Showing posts with label Instagram. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Instagram. Show all posts

Friday, June 29, 2018

Conquer Social Media With Instagram?


Why Instagram Conquered Social Media..

Remember when people were amazed that Facebook would spend $1 billion on Instagram?



Back in 2012, the mobile app was known primarily for retro filters placed over the photos of its young urban users. The company had no revenue. It didn't even have an Android app. What folly!

Things couldn't be more different now. An analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence recently valued Instagram at $100 billion. The photo platform recently crossed a billion monthly active users, and the same Bloomberg analyst suggested it's on track to double that already gargantuan figure. And perhaps most significantly, people now are beginning to spend about as much time in the Instagram app as in Facebook's.



What is it about this app that displays photos and videos that makes it so wildly successful?

Partly, it's Instagram's clever design choices. But it's also because Instagram has been able to tie people's desire for connection to a growing revenue stream better than any other platform.

You can trace this success back to Instagram's much derided "hipster" aesthetics. The use of filters, first deployed as a mobile throwback to the Polaroid, ended up framing people's pictures as idyllic representations of life: Here's my day spent around the city — only prettier.

Instagram thus became intimately tied to aspiration. It has for years now been a cliché that the platform is a place for people to show off themselves. Even accounts with wide-ranging focuses, from wellness to bikini models to design, play off the idea of presenting a curated, polished version of life, gathering thousands or even millions of followers because of it.



Its effect can be felt everywhere.

It's a well-documented phenomenon now that new cafes and bars, or even art shows, will shape themselves to look good "on the 'gram." And as writer Kyle Chayka has convincingly argued, it has even a produced a kind of uniformity of "hip" spaces around the world — a trend he calls AirSpace — that has coffee shops in Berlin and Bombay looking almost exactly the same.

It's that same focus on aesthetics and aspiration which made the platform ideal for eCommerce. First, people with large accounts became influencers and began to peddle or at least implicitly endorse certain products. Then, brands migrated to the platform because its visual-first design was ideal for marketing, particularly for fashion.



Now, Instagram users can buy products directly in the app from both its stories feature and its main feed.

By monetizing the way in which people find and express what they're coveting, Instagram is well-positioned to produce serious revenue, particularly with such a large user base. Its success is in how it brought a revenue stream to the native culture of the platform.

But if Instagram is partly where people live out their #bestlife, the app also has a clever release valve for all the accompanying pressure around self-presentation: the story. Blatantly copied from Snapchat, the feature allows users to turn photos and videos into a form of social connective tissue. It also lends itself to the flippant, the ephemeral, the messy, and the spontaneous. Unlike the polished nature of the images that appear on one's profile, the story is more like an audio-visual status update that simply deletes after a day, and it's more fun because of it.



In that sense, Instagram is a relief from other social networks. It has avoided the pitfalls of Facebook and Twitter through its more closed-off nature.

Users cannot post links in comments, so that sort of spam is prevented. There is no built-in "re-gram" function akin to Twitter's retweet or quote tweet function, making the desperate clamor for virality less pronounced. Meanwhile, the simple visual nature of the app also means it's less likely to be used for explicitly political or ideological purposes (though whether this is good or not depends on one's proclivities).

That is not to say that Instagram doesn't have its social problems. Just recently, Star Wars' actor Kelly Marie Tran was driven off Instagram because of the harassment she received there, and she isn't the first. Large digital platforms always allow for malice and unintended uses, and it's imperative that tech companies think about this fact from the start.



After all, far too often, the makers of social networks don't think about all the consequences of their platforms' structures.

Neither Twitter nor Facebook predicted that their apps would be full of malicious actors and bots because of the way their apps prioritized visibility, metrics, and sharing, behaviors that would eventually be gamed. What Instagram's continued success suggests is that it's the structure of apps — how they are made and what they then allow — that is the key to fostering a culture that doesn't become toxic.

As it turned out, Instagram's most important filters were those which helped quell bad behavior: design, a bit of luck, and a marriage of both culture and commerce.

Guest Authored By Navneet Alang. Navneet is a Technology and Culture Writer based in Toronto. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, New Republic, Globe and Mail and Hazlitt. Follow Navneet on Twitter.





"Instagram has been able to tie people's desire for connection to a growing revenue stream better than any other platform.." -NavneetAlang


    • Post Crafted By:
      Fred Hansen Br@nd Alchemist at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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    Location: Loveland, CO 80538, USA

    Friday, May 4, 2018

    YOUR Social Media Advertising, Explained?


    Advertising on social media, explained..



    1. Apparently the advertising sector on social media is huge. Is this true?

    For ordinary users, social networks are a way to keep in touch with friends. But with 2.5 bln users worldwide, they have now become indispensable marketing tools.

    It is estimated that $31 billion was spent on social media advertising worldwide in 2016 -- almost doubling over a two-year period.

    As newspapers close and TV dwindles in popularity, the likes of Facebook and Twitter are becoming the main destinations for advertisers to spend their cash.

    Social media's share of digital advertising is continually growing -- rising from 23.2 percent in 2013 to 34.5 percent in 2017. However, the sector is dominated by search engines, where advertising is tailored to the keywords you type into Google.



    2. Does advertising on social media actually work?

    Research suggests that companies who advertise on social media do see public awareness grow -- and their brands are often regarded more positively afterwards.

    You may have noticed that ads can tend to follow you around -- meaning searching for shoes on a retailer's website suddenly means they're in your Facebook News Feed.

    Advertisers tend to like social media because it's easier to reach certain people based on their age, gender, location and interests. As you'd imagine, it's a lot harder to pull off targeted advertising on physical billboards. Not only are they more expensive, but campaigns end up grabbing the attention of the wrong demographics.



    Through social media, advertisers can use metrics to see whether their desired audience are engaging with their campaigns. Not all of this is to say the system is perfect, though, as some ad formats are irritating and intrusive -- redirecting you away from the website where you wanted to be.

    3. So wait a minute… are they using my data?

    Yes -- in more ways than you think. Your level of education, ethnicity, whether you own a home, relationship status, birthday, job, political views, car, internet browser, investments and TV habits are just some of the types of data that can be used.

    Awareness about how social media companies are using personal information has been heightened by the scandal surrounding Cambridge Analytica and Facebook.



    The political consulting firm harvested the data of at least 87 million people after launching an app where hundreds of thousands of people were paid to take a personality test. Participants gave consent for their data to be collected -- but the details of their friends were also harvested without their knowledge.

    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced questions in Congress about the controversy.

    He denied that the social network sells personal data to advertisers, but said: "What we allow is for advertisers to tell us who they want to reach, and then we do the placement."

    In 2017, the social network generated almost $40 billion in revenue from advertising -- a 49 percent increase on the year before.



    4. The drinks are on Facebook, then. Can Blockchain improve advertising?

    Several Blockchain platforms are trying to challenge the dominance of big tech firms by giving users control of their data.

    In the future, Blockchain could be used to allow you to decide which data you want to be stored about you online -- and more importantly, who gets to see it.

    If that information ends up being used by advertisers, it could be you who ends up getting a paycheck rather than tech giants such as Facebook and Google.

    At the moment, personal data worth billions is being sold per year -- but the public doesn't see a penny of this.



    This could have some unexpected, but positive side effects. Advertising could actually prove useful because companies would be working off accurate information. Plus, you could be able to use your own data to personalize apps in an instant.

    5. I’ve heard of social media influencers – what’s their role in all of this?

    Social media influencers are people who have a large following online. They might review beauty products on YouTube, post fitness advice on Instagram, or upload funny videos on Facebook.

    Some influencers boast millions of fans -- and for advertisers, they can be a valuable way of reaching new customers.



    Brands are regularly hoping to get their products endorsed by these stars, or to get their items featured in a sponsored post. In some cases, these deals can be worth hundreds of thousands (even millions) of dollars.

    There has been controversy over arrangements which have seen influencers speak positively about certain products in posts and videos without disclosing that they have been sponsored to do so. This can prove problematic when it comes to influencers who have a large, impressionable and young fan base.

    6. So how do advertisers get influencers on board?

    One common technique is to make sure they are a fan of a product already.

    Influencers often talk about how much free stuff they get -- and this is in part because brands want to be recognized by them. This method is especially popular when it comes to so-called "micro influencers" -- niche talent with a modest following who enjoy high engagement rates.



    One challenge can be making sure that an endorsement campaign has a lasting impact on viewers and followers. A single, discreet mention of a product isn't always going to cut it -- and that's why many campaigns require multiple posts and multiple mentions of a product to succeed.

    The cost of this form of social media marketing is often hugely inflated because of the fees taken by agents and social networks.

    7. Can Blockchain make it easier for advertisers and influencers to collaborate?

    Certain platforms are hoping to boost the earnings of influencers, while simplifying the steps advertisers need to take to get them on board.



    Decentralized platforms such as Patron plan to use smart contracts to make the relationship between customers and creators fairer and more transparent.

    Such systems could make it possible for advertisers to pay influencers for a single post, or to hire them exclusively for a period of weeks or months.

    Guest Authored By Connor Blenkinsop. Connor is a journalist based in London, where he has covered news and business briefs for national news outlets. Away from deadlines, his interests include music and badminton.





    "The cost of this form of social media marketing is often hugely inflated because of the fees taken by agents and social networks.." -ConnorBlenkinsop


      • Post Crafted By:
        Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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      Location: Loveland, CO 80538, USA

      Sunday, February 11, 2018

      Why Social Media Influencers Prefer Instagram?


      As of last September, the Facebook property had 800 million monthly active users..



      In recent years, the popularity of social networks has seen the emergence of the social media influencer.

      Influencers have large followings on social networks, and are often hired by companies to promote their brands.

      This type of advertising, which is similar to a product placement in a show or movie, is considered more personal and less invasive than traditional advertising. Influencers use a wide variety of social platforms, but a recent survey by influencer platform Zine found that Facebook's (NASDAQ: FB) Instagram was still the favorite.

      Instagram, which had 800 million monthly active users as of last September, offers a simple and visual way for influencers to deliver messages via single photos and short videos. The total number of influencer posts on Instagram also nearly doubled annually to over 1.5 million posts in 2017, according to influencer marketing firm Klear.




      Traditional blogs remain surprisingly relevant, thanks to their dedicated followings.

      However, the three other platforms -- YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest -- aren't attracting influencers. That's likely because YouTube videos require more time to produce, Facebook's News Feed prioritizes family and friends, and Pinterest is more frequently used for pinning personal interests than following influencers.

      Guest Authored By Leo Sun. Leo is a Technology Specialist at The Motley Fool who focuses on IoT, Cloud, Big Data, Mobile and Gaming. Follow Leo on Twitter.





      "Traditional blogs remain surprisingly relevant, thanks to their dedicated followings. However, the three other platforms -- YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest -- aren't attracting influencers.." -LeoSun



        • Post Crafted By:
          Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, CO  where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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        Location: Loveland, CO 80538, USA

        Thursday, February 8, 2018

        YOUR Social Media Influencer Advertising?


        Social media influencers add a new "twist" to advertising..

        Picture this: You're scrolling through your feed on Instagram and notice what appears to be an endorsed advertisement for a new workout supplement. The post has received hundreds of thousands of likes and dozens of comments.



        Bewilderment overcomes you as you try to figure out why the Instagram user looks familiar.

        But at the same time, you feel intrigued to learn more about the product based on the amount of attention the post has received. And that glowing review, which acts as the photo caption, makes you feel inclined to purchase the supplement.

        Don't fret, this isn't a scam. In fact, thousands of companies have been using this relatively new concept. It's simply a modern form of advertising called "influencer marketing," which allows for so-called influencers -- users who have a large following on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat -- to partner with brands that are in sync with their lifestyles.

        In recent years, traditional celebrity endorsements have taken a back seat to brands' influencer-created content. So stars like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian have been replaced by that familiar, yet unfamiliar face that popped up in your feed moments ago.




        And as long as Instagram and other platforms continue as go-to places for many shoppers, influencers will keep racking in thousands of dollars as quickly as their posts acquire likes.

        What does it mean to be a social media influencer?

        Influencers can be fitness gurus, gaming addicts, beauty bloggers, fashionistas, foodies, travel experts, etc. They offer an authentic presence on social media based on their copious numbers of followers and level of engagement. Generally speaking, each influencer maintains an audience of at least 10,000 followers on one platform, if not more.

        But it takes more than having an attractive physique and a coveted blue "verified" badge to acquire digital celebrity status.

        Influencers use social media platforms to connect with their audience on a personal level. They brand themselves within a specific industry by promoting content that coincides with their values and interests. For example, someone who correlates with fashion would be more inclined to promote a clothing company's T-shirt as opposed to a travel agency's sale on a vacation package to an exotic destination.



        Brands hire influencers and pay them to endorse their product(s) or service(s) within photos and videos, which essentially act as word-of-mouth opinions similar to what you might seek from a close friend. Many consumers value the opinions of influencers, which subsequently makes them more inclined to purchase the product that's being advertised.

        Last year, Forbes released a comprehensive list of the world's top influencers. The going rate for influencer-created content ranges anywhere from $500 to upwards of $20,000, or more, for each sponsored post.

        Does influencer marketing work?

        Influencer marketing -- sometimes described as the "Wild West" for its lack of strategic guidance -- has gained a competitive edge in the industry due to its tendency to form viral conversations about brands online. Over the years, companies have developed applications to help brands determine which influencers are best suited for their digital campaigns. 

        Take Ryan Detert, CEO of Influential. Six years ago, Detert was an influencer himself. But over time, he realized a gold mine was forming in influencer marketing, and he wanted in.



        So in 2014, Detert channeled his digital prowess to create a platform that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), powered by IBM Watson, to match Fortune 1000 brands with social media influencers. That led to the birth of his company.

        Essentially, brands are able to send deal flows to influencers and track their campaigns' performance by using Influential's dashboard.

        "We have created a multi-step process where it's not just influencer marketing. But instead, we're using our technology, our data, to provide the most transparent sites to deliver on a campaign," Detert said. "We're closing the loop. That's the holy grail of marketing. It's not just getting people who can speak word-of-mouth about you, but tracking that can lead to higher increase in sales, better sentiment, overall response that's different than just hoping a TV commercial is watched."

        "If we match back the brand's personality to the influencer's personality, we're seeing a 30 percent lift in engagement in overall ROI [return on investment]," he continued. "All of these things allow for you to activate the best social influencer and then track back to see if it had some sort of impact."



        According to Detert, three tiers -- micro, macro and mega -- define influencers' bandwith on social media and determines their ability to move the needle on followers' purchasing decisions. He urges advertisers to target the macro tier, which includes influencers who typically maintain 50,000 to 2 million followers.

        "You want people who have the highest level of engagement -- meaning likes, retweets, comments and reshares -- versus their total follower count. Celebrities have half a percent of engagement, versus someone who might be a domain expert that has half a million followers," he explained. "They all have a place in the marketplace. But if you want a digital buy, you wouldn't necessarily go with the biggest celebrity, unless you plan on surrounding them with a bunch of other smaller influencers."

        Influential also offers a new standard within the industry that helps brands identify influencers by using demographic, contextual and psychographic information.

        "What you want to be able to do is really match people properly through these different methodologies and then be able to create content that's in the voice of the influencer, but hits all of the things that the brand cares about. Like which hashtag to use, type of sentiment you want to get across, being able to speak to a mommy blogger versus a Gen Z millennial," Detert said.



        Still, the big question remains: Does influencer marketing actually work? Most would agree that it does, because influencers can reach a larger audience than what a traditional ad may target.

        "There is no one that I've seen that has said, 'No, it's not for us.' There's too much ROI. There's too much money you can make off of this," Detert said. "It's too integral to the branding, the persona of a brand, to not be on these social platforms and to not integrate or collaborate with a partner that can speak to these audiences."

        The Future of Influencer Marketing

        As the power of social media continues to grow, it's arguably fair to say influencers will continue to have a stronger impact on consumer brand awareness. In turn, brands will be required to shift their strategies, conforming to this new norm as influencer-follower relationships expand.

        Soon it'll be rare to find a brand that doesn't include influencers within its ad budget, according to Detert.



        "This is the year of what we believe to be attribution," he said. "Basically meaning that when someone puts out a message natively on these different platforms, through a paid media function, you can actually lead back to that person and see the content from the influencer. You'll actually be able to see if they actually bought the product that's being advertised."

        Detert also predicts the industry will "become more and more open" and it will be strongly "based off of native content."

        "It's been fun to watch the journey," he concluded. "Six years ago, we received $5,000 budgets, if we were lucky. Now, this is a $5 billion- to $10 billion-a-year business."

        Guest Authored By Lauren Meltzer. Lauren is Homepage Editor/Reporter at CBS News. She formerly was with CBSLA, LA Times, TMZ, KTLA, FOX61NEWS and Hartford Courant. Follow Lauren Twitter.





        "The power of advertising for your business cannot be underestimated. But remember, you don’t need to break the bank to get there.

        Stick to these simple tips to be resourceful with your message and spread the word about your unique value.." -Anuja Khemka

          • Authored by:
            Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, CO  where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

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