#SMW2014: Facebook & Why Mobile Matters

#SMW2014 Mobile Matters Presentation by Aidan Baigrie, Client Partner for Facebook Sub-Saharan Africa

I had the delight in attending the talks held by Quirk at Wits, during the global Social Media Week 2014.

A presentation by Aidan from FB, provided a perspective of the importance of social media, specifically Facebook in Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa & what they as a business are trying to overcome in convincing marketers & businesses to use them as a viable media tool.

Generally, when businesses scaled up from their historical ‘mom & pop’ type outlets, the personalisation side of the business generally gets lost.  Personalisation usually doesn’t scale well.

Social Media on the other hand, although using mass scale technologies, provides the ability for marketers to become personalised & yet scalable.

Most businesses view social media as

• Personalised √
• Marketing ? or ×
  [Likes, comments, shares not seen as relevant, and engagement questioned.  Example shown…
  
• scalability ? or ×
  [businesses understood this in terms of ‘complaints’ & ‘brand fans’]

FB’s journey is how to change the view businesses have to social media, to get them to understand the importance of mobile and thus social media in their marketing activities

Mobile is the future.
There are more mobile users in Africa, than in the US and Europe.
70% of Africans are <25 years old.
And sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing mobile data traffic in the world.

Some interesting facts about FB usage in SA:

•  Facebook is accessed wherever people are, that being home or away,
• Majority usage via mobile.
• 92% accessing FB between 5-9pm
• 12* more popular than youtube
• 6* more popular than twitter

Source: IPSOS research (Q4 2013, n>1000, f2f)

Other interesting facts:

• 52MM monthly active users of FB in SSA
• 94% via mobile
• >11MM monthly users of FB in South Africa
• >6MM daily users of FB in South Africa
  • 50% using feature phones (SA)
  • 38% between ages 13-25
  • 34% between ages 26-34
  • 28% >34

Marketing campaigns, like TVC, Radio, etc, when purchased assume a certain reach & frequency to determine whether you are reaching your target audience (the underlying assumption, is you are using great creative and copy that cuts through the clutter, and engages your consumer),

Facebook, has now just recently launched the equivalent to marketers, in that it can now measure real results on unique identities

• measure conversions/ acquisition
• A/B testing
• Third-party measurement

So mobile has a role, and social media platforms like FB, are great tools, if they meet the target audience’s media usage.  Beyond that, the brand building idea, needs to be with the right personalised message!