NZME announces new social media partnership

NZME has announced a new partnership with New Zealand-based social media specialist agency, Socialites.

NZME’s chief digital and publishing officer, Carolyn Luey, says the arrangement will extend the breadth of products offered by NZME, providing a fully integrated, full service digital solution – including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok – to Kiwi businesses.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to expand our digital offering – enabling us to continue helping our advertisers to be where their audience is, across the NZME network and wider. We know that audiences interact with multiple media platforms every day, for different reasons – and that’s where this partnership will help.”

Luey says the announcement represents an exciting development for NZME clients, who will benefit from direct access to social media expertise through the new partnership.

“Socialites is one of New Zealand’s leading social media agencies, and they know the ins and outs of the various platforms. Once we understand our clients’ pain points, who their target audience is and what challenges need to be overcome, Socialites + NZME Digital Performance will work together to build them a solid foundation from which to navigate the ever-changing social media landscape,” she says.

CEO of Socialites, Melanie Spencer, says the social media agency has spent the past 12 years creating hundreds of communities for many of the world’s most iconic brands, both in Aotearoa and overseas.

“We are passionate about how people and brands connect on digital platforms. We specialise in growing powerful digital communities to drive business results. We are excited to be partnering with such an industry heavyweight in NZME to help their hundreds of clients grow digital communities and unlock the power of social media marketing for their businesses.”

Spencer believes the nature of social media use and advertising has changed rapidly, with the pandemic having accelerated the rate of change.

“We are passionate about how people and brands connect and amplifying their digital platforms to bring people together as powerful and engaged communities. We are excited to be partnering with NZME to continue creating dynamic, interactive, engaging digital communities and helping Kiwi businesses to become confident at social and digital media.”

Although Facebook is still leading the way in social media platforms, with Instagram continuing to grow alongside this across all demographics, Spencer believes the nature of social media use and advertising has changed rapidly, with the pandemic having accelerated the rate of change.

“Back in the day, it used to be about just posting something and you’d have decent cut-through, but now it’s really about how you can use your own data to build relevancy and community: it’s about quality over quantity. With third party cookies being phased out in 2023, it’s also more important than ever that advertisers work on building strong, engaged communities to help them ride this wave of change and get the best return on investment, and that’s where Socialites really excels.”

Carolyn Luey says NZME’s partnership with Socialites will be a crucial component to enable clients to reach 18- to 35-year-olds, who are digital natives and rely on social to stay connected.

“Facebook remains New Zealand’s biggest social platform with 83.5 percent of New Zealand’s internet users aged 16 to 64 using it (Source: Mosh New Zealand Facebook & Instagram Report 2021). TikTok reaches 42 percent of Kiwis aged 18-24, and 27 percent of those aged 25-34: our partnership with Socialites will be pivotal in unlocking these key audiences.”

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