6 Takeaways from Social Media Week

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Last week, the New York social media community gathered to hear from leading individuals and companies across marketing, entertainment, technology and media. Here are some of the highlights from Social Media Week – with more to come on each session attended on The Buzz Bin soon.

  1. The way people share content has changed

Change is the constant when it comes to social media. Users no longer share to all their Facebook fans. Sharing has become much more personal and therefore appealing to share content with a smaller group of 3 friends than showing off to their entire network.

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  1. Messenger apps are where it’s at

Almost every speaker confirmed that these one-to-one apps are the next phase of social media (see past BuzzBin on it too). It makes perfect sense given the point above. There’s more than 800MM active users of Facebook messenger and 900MM on WhatsApp. You (and your teenage daughter) know of Snapchat, but that’s just the tip of the iPhone. WeChat has taken over China as it can be used to do everything from e-commerce and booking appointments to looking up traffic patterns. Line is doing the same thing in Japan. And messenger apps haven’t even reached their full potential yet with Asian apps leading the way!

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  1. MTV explains the post-Millennial generation

Meet the “Founders.” Who are they? They’re those tech-savvy youngsters 15 years and under who know their way around your iPhone better than you. MTV brought 100 of them together to name themselves. And they believe they’re going to build back society after the disruptive Millennials by laying the foundation for the future. Don’t be offended Millennials – they mean “disruptive” in a positive way…. I think.

  1. Videos and GIFs tell a better story

An image is worth 1,000 words. What about a video or a GIF? Don’t even get me started on 360 video. Countless speakers and panelists highlighted how the best brands are developing video and GIF content that resonates across countries and cultures. Also remember that quality by itself is not enough. Brands need to develop content that goes beyond cool or interesting. It needs to really resonate with fans to make them want to actually share it. That’s the challenge.

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  1. The new buzzword is “platformification”

While “storytelling” and “content” were the words speakers could not help but say over and over again, there was a new buzzword added to the mix – “platformification.” Users are now just looking at their apps on their phones to engage with content on platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Pinterest. The number of people who go to browsers is declining every day, forcing the media business to evolve quickly in order to stay in the game. The speakers below from College Humor, Deep Focus and Engine Media Group referred to it as the “mediapocalypse.”

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  1. Go on, try out what’s new today

Something brand new and different can be overwhelming. It’s important to try them out though, whether it’s your 14 year old niece showing you how to use Peach or testing it out on your own. Even if it’s not relevant for your brand’s current target, it does not mean it will never be. For example, take Snapchat  — eventually the kids on there will be your 25-34 target. Sure they may be on Facebook, but they’re most active on Snapchat, so take the time to understand how they interact on the platform. Also, on emerging platforms there’s an opportunity to really stand out, so what are you waiting for?!

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Now these were just a few takeaways from a full week, so look out for more details on each SMW session on The Buzz Bin soon. Do you have any thoughts on the highlights? If so, please leave a comment below to start a conversation.

 

Photo and video cred: Social Media Week, Forbes, MTV, Paste Magazine 

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