Working in the digital space, it is safe to say that the transitional nature of the Internet has kept us on our toes. Social media marketing trends that broke the Internet a few years back have been replaced by faster, better and more advanced concepts that have changed the way users engage with brands online. So, as we usher in the New Year and look back at what’s trending and what’s deteriorating on the internet, let’s promise ourselves to stick to the following five social media marketing commandments to optimally reach out to your target group and convert them to loyal customers.
Thou shall engage and not just advertise
Gone are the days when social media was used as a mere platform to showcase your products or services. Brands are leveraging the power of social media to reach out and engage with India’s next billion Internet users. As per latest statistics, 89% of messages posted to brands on social media platforms go disregarded. This only means that brands are seeing social media platforms as a one-way street in which they feature their products and services but do not work on the feedback attained from the users. Apart from product reviews and feedback, 41% of online users tag their favourite brands on various social media handles while posting on the platform. According to a recent poll, a whopping 80% of users also religiously follow their brands for regular updates and notifications. With such a high rate of acknowledgement coming from the consumer side, companies are now focusing on customer engagement as the go-to solution for higher conversions. 2018 is going to witness a stupendous increase in engagement rates which is only going to lead to happy and content customers.
Thou shall believe in the power of bots
Chat bots have taken the digital world by storm. Apart from addressing queries and triggering customer engagement, they also play a vital role in increasing the overall productivity of the organisation and generating leads. Facebook messenger chat bots are the banner men in the bot revolution with over a mind-boggling 100,000 bots being used online today. This number is only subjective to increase by the minute. There is no doubt that bots are the future of the digital industry as they are much quicker in clarifying customer complaints. They are also extremely useful in providing insights on the products and services offered by the organisations. Though chat bots are already a trend to catch up to in India, this futuristic concept is being replaced by an improvised version – the customizable chat bot. Brands are now focusing on making their bots as customised as possible with emphasis given to making the interaction personal and humanlike.
Thou shall be active on Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is the biggest social media trend of 2017 and is certainly going to continue its reign in 2018. Instagram introduced this “Snapchat-like” feature and slowed down the growth rate of Snapchat by 82% in a short span of time. Meanwhile, they even acquired a daily user base of 800 million, which is a phenomenal increase from the 600 million users registered a year ago. This trend only proves how impactful Instagram Stories are and how effective they can be when added to your social media marketing strategy. Brands are leveraging the reach of Instagram Stories to showcase their products. The ephemeral nature of this platform provides companies with the opportunity to get creative and feature their services in a trendy and youthful manner. Additionally, as per recent statistics, consumers reply with a direct message to at least 1 in 5 Instagram Stories put up by brands, hence providing profound customer engagement and bringing viewers one step closer to conversion.
Thou shall go live
There is no doubt that videos are the most consumed type of content by internet users worldwide. From funny snippets to helpful tutorials, videos are changing the face of content marketing. However, according to a recent survey, 82% of consumers preferred watching their favourite brands in action rather than reading up about them, hence triggering the ground-breaking revolution of live streaming videos. The concept materialised in 2017 with exploding statistics paving the way for higher engagement in 2018, since both the parties – the brands and their followers – are comfortable with the phenomenon. Engaging with your customers by making them a part of your day-to-day brand-related activities is the main objective of live videos, so much that it is now a basic expectation from all companies active in the digital space. You can check out our guide to using Facebook Live effectively for more insights.
Thou shall explore augmented reality
We were all introduced to the concept of augmented reality through face filters brought to us by Snapchat. Social Media users worldwide went bonkers with those adorable puppy dog ear filters which were later introduced by Instagram along with their revolutionary Instagram Stories. This concept of augmented reality is going to take off in 2018 as more brands leverage the witty and youthful idea to market their brand. In 2017 alone, Instagram released more than 20 new features in the form of augmented reality. These features include contemporary filters, trendy stickers, season’s wishes and many more. These statistics are guaranteed to increase in 2018 proving the fact that brands can easily leverage this concept to produce more relatable social media content. These are few of the most effective social media trends to look out for in 2018 till they get replaced by their upgraded versions in 2019. Till then, it is time you add these innovative methods to your social media marketing strategy and take your business to towering heights. You can also check out our blogs on WhatsApp for Business and digital marketing for FMCG, real estate and Finance industry for a better understanding of the online space.
Whether it is opening a bank account or investing in a mutual fund, most users first move is to “Google it.” In fact, according to Google’s Year in Search report, there has been more than 61% growth in personal loan queries and 72% growth in mutual fund queries. This statistic shows the growing need for the finance industry to adopt digital marketing. Here is a complete guide on digital marketing for finance, one that will help you understand the benefits and ways you can use it along with case studies and best practices.
Digital Marketing for finance – the benefits
To widen their clientele
With over 470 million active users on the Internet, India is the world’s second-biggest online community. The figures are estimated to increase to a whopping 635 million by the end of 2021. These stunning statistics are proof that digital marketing for the financial industry is a guaranteed way to reach a large percentage of the Indian population and convert them to loyal customers.
To evaluate their services
The dynamic medium of the Internet is a two-way street. Apart from providing financial sectors with an excellent platform to market their brand and feature their products, the online space also offers the benefit of evaluating your services and seeing what works. You will also have complete access to analytics and other such statistical data to track the performance of your digital campaigns.
To receive instant feedback
Customer satisfaction is of vital importance in the finance sector. Ensuring your consumers are happy and satisfied with your services is what drives the banking sector and digital marketing for the finance industry offers just that. From online posts to discussion forums, you will get a closer insight into what your customers are looking for in your products and how you can improvise your services for better consumer delight.
To cut down on marketing costs
There is no doubt that marketing your brand on the digital space costs much lesser than traditional advertising and branding. Apart from comparatively lesser costing, financial organisations will also get a better reach and can target their audience more effectively. Banks and other financial institutes can take complete advantage of this cost-effective technique and have resorted to digital marketing for the financial industry as their branding strategy.
Top ways of leveraging digital marketing for the finance industry
Now that we know the importance of digital marketing for the finance industry. Let’s take a look at ways the finance industry can use digital marketing to reach a wide audience and create a powerful brand online.
Digitise your brand
Banks and other organisations in the financial sector can leverage digital marketing for the financial sector as their branding strategy by working neck-and-neck with a digital agency. These agencies, such as Social Beat, provide end-to-end digital solutions from social media posts that go viral to top-notch website content that will rank you in the first page of Google.
Create an engaging app
There are an estimated 300 million smartphone users in India and this statistic is expected to reach a mind-boggling 2.3 billion by the end of 2022. With such a large percentage of the Indian population relying on apps for their daily chores, it is time you dive into the digital space with a high-end app, designed to cater to every need of your customers.
Whether you are a leading bank or a financial data aggregator, investing in a good app is a guaranteed way to take your business to towering heights. In today’s day and age, people like to be on the move even while making financial plans or surfing the internet for research. Apart from merely searching for information, most money transfers and other financial transactions also happen over the phone. With a user-friendly app, all your services and programs will be available at the click of a button which will lead to higher lead conversions and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.
You can also explore the concept of Progressive web apps for your company. This phenomenon is one of the top digital marketing trends in 2018 and is guaranteed to change the outlook of your financial organisation.
Go social
Financial institutes can increase the exposure of the organization by tapping on the reach of social media marketing. India is leading the online community with 241 million active users on Facebook. This only means that a large number of potential customers are currently scrolling through their social feeds and there is a possibility that a lump sum of this audience is in the lookout of a reliable and reputed financial partner. With relatable social media posts, and engaging videos, financial organisations can easily use content to engage with their target audience and widen their consumer database. You can also track the performance of your posts through advanced social media analytics tools and strategize accordingly. For more insights on digital marketing for the financial industry, check out our blog on the Facebook marketing trends of 2017.
FundsIndia is India’s biggest online investment platform with over 1 million consumers. In one of their most recent Facebook campaigns, on investing in mutual funds, they targeted the women of India with a quirky creative and copy.
Additionally, they also used a humorous vox-pop video to understand peoples’ spending and saving habits. This video helped FundsIndia with their brand awareness and reach.
Get ranked
In today’s day and age, the first thing which pops up in a consumer’s mind while looking for a particular service or product is to perform a mobile search. If you are considering digital marketing for the finance industry, one of your first steps should be to ensure you rank on Google. Focusing on optimal search engine optimization will drive a higher traffic to your website which, in turn, will lead to higher lead conversions.
You can start by ensuring your organisation is featured on Google local listings to increase the footfall to your outlets. You can also get showcased on Google My Business listings to give potential customers a brief insight of your organisation. Apart from Google listings, it is also a good idea to leverage the power of content marketing to get ranked. You can promote your services and packages with engaging blogs and other posts that have the potential to both ranks on Google and go viral on social media. However, make sure you explore all content amplification strategies to promote your content. It is also vital to incorporate all the keywords and trending topics in your blog posts for better results.
Step up your ad game
Facebook and Google ads have taken the world of digital advertising by storm. From website conversion ads to carousel and lead ads, banks can opt for an array of advertising techniques to drive enquiries and quality leads. You can also market your brand with a creative combination of videos, images and copy to attract your target group. Facebook is the best bet when it comes to online advertising as you can opt for detailed targeting based on age, geographic location, content consumption, online behaviour and many other such demographics. You can also target the users who have previously clicked on your ad or recently visited your website for leads of premium quality.
A Google ad is the other “non-social” type of ad financial organisations can invest in to widen their clientele. These ads show up in Google when potential customers type in the relevant keywords in search of a renowned banking institute.
Engage your audience with drip marketing
Email marketing is the most traditional and effective type of online branding, especially when it comes to digital marketing for the financial industry. With the beginning of 2018, this trend has been upgraded with an improvised version of customized emails. Reaching out to your potential consumers with personalized emails featuring the various offers and packages provided by your organization is a guaranteed way of increasing lead conversions. For example, if a user has logged into your website and shown interest in your services by subscribing to your newsletter, you can nurture the lead with regular notifications and offers provided by your firm to attract them further. According to a recent survey, drip email marketing provides a 119% click-through rate on authentic emails.
Apart from lead nurturing, drip emailers are also effective triggers to close incomplete transactions. For example, if a user had clicked on one of your financial programs or was in the middle of a transaction but could not complete the task, your digital team can target them with follow-up emails as gentle reminders. The emails can be customized as per the demographics of the user, with an effective call-to-action to close the deal in a single click. Featured below is one of the creative used in a drip emailer for one of our top clients – Kotak Asset Management who have engaged in digital marketing for the finance industry.
Leverage word-of-mouth marketing
Influencer marketing is one of the top digital marketing trends of 2017 and is expected to continue its reign in 2018. There is a personal element of trust and assurance when customers choose their financial partners based on the advice and suggestions of a commoner and that is exactly the type of branding influencer marketing has to offer. Influencers upload engaging posts and modest reviews in the form of blogs, videos and pictures which has the potential to instantly attract viewers and convert them to consumers. Influencer marketing is one of the main pillars of digital marketing for the finance industry and is definitely something you should leverage for your organisation.
Speaking about digital marketing for finance, follow our YouTube channel Paisa Pujari for insights on how to control your finances. Here’s a video on the smart use of credit cards, to get you started:
Financial organisations and digital marketing – A case study
The potential of going social – Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda is one of the first public banking organizations to have resorted to digital marketing for the financial industry. Their marketing team focused on creating a premium presence on the online space rather than giving plain emphasis on the number of followers. Each of their campaigns had a specific objective from promotional content to lead generation. One of their most commendable campaigns was that of “One in a leap”. In this campaign, the bank put up a post on Facebook asking their customers to tag the one person who is a role model in their lives. The post was put up on the 29th of February during the leap year of 2016. The hashtag #OneInALeap was trending for a good six hours along with the hot topic of the day – the Indian Union Budget 2016.
Powerful story telling – ICICI Bank
Being one of the leading banks in the nation, ICICI tapped the Indian female population with the #FundYourOwnGrowth campaign. The campaign focused on encouraging women to invest in themselves and not be tied down by the shackles of the society. Women around the subcontinent could enroll in the Fund Your Own Growth program and open a woman’s account to enjoy a plethora of irresistible offers and benefits. A lot of online traffic was driven to their website which showcased the program details, advantages of opening a woman’s account and a series of inspirational stories of real women and their struggles against poverty. Through this campaign, the bank took the angle of empowering women to sell a financial product. The campaign also included a 2-minute video ad featuring top Indian actress Konkana Sen Sharma which was splashed on all major digital video platforms, including Youtube.
The magic of Google ads – BijliPay
Apart from banks and leading monetary institutes, B2B organisations that cater to the technologies involved in the financial sector are also focusing on digital marketing for the financial industry. BijliPay, one of India’s top end-to-end providers of payment solutions, collaborated with Social Beat to up their digital game and gain quality leads from the online space.
When the Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes were demonetized in the end of 2016, a lot of businesses realized the need to go digital in order to survive in the market. Understanding this demand, BijliPay used Google to advertise their mPOS devices (card swiping machines). The primary objective of the campaigns was to acquire more customers in the wake of Demonetisation. In order to achieve our targets, we performed AB testing for different landing pages and altered the copies of various search campaigns based on what was performing well. Our ground-breaking campaigns landed 3,569 lead conversions with a cost per conversion of just Rs 285.
Amplified reach through YouTube masthead ads – Sundaram Mutual
With an average of 225 million active Indian users through mobile every month, YouTube is the world’s favourite search engine for videos, emerging as a game-changer in every brand’s marketing strategy. Keeping this in mind, we partnered with Sundaram Mutual Fund to leverage the reach and branding of YouTube Masthead ads while introducing a new fund offer. Masthead ads are primarily used by brands to create a buzz about a product or service and reach out to consumers in a wide range of demographics. They are displayed on the homepage of YouTube and charged on a daily basis. The open-ended equity scheme offered by Sundaram Mutual Fund was advertised in a short 20-second Masthead ad on YouTube, and the results were phenomenal.
The primary objective of the campaign was to increase awareness about the brand, drive traffic to their page and increase the number of subscribers with the introduction of the new fund offer. The 20-second Masthead ad spiked the number of subscribers on Sundaram Mutual Fund’s YouTube page from a mere 363 to a whopping 56K in just a matter of 24 hours.
With such astounding statistics and mind-boggling figures, there is no doubt that digital marketing for the finance industry is an emerging trend which is here to stay. It is time you leverage the power of digital and secure the future of your financial organisation.
68% of brands leverage digital marketing to promote their products and services
42% of brands continue to use social media marketing as their primary form of digital marketing
33% of brands allocate over 40% of their marketing budget for digital
40% of brands say lead generation is their primary objective behind digital marketing
Social Beat, one of India’s leading digital marketing solutions company, released its Digital Marketing Industry Report 2018 after the first edition, Digital Marketing Industry Report 2016. The second edition of this annual report provides a comprehensive look into how companies today are using digital marketing to promote their brands. 212 CMOs, CXOs and Brand Custodians across a variety of industries in India participated in this survey over a period of one month. The various industries that were covered in this survey included Startups/Apps (16%), Real Estate (14%), Education (12%), Media/Entertainment (12%), E-Commerce (9%), Retail/FMCG (7%), Healthcare (6%) and Travel (2%). The remaining 22% comprised of industries falling beyond these 8 sectors. With such a diverse sample, this report provides a complete picture of digital marketing in India. Social Beat also publishes a book and has an active YouTube Channel covering digital marketing insights. Please do also read our latest predictions on digital marketing trends for 2019 in India.
The survey revealed the growing influence of digital marketing, with 68% of brands currently using digital marketing in their promotional strategies, while less than 9% use print ads, radio and television. Commenting on the findings of the report, Vikas Chawla, Co-Founder of Social Beat said, “One of the most significant insights gained from this report is that brands across all industries are beginning to use more of digital strategies in their overall marketing efforts, as compared to traditional media. This is very encouraging because it means that the use of digital marketing is going to become increasingly important for brands.”
Along with the increased use of digital marketing, brands are also beginning to allocate larger portions of their overall marketing budgets for digital. While 57% of brands surveyed spend less than Rs. 50,000 per month on digital marketing, as many as 21% spend between Rs. 50,000-2 lakhs per month. Additionally, 33% of brands allocate more than 40% of their total marketing budget for digital marketing alone. This increase in digital spends is crucial for brands if they want to reach out to India’s next billion internet users in tier 2 and tier 3 cities and towns.
The report also reveals what results brands are looking to achieve through their digital marketing efforts. 51% of brands use social engagement as the primary parameter to measure the efficacy of a digital marketing campaign. Speaking about this, Suneil Chawla, Co-Founder of Social Beat said, “This shows that brands are hoping to establish a personal connect with their consumers by keeping them engaged on social media. Maintaining a strong digital presence can encourage brand awareness and loyalty among audiences.”
Facebook continues to dominate with 49% of brands saying that it gives them the best results. Following closely is Google Plus with 32%, while LinkedIn and Instagram have 13% and 7% respectively. The 2018 report also shows a diversification in the platforms used for digital marketing. While previously, 89.25% of brands used Facebook according to the 2016 report, they are now trying out a larger variety of digital marketing channels. 50% of brands now use Google and Instagram, while 40% use Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. This also clearly points to the immense popularity Instagram has gained over the last year among digital marketers.
One of the most interesting findings from this survey was the shifting marketing objectives of brands. In the 2016 Digital Marketing Industry Report, 72% brands reported brand awareness was their primary goal. In the 2018 report, however, a majority of brands said lead generation and sales were their biggest goal from digital marketing. David Appasamy, Head of Brand and Strategy at Social Beat said, “These numbers mean that brands are realising the potential of digital marketing and seeking measurable results from it. Digital marketing in India is showing a clear evolution in terms of quality and execution.”
For most brands, social media marketing continues to be the biggest form of digital marketing used. While 42% of brands use social media, brands are also using landing pages (21%) and search engine optimization (7-8%) for their digital marketing efforts. Content marketing, influencer marketing, display advertising and mobile apps are also growing in popularity.
The Digital Marketing Industry Report 2018 clearly shows the growing importance of digital marketing in every industry. Digital marketers in India should seize this opportunity to deliver quantifiable, significant results for brands through a variety of innovative strategies. Read our complete guide for digital marketing for real estate for more information.
For a further list of marketing books you need to get your hands on, do take a look at our video on 7 best marketing books, every Indian marketer needs to read
With the Indian real estate space getting increasingly crowded, it has become a significant challenge for developers to differentiate themselves from their competitors. In order to stand out, real estate developers need to try something unique to gain the upper hand. With the tier II and tier III cities being active on the Internet and most of them using vernacular language to consume content, Casagrand formulated an innovative vernacular ad strategy to engage with India’s next billion internet users. Here’s how Casagrand utilised vernacular content in their ads as one of their key real estate digital marketing strategies to reach this market and achieve an incredible 90 percent increase in leads.
The Objective
Casagrand Builders is one of the biggest real estate developers in South India, with a large presence in Chennai as well as projects in Bangalore and Coimbatore. They are committed to building aspirations and providing homes that offer families the highest quality and value. Casagrand had two main objectives:
To capture the mind space of potential buyers so they could stand out from their competitors
To increase the number of leads, but drive down the Cost per Lead (CPL)
Sales Approach
In order to meet these objectives, we formulated a multi-targeted approach which would capture the attention of potential buyers at various stages of the buying process. This would ensure that Casagrand would occupy a high position in the consumer’s mind space and give it an edge over its competitors. To do this, we utilised three main strategies:
1. Localised Vernacular Ads
According to the Google and KPMG report, the number of regional language speakers online in India will reach 76 million within the next five years. As this audience base grows in size and influence, it’s important that brands start creating multilingual content targeted towards them. Casagrand capitalised on this opportunity and developed a regional language-focused approach in their marketing strategy. We identified the Tamil-speaking consumers as the primary target audience since most of Casagrand’s projects are located in Chennai. Based on this, we began developing vernacular ads in Tamil so we could reach out to these consumers directly. We used vernacular ads extensively for specific projects like Casagrand Uptown. Speaking to this regional audience in the language they were most comfortable with, Casagrand was able to develop a relationship built on trust and comfort with their target audience. This played a pivotal role in helping us generate high-quality leads for Casagrand.
2. Maximising the Potential of Google Display Network
We identified the Google Display Network as the most effective way to reach our target audience to create maximum impact. Google Display Network allows us to find the right target audience and deliver our message contextually. One of the tools we used to maximise reach through custom affinity audiences. Building bucketed Custom Affinity Audiences allowed us to reach out to our specific target audience to ensure the right people were coming across our message. Gmail Ads displayed at the top of a user’s inbox also proved very effective in creating awareness and generating leads.
3. Leverage Brand and Generic Searches
One of the most important ways digital marketing is transforming the real estate sector, is by creating brand awareness right from the initial stages of the buying process. As one of Casagrand’s primary objectives was to occupy the mind space of potential buyers, maintaining a high impression share across relevant keywords was very important. Through competitive bids on generic keywords (eg. 2 BHK apartments in Chennai), as well a brand-specific keywords, we ensured that users would continuously come across Casagrand’s ads in their search results. This helped increase the number of quality leads generated.
Results Achieved
Through this extensive and in-depth approach, we were able to generate an unprecedented increase in the number of leads for Casagrand. Our strategy of utilising vernacular ads helped grow Casagrand’s leads by 90 percent QoQ and also increased the overall click volume by 85 percent QoQ. Vernacular ads were extensively utilised in the Casagrand Uptown project marketing strategy, with 50 percent of total spends being allocated to Indic Display Creatives and targeting. This approach delivered significantly higher leads and a CPL that was 60 percent lower than that of normal display creatives. These results prove that vernacular ads offer massive benefits not just in terms of increasing brand awareness, but also in delivering higher ROI.
As the number of regional language users growing at a faster pace than English language users, they are quickly becoming one of the most important segments for brands to focus on. The phenomenal results Casagrand achieved by implementing a strong vernacular ad strategy is proof that brands cannot afford to ignore India’s regional audience. To learn more about our work with Casagrand, you can also read how we helped Casagrand generate a record 190 crores in revenue via Facebook.
In today’s competitive digital space, Social Beat and Murugappa are proud to have bagged four prestigious awards at MADDYS 2018 – a flagship event hosted by the Advertising Club Madras. MADDYS identifies and appreciates creative brilliance and industry benchmarks in media agencies from across the nation in more than 30 creative and media-oriented categories. 2018 witnessed the 37th edition of the MADDYS which was indeed a special one for us! We won 4 MADDYS in the following categories:
Digital Videos (Gold)
Digital Social Media (Gold)
Digital Public Service (Silver)
Digital Tamil (Silver)
These awards were presented to us for our ground-breaking work on the Netizen campaign. Read on to know more.
Have you ever heard of the saying “If it is not on Social Media, it’s like it never happened”? Most of us are so addicted to social sharing platforms that the moment we spot something even remotely cute or unusual, our first instinct is to capture and share it. How would you feel if someone kept telling you what their day is looking like?
There is no doubt that social media has taken over our lives and has become an alternate universe that showcases the supernatural life we love to portray. However, in this quest to show the world how perfect we are, we tend to go overboard and become bad netizens. Addressing this issue, the Murugappa Group has come up with a series of funny yet thought-provoking videos that remind us how we are unintentionally causing havoc in the online space. They also create awareness on the right usage of social media. From snippets targeting the over-sharers in Social Media to the those who constantly update their feed with outdated posts, each video has a clerly cut-out target group with the common aspect of relatability.
With a total of over 14 million views on Facebook, almost 2 million on Youtube and 1.5 lakh shares across social media, it is safe to say that the “Good netizen good citizen” campaign has broken the internet. One of the the most popular videos is Update Azhagi.
As the name suggests, Update Azhagi is a shout-out to all the obsessive sharers in the digital world. These people love to share every instant of their day with the rest of the world, not realizing that their followers also include mere acquaintances and borderline strangers who really do not need to know every detail. If this post reminds you of an Update Azhagi in your life, tag them and let them know how you feel about it. After all, sharing is caring!
This video currently has reached more than 6 million people with 70,000 shares and is almost touching 5 million views. Since this video was conceptualised in Tamil, it was well accepted by the Tamil speaking community, proving that multilingual marketing can be a great approach.
Watch this space for more humorous videos with strong messages to ensure we all strive to be good netizens.
In the wake of the backlash that Facebook has been facing after millions of users personal information was leaked, the company has decided to cut off access to third-party data providers. Ad-targeting based on consumer data provided by third-parties allowed advertisers on Facebook to target consumers based on very personal, deep insights. This was made possible through a feature called Partner Categories, where Facebook partnered with external consumer data providers. Now, however, Facebook has ended this feature after details came out of Cambridge Analytica, also a third-party data provider, exploiting private user information. The company also announced that this was a part of their larger efforts to improve security and integrity of the platform for users.
What does it mean for advertisers?
For advertisers, this move means that they will have to re-think their targeting strategies on Facebook. While they might not be able to rely on consumer insights provided by external agencies, they can continue using the Custom Audience tool on Facebook. The Custom Audience tool will not be affected by Facebook’s new policy because the data used is owned by the advertisers themselves. Facebook also uses third-party data providers for advanced social media analytics and will continue to do so. However, they have announced that they will be reviewing the integrity of these external agencies before going forward.
The company has insisted that removing the Partner Categories feature will not put Facebook at a disadvantage in the competition between its rivals like Google. Instead, they believe that it will prove their commitment to protecting consumer data and placing privacy of their users above all else. With the growing number of Indians joining Facebook, it is very likely that the platform will continue to be one of the most important ways for brands to engage with India’s next billion internet users.
Facebook expects that their new policy will come into effect gradually over the next few months. This gives digital marketers an opportunity to rethink and refine their ad targeting strategies.
Chat bots have taken the digital world by storm. Apart from addressing queries and triggering customer engagement, they also play a vital role in increasing the overall productivity of the organisation and generating leads. Facebook messenger chat bots are the banner men in the bot revolution with over a mind-boggling 100,000 bots being used online today. This number is only subjective to increase by the minute. There is no doubt that bots are the future of the digital industry as they are much quicker in clarifying customer complaints. They are also extremely useful in providing insights on the products and services offered by the organisations. Though chat bots are already a trend to catch up to in India, this futuristic concept is being replaced by an improvised version – the customizable chat bot. Brands are now focusing on making their bots as customised as possible with emphasis given to making the interaction personal and humanlike.
Instagram Stories is the biggest social media trend of 2017 and is certainly going to continue its reign in 2018. Instagram introduced this “Snapchat-like” feature and slowed down the growth rate of Snapchat by 82% in a short span of time. Meanwhile, they even acquired a daily user base of 800 million, which is a phenomenal increase from the 600 million users registered a year ago. This trend only proves how impactful Instagram Stories are and how effective they can be when added to your social media marketing strategy. Brands are leveraging the reach of Instagram Stories to showcase their products. The ephemeral nature of this platform provides companies with the opportunity to get creative and feature their services in a trendy and youthful manner. Additionally, as per recent statistics, consumers reply with a direct message to at least 1 in 5 Instagram Stories put up by brands, hence providing profound customer engagement and bringing viewers one step closer to conversion.
There is no doubt that videos are the most consumed type of content by internet users worldwide. From funny snippets to helpful tutorials, videos are changing the face of content marketing. However, according to a recent survey, 82% of consumers preferred watching their favourite brands in action rather than reading up about them, hence triggering the ground-breaking revolution of live streaming videos. The concept materialised in 2017 with exploding statistics paving the way for higher engagement in 2018, since both the parties – the brands and their followers – are comfortable with the phenomenon. Engaging with your customers by making them a part of your day-to-day brand-related activities is the main objective of live videos, so much that it is now a basic expectation from all companies active in the digital space. You can check out our guide to using Facebook Live effectively for more insights.
