5 Unimaginable Ways Social Media Connects With Audiences
Brands will continue to innovate in 2021.
From e-commerce to augmented reality, brands continue to jump onto new technologies and platforms to innovate, to stay relevant to their audiences. The customer journey has become more complex, and with new data privacy laws that have come about, businesses will need to continue to innovate.
Here are 5 campaigns that I’ve unpacked to inspire your creative thinking for 2021.
1. Redefining customer experience.
Brands can create seamless experiences which can turn customers into advocates. Samsung enticed fans to become advocates by driving them to the front of the new Samsung Galaxy line. People who had the highest engagement on their social posts, that mentioned the new Samsung Galaxy, would skip people in the line, towards the front.
Watch ‘The Smart Phone Line’ campaign by Proximity New Zealand.
2. Innovation through technology.
Audi innovated standard check-ins by encouraging people to uncover Sweden’s unexplored country. Social Media can break down borders, and as Audi showed through their campaign, improve brand perception. Audi challenged people to check-in to the most remote places in Sweden, the winner received a brand new Audi.
Using existing technologies in innovating ways can create new experiences.
3. Experiential brand partnerships.
Brand partnerships continue to be a great way to supercharge awareness amongst audiences. Airbnb partnered with The Art Institute of Chicago for an immersive & authentic experience.
People were invited into The Art Institution of Chicago to sleep in a Van Gogh painting via a booking on Airbnb. This drew massive media attention across more than 100 countries.
This was a well deserved, Cannes Lion award-winning campaign.
4. Live streaming on Twitch.
XBOX used Twitch to take advantage of their live streaming by letting audiences control contestants’ environment. This caused a heightened buzz and allowed people to be immersed in the experience.
Interesting key stats on Twitch’s platform:
- 43% of all live streams happen on Twitch
- 58% of users spend over 20hrs per week
- 76% of users are between 18–49
You don’t have to be a big player to execute effective and lasting campaigns for Brands.
5. Hellmann’s WhatsApp campaign.
The number of daily active users on messaging apps have surpassed social networks. Hellman’s mayonnaise launched one of my favourite campaigns using WhatsApp Messenger with less than USD 900. Innovatively utilising the platform, this campaign shows you how powerful ideas transcend budgets.
Hellman’s WhatsCook campaign reached over 4 Million people.
The growing use of VR, AR & chatbot technologies.
Expect to see an increase in the use of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Chatbots, as the world becomes ever more connected. These types of technologies have only started to be developed and tested with audiences. As they create more value for people, we’ll see an increase in the intersection of creativity and technology, that will blow our minds.
BBC Twitter Chatbots
Leading U.K. News Broadcaster BBC automatically publishes statistics for electoral votes in the U.K. and U.S.A. through Twitter & Facebook. Charts & graphs keep audiences updated in real-time.
IKEA Augmented Reality
IKEA has created a virtual experience by letting people fill an entire room with virtual Swedish furniture through a purpose-built app called IKEA Place.
Facebook Evolves Its Virtual Reality
Facebook is now connecting their audiences through real-time virtual reality. With over 2.7 Billion users worldwide, Facebook has started connecting people through VR across leading industries including; Travel, Healthcare, Gaming and Sports.
Imagine watching the NBA Final courtside whilst being in Beijing.
What about the ability of an older person who can’t travel, that can all of a sudden visit Rome or talk to their doctor without having to leave their home using VR.
New data privacy laws & GDPR.
Current technologies allow marketers to track customers through different platforms and websites. However, this is being limited with new data regulatory laws constantly being updated. Brands will need to work harder to create seamless customer experiences and capture audiences within micro-ecosystems that they can control.
Apple Enforces Data Privacy On iOS
- Apple recently imposed new privacy laws for its developers in December 2020.
- iOS Apps must give people an explicit understanding of the different ways their data is being used, including the ability to opt-out from their data being used.
- This will make tracking customers across main platforms like Facebook impossible for people who opt-out.
- Retargeting potential customers using programmatic buying will become near impossible if a large number of people will opt-out.
- MarketWatch covers the latest privacy update by Apple, and what Facebook has to say about using your data when using WhatsApp Messenger.
Google & Amazon Fined A Total €100 Million
- Recent Cookie and GDPR laws are already making tracking customers more difficult.
- Platforms and websites that automatically drop tracking cookies without consent will be hit with hefty fines when a user visits their site.
- In December 2020, France’s data protection agency CNL hit Google and Amazon with fines on Google.fr (€65 Million) and Amazon.fr (€35 Million). You can read more about the details on TechCrunch’s coverage.
- Businesses won’t chase ALL customers who have left their shopping cart full with offers, on other websites or platforms.
- This will lead to fewer conversions (sales) from the inability to retarget customers appropriately, impacting the bottom line for e-commerce platforms.
- Higher costs in Ad spend to convert sales, i.e. programmatic buys become less effective and in some cases won’t be possible at all.
Takeaways for marketing on social platforms.
Considering the massive changes in data privacy and government regulation's continued effort worldwide, here are some considerations to provide your customers with better experiences.
- Partnering with propriety software that provides omnichannel solutions, extending your offering to e-commerce brands.
- Tapping into Creators or Influencers’ audiences, allowing you to target highly selective audiences.
- Partnering with Creator/Influencer Agencies in the same way Agencies typically merge with Production Studios.
- Create Brand Partnerships to build memorable experiences.
- If you’re a Startup, look for partnerships in your vertical to promote a holistic, 360-degree approach.
- If you’re an Agency, consider building in-house products that leverage your creative offerings, or buy a product. There are hundreds of thousands to be found on Product Hunt.
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Thank you for reading,
Rick Govic
