Tablets and social media are shaping the way our society uses internet. Technology is shaping our lifestyle and also our entertainment channels. We are no longer browsing the internet merely to search for something in particular, but we are also using it to get entertained. We scroll down Facebook’s news feed as soon as we wake up, maybe even before we have our first coffee. During the day we take occasional breaks to check out new YouTube videos and share them with our friends on social media networks. In the evening we wind down with our tablets in front of the TV, and browse while viewing other programmes. What before was confined to our working space has now become our constant companion.
Marketing companies have acknowledged this fact and are devising new ways to reach out to their customers, with this new frame of mind.
Something similar happens with children’s software and children’s games. Most of the games, both physical and virtual, claim their ability to “teach while having fun” or “play and learn”. Similarly, marketing companies need to plan new campaigns with the aim to entertain, while getting their message across.
What is needed is the ability to grasp trends as they emerge and transform them to suit your message. Trends vary. Every social media platform has its own popular features or applications. Facebook Apps for example are popular. Some are simple apps for a contest or competition. These include registration forms, gateway likes, photo contests and submission forms. Other apps are more complex with custom development to create something useful for the user which in turn pushes out the company’s message. Successful Facebook apps are designed to go viral as users post on their own walls and share them with their friends. The introduction of the hashtag on Facebook is set to push some new marketing ideas in this regard too. But apart from creating apps which increase likes, Facebook pages need to post compelling and entertaining content to keep their fans on the lookout for their posts. Marketers strive to get their posts noticed by their fans. The more a post is commented on and shared the more likely it is that it appears in the newsfeed. What users share is mostly striking images, striking videos, humorous quotes and images and the occasional sweet image of kittens, puppies and babies. Posting continuous promotional images and links from your page makes your page boring.
Some might even consider it spammy and hide your posts from their news feed.
Video trends on YouTube are massive. The latest phenomenon was the Harlem shake which started in February 2013. Videos went viral and 4,000 new videos of the Harem Shake were being uploaded each day. Among these daily uploads were videos of companies who grasped the moment to create something fun and entertaining for their customers.
Imagery in itself is also a trend that companies are following. Image-based social media platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, Wanelo and many others are leading the way. Stands to reason: Don’t we all like magazines with many colourful images?
If you are looking for relaxation and entertainment, just to wind down after a day’s work, you are more likely to browse the images on Pinterest rather than look for particular articles to read.
Curating boards on Pinterest takes time, but it tends to bring in viewers and can result in good, targeted advertising of your own products.
Think of what market you are trying to reach and create a board for that specific market in mind. You can’t create a board with just your images in – that is not what social media is about – but you can include your own items among others.
Entertaining your clients is one way of reaching out to them, getting them to trust you and recommend you to their friends. We might be looking at a future where everything happens on social media, and gearing up for this challenge now could be the secret to success in the coming years.
www.alert.com.mt
Joanne Bishop Magro is a conceptual analyst at Alert eBusiness.