The Importance Of Social Media A brief introduction

The Importance Of Social Media A brief introduction to the commercial potential of the ever-changing digital world

The Importance of Social Media • • • Social media is fast becoming the new front door for any business. A venerable powerhouse, supporting nearly every marketing objective from brand awareness to advocacy over the past decade. 68% of the UK population are active Social Media users, highlighting the increased demand for effective social media marketing. Consumers are spending up to 3 hours on Social Media platforms per day and even longer looking at their mobile screens When it comes to using Social Media, consumers in the US and UK say researching products, entertainment and news/current events are important to them. Almost a third of online consumers use social media to research and find products to buy. Consumers now go on social to connect with their favourite brands, research products, and purchase the products they research. Social Media’s Impact Across The Purchase Journey % of Internet users who… Discover brands via ads on social media 28% Discover brands via recommendations/comments on social media 25% Use social networks to research products 42% Clicked on a sponsored post on Instagram (among Instagram visitors) 17% Motivated to purchase by lots of likes/good comments on social media 22% Motivated to purchase by a “buy” button 12% Question: How do you typically find out about new brands and products? Which of the following online sources do you mainly use when you are actively looking for more information about brands, products, or services? On Instagram, which of these have you done in the last month? When shopping online, which of these features would most increase your likelihood of buying a product? Source: Global. Web. Index Q 2 2019 Base: 139, 658 internet users aged 16 -64 and 73, 470 Instagram monthly visitors/users

The Importance of Social Media • 71% of all decision makers say social media is influential when they’re researching or considering a new product for their company. • Those aged 55 -64, however, say blogs and online ads are on par with social media as a source of product information. • • Content used for research on social % of decision makers who use these platforms to research new products/services find the following social media content most useful Posts by users of the product Posts by companies Conversations with friends or colleagues Posts by Influencers/ Thought Leaders Social Media platforms are also gradually becoming a place to complete purchases, as networks mature further 62% 60% 52% 46% 64% 61% 54% 49% Social Media is the golden thread of the whole customer journey throughout, as it allows a unified customer experience, as people are buying into experiences, not just products. Social compresses the customer journey from days to hours. 66% 64% 52% 64% 56% 52% 60% 58% 54% 46% 63% 61% 53% 46% Social media is valuable for businesses of any size or industry, and finding customers on social media has a direct impact on sales and your bottom line. Question: Which social media sites do you use to research/consider new products/services? When using social media to research products or services, which of the following do you find useful? Source: Global. Web. Index Work 2019 Base: 11, 653 decision makers aged 16 -64

The Importance of Social Media • • • The role of social media in the purchase journey is by no means reserved to the much-coveted purchasing stage via a “buy” button on a social platform. In reality, social media brings added value to each stage of this process. Only with this in mind can the true potential of social channels’ role in the purchase journey be realized. Social commerce must be viewed within the frame of omni-channel retail strategies and beyond clicking “buy” buttons on social platforms. Shoppers are increasingly making use of a multitude of channels when looking for and buying products online. Social channels can be used in conjunction with – and complementary to – other commerce channels to provide a convenient and seamless consumer experience at each stage of the purchase journey. Social Media today has evolved to more than just a space for communication, content sharing and news consumption. It has increasingly become not only a tool where general networking can easily take place, but also a space that serves the needs of businesses – everything from advertising and marketing to ecommerce sales. But it’s the possibility of completing the purchase journey while remaining within the ecosystem of these social platforms which has emerged as the “holy grail” in the development of social commerce. Social media is, now more than ever, a powerful tool for 1. Retrieving consumer insights 2. Generating brand awareness, as well as maintaining relevancy 3. Providing a seamless shopping experience

Storytelling Highlight The Different Parts of Your Business • • • As a Branding and Marketing tool, Social Media is extremely important not only to sell a specific product, but also to create an experience, to share the passion and work put into the actual final product. With basic Marketing Principles in mind, and looking at the “Brand Actions on Social That Prompt Consumers to Purchase” graph, it is important to communicate to the consumer what Wine really is: the passion committed generations put into a product that will be enjoyed by other families. It’s the vineyard, and the teams that look after it all year round. It’s the winery, the processes, methods and equipment. It’s the winemaker, their experience and unique style. It’s craft, knowledge, art and technology. Wine is where nature, innovation and love all come together. And this is fascinating, whether one is a true connoisseur or the occasional drinker. This inevitably touches point with Tourism, which in turn brings out a panoply of related topics not only for their commercial value, but to help sell your story and create a customer experience. You can share your winemaking, viticulture and, grape and wine varieties, alongside cellar door, culinary and other visitor experiences. Brand Actions on Social That Prompt Consumers to Purchase % of Internet users who… Being Responsive 48% Offering Promotions 46% Providing Educational Content 42% Sharing Interesting Visuals 38% Being Funny 36% Offering Exclusive Content 35% Providing Behind the Scenes Content 27% Source: Sprout. Social. com/index, Q 2 2017 • There’s a real opportunity to explore, develop and promote English and Welsh authentic wine experiences and recognise the UK as a global destination for international and domestic visitors through lifestyle offering as well as niche “wine tourists”, who choose their routes based on wine and food experiences. Because these topics are all so interconnected and with no pre-defined guidelines of where one ends and the other begins, the points made throughout this document are all entirely relevant for whichever side of the business you’re looking into communicate and promote through your social channels. In fact, they should all be, as together they tell a story!

Knowing Your Audience • One reason whyt using social media for business is so effective is that you can micro-target your audience. But first, you need to understand who your audience is. • Social media allows companies to listen in on unfiltered conversations consumers are having about their preferences, experiences, and habits. • Start by thinking about your target customer. Then, compile data on your current customers. Then, dig deeper with social media analytics. You’ll start to develop a solid picture of who’s buying from and interacting with you online. • • What are their interests? Their location? of people who use Twitter do so to keep up to date with the world around them Their age? Occupation? What do they use their social channels for? And based on all this, what would they like to see from your brand? Current trends are very applicable to your social media content. Topics like sustainability, veganism, zero waste, natural produce, local produce, and so many other trending topics will help you capture eyes and hearts. to keep up to date with friends and family To keep up to date with what’s trendy

Current Consumer Trends • Today, the consumer is empowered, dynamic and proactive • 85% wants a blend of physical and digital • 78% are happier monitoring their digital usage – which makes it extremely important to know what is relevant to a specific audience and when are the key hours to reach them. Make the right offer at the right time to optimize the result • Approximately half of Social Media users block ads – which makes it more difficult to connect to the consumer through paid ads. This shows how companies should focus on growing their organic reach, which is a long-term goal but a sustainable one. • Context and control are fundamental to the age of the audience. An example of this, Team Mates which will be launched by Linkedin, through which people connect to people they actually work with in real life. • Consider integrating social commerce in your strategy. Consumers are using social media for more purpose-driven activities and research suggests it has the potential to become mainstream. • The top motivations for using social include public content consumption • to research/find products to buy • to find funny or entertaining content • to stay up-to-date with news and current events

The Role of Social in the Online Shoppers’ Purchase Journey A. Social media is a go-to in the research and discovery stages of the purchase journey. • 24% of online shoppers discover brands through review sites, with 58% of the online population interacting with reviews in some way during their purchase journey. • While 51% of the online population have used an ad-blocker to stop ads being displayed in the past month, online ads still feature high on the list, with 1 in 4 discovering brands this way. • The effectiveness of online ads garnering users’ attention is prevalent in younger generations especially: 3 in 10 Gen Zs and millennials typically discover new brands through ads seen on social media • Although vlogs and influencer-based content are widely discussed in the industry, they’re most suited to younger demographics, since 16 -24 -year-olds are 38% more likely to discover brands through vlogs • When it comes to product research, younger consumers look to social media before search engines to get more information on products • For millennials, visiting certain brands’ websites regularly remains a popular form of brand research.

The Role of Social in the Online Shoppers’ Purchase Journey B. 92% of millennials visit an online retail site or store such as Amazon each month. • In addition, 12% of internet users interact with brands when doing research on messaging apps, showing the importance of convenience and immediacy in social brand consumer relationships, and indicating the growing potential for chatbots. C. Social platforms provide important brand-consumer touchpoints. • Increasingly social media has evolved into a space that serves the needs of businesses – everything from advertising, to brand-consumer engagement and ecommerce sales. • At present, 38% of internet users follow their favourite brands on social media, with 25% following brands they are thinking of buying something from. What this means for brands: Maintaining a strong social media presence is a prerequisite to reach consumers who follow and research brands on social media, but traditional content and SEO strategies haven’t lost their appeal- and are still more important in most cases.

Sources Does Social Media Matter in the B 2 B Purchase Journey? https: //blog. globalwebindex. com/chart-of-the-week/social-and-the-b 2 b-purchase-journey/ Edition XV: Empower & Elevate, Sprout Social https: //sproutsocial. com/insights/data/index/ Hootsuite Webinar: “Future of the Customer” Social Flagship Report 2019, Global. Web. Index https: //www. globalwebindex. com/reports Social Commerce Trends https: //bit. ly/2 QA 81 g. G

Author: Joana Demarche Albogas January 2020