Status Update: Social Media Trends and Updates (2018: Vol. 1)

© 2018 The Social Lights® LLC |
STATUS UPDATE
1
A quarterly social media trend report,
courtesy of The Social Lights®. 2018.1

How can you generate deeper engagement?
The beneﬁts of social media lie in generating meaningful
engagement. What steps are being taken to better connect with
consumers? See where brands and platforms are focusing, from
engagement baiting to an updated News Feed algorithm.
How do you impact the bottom line through social?
Brands and marketing executives struggle in translating social
media metrics into bottom-line results. From sales attribution to
lead generation, calls for transparency and improved metrics are
being heard, and platforms are adapting.
How do you tap into ‘Dark Social’?
‘Dark Social’ is gaining traction in the headlines, and brands are
working hard to track who, how, and where consumers are
sharing content through texts, DMs, and one-to-one messaging
platforms. What can you do to start drawing insights from the
largely-untapped space?
How do platforms attract top content creators?
If you want people to create amazing content for your platform,
it makes sense to give them the necessary tools to create that
content directly within your platform. So, what new tools are
platforms rolling out for creators?
Platforms and advertisers are taking aim at solving four key
problems in social media.
What’s happening?
2

Generating Deeper Engagement
3
Improve algorithms and discoverability.

Give consumers a stronger voice.

Maximize relevance of content delivered.

Create interactive, physical experiences.

Solution: Cut down on the amount of passive content shared by brands and publishers.
4
Problem: How can you generate deeper, more meaningful engagement?
In news that rocked the marketing world, Mark Zuckerberg announced
the latest update to Facebook’s News Feed. The update currently won’t
aﬀect promoted content, but it is problematic for brands and publishers
who rely on organic content.
From Zuckerberg: “The ﬁrst changes you'll see will be in News Feed,
where you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups.”
… “As we roll this out, you'll see less public content like posts from
businesses, brands, and media.”
While the immediate reaction is to panic, there are ways for brands and
marketers to maximize their organic impact.
1. Focus on emerging content (ex: Live Video)
2. Generate meaningful conversations (ex: Groups).
3. Don’t post unless it’s about something worth hearing.
4. Focus on content your audience wants to see, not what you want to show
them.

Solution: Improve feed algorithms and discoverability to help better connect users to
personally-relevant content.
5
Algorithms, while widely disliked, could be more misunderstood
than negative. These content curators help platforms show
people more personally-relevant content. The volume of
published content is unconsumable, and algorithms identify the
content we are mostly likely to engage with.
Now, how do you make it easier for consumers to ﬁnd more of
this content, speciﬁcally geared towards content from creators
and publishers they may not already be following?
Platforms are taking a variety of approaches…
Facebook’s Explore Feed is the platform’s latest attempt at improving how users
discover new and relevant content.
• Facebook’s Explore Feed
• Happening Now on Twitter
• Follow hashtags on Instagram
• Snapchat Context Cards
• Pin codes and Lens Your Look
• Sections on Pinterest
• Recommended posts on Instagram
• Snapchat redesign

Brand Impact: Use polls to give your audience
a voice by polling what type of content they
want to see or want you to post next, and then
follow through after the polling period closes.
Solution: Look for ways to give consumers a stronger
voice on topics of interest.
6
Deeper engagement on social media typically stems from users connecting over
common ground and shared interests. Building off that, brands benefit most when
marketers are able to connect people based on those interests.
That started in July, when Facebook introduced Groups, a place where fans can
congregate within a brand Page based on common conversations, brand values,
and / or product applications. In December, Facebook started testing topics, a way
for brands, users, and influencers to seed conversations, creating mini-forums.
Additionally, Instagram and Facebook are both leveraging polls, a way for users to
interact with their favorite friends and follows.

Solution: Brands turn to programmatic advertising and dynamic
creative to establish and maximize relevance.
7
Brands and marketers are putting platform analytics and
campaign reports to work, delivering personally relevant content
to consumers based on questions of Who, What, When and Why.
Identifying the who starts with identifying why, and by leveraging
that growing data set, brands are triangulating ad positioning
based on current events, user engagements, and personal interests.
Dynamic creative helps brands deﬁne the what and when, taking a
mass number of creative combinations (based on copy and visuals)
and customizing the delivery of any and all combinations based on
individual consumer insights.
These insight-driven content funnels are helping brands guide
consumers through the sales journey in generating awareness,
fostering interest and loyalty though engagement, and maximizing
sales and results through conversions.

TSL Brand Crush: Tennessee Department of Tourism
8
Tennessee Department of Tourism deployed ads on YouTube leveraging dynamic creative.
With its agency partners, the department filmed hundreds of short video clips. Then, using
the platform’s creative capabilities, the team used consumer insights to target individuals
based on location, interests, and purchase behaviors.
The efforts resulted in 2,000 different variations of the ad, each customized to maximize
relevance with each and every viewer. The campaign delivered 44 million videos, drew
over 320,000 hours of video exposure, and drove a 46% increase in web traffic.
Additionally, among those surveyed, 93% noted the campaign inspired them to take a
vacation to Tennessee within the next year.

A recent trend lands where physical and digital worlds collide.
Brands are turning to physical, out-of-the-box experiences,
ones that are aimed at driving digital and social conversations
in favor of the brand.
In any form, the first step in generating conversations (digital or
in-person) is creating or offering something share-worthy.
Solution: Create an interactive, physical experience to generate social conversations.
9
McDonald’s did this through it’s Uber Eats launch, offering
branded swag to select orders on the first day of operation.
Restaurants are doing this through lighting and interior design.
Brands are partnering with publishers to create immersive
experiences, like these from Refinery29.
Image via NYMagImage via CNBC

TSL Brand Crush: Museum of Ice Cream
10
The Museum of Ice Cream is having a moment on Instagram. Every corner of the exhibit is
photo-ready, It features interactive experiences like a ball pit ﬁlled with sprinkles. A recent
trend in Instagram aesthetic, the Museum of Ice Cream blasts the space with whimsical and
energetic colors, and this comes to life around the shared love of ice cream.
Bringing this all together, the Museum of Ice Cream creates made-for-social moments that
anyone and everyone will want to…
A. Take pictures of themselves sharing in the experience.
B. Engage with others in the experience.
C. Visit and revisit the museum.
The Museum of Ice Cream generates user-generated content by the truckload, resulting in a
word-of-mouth movement, and the popularity has grown so drastically, that the museum
now features popup shops around the country.
Simply put, make it easy for people to capture social-friendly content at your business. The
easier it is to capture that photo, the easier it is shared, and the easier your message is spread.

© 2018 The Social Lights® LLC | 11
Delivering Tangible Business Results
Show marketers the money.

Make implicit numbers explicit.

Show attribution through data and conversions.

Solution: Paraphrasing Jerry Maguire, “Show ‘em the money!”
Problem: How do you deliver bottom-line results through social?
Social Commerce is on the rise across platforms, and advertisers are gaining
better insights into their ROI. Facebook is leading the charge, announcing in-app
food delivery and ordering, Venmo and Shopify integrations, and even a new
‘Shop’ tab for brands on Instagram. These features are immediately relevant for
businesses of all sizes.
Snapchat, the ephemeral app for ‘real friends’, is leaning into the influence of
one-to-one engagement through Context Cards. These geotagged cards help
showcase what that location has to offer, be it an event, coffee shop, restaurant,
or retailer.
Brand Impact: With in-app payments and shopping options, brands
should be looking to implement made-for-social sales funnels within
their advertising and targeting strategies.

Solution: Make the quantity of web traffic generated painstakingly obvious.
Those previously mentioned Context Cards are just one of Snapchat’s efforts to
deliver value for businesses, as wider adoption of link-sharing capabilities are
catching on within the platform. And don’t forget about those Snap Codes from
earlier in 2017, either.
Pinterest sure hasn’t. The world’s favorite idea catalog is adapting the QR code
through Pin Codes, which allow users to scan a code on a product or sign to
“access curated product listings and offers via a business’s Pinterest boards.”

Solution: Show attribution by tracking in-store visits generated.
An added perk of Snapchat’s Context Cards? Attribution.
Additional metrics are available for brands leveraging the tool, and as reporting
continues to be built out on the platform, it isn’t too far-fetched to see Snapchat
returning numbers like…
Another step in this direction, Snapchat introduced a Facebook-like feature in a
Snapchat Pixel. Brands and advertisers can add a piece of code to their website,
enabling expanded reporting and metrics through web traﬃc and, again, attribution.
An added beneﬁt, this Pixel also brings in the potential for retargeting, a high-value
feature for advertisers looking to funnel consumers through the sales journey.
• Uber rides generated
• TripAdvisor reviews created
• Website visits
• Reservations made
• Orders placed
• Sales generated

TSL Brand Crush: Sephora
Beauty and Retail leader Sephora turned to Facebook Messenger to engage customers and bring
them in-store. The beauty brand developed a chatbot to simplify the appointment-booking
process, helping clients and customers book an in-store appointment in just three steps.
1. I want to book an appointment.
2. I live in this city.
3. I would like this time.
The chatbot eased the booking process by removing 5 additional steps required by other
booking channels, and people booked at an 11% higher rate through Messenger.
Sephora’s overarching goal in creating the experience was “Meeting her where she is.” The
brand places a very high value on in-store experiences, and the conversational nature of the
platform was critical in driving those in-store opportunities.

Attracting Creators, Being Home to Top Content
Oﬀer tools necessary to create.

Make it easy for creators to create.

Help creators engage their audiences.

Problem: How do you attract and retain top content creators?
Solution: Attract creators with tools necessary to create.
In most cases, step one of being home to a highly-successful
product is being home to the tools needed to create said product.
At least, that’s the approach social platforms are taking to
content creation.
Facebook announced a barrage of content creation tools in
recent months, including…
• 3D posts
• Audio Library
• Live Broadcast Studio
• AR Capabilities
• Standalone Creator App

Solution: Make it easy for creators to create.
Further down Facebook’s web of apps, Instagram and
Messenger were also busy adding tools for creators. In Stories,
Instagrammers can now crosspost content between Instagram
and Facebook, yet another attempt by Facebook to get users to
engage with the feature within its flagship app.
This begs the question: “How long until Stories are an integrated
post across all of Facebook’s apps?”
Within Stories themselves, Instagram introduced a stop-motion
tool, new color pickers, new fonts, and the aforementioned
polls. And, to give creators more flexibility in what they can
share to the space, users can now upload any photo, regardless
of whether or not it was captured within the previous 24 hours.
Additionally, if you’re feeling particularly proud of a specific
story, you can now save that story to your profile indefinitely,
rather than leaving it to expire after 24 hours.

Brand Impact: Golden Rule Collective did this by leveraging Instagram
Stories to let fans decide which shoe design would be featured in stores.
This implements social proof and gives the fans a feeling of “I did this,”
further tying them to both the brand and the product.
19
Solution: Help creators better engage their audiences.
Continuing oﬀ of Slide 5, where we broke down what platforms are doing to give fans and
consumers a voice, brands and creators have access to these same tools and can make them
work in their favor.
1. Gauge interest: Questioning whether or not you should post on a topic? Get your audiences
opinion. Deciding between two content directions? Ask the audience.
2. Interact and follow through: Once you have their attention and opinion, be sure to follow
through. The more your audience sees that you’re open to their engagement, the more they’ll
look to engage and interact in the future. However, if you show that you don’t take their opinion
seriously, that too will be reﬂected in future engagement.
3. Draw insights: Through groups and conversation topics, you can learn exactly what it is about
your brand that attracts new fans and creates loyal advocates. This will help you strengthen
those allegiances and drive further growth in brand advocacy.

Brand Impact: SpaceX leverages Facebook’s tools and scale to live
stream its test launches to the world. Elon Musk and his companies
regularly make the headlines and stir conversations, and broadcasting
these tests live oﬀers something you can’t get anywhere else.
20
Solution: Live content, outperforms its counterpart, so oﬀer the tools
necessary to create professional-level broadcasts.
Whether in creating or sharing content, platforms are prioritizing Live video,
and rightly so. Live video, which boasts view times that are three times longer
than its non-live counterpart, is a publisher darling at the moment.
To generate shares, Instagram turned to personal invitations, both in allowing
friends to invite friends to join live broadcasts and in sharing live content
through direct messages.
Also, in generating interest, it typically helps to feature high-interest content.
Facebook is following this initiative by expanding its Watch platform.

TSL Brand Crush: Benefit Cosmetics and Facebook Live
Benefit Cosmetics is leading the charge in serialized live content on Facebook. The
brand uncovers beauty tricks, offers DIY tutorials on ever-evolving beauty trends,
and features highly-relatable talent through humor, personality, and even on-air
cocktails.
Facebook’s latest moves in offering production-quality live broadcasts, improving
share-ability, and generating audience engagement are directed at keeping creators
and publishers like Benefit Cosmetics happy.
Benefit’s serialized videos tackle constantly evolving topics like beauty trends and
tutorials, ensuring that they’re never short on content. By holding consistency in
timing, personnel, and content, people know what and when to hear from the brand.
On top of that, this consistency plays well with Facebook’s algorithms, helping the
platform deliver more relevant and engaging content to a larger audience.
This approach is backed by the brand’s viewership, which average over 10,000
viewers and routinely spike to over 100,000.

Accessing and Leveraging Dark Social
22
Leverage existing one-to-one platforms.

Take advantage of new updates.

Start conversations using new ad formats.

Problem: How can brands tap into and measure ‘Dark Social’?
Solution: Leverage existing one-to-one platforms to get
comfortable in more intimate brand-consumer relationships.
Dark social presents a great opportunity for marketers, especially in creating
meaningful experiences for consumers.
The down side? Not much is measurable (yet). While we wait on platforms to
announce business-level insights in one-to-one messaging apps, we’re left to
develop our own.
In the meantime, turn to existing features and platforms to start familiarizing
yourself and your brand with these hyper-personal settings.
How do you do this?
• Get more active in Instagram Direct.
• Focus on your shortening response time in Facebook Messenger.
• Encourage direct messages from your fans and followers, whether through UGC
sourcing, Q&A contests, or anything that might spur a conversation!

Solution: Take advantage of recent Messenger updates.
Facebook’s Messenger is growing into the beast it was expected to become. The
1.3 billion-user platform is pushing hard into games and adding live streaming
and messaging capabilities. Additionally, Messenger and brands can now
monetize these games through ads and in-app purchases.
Additionally, in supporting peer-to-peer payments, Messenger now hosts both
Venmo and PayPal.
And, as with any platform looking to age down, ethical questions arise,
speciﬁcally concerning new, younger users. To help prepare younger users for
social media and the Messenger platform, Facebook launched an introductory
version, Messenger for Kids.

Solution: Get comfortable starting one-to-one conversations
with new ad formats.
One of the hurdles facing brands in the transition to one-to-one
messaging is starting the conversation. How do brands efficiently start
conversations with mass numbers of fans?
Facebook is monetizing the answer.
As with content posting and audience viewership, the easiest and most
effective way to ensure that your content is viewed is by putting some
money behind it.
To get these conversations rolling, Facebook is leveraging new ad formats,
ones that open a direct dialogue between a page and a user.
Brand Impact: Does your brand leverage chatbots? Drive
awareness to these conversation drivers through paid support,
leading to a conversation with brand’s bot. Target these
conversations based on interests and likes to ensure relevance.
Example: A camera company could leverage a “product finder”
bot that connects people to the camera appropriate for their
knowledge and experience. Then to leverage the bot, the
company employs Click-to-Messenger ads to drive one-to-one,
ROI-loaded conversations.
• Click to WhatsApp• Messenger Broadcast

TSL Brand Crush: Chex Mix
For the most part, one-to-one messaging is founded on text and writing. However,
with the growing popularity of gifs and video content, more and more visuals are
being shared in ‘Dark Social’. Recognizing this, Chex Mix saw the opportunity to
subtly move into these one-to-one conversations.
To do so, Chex Mix created a library of relatable reaction gifs, which are available
for public use. The gifs have been viewed over 6 million times, and these
downloadable content blocks pop up in branded posts, unaﬃliated tweets, and
even direct messages.
The value to this approach is an example of how brands can dive into these one-
to-one conversations. Rather than jumping in feet ﬁrst with branded messaging
and pushy sales content, Chex Mix found a way to tap into a highly personal
space in a largely unbranded way. In doing so, the approach also keeps Chex Mix
top of mind.

News and Notes from Around the Industry
27
Industry updates and headlines.

The latest from The Social Lights.

Miscellaneous
YouTube promotes YouTube TV using Live TV within ads.
Vine 2 is on its way.
Here’s why HQ Trivia is so popular.
VSCO introduces instant messaging.
Niantic is following Pokemon GO with a Harry Potter game.
Amazon’s inﬂuencer program now includes Twitter and Instagram.
Snapchat
Snapchat and NBC team up for scripted content.
Metamarket acquired to up ad-tech.
Introducing an updated Ads Manager,
Delivering ﬁlters based on object recognition technology.
Instagram
Crack down on fair use and stolen content with new Rights Manager.
Publishers are beating the algorithm using a Sandwiching Strategy.
A standalone app for direct messaging is in testing.
Instagram launched an alpha-testing app on iOS and Android.
28
Around the Industry
Extra tidbits and current need-to-knows in social media.
Facebook
New deals with UMG and Sony Music, pushing further into media.
Pandery posts and engagement baiting are on their way out.
Marketplace now supports cars, homes, and rentals.
New metrics being tested within custom audiences.
Messenger Plug-in brings live chat and bots to websites.
Marketers can educate themselves through Facebook’s Ads Guide.
Twitter
The platform’s monthly ad subscription model moved into public beta.
The battle against hate and harassment grows.
Twitter will now tell you if content has been removed for legal reasons.
280 characters and Tweetstorms are now available to the masses.
Happening Now helps users locate trending conversations.

Around the Industry
The Latest from The Social Lights.
Catch up on our musings, tips, and ramblings from the past few months:
• The Social Lights’ Guide to Social Care
• TSL’s 2017 Reﬂections and 2018 Predictions
• Why Digital Ad Costs Rise During the Holidays
• How 280 Creates New Opportunities for Marketers on Twitter
• 5 Social Media Hacks to Give the Gift They Never Knew They Needed
• What Brands Can Learn About Live Content From HQ Trivia
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Status Update: Social Media Trends and Updates (2018: Vol. 1)