The Future of Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is constantly growing. The question is, however, will it last?

According to the Huffington Post, marketers allocate 7.6% of budgets to social media, and it is expected to reach 18.8% by 2019. Currently, marketers only spend 4 to 6 hours a week on social media, but social media is known to be the top contributor of relationship building. With this, 33% of consumers say social media is the top way to discover new brands and products.

Knowing this, social media marketing will only continue to grow. Throughout the last century, the way companies marketed to their audiences was through radio, television, and print media. However, with those media outlets, communication was limited. Today, the opportunity to spread awareness and controlled messages is much greater.

With social media, companies have the opportunity to communicate instantly with their target markets and respond to costumer complaints, creating open communication. This helps the brand build a voice and develop relationships with audiences.

I think ease and reliability will cause social media marketing to continue to increase, easily surpassing television. However, I do believe one day, something even faster and easier will come along, pushing social media to the waste side. Until then, I am eager to see where social media will take the marketing, advertising, and public relations industries.

What Makes a Video Go Viral

What makes a video go viral? With 100 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every day, it's easy for your video to get lost in the shuffle. Forbes lists 6 qualities that define most viral videos today:

1. Be Short and Sweet.
2. Be Upbeat.
3. Be Timely.
4. Be Involved.
5. Be Informative.
6. Be Inspiring.

While I agree with the list provided, I think one major quality is missing: humor. My favorite viral videos are meant for entertainment. If you can make someone smile, laugh, and have fun, they are more likely to share it with their friends or on social media. One of my all-time favorite viral videos was made by the average Joe. They used music, humor, and a family aspect to connect with their audience, which made the video that much more enjoyable. I'd like to present "Baby Got Class"!

Besides humor, the other emotion to channel in your video is empathy. By pulling at heart-strings or tapping into your audience's emotions, it makes your video more memorable, and thus more sharable. In "World's Toughest Job", the audience is led to believe interviewees are hearing the most insane job requirements. At the end of this advertisement for American Greetings, the interviewer reveals the job's real title: Mom.

Overall, creating a video that will go viral is difficult. However, if done right, any video has the potential to be the next internet sensation.

The Super Bowl Isn't Just About Football

With the month of November almost half way over already, companies are already buying advertising space for the 2015 Super Bowl. This leads to the impending question: What creative campaigns can we expect to appear in the nation’s most watched program? First, let's look back. 

Brands seemed to adopt the use of the hashtag a lot in 2014, with 57% of Super Bowl commercials using them. Some of my personal favorites spun off in to full ongoing campaigns. Bud Light is always successful in the Super Bowl with #UpForWhatever in 2014 and #HereWeGo in 2013. Coca-Cola made a splash with their commercial, which prompted conversations online using #AmericaIsBeautiful. Esurance debuted a massive cash giveaway using only #EsuranceSave30, which I admit I even took part in. Why not? I could’ve used $1.5 million!

However, my favorite use of social media during last year’s Super Bowl was done by T-Mobile. The brand paired up with the contract-less Tim Tebow to promote #NoContract, paralleling their phone plans that do not require signing lengthy contracts. In my opinion, T-Mobile is being crushed by their competitors, so seeing some creativity from the brand come during the Super Bowl was a pleasant surprise.

Furthermore, in 2015 I imagine brands, seeing the success of 2014, will add more social media into their advertisements. The use of hashtags, websites, and short videos leading up to the big game will increase, as well as the debut of big campaigns during the actual game will rise. The more brands can engage their audience before, during, and after the event, the more successful the campaigns will be.

Overall, I’m excited to see what big plans companies have for their advertising, because after all, we know the Super Bowl isn’t just about football anymore.

My Favorite Social Media Campaign

It's no wonder Coca Cola is one of the biggest brand names. It constantly finds new ways to sell the same old products. The way it does it? Social media.

When it debuted its "Share a Coke" campaign this year, the message was to share a Coke with the people you love. It brought back the idea of Coke being a classic family drink that can be shared with younger generations. The campaign originated in Australia in 2011 and was just introduced in America this summer. Quickly, it seemed like everyone, young and old, was digging through stores to find "their" Coke, and they were talking about it. Soon, #ShareACoke was trending on Twitter, and it seemed like everyone was posting selfies with their personal bottles on Instagram. To take it one step further, Cokes were beginning to make appearances in baby and wedding announcements!

I have to admit, although I am not normally a Coke drinker, I too was scanning the Cokes at the checkout counter any time I went to the store hoping to find my name. If I had, I probably would have bought "my" Coke. In the end, isn't that the whole point? Kuddos to you, Coca Cola!

Long term, I'm not sure if "Share A Coke" will stick around. I know Coke will be riding the wave of success for a little while longer, but once excitement dies down, I see the campaign ending. However, that's not to say Coke can't relaunch the campaign again down the road hoping to mimic its earlier success.