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‘Evolve! Digital and Social Trends in the Educational Space’!!

UCD ‘Work Smarter Together’ Breakout Session!13.03.14

Irish Digital Reports

• The ‘Irish Digital Outlook’ 2014:

http://bit.ly/1mFXHuz

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• The ‘Irish Digital Consumer Report’ 2013

http://bit.ly/1ePK8aw

Who is this fellow, and why should I listen?

• A startup guy turned agency planner.

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• Work with large brands like Guinness, Tesco & GAA

implementing their social and digital strategy.

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• @shaneoleary1 or shaneoleary.me

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• Lecture in Social Media Marketing in DMI and write

about the subject in various places online.

What you should be able to take from today…

• An overview of key macro trends in the digital and social space for 2014

• An understanding that social is (unfortunately) not a panacea. There’s

much more to digital than that.

• Actionable advice to take away, and an understanding of how to implement

& harness these trends.

Firstly…

If you think ‘digital & social won’t work for me’

Meet Tom & the girls.

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‘Omni Channel’ - Its meaning and relevance…

The way we make most purchase decisions has changed…

• The ‘funnel’ model is no longer

applicable in many cases.

• Consumers are more cynical,

have more information and no

defined path to purchase.

• Marketing is now about nudging

behaviour rather than shouting

at targets.

So great digital brands must act in an ‘omni channel’ manner.

• They create utility, entertainment or conversation using a variety of tools.

• The use pull marketing, not push and understand the context of their consumer.

• They search for mentions, and facilitate in a proactive manner.

What’s the relevance for education? A simple framework

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Set up to embrace

new trends and be

collaborative?

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Someone who can

manage channels on

an ongoing basis?

Agility

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Always conversion

focused?

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Or do we understand

the need to create

smart, entertaining,

useful things?

Utility

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Moved on from the

idea that mass media

is the only way?

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Do we apply some

budget to

experimentation?

Variety

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Are we speaking with

the same voice across

all channels?

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Consistency

An example of an ‘omni channel’ brand

What might this look like for U.C.D. recruitment process?

Mobile App

‘Testimonial’

Video Content

PPC Advertising

Social Communities

Radio, Print, T.V.

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Social Trends for ‘Millennials’

‘Millennials’ - A dispersed digital experience

Image -

Zoo Digital

Facebook - Still a key channel!

• 2.3 million active users, more friends on average

than any other European country. 52% of 16-24

year olds check Facebook first thing each morning.

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• Over 1.7 million mobile users in Ireland.

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• Losing some of its ‘cool’, and younger users

spending less time here. But we’re still addicted.

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• Did you know you can now run competitions

without an app?

Facebook - Do & Don’t

• Never be ‘sales focused’ - it’s an entertainment

channel.

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• Visual is key in a crowded newsfeed.

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• Use small amounts of paid media constantly if

possible.

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• Understand your fans’ preferences - get familiar

with Facebook Insights and don’t forget the

weekends.

Twitter - Less interaction, more lurking

• 600,000 daily users, 1 million tweets per day.

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• But for millennials, it’s more about following

celebs than engaging.

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• More difficult for a brand to gain traction and

moderate - need for ‘always on’.

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• Proactivity is key - use listening tools to search and

respond.

Messaging - The always on network

• The major trend in social at the moment, SMS is

dying.

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• What’s App, Viber and Snapchat all increasing in

usage. 43% of 15-24 year olds have a Snapchat

account, with 1/2 using it daily.

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• More private and ‘cooler’ than mainstream sites.

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• Less opportunity for brands to engage, but this is

changing - particularly on Snapchat.

Other Opportunities

• Spotify is busy creating an incredibly powerful

music social network. Early adopter brands are

taking notice…

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• 14% of the population over the age of 15 now has an

Instagram account. Youth bias means a big

opportunity for photography heavy brands or

institutions…

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• Don’t just focus on the West. In China, Renren &

Sina Weibo are the sites to concentrate on.

What’s the relevance for education?

Optimise!for !

mobile

Fragmentation!is the norm

Facebook is!still king

But don’t !forget the!

niche sites

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Mobile becoming the first screen

Mobile First Thinking

If your content doesn’t work on a mobile device, it doesn’t count.

• 57% smartphone penetration in Ireland, but 82% amongst 18-24 year olds.

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• Teens check their phones on average 150 times per day.

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• On Facebook, mobile usage has outstripped web usage.

Mobile first is relevant across all behaviour, not just social

Over 60% of visits to

RTE.ie, TheJournal.ie,

BBC etc come from

mobile.

Mobile makes up

almost 40% of

YouTube's global

watch time.

44% of teens have

made a purchase on

mobile in the past

month.

Paddy Power’s mobile

revenue has increased

by 73% in the past 12

months.

What’s the relevance for education?

• An increasingly important informational

touchpoint.

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• Not a purchase point, so don’t attempt to make it

one, but optimise for info.

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• Prioritise sites before building apps.

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• Course Content apps a big opportunity (tablet)

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Content is the next big opportunity

Content is the next big opportunity.

72% of marketers think brand

content is more effective than

print advertising.

Companies that blog 15+ times

per month get 5x more traffic than those who don’t.

Clicks from shared content

are 5x more likely to result in a

purchase.

Content marketing generates 3x as many leads per

euro as traditional advertising.

The most relevant digital brands are also publishers

So let’s shift from promotional to encouragement

Consumers are in control, so move away from pushing messages towards encouragement through pull marketing.

Most brands only talk about themselves and consumers are sick of that - no dialogue, only monologue.

What’s your publishing strategy? - A Model

Whitepapers Surveys

Blog Posts Social

Video & Audio Infographics

Social Sharing

Apps Websites

Social Channels

Small amounts of paid social, PPC,

pre roll and traditional.

Be Useful & Facilitative

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Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. !

What’s in it for them? Why should they care? !

What kind of information can you provide that will make their lives easier and better? !

Make it as interactive and easy to share as possible.

Tell Stories

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Use relevant, quality content to champion your uniqueness and culture. !

Define your personality, find your voice and project that.

Be Realistic

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Creating content is not easy, and you don’t have the resource of a media brand. !

Define roles, create a skeleton content plan for the year and execute it. !

Do less but do it better.

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An application for gamification?

Gamification is still a huge trend

Applying game mechanics to ‘non game’ activities to change people’s behaviour.

Common Complaints

‘I wasn’t sure what to do for our assignment’

‘I don’t know what my grade was in the class’

‘The lecturer never once referenced the learning outcomes for the class’

What’s the relevance for education?!

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• As humans, we all have a natural competitive edge. !

• Layering in badging, leaderboards, linear progression through levels and rewards is proven to be highly effective.

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• More interactive C.A. opportunities? !

• A warning - The hype cycle is ahead.

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In summary, the best digital brands for 2014…

are active in many digital channels

are aware of their target’s online behaviour

think of social as conversation

create useful content regularly

are aware of trends & always evolving.

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Questions?