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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