Five Digital and Social Media Trends of 2017

March 24, 2017    

To keep up with the increasing consumer desire for instant gratification, marketers are embracing digital and social media to connect with their customers. Influencer marketing and social listening are at the top of the list. Digital technology has the ability to uncover what will resonate with a specific audience, and social media platforms and initiatives can execute based on those insights. According to the ANA’s 2016 Marketing Disruption study, within the next two years many companies plan to invest in personalization tools, content platforms, social media, and analytics but some are already getting it right. Here are five digital and social media trends brands are using to engage their audiences.

1. Gaining Customer Insights through Social Listening. Mary Kay used the insights it gained from social listening to build the “I Can” campaign, which shared inspirational quotes from consultants. The key insight that inspired the campaign was that brand assets were not resonating as authentic.  The multi-layered campaign that resulted connected with consumers because it featured consultants telling their own stories in their own words.
2. Making Social Media Everyone’s Responsibility. One of the biggest lessons that marketers learned from Pizza Hut’s 2014 rebranding campaign was that almost every piece of an organization should be a part of the social media strategy. Social media has become the way a lot of consumers exclusively experience brands, which has led to a shift toward marketing, customer service, and IT sitting on one digital team.
3. Connecting Meaningful Digital Experiences to Brand Messages. Avocados From Mexico used a combination of digital platforms to engage people during Super Bowl season. #AvoSecrets revolved around Kyle, a member of a secret society, who lost his cell phone. Fans could find the mysterious phone on Avosecrets.com, a content hub including all of Kyle’s apps, which had their own platforms and user experiences.
   
   
4. Harnessing Already-Existing Conversations. Although Southwest Airlines’ “Wanna Get Away” campaign was abandoned in 2008, people began sharing the #WannaGetAway hashtag on Twitter seven years later in 2015. It first appeared when Steve Harvey had a supreme “wanna get away” moment after announcing the wrong winner in the Miss Universe contest. In 2016, Southwest officially brought the campaign back in time for the Super Bowl with targeted digital marketing and social media.
5. Turning Data into Audience Insights. Marketers at the tech company Quantcast believe that brands shouldn’t assume they know their target audiences before looking at data and developing insights. Insights are critical to connecting with customers and potential customers because they show marketers what kinds of content and which platforms they’re are already interacting with.

Source

"Mary Kay Engages Advocates to Build Brand Love." Abby Whitmer, Director of Global Digital Marketing at Mary Kay; Kim Sater, Director of U.S. Consumer Marketing at Mary Kay. ANA Digital and Social Members-Only Conference, 2/7/17; "Pizza Hut Developed an Influencer Campaign to Connect with Millennials." Jenna Bromberg, Director of Digital Engagement at Pizza Hut. ANA's Digital and Social Members-Only Conference, 2/7/17; "Avocados From Mexico's Super Bowl Success." Ivonne Kinser, Director of Digital Marketing at Avocados From Mexico. ANA Digital and Social Member-only Conference, 2/17/17; "Southwest Airlines and Social Media." Bethany Evans, Social Marketing Manager at Southwest Airlines. ANA Digital and Social Members-Only Conference, 2/7/17; "How Quantcast Creates Engaging Content." Cathy Novelli, Head of Product Marketing and Brand Solutions at Quantcast. ANA Digital and Social Members-Only Conference, 2/7/17.