Deliver impact, with the latest marketing, social, and communications trends
Marketing is dramatically changing and it’s time-consuming to stay on top of the latest trends—and to predict which of them will lead to innovative, effective, marketing strategies.
This week, we look at Twitter’s next rollout for ‘Spaces’ and a new tweet review system, brand building during COVID and if it paid off, why physical newspapers might be here to stay, and a new study that found negative language hampered marketing conversions throughout 2020 and what needs to change.
Twitter Spaces launch for users with 600+ followers
Twitter Spaces—Twitter’s answer to the popular social app Clubhouse—has continued to grow throughout its testing phase, with the company opening the platform up to accounts with 600+ followers. The new feature brings live audio conversations to the platform and will include options for monetisation in the future via ‘Ticketed Spaces’, where users will be able to purchase exclusive tickets to enter any given space. With monetisation hinting at new opportunities for businesses to host valuable online gated content and discussions, marketers will want to watch how users engage with the feature. Brands that are familiar with the feature stand to hold a significant advantage over those who aren’t.
Report: Brands investing during COVID, did it work?
A new report by Mi3 found that brands who maintained or increased marketing spend during COVID experienced increases in sales, market share, brand consideration and return-on-investment. What’s interesting, however, is the brands that pulled back on their investments did as well. While the industry is divided on which approach worked best, the real challenge raised for marketers will be maintaining growth coming out of the pandemic, with Mi3 expecting greater investment in brand marketing and customer experience.
Twitter launches new ‘Tweet Review’ system
Fake news and hate speech are serious issues on Twitter, but through its new tweet review system, the company hopes to encourage users to ‘think before they tweet’. When sending a tweet, users are prompted to send, edit, or delete, with testing so far revealing more than 34 per cent of users revised or deleted their initial tweet. The new tool may begin to reduce the amount of spam and negative interactions brands receive, potentially cutting down on social admin for marketing teams.
Country readers prefer the feel of newsprint to digital
The pandemic caused a string of regional newspapers to shut down, but according to a new survey, 71 per cent of country readers prefer hard copy news. While the primary respondents were those aged 60-61, this is an important insight for brand marketers and communications professionals investing solely in specific channels as a more holistic approach may result in greater cut-through for particular demographics.
Report: Negative news killed conversions in 2020
According to a new report, negativity led to lower marketing conversion rates across a range of industries. The study analysed over 44,000 landing pages responsible for up to 33 million conversions and found that negative language did not convert in the ‘year of negativity’. In e-commerce, online sellers significantly increased their use of emotional languages, such as anger, fear, and sadness, which frequently correlated with a decrease in conversions. The report results provide real value for marketers looking to learn from the lessons of 2020 and grow their conversions in 2021 and beyond.