By Nick Johnson - July 1st, 2013
The rise of social TV, choosing the right social channel and the importance of personalised content
Which social channel is right for your message?
With a new social media network appearing almost daily, corporations need to think carefully about which of these networks they maintain a presence on. Clearly the Trinity of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are perhaps given, but what about Google+ or Pinterest?
A new infographic from Infographics.sg reveals that all social media networks are not alike. Campaigns clearly need to be well targeted to ensure their messages reach the intended audience. Google+ for instance seems to be growing in popularity with younger audiences perhaps because of hangouts, which feed the sharing experience. Whereas, the over 34 age group seems to favour Pinterest that is showing itself to be a powerful brand outlet with a high propensity to buy by its users.
Over 50% of social media users want personalised content
As social media has become more popular, users have realised that in order to receive the best deals from their favourite brands they have to share their personal information. New research suggests that more social media users than ever are happy to do this.
The study from Intent HQ indicates that social media users are making even closer connections with the brands they favour. Just over a third also state that they are now more selective about the information they share. But over half of the 2,000 adults in the UK that were quizzed stated they use social login to gain a personalised experience.
Says Jonathan Lakin, CEO of Intent HQ: “We’ve identified a clear consumer openness to social personalization, when users know why they are sharing their social data and what they will get in return. People are becoming more savvy and selective about what they share on social networks, which only makes the data being made available much richer for true personalization and creating a tailored online experience. This huge volume of data is incredibly powerful, allowing marketers to go far beyond domain specific information in their personalization strategy, targeting intent as opposed to purely using lagging data.”
Social login has continued to rise in popularity, as consumers realise the ease with which this can gain them additional benefits. Corporations looking to foster even greater ties to their social media communities should have social login as part of their brand strategy.
The rise of social TV
The second screen phenomenon has been increasing its influence over the last two years since the rise of the tablet PC and smartphone. Research focusing on TV viewing and social media usage has made some interesting and potentially far-reaching conclusions: The desire to share their thoughts in real-time while watching a TV program is now a powerful paradigm that brands need to pay attention to.
Not surprisingly broadcasters and social media platform developers alike are seeing convergence in these sectors. The report from Business Insider cites the massive ad budgets that TV currently enjoys and how this could be influenced by social media that is accessed via the second screen. In the US alone $350 billion was spent on global TV ads in 2012.
The report concludes: “Consumers appear to love using social media while they watch TV. Many discuss what they're watching, and these conversations continue long after air-time, with TV-linked chatter accounting for a significant percentage of overall social media activity.”
It adds that advertisers aim should be: “not to compete with social media, but to use it so that televised shows, events, and ad campaigns won more audience and audience participation. Social TV is already here," it said.
Until next time….
The Useful Social Media team.