Social Media

January 4,2018ByDAVID VEGA

7 email trends to watch in 2018

Brands . social media

As we speed head into 2018, the trends that will have the biggest impact on your email marketing program over the next 12 months. 2017 was a stellar year for email marketing. With 72 percent of consumers in Litmus’ 2016 State of Email report stating that email is their first choice for brand communication, and more than 225 billion emails (PDF) sent every day (a 5 percent increase from previous years), email continues to play an important role in brands’ marketing strategies and is the digital linchpin for the consumer. As we barrel into 2018, there are no guarantees that the email tactics and strategies that worked in 2017 will deliver the same results. To make the most of your email marketing investments and stay on the cutting edge, consider the trends that will impact email over the next 12 months. 1. Editorial or ‘sticky’ content will become a must-have OK, OK — “must-have” may seem a little aggressive, so consider this my cry for help to all marketers! Today’s consumers (B2C and B2B) value content that goes beyond offers, promotions and product information. They crave useful information that speaks to the intersection of their lifestyle and brand values. Gift guides, recipes, how-tos, related news, tips and tricks, outfits of the day and other types of sticky content are also useful for marketers because they help keep subscribers from passively opting out or unsubscribing, especially if they don’t buy from the brand frequently (e.g., monthly). Subscribers will stay engaged with your brand if you make the effort to educate, entertain or find a unique way to incorporate lifestyle trends into your messaging. Forward-thinking brands already rely on sticky content within the email to strengthen their relationships with customers. For example, REI serves up geo-dynamic content that informs subscribers about hiking trails that are near their location. If geo-content isn’t available, they provide generic content that is similarly relevant to subscribers’ lives. 2. Automation and AI technologies will make emails more human Artificial intelligence continues to be a hot topic in marketing circles. Although the implications of AI and the scope of its marketing applications are still somewhat vague, in 2018, marketers will continue to ramp up experimentation with automated plug-and-play applications. Content optimization is an obvious target for AI solutions. A lot of applications are fighting in this space that enables marketers to evaluate audiences and generate content using language and emotion tailored to specific segments while learning as more data comes through. None of them are perfect or what we all want AI to be, so do your homework and evaluate all potential possibilities before signing that contract. Take Optimail, which optimizes email campaigns through adaptive personalization, or Phrasee, a fun company that started only focused on subject lines, and in very short order their technology has expanded to all sorts of copy/content. Don’t limit your horizons; think creatively how you can expand the capabilities. Ironically, a major benefit of AI technologies is that they make emails feel more human. By providing more personalized user experiences through data, AI can help create deeper connections with your subscribers and invoke more emotion with its language (or emoji) usage — a slightly creepy cherry on top. 3. Real-time, cross-channel personalization will drive customer experiences In addition to using AI applications to create more tailored user experiences, this year we’ll see marketers increase their efforts to personalize content in real time across channels. Expect next-generation personalization to appear more frequently in emails, websites, and even products. Small clothing brands like StitchFix and TrunkClub are already reaping the benefits of personalization. By personalizing subscription boxes, these brands give customers individualized brand experiences. Other brands personalize individual products. For example, Coca-Cola allows customers to order bottles emblazoned with their names, and Converse allows customers to customize the fit and color of their sneakers. As this level of detail migrates to larger brands, it could lead to a seismic shift in the way consumers interact with brands and products across a range of industries. 4. Kinetic email will change the look, feel and experience of email One of the trends I’m excited to see more of in 2018 is kinetic email. Designed to make emails look and feel more like a website experience, kinetic emails introduce a new layer of interactivity to the email experience. As ISPs like Gmail continue to adopt these functionalities, it will make the experience in the inbox more fluid and quicker to the register. The best examples of kinetic email include hover buttons, hotspots, add to order carts, image carousels, and other features. The upside is that these emails are not only more attractive than traditional email, but they’re also more effective for encouraging subscribers to engage with the brand and its products. Although marketers are still working out the kinks (Microsoft sent a kinetic email that didn’t work on Microsoft email clients), Taco Bell, Burberry, and Nest are examples of brands that are using interactivity in the inbox. It’s hard to find them out in the wild, so be sure to look for more of these emails to land in your inbox in the coming months. 5. Passive opt-outs will (continue to) be a major challenge Marketers are sending more emails than ever before. In Q3 2017, our company sent more than 7 billion emails through our cross-channel communications platform. But with so many emails filling inboxes, it’s becoming difficult to keep subscribers engaged, and some marketers are struggling with declining KPIs. In 2018, I expect that some marketers will continue to struggle, while others will take the initiative and implement strategies to stem the trend of passive opt-outs. To reduce opt-outs, email campaigns should engage audiences quickly, using offers and content that are relevant to individual subscribers’ opt-in path. Early welcome touch points, segmented engagement buckets, robust triggers, personalization and other tactics can go a long way toward retaining subscribers at key points in the customer lifecycle. 6. Mobile purchasing will reach a tipping point Mobile purchasing is rapidly closing the gap with desktop purchasing as consumers...

December 14,2017ByDAVID VEGA

Twitter Launches New ‘Threads’ Feature for Tweetstorms

Brands . social media

Twitter is announcing the launch of a new feature that will allow people to more easily post tweetstorms – that is, multiple numbered tweets on a topic or idea “tweetstorm.” Now With Threads, two or more tweets can be linked, simplifying and streamlining the tweetstorm concept. The company confirmed last month it was testing the feature – which it’s now calling “threads” – across its iOS and Android apps. When you create a tweet on Twitter, you can use the “+” button to add more tweets to the original tweet in the compose window. All of your tweets can be drafted ahead of time and then sent out at once using the new “Tweet All” button. Tweets can also be added to a published thread using the “Add Another Tweet” button, and when browsing Twitter, there’s a new “Show this thread” label that makes it easier to find a series of linked tweets. Twitter says that the new Threads feature is designed for people who want to serialize a longer story or thought or provide ongoing commentary on a particular event or topic. Threads are the second major change that’s been made to Twitter in recent weeks, following a decision to increase the character limit from 140 to 280 characters to give Twitter users more room to express themselves. Twitter says the new Threads feature is rolling out to iOS, Android, and the web “in the coming weeks.” Author: David Vega, Jacksonville ...

December 13,2017ByDAVID VEGA

How to Use Instagram Live With Friends for Business

Brands . social media

Are you looking for a creative way to improve your Instagram stories? Wondering how to use Instagram Live with a guest? In this article, you’ll discover how to use Instagram Live With Friends. What Instagram Live With Friends Looks Like Not every business gets the chance to include interviews with mainstream actors and musicians as part of their content strategy, like Gucci. But if you could, it would start with a promotion of your live broadcast with a guest. Your followers are alerted to your live broadcast at the top of their Instagram news feed. When you use Instagram Live with a guest, your followers see two circles representing your Instagram account and your guest’s. Both your profile and your guest’s profile show two circles, as well as the Instagram Live indicator. Your broadcast will look like this. When viewers click the profile links at the top left, they get the option to view your profile or your guest’s profile. Depending on the popularity of your Instagram Live broadcast, it may show up in the top Instagram Live stories on the Search and Explore tab. Verified Instagram accounts and the Instagram Live broadcasts with the most viewers that best relate to your interests (based on Instagram usage habits) are listed first. The more live viewers you and your guest can attract, the higher you can move on the Top Live Instagram Stories screen and the more likely you are to attract new audiences on the Search and Explore tab. Now that you know what Instagram Live With Friends looks like to your followers and other Instagram users, let’s look at how to set up an Instagram Live With Friends broadcast for your business. #1: Plan and Promote Your Instagram Live in Advance To get the best visibility possible, plan and promote your Instagram Live With Friends broadcast. If you have an Instagram business account, you can use your Followers Insights to determine when your followers are online. Your guest can do the same if they also have a business account. Once you determine the best time to reach the majority of your followers and your guest’s, promote the live broadcast using a standard image or video post to your Instagram profile. Use this post to let your followers know when the live broadcast will happen, whom you intend to invite as your guest(s), and what viewers can expect. Add hashtags to the post to help it reach more people who may be interested in following your Instagram account and viewing your live broadcast. #2: Start Your Instagram Live Broadcast When you’re ready to start your Instagram Live broadcast, tap on the camera icon or profile photo in the Instagram Stories section at the top left of your Instagram news feed. At the bottom of the screen, move the slider to Live. Then tap on Start Live Video when you’re ready to go live. #3: Add a Guest to Your Instagram Live Once your guest begins viewing the broadcast, tap on the friends icon to the right of the comment box to add the guest to your live stream. Tap on the guest’s name in the Go Live With pop-up and tap Add to invite them to the broadcast. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see a notification that the guest is waiting to accept your invitation to go live. #4: Remove a Guest and Add Another Guest After your guest joins the broadcast, you’ll see your live video and theirs. You’ll also see the option to end the broadcast at the top right of your live video. If you want to remove the guest from the broadcast, tap the X at the top right of your guest’s live video. Then confirm that you want to remove the guest from your live broadcast. Now you can add and broadcast live with another guest. When you tap End to end your live video, you have the option to share it in Instagram Stories for the next 24 hours. If you don’t want to share your video after the original broadcast has ended, tap the slider and confirm you want to discard the video. #5: Promote the Live Replay on Instagram Stories If you choose to save your video to your Instagram stories, you can archive your original promotion of the broadcast and post a new update to let followers know they can catch your live video for the next 24 hours. After the 24-hour period is up, you can archive that post if you want. #6: Review Your Instagram Stories Analytics If you share your Instagram Live broadcast to Instagram Stories, you can view Stories Insights in your Instagram business account analytics. If you don’t see your story preview, tap on the See Older link to find it. You’ll find the best analytics during the 24-hour period that the Instagram story is displayed. These insights show the people who are viewing your Instagram story (everyone), as well as the impressions, reach, and other engagement metrics (Instagram business account holders only). To access this data, tap on the number of viewers for your Instagram story during the 24 hours it’s available, shown at the bottom left of your story. Everyone will see the number of viewers and a list of those viewers. Business account users can tap the Insights tab to get impressions, viewers, replies, and swipe-aways, as applicable. Conclusion Instagram Live With Friends lets everyone broadcast live with guests. Businesses can use this feature to host live interviews, AMA sessions, product launches, service demos, and more. Author: Kristi Hines...

November 29,2017ByDAVID VEGA

Snapchat Unveils Redesigned App Aimed at Separating Your Best Friends From Brand Content

Brands . social media

Following an op-ed shared on Axios earlier this morning by CEO Evan Spiegel, Snapchat has now unveiled its radical redesign with the goal of creating a personalized user experience that’s easier to navigate, particularly for new users (via TechCrunch). The app’s update will start to roll out to iOS and Android users on Friday, and will be introduced to everyone “within a few weeks.” The update aggregates both Stories and direct messages into one place, to the left of the main camera section of the app, and an algorithm sorts and prioritizes this section by “who you talk to and view most.” This personalized content is now separate from premium publishers, celebrity Snapchatters, and aggregated Story events in “Discover” to the right of the camera, where Stories were located previously. Images via TechCrunch According to Spiegel, this is an attempt to “separate the social from the media” and ensure that it’s simpler to keep up with your real friends and not be inundated with things you might not care about created by brands and influencers. With the upcoming redesign of Snapchat, we are separating the social from the media, and taking an important step forward towards strengthening our relationships with our friends and our relationships with the media. This will provide a better way for publishers to distribute and monetize their Stories, and a more personal way for friends to communicate and find the content they want to watch. The Discover area is curated by Snapchat employees but is also affected by an algorithm that will sort content based on your past viewing behavior, which Spiegel stated is inspired by Netflix’s recommendation algorithms. Spiegel said that research has shown “your past behavior is a far better predictor of what you’re interested in than anything your friends are doing,” referencing rival companies like Facebook and Twitter. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx1R-eHSkfM?rel=0] All of this borders the camera section of the app, which you’ll still see first when you open Snapchat. Navigation is made simpler thanks to icons that push you to specific sections of the app from this launch menu, including more obvious buttons for My Story, adding friends, Snap Map, and more. The biggest change comes on the Friends page and its combination of Stories and direct messages. When you come to this area of Snapchat, you’ll first see new Snaps and messages at the top, then Stories from close friends (who you watch and chat with the most), and then last will be other Stories from friends you don’t interact with as much. Auto-advancing is back but with a new quality of life fix that provides a brief title screen that pops up with the name of the next friend in the queue, which you can easily swipe to skip. Snapchat has been facing intense competition from Instagram and its own Stories feature, which it launched in August 2016. The Facebook-owned company’s version of Stories quickly caught on with users and eventually managed to capture more daily active users than Snapchat in less than a year. Author: Mitchel Broussard...

November 27,2017ByDAVID VEGA

You can now request to join someone’s Instagram live stream

Brands . social media

Instagram just rolled out a neat feature for its live product. Users can now request to join a live stream that they’re watching and, if accepted, can start broadcasting live as the host’s guest. To request to join a live video a viewer can tap a request button in the comments section. Hosts see the request pop up in real time and can accept or deny, and also have access to a list of pending requests in case a bunch of different people are trying to join in. Instagram had already let anyone streaming live invite a friend to join them, but by adding a request feature the possibilities for collaboration are greatly expanded. Imagine a celebrity “taking calls” from fans. With the ability to see all pending requests, a host could pick a fan to join them live at random, or even selectively pick someone who just made an insightful comment in the chat. Of course, there’s the worry that someone says something inappropriate when they join, but that’s not necessarily any riskier than allowing random people to comment on your posts. In an ideal world, Instagram would build in a feature like a 2- or 3-second delay that would let the host boot the guest if they said anything inappropriate, but for now it seems like hosts will just have to selectively screen their guests. The feature also should be helpful among friends. It shifts the burden for collaboration from host to guest, meaning a lot more people should try to participate, which results in a happier host and better overall content. Author: Fitz Tepper...

November 17,2017ByDAVID VEGA

Instagram Stories adds no-frills photo-only posting from mobile web

Brands . social media

Snap Chat Dead? Instagram Stories adds no-frills photo-only posting from the mobile web, as Instagram really wants the developing world to start using Storytelling with Brand Development. IG Users won’t be able to use Instagram’s augmented reality masks or share videos, but starting today (Nov. 16th, 2017) mobile web users can post to Instagram Stories. Previously, mobile web users could only view Stories, which have to be created in Instagram’s native apps. But now users can snap photos, overlay text captions, and share them with friends from mobile web, as well as Save posts they find in the feed and want to revisit later. Releasing soon in stages, everyone in the next few weeks will see a camera icon in the top left corner they can tap to shoot or upload a photo of their Story. Captions in different colors can then be laid on top. But videos and the rest of Instagram’s creative tools like doodling, stickers, location tags, polls, and more are still just in the native apps. Instagram says it plans to keep improving the creative tool offering on mobile web but it has nothing more to share right now. If Instagram can get its Stories institutionalized worldwide before Snapchat gets there, it could lock in a long-standing audience and be the end of the Ghost. Featured Image: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch...

November 14,2017ByDAVID VEGA

Microsoft unveils special Skype version for freelancers and small business

Brands . social media

Microsoft is creating a unique version of Skype for small business owners and freelancers. This is particularly useful for freelancers that might use Skype to provide tutorials, training, or consulting. “Skype Professional Account gives you the power to do all that from one app for free during the preview. From French tutors to yoga instructors, you’ll be able to book lessons, accept payments, and give lessons all from one place, seamlessly. Plus, we’ve added an enhanced profile page to help improve your online presence and a dedicated website for your small business right in Skype. Your contacts will be able to see pertinent info about your hours and business offerings.” – Skype Blog The new Skype version will let small business owners and freelancers book meetings and accept payments all within the same tool, instead of third-party alternatives. It’s not clear if Microsoft intends to run this as a free service once the preview is finished, but testers can sign-up to try it out over at Microsoft’s Skype homepage. All the features work together. For example, a payment request can be sent along with a booking. You’ll also be able to see all your notes without leaving the app. In addition, you’ll be able to easily port your contacts over to the Skype Professional Account Preview desktop client while your customers and clients continue to use their familiar Skype app to work with you. As for your customers, in addition to searching for friends and groups they want on Skype, they’ll be able to find businesses as well. That means they can now look for the kind of professional they want to work with. ...

October 31,2017ByDAVID VEGA

Instagram adds mid-feed preview tiles for Stories, tests new stop-motion camera feature

Brands . social media

Getting tired of the same old Instagram Stories? Get ready for stop motion, the newest feature in Instagram’s story camera. The tool allows you to take a series of photos, string them together into a short stop-motion video and post them to your story. You can edit the videos with filters, stickers, and texts, just like any other post to Stories. The Stop Motion feature is available inside the Story camera alongside other options like Boomerang and the recently released Superzoom tool. Stop Motion is not available for all users at the current time, but Instagram has confirmed it’s in testing. Over a year ago, Instagram rolled out its clone of Snapchat’s popular Stories feature and has since said that its version of Stories reaches over 250 million daily users. Now, Instagram is making a change to its iOS app that makes Stories even more prominent. While before, Stories were limited to a bar along the top of the app, Instagram is now placing much larger “preview tiles” of Stories in a user’s main feed. You’ll see the new tiles while scrolling throughout the feed, under a “Recent Stories” heading. You’ll see three rather large tiles next one another, with each one offering a quick preview of another user’s story and the option to tap to view the whole story....

July 19,2017ByDAVID VEGA

FACEBOOK MESSENGER MARKETING FOR BRANDS with ENGAGEMENT

Brands . social media

Summary: Introducing Messenger As an Ad Destination. Messenger is an amazing tool for brands to communicate with their customers. There is no doubt Email open rates have been on a steady decline the past few years. All while FB Messenger users are on the rise. The benefits using this new tool is you can broadcast specific messages to a specific segment within your Messenger audience by demographics already build in (tags, gender, location and other customized fields). So, if you’re a social media marketing manager and you help brands grow and engage their audience online, now you have another weapon in your arsenal. Messenger is an amazing tool for brands to communicate with their customers with a personal approach. ~ Tridence Make it Easy to get in Touch With Your Business Messenger gives your business a fast and convenient way for people to get in touch to schedule appointments, ask questions about your products and services and more. And it allows you to build personal connections with your customers. Now, you can create a Facebook News Feed ad that opens a Messenger conversation between your business and your prospective customer. Create an Ad How it Works When a person clicks or taps on your ad in News Feed, a conversation with your business will immediately open in the Messenger app (if the person is on a mobile device) or on the web (if the person is on a desktop computer). People can return to this message conversation at any time on any device with Messenger installed to continue the conversation. Promote Your New Offerings Use your ad to promote new or seasonal offerings and engage your customers in a personal real-time conversation. Tip: Use a greeting message, that people will see when the Messenger conversation opens, to start a conversation with your customers and let them know when to expect a response from you. Offer a Discount Use News Feed ads that open a Messenger conversation as a unique way to provide a coupon code and a personalized experience for your customers. Tip: Save time by using saved replies for the common questions you answer such as store hours or location. Saved replies are templates of messages you can create and save and then reuse when responding to your Page’s messages. Get Started Go to ads creation in Ads Manager or Power Editor Choose Traffic or Conversions objective (Note: Traffic may appear as Send people to your website for some advertisers) Choose your campaign name and click Continue Choose your audience, budget, and placement. Note: You cannot use Instagram as a placement option when selecting Messenger as a destination At the ad level, choose your format. You can choose Carousel, Single Image, Single Video or Slideshowformat Choose the Page you want to connect Choose Messenger as your destination Choose a welcome message. When people click on your ad, they will automatically be directed to Messenger and receive a copy of your ad and the welcome message. After you’ve reviewed your ad, click Place Order Keep in mind: Your ad to open conversations in Messenger won’t appear to people on mobile who don’t have the Messenger app. ~ Tridence...

June 13,2017ByDAVID VEGA

What Is the New Archive Feature in Google Photos?

Brands . social media

If you’re a Google Photos user, you’ve may have seen a new feature called “Archive” show up in the app’s sidebar. if not, don’t stress—it’s just now rolling out and not everyone has it yet. Since it’s new, here’s a quick look at what it is, why you want it, and how to use it. In short, this is a way to keep your Photos more organized—it’s really not that different than archiving emails in Gmail. You can archive photos that you don’t want in your main stream, but still keep them stored online. They’ll still show up in search, as well as in any albums you may have them in. It’s simply a way to keep things clean and clutter-free in Google Photos. Using it is just as simple. This should work the same way on both Android and iOS. Go ahead and fire up Photos. To make sure you have the feature, pull open the left side menu, and look for “Archive.” You can tap it if you’d like, but there won’t be anything there since you likely haven’t archived anything yet. To start archiving photos you’d like to keep out of your stream, go ahead and long-press one, then select any others you’d like to add. Tap the three dots in the top right corner, then choose “Archive.” Just like that, they’ll disappear from the main Photos view and be moved to the Archive section. Super simple. Once you’ve archived the first few photos, a new option should also appear under the Assistant tab that allows you to “Clear the Clutter.” This may not show up immediately, but you should receive a notification when it’s ready. Basically, this is a sort of “smart” archive feature that will pick things you may not want to keep in the main view—screenshots, receipts, etc. Tap “Review Suggestions” to take a closer look. Everything is pre-selected and ready to be archived as soon as you open this view, but feel free to scroll through and make sure you’re cool with all this stuff being hidden. After you review everything, just give the “Archive” button in the top right a tap. Poof! Just like that, a bunch of clutter is gone. If you ever archive a photo and realize that you want it back in your main feed, go ahead and jump into the Archive screen, long press the photo, tap the three dots in the top right, and choose “Unarchive.” It’s almost like that makes sense. Author: By Cameron Summerson on June 13th, 2017 Facebook Page: Tridence...