James Whatley and Marshall Manson explore 3 social trends to look for in 2014.

1. Social Media Trends for 2014
By James Whatley & Marshall Manson
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2. TREND 1: DISPOSABLE CONTENT
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3. THE CONTENT CHURN
„Content marketing‟ is the buzz term of 2013 and as a
result, every brand (and their corresponding agencies) is on
the hook to constantly create content.
Continuously churning through idea after idea, meme after
meme…
The desire to continually satiate the online hunger for more,
more, more means that the content created in turn becomes
smaller, faster and, unsurprisingly, quicker to consume.
Inevitably, this leads to mistakes.

4. Tweet & Delete
With the inescapable errors that happen in 24hr content
hubs, the chances of a piece of work slipping out the door a)
without the correct sign off or b) errors, increase.
However, unlike an offensive print ad, or a sexist TV
commercial, social channels allow media owners to reach into
the past and delete the offending content – as if it had never
existed in the first place.
This comes with as many risks as it does rewards. The latter
in that it can be missed by many; and for the former: the rise
of screen captured content having post-deletion infamy on the
Buzzfeeds and Reddits of this world.

5. TEENAGE LEGACY REDUCTION
With the advent and subsequent global penetration of social
media, the professional adults of today are finding that the
penchant for over-sharing that was so new and exciting back
in the noughties is slowly coming back to haunt them.
Well, we‟ve got news for you on this: the kids are wise to it.
The generation growing up RIGHT NOW is unlike no other
before. This is the generation that has never known a world
without the Internet.
Can you even imagine that now?

6. TREND 1: DISPOSABLE
CONTENT EXAMPLES
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7. SNAPCHAT
It‟s an obvious choice but it
simply cannot be ignored.
Given the veracity at which
teenagers have embraced the
platform and its Mission
Impossible-esque way of
dealing with messaging, it‟s no
wonder brands are also getting
in on the act.

8. EXAMPLE: 16 HANDLES
New York based frozen yogurt
chain, 16 Handles, was the first
brand to do anything with the
disappearing content platform.
Customers (who were friends
with the brand on the app)
received a special coupon code
for 16%, 50% or 100% off which
they then have just 10 seconds
to show the cashier.
The clincher: customers had to
commit to purchase before
opening their snap.

9. EXAMPLE: TACO BELL
Taco Bell announced the comeback
of its „Beefy Crunch Burrito‟ using the
platform to share the news with its
biggest fans.
This was the first brand/Snapchat tie
in with the social platform using a
„mass sending‟ functionality for the
first time.

10. EXAMPLE: DORITOS UK
To celebrate
Halloween, Doritos UK used
its in-house Mariachi Band (as
featured in its TV campaign)
to send personalized
Halloween messages to its
biggest fans.
The campaign only ran for a
day and it was supported with
media in other social
channels.

11. QUICK! DELETE!
Creatives love to be provocative. Be it running work in far
away places to get a cheeky award entry in, through to just
wanting to get something in for a Chip Shop* (Google it).
The Delete and Tweet category shows that its not just
audiences who want their media to disappear, sometimes it‟s
brands too.
*Chipshopawards.com

12. EXAMPLE: CHARMIN
UK toilet roll brand,
Charmin, tweeted (and
deleted) this pun-tastic
play on words to tie in
with the launch of THOR:
THE DARK WORLD.
We‟re guessing legal
wasn‟t happy?
Buzzfeed loved it at least.

13. EXAMPLE: HOME DEPOT
The Home Depot quickly
deleted this „agencycreated‟ photo banter after
several followers pointed
out its racial connotations.
Home Depot apologized,
blamed their agency, and
sacked the individual
responsible. In that order.
Ouch.

14. TREND 1: DISPOSABLE
CONTENT IMPLICATIONS
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15. PREPARATION, PREPARATION,
PREPARATION
Chance favors the prepared
mind.
To get that viral smash, you
need to have the approval
processes sorted, the brand
guidelines locked, and the
right people in place to
execute.

16. WANT AN ‘A’ GAME? RECRUIT THE ‘A’ TEAM
Too many times we see
headlines that blame young
talent for a social media
mistake.
No, the mistake starts at the
top. You need damn good
talent to make great content
that‟s worth missing.
When it comes to the
ephemeral, it‟s time to be
incredible.

17. BE QUICK, BE NIMBLE, BE AGILE
There‟s no point in having
the right processes and
the right people if you
simply don‟t have the
prowess to get it done
promptly.
Speed is of the essence

18. TREND 2: BRAND BANTER
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19. BRANDS HAVE A VOICE TOO
When social media arrived,
industry commentators
heralded a new era of 2-way
conversation between
brands and consumers.
What they didn‟t bank on
was the same 2-way
conversation being opened
up between BRANDS.
It will only GROW in 2014.

20. SOCIAL MEDIA MATURITY
Social media is no longer a new thing.
Marketers understand that
while consumers expect
brands to have a voice in
social media, they can also
get away with a lot more too.
We‟ve been talking about
brands „Being Human‟ in
social for the best part of
seven years, but finally
some of them are getting
the hint.

21. TREND 2: BRAND BANTER EXAMPLES
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22. EXAMPLE: TESCO MOBILE, YORKSHIRE
TEA, CADBURY AND MORE…
What starts with a bit of
chatter between Tesco
and a customer soon
descends into an all out
FMCG love-in, including
Jaffa Cakes, Yorkshire
Tea, Phileas Fogg, and
Cadbury.
All with their own distinct
tone of voice, all with their
own bit of brand banter.

23. EXAMPLE: AT&T AND TMO
When one customer wondered out loud (via Twitter) as to why
he was still with AT&T, T-Mobile stepped in and beckoned him
to join them. AT&T tried to fight back, but when TMO‟s own
CEO stepped into the fray, they had no chance.

24. TREND 2: BRAND BANTER IMPLICATIONS
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25. CONTINUE TO BE HELPFUL
Being a fun brand on Twitter will always endear you to
your followers, just keep in mind that your customers will
need you from time to time too.
Being helpful and informative from time to time is equally
as important, if not more so.

26. CHOOSE TWO
Twitter UK have a simple image to help those „new kids on
the block‟ brands who have yet to find their tone of voice.
“Helpful, funny, or informative: choose two” – Twitter UK

27. IS YOUR VOICE AUTHENTIC?
Before you engage in brand banter, you need to ask yourself
if your voice is authentic. We‟ve already commented on the
requirement for brands to show the more human side to them.
This is not news. Keeping that side authentic and true is the
tricky part. Do that, and banter will be yours.

28. ARE YOU WITHIN YOUR BRAND GUIDELINES?
“Hey! Let‟s be funny!” doesn‟t always work.
Especially if your brand
guidelines state
otherwise.
When finding your online
tone of voice, using that
dusty old brand book
that‟s currently propping
up your monitor is not a
bad place to start.

29. ARE YOU BEING STUPID?
It‟s so simple we can‟t
believe we‟re typing it but
IT‟S TRUE: don‟t tweet
something that‟s so stupid
you wouldn‟t tweet it from
your own account.
Seriously. Just don‟t.

30. TREND 3: SUBDIVIDING
SOCIAL COMMUNITIES
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31. LARGE GLOBAL COMMUNITIES
As global brands have pushed
harder to engage with brand
fans, communities have grown
into the millions. But many are
using this only as an
opportunity to reach mass
audiences with one-to-many
messages.
Connecting with smaller groups
within communities for more
substantive, relevant dialogue
can be difficult and often
inefficient.

32. MEMBERS JOIN FOR DIFFERENT REASONS
Once new members
connect with the brand‟s
community, they often
don‟t see the themes that
attracted them reflected in
the day to day content.
This disconnect
discourages engagement
and undermines the value
of the community.

33. NEW PLATFORM FUNCTIONALITY
Facebook‟s Custom
Audiences tool provides
improved targeting where
paid content will appear in
users‟ newsfeeds.
More data about community
members is available from
the API as well. The result is
the improved ability to target
relevant content more
effectively at smaller
community segments.

34. TREND 3: SUBDIVIDING SOCIAL
COMMUNITIES IMPLICATIONS
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35. FOUR PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESS
Talking to smaller segments of
your community will improve the
content effectiveness and lead
to higher engagement. The
following four principles will
drive success…

36. 1. Target members with themed content
consistent with the content that caused
them to join or that they have engaged with
recently.

37. 2. Get a conversation going among a small
group within the community around their
focused interest.

38. 3. Leaders in each interest area are
potentially powerful advocates, both
within and beyond the community.

39. 4. Watch member interactions with other
brand content to identify adjacent
interests, then work to fuel their interest
in those topics.