IGTV-on-Instagram_-Why-it-should-be-utilized-for-long-videos--700

Even since it was launched, Instagram has swept social media by storm. Users love it for its simplicity, interactive user interface, and photo editing tools. The app makes it easy for users to connect with friends, family, and businesses by using pictures and videos. However as Instagram became more popular, the need for better video-sharing tools was apparent. To that end, IGTV on Instagram service was introduced on the platform.

The IGTV feature within Instagram allows users to upload videos on Instagram with lengths ranging between 15 seconds and up to 60 minutes. Marketers often prefer short and to the point videos, often less than 2 minutes. However, the interactive tools of IGTV combined with the love for video content that has emerged by users has resulted in the need for more and longer videos. The average U.S adult spends more than 6 hours a day watching video! This creates a unique opportunity for marketers to use IGTV for spreading detailed and interactive content.

What’s exciting about IGTV on Instagram?

Even before focusing on length, you should be aware of how IGTV makes video marketing more exciting. IGTV is within Instagram and also a stand-alone app. Allowing you to upload and edit videos on the Instagram platform. The Instagram and IGTV apps natively integrate to distribute content to your followers. IGTV is flexible and easy to use- especially for business marketers. You now have the opportunity to upload long videos in multiple resolutions for your audience. However, all videos must be in MP4 format and there are size limitations for different lengths, 10min (650MB) and 60-minute videos (3.6GB).

So why should you use IGTV for your video marketing needs? The interactive UI and features that have made IGTV grow can also be applied to your marketing strategy. With 78% of total mobile traffic coming in the form of video, IGTV presents a unique opportunity for you to connect with your target audience.

Videos uploaded on IGTV can also be in a vertical or horizontal format. This means that you have the freedom to optimize your message and attract viewers on one of the most popular social media platforms.

Why you should use it for long videos

Since Instagram has become popular and used by those from 12-55 years old, the platform was known for short, sweet videos that were straight to the point. However, the emergence of IGTV allows for longer videos and an episode type format. Users are constantly searching for interactive content that addresses their needs and attracts interest. As a marketer, you have more freedom to experiment with longer videos that can break down complex messages into digestible chunks.

Drive engagement

A recent study revealed that videos 15minutes in length (and longer) drove 50% engagement. This means that viewers value long-form videos that are more engaging and tailored towards addressing their needs.

B2B marketers are in one of the best positions to benefit from long IGTV videos. Because the buying cycle is longer in the B2B space, long-form videos can be used to present value for complicated products/services. Such value should be intertwined with engaging, creative, and valuable content that users will want to share with their friends.

Build your brand

In addition to better explaining products/services, long IGTV videos are also an excellent way of building your brand. The tools and traffic available for editing IG videos allow you to set yourself apart from competitors. Not only can you communicate value, but you can also connect with your followers and make your social media presence stronger.

Longer IGTV videos also present the opportunity for you to go live and interact with your audience in real-time. This organic process is excellent when discussing specific topics or generating interest around a new product.

By utilizing the unique features of IGTV on Instagram for your brand marketing, you can increase your potential reach and connect directly with potential consumers. Using IGTV can you to build your fan base and your community while sharing valuable content for your consumers.


Looking for help? Tired and believing there has got to be a better way?

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Facebook had their big, annual F8 Conference this past week where they announce new features and things coming in the year ahead. As usual, lots of new and interesting items.  This was particularly a big year as Facebook had suspended the new app program for a time after the Cambridge Analytics data fiasco.

Facebook Dating

“This is going to be for building real long-term relationships alright- not just hookups,” said Mark Zuckerberg at the annual F8 Conference.

Facebook is adding an opt-in dating feature which will allow single people to create a profile that their friends can’t see. Not much else has been released on what the dating feature will include but it has already caused a stir for online dating.

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While this isn’t really business related per se; if they have ads in the dating app then restaurants, concerts, and other date spots may have an easy audience.  For Facebook and businesses, it’s about keeping people on Facebook and being able to deliver ads to the right target audience. The more Facebook “places”, the more ad options.

Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality

Augmented reality continues to become a bigger thing in the social media world and it’s only going to get bigger. Currently, users can do many different kinds of selfie filters, but new features will be rolling out to Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger to include “tricks.. like fill a room with liquid or add virtual steam to a real cup of coffee.” An example is a company such as Sephora can use it as a way to virtually allow people to try on makeup, or Nike can use it as a way to give a 360° close-up look of shoes to help in the buying process.

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What does AR mean for you and your business? Keep your eyes open and keep learning about it...it’s coming!  With AR you will be able to easily create content with drag and drop elements. This will allow you to expand the way you market and promote products on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. Customers can get a better idea of how your product looks (like Nike) and even test it out (like Sephora) before purchasing.

Messenger

“There are 300k monthly active bots and this year alone, more than eight billion messages have been sent between people and businesses each month.” That is just a mind-blowing number!  With Facebook’s Messenger now able to be embedded on your website, the bots will be getting even more messages. This will also allow you to continue chatting with the prospective customer even after they have left your website.

Facebook also announced “in-Messenger” translation is rolling out slowly starting with English/Spanish, enabling auto-translation of messages and helping business/customer conversations and connections.

Bottomline

This is huge in allowing businesses the ability to keep in contact with the prospective customer via Facebook Messenger even on their business website.  It’s Facebook getting into the “website chat” arena. You will be able to send messages that could ultimately turn that prospective customer into a real customer.  With the addition of translation, more barriers are removed and the world becomes a closer place!

 

Instagram

Video Chat

Lots of people use Instagram’s live streaming, and now Instagram is adding a group chat video feature to live stream. This allows the user to be able to video chat to select individuals. This is another way that Instagram is expanding to connect people together.

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Coaches get ready to do some live coaching on Instagram. This chat can be used for interview shows on Instagram or teaching to a small group.  It’s opening up a whole new way to train and interact with customers and your community.

Bio Links

Frustrated with only being able to have one bio link on your Instagram account? Well, there are tools out there that you can use to add links to your profile to generate traffic. Five tools for increasing your bio links are Linktree for Instagram, Leadpages, Lnk.bio, Link In Profile, and Short Stack.

Bottomline

“If you frequently publish a lot of content and want to keep your audience updated, adding multiple Instagram bio links helps ensure your audience can quickly find your information.” Having multiple links in your bio also helps increase the opportunities to drive your audience to other accounts, blogs, videos, podcasts and more without causing you to change your bio link everytime you want to promote something new.

 

So that’s a quick wrap on some of the key updates in the social media world the past two weeks!  I’ll be back with another wrap-up in two weeks to keep you updated. Any of these social media updates really stand out to you or raise questions for you?  Let me know!

 

Change is the name of the game in social media!  To be an adept social media marketer you MUST keep up with the constant changes that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the other social media networks make.

In this review, we cover some of the latest and most important updates from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that rolled out in the past 2 weeks.

Facebook Video Best Practices

Best practices and updates on video and monetization

Facebook has been moving towards giving preference to video for some time now.  However, this is THE FIRST TIME they actually shared a specific guide to help! They have outlined best practices for shows and videos to engage a loyal audience.

Here are a few of their headlines and be sure to click through for the full details:

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We keep encouraging businesses to be aware that to win on Facebook you need to use some video.  And, now, Facebook gives you a roadmap for how to do this! That’s H-U-G-E! Pay attention to this.

Key point: Engaging, consistent content that is connected (like episodes in a TV season).  Things should build on each other and reference past videos.

Instagram Nametags and Focus

Instagram Nametags, its clone of Snapchat QR codes

[clickToTweet tweet="Click to Tweet! 'Instagram nametags will allow quick access to your Instagram account. By using the Instagram Stories camera, users will be able to scan a special image that you create and which has your account username in the center.'" quote="Click to Tweet! 'Instagram nametags will allow quick access to your Instagram account. By using the Instagram Stories camera, users will be able to scan a special image that you create and which has your account username in the center.'"]

Bottomline

This is another welcomed Snapchat copycat idea!  It means that businesses can more easily promote their Instagram account visually in the ever-more-popular Stories area. They can promote their nametag on other social media platforms as well, and even have it printed out on posters and merchandise.

All people have to do is scan the nametag to follow you.  It’s a win for businesses on Instagram. We’ll watch for the full roll-out of this tool and recommend specific ways you can use it to grow your Instagram following.

Time spent on Instagram continues to grow as this social network moves forward with strong momentum.

Introducing Focus for Instagram

Focus is a new feature in the Instagram camera. You will notice that when you take a selfie or a picture of a person, the person stays in focus while the background is softly blurred out.  It’s a nice effect.

Bottomline

This tool will allow you to focus on a person in an image and in a video. It will be another tool that you can use to create unique stories for your business. It’s just another advancement and powerful tool in your pocket to help you provide high-quality content and a great experience to your community.

Twitter Rules for SM Managers

What Do the New Twitter Rules Mean for Social Media Managers

The new Twitter rules are in place to help keep Twitter free from spam by preventing you from posting to multiple accounts, multiple similar tweets, multiple tweets to a trending topic, and simultaneously perform actions such as Likes, Retweets, or follow multiple accounts. This takes away an efficiency many people used to share the same tweet to multiple accounts but it was needed.  Why? Spammers.

You’ll see this change in any Twitter tool you use.

Bottomline

Two big changes are that you can no longer select multiple twitter accounts to post to and you can’t use the drag-and-drop copy feature to copy posts to another Twitter Queue.  Plan for a bit more time in scheduling your tweets!

 

That’s a wrap this week on important updates for you in the social media marketing space!  Any thoughts on these changes and updates to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? Let me know!

 

Want to get alerted to these updates via email in your inbox?  Sign-up for my email list (2 emails a week) and I’ll also give you my free guide to Facebook Live success!

Facebook and Instagram continue to evolve and make changes....most being good for marketing purposes!  Here's a few of the latest key changes for Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook

Facebook Adds Admin Privileges to Messenger

Admin privileges within Facebook Messenger give you more control by allowing you to approve new members of a Message Group, remove members, and change any other person in the group chat as an admin.  It’s very similar to what exists in Facebook Groups currently.

Bottomline

It means Messenger is growing up and becoming more of a broader mass chat tool.  It is helpful for larger message groups, to be able to add team members who can approve members before they join your chat.  This is a move by Facebook to make group chat more of a business tool, a way for a business to have a “quick access” communication method to their core clients/community.  Think of it as a new tool more narrowly focused than an email marketing blast and definitely more geared towards interactive exchanges.

Facebook Adds Joinable Links to Messenger

Joinable Links allows easy access for people to join your Messenger chat group by creating custom links to share with others.

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Note the theme of new Messenger tools to make Messenger more mainstream for Page use and group chat?  You can give share link to a person or group of people to join a conversation and they can be added to the group automatically or by admin approval with just one tap.  Keep your eye on Messenger as it becomes a new means to communicate. Think of it first more for small groups, like your team, or a customer testing group for new products, etc.  A way to offer personalization and fast communication.

Facebook Helping People Better Assess Stories in News Feed

Facebook is adding a feature to help people have more accurate information to decide what to read, trust and share in their news feed.  Can we say “Fake News Reaction”??

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Facebook knows they have lost trust and ground with missteps on the security of information and ease of fake news being published.  This is a corrective measure. This helps people verify stories they read by providing more context about the article, publisher, the same topic, how many times it’s been shared, and ability to follow publisher’s page.  Not really a business-specific tool at this point but an important move and one to watch.

Instagram

A Better Shopping Experience on Instagram

Get ready for more of a “seamless store experience on Instagram.” From Instagram:

 

“In November, we began testing a new shopping experience that made it easier for people to find, evaluate and track relevant products on Instagram. Posts with tags have an icon that makes discovery simple. If a product catches your eye, there’s a space to explore, where you can easily tap to see more details from products featured in posts, and even click to a business’s website if you’re ready to buy.”

 

Now expanding to more businesses are product tags that provide more detailed information on the product when tapped and allow for a smooth way to see products and make purchases.

Bottomline

This is BIG! This was only available to a few select businesses, but with its success, it will be expanding to more businesses.  You still must be approved in order to have this feature. Details here.  This will begin a big move to enable e-commerce on Instagram.  There is a setup curve that businesses will face but this is a big leap forward and change for Instagram as a whole.  What would it be like for your business to have an easy way for Instagram followers to swipe, click, view, and buy right on Instagram!

Providing Full-Screen Support for All Ads in Instagram Stories

This takes the businesses ad post and automatically provides a full-screen option of the content in Instagram Stories fashion.  Via the Instagram Blog:

How It Works

"When a business uploads a single photo or a video under 15 seconds within Instagram Feed aspect ratios, Instagram will automatically provide full-screen support for this content on Instagram Stories."

Bottomline

It’s never been easier for businesses to create Instagram stories from their posts.  A nice innovation and it makes advertising on Instagram a more attractive destination for businesses.  This is something we’ll be experimenting with.

That’s the bottom line on a few of the latest social media updates that I believe can impact your business and organization marketing!  Check out the links for more information. My aim is to give you a quick “cheat-sheet” that adds value!

Instagram and Facebook Updates for January 4th
Happy New Year! I hope you have set your goals and are organized to achieve them in 2018.

Even though the changes slowed down over the holidays  … there are still a few to share in the ever-evolving world of social media marketing!

Facebook Updates

Facebook Adds a Snooze Button

This new Facebook feature will snooze people, pages, and groups for 30 days. Account users now have more control over their newsfeed.

Bottomline

This is an issue for businesses. Now that organic reach is down to practically nothing, anything that keeps a businesses posts from being seen is not good.  People can “snooze” you if they're tired of your content!  Up your content game with video in 2018!

Find Out if You’ve Liked Russian Troll Accounts

Sign into your Facebook account and go to this tool, https://www.facebook.com/help/817246628445509 Instantly you can see if you followed any Russian Troll Accounts

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This doesn’t affect businesses .. unless they’ve been flagged as a Russian Troll account. This is more about a community service announcement that we don’t want to help Russian troll accounts!

Facebook Ad Image Sizes for 2018

Using Facebook Ads?  You should be!

What matters most?  Your image or video in the ad!

Here are the latest Ad sizes for Facebook courtesy of AdEspresso.

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Use these image sizes to optimize your Facebook Ads and make sure your ads look sharp and get clicks.  This is critical to capturing the “eye” of the user in the news feed!

Instagram Updates

Send a Live Video in Direct

Send a live video directly to a friend or group of friends. When you’re live click the Direct icon at the bottom of the screen and send your video. It will land in your friend's inbox.

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A business can use this feature to send followers special offers or new product videos directly to a followers inbox. This is a very promising feature!

Instagrams Adds Recommended Posts to a Feed

Instagram is adding an additional feed, Recommended Posts. It will contain 3 to 5 suggestions.

Bottomline

Your products and services could get new eyeballs and clicks. This will be a good thing if people check the new feed.

While there weren’t that many changes this past 2 weeks, who knows what 2018 will bring?

Are we connected on social?  Find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mikegdigital, Instagram at @mikegingerich and on Twitter at @Mike_Gingerich.

Facebook Updates for December 7th

Holy moly it’s already December! Weren't we just watching fireworks? Lol!

This is my favorite time of year. Even with all the hustle and bustle, we take the time to be with family and friends. And we get great food and special events along the way in the holiday season!

Just because it’s the holiday season doesn’t mean social media updates slow down!  In fact, we’ve had quite a few significant updates in the past few weeks.  Here a number of them:

Facebook

Facebook Local

Facebook recently relaunched its Event app as Facebook Local. (This is different from Facebook Events in Facebook. This is a stand alone app.) The Local app combines Events and Places and is geared to be a “Yelp” challenger.

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There’s a lot of searching power in this new app. View upcoming events or places to visit in list or map view. Local business pages, their reviews, and check-ins will be included in the apps data set.

Users can group results by causes, theater, food, movies, fitness, music, parties and more! It will be the easy and quick way to find something to do in your local area for the weekend and maybe the only Facebook app you need.  Will it compete with Yelp?  Time will tell but it’s got the userbase already to do that!

Customer Chat Now Open and in Beta for Facebook Messenger

This is an awesome opportunity to quickly respond to customer inquiries in Facebook Messenger. The marketing strategy of using lead pages has just evolved. Now, instead of directing fans to a website lead page, use a messenger bot to communicate the benefits and answer questions before a sale in an interactive manner.

Bottomline

A friend created a bot for a program she’s selling and I was able to see her beta test before she went live. Her bot asked leading questions and replied to answers just like the bot was human. (Congrats to her for using a great script for the bot.) I initiated the conversation with the bot because I was curious, but the encounter and the messaging I received moved me forward in the sales funnel and I signed up for her course! Lol

Facebook Will Test Ads at the Beginning of Videos

I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. As a consumer, I hate ads of any type. As a marketer, I understand that these ads work. YouTube has proven that people will sit through and tolerate these ads.

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These will be very short ads right at the start of a video so people are guaranteed to see them. I see these ads as being valuable for brand recognition and exposure.  Stay tuned for the rollout!

Facebook Messenger Kids

Created just for kids ages 13 and under, this app is privacy-focused and designed to eliminate child predator threats while giving the young a way to get started on Facebook. The app will have SnapChat like features and let kids text and video chat with parent-approved friends. Kids won’t sign up for a Facebook account and don’t need a phone number to use the app.

Kids will be able to join family group chats so staying in touch with Grandpa and Grandma will be easy now.

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The app has been created with help of the FTC. Special proactive safety filters will prevent nudity, sexual content or violence from being shown on the app. There is no monetization planned for the app, meaning no ads!  Will it take off?  I’m not sure yet.  Younger kids text and they are jumping on apps like Instagram.  Will they want to Message within this app or have it just in case they need to use it to chat with grandparents?  Time will tell.

Instagram

Archive and Highlight your Favorite Expired Instagram Stories

A brand new announcement that is HUGE! Instagram Stories are now going to be automatically archived to a private part of your profile after they disappear (24 hours).  This means you’ll be able to access them but also pull pieces together to display a non-disappearing highlight Story.

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This could be HUGE for marketers.  Use your stored Stories to create an even better source of information for your products and services. And it’s easy for fans to view these collections, they will show up in a horizontal bar across the top of your profile.

This is a “win” and shows Instagram is seriously upping their game.  This takes it beyond SnapChat for sure.

Twitter

Twitter Lite Now Available

In countries where mobile use is abundant but data plans are expensive Twitter Lite is the answer. The app loads faster on slower connections and is more stable on unreliable networks. The app size has been reduced so it doesn’t take up too much memory.

Bottomline

Countries where cell connections are unreliable and data plans are expensive will now get the benefit of one of the world's largest news sources, Twitter. Hopefully, this will help families communicate with one another even though they may be far apart.

This is the first social media update for December. I expect lots of changes for the rest of the year and going into next year. Social media never stays still!

Stay tuned and happy holidays!  Are we connected on social?  Find me on Facebook at https:fb.com/mikegdigital, Instagram at @mikegingerich and on Twitter at @Mike_Gingerich.

What is Repost for Instagram and How Do You Use It-315

Do you see posts on Instagram from customers you would like to share for your business? Or, have you ever gotten a little frustrated with the inability to share your finds with your audience? The Repost app for Instagram lets you do just that.

How Does the Repost App Work?

Just as Facebook allows you to share and Twitter lets you retweet, the Repost app helps you easily share Instagram posts that others have posted. According to The Small Business Blog, it’s a quick and simple way to use “user generated content” that can help your page perform better.  How? Here are the steps:

  1. Download the app.
  2. Open the Instagram app and locate the desired Instagram feed.
  3. Tap the post you wish to share.
  4. Open the sharing options (the three dots) for the post.
  5. Click "Copy Share URL".
  6. Once successfully copied, you'll receive a confirmation.
  7. Open Repost again. The copied post will be there.
  8. Select the copied post.
  9. Tap Repost.
  10. Tap "Copy to Instagram". This will send you back the native Instagram app.
  11. From there, you can add your own captions and tag the photo's owner.
  12. Just hit "Share" and you're done.

Learning how to repost on Instagram presents loyal Instagram users with a myriad of benefits that enhance their overall experience on the app. Anyone who’s been on Instagram for a while knows that reposting is not only an Instagram function but a powerful networking tool that helps users build relationships. It allows you to connect with other creators and admire their work – on your profile.

The beauty of Repost is that it adds more functionality to the Instagram app while also allowing you the chance to give credit and the proper due to the original poster. Let's cover why exactly reposting is beneficial in the first place.

The Benefits of Reposting

Reposting offers a chance to diversify your content and grow your Instagram Likes. You probably go through hours of creating and editing the text and photos that you post. Reposting lets you gain exposure for your brand while posting another's content. It also allows you to build in-roads with your own followers. Obviously, to succeed on Instagram businesses, you need to get active followers on Instagram. And to be honest, to achieve this goal, you not only need to use an Instagram followers app, but also must keep consistent which can be done properly by reposting content.

For example, a customer-base that sees their content being reposted may feel their voice is being heard by your brand. Having their work posted on a larger platform can feel rewarding.

Sharing user-generated content from top instagram accounts allows you to harness the power of social media. On Instagram, followers are typically more engaged with a brand. Therefore, encourage your followers to create content and to use your brand hashtags.

Building with your followers offers an opportunity to expand your brand and follower base on a more personal level. Think about what resonates with today’s audience. Keep an eye on your Instagram dashboard to see their activities on your posts, to understand their needs and expectations.

With social media users placing a higher premium on influencers, having a customer post their honest, positive review of your products helps builds your brand’s credibility as well as trust among followers.

With an app like Repost, you can tap into the benefits of the Instagram platform for your marketing efforts!

When needing other web and app tools to help you improve your digital work and particularly content marketing work, a tool like BuzzSumo can help.  See this Buzzsumo review for more details.

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Facebook Updates for September 7

There are some exciting changes from the past several weeks. I’ve collected the ones I think will impact your business the most.

Facebook

Facebook Blocks Ads that Repeatedly Share False News

Facebook is on a mission to reduce hoaxes and false news. Now if Pages repeatedly share news that has been categorized as false by third party fact checking organizations they won’t be allowed to place ads on Facebook.

Bottomline

If you don’t share false news then there will be no impact. But if you do share questionable news stories, then don’t expect to be able to place ads for your business, which may have an impact on your bottom line.

Facebook is now Showing News Publisher Logos

To further their mission to eradicate false news from their news streams, Facebook has begun to show the logo of the news publisher in the search and trending area.

Bottomline

This will help businesses that share news on their own page feed spot questionable sources and channels quickly and easily.

Create Your Facebook Cover from a 360 Photo

360-degrees photos are well supported by Facebook and they’ve even given you the ability to take 360-degrees photos inside the Facebook app itself. Now you can use your 360-degree photo for your cover photo. It’s the first support update that Facebook has made to the cover photo area since it introduced cover images.

Bottomline

This is excellent news for businesses whose products have a visual component, like Nat’l Parks, Wedding Planners and venues, adventuring and landscaping companies. Anyone that needs to show off a large area of grounds or event will benefit from using 360-degree photos.

Instagram

Use Landscape and Portrait Formats in Multiple Image Posts

Woo Hoo! Free to use the all the images you take no matter what! This has always been a bit of a pain … using only horizontal (landscape) images for a post. This improvement makes it so easy to add multiple images and get my point across.

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I’m for anything that will save me time and brain cells. Now I don’t have to think about the picture format when I’m taking pics, I can use the best format for the shot.

Age Demographics for the US and UK

eMarketer forecasts that in the US and UK we’ll see a double digit rise of Snapchat and Instagram usage. Facebook use for ages 12 to 17 and 18 to 24 will fall. Overall usage for Instagram will grow 23.8% in 2017 alone! In the under 12 and 12 to 17 user, SnapChat will have even more younger users than Instagram.

Bottomline

Parents in the US and the UK are letting younger children use SnapChat and Instagram. So if your business counts on these age groups for sales, SnapChat and Instagram are excellent places to be and to advertise.

LinkedIn

Active Status Now Live in LinkedIn

Active status has been added to LinkedIn. Now you can see who’s online and signed into LinkedIn. Now you will get notified immediately to when someone messages you.

Bottomline

This is excellent for relationship building and hiring potential contractor and vendors. No more drumming your fingers on the desk waiting for an answer.

Google

Edit Your Business Listing in Google Search

Yesterday Google rolled out a new dashboard that allows businesses to change their Google Business Listing directly in the search engine. Add and update contact information, opening hours, photos, and more directly from the search engine.

Bottomline

Now it will be easy to keep an eye on, update and maintain your most important business account, your Google Business Listing.

That's a snapshot on what's changed recently! Anything stand out to you?

Social Media and Facebook Updates for week ending 615

Social Media platforms do not remain static. They shift and evolve and as a marketer, it's important to keep up. Here are recent changes I cover from Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook social media updates that have happened in the past two weeks!

Stay abreast, sign-up for my weekly email updates!

Twitter

Twitter Now Filters DMs From People You Don't Know

Now your Twitter direct message inbox is more like text messages on your phone.  Messages from people you know and follow will go into your inbox. Messages from people you don't follow will go into the requests area.

Bottomline

It’s a nice addition to make Twitter’s interface for user-friendly.  It’s taken them far too long to get to this but it’s a nice move to help us.

Facebook

Add a post, not just photos to Facebook albums

Now you can add videos, check-ins and text posts to albums. Show off your favorite collection in a "featured" album. Or follow your friend's album to get notified when they're updated. Create a collaborative album and easily add contributors.

Bottomline

Run an event? Add an Album for the event and let your volunteers post pics and text testimonials from the attendees. This way you'll have a wealth of info for next years event.  It’s a valuable way to capture and retain more types of content per album.  Another move by Facebook to make things “sticky” so we keep coming back!

As a side note … Facebook Messenger emoji’s have been used 2 Billion times in their first 2 months in the app! Now that’s a success!

Facebook’s AI now assists in Spanish

Facebook Messenger’s artificial intelligence assistant “M” will make recommendations in Spanish if it detects Spanish as the user's language of choice. This new feature scans the words and intent of a message, then give suggestions for Messenger’s many features, like emoji's or payment buttons. This feature is available for US users with their language set to Spanish and in Mexico.

Bottomline

Since most of the world doesn't use English as their native language Facebook added a translation capability to their news feed. Spanish is the language with the second most native speakers after Chinese so it's only natural that Facebook would add Spanish capabilities.  It’s just another big bonus from Facebook to “make the world a more connected place” and it shows they are not sitting still but helping marketers….remember when they help marketers they help themselves though as well because we are the ones that create ads and use AI!

Instagram

Instagram Connects to Facebook Messenger

This button will redirect users to Facebook Messenger to interact with potential customers. This lets account holders to use Messenger Bots to improve the customer experience.

Bottomline

This is BIG!

Since most people have a Facebook Messenger mobile app it's now seamless and easy to interact with potential customers whether they're on Facebook or Instagram. Facebook Messenger also accepts payments between friends and for gaming and eCommerce. It just a small jump to selling from Instagram.  This is a huge cross-platform leap, enabling seamless movement from one social media network, Instagram, to Facebook’s Messenger.  This is the start of more to come!

Hide your Instagram photos indefinitely with the archive feature

Now everyone can hide photos on Instagram thanks to the new archive feature. The photo has to be published, at least for 1 second and then you can archive it.

Bottomline

Hide photos that didn't get much traction or hide photos of the ex. Use this feature as a way to store photos for the future.

Google

Google’s smart keyboard app, Gboard adds phrase suggestions and draw-an-emoji

While this isn't a social media network update per say, Gboard does make posting to your social media network a little bit easier.

Bottomline

It's just cool! And makes texting and posting from your smartphone quicker and easier. It's my all time favorite keyboard with the ability to swipe to spell a word and built in gifs.

That’s a bit of the key news and tidbits that have happened recently.

Stay tuned and stay in the know...sign-up here!

This week in Social Media March 16th

Facebook

Facebook Live additional capabilities

You can now go "Live" on a friend's profile. Here's how ... Go to their page and click to write on their timeline, then select "go live". From there you can invite others to join in and watch you.

Not sure what Facebook has planned for the future of this feature. It’s a great tool to wish someone a birthday!  I wanted to keep you all informed of the update.

Bottomline

Great for coaches to leave an encouraging message for their clients. Not sure there will too many businesses uses as you’re posting from a personal profile to personal profile at this point.

Facebook Messenger Day

To compete with SnapChat Facebook has rolled out Messenger Day. This Snapchat clone has over 5,000 effects, filters and more that you can add to photos and videos within your Messenger App. And just like Snapchat, Messenger Day items last only for 24 hours. It’s available in the Messenger app.

Bottomline

Businesses can use Messenger Day exactly like they use Snapchat.  Whether it’s adopted and begins to compete with SnapChat is yet to be seen.  It’s a move by Facebook to offer a comparable tool, which they also offer in a somewhat similar fashion in Instagram Stories.

New Inbox for Facebook and Instagram

Now businesses that use Instagram and Facebook only have 1 place to go to get Messenger messages, Facebook posts, and Instagram comments. Now you don’t have to sign into multiple accounts to keep abreast of what is going on.

Bottomline

You’ll save time and effort with this new inbox. And saving time is always a good thing.

Instagram

These are not new, but totally worth a mention. Check out Instagram’s tools, Layout, Boomerang, and Hyperlapse.  These are unique apps and features within the Instagram App itself.

Layout

Create one of a kind photos from your phone by combining, flipping and mirroring multiple photos into a single image.

Boomerang

Create mini-videos that do just that...boomerang!  They go out and come back.  It’s a catchy way to share content.

Hyperlapse

This app fixes shaky footage for you to create smooth timelapse videos.

Bottomline

These in phone apps make it easy for small businesses to create a polished presentation. The more polished your presentation the more professional your business looks to potential clients.

Show your production process using Hyperlapse to get your customers familiar with your product and quality.

Instagram Stories Ads are now available for all businesses

These ads are run through Facebook’s Power Editor and Ads Manager. These are cost per impression ads and support website clicks, website conversions and mobile app installs. The impression is measured as soon as the ads appear, which is different from Facebook video ads that must run for 3 seconds before the impression is counted. The viewer will know the video is an ad because of the small sponsored tag at the bottom center of the screen. The ads are skippable.

Bottomline

It will depend on your audience if these ads will be successful for your business. If your audience is on Instagram and views Instagram Stories, these ads are a good gamble.

Partner Tags

In an effort to keep influencers from breaking FCC regulations Instagram has rolled out Partner Tags. These tags allow brands to their promotional partners. This is still in the Beta stage, so don’t expect to see it on your page.

Bottomline

This will hopefully keep brands honest and make it easier for them to comply to FCC regulations.

Pinterest

Lens

This is the awesome new visual search tool for Pinterest. Point Lens at the item you want to search for and tap to find the item and related searches. Lens is still in Beta and it’s still learning what’s what.

Bottomline

This has great potential to help people find products, how to use the products, additional items needed or that coordinate with the product. This could turn into a sales tool that automatically upsells to the next level when the AI is trained and works as planned.

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instagram-business-profiles-updated-tools-1

If you've been using Instagram to market your business or were thinking about it, there’s news that’s good for businesses!  With the large number of businesses using the platform, the Instagram team has now released business profiles on Instagram. Making the most informed business decisions based on your Instagram activity is no longer a guessing game. Instagram Insights is here!

What You'll Need to Get Started With an Instagram Business Profile

You'll need a Facebook page already dedicated to your business to create an Instagram Business Profile. Why are these connected?  Due to the fact that Facebook owns Instagram and is keeping them combined.  Next, open the Instagram app on your smartphone.  Simply tap the icon of your picture at the bottom right corner of your device's screen to begin the process and complete as followed:

Using the New Instagram Business Profile Tools to Your Advantage

One of the first things you'll notice is the ability to add business contact information to your Instagram account. This means you don't have to rely on customers clicking your website's link, anymore. You can add your location as well. Potential clients or customers can now reach you via email, text, and phone.  Instagram pulls this information in directly from your Facebook Page.

Possibly the most profound addition to business profiles is Insights. Insights is a built-in analytics tool used to monitor several important factors that have a direct effect on sales made through the platform. It gives you the ability to analyze your views, website clicks and followers. Instagram Insights help to find information about the location your posts are viewed and age and gender demographics.

You can promote any post you choose for your desired duration and budget to get more visibility on the platform as well. You also have the ability to target users at large, or to specify demographics, including the age of users, gender, location, and specific interests so that your promoted post reaches your exact, ideal audience.

Even if you're new to digital marketing, the business profile is simple to setup from your existing Instagram account, and with the analytics, paid ads, and accessibility, it’s a no-brainer to move to the business profile. You don't have to create Instagram posts, hoping the right demographic in the right location sees them and purchases from your website. With an Instagram business profile, you can now be proactive in making it happen!

the instagramexpert on Instagram- instagram_com_theinstagramexpert

I believe that all professionals should know how powerful Instagram for business can be.

However, just having an account isn’t enough. I’m here to share 6 ways to improve your Instagram account and help you develop a powerful Instagram presence. It’s important to make your Instagram profile as easy to view and navigate as possible if you’re looking to gain an audience and network on and offline. My goal is to aid you in representing your brand in the best way possible and increase traffic to your profile—and subsequently, your business.

NOTE: Sue B. Zimmerman will be a speaker at my September event, the Doable Social Summit.  She's one of a group of trusted leaders sharing practical tactics to grow leads and sales online. Sept. 15-26.  All online, includes a LinkedIn private group and video recording of each session. Learn more about the Doable Social Summit.

6 Ways to Improve your Instagram Marketing:

1.  Create a Rockin' Bio

Included in your bio should be a concise description of what you or your business does. This, combined with your photo content, is how people will decide whether to follow you back or not, so you want your description to be engaging and a strong representation of your business.

Don’t forget to include a link in your Instagram bio. You can change out the link whenever you choose to promote different aspects of your business, for instance a newsletter sign up or your Facebook fan page.

1theinstagramexpert on Instagram- instagram_com_theinstagramexpert

2.  Create a Hashtag Strategy (that is hyper focused for your niche)

You are allowed up to 30 hashtags in the caption of an Instagram post, so take advantage of it. Create a custom hashtag for your business to curate the images you and your customers share. To get more hashtag ideas, go into your ‘explore’ section (the compass button) and try typing in different keywords to see what yields content that most closely aligns with your brand. To extend the life of your post, add the hashtag as a second comment of your post. If you want to refresh your post, delete that comment and add new ones. Remember to never add a punctuation to your post, because the hashtag will not be live. Use these tips to cure your Hashtag Headache.

 SuebZimmermanEnterprise

3.  Make Yourself Accessible—Your Profile Should be Public

Leaving the privacy setting on is like having a closed sign on your front door!

Your account should be public, making it easier to view your content and follow your account.  The more accessible you are, the more people you will reach.

private

4. Enhance Your Content Using Other Applications

Within Instagram you can easily edit your photos. But if you want them to really stand out, a simple filter will not always be enough! Some of my favorite applications for this are Word Swag, Rhonna, Flipagram, Videohance, Diptic, and Canva.

 Word Swag App         rhonnadesignsFlipagram

Videohance AppDiptic AppCanva-Logo

 5.  Geo tagging posts

Use Geo tags when posting from your office or business and encourage customers to Geo Tag when they’re visiting your storefront or restaurant.

By clicking on your Geotag, you can see the user generated content that your customers have produced. This creates yet another place to curate photos related to your business and increase visibility of your brand!

 

6.  Grab the best Instagram Username

Ideally, your Twitter and Instagram handles should be the same. If your Twitter or Instagram name is taken, then try using periods, your middle initial, or a number to keep both handles as similar as possible. It’s also a good idea to have the same or similar profile pictures across platforms so that you are quickly recognizable. Encourage users from one platform to follow you on another by posting a call to action and sharing your link as well.

1theinstagramexpert on Instagram- instagram_com_theinstagramexpert

By using these tips, you should now have an #InstaAwesome and complete profile. Now it’s time to start interacting with your followers. People will repost your content if it is worthy of sharing to their followers, and this will give you a much larger reach. Post interesting and relevant content and don’t forget to hashtag!

 Finally, be sure to like posts and respond to comments and messages.  Instagram is an awesome place to show a more personal side of your business—Follow the hashtag #InstaGalLive to be a part of my amazing Instagram community and see these tips and tricks in action!

Reminder: Catch Sue B. Zimmerman at my September event, the Doable Social Summit.   Learn more about the Doable Social Summit.

 

hotels-4-ways-instagram-header-600x400

Social Media has become a great equalizer for the hotel business.

It allows businesses to not just tell people about the great things their place offers, but show them.

Since just about everyone has a smart phone, and Instagram now has more than 200 million active users taking, editing and sharing photos via the app, it’s easier than ever to grow your audience and empower visitors to become part of your marketing force!

So are are some great hotels using instagram?  Let's go see!

Here are 4 Instagram Hotel Marketing Examples:

The Morgans Hotel Group, which has locations in South Beach, San Francisco, New York and London, Los Angeles, uses its Instagram page as a way to extend its “look.”  Visitors just don’t see empty rooms or plain exterior shots, they see hip, young people having fun in elegant surroundings.

Many of the photos have the “retro” filters cranked up to give the Morgans experience a classical, glamorous and timeless look.

Anyone who has been to the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas knows that it’s so much more than a place to put your head at the end of a busy day. It’s Instagram page reminds visitors that it’s also a casino, offers many restaurants and lounges, has shows, and other fun services.  Interspersed with product pictures, like tasty desserts, fruity drinks and gaming chips, the page includes plenty of smiling employees.

The message of this Instagram Marketing? We truly have everything you need!  Come, get away and be immersed in the experience of a lifetime!monte-carlo-600x358

CN Travel columnist Wendy Perrin, suggests that every traveler on Instagram should take photos of their next hotel visit and ‘tag’ the hotel.

How fast the staff gets back to you is a good measure of how focused they are on service and embracing new technology!  Innovative hotels see social support as a good starting place for a conversation and the personal touch they can offer.  By searching for their hotel in hashtags and by being alert to user mentions, there is opportunity to “touch” a guest and increase loyalty and trust.

A customer who experiences this care AND is already sharing you via social media is a powerful advocate who can extend your message to their friends and community!

In days of express check-outs and busy front desks, these type of personalized connections can make all the difference! Perrin said the staff can use your post for feedback, and maybe even reward your unsolicited tag with a free drink or some other service next time.

She notes the Four Seasons Vancouver Hotel as a responsive example of Instagram Marketing.

fs-vancouver-600x344

The hotel may be beautiful but not every traveler comes just to stay "inside" the hotel!  They want to get out in the city!  So show them the city views and draw them in.

How about showing how the west-facing rooms have great sunsets? Or check out the bright lights of downtown at night?

NH Hoteles, which has locations in Europe, encourages guests to take and post a photo outside their window in the morning and use the hashtag #wakeuppics. These images also go on a separate site for the hotel, creating an easy keepsake for current guests and give future guests fun ways to browse.

wakeuppics-600x247

So there you have it!  Four ways to extend further the power of social marketing, particularly with Instagram, to grow your brand awareness and fill your rooms!

What’s first on your agenda to use?

Did you know  with tools like TabSite, you can even bring your social channels to your website!  Yes, you can even embed your Instagram account photos or hashtag on your blog or website!

© 2012-2023 Mike Gingerich Global, LLC    Contact   -   Privacy
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