360 Marketing Squad on Branding a Collaboration

Today is really exciting because we have four guests on today: the 360 Marketing Squad, four incredibly well accomplished professionals in their own right, talking about branding a collaboration! 

Content and blogging expert Mike Allton blogs as the Blogging Brute and The Social Media Hat. He's also the brand evangelist for Agorapulse.

Instagram expert Jenn Herman goes by Jenn's Trends. She has literally written the book on Instagram many times over. 

We also have Facebook live expert Stephanie Liu, who is the reason I'm on Ecamm! She's known for her Lights, Camera, Live training programs, blog, and livestream. She's also an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) trainer. 

We also have Facebook ads, chat box and analytics expert Amanda Robinson, a.k.a. The Digital Gal. 

Together they are the 360 Marketing Squad, running an incredible private membership group full of trainings, tips, and incredible strategies. 

Their most recent collaboration - along with co-author Eric Butow - is “Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing,” published by Entrepreneur Press. 

The Origin Story:

MIKE:

Jenn introduced me to Stephanie at Social Media Marketing World 2018. I had met Stephanie online about a year prior to that, but we hadn't met in person yet. A month later, Steph and I were both speaking at MDMC here in St. Louis, where we got to hang out and get to know each other a lot better. In our conversations, we both came to the conclusion that we needed a personal mastermind group. I'd been part of some mastermind groups that had recently fallen apart, just stopped meeting. We wanted that support group, that mechanism to connect with other people, other colleagues and professionals in the space that we could relate to. We both knew Jenn very well, and all three of us had young daughters. So the three of us formed what was initially just a personal group where we could share the challenges and things that we were going through and start to collaborate. That's what spawned the idea of the 360 Marketing Squad. 

JENN:

We started talking about doing a membership - all of us had wanted to do one, but the idea of running our own memberships by ourselves, with all of the work and all of the management that goes into a membership, was overwhelming. So we partnered up: it would be a lot less work for each individual to have to manage, and we could give more value to each of our audiences because we have our own individual, unique areas of expertise. As we started thinking about it, we realized we wanted to do something along the lines of “360 degrees,” which would mean we would probably want a fourth person to cover that other component which the three of us weren't necessarily experts at - and that was the paid advertising and analytics side. We all agreed that Amanda would be the perfect fit to do that. So we roped her into the chaos that was our lives, and that was how we formed 360. 

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You're four very accomplished people with your own distinct personal brands.

How have you joined them together In a way that doesn't water any of them down, but also doesn't have any one star standing out?

How did you figure out how to brand 360 Marketing squad? 

AMANDA:

We always say that Mike is the glue that holds us together. He's the one that keeps us all sane. 

Each of us has our own superpowers in our own arena of digital marketing and social media. So everything just interlays and play so nicely together between all of our brands. For example, Jenn speaks on organic tactics; as soon as someone asks her a paid ads question, she's like, “You’ve gotta talk to this girl over here.” As soon as someone asks, “How do I up my game on live streaming?” we point the finger right over at Stephanie. As soon as someone wants to know, “How do I start producing more content that's going to move the needle?” we point the finger right at Mike. We have a solution for everything among the four of us, and it really does make us feel like a complete superpower squad. And it just makes a lot of sense together. So it's been good. The strength of our individual personal brands makes the group of us that much more able to help everyone. We each amplify with our own audiences. And then when that comes together, it's like this cataclysmic magic, awesome digital marketing sauce! And it's all encapsulated in that one book. 

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360 Marketing Squad has been a private membership group where members can go and get tips, trainings, and support in all areas of digital marketing.

How did you decide to spin it out into a book? 

Are there plans for more things beyond the group and beyond this book? 

STEPHANIE:

When it comes to the book, as far as delegating who's going to take care of the content, I think that was really easy to do because we're all content creators in our own right. So if someone wants to talk about strategy, Jenn does fantastic presentations from soup to nuts, all about strategy; paid media, of course, you would tap Amanda; and so on and so forth, especially with Mike being the glue that holds us all together. Once we had the table of contents, it's like, “Oh, here's your homework. Boom!” “Here you go - Boom!” And it was really easy for us because if you had asked me to write about Chatbots, I don't want to do that! So we delegated the topics by who’s most passionate about those specific topics. 

As far as what's next in the future, I think in our own little private mastermind we've all just been saying, “What are our plans for 2021? What is it that we want to do?” Because the book in and of itself has opened so many opportunities. Mike is now VIP-contributing over to Entrepreneur.com. And I think all of us have done webinars at this point. So that's really a jumping off point for the next thing for us. We even have an internal joke that we need to write the ultimate guide to launching a book! 

Jenn and I made that joke of, “Do you remember what it was like giving birth to a child? And then you totally forget about it? That is happening right now.” 

JENN:

Writing a book is the equivalent of going through childbirth. We did joke about whether or not we would write a book about launching a book. Because we had, thanks to - I'm gonna throw Mike and Stephanie the bone on this one - thanks to their amazing planning and coordination, the launch strategy that we put together to launch the book was unlike anything I had ever seen, and unlike anything I’ve done on any other books that I had written or seen from anybody else in our industry. So we jokingly said that, but you never know. Crazier things have happened! 

MIKE:

I wasn't joking. Just putting that out there.

STEPHANIE:

I'm actually rooting for a Jenn and Amanda live reality show…

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What makes for a good on brand collaboration partner? What do you look for? 

AMANDA:

I've tried to collaborate with other brands. And what I have found is that certain brands have that “only in it for me” viewpoint where there's tension, there's push and pull, but it's trying to take from you and not give back to you. And when there's a really natural fit, it's a win win for both parties, completely, 100% equal across the board. It's a full win and it's collaborative. There's a lot of brainstorming and energy and excitement, and there's just a sizzle that happens when it's a good fit. So it shouldn't be hard; it doesn't have to be hard to have a brand collaboration. That's my opinion. 

JENN:

For me, it's making sure that they are well aligned with you and your brand: your brand style, your brand voice, your brand audience. You don't want somebody that is a direct competitor to what you do because that could get a little bit competitive; you want someone that's aligned. The four of us, even though we're all in the same space, don't look at ourselves as competitors: we complement each other in all of our strengths. But even when working with large brands, or with other people that I've collaborated with, it's important that their target audience is something that is relevant to my goals - and vice versa, that my audience is relative to their goals - but that we have an alignment in terms of how we speak, how we teach, how we produce content. Because if those aren't in alignment, it starts, again, being a really hard problem with creating that content - who's going to market when it's going to get marketed? When the four of us came together, we all have a very similar mentality in terms of sales, in terms of marketing, in terms of ultimate goals, so we don't have one person over here getting resentful because we're not achieving or we're not working hard enough. We all have the same mentality, and that's really important when you pick that team.

STEPHANIE:

It's helpful to make sure that it's a win-win situation. Like when I partnered with Ecamm and we did the Leap Into Live Streaming [event], we had the shared vision that we wanted to help people take the leap into live streaming, so that was really cool. And then in working with Katie, who's absolutely amazing, I was like, “My superpower is in creating content. As far as things like project management and setting up Hey Summit, would you like to do that?” And she's like, “Oh, I'm so all about that.” I was like, “Okay, cool, that's like that that's you. You do that.” 

But then I think the other thing is also noticing how they want to market the collaboration - for example, if someone's like, “I need you to constantly email your audience,” I’m like, “Nooo, that’s not me.” 

MIKE:

To add to what Stephanie just said - in addition to making sure that it's a win-win, I like to try to make sure that the brands or individual influencers that I'm partnering with really want whatever it is that we're hoping to accomplish. I work with influencers all the time, and sometimes it's a win for them, but they don't really want it. And when you're asking somebody to put time and energy and passion into something, and they don't really, really want it, it's just not going to be there. 

Take our personal mastermind group. That was just the four of us, our support group. There's a time investment in there, and there's an emotional investment in there, right? And getting to know each other and support each other and, you know, hop on Zoom calls and that sort of thing. And if we had somebody in the group that didn't really feel like they needed us - maybe they were at a different point in their career, and they didn't feel like they needed that kind of support - maybe they'd show up, maybe they wouldn't. Right? They wouldn't necessarily give to the group the way that everybody else is giving. So I like to view collaborations that same way: to make sure that, whenever possible, everybody not only wins, they win big.

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A7: What are some ways to get on the radar of brands you want to collaborate and work with? -Chelsea #ChatAboutBrand

— ReviewTrackers (@reviewtrackers) October 13, 2020

Chelsea at Review Trackers would love to know how to get on the radar of brands you want to collaborate with and work with?

MIKE:

This is what I wrote about in the book. This is what I do every day: influencer marketing, relationship building. And I think that the easiest, most natural, organic way to make those inroads into brands that you might want to work with - perhaps as an influencer, as a brand ambassador even - is to engage with those brands, talk about those brands, and not seek payment or compensation or anything like that. You're building a relationship naturally, and that's where social media becomes such an easy tool and an easy route to do that. You can just go to their Twitter account or their Facebook page and you can make yourself known. Just as you, Christine, have done with Agorapulse, right? You show up in our lives, you show up in our group; you show up. Which is so key to any kind of relationship, and that gets noticed. We've got our Friday show with Agorapulse, and people show up to that live every single week - and Jennifer, our host, she sees them, she calls them out. And some of those people have now become guests on the show. Some of those have even become influencers for Agorapulse. And it's all due to the relationships that they kicked off by being present.

JENN:

To dovetail off what Mike was saying, it's really important to build the relationships with those brands. You can't just send an email to a brand and be like, “Hey! I want to work with you!” I recently had somebody else send me something about her book - and it's somebody I know, but there was no context. And I'm like, “I don't know what you want me to do with this.” There was no preface; there was no, “I'm writing this book, and this is what it's about, and I want you to be a part of it” pitching. I'm like, “What?” You need to form those relationships and you need to have those conversations. And that could be done via email, direct message, Zoom, or even a phone call at some point. But you do have to start - to Mike's point - by showing up: liking their content, leaving comments, sending them a DM and thanking them for doing something, sharing information, sharing something valuable - whatever it is, get on their radar as an actual person, and then, from there, start fostering those relationships. Start looking into who the people are that book their podcast - are they a team of one, or do they have 20 people on that team? Do they have people that are doing live shows, that are doing podcasts, that are doing webinars? Find out who those people are and start looking to foster those relationships as well. Because even though you may be active on their social, their social media manager may have nothing to do with the person who books their podcast that you want to get on. And you could be the best social media presence and still get nowhere for getting on that podcast interview. So do that research, if that's who you want to work with. And that's where - when you pick those two or three brands that you really want to work with, and you build those relationships - you get great return in terms of those relationships. We're not sending out mass pitches to 50 different types of brands hoping that somebody wants to work with us, because those are never going to be those relationships that Mike was talking about: those passionate ones, the people who really want to be involved. You're better off picking those small handful of brands that you really want to work with and build those relationships over time to the point where they become very valuable.

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A7. What worked for you when building your brand that you least expected?#ChatAboutBrand

— Linda Rey #SmallBiz Cheerleader 📣 (@HeyLindaRey) October 13, 2020

The next one is from Linda Rey. What worked for you when building your brand that you least expected? 

AMANDA:

I rebranded. I worked for four years in my business with the wrong brand name, and it didn't fit, and I just didn't have my stride. And then when I finally rebranded to the name that fit me, which is The Digital Gal, I rebranded and I embraced the pink. I just took it all in. I'm like, “All right, this is me.” As soon as I found something that really just resonated with me - honestly, I just have pink everything everywhere around my desk. I started sprinkling my pink across the Internet like Skittles everywhere, getting branded stickers and just putting my brand on everything - like, legit, I have my brand on my computer dongles for my Mac, I have it everywhere. Embracing the brand “all in” is something I couldn't do when the brand name wasn't the right fit. I'm not saying that I would tattoo The Digital Gal on me - I won't - but it's close enough. Whereas with the old brand name, heck no! Even just putting my name out there with the old brand felt awkward, like an awkward baby deer that couldn't walk properly; it just didn't fit. I just did not have my stride. And then once I found the brand that clicked with me, it just felt like somebody let me run at full tilt the way I wanted to. It felt so good, and it started taking off so quickly: people just had brand recognition happening left right and center. It feels like they thought I was that brand for all of the years that I have been in business.

STEPHANIE:

So, live streaming, honestly, it was a big surprise to me. I had always been an ad agency veteran: I was in the trenches doing social media, paid media, and all of that stuff. And when I started live streaming, then the first event organizer, Amanda Nelson, had reached out - and I think, Jenn, you were on the same conference, right? Social Vidcon - and she said, “Can you come and talk about live streaming? And OBS?” And I was like, “ME? I am now an expert in OBS?” That was the part where I didn't really realize the power of live streaming. And ever since then, it's just been this fast pass into getting into a key decision maker’s, “Hey, I want you on this project,” or, “I need you to produce this event.” So live streaming in and of that sense was, “Wow - that's cool!” 

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The last and biggest and possibly best question is from Marianne; she has a question for each of you.

A7: Wow so many great guests.

❓ @mike_allton what is his favourite thing about AP?

❓@jenns_trends is she still wearing heels whilst wfh?

❓@heystephanie what her #1 live tip?

❓ @thedigitalgal what's the best ROAS she's achieved?#ChatAboutBrand

— Marianne Avery | Social Media Manager (@sociallymaz) October 13, 2020

Mike, what is your favorite thing about Agorapulse? 

MIKE:

My favorite thing? There's a couple things - I can't pick just one, because there's two different aspects. 

Agorapulse the company, it's all about the people and the culture inside. I've worked with a lot of different companies. I came from an online website builder company. I was the CMO of a whole different company. And coming to Agorapulse was just a night-and-day difference in terms of how the company is led, the vision of the company, the culture that's created inside, the teamwork, and everything. It's amazing. 

From the tool itself, I have to say the category queues: being able to create a category of a type of post and then create different time slots and then just fill that queue like a bucket and have that content go out on a set schedule. Hands off. You can pause. You can shuffle the queue. You can delete it. You could move stuff around. It's one of my favorite features, and it's almost a mind blowing feature. Often when I show people, “Hey, this is how you could do that - this is how you can replicate almost every other publishing feature on any other tool - just use the category queues,” that is beautiful. 

Jenn, your high heels are a fabulous part of your brand, and I can vouch that the high heels and long nails are always a thing.

So are you still wearing heels and doing all that stuff while working from home? 

JENN:

The heels? No, they're unfortunately getting very dusty and neglected, I have literally a whole shoe wall, so I see them every day, and I kind of pine after them, and wait for the day when I'll be able to wear them. On occasion, yes, I'll slip on a pair of heels if I'm going out. But let's face it: most of my excursions into the grocery store. So that's still flip-flops. And I really don't have a good reason to wear the heels. 

The nails. I started doing my nails in COVID, so I bought the entire kit: I got the drill, the acrylics, the gels, that UV lamp and everything. And I've managed to be doing my own nails for the last seven months or whatever, because I refuse to give those up. So at least I kept that. 

Stephanie, what is your number one live tip? 

STEPHANIE:

My number one live tip: Have fun. 

Live streaming, to me, is like improv. You're just going to have to say, “Yes, and - that just happened, and we're just going to keep going.” So have fun while you're doing it. Because if you're stressed out, you're stressing out your viewers. You might not see us all in the green room. But when one of us is speaking, we're just like, “Yeah, you go, girl! Yeah! Go, Jenn!” Have fun, because then your viewers are going to have fun watching you, too. There's so many distractions out there. Things that are like emotional vampires. Have fun. Be that entertainment that your viewers want to see, especially on a Friday. So cheers! 

Amanda, what is the best ROAS return on ad spend that you have achieved? 

AMANDA:

That's actually one that I won't even touch on, because the majority of businesses that I help are small and medium sized businesses who have a difficult time - they don't have products that you could add to cart and then have a return on ad spend. You can't tie it 1-to-1. So you have to get creative with different types of strategies that can still prove that it is working and prove that it is bringing revenue into the business. But you can't actually tie it into a ROAS. People who can't achieve a ROAS, I'm the person they come to. 

What I recommend to most people is when you're starting out, start your strategy, and then layer it on. Set your goals smaller and achieve those goals, then layer on bigger goals. So when you first start advertising, start going through reach, engagement, and video views. Once you can consistently increase those numbers and achieve your goals and how you can move that forward, then start layering on, “Okay, now I want to get traffic to my website.” Once you start achieving that, then start laying layering on, “Okay, now I want some conversions.” But most people are going from zero to trying to get conversions. Then their ads don't work for them. Then they get frustrated and they fall off. So it's a matter of kind of layering on those expectations.

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Thank you very much today to Mike Allton, Jenn Herman, Amanda Robinson, and Stephanie Liu: the 360 Marketing Squad. Anyone who wants this book - and trust me, you want this book - can get it at SocialMediaBook.shop. 

#MidweekMinute 12/4/19: now with extra jazz hands!

Where were you for The Great Thanksgiving Facebook & Instagram Blackout of 2019?…

Facebook is going to start allowing users to transfer their photos more easily to third party partners, starting with Google Photos. The feature is being rolled out to Ireland first, with the rest of the world expected to follow in early 2020.

Facebook’s cracking down even further on preventing discrimination via ad targeting, expanding the rules to include every possible place one could purchase ads on the platform (not just within Ads Manager) and expanding the public ad library to make housing ad targeting more visible.

Instagram’s testing making your phone vibrate when you like a post. This was uncovered by reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong, who also discovered that Twitter is working on nested replies (like Reddit).

Wondering what to Tweet? The new 2020 @TwitterBusiness Calendar highlights upcoming events and how to Tweet about them.

Twitter has released Twitter Brand Surveys as a way to measure ad recall.

Twitter has also introduced the Twitter Privacy Center, a hub for all privacy-related information, features, and releases.

Don’t freak out if your YouTube subscriber count is down: YouTube is removing closed accounts.

#MidweekMinute 11/27/19: Keep your friends CLOSE

When Borat’s got more common sense and decency than your CEO, it may be time to look deeper…

Last week, the new social network on the block was the journalism-based WT.Social; this week, it’s Cocoon, a family-based networking app from former Facebook employees. (No networks OR ads, just you and your chosen family.)

On a related note, Facebook’s working on a Close Friends feature for Stories and Messenger, similar to the one Instagram has, continuing the overall trend towards “microsharing,” now that our networks have all gotten so swollen with acquaintances and strangers.

The new Facebook Viewpoints app will pay you for participating in surveys or performing tasks. They’re starting with a “well being” survey.

Facebook has quietly released a new meme-making app called Whale, which is exclusive to Canada at the moment. There was no fanfare or announcement, an uncharacteristic move for the social media giant.

In case you’ve ever been curious how Instagram’s “Explore” feed gets populated, they’ve given us a peek behind the curtain with a new blog post explaining the AI behind it.

Feature-uncoverer Jane Manchun Wong has discovered that Instagram is testing out a new IGTV feed with vertical scroll - ironic, as TikTok, which is laid out that way, was previously testing a grid feed, a la Instagram’s Explore tab.

Twitter’s Hide Replies feature is out of beta and available to all.

Twitter is also FINALLY bringing native scheduling to the platform! It’s in beta, and only some people have it. It’s web-only for now, though, which is frustrating, since we already have TweetDeck… but it’s a step in the right direction.

#MidweekMinute 10/2/19: Trashing the trash talk

Wow… that whisteblower sure does have a lot of Twitter accounts…

No, your Facebook isn’t broken; the previously-announced “Hiding Likes” test has begun on some accounts (all articles claim the test is Australia-only for now, but I have a few friends in the U.S. whose likes have already begun disappearing from public view).

Facebook will also soon allow some creators to add Messenger functionality to the “swipe up” feature in Story ads.

In the farther-off future, Facebook is developing augmented reality glasses that will work in combination with an AR map of real-world environments, as well as a virtual reality gaming space called Horizon.

Instagram is testing the ability to receive (or send!) product launch notifications . They’re also extending use of the Branded Content tag to IGTV videos (but you have to be approved first), and have launched the @creators account to encourage the IG creator community to, well, create.

Someone getting nasty in your DMs (in a way you don’t like)? Twitter’s rolling out new filters for that.

YouTube is now available on Google’s Fire TV streaming device, and has also introduced features for creators to more easily search, moderate, and filter comments.

LinkedIn continues developing its advertising tools, with new enhancements to audience targeting.

Join me on LinkedIn Live and Facebook Live at 4 pm ET for more on all stories.

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#MidweekMinute 9/25/19: The Future Is NOW

Sorry in advance for all my political Tweets. Let’s not go into that here… on to other social media news!

Facebook has suspended API access for tens of thousands of third-party apps in the continued wake of the Cambridge Analytica data-mining scandal, which prompted Facebook to investigate hundreds of app developers on the platform.

Facebook is discontinuing the seldom-used Group Stories feature tomorrow.

Facebook is acquiring CTRL-labs, a neural learning firm dedicated to translating human brain impulses into digital signals, as part of their Facebook Reality Labs team. The company’s key product is a wristband that will enable you to control electronic devices without touch. (Yes, we officially live in the future.)

Instagram has announced viewing restrictions on weight loss & cosmetic procedure content for users under age 18, and advertising restrictions for how such products are promoted in general.

Twitter’s Hide Replies feature, previously testing in Canada, is now active in the U.S. and Japan. This feature is designed to hopefully help discussions on the platform from getting too ugly (as they are wont to do).

YouTube announced - and then rescinded - major changes to its creator verification system, which would have rescinded verification badges from many creators based on updated criteria. YouTube will re-launch its verification program in late October for accounts not already verified.

YouTube and Google have announced Video Reach ad campaigns, which will enable advertisers to upload numerous types of video ads under a single campaign and allow Google’s AI to optimally distribute them in accordance with viewer insights.

Join me on LinkedIn Live at 4 pm ET for discussion of all stories!

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#MidweekMinute 9/18/19: Creators gonna create

You all know you want #slofies of my dog, don’t even front…

LOTS of news about Facebook Creator Studio announced at the International Broadcasting Convention:

• New tools and metrics for Live, Watch Parties, Creator Studio

• Facebook Live “Rehearsal” mode

• Live video trimming

• Live video duration extended from four hours to eight

• Multistream broadcasting (simulcast to different platforms)

• Pre-scheduling to Instagram and IGTV via Creator Studio

• Expanded language options for auto-captioning

• New video metrics for Distribution, Watch Party viewership, and Loyalty

• Enhanced Watch Party branding, metrics, and sharing

Facebook is testing a new Chat post type to launch private group chats, much like the recently-introduced Chat sticker in Instagram Stories.

Facebook’s new Portal TV set-top box device functions as a broadcast system - like Firestick or Roku - as well as a webcam.

YouTube trolls beware: they’re testing a Profile Card feature that will publicly display your comment history.

LinkedIn has introduced Skill Assessment tests in order to support users’ claimed talents with validation badges for those scoring in the top 70th percentile or above.

more info on all stories:

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#MidweekMinute 9/11/19: "Likes" ain't nothing but a number...

Politics and vulgarity aside, one important user lesson on social media is to know who you’re dealing with.
(#TeamChrissy)

Moving on to more universally applicable social media news…

Let’s be real; you’re going to Facebook-stalk your online date anyway (I MySpace-stalked mine, back in 2006!). Why not just find them on Facebook Dating to begin with?

Facebook is tightening up location security on mobile, allowing for greater nuance and defaulting to whatever the user’s most restrictive settings are (device settings and app settings are often at different levels) unless otherwise specified.

Facebook’s also considering a test to hide like counts on posts, following a similar test by Instagram still in progress. YouTube has also recently removed follower counts from accounts with over 1,000 followers.

Facebook and Instagram are stepping up their ecommerce game, working on in-ad checkout functionality on Facebook and the ability to turn an organic shopping post on Instagram into an ad.

Watch those “private” Instagram posts - they’re apparently easy to access and share via web browser. (Whoopsies!)

If you’ve been posting your Tweets via text, you’re out of luck for a bit - Twitter is temporarily suspending that function after CEO Jack Dorsey was hacked via a SIM card swap.

Twitter doesn’t want to be a mystery to you; they want you to succeed (and thus keep using them). Hence their latest Agency Playbook, full of basic - yet key - tips on what’s proven to provide the most engagement on the platform. Helpful, right?

MORE INFO ON ALL STORIES:

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#MidweekMinute 7/10/19: Monetization and anti-bully-ization

I hope Tom from MySpace has a blast at the White House Social Media Summit… 🙄

Facebook has made several video-monetization-related announcements this week: new video ad placement options, better tools for creators to manage monetization, tweaks to the beta subscription program (including Facebook now taking a cut of that revenue from creators), and enhanced tools for matching up brands and collaborators.

Instagram ups its anti-bullying functions by warning you if a comment could be considered inflammatory (like a digital conscience!) and allowing you to restrict certain users from seeing your content.

Business users report a significant decline in Instagram engagement rates (perhaps a lot of that engagement was coming from bullies?…).

Join me on LinkedIn Live every Wednesday at 4 pm ET for a fuller explanation of each of these stories and what they mean for you.

LinkedIn Live Replay:

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#MidweekMinute 6/5/19: Pinning more IKEA...

BRB, applying to become Tweeter-in-Chief…

Mozilla’s Firefox browser’s latest update includes a tracking blocker (a move already preceded by Apple’s Safari browser), sending Facebook Pixel devotees into a tizzy.

Facebook has been teasing their Bitmoji-esque Avatars since at least 2017, but they’re finally here (well, in the Australian test market, at least) for use in Messenger and comments.

Facebook has stepped up its Video Ad tools, enabling a whole bunch of creator features (including text and stickers), optimized sizes for different uses, the ability to split a video into multiple shorter ads, and - a blessing amidst all these fun features - the ability to save progress while putting this all together.

Facebook’s been testing integrating subscription options into Instant Articles, and is now officially rolling out the feature to all Instant Article publishers.

Facebook Portal has released a smartphone app to integrate with the device’s functions.

Game developers who advertise on Facebook will now have the ability to run rewarded video and playable ads via Audience Network.

Furthering Instagram’s close relationship with the “influencer” industry, brands can now turn influencer posts into “Branded Content” advertisements.

Instagram may be testing an Order sticker, likely a way to further commerce functionality in Stories, as well as further insights as to new vs. old “likes” on posts and account follower/unfollower info.

Twitter will now let you add guests to live video streams - but, just like this recent addition to sibling Periscope, guests are audio-only for now (think of it like a call-in show). Twitter has also acquired artificial intelligence firm Fabula AI to help combat false accounts, spam, “fake news,” and other pitfalls of the platform.

LinkedIn has acquired digital identity firm Drawbridge in a bid to enhance ad targeting functions.

And, just in case there wasn’t enough IKEA presence on Pinterest, the Swedish furnishings giant is now officially moving a shoppable version of its catalog onto the platform.

More info on all stories:

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#MidweekMinute 5/29/19: Feel the rainbow

Sorry, CrossFit fans.

Instagram’s IGTV is now accepting landscape videos as well as the original portrait-orientation videos. Instagram is also working on adding Story functionality to the post creation interface, and will turn your story ring rainbow if you use Pride hashtags during Pride Month (June).

YouTube will begin hiding subscriber counts in August for accounts that have over 1,000 followers, echoing recent announcements from Instagram and Twitter that seek to downplay focus on empty metrics.

More progress on Facebook’s CryptoCurrency: “GlobalCoin” is slated to roll out in 1Q20. Facebook has also added the ability for group admins to give feedback to members who break group rules.

LinkedIn Company Pages now feature a tab providing visibility into all ads that page has run in the past six months, which follows Facebook’s fairly recent addition of same. LinkedIn has also revamped its Sales Navigator platform to place updates front and center, and enhance integrations with other Microsoft software.

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#MidweekMinute 5/22/19: Zuck's Swiss bank account?

RIP #GrumpyCat (aka Tardar Sauce).

We already knew that Facebook’s algorithm was prioritizing content from close friends and content types you interact with regularly… but they’ve just upped that prioritization yet again, and are even incorporating a direct survey asking you about your preferences (and of course studying how your responses correspond to your actual activity).

Facebook has also instituted a simplified Relevancy Score for ads - moving from an overall number to specific indications of ad quality, engagement, and conversion.

Facebook is introducing stronger features to allow users to protect their privacy for activities outside of Facebook - which would, in turn, impact the ability of advertisers to target them using any information beyond what they have provided to Facebook.

Speaking of privacy, Facebook is also bringing back the “View As Public” feature that enables users to view their profile from the point of view of someone they’re not friends with - a feature that was removed following a privacy breach that had taken advantage of a bug in the previous system. (Oddly enough, they announced this via Twitter!)

Facebook’s cryptocurrency development is heating up with the registration of “Libra Networks” in Switzerland.

Instagram Stories have long been hampered by the lack of searchability… well, now they’re turning up in Instagram’s Explore screen, a huge step towards increasing story visibility by people who don’t already follow you. IGTV and Shop will also be featured in Explore under their own tabs, with the IGTV tab cribbing its new algorithmically-suggested, vertical-scroll layout from competitors Tik Tok and Snapchat (it’s copied the one large video at the top from Tik Tok, and the side-by-side pairings beneath from Snapchat). Additional tabs under Explore will focus on specific interests, customized to reflect user activity.

I was not aware that Instagram still had a standalone “Direct” messaging app… but, anyway, it’s being discontinued now.

After a fraught relationship, Twitter is once again tweaking its API - and is seeking outside developers’ feedback and partnership via a new program called Twitter Developer Labs. They’re also adding new features to TweetDeck, including support for GIFs and Polls.

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#MidweekMinute 5/15/19: Breakin' up is hard to do

Hot take: I don’t think we should break up Facebook. But plenty of people do. (Facebook itself, unsurprisingly, doesn’t.) Moving on…

Facebook is introducing Birthday Stories, which function like an event story insofar as they compile content from multiple users to tell a singular story, and even feature birthday song stickers. They’ve also got some new tools for small businesses, including automatic ads, appointment functionality, and new video editing tools within the platform (you can do text overlays! Fun!).

Facebook’s been testing a WhatsApp payments tool in India, and is now creating a new team to develop the feature’s international rollout, with primary offices in London and secondary staff in Dublin.

Instagram introduces @shop , an of-course-shoppable account to highlight shops and makers from across the platform. They also might be developing a Stories sticker that plays a music video snippet with some lyrics over it (though this whole story might just be one epic Rick Roll).

Instagram is also introducing some of Facebook’s fact-checker technology (that’s not really where I go for news and information… but people are, I guess?), and is going to be flagging anti-vaccination posts - though exactly what effect that “flagging” will have, I’m not sure.

MailChimp is introducing a bevy of new features, including websites (domains, templates, and hosting), ad retargeting on Google and social media, social posting, smart recommendations, recurring postcards, and a CRM (they already integrated well with several existing CRMs, but now are straight-up introducing their own), in the hopes of becoming a one-stop shop for small businesses’ digital needs. Not exactly social media, but worth having on the radar, as the new platform increases their integration with social media platforms.

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FAQ: IGTV?

Once Instagram’s 10-second Stories took off, it was time to introduce another video format: IGTV. These longer-form, 10-minute-max videos lend themselves well to episodic content. But should you be using it? And, if so, what are some best practices?

In all honesty, IGTV is still so new that even the most experienced social media video creators are still figuring out best uses for it. But getting in early on a new format isn’t exactly a bad position to put yourself in. Here’s some tips if you’re considering it.

#MidweekMinute 5/8/19: F8 wasn't the end of it...

Facebook has announced some loud & clear guidelines for how it’s shifting its algorithm with regard to video content - they’re preferring content that viewers return to repeatedly and deliberately, videos that keep viewers engaged for at least one minute and are at least three minutes long, and original content.

Facebook Messenger debuts a new Desktop app and some new features including co-watching (like Watch Parties), “Close Friend” designation, emoji status options, and a scheduling tool for appointment-based businesses like beauty and healthcare providers - and is planning to create interconnectivity between Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Facebook’s enterprise-level tool, Workplace, has also experienced their first redesign in years, focusing on chat, News Feed, and groups, while also delivering notifications about the company.

We’ve known for years that Facebook was developing its own cryptocurrency, but that story is moving forward as they seek investors. The latest rumors state that the currency is intended to be stable (not prone to the fluctuations of currencies such as Bitcoin) and that it may even seek to replace credit cards by undermining their processing fee structure.

Instagram is Working on a New 'Join Chat' Sticker which would enable Stories viewers to join a private chat group, direct from a Story.

Twitter is now allowing GIFs to be added to retweets. (See reaction below.)

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

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#MidweekMinute 5/1/19

Obviously, Facebook’s F8 conference - and the resultant announcements, and IMMEDIATE updates - is the big story this week. I’m even having a special livestream Thursday night with a few experts to go through some of the changes; join us live!

Facebook has announced they’re downplaying the newsfeed in favor of groups and events, making Messenger and direct communications with “close friends” a bigger priority, and upgrading the Dating features that they’ve apparently already had for a year in certain countries (did you even know? I didn’t; I recall announcing that it was coming, but didn’t know it had already happened!).

Facebook has also officially blocked surveys that mine for personal information (which is what got them in all of that privacy hot water to begin with).

Instagram has announced upcoming updates to their Camera feature, the immediate rollout of the Donate button for Stories that I mentioned last week, upgrading its Creator functions for more creative story options, and allowing influencers to sell things directly (more of an affiliate situation than a shop).

Twitter has announced several new live video content partnerships with content creators including Viacom, LiveNation, and the NFL. Not a fan of the new Twitter redesign? It’s all good; you can change it back. Twitter is also creating new tools for users to report misleading election-related posts, starting with India and the European Union - which, IMHO, is хорошая идея.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn is testing a “Services” feature for freelancers, which would help connect them directly to potential clients.

more info on all stories

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#MidweekMinute 4/25/19 (just past midweek...)

Disclaimer: this blog features 95% less scandal than that Wired expose.

Facebook is once again refining (read: changing everything around in) Ads Manager. They’re also testing upvotes and downvotes for comments, a la Reddit.

Facebook is also expanding their 3D image offerings - 3D images can now be added to Stories, Android users can now create and post 3D images, and even desktop users can make 3D images (though it’s a slightly more elaborate process).

Many had originally speculated that AI assistant functionality - much like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, or Google Home - would be part of Facebook’s Portal videochat device… it wasn’t, and isn’t yet, but Facebook has confirmed that they are now developing one. (Any bets on names? Mark? Zuck? Comrade?)

Instagram has rolled out a multiple-choice Quiz sticker for Instagram Stories (a welcome upgrade to the previous “yes or no” surveys), and announced plans to introduce a “Donate” sticker, bringing the ease of Facebook Donations to the Instagram Stories platform.

Instagram is also considering tinkering with possibly hiding “Like” counts on pictures. (But how will we know who’s popular???). This echoes comments from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who, in an interview at TED, expressed regret at the platform’s early focus on follower count and likes, and said that he would like to see Twitter move away from followings and more towards interest-based browsing - echoing Facebook and Instagram’s shifts towards “meaningful interaction.”

For now, Twitter is testing updated desktop layouts, has announced the upcoming rollout of a mute replies button and other options to combat abuse, and has acquired Highly, an app that turns article quotes into tweets.

LinkedIn has added the ability to label your “team mates,” to better prioritize updates from your most relevant contacts. They’re also discontinuing their standalone Job Search app, reabsorbing the app’s functionality into the main LinkedIn app, and added a calendar integration feature for Android.

LinkedIn has also revamped its advertising tools, adding Lookalike Audiences, Audience Templates, Interest Targeting, and Bing search data (because Microsoft).

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#MidweekMinute: App Tweaks

Now that we’ve all recovered from the FB/Insta/WhatsApp outage (honestly, I didn’t even notice it - I must have been busy on Twitter that day - or even IRL (gasp!)…

Facebook is experimenting with a few changes to the user experience. First up, they’re considering merging the newsfeed and Story feed into a single side-swipe interface (in a continued effort to get you to actually use stories on Facebook). They’re also testing bringing Messenger back into its main Facebook app, instead of forcing you to open the separate Messenger app to read messages on mobile. (That’s not the only change for Messenger - they’re also discontinuing Messenger Scan Codes.)

Instagram, meanwhile, is tinkering with their algorithm to demote content deemed “inappropriate” - sparking debate over what exactly that means. (Fewer belfies?)

Twitter is playing with a whole bunch of app changes in its new twttr experimental app (available by application only); they’re playing with swipe gestures (swipe to like!), improved conversation-thread tools (identifying authors, nesting original tweet context into replies), and creating a “true black” dark mode to save battery on mobile devices.

LinkedIn continues their march away from professionalism and into “social media” by adding reactions (and more photo stickers).

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FAQ: Which platforms should I be on?

This is, without a doubt, the question I hear most frequently.

The pressure of being on ALL the platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and whatever else the kids are using these days) is part of what makes social media seem so daunting for many busy small business owners - not to mention casual everyday users!

But don’t worry - you don’t need to be everywhere.

…or, if you’re more of a reader:

PLATFORM FATIGUE

#MidweekMinute 5/16/18: take a break

As stated last week, everyone's all abuzz that Facebook might - MIGHT - be developing their own cryptocurrency. Facebook also still hasn't escaped its data privacy woes: it just banned an additional 200 apps for illegally accessing or utilizing user data. In other, more popular news, Facebook's popular Live feature has unveiled the option of streaming across several pages at once, and is testing a "rewind" tool for live videos. (Cue Cher.) Facebook is also rolling out 3 new Facebook Story features to India first, with the intention to release them to the rest of the world soon thereafter: audio posts, archives, and the ability to save past story footage in your actual Facebook account (rather than on your phone).

Instagram has launched an emoji slider for Story polls, so you can tell us how you REALLY feel. And those ever-curious Instagram code spelunkers have unveiled the existence of an unlaunched "Time Spent" metric that can tell you precisely how much of your time you've spent scrolling through vacay shots

YouTube aims to keep you from frittering away too many hours passively watching by taking a leaf from Netflix's book and asking you periodically if you are still engaged in the platform, or if you need to "take a break" (you can control how long before it asks you in Settings). They're also rolling out a "voice remote" feature for Android.

Snapchat's redesign has been rolled back via yet another redesign, but users still aren't happy, claiming it keeps several of the redesign's least popular features.

Twitter will start identifying and hiding tweets that "detract from the conversation."

LinkedIn attempts to tell you how well your profile information matches what an employer has stated they're looking for before you even apply for a job.

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#MidweekMinute 5/9/18: taking care of business

Facebook appoints new head of blockchain development, opening the door for potential cryptocurrency integrations or even creation; Avatars, spotted in Android app code, look a lot like Snapchat's Bitmoji, and could allow for a greater range of emotive reactions; dating service won't have ads; a possible ad-free subscription model is being tested; and image and object recognition AI has been using Instagram photos for training.

Twitter is working on secure, encrypted DMs.

Instagram has introduced powerful new business tools including integrated ecommerce and business messaging tools with direct calls to action; Android app may soon allow Song Stickers within Stories; new dedicated beauty partnership unit.

WhatsApp integrates Facebook & Instagram video viewability within the app, including picture-in-picture functionality.

Pinterest announces Hootsuite integration.

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