Wearable Tech – what impact on social media?

With the much-hyped (what else do we expect from Apple?!) launch of the Apple Watch nearly upon us (slated for the 24th April in the UK), there has been an increasing amount said about the much vaunted ‘smart watch’ market and, in particular, wearable technology.

Historically, these types of devices have struggled to achieve market penetration of any note, let alone mass adoption. But now the signs are that the public is not only ready for such devices, but also wants to use wearables. The vain amongst us also want to look cutting-edge and hip!

For brands, wearables present a unique challenge and perhaps even more unique opportunity. Having spent years tailoring content, branding and messaging for the smaller screens of smartphones and tablets, they have more recently been adapting to the evolution of larger and larger smartphones – the iPhone 6+ (at 6.22 x 3.06 inches) is a perfect example of this.

Furthermore, what with the need for businesses to create visual content, such as images and pictures, in different sizes for the different social media networks (check out this awesome cheat sheet here if, like us, you get flummoxed by them), this is another hurdle to overcome as they seek to take advantage of yet another potential customer touchpoint channel.

And it is in social media that we expect wearable technology to cause a big shift in how consumers use and interact via social networks. Brands will absolutely have to evolve to ensure that they are reaching and influencing their target audiences. This especially applies to social media advertising.

Size matters

Yes, that’s right, size matters. Particularly small sizes. The displays on smart watches are far smaller than brands have had to cater for. Whether they are from Apple, Motorola, Samsung or any of the others out there – watches are watches after all.

Although used to restrictions on the amount of information that can be presented to customers (Twitter’s 140 characters for example…which is actually more like 110-120 due to the potential for retweets to cramp the space even more), this is a whole different ball game.

Marketers, advertisers and branding experts are going to have to be much more creative with their content as it will be much harder for consumers to understand, absorb and act upon the messages they receive on such a restrictive interface.

Yet perceived wisdom is that content is all about effective storytelling. Blog posts have become longer and more in-depth over the last few years, for example. It is quite a conundrum with no easy solution.

Speed of engagement is critical, and this will certainly be the case for brands seeking to engage and influence their target audiences through smart watches and other wearables. The information must be short, snappy, concise and attention grabbing, which will cause the individual to want to learn more or find out more or “like” a brand more.

But it is an entirely different environment to, say, Twitter where you want to encourage clickthroughs to your site or blog post or landing page. This won’t be the case with smart watches – what’s the point in asking the user to tap on their little screen to be taken to a website that can’t be read with any ease or convenience on the watch face?!

Social media advertising 2.0

This is where we see social media advertising being revolutionised and perhaps coming into its own. For the same reason that it is not reasonable to ask a smart watch owner to ‘tap to access more information’, banner ads and pay-per-click advertisements could well be obsolete on wearable tech.

The earlier conundrum continues here too: how can brands engage with users effectively when they are at the same time far more accessible (immediately and on their wrist!) yet also far more limited in what they can see and do? Yet despite this immediacy, people simply don’t want their personal space and time encroached upon – it has to be on their terms.

And, let’s face it, a watch is highly personal to the individual so they don’t want to be force-fed communications at any moment through what has traditionally been their fashion accessory! It’s quite a paradoxical situation for brands and consumers alike.

The most obvious way around this is to provide exclusive offers that just need to be tapped to be activated. “Tap for your 10% discount!” is simple for the brand and simple for the consumer.

Location, location, location

Location based services are perfectly suited to smart watches and other wearables. Just think of the convenience for the target audience: walk into a store and get a notification that entitles them to a discount or special offer at the tap of their screen.

Likewise with restaurants – many of them leverage apps to offer discounts on meals, so it makes a lot of sense to make it much easier for the consumer.

We’re all familiar with this scenario: we have to get a smartphone out, find the app, browse the offers, tap to activate one, show it to the waiter or waitress, get it scanned or wait while they write down the discount code, before it is then applied to the bill.

Instead, the diner automatically gets the offer on the screen of the smart watch, and then taps and shows.

Even better, use it for proximity advertising to increase footfall. As the wearer walks by they get a notification of an offer in the store or restaurant or bar and so on. This could be a game changer.

Endless opportunities

The options are pretty limitless – instead of reward and loyalty cards forcing a redeemer to get a wallet or purse out, then dig out the card before scanning it at the point of purchase just to find out how many points they have and if they qualify, this can automatically pop up on their screen while they are in Costa Coffee or similar.

Providers of fitness apps are also jumping all over this latest bit of kit. Such apps on smartphones are useful and are certainly increasingly popular. However, by their very nature, they necessitate the need to put the phone in a pocket or somewhere safe and take it out again…not that feasible when cycling or running.

A smart watch seems to be perfect for fitness enthusiasts and those less mobile who are concerned by and / or interested in their health – a quick glance at your watch will tell you distance covered, heart rate, calories burned and so on.

Emoticons, emojis and other symbols could be could be another area of opportunity for brands to explore to help get their message across at-a-glance. Likewise logos, tag lines and catch phrases will also become a vital part of branding and marketing.

Betting apps could take advantage of this phenomenon too. ‘Tap to cash out’ would take advantage of the ever-popular in-game sports betting craze. Live updates for when odds change or when a special offer goes live would entice gamblers and sports fans to have a flutter. We could go on and on and on, but we think you get the idea by now!

Simple convenience for the customer

Brands must remember that, whatever their strategy for smart watches and wearable tech, it has got to be all about convenience and making life as simple as possible for the consumer. But there does appear to be a fine line between this convenience or, instead, aggravating a smart watch owner with too much stuff, too many times with poorly thought out calls to action.

Keep it simple. Keep it obvious. Keep it easy. In doing so, you will keep your customers happy and keep them coming back for more! What do you think about wearable tech – are you already wearing a smart watch? Do you think it has potential? Or is it just a gimmick that doesn’t really offer much value beyond making someone look cool until it goes out of fashion? As always, let us know with a comment and do please share this post via your favourite social media network!

(Originally published on the Comms Axis blog, here.)