Assessing Ello and Emerging Social Media Sites For the New Year
Recently, tech blogs and trendsetters alike have been talking about Ello, a new social media site designed to serve as an alternative to Facebook. In many ways, it seems preposterous that a company would try to challenge – or even potentially replace – Facebook, which is by far one of the largest technology companies in the world. What you might find fascinating, however, is that Facebook’s key target demographics tell a bit of a different story – one that leaves us pondering whether or not the site may eventually be headed in the same direction as Friendster, or a quite possibly, a “pre-Justin Timberlake” MySpace. When I joined Facebook, which by now was approximately eight years ago, it was the quintessential online social media destination for users in their 20’s and early 30’s to communicate with one another. Rarely would you find a parent with a Facebook account of their own, and, in terms of other social networking options, there were a few, but none were so communal. Facebook served as a landing place for all my friends – including those from many different social circles – no matter how I knew them. Times have most certainly changed with emerging social media, and with the rise of Ello, who knows? We might just end up seeing an exciting new shift in the way people access this type of online networking. Most bonafide marketers understand that today’s “young people” aren’t as present on Facebook, and given the host of other options, they’re more likely to spend a bulk of their time visiting Tumblr, Instagram and Snapchat. It doesn’t take a seasoned marketing professional to know that it takes a lot of bandwidth to be everywhere at once. This is one of the key reasons why these days, my peers are generally only active on social networks in which they associate meaning to their daily lives – and, they remain active on forums where people with similar interests tend to gravitate. Personally, I follow a lot of comedians and comedic actors and actresses on Twitter, which is the perfect venue for crafting short, funny “witticisms.” On the flip side, Facebook is relegated to keeping in contact with a wide circle of friends, while LinkedIn assists me in maintaining professional connections, and growing my network. I access Instagram and Pinterest daily, but other accounts such as YouTube, Foursquare, Google+ and Vine tend to go virtually untouched and oftentimes, unmaintained. As a digital strategist, my Orlando advertising agency’s social media team and I truly don’t envision that Ello will succeed in becoming the new “Facebook alternative.” As recourse however, I am placing a pretty firm bet on that notion that it may eventually attract communities of its own – communities made up of Facebook users who may feel as though Facebook is not the best social media site to serve their varying needs. This might be as a result of its use of data manipulation, or perhaps, the addition of an advertising component, or simply, that users may find their personal news feeds to be disinteresting. Whatever the reasons – and there are many – we’re seeing something much larger at play here. [quote]In creating and maintaining a social network, it’s important to know where your audience spends a majority of its time.[/quote] If you look closely enough, you will see that users practically canvas the web – they’re accessing sites of all types. There are entire social networking sites that are geared specifically to peoples’ interests and ideologies. Often times, it may simply consist of a message board of people who are interested in topics deemed otherwise obscure, such as “hula hooping culture” or “18th century songwriting.” Topics that might not resonate with most of us, but as the moniker goes, “if you build it, they will come.” In a similar vain, crafting and maintaining these social networks has a great deal to do with formulating a community, and marketers can utilize this lesson in helping to propagate such communities around their products. Specific audiences may be on Facebook because there’s nothing better, but I’m certain that if you attempt to present them with a dedicated forum – one that speaks directly to their area of interest – I’m sure you won’t be surprised to watch as the population of that social networking community flourishes. As a result, members have the opportunity to create connections both online and off. One such example is Fitocracy, an online forum for self-proclaimed “fitness geeks.” I’m a firm believer that Facebook is here to stay, although with many of the above concepts in mind, the site’s following may have the potential to shrink. This is particularly true as its users find more specialized social networks where they can connect with like-minded people (and not necessarily individuals that they know personally in the real “offline” world). By keeping in mind that a successful social media strategy isn’t limited to the most popular social networks, brands can essentially begin to seek audiences in these not-so-mainstream avenues – which, in turn, might allow them to develop more authentic connections to their own customers. Looking for digital expertise on how to best navigate the social media landscape? Contact us today to form a partnership to chart your course!
A Face(book) only a mother could love: How social are moms?
When Facebook first began, it was a tool for students to connect with one another, typically within a limited age range of about 20-30. Later, when Zuckerberg opened up the Facebook forum to people of all ages, more people learned about the value of reaching out to one another using what is now the world’s largest social network. What was once seen as cool and limited to a select group of people who were “in the know” became open to everyone. A college student would cringe to open up his friend requests to see, smiling back at him, an image of his own mother. But these days, it’s the norm for mothers of all types to connect with their children and with other moms using Facebook, Twitter and other popular social networks. As women are seeing the benefits of technology, more of them are also investing in tablets and smart phones, which provide ways for them to stay connected. Facebook is a revolutionary tool for mothers, who often post pictures of their children and families to share with friends. In fact, many young mothers make their living from blogging and working remotely in social fields, as doing so allows them the flexibility to stay home with their children while still allowing them to earn a living. Older mothers have found the value of using Facebook to help them stay connected to business contacts. [quote]For advertisers, moms are a highly coveted demographic, as they are often the ones who have the power to make purchasing decisions for items such as diaper brands, video games, and children’s cereals, among other things. [/quote]It seems like a no-brainer that these mothers would engage in significant social sharing activity – through social networking sites, they stay connected. At a recent BlogHer conference sponsored by a number of mommy-friendly companies like Diet Pepsi and Johnson & Johnson, hundreds of moms got together to discuss trends in social media and digital networking. These aren’t your traditional soccer moms – many of these moms were urban professionals who make a living in the digital media industry, networking to reach out to other moms to create and maintain a community. Sites like Babble.com cater to what they call “a new generation of parents,” writing articles with titles like “18 Ways to Keep Yourself Feeling Sexy During a Dry Spell.” In essence, this ain’t your mama’s website…. Except actually, it is! So, back to the core question – how social are moms? In a word, incredibly. Neilsen reports that moms are some of the biggest influencers out there, and use social media to stay connected to one another. They are: – 81 percent more likely to become a fan of or follow a brand online – 86 percent more likely to post a status update – 84 percent more likely to comment or post content than the general population. Of course, there may be demographic shifts due to the age of the parent, location, household income and a host of other factors. But, the mother of one four-year-old I know has hundreds of connections on LinkedIn, due at least partially due to her propensity to use LinkedIn as a networking tool to help her grow her small business. As social media continues to grow and expand, so too will the ways in which mothers reach out to one another through social media. To learn more about how you can market to moms in order to create brand preference and instill brand loyalty, check out our Florida marketing agency’s recent whitepaper on marketing to moms, which discusses strategies for segmentation, creating appeals and assessing your own brand to determine the right moms for your business. Are you a socially savvy mom? Connect with us on Facebook!
