The Growing Impact of Social

Social media brand pages have long been an alluring prospect for marketers, the direct access into people’s online worlds allowing for increasingly targeted advertising. Facebook have sat pretty at the top of the online branding experience since optimising Pages back in 2009, and Google too have recently rolled out a Pages offering to their Plus platform but now it seems Youtube and Twitter also want a slice of the pie.

“..enhanced profile pages help marketers create an even more compelling destination on Twitter for their brands.”

In a move to give the site a more social feel, Youtube last week revealed updates to brand Channels which will aim to increase user engagement and give clearer analytics, and Twitter today (13th December 2011) have announced their own updates to brand accounts. Though these improvements are within wider updates, Twitter simplifying its interface and Youtube enjoying a Google-sponsored redesign, the brand-specific changes are sure to put a fire under many companies who’ve yet to fully embrace these mediums.

“Social Has Moved On”

So why should a brand care about chasing these latest social media outlets? After all, Facebook is the one with 800million users and just how many people actually treat Youtube as a social platform? Here’s homejames Social Media Manager, Nicole Green, had to say:

“Social has moved on from a fringe gimmick to something that customers now expect of a brand, and whilst you might not be there, your customers are and they’re talking about you.

“Youtube is quickly establishing itself as an entertainment channel, with everything possible being done to keep users there for longer than ever before. It’s no longer just somewhere to watch funny cat videos, it’s now looking to replace traditional areas of entertainment, and with Google owning Youtube you can bet that establishing a strategically thought out presence here will benefit your SEO.

“Twitter, in their new design, are ungeekifying the user experience and making it more accessible to the general public. Given the continuing backlashes against content privacy on social media, Twitter’s stripped-down approach to user profiles could see those unhappy with Facebook’s new Timeline update flocking in droves to the micro-blogging platform.”

With the fight between Google+ and Facebook still looking too close to call, Twitter offering great brand exposure without the big two’s overbearing regulations and Youtube looking to evolve its video hosting presence, coordination and prioritisation will no doubt prove the key. One thing is for sure though, merely ignoring this on-going growth within the social market is a likely to see you excluded from these increasingly vital opportunities.