Digital Media Trends for 2017 and FY 2018. From Facebook to IoT, VR, AR and more.

1. DIGITAL MEDIA2017 TRENDS FOR BUSINESSES
S O C I A L M E D I A , A I , I o T & M O R E

2. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, DIGITAL MEDIA
FAIRFAX COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
HELLO!
I AM RACHEL A. ADLER
YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT @RACHELA_ADLER
FOLLOW NATIONAL MARKETING AT @FAIRFAXEDA_NM

3. S TAT I S T I C S F R O M T H E 2 0 1 7 M A R K E T I N G
T E C H N O L O G Y L A N D S C A P E
T H E O F F I C I A L S TAT S F O R T H I S Y E A R :
• T H E R E A R E N O W 5 , 3 8 1 S O L U T I O N S O N
T H E G R A P H I C , 3 9 % M O R E T H A N L A S T
Y E A R
• T H E R E A R E N O W 4 , 8 9 1 U N I Q U E
C O M PA N I E S O N T H E G R A P H I C , U P 4 0 %
F R O M L A S T Y E A R
• O N LY 4 . 7 % O F T H E S O L U T I O N S F R O M
2 0 1 6 W E R E R E M O V E D ( A N D A N O T H E R
3 . 5 % C H A N G E D I N S O M E F U N D A M E N TA L
WAY — T H E I R N A M E , T H E I R F O C U S , O R
T H E I R O W N E R S H I P )

4. Gartner Digital Marketing Transit Map

5. MARY MEEKER’S
INTERNET TRENDS 2017
ACCORDING TO A TRENDS REPORT RELEASED
MAY 2017 BY KLEINER PERKINS PARTNER MARY
MEEKER
o SMARTPHONE SALES ARE SLOWING
o AS OF 2016 AROUND 2.8 BILLION PEOPLE OWNED
SMARTPHONES.
o DIGITAL MEDIA USE CONTINUES TO GROW
o THE AMOUNT OF TIME ADULTS SPENT WITH DIGITAL
MEDIA IN 2016 GREW FROM THE THE PREVIOUS
YEAR, WITH AVERAGE TIME INCREASING TO 5.6
HOURS A DAY—UP FROM 5.4 HOURS IN 2015.
o MOBILE 3.1 HOURS (INCREASING FROM 2.8 IN
2015)
o DESKTOP 2.2 HOURS
o OTHER CONNECTED DEVICES 0.4 HOURS
o INTERNET AD SPENDS HAS OUTGROWN TV AD SPEND
o TOTAL GLOBAL AD SPEND LAST YEAR FOR BOTH THE
INTERNET AND TV WERE AROUND $180 BILLION,
WITH INTERNET SPENDING EXPECTED TO GROW
FASTER THAN TV IN 2017.
o GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK CONTINUED TO TAKE THE
LION’S SHARE, ACCOUNTING FOR 85 PERCENT OF ALL
GROWTH IN THE U.S.
o LAST YEAR, GOOGLE EXPERIENCED 20
PERCENT GROWTH OVER ITS 2015 REVENUE,
WHILE FACEBOOK GREW BY 62 PERCENT.
o VOICE-ACTIVATED DEVICES ARE GETTING MORE POPULAR
o AMAZON’S ALEXA VOICE PLATFORM HAS NOW
PASSED 15,000 SKILLS — THE VOICE-POWERED
APPS THAT RUN ON DEVICES LIKE THE ECHO
SPEAKER, ECHO DOT, NEWER ECHO SHOW AND
OTHERS. THE FIGURE IS UP FROM THE 10,000 SKILLS
AMAZON OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED BACK IN
FEBRUARY, WHICH HAD THEN REPRESENTED A 3X
INCREASE FROM SEPTEMBER. SOURCE:
HTTPS://TECHCRUNCH.COM/2017/07/03/AMAZONS-
ALEXA-PASSES-15000-SKILLS-UP-FROM-10000-IN-
FEBRUARY/
o MOBILE GROWTH ADVERTISING IS FLOURISHING
o INTERNET ADVERTISING SPEND IN THE U.S. TOTALED
$73 BILLION, WITH ABOUT $43 BILLION COMING FROM
MOBILE.
o FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS, DESKTOP AD SPENDING
HAS FLUCTUATED BETWEEN $30 MILLION AND $38
MILLION.
o AD BLOCKING ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE
o AD BLOCKING, ESPECIALLY ON MOBILE, CONTINUES
TO INCREASE, WITH NEARLY 400 MILLION DEVICES
USING AD BLOCKERS LAST YEAR. BUT DESKTOP AD
BLOCKING SEEMS TO HAVE SLOWED—AROUND 240
MILLION DEVICES ARE USING SIMILAR SOFTWARE.
o PREROLL IS OUT, INCENTIVE-BASED AS ARE IN
o INCENTIVE-BASED AND SKIPPABLE ADS WERE
PREFERRED OVER OTHER FORMATS, WITH MOBILE-
APP POP UPS AND PREROLL ADS BEING THE LEAST
DESIRABLE.

8. SOCIAL MEDIA HAS ALSO SEEN A HEALTHY
GROWTH OF 8% YEAR-ON-YEAR TO SCORE AN
IMPRESSIVE TOTAL PENETRATION OF 37%.
TO GIVE YOU SOME MORE CONTEXT, 2.539
BILLION OF ALL 2.789 BILLION SOCIAL MEDIA
USERS CAME FROM MOBILE.
DIGITAL IN 2017 GLOBAL REVIEW ON SLIDESHARE

11. -JIMMY WALES, FOUNDER, WIKIPEDIA
“IMAGINE A WORLD IN WHICH EVERY SINGLE PERSON
ON THE PLANET IS GIVEN FREE ACCESS
TO THE SUM OF ALL HUMAN KNOWLEDGE”

12. FACEBOOK.world
F8 2017
BATTLE SNAPCHAT FOR VISUAL DOMINANCE
CONNECTED WORLD: DRONES, BOT, VR/AR, LASERS & MORE
STRENGTHENING WHATSAPP, COMMUNITY & FB MESSENGER
FACEBOOK FOR WORK

13. FACEBOOK STATS
APPROXIMATELY 85.8% OF DAILY ACTIVE USERS ARE OUTSIDE THE US AND CANADA
1.28 BILLION DAILY ACTIVE USERS ON AVERAGE FOR MARCH 2017
1.94 BILLION MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS AS OF MARCH 31, 2017
TOTAL 18,770 EMPLOYEES AS OF MARCH 31, 2017
THE FOUR TYPES
• RELATIONSHIP BUILDERS USE THE
SITE AS AN EXTENSION OF THEIR
REAL LIFE, WITH THEIR FAMILY AND
REAL-LIFE FRIENDS
• TOWN CRIERS WANT TO INFORM
EVERYBODY ABOUT WHAT'S GOING
ON
• SELFIES USE FACEBOOK TO SELF
PROMOTE
• WINDOW SHOPPERS WANT TO SEE
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING

14. FACEBOOK IS THE PREFERRED SOCIAL MEDIA
NETWORK FOR BABY BOOMERS AND SENIORS 65+ ,
HOSTING APPROXIMATELY 8.8 MILLION SENIORS;
WHILE 15.5% OF BABY BOOMERS WHO HAVE AN
ACCOUNT SPEND 11+ HOURS PER WEEK ON THE SITE
(SOURCE).
PINTEREST COMES IN SECOND PLACE WITH 2.3
MILLION SENIOR USERS, FOLLOWED BY 2.1 MILLION
ON TWITTER AND 0.4 MILLION ON INSTAGRAM. REFER
BACK TO FIGURE 3 FEATURING THE GROWTH OF U.S.
SOCIAL NETWORK USERS CATEGORIZED BY AGE OVER
TIME.
THE REPORT WAS BASED ON DATA FROM A SURVEY
CONDUCTED IN JANUARY 2017 OF 1,000 MILLENNIALS
(AGE 18-34), GEN XERS (AGE 34-54), AND BABY
BOOMERS (AGE 55+) IN THE UNITED STATES.
SOME OF 65% OF GEN XERS AS WELL AS BABY
BOOMERS SAY FACEBOOK IS THEIR FAVORITE SOCIAL
NETWORK.

15. Marketers say Facebook is the social network they use most—as well as value most—for
marketing their business, according to recent research from Social Media Examiner.
The report was based on data from a survey conducted in January 2017 of 5,710 marketers from around
the world; 67% of respondents work for B2C-focused firms, and 33% work for B2B-focused firms.
Some 94% of respondents say they use Facebook as part of their marketing efforts.
Also, 68% use Twitter; 56%, LinkedIn; 54%, Instagram; 45%, YouTube; 30%, Pinterest; and 7%,
Snapchat.

16. FACEBOOK JUST SHOWED US ITS 10 YEAR ROADMAP
IN ONE GRAPHIC HTTP://READ.BI/1VK8TTG
FACEBOOK IS CREATING AN AMBIENT WEB

17. ACQUISITIONS & THE BATTLE
COLUMNS

18. CHATBOTS, AI & PERSONALIZED ASSISTANCE, OH MY!
PROVIDING POSITIVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND SERVICE MEANS LEVERAGING THE
POWER OF TECHNOLOGY. ASKING LOCALS FOR ADVICE ON WHERE TO EAT IS GOOD, BUT
THEY DON’T KNOW WHETHER YOU LIKE SPICY FOOD OR HAVE A GLUTEN INTOLERANCE.
IMAGINE A CHATBOT WHO KNOWS YOUR LIKES, DISLIKES, AND NEEDS AND CAN GUIDE YOU
ON WHERE TO EAT, HOW TO TRAVEL, OR WHERE TO SHOP. CHATBOTS CAN USE AI, DEEP
LEARNING, AND DATA CRUMBS FROM ACROSS THE WEB TO UNDERSTAND AND GUIDE
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR.
FIVE SIMPLE WAYS TO BUILD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN 2017
HTTPS://WWW.SITEPOINT.COM/SIMPLE-WAYS-TO-BUILD-ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE
THE RISE OF THE MACHINES

19. MESH: THE MESH REFERS TO THE DYNAMIC CONNECTION OF PEOPLE,
PROCESSES, THINGS AND SERVICES SUPPORTING INTELLIGENT DIGITAL
ECOSYSTEMS. AS THE MESH EVOLVES, THE USER EXPERIENCE
FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGES AND THE SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGY AND
SECURITY ARCHITECTURES AND PLATFORMS MUST CHANGE AS WELL.
SOURCE: GARTNER
DIGITAL & AI COLLIDE

22. CHATBOTS ARE A KIND OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT
CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE. FACEBOOK
HAD INTEGRATED THEM WITHIN FACEBOOK MESSENGER,
AND BUSINESSES ARE NOW USING THEM TO COMMUNICATE
WITH CUSTOMERS.
CHATBOTS ARE ALREADY HELPING BUSINESSES IMPROVE
CUSTOMER SERVICE BY QUICKLY RESPONDING TO THEIR
COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.
MORE THAN A THIRD OF PEOPLE ALREADY PREFER SOCIAL
MEDIA OVER A PHONE CALL FOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT.
MILLENNIALS WANT SELF-SERVICE AND LIKE TO RESOLVE
THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUES MAINLY TECHNOLOGY
AS IT'S FAST, EFFICIENT, AND BRIEF. SOON, BRANDS MIGHT
NOT BOTHER HAVING A WEBSITE AT ALL, AND CONDUCT ALL
THEIR CUSTOMER RELATIONS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.
WHAT MARKETERS CAN LEARN ABOUT CHATBOTS FROM
PROS THAT HAVE SEEN EARLY SUCCESS
HTTP://ADWEEK.IT/2OTSF6V

23. THE BOTS LANDSCAPE
197 COMPANIES, $22B IN FUNDING AND
$159B VALUATION.
ACCORDING TO TECH COMPANY RETALE, 58% OF
MILLENNIALS WHO TOOK PART IN A SURVEY RESPONDED IN
THE POSITIVE THAT THEY HAVE USED CHATBOTS, OF THE
42% WHO HAD NOT USED THEM 53% SAID THEY HAD
INTEREST IN USING THEM AT SOME POINT WITH ONLY 26%
SAYING THEY HAD NO INTEREST IN DOING SO. THE
REMAINING 20% REMAINED NEUTRAL ON THE STANCE
TOWARDS THEM.

24. SMART HOMES & SMART ASSISTANTS:
OKAY GOOGLE, HOW’S THE WEATHER TODAY?
ALEXA, WHAT DOES MY SCHEDULE LOOK LIKE TODAY?
THESE PHRASES WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY COMMON AS THE SMART ASSISTANT AND SMART
HOME TAKE BIGGER STRIDES IN 2017. WITH AMAZON’S RELEASE OF THE AMAZON ECHO WITH
ALEXA IN LATE 2015, IN-HOME AI HAS BECOME A GROWING TREND IN TECHNOLOGY. AMAZON
HAS ADDED IN LATE 2017: ECHO SHOW – WHICH IS VIDEO & ECHO LOOK – WHICH IS MACHINE
LEARNING & HELPS YOU DRESS.
IN 2016, GOOGLE PUSHED OUT THEIR GOOGLE HOME DEVICE, CAPABLE OF PLAYING MUSIC
FROM YOUR FAVORITE SOURCES, AND CONTROLLING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF YOUR HOME.

25. JARVIS WILL COMPETE WITH ALEXA.
THE SYSTEM CAN RECOGNIZE SPEECH
LIKE OTHER SMART HOME DEVICES,
BUT IT ALSO USES SOPHISTICATED
NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING THAT
ALLOWS IT TO LEARN NEW WORDS AND
CONCEPTS, EMPLOY FACIAL
RECOGNITION AND MORE,
ZUCKERBERG WROTE.
ONE THING THAT REALLY SETS JARVIS
APART FROM AMAZON'S ALEXA AND
GOOGLE HOME SYSTEM IS THE ABILITY
COMMUNICATE WITH IT REMOTELY VIA
TEXT MESSAGE.
Jarvis – AI BOT
FACEBOOK’S JARVIS

26. -SUNDAR PICHAI
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF GOOGLE
“IN THE LONG RUN, I THINK WE WILL EVOLVE IN
COMPUTING FROM A MOBILE-FIRST TO AN AI
FIRST WORLD.”

27. ALMOST 75% OF MILLENNIALS ARE INTERESTED IN
VIRTUAL REALITY, AND 2017 MAY JUST BE THE YEAR
THEY BLOW UP THE IDEA OF SELF INSERTION INTO
MEDIA.
SEVERAL VR SETS WENT ON SALE AND GENERATED
HYPE, ALTHOUGH THEY DON’T SEEM TO HAVE THAT
KILLER APP YET.
THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THESE
TECHNOLOGIES IS YET TO BE WORKED OUT BEYOND
GAMING.
BRANDS WITH PHYSICAL STORES ARE LIKELY TO BE
INTERESTED IN AR DEVELOPMENT, AS IT MAKES
PROXIMITY-BASED OFFERS AND ENGAGEMENT
POSSIBLE.
VIRTUAL REALITY
SNAPCHAT SELFIE LENSES BROUGHT THE IDEA OF
AUGMENTED REALITY INTO THE SOCIAL SPHERE.
POKÉMON GO (ARGUABLY A SOCIAL MEDIA APP)
TURNED IT INTO A SENSATION IN 2016.
SO YOU CAN’T EXPECT THE OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS
TO NOT JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON IN 2017. MARK
ZUCKERBERG HAS CONFIRMED THAT FACEBOOK IS
ALREADY EXPERIMENTING WITH AUGMENTED REALITY.
THEY RECENTLY ACQUIRED MASQUERADE, A LIVE
FILTER AND SELFIE APP FOR LIVE STREAMING VIDEO.
AUGMENTED REALITY
AUGMENTED REALITY
& VIRTUAL REALITY

29. SPEECH TECHNOLOGIES
NEW USES OF SPEECH TECHNOLOGIES ARE CHANGING THE
WAY PEOPLE INTERACT WITH COMPANIES, DEVICES, AND EACH
OTHER. SPEECH FREES USERS FROM KEYBOARDS AND TINY
SCREENS AND ENABLES VALUABLE, EFFECTIVE INTERACTIONS
IN A VARIETY OF CONTEXTS.
WHERE ARE SPEECH TECHNOLOGIES:
• SELF-SERVICE TECHNOLOGIES: ADD VISUAL COMPONENTS
AND HUMAN AGENTS TO IVR.
• STATISTICAL LANGUAGE MODELS: AN ALTERNATIVE TO
GRAMMARS USED BY AUTOMATIC SPEECH RECOGNITION
SOFTWARE TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN SPEECH.
• TALKING WITH THINGS: LISTENING, SPEAKING, AND
DIRECTING HARDWARE PRODUCTS CONNECTED TO THE
INTERNET OF THINGS.
• VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS: SOFTWARE AGENTS ASSIST
CUSTOMERS TO SEARCH, ANALYZE, DIAGNOSE, REPAIR, AND
PURCHASE GOODS AND SERVICES.
• VIXD: DESIGN VOICE INTERFACES AND EXPERIENCES.
• BOTS :TRAINED SOFTWARE DIALOG ENGINES TO DRIVE CONVERSATIONAL
CUSTOMER DIALOGS.
• CONVERSATIONAL INTERFACES: APPROACHES FOR DEVELOPING NATURAL
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MACHINES AND PEOPLE.
• DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: INTEGRATION OF VARIOUS DIGITAL
COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS TO PROVIDE CONSISTENT AND UP-TO-DATE
INTERACTION BETWEEN COMPANY AND CUSTOMERS.
• INFRASTRUCTURE: USE OF BIOMETRICS AND ENABLING INTER-IVA
COMMUNICATIONS.
• INNOVATIVE USES OF ASR: NEW TYPES OF SPEECH AND DIALOG APPLICATIONS.
• METRICS: MEANINGFUL MEASUREMENTS FOR YOUR SPEECH SYSTEMS.
• NEXT BIG THING: STRATEGIC THINKING ABOUT THE NEXT TECHNOLOGIES AND
METHODOLOGIES FOR SPEECH-BASED INTERACTIONS.

30. SOCIAL
MESSAGING

31. WHATSAPP, FACEBOOK MESSENGER, VIBER &
WECHAT TOGETHER HAVE MORE USERS THAN
THE BIG NETWORKS: FACEBOOK, TWITTER,
LINKEDIN, & INSTAGRAM.
WHEN PEOPLE DISCUSS SOCIAL MEDIA, THERE ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE MORE
FOCUS ON SOCIAL NETWORKS THAN SOCIAL NETWORKING. THAT’S PRETTY
STRANGE, CONSIDERING THAT MESSAGING APPS HAVE A MUCH WIDER COMMUNITY
OF USERS THAN SOCIAL NETWORKS.
OVER-THE-TOP (OTT) MESSAGING AND SMS MESSAGING ARE MILLENNIALS’
PREFERRED FORM OF COMMUNICATION.
SIXTY-TWO PERCENT OF MILLENNIALS ARE MORE LOYAL TO BRANDS THAT ENGAGE
THEM VIA THOSE CHANNELS AND AN ESTIMATED TWO BILLION USERS WILL BE
MESSAGING THROUGH OTT APPS BY 2018. WHY IS THIS SO? MILLENNIALS WANT
THE PERSONAL TOUCH, TRANSPARENCY AND COLLABORATION THAT THE ONE-ON-
ONE COMMUNICATION ALLOWS.

32. RIGHT-TIME MARKETING
INSTEAD OF REAL-TIME
MARKETING
Real-time marketing — with eyes out for
opportunities to market and score — has been hot
the last few years. Think of Oreo’s “Dunking in the
Dark” campaign. As we now use data to isolate
the best moment to connect with consumers, real-
time should switch to right-time.

33. MOBILE
FIRST
MOBILE TRAFFIC NOW EXCEEDS DESKTOP TRAFFIC
AND 2 BILLION CONSUMERS WORLDWIDE ARE
EXPECTED TO OWN A SMARTPHONE IN 2016.
THERE’S NOTHING NEW ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF
MOBILE FRIENDLINESS OR HAVING APPS, BUT THE
COST OF IGNORING MOBILE SOCIAL MEDIA
EXPERIENCES FOR BRANDS DRAGGING THEIR FEET
WILL RISE DRAMATICALLY.
AT A MINIMUM, MAKE SURE GOOGLE THINKS YOUR
SITE IS MOBILE FRIENDLY AND MAYBE, MOST OF YOUR
CUSTOMERS WILL TOO.

34. LIVE VIDEO
YOUTUBE WAS BUILT ON A FOUNDATION OF VIDEOS THAT
CAPTURE REAL, UNFILTERED MOMENTS. NOW SOCIAL
MEDIA IS TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL BY OFFERING THE
CONTENT IN REAL-TIME. LIVE STREAMING VIDEO WAS FIRST
MADE POPULAR BY TWITTER’S PERISCOPE. NOW
FACEBOOK LIVE HAS LAUNCHED. SOCIAL VIDEOS HAVE
MUCH MORE ENGAGEMENT THAN ANY OTHER CONTENT
FORMAT, AND HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR A LOT OF
GROWTH ON FACEBOOK. EVEN NEWS SOURCES ARE
CITING FACEBOOK LIVE VIDEOS WHEN COVERING MAJOR
EVENTS. THE WORLD OF MEDIA IS CHANGING THANKS TO
LIVE VIDEO.
INSTAGRAM IS NOW TESTING THEIR OWN LIVE VIDEO
OPTION, AND THEY WON’T BE THE LAST PLATFORM TO
IMPLEMENT LIVE STREAMING VIDEO. SOCIAL MEDIA IS
BECOMING FASCINATED WITH LIVE, AUTHENTIC CONTENT.
MILLENNIALS LOVE VIDEO CONTENT AND ARE THE MOST
ACTIVE VIDEO VIEWERS OF ANY AGE GROUP IN THE U.S. IN
2016 AND THEY'RE NOT LIKELY TO SLOW DOWN IN 2017.

35. FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, AND PINTEREST OFFER WAYS
FOR USERS TO PURCHASE PRODUCTS FROM DIRECTLY WITHIN THEIR
APPS, AND SNAPCHAT STARTED TESTING AND ROLLING OUT
ECOMMERCE FEATURES IN THE SPRING OF 2016.
ACCORDING TO A SURVEY FROM AIMIA, 56% OF CONSUMERS SAID
THEY FOLLOWED BRANDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO BROWSE PRODUCTS
FOR SALE, AND 31% OF ONLINE SHOPPERS SAY THEY’RE USING
SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIFICALLY TO LOOK FOR NEW ITEMS TO
PURCHASE.
BRANDS SHOULD LEVERAGE THESE SHOPPING HABITS WHEN
THINKING ABOUT THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY FOR 2017. PEOPLE
COME TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO INTERACT WITH INTERESTING CONTENT,
SO INSTEAD OF SHARING A PHOTO OF A PRODUCT ON INSTAGRAM
WITH A “BUY NOW” CALL-TO-ACTION, SHARE GIFT IDEAS AND
PRODUCT TRENDS (24% AND 16% OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS
RELIED ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THESE, RESPECTIVELY) AND
ENCOURAGE ONLINE SHOPPING WITHOUT DIRECTLY ASKING FOR IT.
SOCIAL MEDIA ECOMMERCE

36. VISUAL MEDIA
“VISUALS AND VIDEOS HAVE TRULY
SURGED OVER THE PAST SIX
MONTHS, AND CONSUMERS –
PARTICULARLY THOSE IN THE
MILLENNIAL AND RISING GENERATION
Z COHORTS – HAVE TRULY
EMBRACED PICTURES AND VIDEOS AS
A WAY TO GATHER AND SHARE
INFORMATION,” DEBROFF SAYS.
“LOOK FOR NEW VISUAL PLATFORMS
TO ROLL OUT IN 2017 TO
ACCOMPANY EXISTING ONES AS
CONSUMERS GRAVITATE TOWARD
AUTHENTIC, LIVE-ACTION, VISUAL
STORYTELLING.”

37. KEY TAKEAWAYS
• THE MAJORITY OVER FIFTY WHO USE SOCIAL
MEDIA, USE FACEBOOK
• MANY OF LEADING-EDGE BOOMERS (15.5%)
SPEND 11+ HOURS PER WEEK ON FACEBOOK
• OVER HALF OF BOOMERS WHO USE SOCIAL
NETWORKING SITES VISIT A COMPANY WEBSITE OR
CONTINUE THEIR RESEARCH ON A SEARCH ENGINE
AS A RESULT OF SEEING SOMETHING ON SOCIAL
MEDIA
• A WHOPPING 82% OF BABY BOOMERS BELONG TO
AT LEAST ONE SOCIAL NETWORK, AND 71% OF
THIS GROUP USES SOCIAL MEDIA EVERY DAY
(SOURCE). THIS MEANS THIS AUDIENCE IS ONLINE
AND ACTIVE.
• 50% OF PEOPLE 65+ YEARS-OLD ARE SOCIAL
MEDIA USERS, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 11.6
MILLION INDIVIDUALS. WHEN CONSIDERING
FREQUENCY, 59% OF THIS GROUP IS ON SOCIAL
MEDIA EVERY DAY (SOURCE).
BOOMERS ON DIGITAL MEDIA

38. BRANDS HAVE TWO CHOICES: PAY UP, OR HAVE A TRUE
UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONTENT YOUR AUDIENCE WANTS
TO SEE AND PROVIDE IT TO THEM. EVEN THEN, YOU WOULD
NEED TO THINK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN MAXIMIZE SHARING,
AND ENGAGE INFLUENCERS TO INCREASE THE REACH. IN
THE END, A SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY WILL MOST LIKELY
HAVE TO INCLUDE PAYING MONEY TO THE NETWORKS.
PAY TO PLAY
IT SEEMS DISAPPEARING CONTENT MIGHT BE ABOUT
TO BECOME EVEN MORE POPULAR. IT WILL BE
INTERESTING TO WATCH THE INVENTIVE WAYS
BRANDS EMBRACE THESE NEW FEATURES, JUST AS
THEY HAVE FOR THEIR SNAPCHAT CAMPAIGNS.
EXPIRING CONTENT
WITH THE PRIORITY THAT FACEBOOK
GIVES TO VIDEO AND THE REDUCED
ORGANIC REACH, WE SHOULD SEE
BRANDS EXPERIMENTING WITH THIS NEW
FORMAT IN 2017.
CHATBOTS
THE POPULARITY OF DIRECT MESSAGING
APPS AND THE GROWING NUMBER OF
UNTRACEABLE, ENCRYPTED MESSAGES MEAN
ATTRIBUTION IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY
DIFFICULT.
DARK SOCIAL
NICHE CONTENT, INTERACTIVE
CONTENT, INNOVATIVE CAMPAIGNS: IT’S
ALL PART OF THE CONTENT ARMS RACE,
TRYING TO WIN LIMITED ATTENTION IN A
VERY BUSY SPACE.
INCREASED PERSONALIZATION
THE RISE OF DIGITAL ASSISTANTS, SUCH AS
SIRI, CORTANA, AND GOOGLE ASSISTANT
HAVE GOT PEOPLE USED TO TALKING TO THEIR
PHONE RATHER THAN EXERCISING THEIR
FINGERS.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
LIVE STREAMING

39. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ISN’T ALWAYS
THE TECH.
IT’S THE PEOPLE.

40. SMWI, AN INDEPENDENT SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK, PROVIDES COMMUNITY
ORGANIZERS AROUND THE WORLD WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO HOST AN
INDEPENDENTLY ORGANIZED EVENT DURING ONE OF THE FOUR EDITIONS
OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK CONFERENCE.
SMWI FAIRFAX (#SMWIFAIRFAX) WILL TAKE PLACE IN FAIRFAX COUNTY,
VIRGINIA, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017, AT CAPITAL ONE HEADQUARTERS IN
MCLEAN, VA, AS SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK TAKES PLACE AROUND THE
WORLD IN CITIES LIKE LONDON, MIAMI, ANN ARBOR AND ROME.
PURCHASE TICKETS NOW! HTTPS://WWW.EVENTBRITE.COM/E/SMWI-
FAIRFAX-TICKETS-34085585905

41. THANKS!
YOU CAN FIND ME AT: @RACHELA_ADLER OR RADLER@FCEDA.ORG
CONNECT WITH ME ON LINKEDIN:
HTTPS://WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/RADLER/
ANY QUESTIONS?