Twitter on the Decline – Fact or Myth?

April 4, 2016

As a leading social media agency, we have been actively following Twitter performance announcements as they unfold, and are constantly attempting to determine what the future holds for the platform.

According to Business Insider, the Twitter Active User Base figures are at an all-time low.

twitter

 

 

Not only has there been no growth, but active users have been steadily declining. This is worrying for investors, as the falling rates prove that Twitter cannot reach anywhere near Facebook’s user figures.

According to The Verge (see here), Twitter’s 320 million monthly active users are way behind Facebook’s 1.59 billion monthly active users.

 

Will Twitter  be a serious social media contender in 2016/2017?

There has been speculation on the ‘Twittersphere’ that the 140 character limit could in fact be lifted. A recent interview with Jack Dorsey, has reversed the thinking surrounding this change, with his comments hinting otherwise e.g. Twitter’s 140-character limit is “a beautiful constraint” and Twitter “will never lose that feeling.” (Source: Tech Crunch)

Even if this character limit change did come into play, it would seem that it just wouldn’t be enough to transform the platform. With Facebook’s innovations being introduced at lighting speed, Twitter will need to do a lot more to be thought of as more than a glorified news channel.

 

What do we think here at agency:2?

Judging by recent trends, we predict that by the end of the year Twitter stands to lose up to 100 million active users if it doesn’t act fast; this will result in a huge loss in advertising revenues and equally devastating, a great loss in investor confidence.

 

Will our agency be pulling the plug on Twitter?

The writing’s on the wall, but it’s not signed, sealed and delivered just yet. For the moment, Twitter remains a viable newsworthy platform, thus allowing agency:2 to be in control and up to speed on the latest social media insights and news stories. We continue to proudly support our clients brands on Twitter, constantly making valuable connections with their customers worldwide.

Twitter may need an overhaul of its basic features to inspire user growth; however, focusing on its speed and dominance in the live conversation sphere seems like a much smarter approach.

If there is one thing Twitter still has over Facebook, it’s the service’s uniquely instantaneous reactions to live world news and events as they happen in real-time.

 

Top 10 technology companies present in NYC

November 18, 2015

Last week, the top 10 technology companies showcased their innovations at a high profile NYC event.

agency:2 was excited to be short-listed by an expert panel as a top 10 London Tech Company. We were delighted to share the event alongside the following top emerging technology companies:

  • Newsflare– Has created a platform that licenses video shot by the public to more than 200 media organisations
  • Social Insight Engine – Pioneering social ad technology with a powerful audience insight tool reaching 300% more consumers, created by agency:2.
  • Screencloud – Has built a powerful end-end solution for digital signage aimed at small businesses.
  • Allocator – Provides an effortless solution to the management of fund data.
  • Bluebook Academy – A smarter financial training platform, linking education tracks to jobs.
  • We Are Pop Up – We are Pop Up is a peer-to-peer marketplace for retail and leisure property.
  • Sybenetix – A leading enterprise Behavioural Analytics company working with hedge funds, Asset Managers, and banks systematically.
  • Loyalive – Loyalive is a top first App that allows you to store all of your loyalty cards, check your live points balance and redeem the rewards you have earnt.
  • StoryGami – StoryGami is an interactive video tool that helps content creators and brands increase their viewer engagement and monetise their videos.

This event was held in association with:  UK Trade and Investment, London & Partners, Thomson Reuters, Chinwag & The New York Technology Council.

TOP 10 TECH BUSINESSES

Top 10 technology companies 2015 / 2016

Digging out the data

November 13, 2015

Our founder Joel Davis spoke at the DMA offices about applying social data for brands. Key take home points included: 1) Facebook pushes brands to pay for increased reach; this is made more significant as bigger pages experience lower organic reach 2) 62% of CMOs rate creating more engaging, high quality content as extremely important and high up on their marketing priority list 3) Creating brand loyalty is essential and can be increased through driving engagement, encouraging consideration, high levels of support and driving conversion

Social media at the DMA

social media at the DMA

Welcome to the world of Next Gen Social Insights

September 11, 2015

Social media week, September 14-18, is coming up and we are thrilled to be a part of it. Joel Davis will be talking about new technologies and advancements in social insight tools which can transform social media marketing from traditional to extraordinary.

We will take marketers on a journey from relying on gut-feel to trusting the insights and utilising them strategically. Using these innovative tools can transform ROI and elevate its priority level. With new usable platforms and a view into next gen social technologies, marketers can shape their 2016/2017 social strategies and contribute to an evolving landscape.

This event is now sold out. Follow us on @agency2 and take part in the conversation about #smartersocial. Thursday 17 September, 9:45 – 10:35 am.

Is Meerkat the next big social app?

March 24, 2015

 

It’s the talk of the town. A real-time video app set to take over the world. Is it really promising as a new social platform?

 

The live-streaming app allows users to play videos on their Twitter feeds, as they happen. According to The Independent, since its launch on 27 February, Meerkat has attracted more than 120,000 users. Not bad going for under a month.

 

Is ‘Meerkatting’ set to become the new way of communicating? Can it outlive its strong start and emerge as a big social network in its own right?

 

“The difference between Meerkat and, say, YouTube or Livestream or FaceTime or Chatroulette, is that Meerkat merges all those elements – real-time video, mass social participation – into one immediate, participatory dervish” writes Caitlin Dewey in The Independent. The fact that users are able to chat to viewers as their videos are streamed, could be an integral part of Meerkat’s sustainability. It goes above and beyond normal sharing interactions, by merging all of the elements into one platform. 

 

Twitter has responded to Meerkat’s rapid growth by removing notifications from users’ live feeds (Source: Vogue). Why would they do this? They have recently purchased a similar app called Periscope which is in direct competition with Meerkat. Have they waited too long? Meerkat may have already passed the tipping point as Periscope is still in the beta phase (Source: Customer Think).

 

All of this Meerkat chatter could be just that. Chatter. But it does seem to be more than that. Live- streaming may be here to stay. Coming soon to a phone near you

 

Social networking sites. Ones to watch in 2015?

December 24, 2014

Exploding onto the scene, making a quiet entrance or growing in popularity?

There is always talk about which new social media platforms are replacing the existing channels.  Although it is never as simple as a platform becoming obsolete in a matter of days, new tools and apps and sites are popping up all the time. Whether or not they will grow in popularity and gain cult-like status or disappear into the cloud ether never to be seen again, only time will tell.

WeChat – mobile voice and text messaging service from China, WeChat has now become the largest standalone messaging app by monthly users. More than 100 countries can register their phone numbers and sign up through Facebook.  Bye-bye WhatsApp?

eva – a video based social networking site. Describing itself as “the mobile YouTube for the Instagram generation,” eva is set up for people looking to share content and express themselves through video. What do you think: is this innovative or been done before?

Instagram – not new by any stretch, Instagram has now taken over Twitter in monthly users and Citigroup has raised its valuation to $35 billion (see source) from a mere $19 billion. The platform appeals to younger users and has grown significantly in popularity. Is this the dawn when Instagram becomes the new Facebook?

Yik Yak – yakking is what people do best. Sharing content on Yik Yak is private and creates a live feed of what’s going on around town.

tsu – “We believe in quality content, real ownership, and the value of one’s own network.” Tsu claims to be socially responsible, rewarding users for quality content and allowing users to maintain ownership of their content. One million users joined in just over one month, that’s not too shabby!

We can’t complete this post without mentioning Facebook and Twitter.  The two most popular social media sites are going to need to change with the times to keep up, stay fresh and resonate with young audiences.

What Does The Future Hold For A Marketing Director?

September 22, 2014

 

Gartner analyst Laura McLellan has predicted  2017 a company’s Chief Marketing Officer will “spend more  than their counterpart Chief Information Officers”.  We are already seeing IT becoming increasingly important for marketing departments and a merging of these skills sets. With social media, big data, real-time analytics and data security now a fundamental part of any marketing campaign this increase in spend is not unexpected.

As new software is becoming more refined it is increasingly important that new technologies are fully integrated. Part of this process involves customisation of digital tools in order to fit business needs. This is where tech understanding and marketing value combine. In order to adapt to these changes, marketing and IT departments should not be seen as separate. The lines between these skill sets are becoming increasingly blurred and a data driven digital strategy should be an integrated part of any successful campaign.

We can see that marketing departments will be employing within their team those comfortable with these new digital skills, such as using big data and being able to personalise web experiences. New jobs titles, such as ‘Chief Marketing Technologists’ are being banded around to describe those individuals within marketing departments with these specific skills. However, we shouldn’t focus on job titles but instead pay attention to the merging of roles and responsible. It is becoming clear that it will be through new technology that we will be able to get the best of ECRM, personalisation and mobile. 

Social Data Growth in 2014

November 22, 2013

For 2014 agency:2 predicts Social Data to emerge as a business foundation.  Throughout an organisation: from HR,  to Brand, PR and Marketing teams, Social Data will play a major role in building a richer level of Customer Relationship Management (eCRM) in order to create a better understanding of  customer, prospect and employee  insights and actions. With CRM Analytics and Social data companies are able to create predictive models, benchmark and support the decision making process.  

Vine – Being creative in social media

February 5, 2013

How long does it take you to showcase your creativity? Twitter proved you just need 140 characters and its newest offering Vine demonstrates how you only need 6 seconds. So, after a week in Vine what do we predict will be in store for the future?

Vine has so far created controversy over its nonexistent privacy settings, which allow videos to be seen by anyone regardless of age and has already led to extremely graphic footage being shared. It has experienced problems with spam and Facebook has distanced itself from Vine by refusing to allow access to your friends list. However, any new app experiences initial problems and these shouldn’t mask the potential of Vine and the wealth of opportunities it offers for originality.

The app is easy to use, meaning that so far it has proved just as popular for people sitting at their desk as big brands. Although predictably there has already been an overload of people using Vine to share images of cute animals and  babies some Vine’s have already been truly  inspirational and there is clearly a huge potential for a truly great Vine (or even a truly hilarious bad one) to go quickly viral. Vine has great potential for estate agents and travel companies to capture the look and feel of a place, for short ‘how to videos’ and for the fashion industry to showcase the latest trends.

Vine is important for brands as video is a richer experience than photos; it is a great alternative to Instagram and can allow brands to demonstrate their personality. Brands are all already aware of the power of video, but often concerns over budget and a desire for a professional look and feel prevent them from being impulsive and fun – Vine has the potential to bridge this gap.

 

Trends in Social Media for 2014

January 7, 2013

What trends in social media are we expecting over the next few years?

We know that it has only just turned 2013, but at agency: 2 we like to always be two steps ahead of the game, so our minds are already drifting to what will be the trends in social media for 2014. We predict that the social networking sites that will be most successful in 2014  will be those which make the most effective use of data, and allow users to get the most targeted and relevant experience.

We believe the most successful social networking sites will use the tri-factors of user behaviour data, user intent data and demographic data to create the most valuable & relevant experiences.

Social networking sites which make the most valuable use of this tri-factor will add the most value for users and ensure that they keep on coming back to that specific site.

By 2014 engaging content will be more important than ever, with everything on social networking sites having a clear intent and purpose. In our last blog article we discussed how we believe that sites such as ‘Newsle’, which cut through the clutter and ‘social noise’ on the web to provide a specific purpose, will increase in popularity. If social networking channels can provide a valuable service which enhances the user’s web experience and generates positive results they will be successful (as seen with LinkedIn).

At agency:2 we are looking forward in the next few years to using our knowledge and experience to ensure that brands can successfully target their messages at the right people, with a focus on the needs and desires of specific individuals.

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