Top tips for social media management during Covid-19 and beyond As New Zealand, along with the rest of the world, comes to terms with the Covid-19 pandemic, there’s never been a more pertinent time to harness the power of social media for your business.
2019 Queenstown Social Media Holiday Calendar With the silly season behind us, it’s time to start nailing your social media planning for 2019. To get you started, we’ve created a downloadable 2019 Queenstown Social Media Holiday Calendar to make sure you’re utilising trending holiday dates for your social media content. From NZ Conservation Week to…
Best photography and videography apps of 2018 We attended a Business Building Block session with Chris Gillman Gable last week to unlock the power of our smartphones. After the session, SPR’s Carlie was inspired to try them out for herself so here’s a summary of the best photography and videography apps 2018. Smartphone cameras continue…
Social media – it’s all-seeing and all-powerful but can be an almighty waste of time and money if you dive in without a plan. To reap the rewards of social media you need to build a clear strategy outlining goals, audience, competition and content. We’ve put together an easy six-step social media strategy to get…
Make SMART goals.
Like any business plan the first step to creating a social media strategy is to establish goals, giving you the ability to measure your success and return on investment.
Pro Tip: Align your social media goals with your overall business and marketing strategy to show some more ‘old school’ execs the true value of social media.
Each of your goals should be:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
Broad business goal: to grow my business.
Social media SMART goal: I will acquire 300 new followers on Instagram within two months by engaging with followers, running a paid Instagram advertising campaign and networking with local businesses. This will enable me to grow my business and increase my revenue.
For your social media strategy start by assessing your business goals and writing a social media SMART goal to align with each one.
It may seem simple, but do you really know who your audience is and where they’re active online? Is your Facebook audience different to your Instagram audience?
Knowing what your audience wants to see on social media is key to a successful social media strategy. You need to craft content that appeals to your specific audience, so they’ll like, comment on and share your posts.
Most social media platforms offer great (and free – YAY!) analytic tools that show detailed insights about your audience. Familiarise yourself with their age, location and when they’re most active online to create ‘personas’. These personas will help you visualise your audience as real people (rather than numbers) and help you cater to their actual interests, passions and needs.
It’s time to start gathering data.
Competition
You probably already know who your key competitors are so take the time to assess/stalk (it’s not creepy when it’s for work) their social media channels. Some things to note:
Choose three key competitors and complete a SWOT analysis to help you understand your competitive advantage and how you can ‘outplay’ your competitors online.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Pro Tip: use competitors as your inspiration, but don’t copy. Chances are they have you listed as a competitor too, so remember you still need to be unique and authentic with your posts!
Conduct a brief social media audit
Perform a social media audit to review what’s working and what needs improvement on your social media channels.
There’s lots of paid social media tools out there to make auditing a breeze, but here’s the basics that everyone can do (set up a spreadsheet to keep all your data in one place):
Social listening
If you’re serious about your social media strategy, investing in social listening software can save you time and money. Platforms such as HootSuite, Sprout Social, Zoho Social, Mention, Meltwater etc make social listening a breeze and can help you track trends, monitor competitors and compile data among many other handy tools. Each platform has pros and cons, so do your research before committing to buy.
Build a mission statement for each of your social media platforms. This enables you to take the data collected above and create a short statement that outlines exactly who we are and what we do.
Follow this format:
[Business name’s] [social media platform] is where [audience] finds [content] to [benefit].
Pro Tip: this should be brief, where we went into detail above about audience and content, here we need to rein it in.
Building company: Bob Builder’s Facebook page is where local Queenstown homeowners find inspiring images and video content to help plan for their new home.
Cafe: Corner Café’s Instagram is where young New Zealand-based foodies and coffee lovers find fun, creative and colourful images that inspire them to visit and encourage ‘regramming’.
Mum blogger: Diana’s Diary Facebook page is where young mums across the world find helpful tips and funny anecdotes to encourage conversation and engagement with each other.
Bank: Frank’s Financial LinkedIn profile is where entrepreneurs and business owners find useful information, advice, insights, resources and inspiration for running and growing their businesses.
It’s time to start building your content calendar.
Creating great content is essential but it’s equally important to have a plan in place for when you’ll share content to get the maximum impact. Make a calendar that details:
Make sure your content and calendar reflect the mission statement you’ve assigned to each social profile so that everything you post is working to support your business goals.
Keep your content aligned with your audience, always ask yourself who the content is for, and how they should interact with it.
Pro Tip: As a rule, 80% of your content should be fun, informative or entertaining and only 20% should directly promote your brand.
Hurrah! You have a stellar social media calendar, followers have quadrupled, videos have gone viral and your boss gives you a high five every morning!
This hasn’t happened for you yet? Don’t worry, you probably won’t get your social media strategy 100% right on the first try (this happens with all business plans), simply monitor what works and adjust your strategy accordingly. Continue with your social media auditing, schedule in weekly, monthly or quarterly as desired and re-evaluate your SMART goals.
Sounds like a lot of work? The truth is, building a successful social strategy isn’t a five-minute job, and in today’s online world it’s one of the most effective marketing tools around. Need a hand? Get in touch to find out how we can help create a tailored social media strategy for your business!
Let’s talk Instagram Stories. Most of us watch them, but do you use them for your business? With over one billion monthly active users*, Instagram’s popularity and growth continues to skyrocket. As savvy business owners, we need to stay ahead of trends and learn to communicate with our audience on their level. One of Instagram’s…
It’s important to acknowledge that your audience wants to see two very different things from your Instagram. Firstly, they want to see an ‘on-brand’, gorgeous, well-thought-out feed.
Secondly, they want to see an ‘insider’s perspective’, something the average person won’t see. Because Instagram Stories only last for 24 hours, businesses can present an unembellished, real-life look at what goes on behind the scenes.
Since Instagram updated their algorithm in late 2017, it’s much harder for your brand to be found if you only post to your feed. Stories on the other hand always appear at the top of a follower’s feed and helps your brand remain visible. Popular Stories also appear at the top of the Explore page, and if you’ve tagged a location it appears in location-based Stories automatically compiled by Instagram, helping your profile gain an even wider reach.
They’re called Instagram Stories for a reason. If you’re boring, people won’t come back to your feed for more.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Behind the scenes – Show your business has real people with personalities. Give your audience an insider view into your brand, who are you and what you represent.
Use stories to get real-time feedback – Question your followers about a new product or idea using Instagram’s poll feature. This provides you with live feedback and makes your audience feel valued.
Collaborate with other brands – Find likeminded brands and work together on a project, event or giveaway.
Create live tutorials – Use your Stories to give advice, make ‘how-to’ slideshows or answer FAQ’s.
Try an Instagram takeover – Hand over your Instagram account to someone else for a day or two. This could be your CEO or a special guest (think influencers, local photographers etc). This gives a different voice to your account and shows a new and exciting perspective.
Take your e-commerce to the next level – Bring your ‘shop-able’ looks to life using your Stories. With Instagram’s rollout of new Shopping Tags, which enable businesses to link to their website using price and description tags, you should be looking at how to best optimise your e-commerce capabilities.
Back in December 2017, Instagram released a new ‘Highlights’ feature that has changed the way people interact with the platform. It enables you to select a series of Stories and feature them below the bio section of your profile.
NOTE: THIS IS SIGNIFICANT FOR BUSINESSES!
Instagram Stories Highlights gives you the ability to have unlimited links for an unlimited time in your bio (a clear departure from the 24-hour Stories format we have previously seen). This means you can now direct your followers to any number of external pages like your website, an event, other channels etc, through a simple tap.
The placement of Story Highlights allows you to go beyond the 150 of character limit of your bio to show people what your account is all about and why it’s worth a ‘follow’.
Here’s some ideas on how to use Highlights:
Airbnb’s Interactive Quizzes
Airbnb’s Travel Tuesday series showcases user-generated content from Instagram to provide its followers with inspirational travel ideas. Rather than just posting the pictures, Airbnb transforms each photograph into an interactive quiz. By incorporating user-generated images and polls into their stories, Airbnb increases engagement and creates ways to measure their followers’ interests at the same time.
E! News’ Snappy Stories
E! News keep their followers updated on the latest celebrity drama by sharing news stories directly on Instagram Stories. These ‘short but sweet’ news blasts meet the needs of their target audience, who may not want to read a full article, but always want to be on top of the latest celebrity news.
NASA’s Behind the Scenes Pass
NASA uses their Instagram Stories to share ‘behind the scenes’ news and information. They provide background stories, additional information, research and visuals that complement their regular Instagram posts, giving their followers a ‘backstage pass’ to the inner workings of NASA.
Instagram is constantly evolving and keeping your pulse on new trends and tools is vital to creating a successful social media strategy.
Understand the importance but don’t know where to start? We’ve added an Instagram Stories Workshop to our portfolio, so if you think your business would benefit upskilling in Stories then get in touch today.
*Statistic from Social Media Today
Influencers… We’ve all heard the term and most likely have some understanding of who or what they are. Perhaps we even hoped (or prayed) they would be a short-lived fad? But it’s time to accept they’re here to stay. YouTubers, ‘Insta-famous’ celebs, Twitterati and bloggers have muscled their way into the PR and marketing world…
In short, yes!
With trust levels in traditional advertising at an all-time low, communications professionals are looking to build new ties with their audiences through influencer engagement.
According to a recent study by the renowned Pew Research Center in the US, 75% of communications managers allocated money to influencer strategy in 2017, with most allocating $25K – $50K.
And with good reason. In 2017, influencer content delivered 11x higher return on investment than traditional forms of digital marketing. This meant that companies on average made $6.50 for every $1 spent on influencer engagement.
Like any business decision, plan it first. Make sure to include the following in your plan of attack:
Budget – It’s surprising how many companies don’t realise you have to pay influencers for their time. Trust us, good influencers are making the big bucks today and no, gifting isn’t always enough. What’s your budget? Be sure to include costs for sending products, travel, appearances, events, gifting etc.
Demographic – Who do you want to target and where are they active online? You must have a sound understanding of your target market, so you can create a campaign tailored specifically to your audience. You need to go to them rather than expecting them to come to you.
Platform – It’s incredibly important to choose the right platform to target for your industry. Each social media platform has different specialities and audiences so make sure you’re engaging influencers who are popular on your most engaged platform. Hint: it’s not always Facebook!
Timeframe – Do you have a deadline or event you want to include for your strategy? Some of the best campaigns are often timed with holidays or special events. Build a timeline so you (and your influencers) know exactly what’s expected and when.
Crisis Plan – Conduct a crisis analysis and look for any areas of your campaign that could lead to negative feedback or conflict. Identify them and work on a crisis strategy to effectively manage these situations. This can be anything from negative social media comments, meme’s or influencer image damage (think of Logan Paul – ex YouTube sensation).
Goals and Measuring Success – What are your key objectives and what results do you want the influencer campaign to achieve? Goals can be anything from monetary values, exposure, sales, online engagement etc.
Yes, it can be tedious, but finding your influencer superstars takes time and patience. Remember not all influencers are worth your time or money so be sure to check out their rates and engagement levels before adding them to your shortlist.
Start by searching popular hashtags on your chosen social media platforms. You can also research your industry competitors or use search engines, articles and blogs. If you’re struggling, get in touch with us and we’ll help you with the rest!
Once you’ve finalised a list of target influencers it’s time to start the conversation. Influencers may have contact details on their social media accounts, or you may have to go through an agent (yes influencers now have talent agents).
Email is a casual but polite introduction of yourself and your business. Tell them why you think they will be a great fit for your brand and give them some general ideas of how you’d like to collaborate.
Keep it short and simple, more details can be communicated later if they’re interested.
Well done! The hardest part is over. Now it’s time to sit back and watch the responses and offers roll in.
Start a dialogue with your influencers. Outline what’s expected of both parties including fees, timelines, gifting, exposure, engagement etc. Aim to come to an understanding about how working together will mutually benefit everyone involved.
While a written contract isn’t always necessary, it is always a good idea to have something in writing that states each party’s responsibilities and expectations.
Remember, like any business deal it’s vital to establish a strong working relationship. Always be polite and professional, so hopefully you can work together again in the future.
Once your campaign goes live it’s important to monitor its success.
At this point you can introduce some sponsored (paid) content to help boost the post’s reach and drive organic traffic to your pages or website.
Always monitor the posts for any negative comments or feedback and use your crisis plan to respond or react accordingly.
Well done, hopefully your campaign was a raging success.
Now it’s time to generate some data and measure your return on investment. You’ll need to measure your engagement, reach, Google Analytics, website traffic, social media growth, unique new users etc.
Finally, get in touch with your influencers to say thank you and let them know how the campaign went. If you were happy with your collaboration, be sure to let them know and express your desire to work together again in the future.
Meaningful relationships, relevant influencers and targeted campaigns are crucial to any influencer strategy. Know the importance, but don’t know where to start? Let us help.
With over 250 billion social media users, 2018 is already another busy year for online trends and updates. We’ve summarised five social media trends that your business MUST be paying attention to in 2018. Think experiential, think bots, think interaction…
With over 250 million monthly users, Instagram Stories were the fastest-growing social platform of 2017 and they’re our number one social media trend to implement in your strategy for 2018.
According to KPCB’s 2018 Internet Trends Report the average daily time spent on Instagram is 28 minutes, compared to 15 minutes in the pre-stories era.
KPCB also found that one in five stories from a brand will result in a direct message.
With these statistics it’s easy to see why Instagram Stories should be at the top of your priority list.
Thanks to social media’s (particularly Facebook’s) constantly changing algorithms, organic reach from branded material is consistently decreasing across all platforms.
Brands such as BMW, Starbucks and Adobe are using user-generated content to combat this decline. These posts not only increase reach but also drive higher engagement rate between brands and their customers.
The KPCB report said user-generated content re-posted by brands created seven times higher engagement rates than branded content.
The study also showed that social media users are seven times more likely to trust user-generated content, and 56% of them are more likely to buy a product after seeing that content.
So, if you’re not currently using user-generated content in your 2018 social media plan, it’s time to re-think your strategy.
We all know how reliant we are on our smartphones. For many of us, especially in the communications industry, it’s glued to our hands 24/7.
Interestingly, Facebook recently conducted a study that showed 94% of participants had their smart phone in their hand when watching TV. The results also showed that viewers focused on the TV screen just 53% of the time, and one of the top reasons they looked away was to use their phones.
With 94% of Facebook users and 82% of Twitter users primarily using the mobile app, it’s clear that ‘we’re mobile’ and that’s only the beginning!
As such, in 2018 it’s important to ensure our content, websites and links are as mobile friendly as possible.
According to a recent study by Business Insider, more people are now using the top four social messaging apps – WhatsApp, Messenger, WeChat and Viber – than the top four social media apps of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The popularity of ‘dark social’ has been on a steady rise over the past three years and shows no sign of slowing down.
If social media has been a great opportunity for businesses, then social messaging cannot be ignored, especially when our last social media trend of 2018 is chat bots!
With the increase of social messaging, social bots are also on the rise. A study by Business Insider showed a major increase in chat bots, from 33,000 to 100,000 on Facebook’s Messenger alone.
The same study also showed that 80% of marketing managers are already using or plan to use chat bots by 2020, and with chat bots increasing workplace productivity by up to three times, it’s easy to see why bots are becoming the communicator of choice for businesses.
With voice and bots here to stay, define what ‘experience’ you should be creating for your audience.
Don’t have time to keep up with all the latest online trends? Well, its’s our job to identify social media trends and keep our clients at the top of their social media game. Get in touch.
We’re thrilled to introduce our newest creative to Southern PR HQ! Carlie Welsh has come to us from across the Tasman and is delighted to call Queenstown her new home. After completing her degree in Professional Communications at one of Australia’s leading universities, Carlie was determined to combine her love of the mountains with her…
We’ve asked her all the hard questions so you don’t have to…
Carlie Welsh, Account Executive at Southern PR with a focus on digital communications and social media strategy.
Every day is a new adventure. There’s always a new story, opportunity or event happening – no day is a boring day in PR! I love keeping on top of economic, political and social updates, crafting stories and keeping my clients in the news (for all the right reasons of course).
It’s such an exciting time to be in communications, when there’s new technologies and new opportunities for development every day. I’m truly lucky to work with a broad range of clients that I’m genuinely passionate about, helping them shape their stories and personality from within.
We are always ‘on’ in PR! There’s no ‘downtime’ for a PR professional, so you’d better love your job if you want to succeed. PR is a 24/7 job and our clients’ needs are always our first priority. Luckily, I absolutely love the industry and it has always been my goal to find a job that becomes an integral part of my lifestyle.
Out and about (with a good coffee in hand)! I’m an active person and love nothing more than hiking, biking, eating and drinking my way through Queenstown. In the winter I’m a snowboarder (sorry mum and dad, I’ve gone to the dark side), so you’ll most likely find me up The Remarkables hanging out in Outward or Homeward with my fellow boarders. In summer I’ll be out brunching before embarking on a half-day hike or a tikki-tour tour through our stunning wine country.
“A ship is safe in the harbour, but that’s not what ships are made for.”
This is such a great quote that my Grandpa once told me and it’s stuck ever since. We as humans often don’t like new things and pushing our boundaries, but we don’t grow and learn if all we do is stay in the safety of our comfort zone. Never become complacent and always push your limits – you’ll be surprised how exciting life can be!
Want to know more? Get in touch with Carlie.
Aaaaaaaaand…. that’s a wrap. Our cosy office in the heart of Frankton is all locked up and ready for some peace and quiet this silly season! With 2018 just around the corner, we thought it was timely to summarise what we loved most about 2017. It’s been a big year – a year of change,…
1 > Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
For her stringent citizen test and love of pineapple lumps. Oh and girl power. The fact she loves cats. For inspiring our daughters. For showing Gareth Morgan that voters can, indeed, “be that thick”. And look what happened to him, eh? (Image: ZM Online)
2 > Rebranding Southern PR
Our clients rely on us to protect their reputations and build their brands, and 2017 was our year for the brand revamp. Practice what you preach!
So we took the leap, and what came next was truly spectacular, thanks to the creative team at Whitelaw Mitchell.
We said hello to our new bright Pantone colours (mixed with a healthy balance of black), geometric shapes, and fonts to match. We love it. Hope you do too.
3 > Launching our savvy new website
With our cool new look, the next step was a website to match. We came out of the dark ages and transitioned into the digital imperatives of a responsive and mobile-friendly website, with visitor experience top of mind.
Missed it? Here’s 6 ‘must-know’ facts about our website launch.
4 > Coffee
It simply gets our creative juices flowing. Thanks to our new KeepCups we’re saving the planet one coffee at a time.
We feel good, anyway.
5 > Kiwi golfer Michael Hendry – king of the course
Hendry was the first New Zealander in 14 years to win the Brodie Breeze trophy, and what a celebration it was!
He’s back to defend his crown for the 99th ISPS Handa New Zealand Open at Millbrook Resort and The Hills on 1 to 4 March 2018. See you there! (Image: New Zealand Open)
6 > Planet Earth
A tribute to Sir David Attenborough.
He’s taken us closer to nature than we’ve ever been before and if the Hans Zimmer sound track isn’t enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, the penguins jumping off the cliff will tug at your heart strings…
7 > Award-winning us
Back in August, we were named top public relations agency in Australasia at the Australasian Leisure Management Communications and Marketing Awards.
It was incredibly exciting to be recognised for the work we do throughout Australasia in the tourism and leisure sectors.
8 > Our family of clients making a world of difference
Our clients? They’re awesome. Do we need to say anything else? Highlights of the year, as always.
9 > Rabbit Ranch Pinot Noir Rosé and peonies!
Pass the pink stuff! This heavenly pink is our favourite rosé for 2017, and spring is our favourite season for the simple fact that extravagantly beautiful peonies become a must-have in our office.
10 > Hello Christchurch
Our savvy little company branched out into Christchurch this year. Starting with a bang, we worked on the PR launch for the new Crowne Plaza Christchurch. (Image: Designworks)
11 > Moving Mountains
Back in March we secured a 12-page spread for our client Southern Landmarx in NZ House and Garden. Yes, 12 pages. A fantastic result off the back of a double medal trifecta award win.
12 > Brain Food
With an unstoppable energy for delivering morning to night experiences, the Yonder team is rightfully winning the hearts of locals by offering something new in Queenstown.
Our favourite on the menu – the Kimchi Bowl. (Image: Whitelaw Mitchell)
13 > Networking
There’s nothing we love more than connecting with Queenstown’s vibrant business community. We’re lucky to have so many inspiring people and entrepreneurial masterminds on our doorstep.
Every event or breakfast meeting is an opportunity to ‘wow’ people with our snazzy square business cards. Who said print was dead? Make an impact.
14 > Upskilling
Don’t get left behind. Invest in your business and your people.
We’re delighted to be working with Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) to help bring more communications-based courses to Queenstown.
Our little resort town can sometimes be ‘off the radar’ due to our ‘remote’ location, so join us for a two-day course early next year to learn how to master communication and gain skills for the digital era. View course details here.
15 > Supporting culture in Queenstown
Yes we love all our clients. But we love LUMA differently because they don’t pay us. That’s because they put all the money they DO get into this awesome event that’s growing bigger by the year. We’re OK with that. (Image: Esther Small)
16 > Reputation management
Reputation is key. Knowing what to do when things go wrong (and they do) is all about having a plan. We sincerely hope you never have to use your plan. But when the s**t hits the proverbial you better have one. Talk to us.
17 > Clay Target Shooting
There’s something really, really satisfying about shooting stuff (bad day at the office, anyone?). That’s shooting clays and rabbits (clay discs of course)! We just channelled our inner sharpshooter thanks to the wonderful team at Break One Clay Target Shooting.
Amidst the stunning landscape on the private Queenstown Hill Station, Fiona revealed her ‘wild side’ and took home top score at our office Christmas party! (Image: Break One)
And there you have it, happy holidays and see you in 2018.
We’re looking into two of our favourite W’s – the what and why – in our latest blog to inspire you to think outside the box when creating content marketing strategy for 2018. Whatever the channel, it’s all about curating timely, well thought-out and attention-grabbing stories that tick all the boxes for the editor or…
We’ve attended a number of seminars since September including the Auckland-based Social Media Conference NZ and Destination Queenstown’s (DQ) Queenstown Week Insights Programme. Huge thanks to DQ for bringing international speakers to Queenstown for an exciting week of inspirational presentations on how businesses can ‘talk’ to the Australian market.
A key message that comes up time and time again, one that resonates strongly with us and ‘what we do’ is…
Think beyond your product and tell your story.
So we’ve compiled some top tips to help you on your way.
In short, it’s a description of a connected series of events. Storytelling’s an age-old craft, enabling people and businesses to transform perceptions and share experiences.
We’re ALL human, and stories help show you’re human.
New Zealand Story’s Marketing Manager Gary O’Neil shared this in a recent presentation – ‘stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts’*.
So, let’s think how you can turn your (potentially dry) product or company fact sheet into a series of stories. Can these facts be broken down? Is there a news hook or angle about your history, a ‘day in your life’ or the one thing that makes you different to any comparative business? What’s your USP’s?
Our question to you is how are you planning on capturing attention and what is your Kiwi story?
Are you a 25-year-old tourism business which started off as a one-man-band or the oldest winery in Central Otago with stories to tell about your land, people and wine?
In today’s fragmented media landscape, journalists are being asked to produce double the content but with less resources. As a PR agency, we’re producing increasing numbers of editorial pieces for clients (in addition to traditional media releases) so we can pitch to journalists with content they can pick up and run ‘as is’.
For this to work, you need to know who you’re writing for (what stories have they previously covered?), what’s of interest to them and their readers, and have a basic understanding of what’s ‘media-worthy’.
If your strategy is to create your own editorial content, you’ll need to ensure you’re curating and delivering high quality pieces, written in a journalistic-style and voice to suit your desired publication. Maybe think about hiring a writer for your team or outsourcing to a PR or content agency.
An angle is the specific emphasis you choose for a story that you’ll use as your pitch to media.
We’ve compiled a list of ideas to help you ‘dig deep’ so you can ‘wow and wonder’ in interesting and emotional (adds the human element) ways in 2018.
While brainstorming these content ideas, you should apply Lauren Quaintance’s (Storyation co-founder) ‘so what’ test.
“Great stories pass the ‘so what test,” she said at a recent presentation on storytelling.
“Journalists want quirky or unique stories that generate talkability or ‘water-cooler’ conversation. Ideas that will grab attention in the social feed.
“Ask yourself, is it surprising, different or eye-catching. Or is it a case of so what?”
It’s our business to communicate client messages accurately to their audiences through relevant channels. Do you need help telling your story? Get in touch.
*Jennifer Aaker, Social Psychologist. Professor of Marketing at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Summer is officially here (hurrah!). With only 2.5 weeks until Christmas we’ve compiled our final social media takeaway blog for 2017. Here’s a recap of seven almighty social media updates and trends to keep in mind for planning and implementation of your social and PR strategy in 2018. Video is KING
Did we need to remind you? According to a recent Social Media Today infographic, video is expected to account for more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic by 2021.
Having the ability to create video content across your platforms remains KEY in your strategy. Grab your iPhone, a tripod and get practising with family and friends this silly season.
Uploading and sending high res images via email is a thing of a past thanks to the latest Facebook Messenger update. Communities and businesses can now send and receive images in 4K resolution (up to 4,096 x 4,096 pixels per image).
Happy sharing.
The Instagram business community has grown to 25 million. If you’re a Queenstown business and you’re not already on this platform, it’s time to discover, connect and determine whether this is for you.
Still not quite sure how to reach your customers this Christmas? Relax. Our beloved Instagram is spreading some festive cheer to help you shine bright. Click here to succeed.
Never underestimate ephemeral content marketing. Yes, it’s short-lived content (shows and disappears in seconds or 24-hours) however it’s a cost-effective and authentic way to connect with your fans, followers or audiences.
Humanise your brand by sharing your behind-the-scenes moments, show a real-time snippet of your CEO collecting your latest tourism award or showcase your media coverage and products in engaging ways. Whatever your content focus or strategy, it’s one to add to your team’s daily schedule.
Along with the extended 280-character limit (do you like it?), Twitter’s Tweetstorm feature is in testing, enabling users to extend their tweets by adding additional context. Here’s how this might look.
To be honest, we have the same reservations as TechCrunch. Could this feature result in never-ending ranting and trolling from critics – potentially leading to additional ‘damage control’ from crisis management teams across the world?
It’s top of mind and we’re looking forward to watching chatbots evolve for SMB’s next year.
Adding the ‘human’ to these artificial intelligence ‘bots’ remains key and businesses need to know there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Your customer’s journey is key.
Yes, paid social is important to reach new audiences and convert your customers, however organic social is key for nurturing engagement, relationships and interactions.
Sprout Social looks into the importance of ‘sprouting’ engagement on your channels to help your company grow.
We’ve got three recommendations for you…
Keen for Southern PR to help you through this process or point you in the best direction? Get in touch, we’re happy to talk it through.
Spring has most certainly sprung and it’s been a busy month all round, not just social media. You’ve got enough to worry about with the general election just happened, not to mention which way dear Winston is going to swing. Because last month’s social media news and updates are possibly the last thing on your…
Instagram is aiming to make the platform a friendly and welcoming place where everyone can get along in its social community. All changes come with a new heart-shaped sticker and the #KindComments hashtag.
Instagram adds face filters to live video
Instagram filters have been readily available on video and images captured first and then posted, but now its face filters are available on live video.
This means you can customise your live videos even further and even target those audiences that have four legs and a tail [insert puppy dog filter here].
Twitter doubles its tweet length
Twitter is testing extending its character count from 140 to 280 to persuade more users to use the platform. Twitter says the reason is to give you more characters to express yourself. Is my name Donald Trump, I hear you asking? What are your thoughts on the extension? Less is more, or more is …..too much?
Facebook connectivity team touches down in Puerto Rico
Facebook is not only donating economically to the relief efforts of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, it’s also donating its employees! Facebook employees are helping restore telecommunications so people can get in touch with their loved ones and rescue workers can further coordinate relief efforts. Thanks Facebook!
Facebook ranks the eighth most valuable brand in the world
For the first time in history, Facebook has broken into the top 10 of the world’s most valuable brands slotting into eighth position right next to Toyota and Mercedes Benz.
Interestingly, half the brands at the top of the Best Global Brands 2017 list are in the technology sector and have mastered creating experiences through technology that reinforce the value of the brand itself.
Snapchat introducing augmented reality beyond filters
Snapchat’s latest filter is yet another step further into augmented or virtual reality. Its new ‘Sky Filters’ give you the ability paint with all the colours of the wind…or, filters. Imagine being able to change the scenery to match your mood with virtual weather, sunsets, starry skies, rainbows and so on. Well, now you can! This was released on Snapchat’s sixth birthday – Happy Birthday!
Google and Snapchat join forces to hold the ultimate challenge for millennials
It’s no surprise that the future is technology and coding is a skill being recognised by major technology brands Google and Snapchat.
Called #MyFutureMe, the contest is to create and code an official Snap lens and accompany the entry with a 100-word statement about the ‘future you envision’. As with any great business idea, having a slick and well-rounded elevator pitch is key to success in this fast-paced and busy world. Five finalists will be sent to the TEDWomen conference in November to work with Google and Snap engineers. Interestingly, Snapchat will only verify contestants ages after finalists are selected.
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