10, 16
When Facebook launched its live streaming feature earlier this year, it opened the door for countless marketing opportunities. By broadcasting a live stream, brands are now able to directly connect with followers from around the world in real time. Facebook users get a notification when a page that they follow or like begins live streaming so they know exactly when and how to tune in. In the past year, Facebook saw over 8 billion video views, and people are spending triple the amount of time watching live video as compared to pre-recorded videos. But how can brands effectively use Facebook Live to engage with the Facebook community? Check out our list of the brands that are dominating Facebook Live below!
06, 16
With the first half of 2016 behind us, we thought we’d take a look at how social media has changed since the beginning of the year and where we see it heading for the rest of 2016 and beyond.
11, 14
If you haven’t heard about it yet, don’t feel bad; Facebook’s new pseudo-anonymous app Rooms, launched on October 24, is meant to be secretive. This app, built by Josh Miller and his team from Branch, was bought by Facebook in January. As of now, Rooms is only available on iOS devices, but an Android app is planned to launch early in 2015. Facebook is taking a completely different approach with this new app. Rooms connects users based on similar passions and hobbies rather than via mutual friends or geographical connections. To use the app, simply download it and join a room by scanning a QR code of your choice. After joining a room, users can choose different “nicknames” without having to be connected back to their Facebook accounts. The company is pushing its approach as a way for users to “Be whoever you want to be.” Launched out of the blue without much detail, many have been confused about how to use the app effectively. We’re giving you the low-down on Rooms, how to use it and how brands could take advantage of it.
02, 14
After 22 years, Jay Leno passed the Tonight Show torch to Jimmy Fallon on February 17, 2014. As expected, Fallon’s debut was a huge (and hilarious) success. But we noticed something else about the show, too: #FallonTonight went viral on social media.
Why is this so important? “The ascension of Mr. Fallon, 39, to ‘The Tonight Show’ throne represents a new era in late-night viewing, one where advertisers value a show’s total audience--its viral video viewers and Twitter followers along with the TV watchers being lulled to sleep by topical monologues and skits,” wrote AdAge. While attracting viewers to the show is, of course, important, Fallon must also engage with fans online.
Fallon may be new to The Tonight Show, but he’s already a seasoned social media pro and each of his social profiles has a larger following than those of his competitors. Read on to find out how Fallon leveraged his strong online audience to promote his Tonight Show debut.
Readying The Troops
Social media is the perfect place to promote an event. At BIGfish, we utilize Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter to promote events for our client Iceland Naturally. Whether it’s a festival, tweetup, or TV premiere, you should always start posting about the event on social media in advance. Make sure fans and followers know what’s going on, how they can get involved, and why they should be excited! This is a great way to build buzz before the event even starts.
Fallon spent the week leading up to his Tonight Show debut getting his fans pumped for the show and expressing his own excitement. He sent out tweets, like this one:
https://twitter.com/jimmyfallon/status/435256832115101696 And also promoted the show by simultaneously engaging with fans, as he often does: https://twitter.com/jimmyfallon/status/434490532430381056Five days before the first show, the Fallon Tonight Instagram started a daily countdown. Then, 12 hours before showtime, it featured hourly updates with photos of the Tonight Show mug at different NYC landmarks and encouraging users to use the #FallonTonight hashtag.
Fallon’s Tumblr blog also featured several posts promoting Fallon’s Tonight Show debut, and the official YouTube channel was not overlooked. There they posted an interactive “Ask Jimmy: What’s Coming to the Tonight Show?” video, further engaging fans and spreading the word about his new show.
If all that wasn’t enough, Fallon announced the launch of the Late Night App that enables users to easily tweet about the show, submit videos for the latest challenge, play free games and see show-related content. By sharing information about #FallonTonight in unique and fun ways on several platforms, they created buzz around the big debut and gave followers a reason to not only watch but also Like, follow and share the new Tonight Show.
Give ‘Em Something to Talk About
In our world of mobile devices and 24-hour news, content becomes ‘old news’ fast. Waiting to post content after an event is often too late. Users want and expect live updates. This was something the Fallon Tonight team did better than any other late night TV show has in the past.
Once the show began, the Tonight Show team posted updates and clips online, making it easy for users to view and share. Almost immediately after Fallon and Will Smith performed the “Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing” on air, the video clip was uploaded to YouTube and posted to the Fallon Tonight Facebook page. The result? The video got more than 100,000 Likes and 13,000 shares on Facebook and now has more than 7 million views on YouTube (and still climbing every day).
The Fallon Tonight Tumblr page also featured several .gifs and videos from the show - a perfect place to put media that makes it easy for users to share and send to friends. All of these tactics extend the reach of the show far past those viewing it live.
Always Be Yourself
Brands work hard and long to craft their brand voice, and social media is a great place to refine and express that voice. Having a consistent brand voice, whether it be serious, friendly, sarcastic or sincere, strengthens the overall brand personality and helps build relationships with fans. Jimmy Fallon’s social media profiles are a shining example of this in action.
“Mr. Fallon is a charming and gifted comedian who, on his first night, chose to be subdued and at times even serious. That said as much about the uncertain future of “Tonight” as it did about its new host,” The New York Times wrote of Fallon’s Tonight Show debut. Fallon’s honest, humble personality that makes him so likeable is also clearly visible in his social profiles. Fallon’s personal posts garner lots of engagement from his followers, and the consist voice from platform to platform helps keep the Fallon Tonight brand in tact.
https://twitter.com/jimmyfallon/status/430531164638420992 "February 17, 2014 This is it. We are starting a new chapter of the Tonight Show. I can't even begin to describe what we are all feeling right now here at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, NYC. But - I know that we'll never have this exact feeling ever again. By this time tomorrow we'll no longer wonder what it would be like to do the Tonight Show. We can't put that feeling - that moment back in the bottle. All we can do is try to make the best show that we can and make people happy. And we will. Here's to the first of many. Fun." Fallon wrote in this Instagram post. What other TV shows do a good job of integrating and leveraging social media? Tweet @BIGfishmarket and let us know! Update On February 28, the Today show reported that some 10.42 million people viewed Jimmy Fallon's first week on The Tonight Show, with delayed DVR-watchers factored in. This is the biggest audience since Johnny Carson hosted the show from 1962-1992. Weeks into his new show, Fallon is still giving "night owls a good reason to keep watching," but I believe Fallon's initial social media success also convinced people who missed the debut show to tune in for the rest of the week. Fallon's perfect mix of social media expertise, likable personality and shareable content are clearly a recipe for success! -Brigid Gorham
11, 13
As 2014 approaches, the BIGfish team is looking ahead to plan for next year’s social media campaigns. From our experience with social media clients and through some additional research, we’re predicting five social media trends for 2014. Each week we’ll post a new trend on our blog and offer suggestions on how you can incorporate it into your social profiles.
Part 1: A Picture is Worth 1000 Likes, Comments, Shares & Retweets
The popularity of photos has steadily increased over the past few months and we expect this trend to really take off in 2014, forcing existing platforms to adapt to visual content (ahem, Twitter), and allowing for new image-focused networks to form. Below we’ve outlined a few reasons why this trend is important and how you can take advantage of it.
Always attach a photo to Facebook posts (and usually Tweets). According to KISSmetrics, Facebook posts with photos get 53% more Likes, 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs than those without. As a result, our social media client Iceland Naturally’s posts reached an average of 10,000 people per post last month. We’ve also discovered the popularity of photo albums, with the most recent album reaching 18,720 people.
Consider joining an image-based platform. Image-based platforms like Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr have also benefited from this trend. The value of a Pin on Pinterest, which can drive both pageviews and sales, increased 25% this past year. On average, a Pin garners 2 site visits, 6 pageviews and 10 repins. Instagram has also benefited from photo-loving web users and now boasts more than 150 million users, 16 billion photos shared and 1 billion likes per day. Tumblr blogs, especially popular among the elusive 18-24 demographic, heavily rely on visual content and the site received more than 350 million visits last month.
While a presence on every social media platform isn’t necessary, now might be a good time to consider joining Pinterest, Instagram and/or Tumblr. Each of these platforms has a massive and somewhat unique user base, offering the opportunity to engage with new consumers and increase overall reach. If you do decide to join one of these networks, be prepared to commit some time to building your fan base and having a stock of photos on hand so you can update consistently. We also suggest keeping an eye on Instagram ads. Although they’re not available to everyone just yet, we believe they have potential for great influence and results.
Find interesting visual content. While it’s easy to post photos of Iceland’s unique, beautiful landscape, finding appropriate visual content can be more difficult for other brands. While high quality, high resolution photos are recommended, sometimes it’s a personal touch of a photo that instead attracts attention. For small business, we suggest posting photos of employees, company events, your office and any other interesting or fun office-happenings. Larger brands should invest in high quality photos of and might want to take a look at the top brands on Instagram for some creative inspiration. For our client Iceland Naturally, we hold a monthly cover photo contest where we encourage fans to submit photos of Iceland. We then choose one as our cover photo for the month, credit the photographer, and create a photo album with all photo entries. This is a great way to both engage your audience and outsource some photos. Aside from helping increase engagement online, this will also help humanize your company’s presence on social media, which can improve your relationship with followers and fans and increase interaction and engagement.
Still, all photos don’t have to be centered around your company or brand. For example, the BIGfish Pinterest account has a board titled “Big fish… literally” where we post photos of, you guessed it, big fish. We also have boards for favorite local restaurants and photos of our home in Brookline Village. Users don’t want to be inundated with information solely about you, so get creative with some of your posts and have some fun with it! Test out different categories and research what other companies in your industry are doing well. As always, study any analytics you have available to learn about your followers and create content accordingly. Finally, never be afraid to just ask your fans what they like and want to see more of!
What do you think? Do you know of any other applications for visual content on social media? Have you experienced similar results by posting photos to Facebook and Twitter?
Make sure to check back in next week to see what our next 2014 social media trend prediction is! -Brigid Gorham
