My Take on the Hot Trends in Social Media Marketing

After following an interesting and spirited exchange on my LinkedIn group feed to Marketing and Communication professionals, I was compelled to spend some time with my own thoughts about the direction and impact of marketing trends in general and social media, more specifically. From the explosive onset and popularity of Pokemon Go to the failed efforts of Google+ and MySpace, a social media platform's shelf-life can sometimes be compared to the five-year bell curve of the product life of a popular nightclub.

Apart from the industry giants like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, several social media sites had their “time”, but now they are either long forgotten, slowly dying, or clinging to life-support. Once considered a newcomer, YouTube is now ten years old and current estimates put 20% of the world's population on Facebook at least once a month -- that's almost as many people that live in China!

Hundreds of millions of people across the world use the major social media sites suggesting a robust user base that gives the impression that social media is still in high demand, even if some of their individual balance sheets do not reflect brisk, new growth.

Social media marketing effectiveness is directly tied to the applicable demographic and psychographic of the customers that we, as marketers, have identified and are actively targeting. There is no "magic bullet", no matter how cool the technology. I also believe that a simple, strategic idea, creatively and brilliantly implemented will outperform a complex or convoluted scheme with all the hype and technology in the world thrown behind it. Social marketing has earned its place in the marketing mix, but an amazing brand experience based on multiple customer touchpoints is the real holy grail -- not just the coolest app or a gazillion "likes". Thoughtfully crafted and well-executed brand experiences are increasingly important for brands in almost all categories: global, local, big and small, for good reasons. They help consumers appreciate all a brand has to offer from both functional and aesthetic standpoints. Social media can aid this process by enabling brands to tell "stories" which abets emotional connections and thereby increasing brand loyalty.

What are some of the new tools in the shed that can bring us closer to this magical connection with our customer base? As I mentioned previously, Pokemon Go has brought augmented reality to the mainstream globally in just a matter of days. Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the companies that jointly own Pokemon, pulled off an amazing hat trick. I believe that augmented reality and VR are hot trends with staying power. On a recent trip to the Sundance Film Festival, the New Frontiers exhibition and showcase presented multiple immersive VR experiences on a variety of topics. Virtual reality, augmented reality, projection mapping, holograms, and a bit of everything in between are shaping a new landscape of not only how content is watched, but how brands, stories, and messages are experienced by the audience. The story-telling possibilities of this new technology are endless.

Video content in all its forms is also good. I am particularly keen on the new livestream functionality on Facebook which gives Facebook users the ability to broadcast to their followers world-wide, armed with just the smart phone in their pocket.

SnapChat is rapidly gaining acceptance beyond the millennials and early adopters. What started as an innocuous private app to flirt, send images, and quick messages with almost immediate expiration, has now evolved into one of the hottest tools for marketers today. The new Memories function will help SnapChat to move more into the mainstream and broaden its audience with a wider (and older) demographic. SnapChat has more than 150 million daily users who spend an average of 25 - 30 minutes on the app each day. On any given day, Snapchat reaches 41% of all 18 - 34 year-olds in the United States.

Dr. Philip Kotler defines marketing as “the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and desires and pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving best." We, as marketers, need not necessarily jettison all of our "old school" marketing approaches and strategies to create emotional connections and brand positioning in favor of new "gee whiz" tactics and technologies. Marketers are responsible for a full, 360-degree experience. However, social media can help us with a cost-effective and instantaneous reach and encourage consumers to spread the experiences and hence the brand, virally.