2.“communication is now in images first, words second”

Enjoy the presentation

I believe we are now at a tipping point where Branded content and social sharing now go hand in hand so why has this occurred and how can brands get the best results with their own content as part of their social strategies?

1. WE ARE NOW A CONNECTED GENERATION OF SUPERSHARERS

Over the last twenty years we have gone through a paradigm shift in how we receive our news, the first stage was via websites like Yahoo and AOL, stage two was via Google and more recently via our social feeds like Facebook, and Twitter or via aggregators like Flipboard and Feedly that integrate all of these for us into one neat package.

Indeed it is the rise of content that we now receive through our social feeds that is turning us into a society of Supersharers or what Brian Solis calls Generation C who are defined by their connectedness, their interests and by the way they learn discover and share information online. It is this generation that is regularly seeking out new information to share with their friends and has led to the rapid rise of sites like BuzzFeed whom attributes as much as 75% of their traffic from consumers simply looking for cool content to share.

Tip: Find out what the online groups make up your target audience & what their interests are and who influences them

2. A NEW WAVE OF SOCIAL MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IS MAKING IT EASIER TO SHARE THAN EVER BEFORE

Until now the majority of sharing occurred in the browser via Facebook, Twitter, +1, Stumble Upon, Redditt, etc., but with the proliferation and increased use of the smartphones there has been a dramatic increase in the use of mobile phones for all types of social sharing activities from texting to photo sharing to streaming music and video.

This has led to a tipping point in social sharing enabled on two fronts; one through the convergence of smart mobile devices with 4G and high-speed mobile broadband networks has meant the faster and easier delivery of mobile services. On the consumer front, trends indicate heavy usage patterns, the latest figures of which show that Facebook now has 543 million active members who access the platform through mobile.

This new smartphone technology has enabled users to instantly share any content through their mobile phone by text message and via new applications to manage our social networks such as buffer and Postling.

Another trend to watch out for that has already started is the growing effect of issues of privacy and personalisation is having on sharing. Expect a shift from sharing with from one-to-many to more selective, one-to-few narrowcast sharing with a more intimate audience. E.g. Facebook lists, Google Circles, Path, and Foursquare etc. As a result people are increasingly looking for opportunities to share their personal photos, articles, images, thoughts and location with their closest friends, family and specific interest groups instead of sharing with everyone in their social network.

Tip-Prioritise content strategies that facilitate personal sharing through mobile as well as through the browser

3. CONTENT IS NOW A GIFT THAT IS A FORM OF SOCIAL CURRENCY

Terry City from BuzzFeed said that content should now be seen as a social gift and for brands an important form of social currency that positions them favourably as part of consumer consideration set. In effect content is currency — something we trade for our audience’s attention. That currency becomes more valuable every time it’s shared by someone other than ourselves.

In his article ‘How to Thrive in Social Media's Gift Economy’ Mark Bonchek argues “the purpose of a social currency is express a relationship” and by providing relevant content to your community you are forming what he calls a gift economy. One example of a brand he cites that recognises this is Kraft foods that use exchanging recipes as social currency and engage customers on the web, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. When formulating content strategies Bonchek contends that brands need to answer the following questions:

What rituals, traditions, or social conventions involve your product?
What do people talk about, share or exchange in these activities?
How might the experience be enhanced with something better or different?

And it is through these insights that a brand can bring a social strategy to life with branded content.

Tip-Look for ways to transform your products into content, and your content into social currency.

4. THE RISE OF THE VISUAL SOCIAL MEDIA

The saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ has never been truer than on the web today. Due to th
e constant noise, people have less time to read words and prefer to digest information through eye-catching and appealing visuals.

A study this year by ROI research found that when users engage with friends on social media sites, it's the pictures they took that are enjoyed the most. Forty-four per cent of respondents are more likely to engage with brands if they post pictures than any other media. In effect pictures have become one of our default modes of sorting and understanding the vast amounts of information we're exposed to every day.

With the popularity of sites like Pinterest, and Instagram coupled with the growth of meme culture sharing pictures and photos has never been quicker or easier with numerous photos sharing apps available via the web and mobile.

In fact the definition of a meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads rapidly from person to person within a culture and we have certainly come a long way from Lol Cats to more recent incarnations such as overly attached girlfriend and socially awkward Penguin. Indeed it is the productions of these images on sites like meme generator, quikmeme cheeseburger & know your meme have meant that memes have crossed over into popular culture. It is now at the point where any big event has its own accompanying meme be it Clint Eastwoood speaking to an empty chair in the democratic election rally known as ‘Eastwooding’ or Mckayla’s is not impressed from the Olympics.

Whilst the current fascination is for animated gifs, meme culture as a method of allowing people to contribute to popular culture shows no signs of going away in the near future and is well and truly ingrained into visual social media. This led to Intel's social media strategist Ekaterina Walter saying in a recent fast company article “Brands that can rock visual media will find themselves market leaders”.

TIP using original branded images in every one of your posts is one of the best ways to promote the sharing of your content

5. SOCIAL SHARING HAS NOW TURNED INTO A SCIENCE

How to get your content shared on the web is one of the most important challenges for marketers right now so much so that there are numerous studies on the subject. A recent report by compendium suggests that social sharing best practices in B2C & B2B can vary dramatically based on the time of the day, what day of the week you post on which platform and even through the use of exclamation marks, question marks or hashtags. However a study earlier this year by Nils Mork-Ulnes and Judith Lewis “the Science of social sharing’ identified seven different types of social sharers, ranging from altruists who share because they want to help to careerists who share because it helps them in business. In the UK, altruists account for the largest proportion of sharers (39.6%), while careerists are in the minority (2.5%).

Social Sharing widgets like stumble upon recently have been given major credit for driving social sharing by researchers like Dan Zarella the Social scientist and BuzzFeed also found after recent analysis of its campaigns that Stumble upon was the most valuable sharing tool for driving views on its site.

Whereas the other the other media property owned by BuzzFeed’s founder Jonah Peretti’s Huffington post have developed great one-click features which tailors a tweet post for each of the headlines you are reading.

See below example.

Add to this a Culture of hacking and developers are constantly finding new ways to make it easy for people to share their content. One such person is Derek Halpun who has made it easier to share than not to share posts on his social triggers blog by simply highlighting a passage from his post and asking people to tweet it. (See right below)

This is brilliant because it gives people a clear call to action right in the middle of a post, not at the end when they’re ready to move on to the next shiny object that they see.

Add to this recent examples of memes such as leg bombing with Angela Jolie at the academy awards and Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair then there is also the argument that

Social sharing is about moments of relevance and timeliness which has given rise to the term more recently Meme Jacking

Tip –Don’t be afraid to experiment with new tools & tricks ways to share content. There is no one hard and fast rule is this rapidly evolving space.

6. THE RISE OF THE CREATIVE CONTENT CURATOR

According to Buzz feed’s Terry City creating great content today is a mixture between art and science stunning emotion provoking images and great copywriting.

So in order for content resonate “It should provide a reason to share so if your content is cool and its funny people and garners an emotion people will share it.”

Que the role of the creative content curator whom has the ability to monitor trends, and filter content around particular themes that resonate with audiences.

By surrounding brands with cool content makes people feel favourable towards them as part of their brand consideration. Curating content into subsets and genres is something which that BuzzFeed have turned into an art form.

For example tapping into the trend for animal content online they have produced articles such as ‘why cats are better then dogs’

that has captured in excess of 9 million views to date. When Toyota approached them to try and become more relevant to its target market to promote its new Hybrid model promotion BuzzFeed created ‘The 20 Coolest Hybrid Animals’ post on a custom page on the site for the promotion incorporating the brands Facebook and Twitter feeds as well as a Facebook comments box all combined to ensure engagement for this campaign far exceeded the brands expectations.

Other content themes that have been played to great effect out include tapping into to our obsession with nostalgia where BuzzFeed created the “The BuzzFeed Time Machine." For GE where readers can flip a dial from decade to decade and see the site immediately re-skinned to reflect what the coverage would have looked like at an earlier time.

This was a fun way to bring the brand to the forefront of their reader’s consideration.

What BuzzFeed do so seamlessly on their site is expertly leverage the use of lists. They not only increase engagement but add depth and widen audience appeal and in the process leverage other great content.

Tip- by associating your brand with content that is Cool, interesting, fun and quirky people will feel favourably towards the brand

7. NEW FORMS OF BRANDED CONTENT COMBINE STORY TELLING & BRANDS IN AN ORGANIC WAY

So whilst BuzzFeed is flying the flag aggregating and curating content other brands are actively looking for new ways for new ways to connect with audiences and integrate brands via storytelling.

According to Avi Savar, founder of US agency Big Fuel, who led the inaugural Branded Content and Entertainment jury this year at Cannes, Whilst Traditional advertising starts with defining “what is the unique selling proposition of the product you’re trying to focus on?” branded Content is really the inverse of that. It’s thinking about people first. What’s resonating with them...and connecting those people’s stories to your product in a relevant way?

The sweet spot for branded content therefore is to tell a story in a completely organic way so people engage with your content and it doesn’t feel like an advertising message.

In effect according to Colvin “If content is fun interesting and quirky the message can be secondary because the brand association and resulting organic lift is what is so important.”

Great examples of branded content at the moment include:

The Holstee fashion brand who wrote a manifesto and posted it on its website to share the company’s values and mission with its customers. Much to their surprise the manifesto went viral and spread rapidly especially on visual platforms Tumblr and Pinterest.

The resulting effect was that Holstee sold out of the first batch of products. Not only did the manifesto increase sales, it encouraged people to start living the message and now the brand has gone further by launching a whole platform called My life where people can share their stories inspired by the manifesto.

Intel’s 6 part romantic video series “the beauty inside” that was played out over a month that gained over 55 million views and 94,000 Facebook “likes. Crafted as a fan-centric social film to promote Toshiba’s Protégé Ultrabook and Intel software, it was consciously decided to make an online coming-of-age love story. What they found is that whilst viewers came for the innovation of the project they ultimately stayed for the story.

The shining example of branded content for all other brands to aspire to be Redbull has built itself to be a media publisher and the recent RedBull Stratos project clocking up the record for the most watched live stream event in History.

Another brand hot on the heels of Red Bull is KLM whom flew the flag recently to record a year in the life of Dutch superstar DJ Armand Van Buren. Check out their YouTube page to see some of the inspirational content they are producing currently. Who honestly would have thought a few years ago that a major airline would be producing content such as this to inspire brand loyalty.

What all these brands have in common is that they understand the importance of brand association through content and events that are cool fun and interesting which gets people talking and sharing their content.

Tip- Design an experience around what matters to your audience and make it easy for them to share and express themselves as part of the process.

CREATING YOUR OWN BRANDED CONTENT

As the saying goes “if you want a big snowball effect to start with a big snowball” and start by putting some money, thought and sometime into what’s going to go viral. The Starting point for any brand argued Colvin should be to start by looking at what content is already out there that is working. 75 % is just noise and 25% is working so when we look at why is it working we should ask ourselves why does it resonate, why is it easy to remember and does connect back to the brand?

So for a brand that is experiencing some negative backlash online a great way to look to counter this is to take a leap of faith and start surrounding the brand with content people do like to get people engaged and making the brand relevant.

The classic example now is Domino’s who after listening and held its hands up and said yes our pizzas were crap and has done something about it and has embarked on a transformation by adopting radical transparency approach and baring it soul in such a public way. From publicising its tweets on New York’s time square in a real time feed to integrating the time tracker for all its deliveries it has succeeded in engendering consumer trust and reigniting the brand.

THE WRAP

Social sharing and branded content are important because with social media at the pulse, the way we interact, engage and talk with our friends has become based upon sharing more than ever. Brands that can capitalise on this and associate their brands with cool interesting and quirky content that people want to share will position themselves more favourably as part of consumers purchase consideration.

Who would have thought an energy drink would set the record of the most amounts of live stream views a few years ago. I wager this is just a taste of things to come in the branded content revolution where designing experiences which matter helps build brands alongside more product orientated marketing.

So what are your thoughts?

Do have any great tips to share on social sharing?

Any great examples of branded content you‘d care to share?

Or do you think like me branded content made to share is the future?

Suggested reading

1.Andrew Davis’ Brandscaping http://www.brandscapingbook.com/

Discusses how content partnerships can work. Essentially, a brandscape is a collection of brands that work together to produce great content.

2.Social sharing goes mobile –what it means for today’s communication Pro’s http://www.commpro.biz/marketing/social-sharing-goes-mobile-what-this-means-for-todays-communication-pros/

3. Why branded content is the big new Marketing trend http://sproutsocial.com/insights/2012/10/branded-content-marketing/

4. Four Hacks to skyrocket your social shares

http://socialcolleague.com/4-hacks-to-skyrocket-social-shares/

5. Weighing in on branded content Big fuels CCO on the future of the medium

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/weighing-branded-content-141721

6.Why content marketing is the new branding

http://www.copyblogger.com/content-and-branding/

7.Meme jacking –The complete guide to creating memes for Marketing

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33363/Memejacking-The-Complete-Guide-to-Creating-Memes-for-Marketing.aspx

2011 saw an across the board rise in the use social media platform in Australia.

Sustainable business growth through social media requires planning, a real time mindset and to be embraced wholly across the organization in order for it to be successful.

Last year some of the major topics I blogged about were social TV, Social Commerce, the new sharing economy and the intersection of mobile and social. The below presentation is a collection of some of the main trends that i believe will play a part in the Australian social media marketing landscape over the next 12 months to varying degrees.

I will be interested to see how these predictions play out in the local marketplace and look forward to covering Australian case studies in the next twelve months as more and more Australian companies move from Novice to intermediate and advanced stages of being a social business operating in the real-time always on business environment.

I look forward to you letting me know what you think of these trends and welcome all comments so please feel free to reach out and connect with me

“The ability to create content that will enable people to interface with each other, to connect, to recommend, to share and experience over television, is going to change the landscape of the industry.”

What is social TV?

Simply put, it’s about merging your social media networks to the TV. It’s making TV social–again. It’s about taking the water cooler effect and making this virtual, it’s about the empowered consumer viewing content when and where they want, deciding who they want to share it with and being able to do this all in real time.In essence it is a term that describes technology that supports communication and social interaction in either the context of watching television, or related to TV content.Viewers are now using social media to connect with the TV with content that matters to them. Then, as the MIT study shows, they are engaging in massive real-time conversations around those shows and learning to be a part of that conversation and it is a participatory culture as well as a personalised one.TV always been social and on the face of it TV and social media seem like a natural fit but if the TV industry is going to make the most of the opportunities it is going to have change quickly and learn the lessons of the music industry.

Figure 1 The Core elements of Social TV

The Drivers shaping Social TV

Whilst the rise of the web has heralded talk about the death of TV the convergence of internet & TV has meant quite the reverse where social media is directly contributing to a spike in TV ratings around events. Indeed some TV executives are crediting the power of social media as being instrumental in transforming ratings and TV as we know it now it. So what has changed?

1. The empowered consumer

Perhaps the most important trend catalysed by social media is the need to share and contribute to the experience. People not only want to watch and consume, they actually want to actively connect to others while watching and be heard. They use their smartphones and tablets to share their thoughts and feelings on Twitter and their Facebook wall while watching TV, in preference to using their remote or SMS texting to vote in Live Talent shows. In essence viewers want to contribute, and have a bigger impact on the story than they have now?

Indeed a recent UK survey conducted by Digital clarity of mobile internet users below the age of 25 it was found that: Most use a mobile device to talk to friends about the show they are watching.The most common way to communicate is to use:

• Twitter 72 %
• Facebook 56%
• mobile applications 34 %

Whilst 62 % of Social TV users like a combination of all three.The study also found that 34 % of respondents described the trend as "fun,and 32 % said it made television "more interesting" ,With 42 % mentioned the "community" aspect of Social TV. Indeed it is the younger generations that are driving the change turning TV programs into real-time online events which you have to watch as they happen to be part of the experience with your friends.

See below ThinkTV video 'The Power of Audiences'

Think TV – ‘An Initiative of Free TV Australia’

2. The adoption of the second screen

Likewise in Australia a Nielsen Online Consumer survey of 5800 internet users said that 77% of respondents saying they “juggled at least 2 forms of media at once” especially the potent mix of TV & web (tablet, smartphone, laptop) When people did two-screen, 65 per cent said the internet had most of their attention, with only 14 per cent saying the TV did.

3. The Rise of Twitter TV

In recent months the rise of Twitter and TV has been quite staggering to the extent that I think it is fair to say that TV has a Synonymous relationship with Twitter whilst some commentators have gone a step further by crediting Twitter as redefining real-time TV. Not only does twitter allow you to get Instant feedback on shows but it allows the viewer to feel plugged in to the experience and be part of the conversation.

James Franco, host of this year’s Oscars, put Twitter into overdrive for fans by tweeting before and during the show. Indeed during the 2011 Oscars, there were over 10,000 tweets per minute-with the event racking up 1.8 million tweets overall. Oscar hashtags such as #OscarsRealTime and #SatisfyingWin further extending the conversation.

Not to miss out on the action MTV brought back the Twitter tracker for this year’s MTV Movie awards (see below) parsing a barrage of tweets in real-time to come up with the top trends of the event, from the top actors and actresses to the most-talked-about movies... Throughout the broadcast, MTV plugged various hashtags to correspond with the moment, with #MovieAwards being the predominate theme.

However it is not just the biggest blockbuster live-events where the numbers are always impressive but this water cooler effect has spread to other genres of shows that people care about. In a recent study into behaviour on Twitter by British content discovery company TV genius it was found that Over a six day period in the UK there were over 38,500 tweets about TV shows, with 90 different shows receiving more than a tweet a minute while they aired.

Clearly, many consumers have already bought into the idea of social TV – and are busy sharing what they love and hate on Twitter.One of the interesting facets the data reveals is that the show with the highest audience rating doesn’t always receive the most tweets. Twitter trends reveal shows that viewers wouldn’t necessarily know to watch. But they may want to tune in if they know that there is an extra juicy episode of a soap playing or an interview generating lively debate.People are naturally curious and want to see what all the chatter is about. Channelling Twitter effectively could curate content discovery habits, encouraging viewers to tune into a programme they might not watch otherwise.

Twitter has also made itself a mainstay in the newsroom, often being the first to break news stories with over 77% of TV newsrooms now use twitter. In fact, many news channels use the videos and images shared by viewers on Twitter to add meaning to their reports. Indeed the integration of social media into the newsroom has taken a step further with the launch of Al Jazeera’s social media cantered program ‘the stream’ which is probably the most ambitious integration of Twitter into a news program to date.

According to Twitter’s Chloe Sladden, ”What we’re seeing now is that Twitter is, in fact, about flocking audiences back to a shared experience, and that usually means a live one…If you’re not watching live — and reading the comments from friends, your favourite celebrities, and even total strangers via Twitter — you’re missing half the show.” Furthermore she says “In the future, I can’t imagine a major event where the audience doesn’t become part of the story itself.”

Considering using Twitter in connection to promote your TV program then check Digital agency Wiredset Twitter TV best practices below

4. Facebook & Social TV

In recent months Facebook has made a big play for TV & Mark Zuckerburg Speaking at the EG8 technology forum in Paris recently said that TV, music and books are the next “media experiences” that will be revolutionized by social media. “I hope we can play a part in enabling those new companies to get built, and companies that are out there producing this great content to become more social”.

At MIPTV Facebook outlined four key ways that the platform can be used to encourage social TV behaviour:

4.1 Building TV communities- Top Gear demonstrates how a TV show can successfully leverage Facebook as marketing and commercial vehicle. To guarantee conversation after each episode ends, Top Gear posts clips of the last episode on Facebook. This reminds viewers about the highlights, and helps fans share and talk about each episode on Facebook. Additionally, Top Gear posts behind scenes video clips, making the fans feel part of a privileged community. Top gear has also fully integrated social plugins to its site & one photo on the site received 10,000 likes.

4.2 Check-ins. Not to be left out on the hype attached to checking into shows along with Miso and Get Glue Facebook has also announced you can now check into your favourite TV show as well as places and with Top Gear for examples, a user would be able to see that actually ten of their friends are also watching Top Gear at the same and helps drive conversation.

4.3 Facebook EPG. Facebook could also provide a platform for a personalised electronic programme guide (EPG), complete with check-ins, reminders, personalised recommendations, and social integration. A social EPG could take the form of a Facebook app, check-in, or game. Facebook would like to see the EPG featuring filters based on time, and personalisation based on the user profile. For instance, the ability to browse EPG based on friends, like shows directly, and browse top ranked TV could prove compelling associate like with TV shows. The Facebook EPG would essentially act as a gateway to content discovery. By integrating social trends and friend’s preferences, users could discover new, relevant content. UK specialist TV research company TV Genius has developed some excellent Facebook EPG apps for just this purpose see below

4.4 Facebook as a second screen –The UK game show Million Pound Drop was supported by a wildly successful Facebook game. The show estimated that 8-10% of the TV audience played the game. The game served as an opportunity for advertiser sponsorship, helping monetise the second screen. The game featured social components that let players compete against their friends. The game was integrated into the live-event as well: the live show featured a real-time game leader board. Players were also incentivised to play; the best players had a chance to go on the show and play. 8-10% of TV audience plays the game.

Likewise American Idol is piloting a programme where users can login with Facebook and vote for free. Like the Million Pound Drop game, the voting is monetised through a sponsorship. American Idol is looking to further monetise the system in the future by allowing users to buy votes based on Facebook credits.

5. Social TV Apps

One of the main drivers of social TV has been the rampant proliferation of mobile social & TV apps which fall into two main categories:

5.1 TV “check-in” apps: “Check-in” with apps like Get Glue, Miso, PHILO, IntoNOW, TV Chatter and new Aussie kid on the block Twelevision, to share what you’re watching with your friends and, in some cases, earn social currency/rewards.

These apps are directly leveraging existing behaviours for example how many times when watching TV have you gone onto IMDB.com, Google, or YouTube to find out more about a show or actor? How many times have you tweeted or posted to Facebook about the show you’re watching? The various “social TV” apps begin to bring all of this natural online behaviour into a single second screen experience.But if you thought social TV apps were just check-in devices think again as Miso one of the main social TV apps has just announced a partnership with Fox that takes their app one more step beyond “just a check-in.”

Miso CEO Somrat Niyog is aiming the service not just live events but the long tail of TV programs so if you are watching Dexter for the first time you can engage with other fans to see what they said around particular episodes. As more and more TV becomes a “what you want when you want it ‘experience apps like this make sense to engage and add to the viewing experience no matter when you get into watching your favourite new TV series. Rival service ‘get glue’ has also been quick to run promos around key TV shows like scfi classic show the Fringe where subscribers have the opportunity to win props from the show as part of a promo for loyal fans.

5.2 Synced i-Pad apps: enable viewers to get additional content while you’re watching a show with a show specific app such as The Kennedy’s, Oscars, Royal Wedding or a via specific TV network (NBC & Discovery).Perhaps one of the best known ones in the Greys anatomy app which Using the audio watermarks that TV programs typically use for tracking TV ratings, the app can figure out where a viewer is in a program and offer up corresponding content on the i-Pad. This means that in addition to using the app when watching the show live, users can also use the app when watching on a time-shifted copy of the program or when fast-forwarding or rewinding the show.

The i-Pad since its launch is quickly becoming a unique second screen device and a new study by Nielsen reveals where people are using their iPads, and it’s even more evidence that tablets are natural “second screen” devices in front of TV. Compared to smartphones and e-readers, iPads are more TV-friendly, although television also ranks as the top “time spent” (20%) and “situational use” (68%) for smart phones.

It is a trend not lost on Daniel Heaf, Digital Director of the BBC Worldwide, who said in a Beet TV interview that he see’s tablets as an amazing opportunity for long form content

“Whether being on our magazine app or whether on our news app, are much more akin to the types of session times we’ve seen in traditional media apps, like TV and magazines,” he says. “It might not be a fully lean-back event in a way like watching your plasma screen might be, but it’s definitely not a lean-forward experience, it’s definitely not a 3-minute medium.”

Expect the iPad to grow in importance as a quick and easy way to leverage existing TV behaviour and enhance the viewing experience whilst TV manufactures rush to get app content launched on their respective connected TV sets.

6. Connected TV & The battle for the living room

At the moment 50% of all TVs currently being sold are internet-capable, and this figure could be 80% of all televisions within three to four years’ time. Convergence is happening now. In the near future there won't be much of a distinction between web content and TV content consumption as web and mobile applications will cross over to TV to deliver in-screen interaction and formats.Google are rushing to upgrade Google TV to integrate their Android platform system, YouTube is upgrading its media channels to include more hi-quality content, Microsoft with its X-Box live community and with its recent acquisition of Skype and Yahoo with its acquisition of Social TV app ‘Into now’. The TV manufactures are also cutting in and have launched connected TV ‘s with their own apps platforms whilst there are over 100 companies globally currently vying in the IPTV space along with cable and satellite, along with traditional broadcast channels all pushing hard for their slice of the social TV market. Web enabled games consoles like WII & PS3 are also shifting focus whilst X-box has been allowing people to gather in online groups around streamed TV programming since 2010. Not to be left out are the numerous social TV start-ups in the space like Boxee, Starling TV, Matcha.TV & Bee.TV who are all making a play for the social TV space. Only time will tell who becomes the dominant players in the social TV space BUT one thing is for sure the rate of adoption of social features across the various platforms is happening on an aggressive rate.

So what does the Social TV User look like?

In order to better understand the those people out there watching television today and why social TV is relevant, User Insight began a Social TV project which has mapped out the key social TV user personas to help us understand how social media is changing TV. How do the key user vary in their behaviour ? Results to date from this innovative project have shown five key personas based on technology, social media usage and enthusiasm for TV see below

Moving forwards it will be interesting to see how quickly any new personas emerge–which one are you?

So what are the opportunities in the multiplatform social TV arena?

1. Building Brand loyalty by sharing and driving real-time conversation brands have the opportunity to become facilitators when consumers have the need to share their experience. We have seen this with this with the concept of the check-in in Social TV apps which has evolved from a sign of presence in one place to gradually becoming a way to share participation in an experience.

2. Leveraging online communities- The big opportunity is to learn how to leverage the communities that exist outside of TV and their owned media assets to their advantage. Whether contributing in real time, via the TV set or via a second screen device, creates opportunities for people to become even more socially engaged with TV programming and nowhere better is this done than leveraging online communities. They provide real time feedback; act as a focus group, sharing content and recommending shows to their friends there by driving viewing figures especially during live events. Ultimately is about creating deeper relationships with your biggest fans.

Here’s a great example of USA Network utilising Facebook and twitter via its own onsite “Chatter” viewing companion which it uses for nine of its TV series. It integrates Twitter and viewers can connect with other viewers — and in some cases, actors and producers from the show — while the show is airing.

For its popular shows USA network also as a Facebook app and an iPad app.

The web and Facebook app experiences allow viewers to switch between three different views — what viewers are saying, a curated feed of official accounts or all of the above. You can authenticate via Facebook or Twitter, and post to either or both accounts — or just keep it inside the Chatter experience.

3. The Gamification of Social TV –The opportunity exists to produce new TV shows that are designed to be social from the ground up which are more interactive & participatory through gamification. Gary Hayes presentation at the recent Australian TV show conference provided some great examples of the different levels of gamification. Not only can you include elements of gaming mechanics (competition), prize offers (awards, rewards) and participation voting but the opportunity to make TV a fully immersive experience can now be fulfilled.

Two such examples are where live users connect to the show and Users become characters or play roles in the show. In Destination truth Fans tweeted things for the actors to do and see where they were in real time. The viewers are also going to be able to track the teams in real time while they’re investigating. Whereas Beckinfield a sci-fi web series in which anyone can create and play a character build an audience and collaborate on storylines through social media. Called Mass Participation Television It is a blending of the technology and entertainment industries.

4. New business models & monetisation opportunities- So far, most of the money in social TV has been generated through sponsorship. For instance, in 2011 the Oscars ran a successful integrated social campaign to encourage viewership. The most significant part of this campaign was Mercedes Benz sponsorship of the GetGlue event which enabled event check-ins on its website through Get Glue’s widgets and users accessed stickers directly through Oscars.com which Fans have to “peel off” Mercedes-Benz branding to unveil the actual Oscar stickers.

Other Increased monetisation opportunities with a two screen approach include in-app advertising which falls into three main categories:

1. In-App Advertising: Display advertisements inside the applications

2. In-App Purchasing: Leading to in-app purchasing inside the application.

3. In-App Subscriptions: Paid for subscription video on demand.

Industry analysts now estimate the TV app market will be worth $1.5 Billion by 2013 with the availability of more than one billion apps downloaded by 2015. Retail has also been quick to jump into social commerce space with interactive social TV channels like Debenhams & French connection’s Youtique. Whilst another exciting innovation that takes the idea of social and commercial layering within TV to the next level is GOAB.

Developed by Syzygy The iPad app transforms the users handset (tablet/mobile) into a socially and commercially-enabled TV remote. The app brings the possibility of user interaction within television to life with a look at how social integration may work in the future.

5. Measurement & Social Data-Social TV also offers ample opportunities for extra media value, measurements and conversion. One of the main opportunities is around social graph data for content recommendation and TV viewing behaviour. This wealth of data can be used to target and identify future opportunities and potential new services to drive action. Measuring services will be critical moving forward to analyse the impact social TV is having and agency Wiredset this year developed its Social TV charts measurement system.Trendrr looks at data from Facebook, Twitter, Miso and GetGlue, combining mentions with check-ins to determine “total activity.” You can also drill down into sentiment analysis by show. There’s much more data available in Trendrr’s premium service — “most anticipated” shows and competitive graphs — which it offers to television clients.

6 Every brand to become a media company-With Social technologies it has never been easier to produce your own content quickly and easily. Two great examples of brands that have transformed themselves into modern day media companies are Billabong & Red Bull who are now competing with more traditional media companies in the space.

The opportunity going forward is for social TV to proliferate to the enterprise sector in the next few years. A great example of this exists here in Sydney in the shape of Evo TV who have built a media company off the back of the financial services sector not exactly renowned for its willingness to invest in the social media. Their ‘no more practice’ show was the first ever reality TV show for financial advisers with over 50,000 views over the entire series.

So what will the future of TV look like in 2020?

1. The Decline of traditional TV as we know it. The concept of TV as we know has changed and will be in the future over multiple platforms and social will be designed into all TV formats as a natural part of the viewing experience.

2. TV will be al a carte & you will be able to pay to avoid Ad’s. It will only be a few years away where you will be able to subscribe to your favourite TV show and pick and choose what show you watch based on your tastes as part of a subscription package and watch them on any device anywhere anytime.

3. Global communities will dominate media –Global social networking applications will continue to proliferate into the video arena, providing communal interaction and real-time ratings and recommendations, creating shared experiences and across geographic boundaries.

4. Every TV network will have a social media Team -Every launch will have a dedicated social media plan. Two years ago, there was nothing. Today, social is a core component of how the US networks do their job. This will spread globally across broadcast media.

5. Most viewing will be on personalised screens- The opportunities around Tablets and touch screens are only just beginning and more audio and video will be consumed on personal devices than on the traditional shared living room display, which will become more multifunctional and less defined by the television viewing experience.

6. Mobile will be the number one device people view TV on with programs made specifically for the format. In Tokyo there are currently more than 1.5 million paid subscribers for TV shows specifically made for mobile which will only spread globally between now and 2020.

7. Transmedia story telling will be the norm -Storytelling across multiple forms of media with each element making distinctive contributions to a fan's understanding of the story world. By using different media formats, transmedia creates "entry points" through which consumers can become immersed in a story world. Watch out for the new Fox8 series ‘Slide’ which launches in August a great example of home grown transmedia storytelling via Hoodlum entertainment.

8. Social Commerce on TV will be ubiquitous via new business model like GOAB

9. Touch devices will replace remotes-the awful point and click will be replaced by touch sensitive, interactive devices including tablets and multipurpose smartphones.

10. All TV’S will be connected to the web

The Wrap

Social TV is important because social media will bring together the TV and the digital world. People already use their TV’s socially: they either watch it together as a family, or watch a show separately but talk about them together at a later time. So Social TV is about bringing real-time interactivity back to TV, which has been lacking in recent years.The people who used to sit in front of a television and talk about their experiences to friends, family and co-workers are now empowered to do so right here, right now. Perhaps more important however, people are building full-fledged networks around them, creating a distribution channel of audiences with audiences and their reach is as influential as it is infinite.As WIRED magazine recently stated, TV is moving from a “vast wasteland” to a “vast garden". Today, “TV is a crazy, weed-filled, wonderful, out-of-control garden.” It is time to rethink TV. It is time to imagine what it could be and redefine it for the participatory culture of tomorrow.

What do you think do you think ?

How important will social TV be?

Want to learn more about Social TV then check out the following resources:

TV Genius blog

Lost remote

Scoop it social TV

App Market TV

Connected vision -Informitv

(Illustration by craig Robertson)

In 2010, Latitude Research and Shareable Magazine conducted the first-ever comprehensive sharing industry study 'The New Sharing Economy 'to establish benchmarks for awareness and adoption of existing sharing services, as well as sharing attitudes and behaviours.

What they found was that:

•75% of participants predicted that their offline sharing will increase in the next 5 years.

•The most popular perceived benefits of sharing (67% each) were “saving money” and being “good for society,”

•45% of participants liked the idea of sharing services that felt smaller and more accessible like local or grass root communities.

Download the report here

The rise of the new sharing economy

In her memorable TED Sydney keynote last year Rachel Botsman co-author ‘What's Mine is your's: The rise of Collaborative Consumption' outlined what has happened is that there has been a profound shift in the way we do business and how we consume goods and services, we have moved from a purely consumption based society to a new sharing economy. This combined with an economic crisis, environmental concerns, and the maturation of the social web, have given rise to an entirely new generation of businesses.

To put things in context take a look at the following figures:

•Bike sharing is the fastest growing form of transportation in the world which grew 200% in 2010

•Two billion dollar’s worth of goods & services were exchanged on Bartercard in 2009 world’s largest B2B business network

•Freecycle an online site that circulates items to reuse had 5.7 million members across 85 countries

•Couchsurfing a global website connects travellers with locals in more than 235 countries was most visited hospitality website in 2010 with over 3 million visits .

According to Lisa Gansky, author of The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is sharing. "We're at a point where online, shared interest communities and advancements in mobile, real-time and location-aware technologies have created a perfect storm for sharing in the physical world. " The net effect of which is that sharing is becoming a "disruptive psychology" for existing businesses who'll need to evolve and adapt if they're to survive.

See her Jan 2011 TED speech "why the future of the business is the mesh" below for a more in-depth analysis.

Watch out for the key quote "a brand is a voice and a product is a souvenir"

The new business models

Traditional businesses follow a simple formula: create a product or service, sell it, and collect money. But in the last few years a fundamentally different model has taken root - one in which consumers have more choices, more tools, more information, and more peer-to-peer power. In this new climate typified by terms such as sharing, bartering, trading and swapping, Botsman outlines three systems to arrange these new collaborative business models:

1. Product Service Systems: Pay for the benefit, not the product (think paying for the hole, not the power drill that makes it) Example: BMW's new premium car sharing service Drive now

Redistribution Markets: Exchanges that move used goods to where there's new need (think the stretching of product life cycles for things like DVD's) Example: Swap Treasures

3. Collaborative Lifestyles: People with similar interest's band together (think co-working) Example: AirBnb

The benefits are hard to argue -- lower costs, less waste, and the creation of global communities with neighbourly values.

BUT what are the implications for brands and marketers?

1. Businesses need to redefine their roles as purveyors of stuff to purveyors of services and experiences and think about what the changes in relationships are between customers in the new collaborative business model.

•Why will people participate?

•What are the right activities and outcomes to focus on?

•What expertise is required?

•What can organizations offer in return?

•How do we quality control?

3. Brands should facilitate sharing and become active participants in communities and think how they can help that community to do what it wants to do. Furthermore if sharing online is a good predictor of offline sharing, it is important your product is shareable on and offline which in turn could lead to new types of engagement or advocacy around your product.

4. Trust & reputation-It makes sense if there is a drift away from buying new goods and services that brands should also focus on reseller's commercial reputation in secondary markets to ensure brand consistency. It is these new reputation systems that facilitating trust between strangers that could possibly form future credit mechanisms.

5. Ratings & reviews-If it's easier to share based on trust, then the power of a recommendation must be part of your business planning. Furthermore when consumers don't "own" and "share" instead, ratings, and reviews will have more importance in the decision funnel. Reputation will therefore be a bigger filter.

6. Find Value in social and alternative currencies sharing culture makes it possible for virtually anything, including specialized skills or knowledge, used goods, and social reach, to become currency.

7. Become a we based brand-it is not enough to just sell products and services. If the "we + me" equation is a sweet spot of benefits to consumers, then are your products or issues properly positioned especially to millennials?

8. Moving from monopolies to market places-By simply selling the same products, in the same way, how can we enable entrepreneurial consumers to sell their own products through our platforms? The ASOS marketplace Is a great example of this trend.

9. Listen engage & experiment-Lisa Gansky contends that "with web-enabled mobile devices, social networks and our ability to track and manage physical assets, it's an imperative to listen, engage and experiment."

Opportunities

Based on the data from the new sharing economy report the top opportunity areas for new service offerings were as follows:

1. Time-Marketplaces that use network technologies to enable the exchange of less tangible assets such as time, space and skills.

2. Transportation-There's still a large amount of unfulfilled demand for car-sharing. More than half of all participants either shared vehicles casually or weren't sharing currently but expressed interest in doing so.

3. Household goods -Many people already share occasional-use household items (such as power tools, kitchen appliances, party supplies, and sporting goods) with friends, but few services exist yet to organize these sharing efforts. There's a lot of opportunity to share things we don't need to own.

4. Living space - is a valuable commodity, which is why more co-working and peer-to-peer lodging services are popping up and doing well. Moreover, new models of sharing like fractional ownership are refreshing how we think about accessing a variety of different spaces.

The benefits of peer-to-peer sharing are that it allows for potentially unbounded scalability, access to more resources and often at closer proximity to us. Because peer-to-peer companies aren't subject to the overhead cost of purchasing and maintaining a "fleet" of cars all their own, the cost to renters is often lower; moreover, members have the opportunity to monetize their own possessions.

Building brand loyalty and generate more actionable marketing data through sharing-based offerings it is possible to find out more about their customers than ever before. E.g.Zipcar members log into their account every time they need a car. And in the process build a transaction history which translates into highly valuable information about how and where customers interact with services over time.

This wealth of data can be used to target and identify future opportunities & potential new services. Likewise this data could prove useful with selling ancillary services such as apps to monitor petrol consumption might prove useful to these new service companies.

Growth can also be achieved by partnering with businesses who share your customers' interests. For example, last year Zip car teamed up with Zim Ride , a popular ride-sharing service, to match car-sharers with those just looking to catch a ride.

Incorporating a game layer into sharing services may also mean a way for brands to get involved where it makes sense. If brands could provide a reward for sharing and doing more for the greater good, it could spur quicker adoption of sharing.

Sharing industry opportunities are not just for big brands, they can happen in small, but highly passionate communities-even if those communities are circumventing buying more of the brand's product by sharing. Passionate communities are doors to social engagement for any kind for a brand, and collaboration may be the answer'

The new sharing economy Ecosystem

The future

Lisa Gansky talks about a future of business thats about sharing all kinds of stuff, either via smart and tech-enabled rental or, more boldly, peer-to-peer. The challenge she say is to make sharing irresistible. What we have seen to date is a radical restructuring of business in sectors like banking, where Wall Street's behaviour has led to immense consumer distrust, and as a result companies like Zopa have benefited enormously from the banking crisis going from early adopters to a more mass-market crowd.

As more people are exposed to peer to peer sharing systems they will become more receptive to other community based solutions, the result being a deep shift in consumer mindset towards to sharing in general. Indeed It is these growing P2P marketplaces that are the driving force behind many a VC investment portfolio right now and the question is how big will the sharing industry go on to be.

Gartner Group researchers estimate that the peer-to-peer financial-lending market will reach $5 billion by 2013. Frost & Sullivan projects that car-sharing revenues in North America alone will hit $3.3 billion by 2016. And Botsman says the consumer peer-to-peer rental market will become a $26 billion sector, and believes the sharing economy, is a $110 billion-plus market.

Umair Hague's The new capitalist manifesto delivers a bold framework for what he calls 21st century ‘constructive capitalism' with new corporate values focusing on meaning, happiness, sustainability and radical innovation. In the book he sites examples of companies who are the leading the way to help recalibrate the "unbalanced scorecards' of most big corporations today and having a unique purpose in people's lives. He cites Google as an example of a value-driven business with a celebrated commitment to do no evil, its preoccupation with speed and its commitment to open data. He cites companies like Threadless, LEGO and Starbucks for commitment to co-creation. And he cites companies like Apple, TATA and Nintendo for their radical innovation and ability to redefine the music, mobile phone, game and car market.

It is companies like that have figured out how to create value and earned our efforts in the process hence the term earned media who will be the corporate business models of the future.

Alongside these new corporate values there will be an exponential increase in the number of peer to peer market places with new forms of currency and reputation systems that will allow for the exchange of good of services. People will have a reputation bank account alongside their normal bank accounts and a reputation rating that will measure their contributions to communities.

Start-up TrustCloud is already building an algorithm to collect the trail you leave as you engage with others on social media and calculate your reliability, consistency, and responsiveness. The result would be a contextual badge you'd carry to any website, a trust rating similar to the credit rating you have in the offline world.

Peer to peer marketplaces will form accepted forms of secondary income and instead of paying for cash barter talents skills and ideas and virtual social currencies will be the norm. We have already seen the beginning of virtual goods online and who's to say that Facebook credits in the future won't become an everyday way of doing business with each other.

The Wrap

Whether we realise it or not we are in an era of rapid technological change which is having far reaching economic and social effects. The new sharing economy has heralded the birth of the peer to peer marketplace that is revolutionizing the way we do business the world over. Not only are we making better use of resources but we are now moving towards a society that is less focused on economic growth but also focused on social well-being. This has led to initiatives by French President Sarkozy to examine what we interpret as wealth and how this is measured being redefined. Indeed we are already seeing this in the UK, France and Canada with the introduction of the happiness index.

As Botsman talks about in final chapter of collaborative consumption it's as though we have woken up from a dream and whilst there has been much discussion over the last 12 months about new sharing platforms and collaborative business models, I really wonder if we realise the significance of the period we are in and the far reaching impacts it will have for the next decade and beyond. We may not be headed directly towards the new socialism, but it feels that we are almost certainly headed towards a new era for the social web.

What do you think?

10 Next Generation Social Sharing & Collaborative sites to watch in 2011

1.Zimride

2.Itizen

3.Dig N‘Swap

4.Nexx

5.Blockchalk

6.Thredup

7.Rentalic

8.Snapgoods

9.Park at My Place

10.Task Rabbit

See the following resources for a more comprehensive listing

Collaborative Consumption Antenna HUB

Mesh Directory