In-Store Sales vs. Online Store: Separation

In general, do the marketing strategies for products sold in stores differ from those for products sold online? Yes! Definitely. Our “Geißlein” concept is designed to be so broad that you can adapt it to your brand—whether for direct sales, in-store retail, or even for your digital products.

It’s very difficult to get viewers of an online video to visit downtown or a supermarket. The barriers are simply too high. For one thing, people’s own information streams are very crowded, which means that even if we capture their attention for a brief moment, that attention is gone the very next moment. That’s why, as a social media agency, we try to engage the viewer right from the first view—for example, by having them sign up for a newsletter or click directly on a link that takes them straight to the online store to order the product themselves. The more directly your sales process is organized, the higher the conversion rate will be at the end of the day. For companies, a 2.5% jump in conversion makes a big difference. If we’ve been selling 1,000 products per month so far, we can increase sales to 1,025. A 2.5% increase can often be achieved through small changes to the ads or the posting strategy. Now let’s move on to categorizing products and product groups.

• Short attention span among buyers
• A social media agency wants to engage buyers from the very first interaction, for example by having them sign up for a newsletter.

Why is it worth clustering your own products?

Whether on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram, you only have one post or 3 to 4 Stories available each day, so it’s naturally difficult to cover a product range of over 1,000 items. However, since social media is used not only as a sales channel but also as a marketing channel, we should focus on the products that have been well-received by our customers so far and that are performing well. This way, we not only ensure that engagement remains relatively high thanks to content that’s already popular—never change a winning team!

Task: Consolidate into “Running products” / Prepare for uniqueness

Identifying Product Groups: A-B-C Analysis

Before we dive into individual products, let’s take a look at our product groups. Are there perhaps already striking differences within the larger categories? If so, you can already narrow things down here—for example, if you’re a major online bicycle retailer, bicycles might be your best-selling items. So it also makes sense to talk less about mechanical parts on Instagram or to promote a screwdriver. Of course, this is possible in individual posts if necessary, but you should then focus on bicycles. That way, our followers know right away what we’re all about. If the products we frequently market stray too far from our actual focus, many people won’t understand our concept at first glance. But since social media relies on rapid information exchange—and the parameters for engagement are different there—we’re happy to spend 20 seconds on a movie theater commercial, but for an Instagram feed, we might only have one second. This is our scope for action: the more precisely we know which product group represents our company and our brand, the easier it is to convey that information to the customer. The simpler the information is conveyed, the greater the success.

A-B-C Analysis to Identify A-Products (Integration)

Depending on the size of the company, product groups can also be defined using an ABC analysis. As a general rule, you should aim for your A products to account for no more than 5% of the product range. B products—which also sell well but aren’t quite as perfect—should account for 20% of the volume. We then categorize the remaining 75% of our product range as C. Looking back at our online business, we could say that our products are bicycles in a higher price segment. Our customers value quality and therefore tend to buy higher-end bicycles. Customers who prefer inexpensive bicycles will shop at the discount store around the corner anyway. We classify products like helmets under Category B; they’re important, sell well, and generate a relatively good margin. Category C includes products such as bicycle inner tubes—since the profit margin is relatively low—as well as screws, nuts, and screwdriver sets.

• Focus on the Product
• The rapid exchange of information on social media means that the criteria for a screening are different
• Categorization of the Product Family

Products: Focus on our top products for promotions on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms.

Now that we’ve distinguished our product groups for sale on social media and divided them into categories, we can focus on individual products. Whereas we previously had a relatively large group of products, we’re now looking at individual items. This can be important not only for ads but also for overall organic traffic. If we have potential on Instagram among people aged 18 to 32—primarily, meaning 60%, female—we should market our products accordingly. Women’s bicycles should take center stage, while men’s bicycles should take a back seat. At the same time, we can use this for promotions and, for example, specifically target women with an offer for couples: Buy 2 bicycles and save 20%!

We’re now choosing the products that we want our fans and followers to officially see. Since our timeline—unlike a Story—is constantly visible to everyone, we naturally need to focus on a few products that, as described earlier, best represent our company.

Tip! If you want to create a guideline for social media marketing campaigns or posts within your own company, you should include all products in it. These examples can later be easily expanded with key points, such as product variations or new products coming soon for this specific category. In the event of illness or vacation, every employee will have all the important information readily available and can follow it accordingly.

Offline Bestsellers: Attracting Customers to the Store—But When?

Businesses that operate not only online but also in brick-and-mortar stores should compile a list of their best-selling items in-store as well as a separate list of their best-selling items online. For many companies, sales figures differ between the two channels. A very simple example is TV sets. They’re large, bulky, and many people want to compare high-end TV models before making a purchase. For this reason, many still head to traditional electronics stores before buying. There, they can view different TV manufacturers in person and compare the sets—screen resolution, color spectrum, and so on. High-end TVs, in particular, remain a product primarily sold in brick-and-mortar stores. At the same time, electronics manufacturers themselves may offer you a smart home system. This system controls, for example, the lights, the light intensity, and even the colors. Many people buy this product online because they can research it there, and direct comparisons with other manufacturers eliminate the need to visit a store in person. Thus, the same company has a different focus in brick-and-mortar retail; this means that marketing campaigns targeting these brick-and-mortar stores must feature corresponding products. The same applies to the digital sale of products.

New Products: Announcement, Presentation, and Addition to the Portfolio

New products vary greatly. While automotive companies market new products on a large scale and announce them months in advance, new offerings—for example, in online retail or from Amazon sellers—are relatively short-lived and don’t have a large marketing budget. Whether long-term or short-term, new products should always have their own dedicated slot in social media planning. After all, what are social media all about? Distraction, entertainment, news, trends! With a little planning, we can deliver all of that. A new product can be promoted in advance—for example, quite simply via an Instagram Story. Here, we can already hint that a fantastic new product from our company is coming soon! You’ll find out more in 3 days. With simple posts like this—as well as more complex ones, such as Stories (here’s a comparison to the automotive industry)—it’s possible to make new product launches an integral part of your social media strategy. By posting news frequently, we can also clearly set ourselves apart from other companies. In particular, few companies consistently provide news and information. Producing this content is relatively time-consuming, and creating it—for example, in Photoshop—requires a great deal of technical knowledge and expertise. This applies not only to the simple creation of graphics but also when things get more complex, such as with animated images or videos.

• A separate line item for new features in social media planning
• Promote new products, for example, via Instagram Stories
• Frequent posting of news—standing out from other companies

Conclusion: Product Review for Social Media Planning

When planning your social media strategies, you should start by considering which products are of interest to you!

• Which products work well?
• Which products attract attention?
• Which products have high profit margins?
• Which products can be shipped worldwide?
• Which products have shipping charges?

After internally evaluating all these questions and breaking them down—for example, using an ABC analysis—you’ll be able to identify your best products. The better you focus your product portfolio and find a common thread, the easier it will be for your fans and followers to understand your content and messages.

Did you know that every time we log in to Facebook, we have an average of 1,500 posts? It’s no different on Instagram—if you don’t log in every 30 minutes, you’re likely logging in just once or twice a day. And that’s the norm! So Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube carefully sort out which content is currently relevant to us and which isn’t. If, right from the start of your social media strategy, you make sure to use only products that are guaranteed to resonate with your fans, you can already make a big contribution to engagement and relevance.

• Social media filters out relevant content

Corporate Philosophy and Values in Social Media Strategy

The next article on our social media blog will focus on companies and their philosophies. What do I need to consider for my social media strategy and planning in terms of values, history, and competition within my company’s industry?

Time Lapse! Social media 2004 to 2026

New social apps enter the market every year. Few become relevant market players and some social networks you don’t even know today.

Evolution of social networks: history and future

As a social media agency, you need the Internet like the air you breathe. Did you know that the Internet was born very close to us? Back then, it was a project at the CERN research center in Switzerland. In principle, it’s quite simple: hyperlinks link content. The system was quickly used by the US Army and was intended to serve data exchange at that time. At some point, the protocol became freely available, and since then, people have benefited from the incredible flow of information and speed possible with the new digital networks.

• Development of social networks

Ebay: The first social network?

Now you will say eBay? Indeed! Because one of the first ways on the Internet where people could exchange ideas with each other was the eBay swapping and selling platform. Here you could get into conversation with other people in the comments.

After that, the journey continued, a big milestone was MySpace itself. Meanwhile, hardly anyone knows this social network. After that came Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and…

Social media success story

If you want to learn even more about the history of social media, check out this little article of ours, on the history of social media.

• History of social networks

Pinterest stock: Realtime price (30 days)

How can you earn money with Pinterest? One way is Pinterest Marketing, the other is to buy a block of stocks. Here we have the current real-time stock price for you and a review of the last 12 months and three years.

The Pinterest stock in the last 30 days.

Pinterest stock: Review 12 months

Here you can see the stock price development over the last 12 months.

Pinterest stock: Review 36 months

Real conclusions about the long-term success can only be drawn from an equally long-term review. Therefore, here once again the stock price performance of the last 36 months.

Pinterest Marketing: SEO, E-Commerce Sales Promotion

How does Pinterest work? Of course, we cannot discuss here all the methods, instruments, concepts and strategies that are suitable for Pinterest Marketing, depending on the goals that have been set. This is only intended to be a brief insight.

The basics: Pinns & Pinboards. On Pinterest it is usually about sharing individual media, these are then called pins. Everyone who has a pinboard in his advertising agency, PR agency or similar, knows immediately what it is all about. Individual photos are linked together in certain contexts. E.g. when creating target groups. Thus finally a gallery develops. In the example of target group creation, this would be a gallery for each avatar.

The big goal of Pinterest is to conquer certain keywords. So that people come across our content when they search. That’s why individual galleries are provided with exact keywords and themes. As a grocery online trader you could for example create galleries for single fruits.

• Pinterest Marketing

Pinterest strategy explained: Case Study

search engine optimization, in e-commerce, where it becomes even more important when it comes to social media marketing, even more special Pinterest marketing. 100,000 impressions / month free of charge are 1.200.000 impressions / year. That means over 1 million brand contacts for ideas, marketing campaigns, product advertising, image and much more. Here is a brief overview, how does such a social media or exact Pinterest strategy work? – best practice

• Pinterest Strategy

Advertising on Pinterest: Costs and example

Placing Pinterest advertisements – How much do they cost? What do ads on Pinterest look like and what advertising options do companies have on Pinterest? Here is a small, initial insight with an example: This is what advertising on Pinterest looks like.

• Pinterest Advertising

Pinterest Agency

Most people know Pinterest as the contact point for ideas. No matter if it’s sayings, decoration, DIY (handicrafts), tattoos, garden, living room or hairstyles. But how do I use Pinterest for my company? Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne / Düsseldorf – Pinterest’s marketing instruments can also be used for regional and local marketing, even in an existing marketing mix. We will show you how it works here on our Pinterest Agency page and in the Pinterest Blog. The right strategy is crucial for the success of your own Pinterest channel. The use of the app and platform is free of charge, but there is also the possibility to place ads on Pinterest. Strategy, keyword analysis, pins, pin boards, organic reach and paid reach: this is how Pinterest Marketing works.

• Pinterest Agency

Investments in Facebook & Social-Media-Advertising

Before we look at Facebook in numbers, here is a look at the share price. If you want to invest money in shares, you are thinking long-term (for your savers and investors), especially as a capital-strong fund. Do investors trust in the structure, work and future of Facebook? A share price says more than a thousand words:

• At the beginning of 2020: US$ 182 per share
• Increase 2019 / 2020: 37.87%

Social Media Marketing

Investments in social media advertising worldwide in the years 2007 to 2018 and forecast 2022.

• 2007: 512 million US dollars
• 2012: 6,274 million US dollars
• 2017: 50,215 million US dollars
• 2022: USD 123,070 million
• Increase 2020 to 2022: 96,190 million US dollars to 123,070 million US dollars

Facebook sales 93% Mobile

Facebook revenues in the second quarter of 2019 increased by around USD 3.7 billion (+28 percent) compared to the same period last year.

• Payments: $262 million
• Mobile advertising: US$ 15,627 million (US$ 15.6 billion)
• Advertising Desktop: 997 million US-$
• Relation mobile / desktop: 6% (15.67 x performance)

Top Facebook pages by industry

B2B Company

Ranking of the most popular German B2B companies by number of Facebook fans in October 2019.

The current top 5 on Facebook of B2B companies:

1. Bayer AG with 2,809,470 (2.8 M)
2. IBM Career & Jobs with 1,919,930 (1.9 M)
3. Robert Bosch GmbH with 1,350,440 (1.35 M)
4. Ernst & Young Deutschland Career with 1,301,330 (1.3 M)
5. SAP AG with 1,099,490 (1 M)

Food brands

Most popular food brands according to the number of Facebook fans in Germany 2019.

The current Top 5 on Facebook of food brands:

1. McDonald’s (DE) with 2,400,000 (2.4 million) fans
2. Subway Germany with 967.000 (967 K) fans
3. Burger King Germany with 839.000 (839 K) fans
4. KFC (DE) with 663,000 (663 K) fans
5. Pizza Hut (DE) with 608,000 (608 K) fans

Hotels

Most popular hotels in Germany by number of Facebook fans in January 2019 (in 1,000).

The current Top 5 on Facebook of hotels:

1. Vita Hotel Westfalen Therme Spa & Wellness Resort with 654,000 (654 K) fans
2. Choice Hotels (DE) with 402,000 (402 K) fans
3. Radisson Blu (DE) with 347,000 (347 K) fans
4. Pampering Hotel Kristall with 225,000 (225 K) fans
5. Club La Santa Lanzarote with 146.000 (146 K) fans

Gastronomy

Most popular gastronomy brands in Germany by number of fans on Facebook in February 2018 (in 1,000).

The current Top 5 on Facebook of the gastronomy industry:

1. McDonald’s (DE) with 2,400,000 (2.4 million) fans
2. Subway Germany with 967.000 (967 K) fans
3. Burger King Germany with 839.000 (839 K) fans
4. KFC (DE) with 663,000 (663 K) fans
5. Pizza Hut (DE) with 608,000 (608 K) fans

Food brands

Most popular food brands according to the number of Facebook fans in Germany in May 2019 (in 1,000)

The current Top 5 on Facebook of food brands:

1. Knorr (DE) with 12,500,000 (12.5 million) fans
2. Simple Tasty with 2,700,000 (2.7 million) fans
3. Delicious with 2,400,000 (2.4 million) fans
4. Nutella (DE, AT, CH) with 2,100,000 (2.1 million) fans
5. Strongbow (DE) with 2,100,000 (2.1 million) fans

Universities

Most popular universities in Germany according to the number of Facebook fans in January 2020 (in 1,000)

The current top 5 on Facebook of universities:

1. TU Munich with 92,000 (92 K) fans
2. Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich with 85.000 (85 K) fans
3. Goethe University Frankfurt with 82,000 (82 K) fans
4. RWTH Aachen University with 78,000 (78 K) fans
5. FernUniversität Hagen with 77,000 (77 K) fans

Sports clubs (US)

US sports clubs with the most Facebook fans in January 2019 (in 1,000)

The current top 5 on Facebook of US American sports clubs:

1. Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) with 21,520,000 (21.5 million) fans
2. Chicago Bulls (NBA) with 18,350,000 (18.3 million) fans
3. Miami Heat (NBA) with 15,730,000 (15.7 million) fans
4. Golden State Warriors (NBA) with 11,090,000 (11 million) fans
5. Boston Celtics (NBA) with 9,000,000 (9 million) fans

Facebook users and user data

Cambridge Analytica Scandal and Impact

Recently, the media reported that the personal data of 50 million Facebook users were used illegally by the company “Cambridge Analytica” in the last US election campaign. Which of the following statements apply to you?

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Countries with the most mobile Facebook users

In these countries in particular, Facebook plays a major role in quantitative terms. The current top 10 countries with the most Facebook users:

1. USA with 123.1 million users
2. India with 101.5 million users
3. Indonesia with 62.6 million users
4. Brazil with 57.9 million users
5. Mexico with 30.9 million users
6. UK with 26.2 million users
7. Japan with 22.7 million users
8. Germany with 18.7 million users
9. France with 16.9 million users
10. Russia with 15.5 million users

Teenager exodus

Facebook is no longer hip with the youth. Directly after this infographics have a paragraph about “Facebook as a meeting place for senior citizens”. Important facts and figures for advertisers on Facebook. The youth can currently be reached via Instagram and TikTok.

De Trend was already apparent a few years ago, as can be seen here in an infographic from the last decade.

At least that’s what a survey on the number of Facebook users in the USA suggests. According to this, the number of active 13 to 17-year-olds has fallen by 3.3 million in the last three years, which is a minus of 25 percent.

Facebook as a senior meeting place?

Facebook is still recording rising user numbers, but the hip young social network of yesteryear is no longer so. Because the fastest growing target group is above all the over 50s, as the Statista chart shows.

First Communities and Data Transfers from User Groups

Not even 20 years old, the World Wide Web launched its first data transfers. Even then, there were communities, or rather limited user circles, that had shared data access. So it was only a matter of time before the possibilities of these individual, small communities would expand considerably. The first serious precursors at that time came with portals such as MySpace or even social networks that were not direct, i.e. file-sharing sites such as Napster. On both platforms the users connect and can exchange data with each other. While programs such as Napster were suitable for exchanging music, for example, networks such as MySpace were early committed to communication and the exchange of messages between users. However, between these two phases there were already forms of communities, e.g. forums.

Forums and pioneers like Ebay

Many think that the social activities on the web only started with Facebook and Co. Online shops and forums were the first pioneers of social exchange. They were the pioneers of social communities and for the first time enabled social exchange in digital form. In the form of comments, recommendations, questions and answers, users around the world can communicate and network with each other. Forums serve the simple purpose of allowing users to ask questions or discuss specific topics. Others then participate and comment, answer or ask further questions. Through the use of forums, the web has changed. Online shopping platforms such as Ebay also offered initial commentary functions so that users could exchange experiences with products. We call this change Web 2.0.

The Web 2.0: Communication after the Millennium

In Web 1.0 we were still talking about pure data exchange, i.e. a certain provider releases a file and other users can download it. In Web 2.0, this classic communication model fluctuates for the first time. The simple possibilities of different systems and platforms, no matter whether it is a blog system WordPress or social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, has made communication much easier. Today, everyone has access to digital life and can become a sender of information themselves. Many people take advantage of this opportunity. Self-portrayal has also become a great “value” on the Internet. Especially on young social platforms like Instagram, young people give away a lot of their lives.

Success on the Net: From Large Media Publishers to Bloggers

In the past, sending information required large media companies with sufficient investment capital. Whether it was a newspaper that was distributed nationwide or a radio station that needed broadcast frequencies and a lot of technology and personnel. Only for the maintenance of the current operation. Today, young Bloggers dominate the Internet. 17 year olds or 19 year olds who already reach millions of people with just one posting. While TV productions have to make an effort, big teams drive up and elaborate productions, you only need a smartphone and a smile. Both reach the same number of people, but with absolutely different investments. The bloggers even have another advantage, their fans are absolutely involved! For their fans, bloggers are idols. Simple advertising must always convince, they have already convinced.

Fans of today are the elite of the future

You can see how the world of marketing and marketing has changed. Due to the revolution in the transmitter-receiver model, there are countless new forms of marketing today. Likewise, the powers have changed. Bloggers exert great influence on the thoughts of their fans. They are still all young but in 10 or 20 years, their young fans are the forests of the future and the people who will decide where our world will go.

Social networks have revolutionized the whole world

Due to the entire globalization and the networking of the world, there is today hardly any demarcation between individual cities, regions or countries. The transitions are largely fluid and so the revolutionary changes brought about by social networks are changing not only individual countries but entire continents. In Germany, too, social networks have changed a lot. People today can communicate in any situation, with their friends or with their family. Keeping distances and locations bound no longer plays a special role through messenger services. On holiday, on a business trip or away from home. Today you can not only exchange text but also photos or videos. Even whole 360° views or even slow motion videos of special moments are possible.

Start ups and giants: The differentiation of networks

Everyone carries their photo album with them at all times. Memories, friends and future events planned in social networks. The entire life is increasingly organized around the platforms and portals. Small businesses become big companies and real giants. Others disappear.

The first and only large German network: StudiVZ

Do you still know studiVZ? StudiVZ was the first large social network programmed in Germany. Of course, it was only a copy of an American system, but we were the first to get a large, relevant number of users enthusiastic about it. This is why studiVZ was taken over by the Holtzbrinck Group only a short time later. According to Spiegel information, StudyVZ was purchased for up to 100 million.

Facebook and Google become online giants

At the same time, of course, Facebook came up in Germany. Facebook was the most popular social network in Germany and Facebook still is. Founder Mark Zuckerberg has managed to establish a worldwide phenomenon with his network. More than twenty million people are registered in Germany. In addition there are hundreds of thousands of groups and fanpages. Facebook has thus registered almost half of all German Internet users with itself. That of course gives the company an incredible mark makes. Away from Facebook, there’s YouTube. YouTube has as many users, but does not offer the same communication and exchange possibilities. YouTube as a video streaming platform is not intended for the personal and emotional exchange of information. Nevertheless, it is as big as Facebook and has the absolute supremacy in the field of video streaming in Germany and worldwide.

Facebook and YouTube revolutionize the world

Nowadays, it is no longer just private individuals who use social networks for communication or further training. Also in companies, the simple and direct communication of the social networks is popular. Employees use Facebook for coordination and internal communication as well as for data transfer. Department heads and bosses let new employees learn software and products through video tutorials on YouTube. The billions of videos offer companies incredible know-how that their employees can acquire. In the past, a specialist would have been needed for every single topic, but today the graphic designer can quickly watch a video coaching on the subject Adobe Premiere Pro or on content management systems (CMS), so that the company can manage its own website without the help of an advertising agency.

The first Youtube video of the founder himself

Segment networks: Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Tumblr, etc.

In addition to the large social networks, there are of course also a large number of smaller networks that more or less survive. There are various representatives here, from larger networks such as Twitter, which has its justification primarily through politics and American celebrities, to smaller ones such as ask.fm or Tumblr. You only have a small user group, but this is relatively special. For example, if we take a look at Twitter, the network is mainly used by politicians for extremely short statements. Politics is a very complex field and the short message service Twitter only allows messages 140 lines. This makes it very easy for voters to summarize complex content. Journalists like to record these tweets and include them in their reporting. While Twitter has little relevance for the normal social media user, it is still attracting attention in some circles. Likewise it is with Pinterest, this network mainly use creative, fashion designers or even photographers. Here you can get inspiration for your photo shootings and your next advertising campaigns. Instead of text, the network relies primarily on photographic material, which is constantly updated in its own timeline.

Social networks in the future

Localization: location determination of girlfriend and persons within a radius

A current trend that many social networks are concerned with is the constant localization of people. There are already new social networks that rely solely on seeing friends on a map. This not only gives you an overview of what someone is doing, e.g. by updating the status, you can even see directly where the person is. So you can quickly merge individual groups to e.g. start calls. Localization has long been built into the various applications. Many users, however, have prejudices, the constant location of their own location and the constant sending of this to friends and other users in social network, worries them.

Also the German data security makes the social networks in relation to the localization again and again a line through the calculation. Currently, most social networks offer short-term localization. So you can share your location on Facebook with selected friends for 60 minutes.

What is the benefit of localization?

A simple example would be a meeting in the evening. Several colleagues go home and arrange to meet in the city centre. Shortly before, a colleague from outside sends a location when he starts running. The others meet and can always see where the person is. Not only do you have an approximate estimate of how long it will take, your own announcements are always somewhat inaccurate, you can also help the person find the right place. Of course such ‘espionage’ features are also interesting for couples or for parents who want to know where their children are.

Social Commerce: Referral buying in social networks

We all know e-commerce. Although the industry has only been around for 20 years, it already feels like classic commerce when you consider the new possibilities of social commerce. E-commerce always offers a barrier for all visitors, the shop is strange, the recommendation of a third person, who is unknown to me as a user personally. But when products are promoted via social networks, there is often a recommendation from a friend behind it. This is why e-commerce in the area of social media is absolutely promising for the future.

Let’s just look at a small example. We have a certain fitness product that has been liked by a total of five thousand people. Four of these people are my friends and they recommend the product. If I, as a potential consumer and customer, go for the product now, I will immediately see that four of my friends like the product. The purchase decision is thereby relieved to me in certain parts, since I trust the recommendation of my friends very much. I also trust the recommendation of people I value. These include influencers and bloggers, as mentioned earlier, who are regarded as idols by many followers in the social media.

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) am 15. Mai 2017 um 1:59 Uhr

Social commerce is making its first steps and its first beginnings. Bloggers have their own shops, even on Facebook fanpages there are small integrated shops where users can get information directly from Facebook instead of switching to their own online shop with a click.

Permanent networking and swarm intelligence: We know everything about you

In addition to the localization of people and social commerce, the even more extreme networking and constant activity is part of the future of social networks. No matter if we are talking about Wearables, e.g. sports watches or Smart Watches, as well as mobile phones, loudspeakers that listen to us and answer us all the time, or cars, the brakes before we do it and communicate directly with each other in case of an accident. We are constantly surrounded by electronics and data is constantly being sent. This constant updating of information related to individuals allows social networks to make optimal use of it to improve their own performance. For example, Google is now actively asking about the experience of being at a particular location. When we visit a café like this, our mobile phone automatically asks us if it was full. For the user this does not make sense at first. However, this allows Google to optimize its results and to predict the approximate number of people in the coffee at a certain point in time already in the search queries.

This swarm intelligence will further revolutionize social media and related offerings, as well as search engines. In general, this is another future trend.

From garage to large corporations to cartels?

Have you ever seen how many companies Facebook has founded and how many startups Facebook has bought? Do you actually know the corporate structure of Google with individual innovations and new companies? The industry giant Google alone unites several billion users every day with its search engine and video platform YouTube. Google Inc. also conducts research into self-propelled cars, gives companies the opportunity to use a complete office package, invests in cloud software and huge data stores. It’s the same with Facebook, from personalization to technical innovations, the American company of founder Mark Zuckerberg invests in various areas. They all complement each other and lead to common new solutions, such as the example from demand to evaluation of the café.

Social networks have a great future

People love social networks and since their inception, not only have there been hundreds of millions more users each year, but the different providers also differentiate themselves, as do the social networks. Instead of having one or two large networks as before, the networks are separating more and more. We have Facebook for the personal information and emotions, there is Snapchat that allows you to be constantly “live” there. Instagram gives insights into the most beautiful moments of the day, Tumblr shows his latest creative works. Twitter allows politicians to give short statements and journalists to research quickly. YouTube gives people worldwide the opportunity to see news, receive critical information and learn new things through video tutorials and online courses. On Pinterest you can get inspiration and plan your next shopping trip. At the same time there are Foursquare’s best places in a city and Messenger services like WhatsApp that allow constant communication with our friends, alone or in groups. And these are just a few of the networks that are currently popular.

Social Media Basics for Agencies and Managers

What exactly are we dealing with? To enable you to answer these questions in advance, we will explain step by step what is important in social media marketing. If you want to book us as a speaker for your next employee training or the next Online Marketing Congress as a speaker, read more about Social Media Speaker here.

Why? Why do we spend hours every day in social networks?

Social networks are independent spaces:

• You are networked with other offers (cross-media, multimedia)
• No second website but demand independent content
• Contents with added value ensure interaction, because social networks live from communication and interaction
• Bring demonstrable successes and sales
• Reach target groups extremely accurate

Social media is relevant to:

• Branding and image building
• Recruiting and branding
• Contact with the media, opinion leaders, multipliers and others
• Marketing and sales
• Development of new target groups
• Product development or further development

Before we start, let’s take a look at some of the findings of Hootsuite / We Are Social 2017. The cooperation publishes new reports on global social media behaviour as well as for individual countries. First of all, we wanted to draw your attention to three points:

1. Youtube and Facebook are the market leaders in Germany
2. Search for information starts on the Internet
3. E-Commerce is now standard for companies

Source © We Are Social / Hoot Suite / global web index

Media use in social networks

Development of online use in Germany from 1997 to 2016

Persons from 14 years

source © ARD online study 1997, ARD/ZDF online studies 2000-2015

Is the growth continuing? Yes!

• Today 83.8% of persons aged 14 and over, 56.1 million
• 10 years ago 59.5%, 38.6 million
• 20 years ago 6.5%, 4.1 million
• Jump 2015, 2016 with 3.4%

Use of media worldwide: The Internet conquers the entire world

Here you can see that half of the world’s population is online. This creates great new opportunities for companies in online marketing.

Of course, the use is distributed differently all over the world. America and Europe are far ahead in digital networking.

Media usage times

January 2017

Source © We Are Social / Hoot Suite / global web index

They used to say, “You watch too much TV!” Today we look 4 times as often at screens. We spend a total of 9.5 hours in front of terminals. In the morning at breakfast, in the subway, then at work, later with friends and also falling asleep. Now there are also smartwatches, the constant presence of small monitors on one’s own body.

• We spend almost 5 hours on average on the PC
• More than one hour on smartphone
• We chat about one hour a day
• To this must be added 2.5 hours in front of the television

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Use by age groups: Social Media Report 2016 / Nielsen

This is supplemented by a study by Nielsen, which looks at the total weekly usage time of the media in 2016. The users were divided into 3 groups.

1. 18-34 years (Millennials)
2. 35-49 years (Generation X)
3. Over 50 years (Baby Boomers)

The result was astonishing, even for us as an agency. Speaking to the New York Times, Sean Casey, president of Nielsen Social, said he was surprised by the results: “Social media and millennials have so far been like synonyms. But he notices that the smartphone has also become a matter of course for his age group, Generation X.”

• 35-49 years: 31 hours 40 minutes, 7 hours of which in social networks
• 18-34 years: 26 hours 49 minutes, 6.5 hours of which in social media
• 50 years: 20 hours 22 minutes, 4 hours of which in social media
• Average 25 hours (7 minutes) each week and of which 5.5 hours on social networks

Interaction and user activities

January 2017

Source © We Are Social / Hoot Suite / global web index

Mobile is interacted almost as often as on a classic PC / notebook.

Platforms / DE

January 2017

Source © We Are Social / Hoot Suite / global web index

Social networks and messengers in Germany
# Messenger, Chat App, Voip #

• Youtube: 69%
• Facebook: 61%
• Whatsapp*: 55%
• Facebook Messenger*: 39%
• Instagram: 21%
• Google+: 20%
• Twitter: 19%
• Skype*: 19%
• Pinterest: 16%
• LinkedIn: 10%
• Snapchat*: 10%
• Tumblr: 8%

Mobile activities

January 2017

Source © We Are Social / Hoot Suite / global web index

Activities Mobile in Germany

• Videos: 73%
• Messenger, Communication: 56%
• Card Services: 44%
• Gaming: 34%
• Banking transactions: 27%

E-Commerce

January 2017

Source © We Are Social / Hoot Suite / global web index

Relevant figures in e-commerce

• 81% visited shops also online
• 77% are looking for products to buy them
• 72% bought digital
• 64% of them on the desktop, 26% also Mobile

Heavy User / Light User

USA 2016

Source © Nielsen Scarborough USA+ 2016, Release 1

Digital selling volume

USA 2016

Source © Nielsen Scarborough USA+ 2016, Release 1

How are the expenses distributed between the individual user groups?

• Over 50% of online users have spent more than $500 on digital purchases.
• 20% even more than 1.000 $
• Light users are more willing to buy than heavy users (retargeting)

Purchases by product groups

USA 2016

Source © Nielsen Scarborough USA+ 2016, Release 1

Users make the most frequent purchases for the following products.

Heavy User: 3 hours a day on social networks

1. Clothing, accessories: 58%
2. Books: 38%
3. Films, Cinema: 31%
4. Furnishings, accessories: 28%
5. Flight tickets: 28%
6. Health, Beauty: 28%
7. Apps: 28%
8. Games, toys: 27%
9. Travel (without flights): 25%
10. Music: 23%

Light User: About one hour daily in social networks

1. Clothing, Accessories: 48%
2. Books: 39%
3. Flight tickets: 33%
4. Travel (without flights): 30%
5. Furnishings, Accessories: 23%
6. Films, Cinema: 21%
7. Health, beauty: 20%
8. Toys, games: 20%
9. Apps: 18%
10. Music: 17%

Interaction after days

USA 2016

Source © Nielsen Scarborough USA+ 2016, Release 1

Use Mobile

USA 2016

This is what users do (mobile):

Source © Nielsen Scarborough USA+ 2016, Release 1

Change of use

USA 2016

source: global web index

Social Media recommendations

We regard these points as relevant

• Reaching target groups > Network expansion< Target groups are on different social networks. The further we spread our content, the more comprehensively we reach all target groups. Postings Frequency > Binding
• Snack Content > Photo / Video Production< Therefore we produce small videos for the online shop Shooting! We then use these for the advertisements + Insta/Youtube.
• Communication Management > Questions & Answers< For communication (e.g. messages on FB), a competent specialist should ideally be available in the office. Connect employees and customers quickly and effectively. Customer satisfaction, quality, stores, recommendation.
• Retargeting > Advertising< We install the retargeting code asap in the shop, then we collect user information directly. Then the first ads start. Through Adspend we reach significantly more people than through a simple, organic structure. Therefore, we recommend the monthly investment in ads for the specially produced content. Retargeting > Advertising > Increase in sales > Reinvestment
• Linkaufbau > Trend Blog< User loyalty is greater. The content can also be posted on Facebook and thus attract new users to the shop. Range and Upsells. The contents can be used further, for example a well done video tutorial in text form.

Facebook: Statistics and recommendations

Use
Source: Facebook Company Info & Mark Zuckerberg

• 26 million users in Germany
• Worldwide 1.9 billion users
• 1 billion uses the FB Messenger
• Target group: all age groups (14 – 65+)
• 60 % of users access the site up to 8 times a day
• 1.6 billion Likes a day (2014)
• 60 million pictures and photos (2014)

Recommendations

• Channel Designs for cover picture and profile picture< Corporate design for FB and all other social networks
• Templates for postings, photos and VIdeos< For themes, products and special events (like "Black Friday", "Christmas", etc.)
• Retargeting
• Photos
• No hashtags > direct links to the shop
• Facebook tabs and functions such as Youtube integrate (later also content and shop possible), the contents are directly accessible via FB
• Posting Frequency< We post 3-5x week current content, also foreign content, if appropriate.
• Sales tricks< Artificial shortage? Sale! Last pieces in stock! Only today!

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Youtube: Statistical data and recommendations for video marketing

Utilisation
2016

• 8 million users in Germany
• Target group: 10 – 60 years
• 92% of all adolescents and 70% of 30-44 year olds, are regularly on Youtube

Referral

• Advertising spots
• Influencer Marketing
• Tips and recommendations from employees
• Backstage at the shooting, etc.
• Presentation of companies and tradition
• Craft, production, technical details and quality

Instagram: Use and statistics

Utilisation
source: Instagram Business

• 9.8 million users in Germany
• Worldwide 600 million users
• 1 million Advertisers
• Target group: 16 – 29 years
• 83% of users are under 35, 60% under 25
• 36% of all Germans between 16-29 are registered
• 4.3 billion Likes a day
• 98 million images

Referral

• Reach new target groups< Instagram enables us to reach a much wider range of target groups than Facebook.
• We post daily to Instagram, 1-2x
• Trend Keywords
• Planned content
• Connection with other channels
• Software

Pinterest

Utilisation

• 3 million users in Germany
• 100 million users worldwide
• Target group: 16 – 34 years, 80% female users

Referral

• Link assembly< Shopping Backlinks for Styles
• Inspiration (for equipment and similar fields)

Twitter: The Media Network

Utilisation
Source: Twitter Company

• 12 million users in Germany, only 3-5 million users have an account
• 321 million active users worldwide
• Target group: 25 – 44 years
• 500 million tweets daily
• 80% use Twitter mobile

Referral

• Easy + Fast handling and advance planning< relatively little work like Pinterest, we take directly with
• Source for media and journalists

Snapchat: Inspiring young people

Utilisation
Source: Snap me if you can

• 9 million users in Germany
• 100 million users worldwide
• 6 billion snaps are available every day

Snack Content Production for High Interaction Rates

Content is produced so easily and quickly

• Regular Stock Shooting
• Own, fresh image material for social media + short e video clips
• Team: Photographer, 1/2 Model/s, Visa, On Location (Stores) and Studio in Mix
• Content in simple form< Example: Instagram, photo from bed in the morning, with newspaper and cafe. The newspaper shows design ideas for your own garden. Keyword: Influencer.

Agency services and expertise for consulting and management

• Social Media Keynote Speaker
• Social Media Marketing Concept
• Content strategy and planning, basis: target group analysis
• Multi-channel management and channel setup
• Campaigns, channel and fanpage design
• Facebook Ads (partner agency)
• PR and the public (communication concept)
• Design Workshops
• …

Summary

1. First Communities and Data Transfers from User Groups
2. Forums and pioneers like Ebay
3. The Web 2.0: Communication after the Millennium
4. Success on the Net: From Large Media Publishing House to Blogger
5. Fans of today are the elite of the future
6. Social networks have revolutionized the whole world
7. Start ups and giants: The differentiation of networks
8. Facebook and YouTube revolutionize the world
9. Social networks in the future
10. Localization: Positioning
11. Social Commerce: Referral buying in social networks
12. Permanent networking and swarm intelligence
13. From garage to large corporations to cartels?