Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
What they are doing on social networks in the US is not exactly the same as we do here. Instead of managing sites for a few hundred bucks, numerous experts, agencies and clients are divided by areas and what is paid are strategies, content production, video and podcasts creation, social media ads, lead management, reputation management, design …
One of the positive examples presented during the conference is a page for pets, unknown to us here. In just 18 months of existence, it has generated 10 million fans, and has increased its monthly investment for advertising on Facebook from $30 to $250,000. They continue to increase the budget, and they lean on positive ROI in all segments (leads, fans, conversions, sales …). Frankly, any agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina today with a client who has an annual budget of $250.000 for creative and all the media is a happy one. In the US, this business is not done by kids, but by people who are in advertising for decades. They are not underestimated and no one says that “they are just jerking around with something on the Internet”. They are respected and well paid. If they weren’t, they could hardly afford this “jerking around” :-) . But whining aside, let’s talk about all the positive things I saw at the SMMW16.
Photo: Otvaranje konferencije
When Michael Stelzner was starting the blog Social Media Examiner, he probably never dreamed that it would grow into one of the most important websites for advertising on social networks. The numbers are incredible – millions of visits per month, daily newsletter sent to more than 400,000 professionals worldwide, all major world influencers are active and operating under the umbrella of this media, they make daily podcasts, shows on Blab platform, streaming live on Facebook Live and Periscope… At the same time, Michael is still an incredibly friendly, nice and honest person, open for discussions, exchange of ideas and ready to help all who follow his work through the blog.
Photo: Michael Stelzner
Michael and SME are organizers of the Social Media Marketing World 2016, a phenomenal conference whose theme is advertising on social networks. There is no competition here, no creative works or glamorous ceremonies. No one boasts, and speakers respect each other. Here no one is sitting in cafes or escapes from lectures to be somewhere by the sea as in our region. All lectures are followed with undivided attention by beginners and influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers worldwide alike. Here you are encouraged to approach everyone, to meet people and work on expanding your network of contacts.
The conference began on Sunday, with workshops in the impressive San Diego Convention Center, and then followed a party on the aircraft carrier USS Midway. Is the aircraft carrier a symbol of war that rages between different platforms and tools, survival skills, competition and democratization that social networks bring, I really don’t know :-) . An advertising expert doesn’t usually have the chance to find himself on an aircraft carrier, so I grabbed this opportunity :-)
Photo: USS Midway
On Monday and Tuesday a pandemonium broke out :-) . The day starts at 6 am with joint jogging or walking along the coast. It continues with a breakfast and coffee, and as of 8 am start lectures by the world’s top experts in various fields, arranged in a dozen separate halls. Not a moment passed by that I did not feel depressed because by listening to one session, I was missing at least 5-6 of those that I’m very interested in. Fortunately, Americans are very good organizers, who don’t leave an inch of room for improvisation. All the lectures are recorded and then placed on a server that you can access and watch lectures over the next 18 months. Frankly, I can’t wait to get my hands on high-speed Internet and a little time, and then to “leisurely” examine everything I’ve missed.
As those who know me would expect, my first choice was Guy Kawasaki and his lecture on reputation management in social media, and how to be successful using digital channels. I really don’t know if there is anyone more relevant than him to talk about this topic. I was overjoyed to learn that I myself abide by all the rules that were mentioned, as well as with the fact that we recommend similar things to clients for whom we lead this kind of promotion. By the way, Guy is a great entertainer. He enjoys what he does, although he is 61 years old. He is a phenomenal person who never stops laughing and has time to hear everyone with respect and full attention.
An important tip – Guy has nearly 1.5 million followers on Twitter, but his reach and conversions are three times higher on Facebook where he has two thirds less fans. He also said he would devote some time to Facebook Live video, and will completely abandon Periscope (currently there’s a major war going on between the two platforms).
Photo: Guy Kawasaki i Peg Fitzpatrick
Mari Smith, the uncrowned queen of Facebook, came as the icing on the cake after Guy, and presented all the possibilities of this social network for small businesses, as well as tools that can help us lead better communication on this network. She reminded us of the three main priorities of Facebook:
- Capitalize on the mobile content consumption (more than 90% of visits are made through mobile devices).
- Capitalize on marketing opportunities using advertising products (currently there are 12).
- Make ads more relevant and efficient.
If we add to this the plans that Mark presented at the recent F8 conference – the live video, which is now available to everyone (there is no longer need for expensive equipment to broadcast “live”, all you need is a cell phone and an Internet access to have the ability to broadcast from any event) and Instant Articles (loaded 10 times faster than conventional articles) – we can definitely say that Facebook is a great substitute for the entire Internet. What does it mean for Google, YouTube and other platforms in the future, we’ll see. Messenger is becoming a customer care service, and will soon enable and advertising. The good side – 1 to 1 communication, personalization, group communication…
Important tips from Mari Smith: Live video currently has the largest organic reach on Facebook, so it’s advisable to use it if you know how and with what purpose. When creating a live video, you need to:
- Attract attention in the first 3 seconds.
- Have in mind the fact that a large number of people mute sound on FB videos (transcripts, supers, telops, texts).
- Edit the video after the streaming (add video CTA, select the thumbnail, add keyword tags, add video to playlist).
With all this you also have to bear in mind that every post is an advertisement for future posts that people can expect on your page.
Photo: Mari Smith
Peg Fitzpatrick, Rebekah Radice and Donna Moritz are the queens of design and visual identity on social networks. I was particularly interested in this topic because of the Content Creator App, which we developed and on which we are working intensively worldwide. They like how the whole thing works, and if they publish some positive article about us it will be awesome :-)
Kim Garst gave a huge number of tips for Twitter and Periscope. Ian Cleary gave a lecture on Nine great tools that can help you in social media monetization. I would single out Social Warfare, AdEspresso, Veeroll, Optimonster (for all who collect leads), SocialQuant… I was delighted with the lecture held by Michael Port about the Heroic public speaking, as well as the advice he shared with us. The elections are coming, you need to know how to talk in public :-) .
During the festival, dozens of promoters, of all ages, raise the atmosphere in the halls, clap their hands, hold banners, direct people, answer all your questions and connect you with whomever you want. I am happy that I’ve met and talked about advertising with all the influencers I’ve been following for years, but also because I presented the Content Creator to them. I am delighted that I visited the beautiful San Diego, which has countless and various restaurants in the Gas Lamp district. I was near the Mexican border and Tijuana, I commuted in public transport, I met people of all nations.
A number of sponsors supported this conference. I would single out the simple and phenomenal Animoto platform that allows you to easily and quickly create a video that looks quite professional.
For me this conference was a huge refreshment, a reward and an excellent way of dealing with stress. Do I have a chance to implement the knowledge in our environment? I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. I feel better for knowing more. If anything, I can work on my Social Media Properties.
Regards to everyone out there,
Ejub Kučuk, MITA Group, ejub@mita.ba
P.S. All praised the man who runs the site for his patisserie Chocolate Johny. The man is so genuine that he is followed by many, and his business is constantly growing thanks to social networks. Maybe some of you find inspiration :-)