Clubhouse enters the social scene

A new social media platform has generated some noise over the last few weeks and it’s worth noting. It’s called Clubhouse.

What is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse attempts to harness the power of voice-only networking and connection. Inside, the app looks vastly different to anything else you may be familiar with. You’re presented with a variety of rooms categorised (and titled) by specific interests. Each of these rooms is moderated and offers a ‘raise hand’ button that lets moderators know you’d like to speak to the room. Once conversation is finished, the room is gone forever – you can’t listen back. The app is currently invite-only, meaning you register your username and wait for someone to invite you in. It’s only available on iOS. This alluring package of “exclusivity” and “opportunity” flagged Clubhouse on my radar last week. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend the last week inside the app observing as much as possible. This is what I’ve discovered:

The Pros

There is a lot to like (so far) about Clubhouse. I have been in rooms listening to people I probably would never have met in my professional or personal life and I’ve obtained an enormous amount of value in areas I’m interested in. Some examples:

• I work in social media so I joined as many social media-related rooms I could with the hope of just listening in. Very quickly I was in a room with an extended panel of highly successful social media figures and it felt like I was privy to their actual secrets to success. Other listeners in the room asked some excellent questions which really added to the experience and the panel answered in a way that made you feel like no question was too big, small or seemingly stupid. I’ve been in a room with Gary Vee a few times, with people who run massive accounts in the NBA, to some of Australia’s leading social media figures and businesses.

• I’ve been in a room with the entire film crew that curates the content for Will Smith’s social media and that was incredible. Not only was the insight fascinating, but the way this room was able to help people expand the limits of their creativity was invaluable.

• I love music as a hobby and noticed a room titled “Let me introduce you to the music supervisor of Netflix, HBOMax, Disney+ and Hulu”. Naturally I was interested, but learnt about ‘sync’ which was something new to me entirely.

• I was also in a room with A&R’s and Executives of Atlantic Records, one of the largest record labels in the world, and they were letting people play their demos and provided live feedback.

There are rooms for quite literally everything and if one doesn’t exist, you can create it. And because the app is so exclusive, the rooms aren’t overpopulated. The conversations feel authentic.

The Cons

I have noticed one glaring problem in the week I’ve used the app and it was also mentioned in a blog by Mark Schaefer. There are obvious similarities between Clubhouse and podcasts, most obviously the voice-only nature. However, for the value to be felt from Clubhouse, you need to have the time to spend on the app. Podcasts, however, are designed for convenience – you can listen when you have time. It’s a problem I see Clubhouse needing to solve in the near-future because if no one has time beyond this early novelty stage, then people won’t come back and those influential people who adopted early will leave. That will quickly impact Clubhouse’s value to audiences

Despite the looming concern I have, I can’t seem to pull myself away from the app and live-in fear of the opportunities or information I might be missing.

If you have some time each day and own an iOS device, definitely give it a try – let me know what you think. jordan@55comms.com.au

Five social media strategy tips for 2021

Welcome back to 2021. Let’s hope it’s a year with more certainty. It’s not easy to plan in these times but businesses still need to plot a course for this year. Here are some social media tips worth considering for your 2021 strategy.

1. Remember your “personality”

We’re focused on defining your business’s personality at 55 comms because we know how important that is for audiences. What’s also important is knowing if your personality has changed and how you communicate that change. For a lot of businesses nothing will have changed. Whether there’s been change or not, a good understanding of your personality will have a really positive impact on your content execution. However, if your personality has changed as a result of COVID, then plan for that in your social media messaging for 2021. For example, some businesses that built a reputation as carefree and risky may have to reconsider that as society changes it outlook. It’s the same if your business personality was built around the boutique nature of your set-up but you have grown into a larger organisation. Determining how to reflect that change on your social media is important.

2. Evaluate your channels

Being active on multiple social media channels is a good thing, but only if you can properly sustain it. If your business operates on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn but you only really post on Facebook and Instagram, it’s worth considering if you need to keep those additional channels. Operating multiple channels has many benefits but requires deliberate thought and content execution specific to those platforms. A 280-character post suitable for Twitter is most likely not going to suit your Facebook page. Comparatively, the three-minute video you post on Facebook won’t be allowed on Twitter. If you can’t give the proper time to craft channel-specific content for those you’re a part of then consider if they offer value at all. The other scenario that arises from evaluating your channels is you may discover your target audience has migrated or grown on a platform you aren’t active on. In this instance, is this a channel you can join and build? Evaluating your channels could give you some time back to focus on creating your best content, or it can help you connect with more target audience.

3. Communication is valuable

A quote we recently shared on our social media explains this tip perfectly. It reads: ‘COVID has taught us never to underestimate the importance of communication and how critical it is to “double down” on it during uncertain and volatile times’. No doubt a lot of you would’ve published or read a message from a company addressing COVID last year and perhaps even this year. I’m equally certain that you recognised who did it well and who did it poorly (or not at all). Good communication has never been more important and social media is the single most effective tool at our disposal. Using social media to communicate well is where a lot of businesses struggle. In your teams, determine some communication goals for the year ahead and how you can best deliver those.

4. Consider your budget

How much you spend on social media should always be considered. Traditionally, return on investment (ROI) on social media is strong. However, 2020 certainly changed the advertising landscape on social media and I strongly recommend reviewing how much and where you’re allocating your budget. Facebook has dominated the social media market in attracting the most marketing spend for several years. However, Instagram has taken top spot in this year with 60 per cent of consumers planning to increase budget spend on that platform according to Hootsuite’s Social Media Trends 2021 examination. In addition, just under 50 per cent say they’re planning to increase their spend on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn making Twitter and Tik Tok noticeable omissions from the top four. Understanding these changes and how they represent your audience on social media will play a valuable part in helping determine where your budget is allocated.

5. Don’t be too COVID

Although the global pandemic is unavoidable, it’s important not to forget that people still want to consume regular content just the same if not more. Look at your content from 2020 – how many times did you mention COVID? If you find most of your posts mention it and you aren’t related to the health industry in some way, chances are it’s a bit too frequent. Being surrounded by the pandemic is forcing people to look for ways to escape it. Consider content that provides some levity and fun to your audience. The last year brought us nostalgia marketing in a big way because reminding people of better times brought such widespread joy. The right piece of ‘fun’ content can have a tremendously positive impact on your audience relationship. Coca-Cola did this really well. In the initial months of the pandemic, Coca-Cola pulled all their advertising spend and redirected their efforts into the COVID-19 response while continuing to engage and listen on social media. After months of observing and listening, they released well-executed campaigns that provided their audience with a moment undisrupted by COVID and ultimately aligned with why people turn to social media in the first place. I don’t suggest you ignore COVID, but take the time to observe and listen to what your audience needs.

Consider these tips in the coming weeks as you work through your various planning processes. I wish you the very best for the year ahead.

Five social media trends for 2021

As this bizarre year winds down, you may be thinking ahead to 2021. What will the new year look like for your business? COVID-19 forced changes for businesses that will be felt into 2021 and beyond and it’s important to factor these into your planning process. Working from home became common from late March, forcing our connection and business online. Our reliance on digital platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams to conduct business increased enormously and social media became the simple way to connect with our friends. These changes have provided new ways that businesses can utilise these social media platforms to engage with their audiences – trends as it’s commonly referred. In this blog, we’ll share the top five social media trends we see making a difference in 2021:

1. Socially-Conscious Audiences

This is as much a trend as a movement. Audiences across social media have become more conscious of issues that affect their lives and the world they live in. This charge is led by Gen Z – the generation who grew up with social media – who are heading towards adulthood and entering the workforce for the first time. This same generation is known to be the most well-educated audience with strong views on critical issues such as climate change, racial equality, feminism, education and professional equality. As a business or brand on social media heading into 2021, it’s important to do the work of creating an honest social impact. A study by Forbes in 2019 revealed 88% of consumers want to support brands that have social causes aligned with their product or service. It needs to become part of your cultural fabric so consumers remember your brand beyond just the product or service you’re operating.

2. Nostalgia Marketing

It’s easy to look back on 2019 and beyond and think how much better life was. The positive emotions connected with “the good old days” is a welcomed sensation, particularly after the year we’ve had. This craving for nostalgia is spreading through social media like wildfire and brands are marketing to exactly that. The appeal for this marketing is clear – it connects strong positive emotion to your brand and gives it a sentimental boost. During times of uncertainty, it’s a powerful way to connect with an audience looking for ways to escape to happier times. Netflix’s original series Cobra Kai – a follow-up to the iconic 1980s Karate Kid movie – shot to No.1 on the platform using this exact approach. Motorola enjoyed a similar response with their marketing campaign around their updated Motorola Razr flip-phone. If you can transport your customer to a memory of a better time to distract them from the struggles of now, then consider incorporating this into your social strategy in 2021.

3. Tik Tok

Tik Tok isn’t a new social media player but it’s consistently ignored by brands that don’t think they have an audience to publish to on the platform. Change that thinking. Tik Tok has been one of the most influential tools for a number of industries in 2020 and particularly favours individuals or brands that give it a chance. Australian radio stations have seen great success on the platform. Sydney hosts Kyle and Jackie O reign as the most-followed Aussie radio figures on Tik Tok boasting 180k followers and say they use the platform to help brand recognition and amplify content from their daily show. Their reluctance to use Tik Tok initially was due to their incorrect assumption that it was an app for kids but there were a lot of fans already on the app that quickly jumped on the content. They say it’s all about driving awareness and recall to the show and with such great views numbers, it can only be a good thing. Away from radio there are accounts on the platform that talk about how bourbon is made, power cleaning or how to trade stocks. Put simply, I’ll bet there’s an audience on Tik Tok you haven’t accessed yet, so give it some thought.

4. User-Generated Content

The best pieces of content will be the ones brands don’t create but instead facilitate and video will still dominate. What this means is that brands that are sharing content about their product or service that their consumer has created are going to better connect with the desired target audience. Why?

• Promoting trust: sharing content created by a user who has invested in your brand acts as a form of social proofing. To other consumers it shows you can be trusted and it really helps build the consumer confidence in your offering.

• Better engagement: while professionally-made and polished content pieces look great, audiences on social media hate being sold to. User-generated content is a little less polished and is easier for another consumer to place themselves into what you’re marketing because they’re seeing someone as regular as them.

• It saves you time: user-generated content will free up some of your marketing time to focus your efforts on other important things. This isn’t to say you need to spend less time on marketing – for you it may mean more time to create the next perfect campaign.

To get this started for your business, you need to provide your consumers with the tools to create the content: give them a hashtag to share their videos/photos; provide them with the jingle you want experimented; and ask for reactions. Whatever it may be, hand over the tools and encourage them to create.

5. Misinformation Crackdown

This is almost an extension of the first point but it’s important enough to stand on its own. A lot of us get news and information on world events via social media. When COVID-19 struck and we were forced indoors, our reliance on the information coming from social media increased significantly. People were desperate for the latest information surrounding the pandemic, yet it was becoming increasingly difficult for people to identify an authoritative source they felt they could trust. This led to unreliable sources filling the gaps and so concerns around fake news and misinformation flared again. As restrictions begin to ease, information offered on social media needs to be reputable and factual. Brands need to be held to this same standard on important issues and stamp out incorrect information. Brands will really earn loyal customers in 2021 if they adopt this as a basic requirement.

The potential in Facebook's new change

You may have seen a recurring notification on Facebook these last few weeks stating ‘There’s an update to the Terms of Service coming into effect on October 1, 2020’.

Click on the notification and you’re taken to a very basic page which explains that Facebook is changing section 3.2 so that it can “remove or restrict access to your content, services or information” if it’s deemed that doing so is “reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts on Facebook”.

Should we pay much attention to this change?

This particular section within the Facebook Terms of Service includes agreements about who can and cannot use Facebook and the things that can and can’t be done on the platform.

The social commentary on this topic is worth looking at. There are suggestions people should “read between the lines” as it’s really just a measure to prevent Facebook from getting caught allowing content on the platform that shouldn’t be there.

If it aids in a noticeable decrease in incorrect, misleading, illegal, or spreads dangerous misinformation, then I think that’s worthwhile.

But others, particularly in America, think this smells like political interference and censorship amidst the election. One comment read “Disturbing new addition to #Facebook terms of service that could be used to justify online censorship, particularly with govts using restrictive national laws to order social media platforms to censor information critical of the govt or monarchy in violation of #OnlineFreedom”.

At the other end of the argument people seem far more upbeat and, like me, think that if it leads to more false news and misinformation being removed that it’s going to be a fairly unnoticeable change.

However, for Australia, the possible connection to the ongoing battle between news publications and Google and Facebook is raising some eyebrows.

This may be something Facebook is putting in place in order to enforce their already strong position against funding news publishers for hosting their content on their platforms.

This will be interesting to watch because at the same time these changes draw closer, Facebook is also testing a new feature that will link users' accounts with the news subscription they have paid for so that they can read pay-walled articles without hitting the paywall or required to log in again.

This is being tested with some papers in the US but the rest of the world won’t see this feature for at least another six months, after which it will be rolled out in India, UK, Germany, France and Brazil first.

I wonder if a business model could exist between Facebook and Australian news publishers that both benefit from this feature? There’s a lot to play out in this space.
For businesses, I don’t see this change having too big an effect.

My recommendation would be to double and triple-check what can and cannot be shared on the platform so that you don’t later find content being removed.

I don’t expect this will impact social media advertising too significantly, however, the review process may take a bit longer as they perhaps take a closer look at what you’re hoping to push across their network.

The news battle worth staying across

If you’ve visited Google recently you would have noticed an exclamation pop-up hovering below the search bar reading: “The way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk from new government regulation.” The warning links to an open letter from Google AU/NZ managing director Mel Silva warning Google and YouTube’s offerings in Australia could become “dramatically worse”, that the services themselves are “at risk” and all Australian users could be affected. 

The warning has come from concerns that a proposed law that would require Google and Facebook to pay for news content published on their platforms. Australia regulators say that the tech giants benefit from the news content published on their respective platforms but publishers don’t have a way to make them pay for it. 

This issue isn’t new. In 2014, a Spanish law required publishers to charge Google for the headlines and snippets of their stories that appeared on Google News. How did Google respond? Removed Google News service from Spain entirely and took Spanish publishers off its service globally. The Spanish publishers were hit hard as a result – readership dropped significantly, particularly for smaller outlets.

Last year France wrote into EU law a copyright directive that demanded Google pay for news content that appeared on its sites. How did they respond? Googgle removed French publishers’ snippets from its search results and did not pay for links. As a result, Google has been ordered back to the bargaining table this year. 

In 2014, Germany’s biggest publishing house briefly barred Google from featuring snippets of its articles in a bid to make the search giant pay for licensing fees but quickly backed down after traffic plunged.

So, it was abundantly clear how Google and Facebook planned to react in Australia when pressured. Facebook yesterday published a letter which explained that news content on their platform is highly substitutable and not a major revenue stream for them. The letter went on to very clearly say that if the draft code became law, they would “reluctantly” stop allowing publishers and people in Australia from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram. The letter goes on to explain how the draft code is in fact counterproductive to what news publishers actually want to achieve and highlights that the current model, which sent 2.3 billion clicks estimated by Facebook at $200 million AUD in the first five months of 2020, is where it should stay. Facebook supports this further by boasting the numerous free tools they provide publishers to extend their reach beyond what they currently can.

It’s a really interesting story, one that will significantly impact digital media in our lifetime. But how will this affect us, the user, on an individual level? Here’s what I think …

If the regulation falls in favour of the publishers, and Google and Facebook remove all news publications like they’ve said – then we’ll simply see less news in our feeds. However, Facebook has used that word “substitutable”, which means that empty space will be filled with something else. A while back Facebook changed its newsfeed model to facilitate more meaningful connections and time on Facebook, and that really hurt publishers and content creators.

Does this mean we’ll see more of our friends’ content, will Facebook start forcing branded content into our feeds, or will they source news from other less-reliable news sources thus kicking up the dust on fake news concerns again? It’s unclear what will fill the gap. As a frequent Facebook user, I do get a lot of my news from my news feed. I don’t go looking for news, but it makes its way through my feed. I can completely see how detrimental this will be for the news publishers that are still standing – it would be critical for the survival of some outlets. One concern that is being missed is: where else will people get their news? As someone who didn’t grow up reading newspapers, news has always come to me digitally through my social feeds. If that’s removed, then I legitimately think I won’t see much news at all unless I go looking for it. People aren’t sitting down to watch the news at night anymore – online newspaper subscription numbers aren’t high enough to sustain the publishers for much longer – what happens next?

I really look forward to watching this situation develop because the end result will change the Australian news and digital media landscape permanently.

Anthony Seibold's final speech as Broncos coach

This is the text of Anthony Seibold's speech, announcing that he was stepping down from his role as Brisbane Broncos Head Coach:

Ladies and gentlemen,

Last week, I made the decision to finish my tenure as coach of the Brisbane Broncos. Today, I am announcing that I will be stepping down from the role immediately.

From a professional viewpoint, this was the hardest decision I have ever made. Right now, I want to spend more time with my family. They have made enormous sacrifices for me in recent times.

I was honoured to be appointed Brisbane Broncos coach at the end of 2018. This was the club where I started my rugby league journey as a young man and it’s a club that I have always admired.

For many reasons, my time at the Broncos did not work out as we had all hoped. But that’s sport. We love sport because it’s full of uncertainty. And rugby league seems to throw up uncertainty better than any sport I know.

People ask me if there are things I’d change about the last two seasons. None of that matters right now.

I gave it my best at the Broncos and ultimately I am responsible for where we currently are. Head coaches know that there is no finger-pointing and no deflection of blame when a club struggles.

These events haven’t dampened my enthusiasm for coaching or wanting to help others achieve. In fact, they have made me more determined. Head coaching in the NRL isn’t for the faint of heart. I know that. And I know that I’ll be a better coach, a better leader and ultimately a better person for all that I have learnt over these last three seasons as head coach at South Sydney and head coach at Brisbane Broncos. 

I have very much appreciated the messages of support from many people over the last two weeks. I want to thank them, and I also want to let them know that I’m doing ok.

I have appreciated the opportunity to coach the Broncos. I can’t thank Karl Morris, Paul White and Peter Nolan enough for their work and their advice and their support throughout my time here. They run a very successful club and they should be proud of what the Broncos achieve in shaping so many lives for the better across Queensland. This club is more than what happens on the footy field and I’ve been privileged to see that up close over the last two years.

I thank the Broncos fans. Sport only succeeds because of the passion of the fans. Without them, we have nothing.

Most of all, I’m appreciative of the opportunity to be a football coach, working with young men towards a common goal. It’s a special thing. I thank my players over these last two seasons for their effort, for their camaraderie and for their passion for playing football. Our game is a brutal game physically and they put their bodies on the line each and every week.

I take pride in the fact over my 38 games as head coach of the Broncos I have given NRL debuts to twelve young men of the Broncos. There were also another eight players with less than twelve games when I arrived and to see that group of men develop over this period into NRL players and in some cases representative players gives me great personal satisfaction.

I want to thank the staff – both admin and football staff – for their efforts in applying themselves to the club. They have made many sacrifices and have come along for the journey.

When I was a young player in the Broncos lower grades in the early 1990s, football was still a part-time career for me. I also taught a Year 6 class at a school in Brisbane’s northern suburbs.

I taught a boy with muscular dystrophy. He was in a wheelchair. Every day was a challenge for him. He was one of the bravest people I have ever known.

That young man taught me a lot more than I could ever teach him. He taught me about real perseverance – about the ability to endure, the joy of simple things and the importance of gratitude. 

Those things are more important than ever now for me and my family, for Broncos management and supporters and for all who have been suffering during COVID-19: perseverance; the simple things and gratitude.

I’ll spend some time reflecting in the coming weeks, very grateful for the opportunities that have come my way in the last few years.

Thank you.

Darius Boyd and the power of the opposite

55 comms CEO Michael Crutcher writes about working with Darius Boyd on his new book Battling The Blues

The most popular news stories of the modern era often have a common thread – the power of the opposite.

Audiences like stories in which the outcome is the opposite to what they expected. “Man bites dog” will generate more internet clicks than “dog bites man”, as young journalists know.

The Darius Boyd story is full of opposites. Right from his upbringing through to this last month of his rugby league career.

He is resigned to never knowing the identity of his father while he lost both of the father figures in his life – his uncle and his grandfather – by age 11.

Yet he is a brilliant father to Willow and Romi and a devoted husband to Kayla.

Darius has played close to 400 matches for the Broncos, Dragons, Knights, Queensland and Australia. He has never thrown a punch, never been charged with foul play and never sledged opponents.

Yet show me a player who has drawn more abuse on social media in recent years. No wonder he doesn’t have social media accounts.

And he has battled some mental demons that we all hope to avoid, feeling bad about who he was and terrified of talking to strangers.

Yet he now tells his story openly and proudly, wanting others to know how they can deal with their down times.

But those opposites are not the reason that I accepted Darius’ invitation to help to tell his story in his new book Battling The Blues.

I did that because Darius is one of the most genuine, interesting people I have known inside or outside sport. He is curious, caring, wise and he has depth.

I learnt that when Darius became a client of ours in 2015. The man I expected to be inward-looking, sceptical and scarred was open, trusting and optimistic.

During the writing process for Battling The Blues, Darius produced the journal that he kept for 18 months after leaving football for a stint in a mental health clinic. The journal is raw.

“Let’s put the journal entries in the book,” Darius said. “People have to understand that there are down times but you can learn ways to cope.”

Darius will retire from football after the Broncos play the North Queensland Cowboys on September 24.

He won’t leave the game with the fanfare of others whose career achievements don’t come close to his after 15 years in the game.

But that won’t worry Darius.

He’s learnt not to seek false accolades – he tried that for years and it didn’t improve him.

He’ll finish his last game grateful for what he has achieved and what his life has become. Gratitude has been one of his major focuses since he left the clinic.

The man whose career goal was to play one game for his beloved Brisbane Broncos will finish with a lot more than that.

Most importantly, he’ll finish his career as a man content with who he is.

And that’s the complete opposite to how he started.

Battling The Blues ($32.99) by Darius Boyd with Michael Crutcher is published by Hachette Australia.