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Generation X using Social Media more than Millennials

A recent Nielsen report has found that the heavy social media user group isn’t Millennials. Generation X (those aged 35-49) was revealed to spend almost 7 hours per week on social media, whilst Millennials spend just over 6 hours per week. Meanwhile adults aged 50 and over were found to spend an average of 4 hours 9 minutes a week on social.

The findings came as a surprise to the president of Nielsen’s social division, Sean Casey, as he noted that social media is usually associated with a younger audience and in fact, is often seen as being synonymous with millennials.

The report has also highlighted how ubiquitous smartphones have become with 97 per cent of 18 to 34-year olds and 94 per cent of 35 to 49-year olds having access to a smartphone device. Additionally, 77 per cent of those 50 and older were also found to use smartphones.

What will search look like in 2017 and beyond?

In 2017 we shall see online search evolve from cross-device use to assisted bots and voice search due to the advent of digital assistants such as Alexa, Siri, Cortana and Google Assistant.

Voice Search
This year has been predicted to be the year of voice search. In fact, a recent Google study revealed over half of U.S. teens and 41% of U.S. adults use voice search on a daily basis. Due to the growth of AI and digital assistants in voice search, user intent will be gauged more effectively as they evolve from voice recognition to voice understanding. Consequently businesses will need to tailor their optimization efforts to accommodate voice search.

Cross-channel Marketing
This year will also see a greater implementation of cross-channel marketing in search. Though this may sound similar to multi-channel marketing, they are in fact different. While multi-channel refers to a brand establishing a presence on more than one platform, cross-channel allows for the integration of brand visibility across several platforms. This may be implemented through targeted ads for users via email or social media based on their searches. The result will be a consistent brand presence across multiple channels so that users may be able move seamlessly between devices and platforms whilst making a purchase.

6 Secrets to Successful Video Marketing

We have already started to see an increased use of video in marketing. In fact, businesses without a video marketing strategy in place have most likely fallen behind their competitors. A recent Forbes study concluded that 59% of executives would prefer to watch a video rather than read text and that video consumption will account for 69% of all Internet traffic in the upcoming year.

Video marketing is now a space that is easier than ever to break into and contrary to belief, no longer requires an enormous budget. The latter part of 2016 saw a notable rise in live videos and streaming due to a push from services such as Facebook Live and Snapchat, which in turn helped brands and personalities dominate the field.

In order to develop an effective Video Marketing Strategy, it is important to note that the video content should seek to:

• Inform
• Persuade
• Communicate a brand story
• Build relationships

What should retailers be ready for in 2017?

Retailers should prepare for mobile becoming the fastest growing channel in the user-shopping experience. With the growth of mobile, we also expect to see the growth of video in marketing practices. Marketers need to show their products quickly and effectively so that purchase decisions can take place in real time.

Another trend we expect to see is the implementation of AI (Artificial Intelligence). AI will give marketers the ability to target consumers with ads that address their specific interests and needs. AI technology, such as Watson, is making its way into the marketing eco-system.

Greater focus on user experiences will result in the transformation of stores into warehouses. These will allow for experiential marketing, designed to trigger online orders by letting customers see, touch and try products in the warehouse and will result in customers simply going to stores to pickup their purchases.

There will be twice as many channels in the future that marketers need to manage with technologies such as IOT, Chatbots, AR/VR etc. disrupting the retail space. One example is beacons; these are small wireless devices that allow retailers to automatically send notifications and discounts directly to shoppers’ smart phones as soon as they enter a store. Another is the smart mirror, which will enable customers to virtually try on clothes.

Fake news and its impact on the truth

In the light of the issue of fake news and its impact on the recent elections, Congress has said that they will make no law to abridge the freedom of speech. Meanwhile German politicians were quick to stress that they will enforce a $500,000 penalty to Facebook for every fake news item published on the social network, along with further damages if the story has affected any German citizens. These actions come following the publication of false stories last week about German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is currently seeking re-election.