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May 7,2018ByDAVID VEGA

What’s new & The Players Course Map – 2018

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Golfing Fans: Everyone heading out to watch The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Here’s a quick Link to the Course map and tidbits on what’s new. We want to make sure you know where all the hot spots are. View online or Download TPC Course map here. View or Download TPC Course map Here New + Improved When THE PLAYERS Stadium Course debuted in 1982, it was unique in the world of golf, having been built with the spectator in mind. In many ways, it was way before its time, and improvements since the course’s opening have maintained and improved the excellent fan experience. NEW! Removal of #1 tee bleachers to provide better views and access to #1 tee, fairway and hole #2 Bier Garden presented by Hoptinger adjacent to the Couples Entry, behind 16 green in the old Courtyard location Food Court repositioned adjacent to Nicklaus Entry and Benefactor Entry Family Care Suite presented by Baptist Health Walk-Through Concession Stands A turfed concession area with picnic seating located on 8 green / 9 tee Upgraded refreshment located near 9 green THE PLAYERS 2019 will be in March IMPROVED! The PGA TOUR Fan Shop at Nicklaus Entry has been redesigned and expanded to over 21,000 sq. ft. and includes new product lines and exclusive gear including specialty t-shirts and custom logoed headwear for THE PLAYERS 2018 Expanded lower clubhouse lawn for trophy pictures and autograph zone Resurfaced the VIP parking lot and the new pedestrian walkways connect spectators to the Davis Love III entry Expanded spectator area with additional seating located at Tacos on 12 Expanded fan bleacher includes additional seating and unobstructed views of hole 12 and 13 Expanded Benefactor tent with rebranded Michelob ULTRA lower level The Upgraded second floor of the Benefactor features interior custom LED Video boards and expanded Oakley experience Leveled, and turfed, The Grove located behind 17 tees to improve access and seating for spectators Redesigned Greenside Lounge, located on 9 green, with upgraded concessions, food, and seating Quick quotes area where the pond has been filled in for post-round interviews Lobby expansion of the media center Compiled by PGA staff...

April 25,2018ByDAVID VEGA

Instagram launches “Data Download” tool

Brands . social media

Instagram launches “Data Download” tool. Instagram’s “Data Download” feature can be accessed here or through the app’s privacy settings. It lets users export their data; though it can take a few hours to days for your download to be ready. An Instagram spokesperson now confirms to Tridence that “the Data Download tool is currently accessible to everyone on the web, but access via iOS and Android is still rolling out. This download contains all your profile info, photos, videos, archived Stories (those posted after December 2017), your post and story captions, your uploaded contacts, the usernames of your followers and the people you follow, Direct messages, non-ephemeral Direct message photos and videos, comments, Likes, searches, and settings. Whew! The tool’s launch is necessary for Instagram to comply with the data portability rule in European Union’s GDPR privacy law that goes into effect on May 25th. Back up today!...

April 4,2018ByDAVID VEGA

New Facebook Feature Gives Users More Information about Articles – Newsfeed

Brands . social media

Facebook launched a new feature that combats fake news. Rolling out to U.S. users, these new feature affects all articles posted to news feeds stated below. When users post an article to their feeds, the post will contain more information about the article. The information includes the following: Publisher’s Wikipedia page (if any) Related articles Amount of times people shared the article on Facebook Location of shares Option to follow the publisher’s page More stories by the publisher, which will give people a quick snapshot of the other recent stories posted by the publisher Friends who shared the article, which will show people any of their friends who have shared the article https://www.facebook.com/facebook/videos/10157254148271729/ Currently, Facebook is also testing a feature that provides more information about an article’s author including Wikipedia entry, option to follow author’s page or profile, and previous articles published. These changes come as a result of fake news stories from various media outlets and outside sources. Facebook research Team involved the Facebook community, academics, and industry partners. Together, they found that additional information about a news story helps users evaluate whether or not a source is trustworthy and can act accordingly. Facebook’s new feature is the result of those findings. #fakenews #socialmedia #facebook #newsfeed...

March 27,2018ByDAVID VEGA

Messenger Platform Changes in Development – Bots

Brands

If you build #bots on platforms, you need to know that — due to recent data privacy concerns, new bots may not work at the moment — #Facebook is asking core developers to temporarily disable the ability for their apps to connect new bots to pages. As they review. Tridence Team. #messenger Original Statement: View Link...

March 12,2018ByDAVID VEGA

If you’re not using Google Chrome’s permanent ‘Mute Site’ feature, you’re not using Chrome at its best.

Brands . social media

An update to Google’s internet browser, Chrome, brought users a lot of new features including the option to mute certain websites permanently. This is an upgrade from the option to “Mute Tab,” which was more of a temporary fix for users, since the settings would revert to their defaults if you closed the tab or browser. The update could prevent users from avoiding sites with auto-play videos altogether. In January, Google Chrome — the search giant’s extremely popular web browser — started rolling out an update with a lot of new features, including the ability to permanently mute sites that auto-play annoying videos every time you visit. Google Chrome updates usually consist of bug fixes and other necessary security-related adjustments that make a minimal difference in your day-to-day browsing. But every now and then, Chrome serves up a little gem, and this is one of them. Google Chrome users can now right-click on a tab and select “Mute Site” to make sure that the site never plays sound. You can also click on the padlock on the left end of the address bar, scroll down to “Sound,” and select “Block.” I found sites would remain muted even when visiting them in an incognito tab, which means only clearing out your cache would undo the site-wide mute. Of course, this means if you do want to hear a video from of your muted sites, you’ll have to “Unmute Site,” done in the same manner. But now, you won’t have to worry about visiting websites that will interrupt your music or general browsing experience. Prior to this update, there were some sites that I avoided completely for this sole reason. Before Google added this option to mute an entire website, there was the option to “Mute Tab,” but that fix was temporary: If you closed the tab or browser, the settings would revert to their defaults, and you’d continually need to remember to mute the tab each time. Sometimes the best option was just muting my entire computer or phone, but then I’d miss out on my Spotify playlist. If you’ve closed your Google Chrome browser in the last month or so, this feature should be in your browser already since this was an automatic update. You’ll know if a Chrome update is pending if those three dots in the top right-hand corner of your window are any color besides grey: They can be green, red, or orange, depending on how long its been since the update was released. I highly advise making use of the “Mute Site” feature. It’ll change your relationship with certain websites, and make for a less frustrating web-browsing experience overall. Author: Prachi Bhardwaj...

February 20,2018ByDAVID VEGA

9 Emotional Hooks That Will Make Your Content 10x Better

Brands . social media

What makes a piece of content compelling? The secret ingredient to awesome content isn’t a watertight argument or even a great concept. It’s emotion. People make most of their decisions based on how they’re feeling, whether they realize it or not. This is especially true when it comes to purchasing decisions. If your content hasn’t been converting the way you want it to, injecting some emotion could make all the difference. Forging positive connections with your audience won’t just increase sales – it will also promote brand loyalty down the road. And, once you know how to leverage emotion in your marketing, your content will just keep getting better. To get started, here are nine simple hooks you can use to create more emotionally powerful content. 1. Use Your Content to Tell a Story Want to keep your audience engaged? Tell them a good story. Storytelling is a simple, but effective, tool for grabbing people’s attention and getting them emotionally invested in your content. Everybody wants to know what happens next, especially if they can identify with the story’s hero. Telling stories about your business can increase your brand’s likability factor. For instance, you could tell your audience how your business got its start, what kind of challenges you’ve overcome, and how you’re working toward your current goals. Stories about customers can also be an effective way to connect with your audience – try putting your storytelling skills to work through case studies. 2. Leverage the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) The fear of missing out is a powerful force. Nobody wants a great deal or a juicy secret to pass them by. If you can create a sense of anxiety or urgency in your audience, you’ll get a reaction out of them. One good way to use FOMO is to promote a product or a deal for a limited time only. After all, who hasn’t bought a limited-edition product simply because it won’t be available later? Another idea is to offer an exclusive membership or loyalty program. If people worry about what they might be missing out on, they’ll be more interested in your brand and your product. 3. Make Your Audience Feel Special or Powerful The desire to feel special drives a lot of purchasing decisions. From clothes to gadgets to cars, consumers often buy things just to feel unique or superior to other people. Harnessing this drive is a great way to build a strong image for your brand. To tap into your audience’s desire to feel special, use your content to paint a specific picture of your product or service: it’s high-quality, distinctive, and a bit exclusive. Represent your current customers as people your audience can identify with or would like to imitate. Product demos, customer spotlights, and evocative advertisements are all good ways of doing this. For this strategy (and any other emotional marketing strategy) to work well, you’ll need to know your audience. Content that pushes some people’s emotional buttons won’t work on others, so don’t forget to make audience research an ongoing part of your work. 4. Create a Feeling of Belonging People need to feel accepted, liked, and important. Because of this, content that makes people feel like part of an in-group or cause can be very effective. One way to make use of the feeling of belonging is to present your brand as a club or lifestyle, instead of just a business. Look at Apple for a great example of how to put this idea into practice. There’s a major social and emotional component to Apple’s marketing. Some people consider using Apple products to be almost part of their identity. Your business may not have the same reach as Apple, but you can do the same thing on a smaller scale by creating a strong brand image and nurturing a sense of exclusivity around your product. 5. Use Mystery to Make Your Content More Compelling Unanswered questions are intriguing. If you want more people’s eyes on your content, adding a little mystery might be exactly what you need. Ask a question in your title, and use the body of your content to answer it. Or, if there are any long-standing unanswered questions in your field, try creating content around them, since people tend to be interested in the unknown. 6. Promise to Help Your Audience Achieve Their Goals Goal-setting and personal achievement are highly emotional topics. For most people, there are desires, fears, and feelings of self-worth tied up in even the most pedestrian goals. So if you can figure out what your audience wants most, you’ve got a direct route to their emotions. Offer to help them get what they want, and they’ll see you as an ally – and probably make a purchase. To find the right angle with this approach, it’s especially important to do audience research. Try to talk directly with your audience by polling or interviewing them. Then incorporate your findings into your content, highlighting how your product or service can help your audience get what they want out of life. 7. Use Humor Marketing doesn’t have to be serious all the time. In fact, including humor can be great for your brand’s image. Laughter is a great way to form an instant connection with someone. It also shows that your brand doesn’t take itself too seriously. If your content has felt a little flat lately, try creating a humorous piece or two, and see how your audience receives it. Keep in mind that while humor is versatile, it isn’t right for every situation. Know what’s appropriate in your field, and be careful not to say anything your audience might find insensitive or offensive. In addition, be careful that your humor doesn’t stifle your brand’s authentic voice. 8. Surprise Your Audience If you think your content might not be memorable enough, add an element of surprise. Are there any common misconceptions in your field that you can break down? What about surprising facts that most people wouldn’t believe at first? Challenging someone’s ideas or...

February 13,2018ByDAVID VEGA

Instagram is testing screenshot alerts for stories

Brands . social media

Instagram is testing a feature that will show users when someone else takes a screenshot of their story. Users included in the test are getting a warning that the next time they take a screenshot of a friend’s story the friend will be able to see it, as shown below: This new feature — the latest to be lifted from Snapchat — hasn’t been turned on for all users in order for Instagram to first gauge response. The Stories feature tells you who has watched your story when you tap on the “seen by” area in the bottom left corner. With this new feature, a circle shutter icon will display next to the name of the account that has screen grabbed your content. Story owners otherwise won’t be alerted when someone takes a screenshot — they can only tell after manually checking the “seen by” list. Instagram is likely testing how people respond to the new notices and may decide to never roll out the feature to all users. There are workarounds to avoid being detected though, as some Twitter users have pointed out — you can set your phone to airplane mode and then screenshot, or you can view the Instagram story via a web browser on desktop and safely screenshot from there. But seriously, don’t be a feature creeper....

February 5,2018ByDAVID VEGA

Publishers eye push notifications in aftermath of Facebook news feed changes

Brands . social media

If you’re wondering why you got the same Apple News push alert from CNN a half-dozen times Tuesday afternoon, it wasn’t a coincidence. (CNN said it was an Apple News glitch, something Apple confirmed later.) Now that Facebook is deprioritizing publishers’ posts in the news feed, there is more urgency for publishers to make direct connections with readers. That means they’re taking push notifications more seriously. The Wall Street Journal has tripled, to nine, the number of topics that its mobile app users can follow and made it possible to “follow” its writers so users get a push when those authors publish something. Publishers are making an effort to stand out visually. Gannett’s USA Today grew its referral traffic from pushes by 18 percent by incorporating pictures, video, and GIFs into its messages. The Guardian has played with the font and style of its push notifications. CNN is will begin adding rich media to its push notifications in the second quarter of 2018. And while personalized push notifications didn’t gain much traction among publishers’ app audiences last year, publishers including Gannett are looking to infuse more personalization into the pushes they send. In a survey Gannett conducted with its app users last year, the relevance of the content was named as a top motivation for responding to push notifications. “If they don’t identify with it, they’re less likely to engage with it,” said Larry Aasen, director of mobile development at Gannett. These moves were already in the works when Facebook announced changes to its news feed algorithm earlier in January. But as publishers try to make up for the loss of reach in the news feed, even areas that drive small amounts of referral traffic will become more important. “You’re seeing a lot more sophistication,” said Mike Herrick, svp of product and engineering at Urban Airship, a push notifications technology provider. “The assets that are owned are going to be the most strategic.” Publishers pay close attention to their app audiences because their response to a story often provides a good signal for how a publisher’s broader audience will react to it. At CNN, for example, the click-through rate on its app push notifications determines whether to move breaking stories to the top of its homepage or write more stories on a developing story. “They’re optimal for getting an early indication of how a story is playing with your audience,” said S. Mitra Kalita, CNN’s VP of digital programming. “I used to use Facebook metrics like this over five years ago. You’d look at shares over the course of 20 minutes.” The competition for space on users’ phone lock screens has gotten intense. The volume of push notifications sent by publishers rose more than 50 percent from January to December in 2017, according to data from Urban Airship. While there’s a risk that publishers will overdo it, audiences are getting used to a fire hose of notifications: Opt-in rates for push notifications rose 16 percentage points this year, also according to Urban Airship. Pete Brown, a senior research fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism and the author of “Pushed Beyond Breaking,” a research report on push notifications published last fall, predicts that images, automation, and personalization will gain importance in pushes. Last week, Urban Airship rolled out a tool that will allow publishers to use artificial intelligence to schedule push notifications based on when the audience is most likely to interact with them. Push notifications account for a small percentage of most publishers’ overall traffic. For USA Today, they drive just 10 percent of its mobile app opens and 5 percent of the mobile app’s pageviews. Yet those slivers of the audience are valuable. To receive a push notification, a person must have either downloaded a publisher’s app or followed the publisher inside a platform like Apple News or Google Play Newsstand, a sign of affinity. “A lot of people would consider their push audience their most loyal, their most engaged audience,” Brown said. Author: Max Willens...

January 15,2018ByDAVID VEGA

Is Our Social Media Terminology About to Change?

Brands . social media

“She does social media,” is the go-to introduction my friends bestow on me at parties. In 2018, in a world where many of my millennial friends have more captivating Instagram accounts than me, this introduction sound about as impressive as, “She Googles real good.” Who doesn’t? Currently, I don’t directly manage any brand’s social media channels, though I have in the past. Instead, I most often consult in overall digital strategies that involve many promotion outlets, be it email, website, social media, and/or display. That said, my friends’ misleading introduction results in some lovely party conversations, the most recent being, “Do you think we’ll always call social media ‘social media’?” As the resident social media expert person, I blurted out, “Of course! What else would we call it? We still call TV ‘TV,’ don’t we?” I chortled. My friends chortled. We all slapped knees (our own, not each other’s). The conversation pivoted. I went home, brushed my teeth, changed into my egg jammies, and fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night Don’t Wake Daddy-style. We don’t call it “TV”; we call it Netflix, Hulu, or whatever specific show we intend to binge watch. Unless we spent time staring at some reality show we’d rather not admit to watching, we rarely say, “I just watched TV.” Now that my moment has passed to have this dinner party conversation with man buns (brotrepreneurs) over cheap wine, I ask you: When will we stop calling social media “social media”? Don’t get me wrong—this will be a mass effort, a shift of the collective conscious—we will not solve it here. However, in the way someone circa 2010 started asking where she left her “phone,” abandoning “cell” as if the specifier was superfluous, someone will start calling social media “social.” Oh, no. We already use “social” in isolation. Has the end begun? Probably. The Evidence ‘Social Media’ Is on Its Way Out Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 (over five years ago?!). Almost immediately, the two began melding into one. Facebook introduced video; then Instagram introduced video. Instagram introduced Stories; then Facebook introduced Stories. Now, ads can be sent through both platforms at the same time, from the same tool, using the same audience parameters. Will Instagram eventually just become Facebook? Will we call all newsfeed-centric social media platforms “Facebook” in the way we colloquially deem all search engines “Google”? What happens when Facebook overtakes YouTube once and for all? YouTube, a platform I’ve always struggled to call a “social media,” had a rocky 2017. With ridiculous scandals, a massive redesign, original shows, and mixed Red reviews, who and what is YouTube anymore? For one, YouTube is a sibling of Google and therefore, undoubtedly, a powerful ad platform. However, advertising alone social media does not make, young padawan. What happens if Netflix introduces comments à la Youtube? What happens if Snapchat introduces a discovery section à la Instagram? Wait, did Snapchat kind of already do that? What happens if Twitter . . . nah, I’ve all but given up on Twitter. Nevertheless, what are we going to call all these social media platforms as they evolve? It seems to me they are outgrowing their terminology. Does Any of This Really Matter? I don’t know, man. Maybe analyzing terminology just feels like splitting hairs. Still, sometimes you need a silly question like “when will we stop calling it social media” to get the brainstorming juices flowing, to tiptoe to the questions that really matter to your business as we cruise through 2018, such as: Where is social media going? Where is our audience likely to be in five years? What platforms should we consider adopting? Where should we be putting our digital advertising dollars? What type of content will we need to produce? Video? Audio? Are we ready to serve a mobile-first audience? What are we measuring in terms of KPIs? Are we converting? If not, why? Scary questions, right? In time, they will need to be answered. But for now, tell me, what are your 2018 predictions for social media terminology? Better yet, what changes to individual social media platforms will necessitate the evolution of our current lexicon? I’ll grab my cheap wine. Brotrepreneurs, come one, come all. Author: Christina Moravec...

January 12,2018ByDAVID VEGA

8 Tips to Encourage User-generated Content on Instagram

Brands . social media

Did you know that 80 percent of what you view online is user-generated content? Big companies such as Redbull, BMW, and Starbucks feel the pulse of marketing trends and can effectively leverage this. And even though the user-generated content is on the rise, it is difficult to achieve marketing goals if content creation by your customers isn’t part of your brand strategy. Why User-generated Content? Ninety-two percent of consumers rely on referrals rely on referrals from people they know. Because it is 50 percent more trusted than other media. Advertising based on user-generated content can cause a 400 percent increase in click-through rate. These statistics prove that user-generated content is the future of internet marketing. When launching these types of campaigns, concentrate on one social media platform for maximum results. When choosing from the wealth of social media websites, Instagram is high on the list. More and more brands are investing in Instagram marketing, and the platform has become popular for brand promotion. Why So Popular? The Instagram community has grown to 800 million users. Instagrammers share 95 million photos and videos daily. Instagram Stories has 100 million daily active users. Moreover, this report from L2 claims user-generated content works best for brands on Instagram. Before you set up the campaign, think of proven ways to encourage user-generated-content creation. The more people create content for you, the better. But this requires time and effort to make them want to become a part of your community. So, here are eight tips for marketers to consider. Create a Sense of Belonging Influencing consumer behavior is a common practice in marketing. If you want people to do something for you, understand what drives them. Know which psychological tricks can help you create a connection. One of the greatest feelings for humans is the sense of belonging. People want to be a part of something significant. It is a fundamental need. Building a sense of belonging requires time and effort, but the payoff can be huge for the brand. If your brand has many admirers, it is likely you can get user-generated content from your audience. For example, look at brands such as Starbucks — many cannot simply grab a Starbucks coffee without posting a photo of coffee in hand on Instagram. This is because people feel the need to belong to the Starbucks community! Improve Your Instagram Engagement How do you convey to visitors that your Instagram profile is interesting enough, so they become a follower? Engagement! If people like, comment, or share your content, it means you produce something valuable. It creates a sense of belonging, and people are more likely to become a part of a popular community. High-quality content matters. One of the best marketers in the world, Andrew Davis, said: Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue. If you post material that satisfies customer needs, you will boost engagement on Instagram. However, it will not be enough to increase the performance of your posts on the newsfeed. So how do you increase engagement? By posting fresh and qualitative content: publish relevant and eye-catching information. Through interaction with your followers: like and comment on their posts. Keeping up with trends: it allows you to reach more people. Once you drive more engagement, you attract more followers and ultimately, more people to create user-generated content for your brand. Establish Contacts with Micro-influencers Influencer marketing is flourishing on Instagram as 92 percent of people trust recommendations by individuals rather than companies. Most brands know this, so they reach out to influencers for beneficial collaboration with an already-established community. When choosing an influencer, marketers try to find a popular one figuring the larger following, the better. However, having a lot of followers doesn’t necessarily mean higher engagement. Collaborating with micro-influencers may be a better option as they can deliver a 60 percent higher engagement rate. Moreover, they can be more cost-effective and loyal. With micro-influencers, you can maintain good relationships and stand out from the competition. Re-post Customer Content Every marketer should know user-generated content can help earn trust, build brand awareness, and boost sales among customers. Unfortunately, we fail to put customers first. Only nine percent of the top 250 B2B brands place user-generated content on their product pages. Although people create content at will, you need to reward those who produce quality content for your brand. To encourage more content creation, you must show customers that their effort pays off by liking, commenting, and sharing their content. However, to avoid damage to brand reputation, you will need to use user-generated content as you would copyright content. Thus, always think about the original poster first. How to repost content legally: Ask for permission: if you want to feature a photo on your feed, contact the owner via comments or DM’s. Give photo credit: add a comment to your post with the photo credit and tag the owner. Customers crave recognition and approval, so make them feel valued. Use Instagram Stories Highlights Recently, Instagram launched two new tools—Stories Highlights and Stories Archives. These allow users to group stories they have shared into highlights and feature them on the user’s profile. The new features are an effective way to build a valued customer connection and showcase your business authentically, which means earning trust. Here are some pointers for making the most out of Instagram Stories Highlights: Create a user-generated content group: collect the best stories using customer content you have shared and highlight this group as permanent on your account. Update the group: add stories to the group regularly. It is not always possible to post all customer content on the main feed as it could slow traffic to your site. When using Instagram Stories, you won’t need to worry about posting too much content. Hold a Contest If you want to encourage user-generated content creation, have an Instagram marketing contest. Holding a contest is a great way to increase the number of user-generated posts. To avoid any PR pitfalls, create and abide by the contest Terms & Conditions. These rules will inform participants on how to take part and win the contest. By running...