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If You're Doing The Same Thing You Were A Year Ago, You're Already Behind
March 11, 2014
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Working with radio brands each day, I'm privileged to have a more global view about consumer habits and social platform trends. There's no doubt Facebook is the big dog and will likely remain so for some time. Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerbeg reported that there are 143 million daily active users in the United States and Canada alone.
Yet as I watch other social sites and apps grow, I see untapped opportunities for brands who haven't unlocked their potential because they are not investing in the creativity. And perhaps these social tools are being overlooked because of a lack of time and a lack of belief in their importance.
Facebook provides plenty of scale, there's no debating that. But consider what else is going on out there in the social space. Not every site or app is necessarily right for your demographic, but for the ones that are, there are very cool and rewarding moments just waiting to happen for your station and its fans.
1. Twitter – a powerful companion during live events
The amount of people participating on Twitter continues to grow. In 2013, during the live Oscars show, there were more than 8.9 million tweets around the world containing terms related to the telecast. This year, there were over 14.9 million tweets during the live show.
When executed with wit and personalized acknowledgment, Twitter is a strategic way to own your events, communicate with fans and "pinball" them back to the assets you own, such as the "mothership," the FM/AM stick.
2. There is a 50% crossover between "Instagrammers" and "Tweeters"
Pew Research has found a substantial overlap between users of these platforms. With visual sharing increasing, it only makes sense.
For stations having a hard time with Twitter, perhaps this stat will lead to a more informed purpose.
3. Snapchat users are sharing over 400 million "snaps" a day
No longer is it the "sexting app," "snapping" is now a primary mode of communication for 13 to 25 year olds. Find ways to surprise and create "oh wow" moments with the young end of your demo using Snapchat like Lorde does in this example:
4. "One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words." - Dr. James McQuivey Forrester Research
YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network. But if time is truly limited for 60 second videos - apps, such as Vine, only takes 6 seconds to create. (Or even "Insta-Vine" is 15 seconds.)
Because of the nature of the medium, some radio people just veer away from video. But to remain uninvolved in the world of video is a lost opportunity for radio.
5. Social Media IS Visual
Facebook's top brand pages show that photos receive twice as much interaction than text updates. Instagram is growing faster than Facebook did. And Pinterest offers more referral traffic than Twitter.
This only makes sense with the rise of smartphone usage. People find it easier to snap a photo of their food than typing out on that small keyboard what they are eating.
How can you better bring value to your brand's social connections visually?
There's no doubt the social space is very fluid and fast. And there's more to this arena than just Facebook.
Beyond these usage stats, there are also brand behavior and fan expectations to consider. This is where Jacobs Media's Techsurvey 10 can really help inform your strategy. Fred Jacobs will reveal results at Worldwide Radio Summit 2014 next month.
I know there are chunks of data in Techsurvey10 that will make it clear why you should grow beyond Facebook, but more importantly, why you should be personalizing acknowledgment.
These are just some of the things I watch for when assisting Jacobs Media clients as well as Albright & O'Malley & Brenner's portfolio. If you're heading to Worldwide Radio Summit in Hollywood, CA., reach out to me at lori@jacobsmedia.com. It would be great to meet up.
Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.
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