The concept of 'social media' is vast and therefore this presentation looks at three key areas: - The origins of social media - Where social media is today + case studies of best practice - Where we expect social media to go next Social media has always been a personal and professional passion of mine so I wanted to tell story. Much of the research about the history of social media is taken from the work of Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist and author of 'Writing on the Wall', a historical look at social media over the last 2,000 years. One of the key aspects of the presentation I would like people to take away is what I defined as the 'five key tenets of social media': • Connection • Engagement • Shared interests • Content • Conversation

2. 1. Where did it all begin?
2. Where are we now?
3. Who’s doing it well?
4. What’s the formula for success?
5. Where are we going next?
What I’m going to talk about

3. Abit about me...
• Passionate about all things digital
• A social media and digital marketing enthusiast
• An avid blogger since 2006
• Currently Earned Media Manager for
Nationwide – focusing on strategy, new trends
and implementation

4. Content is the ‘glue’which binds earned media efforts
… and a focus on producing
great content.
Content can be seen as the
‘glue’ which binds earned
media marketing activity, which
includes social media as well
as email, SEO, PR.

5. What is social media?

6. Horizontal, peer-to-peer, conversational transfer

7. Where did it all begin?

8. 1. Literacy – the ability to read, write and
operate technology
1. Low/ zero cost of information
Social media environments – two key requirements :

9. Share it like Cicero
Whist we often think of social media as
being a relatively new phenomenon, social
media could be said to date back to
Roman times.
There were no printing presses and the
copying of books was done entirely by
hand. There were no formal publishers,
either, so Roman authors relied on word-
of-mouth recommendations and social
distribution of their works via networks of
friends and acquaintances.
Source: Tom Standage

10. The coffee house culture
Fast forward 1,500 years to the
coffee houses of the 1600’s and
again evidence of social media was
around.
There were coffee houses for
different subjects, something we
see today on sites like LinkedIn and
Facebook.
And class didn’t matter – the coffee
houses generated conversation and
education amongst a wide cross-
section of society.
Source: Tom Standage

11. Social notworking

12. As a result of innovation, including the steam press, newspapers and
eventually television, we moved from atwo-way, peer-to-peer,
conversational system…

13. … to a one-way, mass message broadcast system

14. The people’s radio
An infamous example of this one-way
communication with only very limited
access was the Volksempfänger – or
‘the people’s radio’ – which imposed
the view and vision of one man (Hitler,
the Führer) to an entire nation.
There were no outside broadcasts, no
other conversation and certainly no
alternative points of view, which is the
absolute antithesis of what we
consider to be social media.

15. How we often think of media: ‘old’vs. ‘new’media

16. The reality: ‘really old’, ‘old’and ‘new’media

17. The Internet is born!
But of course, the origins of
social media in the digital age
began in the early 1960’s, with
the advent of the internet…

18. World Wide Web – 1.0 and 2.0
…And later email, before the World Wide Web was born
and revolutionised modern communication.

19. The Trailblazers
The birth of the World Wide Web soon led to the
early social networking platforms and sites,
including AOL Instant Messenger, Friendster and
MySpace.
Whilst it’s probably safe to say that although most
of these sites here have long since disappeared or
fallen out of the public consciousness, they led the
way for the social world we see today.

20. Five key tenets of social media

21. Where are we now?

22. MySpace is usurped
Source:Comscore/ Reuters
With the decline of
MySpace, and the
opposing fortunes
of sites like
Facebook and
Twitter, we started
to see the dawn of
the modern social
media landscape.

23. Social media is more than just Facebook and Twitter
Source:Brian Solis/ JESS3
In today’s world, there are
literally hundreds – perhaps
thousands – of social networking
sites, platforms and apps,
catering for a multitude of niches,
themes and interests.

24. Facts and figures:
• Facebook has over 1.35
billon users
• Twitter is the fastest
growing social network
with over 550 million
users
• Over 500 million
registered users on
Google+
• Instagram is now bigger
than Twitter!
Source:Search Engine Journal

25. Who’s doing it well?

26. Social media and business
Source:Search Engine Journal
Unsurprisingly, businesses
and marketers have taken
to social media to exploit
the opportunities on offer,
something that is likely to
continue across all sectors
and industries.

27. Case study: Red Bull has a clear raison d’être
Red Bull has successfully used
social media to propel the brand
into the public’s consciousness by
establishing a clear, concise
raison d’être and purpose for their
brand and presence on social
media.
There’s very little – if any –
mentions or images of the drink.
They are all about a lifestyle –
extreme sports – and the events
and athletes they sponsor.

28. Red Bull creates experiences within their channels
Red Bull has also created
a reason for users to visit
them on their social
channels. On Facebook
followers can take part in
games and apps, whilst on
Instagram they can view
the brands latest videos
and pictures from around
the world.

29. Visa integrated social into their Sochi 2014 campaign

30. Visa on Twitter

31. Visa on Vine

32. Case study: Bank ofAmerica – consistent branding and UX
As with Red Bull, Bank of America has a consistent theme and
purpose: “to supply our customers with the resources and
answers they need to support their financial lives”.

33. Tools and calculators in multiple places…
Also like Red Bull, Bank of
America recognise the
importance of producing great
content for their customers on
the platforms of their choice,
such as Facebook…

34. …also link back to their owned media channels
… as well as linking back to their website and other owned media
channels for important pieces of content. They also have a consistent,
on-brand, professional presence and user experience across a variety
of core social platforms.

35. What’s the formula for success?

36. So what’s the secret to success?

37. Five key tenets of social media

38. Social media should link with the brand’s core values

39. Drive awareness through paid, earned and owned channels
Social media is another channel in which to distribute and promote
content and should be used to drive awareness in tandem with other
media channels and the brand’s digital real estate.

40. Develop a content strategy
Source:Altimeter Group
A content strategy allows brands to develop an effective ‘culture of content’ that puts the
emphasis on developing content that meets both a brand and user’s goals…

41. The value of content at given quality levels
Source:Moz
... which in turn helps us to focus on producing the best, most relevant content for our
owned and rented channels.

42. Only great content will cut through the clutter
Source:Velocity Partners

43. So be confident in the content your brand stands for
Source:Velocity Partners

44. Amplify content with effective use of social media
There’s often a focus on social media whilst it should in fact be content. If we think of
content as a fire, social media – like SEO, email and PR – is the gasoline that amplifies
and promotes it to an audience.

45. Where are we going next?

46. Key trend 1: Mobile is here and will only continue to grow
Mobile is already here (and has been here for a while) and but will only continue to increase
in importance. 71% of users currently access social media from a mobile device so content
must be designed and optimised for mobile and tablet usage.
Source:Nielsen 2012

47. Most social networks are now ‘mobile first’
% of time spent on social networks in the US, by platform

48. Key trend 2: Data is key to content creation
As with mobile, the
focus on data is here
already but as our
social networks and
search engines
become increasingly
saturated with content,
data can give us an
edge.
What users engage on
what social channels?
What content works
best on which social
networks?

49. Key trend 3:The rise of the ephemeralnet
The rise of apps like Snapchat, Secret and Whisper is allowing the increasingly influential digital
natives (a generation that have always had the internet in their lifetimes) to engage with friends
without documentation and data collection.
The NSA/ PRISM affair, and a rising concern around privacy, mean that apps like these and search
engines such as Duck Duck Go, allow users to engage online without leaving such a distinctive
digital footprint.

50. Key trend 4: Visual and video content takes centre stage
Due to the rise in mobile, high-speed wireless and 4G internet connections, and decreasing
data costs, platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram and Vine, as well as emerging video
platforms such as Meerkat and Periscope, are meeting the demands for more ‘snackable’,
visual content.

51. Key trend 5: ‘Pay to play’
Source:convinceandconvert.com
The free social media lunch many brands used to enjoy appears to becoming smaller, as
sites like Facebook, Twitter and even Pinterest now provide promoted options to reach
audiences.

52. Key trend 5: ‘Pay to play’
Source:dangerousminds.net
Facebook’s ‘reachpocolypse’ – the
steady decrease in organic reach to
users’ Newsfeeds – is strongly linked
to the company’s IPO and focus on
delivering value for shareholders.
Some suggest Facebook is forcing
brands to now pay to reach their
followers to boost profits although it
may also be a way of ‘protecting’
users’ Newsfeeds from sub-standard
brand content.
To increase reach organically, brands
need to provide quality, relevant,
timely content that meets users’
needs.

53. Summary

54. Define a clear purpose or raison d’être

55. Start and continue with the brand in mind

56. Create content that resonates

57. Don’t put all investment into social
– your owned channel/ website is key

58. Remember the five key tenets of social media :

59. Thank you for reading!
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