The document discusses how social media platforms are becoming less accessible and more like paid media as they strive for profits. It notes that organic reach on platforms like Facebook has declined from 16% to a predicted low of 2% as more content is shared, requiring businesses to pay to reach audiences. The document argues we have entered a "connective media age" where specialist knowledge and investment are needed. It recommends that businesses get to know their customers by listening to them, define clear objectives for their media activities, and create strategies and tactics to achieve these aims. The goal, it says, should be building a "social business" that delivers value to customers, employees and communities.

1. Have businesses been thinking
‘free media' rather than social media?
Aren Grimshaw, Minchin & Grimshaw

2. • As social media channels strive for profits has the balance
shifted towards them becoming paid media channels?
• How does having to pay for the media change the way we
think about content and its role in driving business?
• Is the term ‘social media’ still relevant or have we entered
the ‘connective media' age?

3. There are countless definitions of social media to
choose from; personally I’ve always favored…
“media for social interaction,
using highly accessible and scalable
communication techniques.”

4. But, what exactly does ‘highly accessible’ and scalable’
actually mean? Well it’s been taken to mean…
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free to use
openly available to anyone
doesn’t require specialist knowledge
can be scaled up to reach millions of people

5. …does that sound sustainable to you?

6. If we want to examine the idea further we can take
Facebook as an example.
Why Facebook?
Well, because it’s the largest, longest running
and most widely adopted social network
we have to base our insights on.

7. …does Facebook think that the current situation is sustainable?

8. “…on average, 1,500 pieces of content can
appear in each person’s News Feed each day,
yet due to space and time constraints,
Facebook typically serves up only 300 pieces of
this content a day.”

9. "Content that is eligible to be shown in news
feed is increasing at a faster rate than people's
ability to consume it.”

10. "We expect organic distribution to gradually
decline over time as we continually work to make
sure people have a more meaningful experience”
To put that in perspective, organic reach currently sits at 16% for users and
business page’s alike - some expect that number to fall as low as 2%.

11. So, what is the answer?

12. Facebook says…
“We’re getting to a place where
because more people are sharing more things,
the best way to get your stuff seen if you’re
a business is to pay for it.”

13. Let’s face it, you offer businesses or individuals a free route
to express their ideas and opinions, they’ll use it.
Eventually, as everyone rushes to speak it becomes more
and more difficult to hear the individual conversations over
the white noise.
That is what’s happening on Facebook…

14. …and it’s happening across the social media landscape.
Every Minute
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100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube
546,000 tweets are sent on Twitter
347 blog posts are published via Wordpress
38,000 new photos added to Instagram
2,083 check-ins on Foursquare

15. If up until now you’ve been guilty of thinking
‘free media’ rather than ‘social media’,
it’s time to revaluate your ideas.

16. Content is still king, but money rules.

17. Those with the budgets can afford better content
and wider distribution. They can afford the best
creative minds, and the most accurate data.

18. So, let’s return to our earlier definition of social media
“media for social interaction,
using highly accessible and scalable
communication techniques.”

19. Is social media still accessible to the average business? Or
is it more accurate to say that we have entered the
‘connective media’ age?
Where…
• Reach is paid for
• Specialist knowledge is required
• Investment in quality creative is the norm
• Kind of like it was before, with ‘traditional marketing’?

20. But, of course our ‘new’ media marketing has other benefits.
• It’s more measurable
• It’s more personal
• It’s more authentic

21. Except, of course, when…
• The measurements don’t
relate to business outcomes
• The updating is outsourced to an agency
• Brands pay people to say good things about them

22. The truth is that social media marketing
is coming of age in 2014.

23. The rules haven’t really changed.
Good marketing is still about understanding
• Markets
• Messages
• Channels
The right message, delivered to the right
audience at the right time.

24. You just have more channels to choose from,
and a better idea of who your customer is.
That is, if you choose to listen.

25. Because, the core difference between
social media and other forms of marketing
lies in your ability to hear your customer,
not in your ability to speak to them.

26. If you choose to listen, your business can
benefit from unrivalled insight into your
customers.
Not just demographics, or even technographics,
but psychographics too.
You can put a face to your customer.

27. So, taking all that on board.
How do I recommend you
use this information in 2014?

28. 1: Get to know your customer

29. Stop talking, start listening.

30. • Go away from here and identify what information you can already
access that will tell you more about your customers.
• Look at what your followers talk about on Twitter, read how your
clients describe their role on LinkedIn, check in on those Facebook
Insights.
• Review your customer database. What information do you store
already? What information should you be storing? What can you
learn from the data?

31. Everyone’s talking about ‘Big Data’ – but what
about the ‘Small Data’ you’re already ignoring in
your own business?

32. The deeper you understand your customer,
the more chance you have in making your marketing
effective in engaging their interest.

33. 2: Know what you want to achieve

34. Likes, comments and shares are what ‘brand
awareness’ was 10 years ago
- vanity metrics that mean nothing without
sales to back them up.

35. It may be unfashionable to talk about selling on social
media, but if you’re not selling more as a result of your
activity, what are you doing it all for?
The R in ROI is for Return – know what it is that you
want to achieve before investing.

36. These should be tangible business outcomes such as:
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New customers
Sales value
Repeat business
Customer lifetimes
Reduced lead times
Benchmark them at the start,
review your progress against them.

37. It is not good enough that nearly 75% of all
businesses still do not know how to measure
the success of their social activities.

38. 3: Plan to achieve it

39. Armed with the understanding of your customer, in the full knowledge of
what it is you want to achieve, take the hard decisions now.
The I in ROI is for investment – know what it is you are willing to invest in
order to achieve the outcomes you have identified.
And remember…

40. “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.
Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

41. A content schedule is a great way to plan your activity,
but not at the expense of strategy.
Likewise a strategy without action is nothing more
than an expensive firelighter.

42. Don’t isolate your social activity
from other business functions.
The best strategies are those that
combine the big picture with the detail.

43. What you should be aiming for is a ‘social business’
– one that delivers value to its customers, its employees and the
wider community.

44. Working together, everyone wins – and that was what
social media was supposed to be all about.
Social Media for Social Good.

45. Contact:
Aren Grimshaw
Minchin & Grimshaw
+44 (0)1872 273103
+44 (0)7598 242212
aren@minchingrimshaw.com
www.minchingrimshaw.com

46. Follow on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/arengrimshaw
Connect on LinkedIn:
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/areng

47. Sources:
Forbes
AdAge
Facebook
Entrepreneur.com
Socialtimes.com
YouTube Press Centre
Huffington Post
Mashable
Statistic Brain
Instagram Press Centre