You don’t have to wait until the end of the year to see what’s worked for global brands on Facebook in 2015.
Simply Measured recently released their 2015 Facebook Industry Report, which includes a sneak peek into what top brands have been up to on the uber-popular platform for the first three months of the year, and reveals what’s been working best. The general market findings in the report support the positive results we have seen when targeting Hispanics on Facebook, using the newly expanded Hispanic affinity segments.
We found three clear tactics employed by brands for success in Q1 that we were compelled to share:
1. Focus on Quality over Quantity
Unless you are a media/publishing company that produces content by the hour, it is much more valuable to post higher quality communications less frequently. In Q1, the world’s top brands reduced their number of overall posts by 12%, yet engagement continued to rise by 44% year over year. Successful brands concentrated on using videos and photo updates, all which have resulted in higher engagement vs. text only status updates, which decreased 40% vs. Q4 2014.
Quality over quantity is just as valuable when reaching Hispanics. In addition to using photo and video to boost engagement, cultural relevance plays a key part. By investing in quality content that is highly relevant to the audience, brands have the potential to connect deeply with these consumers.
2. Use Video and Photos to Boost Consumer Engagement
According to Simply Measured, Facebook videos and photos received the greatest share growth and highest engagement, indicating users interact with these posts most often and most deeply.
- Top brands increased their Facebook video usage by 2% in Q1 vs. an overall decrease in usage of all other content types.
- Facebook video engagement increased 8%, with the majority of that increase coming from a 43% increase in shares.
- Facebook photo engagement increased 6% overall, with photo posts driving the most engagement for consumer brands.
One way our client Kellogg’s took video engagement a step further this year when targeting Hispanics was by combining a GIF video format with culturally overt content. Días Grandiosos con Kellogg’s generated strong engagement through this culturally explicit baseball meme video for Cheez-It.
English translation: Baseball season begins; All parents think they are coaches
This short GIF format video delivered high quality content in a culturally relevant and humorous way. It succeeded in connecting with the Hispanic audience, generating an impressive amount of shares as well as increased likes, comments, and even tagging activity.
3. Invest in Paid Facebook Media – Smartly
Top brands know by now that Facebook is a pay-to-play environment. As a result, the Simply Measured report showed that industry-wide Facebook advertising increased 31% in Q1. However, the amount of money you invest in the platform doesn’t guarantee you’ll reach your audience. For that, look to targeting.
Targeting the right paid audience is critical to a brand’s success. Facebook has robust targeting options to help brands reach its 1.49 billion users worldwide, including location, age & gender, behavior, and language preference. Using the right mix of targeting, ad offering, and investment will achieve positive results.
When targeting the U.S. Hispanic audience, Facebook’s Hispanic affinity segments are invaluable. These segments make up 29.1M monthly active users on Facebook, who over index on key engagement metrics compared with all other U.S. audiences. Optimizing Hispanic affinity clusters reaches a more valuable audience who are more likely to take action, making the most of any media dollars spent.
Top brands have demonstrated that Facebook remains an indispensable communication channel. Whether it is used to reach a brand’s general market or Hispanic consumer, tactics that put the audience first are key for ensuring a brand’s success.
To learn more about how we can help you apply these strategies specifically to the Hispanic market, please get in touch.
