6 Marketing Trends to Watch in 2013: New Research

#1: Media Fragmentation

Consumers are everywhere, all at the same time. According to the Edison report, there are 256 million U.S. users on TV, 243 million on radio, 232 million on the Internet, 182 million connected at home via broadband, 177 million connected at home via wi-fi, and 139 million smartphone users.

Media multitasking is the new normal.

In this age of multimedia consumption, consumers are using more devices across a common set of platforms to do more things than ever. That means marketers have to play catch-up and shift away from strategies of the past. Today, the “e” in ecommerce means “everywhere.”

Your goal as a marketer should be to distribute content across as many types of media and platforms as your budget can allow. Make fast, confident decisions that give digital consumers opportunities to buy.

Keep in mind that capturing your customers’ attention will become harder as media multitasking becomes the new normal. Your digital content will need to be smarter, more creative and more visual to connect and engage today’s audiences.

#2: Smartphone Device Adoption Has Reached Half of U.S. Population

With 139 million (53%) of Americans owning smartphones, mobile use has reached critical mass in the United States.

Research by eMarketer shows the amount of time people spend on a mobile device is growing at 14 times the rate of desktop usage. The same research indicates thatmobile is becoming a more prominent channel for commercial transactions.

In the second quarter of 2012, mobile sales accounted for 15.1% of total B2C retail ecommerce sales, compared to only 1.9% for social ecommerce sales.

Smartphone usage has reached critical mass presenting unparalleled opportunities for digital marketers.

What this means for marketers is that a mobile-first strategy is the new priority.

The significance of location-based marketing, which has been around for a couple of years, will only continue to grow in importance.

Finally, with a growing number of users downloading apps on their smartphones, a focused app strategy will help ensure that your brand remains forceful and relevant.

Post social media content that is easy to consume and interact with on the go; for example, more images, brief posts, easy-to-execute calls to action.

#3: Content Marketing Is Still King

There’s no argument that content is still king. A 2012 survey conducted by Outbrain and research firm eConsultancy showed that 91% of in-house marketers use content marketing to sell their products and services. Additionally, 90% of all digital marketing professionals believe content marketing will become even more important over the next 12 months.

Digital marketers believe content marketing will become more important than ever.

The same research pointed to the top 3 types of content that are working best for marketers: social posts and updates (83%), email newsletters (78%) and news or feature articles (67%).

Focus on content marketing rather than advertising because consumers interact with content first, giving brands ideas or insights about what is important to them. Brands can then use these insights to craft their ads.

#4: Facebook Is Still Dominant

Despite all of the changes that continue to take place on Facebook such as Graph Search and hashtags, the number of users on Facebook is rising, giving marketers opportunities to interact with audiences in innovative ways.

Despite constant changes to the platform, Facebook remains top dog among social networks.

Brands that use hashtags in their posts may have slightly higher reach than brands that don’t use them, according to Edgerank Checker. Hashtags will also open up new advertising opportunities for marketers, including the ability to advertise directly to users who have used or clicked on a particular hashtag.

On the other hand, Graph Search is a valuable tool for helping you find people who like your Page. If you’re a local business this means you can create content, ads or free giveaways just for fans in your geographical location, thus encouraging a more vibrant local community.

To stay ahead of the game, marketers must learn and master the Facebook environment in spite of unexpected and often frustrating changes to the platform.

#5: Users Notice More Branded Content on Their News Feed

A majority of Facebook users (62%) noticed more branded content on their news feed. Most users don’t visit a brand’s Facebook Page. They interact with brands on their news feed, which is where opportunities and challenges lie for marketers.

Branded content on users' news feeds presents significant opportunities and challenges for marketers.

On the bright side, users who want to interact with brand content will be more engaged and open to brand messages. The opposite is true for users who just want to hang out with their friends. They’ll simply hide any brand content they don’t want to see (especially if those posts are frequent and intrusive).

We know that photos already make up 50% of news feed stories, and that images will continue to grow in importance. To get consumers to interact with branded content on Facebook, marketers should make posts more visual and provide interesting yet relevant insights about your company.

Invest in eye-catching, high-quality photos that will be pulled into users’ news feeds when they interact with your Page.

#6: Twitter Getting More Popular

Although Facebook is at the top of the social media world, the Edison report shows that Twitter is getting more popular. Notice that only 11% of Americans “Have not heard of Twitter,” which means 89% have!

The hidden potential of Twitter is bigger than most people think.

You might say, “But only 15% of Americans actually use Twitter!” (See Fig. 4). True. However 44% hear about tweets on other media “Almost Every Day” and 84% have seen or heard of tweets in other media at some point (green, plus blue, plus yellow, plus purple slices = 84%). This means that an overwhelming majority of Americans have been exposed to Twitter via multimedia consumption.

This statistic justifies the conclusion that Twitter is a much bigger platform than most people give it credit for, and marketers should be the first to recognize its hidden potential.

Take advantage of the current Twitter-friendly multimedia environment andpromote your brand among non-Twitter audiences. Encourage them to talk about you online using tweets, and in particular, using your brand’s hashtag.

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3 Ways Social Media Creates a Social Local Community

Nursing Homes and Social Media?

Nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and rehab communities are not known for being active in social media—yet.

But changes in Medicare mean communication with patients and families and the employees who care for them is more important than ever.

Wapakoneta Manor is one of 24 HCF Management facilities on Facebook.

“The way that we’re going to be paid and the way we’re going to be gauged is changing; it’s evolving as we speak,” said Scott Unverferth, director of operations at HCF Management in Lima, Ohio.

New pay-for-performance models are on the horizon for managed care companies such as HCF.

HCF has 27 facilities throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania that provide skilled nursing care, rehab care and assisted living. They have approximately 3,200 employees and have been in business since 1968.

In April 2012 they made the leap into social media and haven’t looked back.

Here’s how they’re making it work in the new healthcare environment.

Organization: HCF Management

Social Media Handles and Stats

• Website – HCF Management
• Facebook – combined 2,732 fans
• YouTube – combined 41,937 views
• Twitter – combined 903 followers

Highlights:

• 24 facilities across two states now on social media
• A series of “Harlem Shake” videos filmed at 13 facilities received over 35,000 views
• Quarterly average of 27% increased engagement across facilities since launching social media
• 2,252 combined subscriptions to email newsletter

When HCF decided the time was right to get into social media, they knew they needed a trusted partner. “We really had zero experience,” said Unverferth.

For guidance, HCF turned to Jessika Phillips, president of NOW Marketing Group of Lima, Ohio, based on word of mouth in the community. HCF and NOW agreed to a pilot program for seven facilities, eventually adding 17 more.

After a two-month discovery process, NOW launched the first Facebook Pages last spring. “We wanted to understand their business and their audience as much as possible,” said Phillips. NOW also uses a HubSpot goal-setting template to help set SMART goals for each quarter, as well as longer-term goals.

NOW and HFC developed a plan to increase community awareness of the brand, reach decision-makers and engage employees.

#1: Be Hyperlocal

There is no HCF Management Facebook Page. Instead, there are 24 individual Facebook Pages for the different HCF facilities. The same is true for Twitter accounts, YouTube channels and Pinterest pages (added spring 2013).

During the discovery process, NOW realized that HCF needed to focus more on engagement than follower numbers. Creating Facebook Pages for each facility means they can post more engaging content for each site.

“We want to create brands where the feel on the Page is that they are cheerleaders for the community,” said Phillips.

HFC champions others in their communities on their Facebook Pages.

“We create that kind of feel that we’re definitely engrained in the community and very supportive of it, and that tends to get really high engagement,” she added.

HCF facilities routinely post about community events.

NOW uses Scoreboard Social, a competitive social media analytics tool, to track their engagement, which aggregates all the Pages into one report for easier monitoring.

NOW Marketing uses Scoreboard Social to track engagement.

#2: Reach Out to Decision-Makers

“In our business, the people who make the decisions are not necessarily the people who are having the service provided,” said Unverferth. A common scenario is that a person’s mother or father will go into the hospital and learn that they can’t go home. In two days, their family will have to find a nursing home. “We want people to know who we are before they have to make that decision,” Unverferth said.

On Facebook, posts are designed to educate, entertain, engage or show their expertise. Phillips also explained that they make sure to mix in general-interest posts so prospective decision-makers don’t feel like outsiders.

One of HCF’s most successful social media efforts has been a series of virtual tour and staff introduction videos on YouTube. Phillips said they have been a great tool for the HCF social workers and patient-relations representatives at the hospital.

HCF virtual tour videos and staff videos are popular on YouTube.

She recounts one account manager’s story of a family that was looking to choose a nursing home for their mother. At first, some of the out-of-state siblings were recommending a different nursing home. But the sibling who lived nearby took a video tour of an HCF facility and then sent the link of the virtual tour to her family. After viewing the tour video and staff videos, the other siblings felt comfortable having their mother placed in the HCF nursing home.

Another unconventional way HCF used YouTube was with a series of “Harlem Shake” videos.

“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could do something unexpected?’” said Phillips.

The first video, shot at Van Wert Manor, received over 10,000 views in its first week, also spawning coverage on two local TV stations and two newspapers.

Van Wert Manor’s “Harlem Shake” video got over 10,000 views its first week

“For us, that’s amazing,” added Unverferth. “We could never have 10,000 customers look at our building in a week’s time… We are starting to reach some of the people who are going to be decision-makers. Maybe they’re not today, but I think they will be in the future.”

#3: Reach Out to Employees

Communicating with employees using the same social channels that you communicate with customers may seem counterintuitive. But in managed care, it makes sense.Relationships grow between staff and residents over what can be years of care, and social connections are important.

“It’s just so important that [staff] are involved and they know what’s going on,” said Unverferth.

Since employee satisfaction will figure into new formulas for payment, bringing employees into the social media mix makes good business sense as well.

To foster staff engagement on social media, HCF focuses on Facebook, an email newsletter and newly added Pinterest pages.

HCF regularly posts about employees on their Facebook Page.

NOW introduced an email version of the printed newsletter that is distributed to residents. They ran a contest between facilities for the most signups, giving a pizza party to the winners. Over 2,200 employees and family members now subscribe.

Each newsletter includes an Employee of the Month and Resident Success Story.

NOW also launched Pinterest pages to offer craft ideas for internal activities directors and wellness resources for families.

NOW recently launched Pinterest pages as a resource for activities directors and family members.

The Power of Social Media in Managed Care

When the Roselawn Manor Care Community (an HCF Management community) got on Facebook, an administrator noticed a certain person liking and interacting with their daily posts. Shortly afterwards, that person referred a resident.

“After talking with this resident,” the administrator said, “she had mentioned that our Facebook Page and our daily fun and caring posts are what led her to our care community!”

When it comes to social media in the managed care arena, Phillips said,

“It’s important to take a risk and try it out before you’re trying to play catch-up.”

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