Nathan Murray – Social Media Predictions for 2017

Nathan Murray is the Social Media Marketing Manager at the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). Ahead of his masterclass at the Social Media Exchange, Nathan shared with us his 2017 predictions for social media.

Nathan Murray is the Social Media Marketing Manager at the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) and previously worked at the RNLI for three years where he was responsible for curating social media content about the lifesaving work of the RNLI. Ahead of his masterclass at the Social Media Exchange on how we can harness social media to turbo boost your charity’s story, Nathan shared with us his 2017 predictions for social media…

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Charity Social Broadcasting

With live content becoming more prominent in our timelines, charities will need to think of themselves as social broadcasters. I think in 2017 we’ll see more stories being told  live and in the moment. Save the Children were one of the first charities I spotted using Facebook Live to bring their supporters to the frontline and show why support of their work is so vital.

Now with Facebook announcing live audio broadcasts, charities who favour audio storytelling can reach new audiences in a more immediate way. At the RNIB, we’re already thinking of ways that our Radio and Podcast content could work in a live social broadcast setting.

Prioritising Social Measurement

I think 2017 will see teams responsible for social media facing the challenge of balancing organic, paid and influencer activity. With 2016, being the year of the ‘social influencer’ and algorithms on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram becoming more and more mysterious; teams will have to prioritise where and when their (often already stretched) resource is focused. To do this, teams will need to evaluate the true impact of each channel and social measurement will become even more important.


Chat Bots and AI

Chat bots and artificial intelligent will become increasingly more prevalent in 2017. Due to development costs and structure requirements, chat bots will not be an option for every organisation. However, larger organisations have already begun exploring how this could work – and I’m excited to see what they come up with. There is a real opportunity here for storytellers to help chat bots appear as human and authentic as possible.

Join Nathan at #SMEX17 to explore how you can harness social media to boost your charity’s reach. www.socialmediaexchange.org.uk


Whether you want to learn about crowdfunding, digital campaigning, understanding how to work with your case studies, learn how to be creative with visual content or sound, improve your social media skills, or simply take away top practical tips from our interactive surgeries. There is something for everyone.

 ✓ Listen to expert speakers from the media and charity sector share their insights and knowledge based on their own successful digital storytelling campaigns

✓ Learn new skills and have your specific needs answered in our practical hands-on sessions.

✓ Take part in interactive masterclasses in digital storytelling tools and trends, video, user-generated content, photography, audio storytelling and more.

✓ Make new connections and build future partnerships

Find out more about our speakers and register your place at www.socialmediaexchange.org.uk  #SMEX17

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