Speaker 1:
Facebook’s fate, is the social media site the bubonic plague of our time? A recent Princeton University formula was released comparing it to the deadly infectious disease. The reason being that research shows Facebook will lose 80% of its users by 2017. That’s a drastic outlook. Are you a believer? This is pretty dramatic. Shama, I’m going to start with you. They say it will be largely abandoned by 2017. Do you think that’s true?
Shama Hyder:
These are very exaggerated claims, and no, I don’t think it’s true. I would love to have a replay of this segment in 2017 just so we can compare. This is very narrow study, it’s a very narrow focus, and they’re comparing it to MySpace, which is really not a fair comparison. So, I’m going to say, “Nay, Facebook is here to stay.”
Speaker 3:
How do we see the future of marketing and social media going? That’s the big question now. We’re stepping in, we’re very close to 2020. The world changed overnight in 2000. Technology’s driving us, the thirst for information drives us. You look at how millennials are using technology and social media. What are the new frontiers? Where you see us going? What do you think the next step is going to be?
Shama Hyder:
Yeah. I really think the future’s a lot more integrated. So even today, technology feels a little disjointed. You’ve got this app over here, and then you have to switch over to this. And I think as we move forward, it’ll really become so much more seamless. Add to that augmented reality, variables, and I think we won’t think about digital and traditional separately, it’ll be one in the same. It’s like, someone said the other day, a client of mine, his daughter said, “Dad, why do you always say to hang up the phone?” Because she has no sense of [crosstalk 00:01:39].
Speaker 3:
Oh yeah, yeah.
Shama Hyder:
“Why don’t we just say disconnect or end?” So, I think even the digital, traditional, those lines, it’ll all become a misnomer.
Speaker 4:
Yeah. That’s right. I never thought about that.
Speaker 3:
That’s a great point.
Speaker 4:
If you don’t actually remember having to hang up a phone, it’s very strange.
Speaker 3:
I still used to have to turn the dial to [crosstalk 00:01:59].
Shama Hyder:
I don’t think they know how to do that.
Speaker 3:
No, they’re vintage. They love being vintage. Speaking on millennials, because we’re looking at a time now where millennials make up a very large portion of the voting population. They are a very large portion of the workforce. And they’re about to inherit a lot of money from middle age and older brackets because those are the people that are holding onto that wealth right now. How do we use young people’s technology, this idea of all these digital technology to maybe either appeal to those older age brackets, to get them on board? Because it seems this fight right now is really against old and young, the future versus what they want the future to be even though they’re not going to be here for it. So how do we utilize this to bring these two sides together?
Shama Hyder:
I think in history, if you look at it, you’ve had this generational tug of war at every level. I think it feels more amplified now because it’s playing out on a stage where we can all see. Where it’s not so much undercurrents, but it’s what you see. I think the other misconception is that older people don’t use social tools and it’s just a younger people thing. What I think is really interesting is how older generations use social media versus younger generations.
Shama Hyder:
So millennials and stuff, what you’ll find is they’ll interact more, right? So they will Snapchat and comment, and like, so you know that they’re out there. What you find with Gen X, baby boomers, even the silent generation is that they’re consuming the information, but they may not be interacting with that information, but that you can’t discount that they’re not part of that ecosystem, if that makes sense? So I think that’s a very interesting dichotomy.
Speaker 3:
That’s interesting. And it’s always interesting having you on and thank you so much Shama Hyder for coming on and talking about this. The book is Momentum, definitely check it out. And for all of your thoughts and ideas about social media and where it could go, I think you have a lot of really good ideas in there. And a lot of very interesting view viewpoint on it. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing with us today.
Shama Hyder:
I appreciate it, thank you. Thanks for the conversation.
Hala Taha:
So, another topic I wanted to talk about was actually the vehicles of communication. So I’ll give you an example. Email is a vehicle, mobile push messages, social media is a vehicle. Direct mail can be a vehicle. What do you think is working in your opinion right now in terms of the channels or vehicles in which we communicate?
Shama Hyder:
So I think there’s, again, I’m a big fan of using multiple platforms to get your message, because you mentioned, there’re people who prefer live, like we’re doing now. There’re people who prefer email, there’re people who prefer texts. And so I don’t think there’s a one size fits all. Now, with that being said, I think you have to be consistent. So if you’re going to do email, do it regularly, right? I love email. I still think it’s a wonderful way to engage. If you’re going to create a separate, if you’re going to do Tik Tok, whatever, be consistent because none of the vehicles are listed Hala, are overnight. They don’t happen like this.
Shama Hyder:
I mean, with the podcast people want to … I talked to this gal who was very upset with me for my advice, but she wanted to make her podcast go viral and she had two episodes. And as you know, it’s very difficult to make a podcast go viral. You have to consistently build that community, consistently put out that great content, shop it up. Just because you put it out there and you’ve done it once or twice doesn’t mean people are going to come [crosstalk 00:05:23].
Hala Taha:
Even if you’re a celebrity, podcast thing is the great equalizer as Jordan Harbinger says.
Shama Hyder:
Yeah, it really is. But the consistency is what pays off, it’s not one video, it’s not one podcast, it’s not one email. Look at this guy who’s been on my list since ’09, 2009, right? Eleven years he’s been getting my email. How many emails do you think he’s gotten?
Hala Taha:
Yeah. Consistency really can pay off in the end. So I have some data from a customer data platform called Amperity, and there are some clear winners in terms the vehicles. I just want to share this with my listeners. Purchases made on social media have risen by 84.7% year over year. Purchases made directly from retailers’ websites grew 57.9%. Purchases made in response to email grew 22.1% compared to last year. And purchases on mobile devices has increased by 23%. So there you go. Don’t worry about emailing too much because it’s working right now. More than ever, people are getting emails and purchasing off their phone. So make sure that you’ve got your social media, your mobile, your email strategy, everything is on point.
