YouTube

7 Takeaways from Hubspot 2024 Social Media Report

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With 517 billion active users worldwide and total ad spending predicted to reach $229.8 billion, social media marketing remains one of the foremost marketing strategies for businesses and brands. 

In January of this year, Hubspot surveyed 1500+ social media marketers from across the globe, to compile a comprehensive analysis of the current state of social media. The following are seven insights I found particularly illuminating from the report. 

  1. Intersection of AI and Social Media Marketing Has Arrived: It’s no surprise, with the current proliferation of AI tools that its usage has found its way to social media marketing. According to Hubspot’s report, 71% of social media marketers admit to using AI tools to, among other things, generate content. However, not everyone is convinced. Although 87% of marketers surveyed believe that moving forward, AI will be crucial to a successful social media marketing strategy, 64% expressed concern that AI usage could negatively impact their brand. Click to read my article on how to incorporate AI into your communications strategy. 

  1. Social Media Shopping Continues to Increase: Social media shopping has steadily increased in recent years, with research suggesting that 1 in 4 social media users purchased a product directly within social media apps in recent months. Unsurprisingly, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube deliver the highest ROI from social selling. However, despite the increasing trend, some marketers are still cautious, with only 52% selling their products directly through social media apps. 

  1. YouTube Surpasses Facebook: With a 79% growth over the past year, YouTube surpassed both Facebook and Instagram as the most effective social media platform for brands. This growth naturally correlates with the continued effectiveness of video content. And while short-form video content continues to deliver a high ROI, long-form video is proving to be more effective than some may think. 

  1. It’s All About Community: One of the core tenets of social media has always been that it is a two-way communication. Rather than brands speaking at their audience, they should engage with them. And that principle holds with the growing trend of more community-focused engagement by brands and their followers. The study revealed that 27% of social media users actively engaged in an online community. That number increased to 40% when surveying Gen Z/Millennials. 

  1. Don’t Be Afraid to Be Funny: It is okay to be funny when promoting your brand. Brands are increasingly realizing that they don’t always have to push the hard sell, particularly when it comes to a medium like social media. Hubspot’s report revealed that 94% of marketers rate memes as having an average or high ROI, and 24% stated that funny content resulted in their highest ROI for the year. So share the funny meme, throw in a silly emoji or two, and don’t always take yourself too seriously. A quick word of caution, the line between funny and offensive can be slippery sometimes. Therefore, ensure there are clear brand guidelines and best practices for what to post, including specific words, phrases, and references to avoid. 

  1. Humanize Your Brand – Authenticity Sells: Like humor, audiences respond to authenticity. Although research suggests that 63% of customers prefer polished content with high production value, 37% do care about relatable and authentic content. And that is an audience worth tapping into and an opportunity for brands to stand out. Also worth noting, of the marketers surveyed, 18% acknowledged that relatable content drew the biggest ROI in the past year, second to funny content. Read my tips for how to humanize your brand. 

  1. Engagement No Longer the Primary Goal: While engagement remains a significant goal for brands’ social media efforts, and always will, in the past year, the primary goal has shifted to increasing brand awareness and as a result, reaching new audiences. The final result is still to increase revenue and sales, but marketers realize it’s easier to do that by first getting more people to know and like your brand. 

Despite all the controversies around social media platforms – the spread of misinformation, the saga of the platform formerly known as Twitter, and TikTok possibly being banned from the US – social media marketing remains big business for businesses and brands. Success, however, requires brands to remain agile and knowledgeable of the constantly evolving social media landscape.

6 Current YouTube Trends Every Marketer Should Consider

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Video Courtesy YouTube

It’s no secret that video content is one of, if not the most powerful types of content. If “Content is King” as they say, then video is its Queen. The numbers don’t lie – Hubspot reports that adding video to a landing page increases its conversion rate by 80 percent and research suggests that by 2022, 82 percent of total internet traffic will be video-based. And when it comes to online video, there is no platform bigger than YouTube.

According to YouTube’s analytics, the platform receives 30 million visitors daily, has a whopping two billion active monthly users, and ranks second in global search, only behind Google. From its early beginnings in 2005, YouTube has grown into the premier video platform on the internet. And let’s not forget that before there were Instagram and TikTok influencers, there were YouTubers; many of whom are still highly influential today.

And as the pandemic forced millions indoors, the power and popularity of YouTube only increased. Daily live streams on the platform grew by 45% in the first half of 2020, when much of the world went into lockdown. Another study reported that the platform accounted for 15% of total global web traffic during the lockdown. Naturally, as the use and popularity grew, some significant trends emerged.

  • Rise of Livestreams – Livestreaming has been a big part of YouTube for years. However, this past year saw its popularity increase as it became the norm for viewing most live events. For many individuals, livestreaming some of their favorite events made them feel more connected and gave them a sense of normalcy during the difficult days of the pandemic. Look for the trend to continue, which means companies must identify the best strategy to take advantage of it.

  • Follower-Decided Option – YouTube’s fairly recent follower-decided option has been particularly popular with various influencers and content creators on the platform. The purpose of the tool is that rather than guessing at the right content to appeal to one’s audience, the creator can simply invite their opinion using polls or comments, etc. This is a perfect trend for companies as it not only helps them engage with their consumers but also helps identify the specific type of content they’re interested in.

  • Rise of Docu-Series Content – According to data from YouTube, there was an 80 percent increase in 2020 of individuals watching YouTube and YouTube TV on their television screens. The point being that individuals are interested in more than just quick three-minute videos and open to longer, more involved productions, like a docu-series. Docu-series are episodic videos shot in a documentary style that focuses on a particular topic, theme, etc. And they are a perfect format for companies to showcase a new product, demonstrate how to use an existing product, tell their brand story, and more.

  • Intersectional/Multi-Themed Channels – According to YouTube’s annual trend report, one of the most significant trends to emerge in 2020, was the rise of intersectional/multi-theme channels. In other words, creators are no longer interested in being just one thing – i.e. beauty and fashion, DIY, etc. but rather a combination of various themes that allows them to reach multiple audiences. This is an important trend for companies with various target audiences. It also helps encourage companies and brands to remember that while it’s important to always stay on brand, it doesn’t mean doing the same thing all the time. It’s okay to mix humor with informational videos and product demonstrations with employee profiles, etc.

  • Rise of 360 Degree Video – 360-degree videos have been around for a few years and have only increased with the rise of AI and immersive technology. 360-degree videos allow users an immersive experience of whatever they’re exploring – be that a room, house, product, etc. They are great at capturing a user’s attention and increasing engagement, which is perfect for companies and brands.

  • Gaming Meets YouTube – Another trend that saw a significant emergence during the pandemic is the intersection of YouTube and the Gaming community. According to reports, the third quarter of 2020, saw 910,000 unique YouTube Gaming Live channels and many of the top gamer channels are on YouTube, including PewDiePie and Markiplier, who have a total 27 million and 15 million subscribers, respectively. This is a trend that companies and brands particularly in the tech and gaming industry must pay close attention to and identify how best to leverage.

The past year reminded many of the power of video and more specifically, the power of YouTube. Millions tried their hands at new skills through YouTube’s many beginner/how-to videos, others kept fit with the millions of fitness videos, and others drew comfort from humorous and light-hearted videos, while many found their voice, literally and figuratively through millions of social activism and protest videos.

And as YouTube emerged more popular than ever, it reminded many companies and brands of its immense power as a marketing tool.

5 Reasons WhatsApp Is One of the Best Marketing Tools for Your Business

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In just a few short years, WhatsApp has quickly grown into the most popular global messenger app, with a monthly active user count of approximately 1.5 billion. That makes it the third most popular global social network, behind Facebook and YouTube, respectively.

With such impressive numbers, the business world has started taking notice, prompting decision-makers of the popular app, to include several tools that help support companies reaching out to customers via WhatsApp.

However, despite these changes, some companies and brands are still wary of taking the full plunge into the world of WhatsApp Marketing, as it is considered by many, unchartered territory. Here are five reasons why you should at least consider dipping your company’s toes into the WhatsApp pond.

  • Your Customers are Likely Already Using It – One of the most important factors to any successful business campaign is reaching your target audience where they’re located. A very important factor in WhatsApp’s favor is that more than likely, your target audience is already using it and is very familiar with it. This increases the likelihood of reaching many customers and potential customers.

  • Higher Open Rates – Research shows that SMS text messaging, such as WhatsApp, has a 98% open rate. The reason for this is simple – i.e. most SMS text messaging is permission-based. As in the individual has to willingly opt-in to receive messages from you by saying yes to providing their number and adding your number to their contacts. And if someone is willing to do this, more likely than not, they are they are willing to at least read your messages.

  • More Personalized & Intimate – WhatsApp messaging can feel more personal for a customer and create a more intimate relationship with a business that allows them to trust the latter more and become a more loyal customer. Whether or not the business is employing WhatsApp Groups, which includes sending a generic message to multiple numbers at once, there is something personal for individuals about a message coming via their private text messenger versus a response on a social media page, for example.

  • Text Messages Get Read More – SMS messages aren’t just opened at a significantly higher rate than email marketing messages, they are also read at a much more significant rate, according to research. Which means using WhatsApp as a tool to market to customers, ensures a very high likelihood that your message will at least be opened and read, as opposed to being quickly deleted.

  • It’s Free – Probably one of the most compelling arguments for businesses to give WhatsApp Marketing a chance, i.e. it requires little expense from them. At this time, the messaging app does not offer sponsored options like many other social media platforms. There is a WhatsApp Business app available but it is at the moment only offered to android users. However, that too is free. So really the cost to a business is virtually nothing. So why not at least give it a try? What do you have to lose?

And there you have it. Just a few reasons to consider adding WhatsApp to your marketing mix.

Is Snapchat Still A Worthy Investment for Brands?

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If you’ve been paying attention to the world of social media marketing, it’s no secret that one of the biggest stories in the last few years, is the rise and seeming fall of Snapchat. An ill-advised re-design in February of last year left the once-booming social media app with a lot of confused and disgruntled users. This, coupled with the rise of Instagram Stories, the feature that was once the unique selling proposition of Snapchat, left the social media platform struggling for continued relevance.

In subsequent months, Snapchat Inc. would see its stock prices and the total number of daily active users both decrease. This naturally led many to wonder if this was the end of the once very popular social media platform, and more importantly, was it worth it for businesses and brands to include in their social media marketing mix.

Before stating whether or not I think Snapchat is still a worthy investment for businesses and brands, it’s important to analyze where the social media platform currently stands. Research estimates Snapchat’s total number of daily active users to be 188 million. A respectable number, except when compared to other platforms. At 188 million, Snapchat’s active follower count ranks significantly below Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Even Pinterest, one of the smaller players in the social media game, has Snapchat beat, albeit by a smaller margin.

In terms of design and functionalities, like many of the other big social media players, Snapchat still offers SnapAds for businesses, including sponsored filters which are branded filters that overlay on a user’s Snaps and on-demand geo-filters that work similar to sponsored filters, just targeted to specific locations. Sponsored filter ads worked very well for Taco Bell during this year’s Superbowl. And despite its loss in the total number of active followers, advertising revenue by the platform is still relatively high.

However, on the downside, Snapchat still does not allow for data collection in the way that Facebook, Instagram, and even Twitter does. Businesses and brands are therefore still not able to gather user statistics, boost their Snaps, curate their content, etc. Naturally, this makes it difficult for businesses and brands to truly measure the success or failure of their investment in the app and more importantly to get a strong sense of what has worked the best in the past and what hasn’t.

So with that said, should you invest some of your social media marketing budget into Snapchat? Well, it depends on one major factor and it’s a factor that should drive all marketing decisions – i.e. who is your target audience? Research shows that Snapchat is dominated by, and appeals the most to women between the ages of 18-24. A significant size of their audience skews even younger with the app very popular among tweens between the ages of 11-15. And so, if your key target demographic is young female Gen Z’ers then Snapchat may still be worth investing some portion of your budget into. If not, then my opinion is no, it’s not worth it.

Essentially, the debate about Snapchat with regard to businesses and brands comes down to the key fact that there is simply nothing particularly unique or special about it. Snapchat’s unique selling proposition when it burst onto the scene, as referenced above, was its Stories/disappearing videos function. With Instagram and most recently Facebook co-opting the Story function, Snapchat no longer has that as a special and unique selling point. And there is simply nothing else that the app offers that a business or brand cannot get from another social media platform, which offers far greater reach.

Facebook for example, despite its many recent controversies, is a one-stop platform for businesses with its targeted ads, detailed analytics, video and image options, the ability to create events, run promotions, create polls for customer feedback, etc. Snapchat, however, is very limited in what brands and businesses can do on the platform. The bottom line is if your business has a limited budget for social media marketing and your key target audience is not young females, Snapchat should not be high on your priority list.

At this stage in the game, Snapchat has become similar to Pinterest. Pinterest, despite its often being viewed as the forgotten child in the world of social media, boasts a healthy and robust 250 million active monthly users. But in many ways, it is still fairly niche and hasn’t fully figured out how best to monetize the platform. However, there are advertising and promotional opportunities for businesses and brands whose target audience is likely to frequent the platform, much like Snapchat.

And so, if you are a trendy, niche brand with a very specific target audience that frequents Snapchat, the investment may still be worth it. However, if you are looking to reach and engage various target audiences and maximize your spend as much as possible, with a limited social media marketing budget, the investment is simply not worth it.