the rise of social photography
DESCRIPTION
Opening address at the recent Kentico Connect Sydney conference on the growth in user-generated images in social media — how fast is it growing, what drives it, and how should marketers respond in a medium where most of the battle for share of voice is with consumers, not other brandsTRANSCRIPT
The rise of social photographyAlan Jones [email protected]
Who the hell am I?Older than I look
What do I know?
• Tech journalist, media relations• Microsoft product guy• Yahoo! product guy• Bluepulse - Silicon Valley, 3M users, $10M VC• Pollenizer, Startmate, BlackbirdVC• Chromasun, TrainerPlatform, BugHerd, OtherLevels,
ScriptRock, Bugcrowd• The New Agency
Each age has a dominant medium
But there’s always been a lot of new images
“Photos make the world go round”- Marissa Mayer, Yahoo!
34 billion photos usedin Australian print media in 2012
Source: The Photo Diner 2012
Social media drives imaging
1993
2000
2013
And this is why
What did the smartphone achieve?
• ‘Good enough’ cameras you’re always carrying• Connected to free photo sharing• Filters and editing• Simple to share• Fun to find new friends
How popular is sharing?
• 56% of Internet users identify as eithera content creator or curator
• 32% identify as both creator and curator
Pew Internet Report 2012
Massive growth in online photos
Why is photo sharing so addictive?
• We’re a herd species• How we express belonging• How we express status• Experiencing self vs remembering self
Photo sharing helps us re-experience the every day
“The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”-Marcel Proust
As a result
• 47% of adult Americans share photos or videos they’ve found elsewhere online– (Up from 41% last year)
• 54% of adult Americans have posted original photos or videos – (up from 46% last year).
Source: “Photo and Video Sharing Grow Online,” Pew Internet (Oct. 28, 2013)
On Facebook, images rule engagement
Snapchat puts Instagram and Facebook to shame
• Founded 2011• Immediate, temporary images to/from smartphones• On 9% of US phones (Pew Internet Sep 13)
1/10/121/12/12 1/2/13 1/4/13 1/6/13 1/8/13 -
50,000,000
100,000,000
150,000,000
200,000,000
250,000,000
300,000,000
350,000,000
400,000,000 Snapchat images
Snapchat images
HOW SHOULD MARKETERS RESPOND?
Appeal to the curators
• Curators are more likely to be female, and young adult
Do you take or share images or videos?
Men 9.66%
Women 11.08%
18-29 45.00%
30-49 18.75%
50-64 13.53%
Source: Pew Internet Report 2012
How do we appeal to young female curators?
Frequency is more important than quality
• Streams will always bias towards recent content
Celebrate the everyday
Encourage synaptic play
http://omgcatsinspace.tumblr.com
Rediscover the familiar
Create happiness that can be shared
Use narratives
• Have a beginning and an end• Engage our emotions and senses• Teach us lessons about the world• Connect the teller and the audience• Engage memory and create retention
Always post with an image
• On Facebook and Twitter– Posts with a picture get more than TWICE the engagement
of a text post
• On Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest– The image is the post
Stop thinking in campaigns
Evian live young
Startbucks on Instagram
Conclusions
• Social media and smartphones change audiences into creators/curators
• Driven by:– Zero cost of image production and sharing for consumers– Brand advertisers subsidising image hosting and sharing– The ‘best camera’ is in the pockets of millions– If you can’t create, you can always share
• Always use images
Train creatives to use the new media
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremywilburn/
Resources
• Pew Internet “Photos and Videos as Social Currency Online” Sept 2012– http://bit.ly/199OnYj
• Facebook engagement: text, links, photos or videos?– http://bit.ly/17Vy85r
• Creators, curators, Instagram and Snapchat – Pew Internet Report– http://bit.ly/HKacI7
• This is you on smiles – Medium– http://bit.ly/1hXDfWm
• Daniel Kahneman – TED Talks - The riddle of experience vs memory– http://bit.ly/17gphau
Alan Jones@bigyahuhttp://about.me/alanjones
Rediscover the familiar