As more consumers rely upon smart phones and tablets for information, the influence social media has on business marketing is more important than ever, Oklahoma City-based Smirk New Media CEO Mike Koehler said.
Koehler was the guest speaker at the Bartlesville Marketing and Communications Association meeting Thursday at Tri County Tech.
According to Koehler, in order for businesses to survive in 2017 and beyond, owners and marketers must embrace the emergence of social media to get the message out.
“Great business owners and marketers want to know who you are talking to and which platform for engaging with customers works best for you,” he said. “Social media allows that to happen like nothing we’ve seen before. Digital advertising spending will continue to grow and there are multiple reasons why that will occur.”
Digital advertising and traditional media
As younger generations begin to make their consumer presence known, businesses and media sources alike are starting to shift toward focusing in on digital advertising. Companies — including the Examiner-Enterprise — are making more strides in the sphere by offering digital marketing packages at an ever increasing rate. Koehler does not see that trend stopping anytime soon.
“The reality is that 2017 will represent the first year ever that companies spending their marketing dollars will overtake television advertising,” Koehler said. “By 2020, it is projected 40 percent of all ad dollars will be spent online.”
According to Koehler, the biggest shift in advertising money can be attributed to the increased influence of smart phones.
“Digital traffic shows increased usage in the morning hours, the noon hour and the dinner and evening hours,” Koehler said. “Instead of watching television, people are using their smart phones. Combined with the growth in television technology like DVRs, consumers are fast forwarding through commercials.”
Live video apps
Facebook and other social media like Twitter have been making a huge push toward the use of their live video functionality, Koehler said. Marketing to that audience will be key to business success in the future, he said.
“A lot of companies I talk to question the use of live video functions and how that helps market,” Koehler said. “They wonder why the would shoot video live if there really isn’t anything engaging to talk about. The great thing about live video is that you can shoot video about anything and have the ability to talk and interact with your customers because they can type questions to you.”
This breakthrough technology is emerging as a leader in customer service as well, he said.
“When you are able to interact with your customers live, you can take care of those concerns much faster than any other way,” Koehler said. “Even if the solution to a concern is not what the customer wants to hear, studies show that overall satisfaction raises dramatically because they feel as though they are interacting on a better level with you.”
Twitter continues to be strong
The social media app Twitter is making a comeback, Koehler said. Even with its limitation of 140 characters, businesses and politicians are using the app to engage with people on a much higher level than ever.
“Twitter’s growth will continue,” he said. “In almost every news story, you hear the word ‘Twitter’ or ‘Tweet.’ That has brought the app back to life and companies must continue to adapt to its usage.”
Good social media increases web visibility
Search engines, such as Google, use social media usage to boost results for a particular product, Koehler said.
“Banner ads and ads that follow you around based on what websites you visit are starting to lose their influence,” he said. “New metrics to rank search results are becoming more dependent on using social media and engaging with your customers. If you interact with your customers on social media, the higher your ranking will be.”
Customers also have the ability to rate a company’s product and service online. Those reviews are growing in influence, Koehler said. The more businesses engage with the customer, the higher the rating will be, he said.