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Round-up of the Top 10 Social Marketing Predictions for 2016

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It has been a memorable year in social media, with many new platform functions and trends, but the best may be yet to come. We can’t help but be excited for all of the 2016 marketing predictions we’ve seen floating around and what’s in store for social media in the coming year.

Not enough time to read the heavy influx of marketing predictions for 2016? No problem! The Motherhood has skimmed the most newsworthy pieces and summarized the top trends.

Marketing Predictions for 2016

Here are the social media trends you need to know for the upcoming year:

1. Ad Blocking shifts eyes to organic and social

2. Shift from automated to authentic

  • Because online consumers have developed the keen skills to identify and ignore ads and automated sponsored content, authentic, personal content will rise as marketers realize its value in connecting with online audiences.
  • Simply searching for influencers in your space and asking them to push out stale messages will become less effective; greater strategy will be needed to engage key influencers.
  • Marketing that is less disruptive and more focused on fostering relationships will be conductive to building a loyal customer base.

3. Creativity will thrive

4. Experience = shared value 

  • Content will continue to fuel the customer experience.
  • More and more consumers turn to third parties, such as online influencers, as trusted sources of information on brands/products.
  • Brands will recognize more that linking an experience or story with a brand/product better resonates with consumers than facts and figures.
  • Humanizing your brand helps to create shared trust through personal experience.

5. Engagement > Reach 

  • Marketers will place a greater focus on identifying meaningful measurement metrics of engagement with sponsored content.
  • By evaluating engagement of online campaigns, marketers can gain better insights from, and connection with, targeted audiences.
  • We’ve already seen many of our clients begin to look at engagement metrics rather than impressions in our programs, as they recognize the value in targeted engagement.

6. Data and insights

  • Analytics and social insights will become more readily available, leading to a jump in automated data analysis and implementation of big data insights to create better social messaging.
  • Rather than trying to do it all, marketers will focus on key performance indicators and creating more valuable insights aligned with those indicators.
  • Using data to develop more personalized experiences for consumers will create more value for both businesses and customers.

7. Instant Gratification AND Snapchat

  • In-the-moment posts will dominate with the rise in popularity of Periscope and the addition of Facebook Live Streaming.
  • While reaching consumers organically via SnapChat is not a cost-effective option, SnapChat will become the “New TV.”
  • As this Ad Age article perfectly states, “Think appointment-watching, awareness and buying eyeballs.”

8. Video, video, video

  • 70 percent of companies now say video is the most effective tool in their online marketing belts, and two out of three businesses expect it to dominate their strategy going forward.
  • Google now includes video content in search results, and Facebook and Bing have started offering video options for advertisers.
  • Using video to tell stories can be used as an advantage by marketers to effectively convey a brand message.
  • Social video is rapidly rising, and videos need to be tailored for each platform and target audience.

9. Social messaging and messaging apps

  • Messaging apps have seen explosive growth and have already evolved as a customer service feature.
  • While messaging apps are still a mystery, big brands are testing them out as marketing channels.
  • Messaging apps are the most-used of all category apps, meaning there is a largely untapped potential for advertising in this space.

10. Social isn’t free

  • The exponential growth of brands on social has led to less organic reach, so increases in social marketing spending will continue to increase.
  • Simply promoting posts or getting your message incorporated in authentic content from key influencers will increase in order to maintain a share of voice.
  • Online influencers know their value and demand for them as key content creators continues to increase, so navigating these relationships will become trickier.

 

The recurring theme we found throughout the plethora of predictions is that the customer will be heard in 2016, and as a result, marketers will be using more data and insight in their campaigns, and will need to implement authentic, personalized content programs.

Which predictions do you think are most accurate?

Why It’s Important to Know Search Trends for Thanksgiving

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Marketers, especially food brand marketers, should take note that the holiday responsible for the highest number of recipe searches is upon us: Thanksgiving! The Motherhood team was interested in exploring search trends for Thanksgiving and made a number of delicious discoveries.

Updated: November 13th, 2017

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a holiday focused on food, Thanksgiving generates the highest number of online recipe searches compared to every other holiday. But knowing exactly when holiday searches spike can be beneficial for putting your brand in front of users most interested in your content at the most opportune time. For example, in this case, the data reveals a certain amount of procrastination when it comes to meal prep — searches for Thanksgiving recipes peak on Thanksgiving Day! But few advertisers implement marketing tactics for the actual day of the holiday, when doing so could potentially lead to significantly increased visibility and last-minute ingredient purchases.

Suggested Strategy #1: Solicit Evergreen Branded Content

When it comes to holidays like Thanksgiving, evergreen content is key. Creating branded content focused on holiday events will live on in search and social platforms.

According to Google Trends, searches relating to “Thanksgiving side recipes” increase by 400 percent in the month of November, and searches related to Thanksgiving desserts, recipes and easy recipes increase by 250 percent. Unless users filter searches to include specific dates, then branded blog posts, reviews and recipes from previous years will appear in current searches. That is a huge opportunity for brands to be seen again and again, year after year.

 

Suggested Strategy #2: Use Targeted Tactics

Using the available data and knowing where and when to focus your marketing tactics will help you leverage search trends for Thanksgiving to make your campaigns successful.

Curious what consumers are looking for in different areas of the country? Google has segmented the most popular Thanksgiving preparations by U.S. regions, based on search volume. Brining the turkey is most popular of searches, especially in the Northeast. For the South, it’s frying, and for the Midwest, smoking the turkey methods are most searched.

In the dessert category, it’s no surprise that pumpkin pie holds the title of top searched pie recipe across the country. And the day after Thanksgiving, searches related to desserts and what to do with leftovers spike. In fact, searches for “leftover recipes” hits an all time high three days after Thanksgiving each year!

Social platforms require targeted approaches, as well. For example, Pinterest reported that Thanksgiving pin trends for 2017 include painted pumpkin centerpiece decor and specialty diet (paleo, gluten free, dairy free, etc.) friendly takes on classic Thanksgiving dishes — both trends that brands could piggyback on at the right time for high exposure.

A Look at the Facebook Data

During the weekend before Thanksgiving, The Motherhood tracked the increased Facebook conversation around planning for the holiday, and we found some insights through anonymous topic data:

  • States most active in Thanksgiving cooking discussions: Texas, California, Florida, Georgia and New York
  • State with the most men talking about Thanksgiving cooking: California
  • Most popular topics: Turkey, easy, dinner, recipe, table (as compared to dinner, dessert, turkey, family, and cocktails in 2015)
  • Images were the most popular media type for posts about recipes and decor (as compared to video for posts about cocktails in 2015)
  • Most popular links were related to recipes and activities

Is your brand or blog aware of and taking advantage of these search trends for Thanksgiving?

We hope you enjoy a Thanksgiving full of good food (inspired by these great trends), friends and family!

Three Ways to Get the Most Happiness for Your Dollar

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If you found $20 on the ground what would you spend it on and why? (Get creative.)

Yesterday, members of The Motherhood team were asked this question during an event hosted by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, featuring Michael Norton, an associate professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School. Norton is a widely recognized expert on the behavioral economics of investment: how investing time, money and labor can influence the way people come to value things from products to personal relationships.

Norton shared surprising data on the many ways prosocial spending – or spending money on others, rather than yourself – can help you get the most happiness for your dollar, create happier employees and provide “happier” products for your customers.

Our favorite quote by Michael Norton from the event was: “Rather than collecting people, spend time connecting with people.”

Norton expanded on these concepts and how they can easily be applied in daily life, corporate HR and marketing campaigns:

Buy experiences, not things.

Experiences increase in value over time as we cherish the associated memories. When we personally make things, they become a source of happiness in our lives. This can be applied to marketing tactics as well – creating a great consumer experience leads to a higher perceived value. Norton drove this point home when he said, “It’s easy to compare stuff. It’s not easy to compare experiences. Therefore, with experiences, everybody wins.”

Do not underestimate the value of time.

Often, we value our time even more than money. Using time as currency, such as giving time back to employees as a bonus, can be just as valuable, create big rewards, and improve corporate morale.

Invest in others and in turn you are investing in yourself. 

Prosocial spending leads to a a higher perceived value of a dollar. Designate a set amount of money for employees/customers to donate to a charity of their choice on the company’s behalf, rather than the company designating a single blanket donation. This creates a higher sense of philanthropy spread throughout the entire organization.

There has been a shift in purchasing behavior as consumers focus on fulfillment through experiences, not things. In the marketing world, leveraging advertising campaigns to create experiences around products and brands is key in connecting with modern day consumers, which includes more than just millennials.

What are some ways you get more happiness for your dollar?