Key media trends for 2017
With so many platforms flooding consumers with content, it's become difficult for brands to break through the clutter. At the same time, while many companies have put their faith in branded content for the past decade, many are now forced to reconsider this approach as they can't get their consumers to really care about the content they're churning out. We're really interested in this notion of the changing landscape and this post is the first in a series that explores the idea of what comes after the content marketing bubble? Who better to talk to than our friends and partners at Backbone Media.
Backbone is a public relations, media planning and buying, social media and content marketing agency for active lifestyle brands. We've had the pleasure of collaborating with them on several of our client campaigns most recently with Sun Valley and Taos Ski Valley. We interviewed Laura Merino, Associate Media Director at Backbone Media in Carbondale, Colorado for her thoughts.
MESSAGING APP POPULARITY
The prediction is for advertising to enter the messaging app sphere. What would your advice be to clients interested in this channel?
Laura Merino
For advertisers interested in this space I would recommend they run ads that provide value to their target consumers. Consumers will be sensitive to advertising on private messaging platforms since they just moved away from communicating with friends and family on their newsfeeds. Since we don’t know how the advertising opportunities will look just yet it’s tough to say exactly what type of advertising can be considered “valuable”. Because advertising on private messaging platforms will be limited initially we can expect to have high CPM’s, but more visibility.
VIDEO
The vast majority of our clients have moved away from TV advertising and invest heavily in digital video. Are you seeing any of your clients benefit from the traditional 30 second spots and what can you tell us about the changing landscape here?
Laura Merino
As we know, video consumption is still on the rise with a strong emphasis on mobile video consumption. Our clients have seen longer view time, stronger engagement, higher CTRs and better on-site metrics from 15s and 30s videos that are custom created for the social platform they are distributed on. If videos are not custom created for the social platform, we have seen stronger performance coming from 15s videos over the 30s videos distributed across social media.
SOCIAL
What do you see as the future of live content (Snapchat, Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, etc)? Do you see this as a long term trend?
Laura Merino
Currently we are not seeing too much success with utilizing live content as a strong marketing strategy, but what we are seeing drive strong engagement and performance is unfiltered, unedited live video.
With social overtaking search as the primary vehicle for digital discovery, how are you helping your clients with media choices? What is some advice you’d give to outdoor marketers?
Laura Merino
Pay close attention to your social media headline and post copy. Make sure you are crafting your posts so that they appear when someone searches for keywords related to your brand.
TARGETED CONTENT
With the oversaturation of content, obviously consumers have begun to block this out and see branded content as advertising. How can brands better target and personalize their content? Who are you seeing that does this well?
Laura Merino
Create content that is useful to consumers. Utilize the strong targeting capabilities on Facebook and Instagram to get your brands content in front of consumers who will find value in what you have to say. Outdoor Research is a brand that is doing this well. A few months back they launched a 360 degree partnership with Rock & Ice Magazine where educational climbing tips are showcased online, in print, in e-newsletters and social media.
