Shesaysthefailuretorecognisetheuniquenessofsocialhasresulted
inunderspendinthemedium,andshehopestoseemorebrandsdouble
downandinvestinit moreseriously.Accordingtoa reportbyZenith,
socialmediawillremainoneofthefastest-growingchannels,alongwith
onlinevideo,from2019-2022.
Inanefforttokeepupwiththesector,WeAreSocialrecently
restructureditsteamaroundclients,ratherthanbydepartments.
Thenewstructuremeanstherearemultidisciplinaryteamssitting
togetherworkingonthesameclient.
“Thisis aboutbeingabletomoveatthepaceoftheculture,”saysShaw.
“Youneedtocreatecontentfastandmoveatthepaceoftheinternet.
Youcan’tbegenuinelyculturallyrelevantif it'stakingyouweeksand
monthstothinkofanideaandrespondtoanaudience.”
TikTokhasbeenthelatestdevelopmentinthespace,whichhascre-
ateda newformatsocialmediaspecialistsneedtoadaptto.WhileWe
AreSocial’sworkremainsspreadoutevenlybetweenthemainplatforms
ofFacebook,InstagramandTwitter,it expectsTikToktohavea big2020.
“TikTokhasbecomeanimportantplayerandit'sgoingtobea huge
yearforplatformslikeit,”saysShaw.“TikTokis drivingnewbehaviour.
It’snotjustgettingpeopletoshiftplatforms— it’s connecting audiences to
newpeopleaccordingtotheirinterests.”
Thenewdecadeahead
Tocomplementthenewofficespace,Shawsaysherteamarealsoeyeing
a biggerclientlistfor2020.
“Wemovedinresponsetousgrowingasa business,butalsotrying
tostepupandbeina spacethat'srepresentativeofthebusinessweare
today,”shesays.“Andthat’sa bigger,moreprofessionalbusiness.”
Hergoalsforthenewyearincludenabbingclientsacrosstelco,
financialservicesandalcoholcompanies.
“Wehavea gapintelcoandbelievethere'sa strongopportunityfor
that category tobetter engage customersand develop stronger
relationshipsthroughsocialthinking,”shesays.
“Financialservicesorganisationsarenotoriouslyrisk-averse,astheyshould
be,butthey'reparticularlyrisk-aversearoundtheiruseof social.Theyseethe
riskofsomethinggoingwrongasgreaterthantherewardofpotentially
buildinga strongeraudienceorbuildingcommunityaroundthebrand.”
“There'sdownwardpressureonthebeerandboozecategoryintermsof
lifestylechangesthatareoccurring,whichisgood,butalsomarketing
challenges. Brands in that category are some of the most challenged by the
changesinthemedialandscapeand
I don'tthinkthere'smanybrandsthat
haveyetnailedhowtousesocial
thinkingtobuildaffinitywitha new
audience outside television and
traditionalformats.”
Shawsaysherindustryfacesits
ownchallenges,whichcarryon
fromthepreviousdecadeintothe
new: short-termism and the
demandforcontent.
“The industry has been
challengedandwillcontinueto
bechallengedbythefactthat
brandsneedmorestuff,moreof
thetime,andtheydon'tnecessar-
ilyhavemoremoneytopayfor
it,”shesays.
“Wecontinuetoseea prolifera-
tionofchannelsandcontent,and
it'smovingreallyfast.Andwhatthat
meansis there'softenlimitedtime
andresourcestothinkaboutit and
deliverreallyvaluablecontent.
“Asagencies,we’remakingsure
we’rekeepingbrandshonestand
saying,‘Howcan wemakethe
biggestimpactforyou?’Sometimes
it'snotdoingeverythingcheaply.
Withsocialcontinuouslyevolv-
ing,Shawsaysthere’softena lotof
rolesbeingcreatedacrossagencies
andbusinessesfasterthanpeople
canbeskilledupfor.However,she
says being part of the global
WeAreSocialteamhelpsit meet
thesechallenges.
“Makingsurewe'reatthefore-
frontofthedisciplinethatnever
sleepsis a challenge,”shesays.
“Butforus,havingthenetwork
isreallyhelpfulbecausewedon’t
justhave 50 people,wehave850.
Thatreallyhelpsuskeepourfinger
onthepulseofwhatisa very fast
moving discipline.”Meet the Team