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FAQ: Must I advertise on social?
Is “organic” dead on social media?
The January 2018 “Facebookpocalypse” is still being felt… with many pages experiencing limited organic reach.
Does that mean that Facebook is now “pay to play”?
What about other social media platforms? And, even if you CAN get organic traction, should you still be putting some ad dollars towards social media?
My comic alter-ego is always mindful of the needs of teeny tiny micro businesses - and, for them, ORGANIC can be the best source of data…
#MidweekMinute: Major Facebook & Snapchat developments
Facebook and Snapchat are on a streak of new feature rollouts & tests.
Facebook is testing and introducing tools for Messenger, Donations, and even facial recognition technology; Snapchat has, of course, redesigned itself, but has also introduced object recognition and new AR ad formats.
Facebook Broadcast
Facebook prototypes Messenger Broadcast for businesses (TechCrunch)
Facebook Donations
Facebook drops fee on donations, will match $50M/year, adds Mentor feature (TechCrunch)
Facebook is dropping its fundraising fees for nonprofits, but not for personal causes (Quartz)
Facebook Selfie Logins
Facebook may ask you to prove you’re not a bot with a selfie (Digital Trends)
Facebook uses selfies as login authentication for suspicious activity (The Verge)
Facebook’s new security measure asks users to upload a photo of their face (BGR)
Facebook Testing Streaks Feature
Facebook is testing a Snapchat ‘streaks’ clone for Messenger (The Daily Dot)
Facebook's latest feature test looks like Snapchat's streaks (Engadget)
Facebook maintains streak of copying Snapchat with new Messenger test (Business Insider)
Snapchat Redesign
Snapchat Remakes Itself, Splitting the Social From the Media (The New York Times)
What Snapchat’s major redesign and algorithmic feed means for marketers (Marketing Land)
Snapchat Redesigns Mobile App to Split Friends From Media (Bloomberg)
Snapchat Photo Recognition Filters
Snapchat now recognizes food, pets, and more when suggesting filters (The Verge)
Snapchat’s newest filters can recognize what’s in your photos (TechCrunch)
Snapchat's latest filters recognize pets and food (Engadget)
Snapchat applies for patent to serve ads by recognizing objects in your snaps (The Verge)
Snapchat's New Advertising Tools
Asos, HBO and BMW pilot Snapchat's new ad formats (Marketing Drive)
Snapchat Brings New Advertising Tools to Aid Revenue Growth (Nasdaq)
Snapchat seeks salvation in long-form and “hands-on” AR ads (TechCrunch)
#MidweekMinute: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Facebook condenses some features, expands others, and generally continues to crush other apps; Twitter continues their expansion kick; Instagram is taking a cue from bots; LinkedIn is taking a cue from that annoying paper clip.
Facebook tries to replace Yelp, Foursquare, and - as always - Snapchat. High on the 280-character-limit raise, Twitter's also raising another limit, and hoping you'll trust them to allocate your money. Instagram is testing out a feature that bots have been using for years, and LinkedIn wants the final WORD on your resume.
Facebook Local
Facebook relaunches Events app as Facebook Local, adds bars and food (TechCrunch)
Facebook Local is the social network’s stab at Yelp, Foursquare (Marketing Land)
Facebook Local Relaunches, Makes It Easier To Browse Events, Listings (MediaPost
Facebook Collaborative Stories
Facebook Stories replaces Messenger Day with synced cross-posting (TechCrunch)
Facebook launches collaborative Stories for Groups and Events (TechCrunch)
Facebook is killing Messenger Day and consolidating it with Facebook Stories (The Verge)
Twitter Name Length Now 50 Characters
Twitter bumps display name length up to 50 characters (The Verge)
Twitter expands display name length to 50 character (Engadget)
Twitter, high on 280 characters, more than doubles the length of display names (Mashable)
Twitter $99 Ad Subscriptions Service
Twitter Tempts Small Marketers With a $99-per-Month Ad Subscription (Ad Age)
Twitter’s $99 monthly subscription ad program launches into public beta (TechCrunch)
Twitter launches $99 subscription tool to promote tweets (Engadget)
Instagram Will Let Users Follow Hashtags
Instagram could let you follow hashtags soon (TechCrunch)
Instagram may soon let you follow hashtags (Express Newsline)
Instagram will soon let users follow hashtags in addition to accounts (Digital Trends)
Microsoft and LinkedIn Resume Assistant
Microsoft adds AI-powered LinkedIn resume assistant to Word (Engadget)
Microsoft integrates LinkedIn with Word to help you write a resume (The Verge)
#MidweekMinute
A new $99 Twitter ad subscription plan, Facebook's mysterious touch screen speaker device, LinkedIn website demographics, and your very own Snapchat drone.
A new $99 Twitter ad subscription plan, Facebook's mysterious touch screen speaker device, LinkedIn website demographics, and your very own Snapchat drone.
Twitter subscription plan:
Twitter Is Developing a Subscription Plan That Promotes Your Tweets Automatically (Fortune)
Twitter Tests $99 Subscription for Auto-Promoted Tweets (Engadget)
Facebook smart speaker:
Facebook reportedly building smart speaker with touch screen (TechCrunch)
Facebook is Building a Video Chat Device and Smart Speaker to Debut Next Year (Business Insider)
LinkedIn demographics:
LinkedIn Unveils Website Demographics Tracking Tool (Demand Gen Report)
LinkedIn Offering Businesses More Information About Who Visits Their Sites (Fortune)
SnapChat Drone:
Snap Is Said To Have Worked On A Drone (NY Times)
Is Snapchat Developing A Flying Camera? (Daily Mail)
Snapchat is Reportedly Building A Drone to Take Photos From Above (Wired)
Social: How To Make Great Videos!
My friends The Nerdy Duo Productions - aka Melissa & Erin - know how to make great videos.
They also know why other people keep making crappy videos.
In this weeks episode of Social they share some basic tips on making your social media videos better.
My friends The Nerdy Duo Productions - aka Melissa & Erin - know how to make great videos.
They also know why other people keep making crappy videos. They gave us some of their best tips on today's #cgsocial.
PLANNING
Whether you're using professional equipment or doing a basic Facebook Live with your iPhone, know where your video's going (and the best aspect ratio for it) and what you're using to film it. You can also manually adjust the settings on your phone or computer camera in advance of your broadcast.
If you can't plan beforehand, plan afterwards: take stock of what you did, what worked, and what you can improve for next time.
LIGHTING
From cheap clamp lights from Home Depot bounced off a dollar store car windshield shade, to a full lighting setup, remember: in video, if they can't see you, what's the point?
SOUND
Don't trust the microphone on your phone or computer. Better microphones are cheap and easy.
SUPPORT
Don't hold your camera; your hands aren't as steady as you think they are. Tripods are inexpensive, and some can even fit in your purse!
I put together a whole wonderful, juicy set of equipment links - and then Squarespace decided to delete it. So... that sounds like a new post for Monday! I will post about it, I promise!
She had me at "Zack Morris"
The story Mallorie told about retargeting consumers based on which part of a Facebook Canvas they interacted with the most was just a stroke of absolute brilliance.
Not gonna lie: I was the most psyched for Mallorie's presentation. In addition to the fact that, like myself, she's got awesomely vibrant-colored hair, take a look at this description of her talk:
“Be Like Zack Morris: Using the power of storytelling to sell via social media
Mallorie Rosenbluth, Sr. Manager, Social Media, Grubhub / Seamless
Ever wonder how Zack Morris (yes, that Zack Morris) gets every girl during Saved by the Bell and Screech can’t score one date with Lisa? Watching Zack’s techniques won’t just entertain you and indulge your desire for nostalgia; it will also unlock insights and strategies to apply towards driving ROI via your social media channels. In this session, you’ll learn about the Zack Morris approach and hear real examples of how this technique has worked in practice for both Grubhub and Seamless.”
Beyond the "Saved by the Bell" retro goodness, this actually sounded like a really useful presentation. And it was!
(In short: Screech's persuasion technique to get Lisa is like shouting, "Buy me!" at your audience; Zack gets all the ladies via understanding his target and wooing them via suave storytelling)
I'm planning to have Mallorie on Social sometime soon to discuss Facebook Canvas, since I think a lot of us could use a little more understanding of this great new feature. The story she told about retargeting consumers based on which part of a Canvas they interacted with the most was just a stroke of absolute brilliance - one which I'm dying to try!