

Source : Velocity Partners

Amplify content with effective use of social media

There’s often a focus on social media whilst it should in fact be content. If we think of

content as a fire, social media – like SEO, email and PR – is the gasoline that amplifies

and promotes it to an audience.

Where are we going next?

Key trend 1: Mobile is here and will only continue to grow

Mobile is already here (and has been here for a while) and but will only continue to increase

in importance. 71% of users currently access social media from a mobile device so content

must be designed and optimised for mobile and tablet usage.

Source : Nielsen 2012

Most social networks are now ‘mobile first’

% of time spent on social networks in the US, by platform

Key trend 2: Data is key to content creation

As with mobile, the

focus on data is here

already but as our

social networks and

search engines

become increasingly

saturated with content,

data can give us an

edge.

What users engage on

what social channels?

What content works

best on which social

networks?

Key trend 3: The rise of the ephemeralnet

The rise of apps like Snapchat, Secret and Whisper is allowing the increasingly influential digital

natives (a generation that have always had the internet in their lifetimes) to engage with friends

without documentation and data collection.

The NSA/ PRISM affair, and a rising concern around privacy, mean that apps like these and search

engines such as Duck Duck Go, allow users to engage online without leaving such a distinctive

digital footprint.

Key trend 4: Visual and video content takes centre stage

Due to the rise in mobile, high-speed wireless and 4G internet connections, and decreasing

data costs, platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram and Vine, as well as emerging video

platforms such as Meerkat and Periscope, are meeting the demands for more ‘snackable’,

visual content.

Key trend 5: ‘Pay to play’

Source : convinceandconvert.com

The free social media lunch many brands used to enjoy appears to becoming smaller, as

sites like Facebook, Twitter and even Pinterest now provide promoted options to reach

audiences.

Key trend 5: ‘Pay to play’

Source : dangerousminds.net

Facebook’s ‘reachpocolypse’ – the

steady decrease in organic reach to

users’ Newsfeeds – is strongly linked

to the company’s IPO and focus on

delivering value for shareholders.

Some suggest Facebook is forcing

brands to now pay to reach their

followers to boost profits although it

may also be a way of ‘protecting’

users’ Newsfeeds from sub-standard

brand content.

To increase reach organically, brands

need to provide quality, relevant,

timely content that meets users’

needs.

Summary

Define a clear purpose or raison d’être

Start and continue with the brand in mind

Create content that resonates

Don’t put all investment into social

– your owned channel/ website is key

Remember the five key tenets of social media :

Thank you for reading!

Discover more from me:

Blog : www.gavinllewellyn.com

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