What you missed this week in social media marketing
What did you miss this week?
A cool hunter, every Wednesday I join Carol McManus to share the latest social marketing news, trends, tools, and practices. For marketers who don't have the hour to listen to our radio show, I share each week's top takeaways right here on LinkedIn.
ONE
This week, in a new report, Forrester Research predicted that social customer service technology will become the number one investment in 2014, as brands realize social networks have evolved from "just" (harrumph!) a marketing tool, to a mandatory customer service tool.
Today’s social media users are more demanding than ever of the brands they know and love when it comes to customer service over channels such as Facebook and Twitter. As the social landscape evolves, customers are moving away from traditional communications methods such as email and telephone, and expecting more from the conversations they are having on social networks.
Regardless of the product or service you sell, your customers expect you to be reachable and responsive when they have questions and problems on the communication channels on which they choose to connect with your brand.
TWO
Experian Marketing Services dug through the latest Simmons National Consumer Study (a survey of 23,689 U.S. adults measuring behavior across 11 different technology platforms) this week to find out how different generations use smartphones.
In a typical week, Millennial smartphone owners in aggregate spend 765.9 million hours on their smartphones, far more than any other generation. Millennials spend so much time on their smartphones that they account for 41% of the total time that Americans spend using the devices, despite making up only 29% of the adult population.
The key takeaway here for marketers? These numbers aren't static, they're increasing, monthly. Currently, when Millennials go online, 43% are on their smartphones, vs. just 20% of adults age 35 and older. Forget mobile "optimization", it's time to shift your marketing strategy to mobile-first, especially if you're targeting Millennials.
THREE
You have social media profiles for your company, and you may even have social media profiles for your different brands, but should you also invest the time and resources necessary to actively maintain a social media profile for your iconic product, or even an inanimate object associated with your business?
Mattel's Barbara Millicent Roberts joined LinkedIn this week. While many of Mattel's executives and global brand ambassadors maintain an active presence on different social networks around the world to connect with their customers, this is the first time Ms. Roberts, and the first time an inanimate object – you may know Ms. Roberts better by her first name, Barbie – has joined LinkedIn, with LinkedIn's full support.
Before Barbie, the best examples of inanimate objects on social media to market their respective brands have been on Twitter – two examples are the Natural History Museum in New York City's blue whale and NASCAR's orange cone. The "surprise" in this week's Barbie announcement is that marketing-wise, the bigger marketing boost may accrue to LinkedIn [who is trying to attract ever younger users to its network], than to Mattel. Does anyone really expect Barbie's profile will get Linkedin members to purchase more Barbies?
Want to know more about the latest in social marketing?
Get all of the source links for these takeaways in my #LILshow-hashtagged tweets on @KenHerron, and listen to/download the podcasts of all of our radio shows on both iTunes and the All Business Radio Network.
Employed
9yThat was all very insightful Ken. I really like how you tied in the fact that Barbie will be doing LinkedIn a favor by marketing to the millennials. I highly doubt they will increase sales this way since most of us never run a LinkedIn search for Barbie unless it is a first name. Thanks for sharing!
Bilingual People & Culture Leader - Recruitment Marketing Management- Sales Development
9yGreat article Ken. Thanks for sharing!