5 Biggest Ways Social Media Will Change in 2016

Here's how to stay one step ahead of the social curve.

Death and taxes used to be the only two things we could all rely on. Now we can add a third: that social media will roll out all sorts of weird changes. Entrepreneurs will then scratch their heads, wonder what this is all about, and finally jump on the bandwagon and try to catch up.

So before you scratch your heads, here's a heads-up. Five major changes are currently rumbling away in social media, and they're going to break out in 2016. You need to be ready for them.

1. Live Streaming Goes Mainstream

Live streaming is already out, but it's going to get bigger. Within months of its launch, Twitter's Periscope service already had 15 million registered users who could employ their smartphones to share instant content. Big companies have been quick to spot the opportunity. In July 2015, GE's Droneweek exercise took viewers into the company's factories and showed audiences, including the engineering graduates the company needs to attract, how jet engines, wind turbines, and locomotives are made and tested. The company got to tell its story through a week of live, authentic content.

Other kinds of content that companies can broadcast live include conferences, interviews, customer support, product demonstrations, and special offers. For small businesses, the select audiences who tune in are the most loyal customers. They're the people you want to hug closest, and live streaming brings them about as close as they can get. If you're not broadcasting live yet, expect to push up a Periscope in 2016.

2. On-Platform Content Opens Up

In 2015, Facebook snatched distribution from established content creators. Instead of publishers bringing Facebook users to their own websites, Facebook's Instant Articles program let publishers distribute their content on the social media platform. The content would load up to 10 times faster, more people would see it, and the publisher could earn advertising revenue. But the users would stay on Facebook, reducing the publisher's own brand value.

Despite the risks, 350 publications have now signed up, including The New York Times, BuzzFeed, and Huffington Post. More than 100 publications distribute their content through Instant Articles every day.

The program started on iPhones and expanded to Android devices at the end of 2015. It's still limited to select publishers, but expect registration to roll out more broadly--and force all of us to compare the benefits of showing our content on Facebook with the advantages of bringing users to our webpages.

3. Smarter Use of Snapchat

Of all the head-scratching moves in social media, few have created a greater risk of a bald spot than the rise of Snapchat. You spend time and money creating unique content for a targeted audience only to see that content disappear as soon as it's used. It's the exact opposite of the quick burst and slow burn that a good YouTube video or blog post can achieve.

And yet, companies as big as McDonald's, Acura, and Heineken have all waded in, keen to connect with the platform's young audience--and scared to be left behind.

The quality of the content has improved over the past couple of years, and it's going to get better. There are enough good case studies available now for anyone to be able churn out effective Snapchat content quickly and easily. Now that businesses no longer need to scratch their heads for good ideas, expect companies with youthful customers to start churning out disposable content.

4. Video Will Continue to Beat Static Content

At the start of 2015, the news was that Facebook users were posting 75 percent more videos than they were the previous year. In the U.S., it was closer to 100 percent, and Facebook was pushing 360 percent more video content into people's news feeds. Between April and November 2015, Facebook doubled average daily video views from four billion to eight billion. Even though the company counts a three-second glimpse as a "view," that's still a huge amount of video watching, and it shows how keen Mark Zuckerberg is to eat YouTube's lunch.

Those figures are only going to grow. Facebook has already made clear that it prefers video content to link posts and even images, so to build any kind of successful social media campaign, you will need to pull out a video camera and get shooting this year.

5. Virtual Reality Content Will Make Its First Appearance

When Facebook bought Oculus Rift for $2 billion in 2014, even the most savvy social media watchers were left bemused. But the idea is starting to become clear. Just as video is a more engaging form of content than still imagery, so virtual reality will be the next and most engaging step forward for content. The New York Times has already started creating virtual reality content that works with Google's Cardboard virtual reality viewer, and Paul McCartney invited a VR firm to film one of his concerts. It's still early days for virtual reality, but as we approach the end of the year, expect to see more moves toward a new kind of engaging content--and start scratching your head for a way to use it yourself.

Source :  http://bit.ly/1Q64UH5

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The ‘Dislike’ Button: What Does this Mean for Businesses and Brands?

Following the news that Facebook will start rolling out the dislike button option for its users, it is no surprise that marketers, businesses and brands alike may start to fear the possibility of targeted disapproval online.

However, founder Mark Zuckerberg has not yet mentioned what the dislike button will mean for business pages on Facebook. Will the button only exist as an option for individual posts or for pages as a whole? If the latter in fact becomes a reality then brands, businesses and even ‘community pages’ may be in for a shock. This seems unlikely for the time being, but as the finer details of this feature have not yet been explained, it seems to be up to the imagination of the general Facebook public.

What is more likely would be sponsored posts and general Facebook marketing posts to come equipped with a pesky ‘dislike button’. More dislikes than likes wouldn’t be detrimental to a brand’s Facebook presence, but over time it could be.  A post with an overwhelmingly negative response, and visibly so will have a lower click through rate, and inevitably could lower the conversion rate of an entire campaign. With that kind of negative advertising, Facebook as a marketing channel could be tainted for a considerable amount of time.

The solution to this is simple however. Tighten your Facebook strategy. Treat it with as much importance as any other marketing campaign, rather than just isolating it as ‘social media’. Aim to construct a brand which is impossible to hate. A strong brand and with an online presence which your users cannot fault will limit your intentional dislikes.

Being creative can help you stand out in the sea of other businesses advertising on Facebook. A unique brand, no matter how wacky it is will help get users on your side, not to mention the fact they will remember you when it comes down to making those all important decisions.

For example, popular franchise estate-agents, Ewemove have made their mark online by adopting the friendly female sheep, ‘Ewenice’. This personalises the brand in a way that a simple text ad could not do.

 What is more, their simple yet effective colour scheme and theme goes a long way. They certainly stand out and are memorable, which is imperative in an age where internet users are bombarded with information on an hourly basis.

Obviously you cannot control the random accidental or malicious dislikes you are likely to receive. This is where the dislike button’s existence could cause you some grief. It is all well and good when your direct competitor is receiving dislikes in the 100’s but when these competitors have it in their sights to bombard you with dislikes this is when marketing starts to get dirty.

Hopefully the clever people over at Facebook will concoct a motion that will apply the dislike functionality to Facebook business. With a structure in place, the like and dislike option could actually enhance your Facebook marketing efforts.

Source : http://bit.ly/1KXzn3E

Why marketers should give instead of take

You know that feeling you have when you’re considering a big purchase from a salesperson who's practically salivating at the prospect for the sale?

It’s as though you can actually see this person trying every way possible to get you to buy, and buy big, without any regard to what you want or need.

That’s exactly what you don’t want your customers to feel like, and it’s an important no-no to keep in mind when you’re developing your next marketing pitch.

Certainly, marketing your business can be a massive undertaking, especially when you're seeking new customers, as well as seeking the best way to connect with, and turn them into, consumers.

It's here that most businesses just talk about themselves or, worse, try to pressure customers to buy. This is an approach to marketing that doesn’t help those businesses. They ask themselves, “What can this sale do for me?” and, “How can I get it?” Both are the wrong questions.

Giving vs. asking

Giving as your primary method of marketing is much more efficient and powerful than asking. What you can offer to your customers is much more powerful as a marketing and rapport-building tool than what you can ask or gain from them.

The concept of marketing has become so clouded, with the focus being only on the end game (“I want the sale”), that businesses often forget the most important part of the process, which is giving and offering true value to potential customers.

The fallacy of just asking

Just “asking” has the potential to be effective, but it often alienates potential customers and doesn’t build rapport.

Sometimes, push marketing, or going in quickly for the sale, does work: Seeing that buyers are ready to buy, and have their wallets halfway out can be a good start. This is especially true when the sale doesn’t involve personal information or a great deal of money (think: a car sale or loan application). Sometimes, though, it generates annoyance and frustration from the potential customer.

A great example of push marketing done poorly is those neighborhood kid-run lawn services. Teenagers distribute flyers at the beginning of the summer, then keep showing up every couple of days asking to cut your grass or wash your car, even if you’ve said no 20 times already.

You know they’ll miss half your yard, they’ll pull out plants instead of weeds and you’ll find soap residue caked onto your car two days later. In fact, you’re pretty sure about the poor quality you can expect: Those teens just want your money, and they’ll use you to get it.

Now, turn this scenario into one involving professional services people who have your phone number, and you can see how truly exhausting and grating for the customer this style of marketing can become.

The benefits of give marketing

Instead of simply cold calling or sending out mass advertisements that ask for a sale, I've found what I call the “give, give, give, ask” model to be more effective. Asking can and does work—but only after you’ve built a relationship with customers. Otherwise, they feel that you just want to do business with them for their money. They're right.

Instead, take the time to actually listen to someone’s needs and show what you can do in response, and the results it will bring about. Chances are, the customer will be much more receptive to working with you or buying in the future.

In a recent interview, Bryan Harris, founder of VideoFruit, told me that the idea is to “show, don’t tell.” Show prospective customers what you can do for them, Harris suggested, but don't ask for anything (at least at first). When Harris was building his own business, he said, he found a contact he knew he wanted to work with: Neil Patel of Kissmetrics, whose business created awesome infographics.

Harris then created a video of Kissmetrics' best infographics, and sent it to Patel, simply saying something along the lines of “I love your content, it’s helped me a lot. So I've turned your most popular infographics into a video.”

Harris sent that email without asking anything in return, and immediately got an email back. Patel said he wanted to work together—a powerful example of how "giving" to market your business can help quickly build and expand it.

You’ve given the customer time, value and/or resources and asked nothing in return, until you've proven your value enough to ask him or her to consider working with you.

At that point, the customer believes in you, has a relationship with you and is excited about the work you can do. The customer is also excited to spend his or her money instead of grudgingly purchasing something that may produce later regret.

The process is not unlike asking a woman on a date after meeting at a coffee shop. The answer is more likely to be yes if you offer to buy her coffee, talk for a few minutes and build a connection before the "ask"—compared to a scenario where you just walk up to her in line, interrupt her conversation, tap her on the shoulder and ask for a date. Which would you be more receptive to?

Giving, and then giving more

Giving as a primary marketing focus instead of asking is more effective for obvious reasons (though asking for the sale at the end of it all is still important!).

Faith, rapport and long-standing relationships are built most effectively—and most strongly—through generous listening and thoughtful giving, not through simple luck and success targeting the right person with the right marketing message.

If you listen to your customers' needs and figure out how to offer them value, and you don't ask what they can do for you, you’ll likely be a lot more successful in marketing—and expanding—your business.

Source : http://bit.ly/1LCtTNT