Serious Social from immediate future

From the planning, processes creation and policy development you may need to undertake, we’re going to explore differentiating between issues management and crisis management and knowing the actions you need to take should a crisis occur.

Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk 

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/ 

‘Plan for the worst and hope for the best’ is the age-old mantra. So why are so many brands hoping a crisis doesn’t ignite on social? In this episode, CJ is discussing the planning and prep you need to do but hope to never utilise. Recorded live on Facebook on Friday 19th June 2020.

CJ – 

Hello and welcome - thank you for joining us. This morning, we’re going to be discussing how to manage a crisis on social media. Over the next ten minutes or so I’m going to walk you through everything from the planning, processes creation and policy development you may need to undertake, we’re going to explore differentiating between issues management and crisis management and knowing the actions you need to take should a crisis occur. This introduction to managing a crisis on social media is about helping to tee you all up to the tasks you may need to undertake to ensure the commercial impact felt when a crisis occurs is minimal. 

The information I’m sharing with you has been cultivated from more than a decade of working on some of the most prominent crisis that have taken place with some of the world biggest and most prominent brands. Some of those crises you would undoubtedly be aware of as they became major cross-continent news. As is usually the case with crisis management, stringent NDAs prevent the disclosure of finite detail, but what I can tell you is I’ve worked on some of the most demanding and saddening events. Incidents that have caused loss of life. Other crisis that have prevented family members from getting home to loved ones at Christmas. Projects that have dealt with major product recalls, disruptions due to volcanic eruptions and even brands dealing with data hacks and data thefts.

But the projects we’re most pleased with are those that don’t become front page news. The incidents that would have the potential to become a media story creating detractive narratives that impact revenue. And that’s the best place to start - understanding what is and is not a crisis.

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/

Updates on how user numbers and engagements are growing on certain channels, suggestions about getting started on TikTok and Pinterest, and recent data on sectors like food and drink and travel as the UK starts to tentatively open up again.

Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk 

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/ 

If you haven’t been paying attention, and let’s face it, everyone has had a lot on their plates recently, social media use and engagement has grown hugely in the last couple of months.  

Recent data showed that general engagement rates are up 61%, Twitter had its biggest-ever quarter and users climbed by 25%, and consumption of live streaming has increased by 66%... a little clue as to why we’re doing these live streams! But there are two channels that have everyone talking… TikTok and Pinterest.

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/

How can social media play a part in growing your business, especially in times of crisis? Katy joined Simon from Downtown, to discuss everything from reach to personality.

Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk 

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/ 

Simon - well I'm very pleased to be joined in the Downtown Den by Katy Howell, CEO at immediate future 

Katy - well actually, last week, would you believe it, immediate future which is an independent social media agency was 16 years old! When I say that to people they go “really?” – yep, we launched the same year as Facebook, kind of, made it out onto campus, so, we have been only focused - we only focus on social media although, you know, technically it sits under the digital thing. We are really only social media, working with what I would consider challenger brands, brands who want to change the status quo, so, they're not necessarily the largest brands, they're more tier one, tier 2 to 3 or those start-ups and small businesses who really want, you know, to make a difference either through growth or a difference in society or their communities.

Simon - Yeah excellent. And I suspect that a lot of Downtown members use social media in a fairly random way, as many of us do and will really, I think from having worked with you previously, will really appreciate the sorts of issues that we're going to cover and talk about, how social media can play a part in growing a business, particularly these strange times.

Katy - yeah hopefully!

Simon – so, let's start off just tell us some of the practicalities about social media and the need to have a strategy in terms of using it, instead of having a random approach

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/

As we move into recovery, consumers and customers have renewed interest in markets they have abandoned for the last few months.

In this episode, we're talking getting your recovery social media campaign ready. Immediate Future CEO, Katy Howell discusses the strategies brands should use to make sure their social media campaigns are timely, punchy and strike the right tone. Listen on...

Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk 

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/ 

I am going to talk to you a little bit about how you can gain some quick wins and accelerate market recovery by focusing on tight social campaigns that can make a really big impact in a short period of time.

So, let's start at the beginning, because consumers and customers have now begun to have a renewed interest in topics that they have abandoned in the last few months. So, we are talking about big-ticket items such as cars and property, and some recent Brandwatch data shows that apparently 63% of people who plan to buy a house pre-outbreak in 2020 still plan to do so, and of course we have goods that we could not get our hands on like during lockdown such as plants or buying furniture.

So, some behaviours from lockdown will continue, too - buying clothes online and the upsurge in DIY, apparently 63% of us plan to do large-scale home improvements. At the same time brands are grinding up the gears to accelerate marketing efforts that will push through to recovery, and the smart ones understand that there is an opportunity to grab a share of market only if they position themselves in the right place, with the right context, with the right message, and, of course, one of those places is social a place many consumers and customers have turned to whilst they are isolated at home. But you cannot just ramp up your social media output. Doubling down on the same content pre-pandemic will not cut the mustard.

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/

Instead of pitching or even bringing in a broadcaster, become the broadcaster. Gain insight on how to make your live broadcasts rival the messaging and quality seen on BBC News, Bloomberg and more.

Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk 

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/ 

Building a live broadcast at your branded event costs less than the build cost of some exhibition stands - CJ reveals all in this episode, recorded live on Facebook on Friday 29th May 2020.

Today, we’re going to explore events and specifically how we transformed a key branded event through an innovation we pioneered called Brands as Broadcasters. If you can stick around for the next 10-minutes of so, you will see how we took an event with an annual attendance of just over 12,000 people and brought hundreds of thousands of C-Suite officers from around the world, to the event. I’m going to say that again, we brought hundreds of thousands of C-Suite officers to an event. In doing so, we greatly influenced the investment and return metrics. We showcased our customer as a true innovator. We hooked in new prospects to a brand story they would not otherwise have seen.

And before the cynics watching say, oh you’re going to tell us how you shot a video and got ‘millions of impressions blah, blah, blah’. I’m not. I’m going to discuss how we created a live news-style broadcast at a prominent event and produced such draw to the live content we had C-Suite officers watching the same amount of content it would take them to fly around the world fifteen times non-stop, only watching our live broadcast. We’re only going to be discussing the sanity metric of viewed time.

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/

Now is the time to reevaluate how you are gaining social media conversions. Belle Lawrence shares how tips and strategies for how you can best use CTAs, motivation and emojis.

Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/

Persuasion is the art of convincing someone that they should change their beliefs or do something that you suggest. As brands, we should be practising this as an art, not simply shouting at the audience to try and get a reaction. So, there are many ways that we can encourage a reaction, though. So, the biggest thing to remember is that you want to evoke curiosity in your brand or product, but first, know what will motivate your audience. Don't fall into the use of clickbait-style posts or "you won't believe what will happen next" - you get it.

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/

Why and how to be distinctive, empathetic and in tune. Away with the clichés, sad music and mentions of challenging times. Brands need to demonstrate EQ in their social content.

Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk 

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/

So, there's been some really fantastic marketing over the last few weeks, I mean the stuff that hits you right in the heart, fills you with hope and joy and a feeling of community. People who have doing more than paying lip service to empathy and making a real difference. There's also those brands that are selling, are trying just a little bit too hard with their sad music and their "in challenging times", "in uncertain times" – the Covid clichés! Laurens is going to post a brilliant compilation in a minute which shows all of them all collated together, it's very cringe-worthy but, however good or bad the advertising has been so far, the mood on social has changed. At best the kind of Covid 19 support ads are being ignored, at worst their being ridiculed and despised, people have moved on, emotionally. We are certainly in the UK moving to recovery but we're at different stages, we've kind of had enough with you telling us, you know, brands telling us that "we're okay". So, whether you're talking consumer or b2b customers, people make and form emotional connections with brands, and they don't just buy based on features and benefits or, just because we're showing discounts, although that can be a great trigger, it's not an emotional trigger, and it's a very short-term view of marketing and a very short-term view of social content. Emotions help brands [to] be memorable.

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/

Please, please, please stop using boring photography, go have some fun, be bold enough to do things differently and go and do things that industry hasn't done before.

Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk 

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/ 

Welcome to the Serious Social podcast, created by the straight-talking social media experts at immediate future.

If you’re still using overly posed shutterstock images, we’re here to tell you, you need to break the social boring. This episode was recorded live on Facebook, on Thursday 7th May 2020.  

CJ – 

Today we're taking a closer look at content, specifically the content that rocks are more importantly that content you should drop - why is it important? Well let's start with a few key elements. 

Social media is noisy opportunity if you don’t stand out you'll drown among a distracting noise and right now, thanks to Covid-19 a home working elevated social media news jumped by staggering quarter, would you believe, social media is louder than ever. Some of you are saying well okay it's so noisy why should we play in it? Well, simple because very few brands and agencies realise it doesn't take much to truly stand out on social and when you stand out you pause thumbs, the scrolling stops attention is garnered, and that attention is much needed at the moment with the economy the way it is and the limiting channels that we have access to because of the ongoing Covid-19 social media is and more than ever super important to brands, but many brands are getting it wrong. Now at immediate future we believe in giving back and helping and to prove that we're gonna pay it forward we'll look at two specific examples to help you all realise the importance of good content, why it's key to understand some insightful data and how that triggers better and more impactful content. I promise whatever the industry you work in, the examples I'm about to talk to you about, they will resonate you'll understand some fundamentals and hopefully it will make you go and do better content creation. I'm going to look at a B2B example, and I'm going to look at the B2C example.

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/

New to paid social, or looking to brush up – we’ve got some top tips and insight for you
Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk 

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/ 

Welcome to the Serious Social podcast, created by the straight-talking social media experts at immediate future.

It’s time to get your paid social on-point. This episode was recorded live on Facebook, on Friday 24th April 2020.  
Today I'll be talking about paid social. So, you might be new to it and you might be considering it for the first time, because we're all in a bit of a new digital world, or you might just be looking to improve it slightly. Hopefully today you'll be able to take away a few hints and tips - because, clearly, there's been a lot of behaviour change recently. 

We're all socialising, working, exercising and shopping very differently to how we used to be, and more online activity from everyone means that there's a larger pool of potential customers.  Some people will be shopping less, of course, but those who do have financial stability, they have more money on their hands, and more time to go shopping online. We've seen some increases in sectors like arts and crafts, homeware, beauty, loungewear, as you can imagine, they're all in strong growth and gifting is also on the up - so we can't go and give a hug but we can send some treats or flowers or practical things, actually, to friends and family. In the last recession actually there was a trend that was talked about called the 'lipstick trend and that's where we're all spending less generally, a little bit less on most things, but actually people might be increasing their spend on the smaller little luxury items like lipstick, for example, because in times like these we do find that retail therapy really kicks in, so businesses should possibly be looking at messages that will help lift the spirits, and offers, if they can do anything to help people at the moment.  

A few months ago you might have been driving intent-to-purchase through traditional media, but it might actually be unattainable to do that right now, so you should be aligning your digital strategies, really, and your social media can drive intent-to- purchase and tie into your PPC, for example, and the beauty of paid social is that we can shift strategy and optimise in real-time. So not everyone can do this but IF we do that optimising real time "stuff", so if you've had to pivot your strategy, maybe you've had to pivot away from in-store launches or activation in public spaces, for example, you might be unpicking it all and then you can dial up social.

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/

Need a framework for creating the right content under pressure? We’re here for you. This episode was recorded live on Facebook, on Friday 24th April 2020.  

Website: http://www.immediatefuture.co.uk 

Social profiles: 

·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IFTubes 

·       Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImmediateFuture/ 

·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immediate-future/ 

·       Twitter: https://twitter.com/iftweeter 

·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifinstas/ 

Katy – 

So one of the things I want to talk about now is about rolling our sleeves up, I think I mentioned this last time, we want to roll our sleeves up and get on with the job now and for many of us who have decamped home, I think the biggest issue has been that we have been a bit unsettled and so repurposing content has served us really well. But now our audiences want more and we're missing the opportunity to connect, to entertain, be useful by rehashing old content that we've got, but alongside of that need for our audiences, I'm fairly aware as everybody else who works in social media that there are challenges. There are challenges in finding the resource that you need, underfunding possibly but there are also challenges in terms of the way our audiences are behaving online. They're swinging rapidly between topics.

The traditional methods we use in content marketing have changed, for instance, where we're used to a content rhythm in social media often called hygiene, hub and hero content, that rhythm has gone because everything is changing and swinging quite wildly. Some brands are meeting this by going real-time, almost, with their content, which is listening to the conversation, looking at what they can post out there and doing that almost in a live fashion. The problem is that's really resource-hungry and has a real challenge in terms of getting that stuff done in a timely fashion, and it's bloody exhausting - there's hours of it, so we have to address that element, if not we can't carry on like that... rushing content out the door, but also that the fact our audiences are being more, more scrutinising of our content a little bit more. They are kind of picking it apart a bit more which means that we need to focus on quality content, not just volume. 

So, how do we speed up creativity? How do we increase the relevancy for our audiences, and how do we create a well-oiled production machine?

For full show notes, view our podcast page: http://immediatefuture.co.uk/podcasts/