Optimizing your brand's social media properties is the absolute first rule of effective social marketing. Because social is a largely visual medium, all of your creative absolutely, positively must be properly sized for the platform on which it appears. We've all seen those brands with pixelated cover photos, or rectangular profile pictures awkwardly crammed into a space designed for square photos. We don't want you to be that brand, and you certainly don't want to be that brand. So let us help!Here's a handy outline with the latest image sizing specs for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and Linkedin. Bookmark it, refer to it often, and thank us later. Happy posting!
Want more tips and tricks for how to dominate social this year with Data, Creative and Amplification? Download our 2016 Social Media Survival Guide.
Word of mouth has been around since the beginning of time, but with the proliferation of social media networks and smart phones, brands are struggling to break through the noise and into consumer conversations in meaningful, measurable ways. Today, only 33% of people believe in online banners and 47% believe in TV ads, yet nearly 100% believe information if it comes from their friends. The evolution of communication and technology over the last 20 years has been a set up for influencer marketing. This audio presentation takes a look at how and why the most effective form of marketing, word of mouth, is now something that brands can control and execute at scale in authentic, transparent ways.
Want more tips and tricks for how to dominate social this year with Data, Creative and Amplification? Download our 2016 Social Media Survival Guide.
The 19th Annual UCLA Extension Restaurant Industry Conference, which took place on Thursday April 16th, has been one of the highlights of the year for Socialtyze. The restaurant business is a huge part of our DNA, with our client roster including The Cheesecake Factory and several others that are doing exciting things in the fast casual and casual dining space. Additionally, our sister agency StoryCafe specializes in connecting influencers with brands, so it was an amazing opportunity for our team to hear from the industry’s top thought leaders on what’s working, what isn’t…and what’s next.The day was filled with educational panels and presentations on a variety of topics ranging from finance to brand renewal to marketing. Our CEO John Bohan also moderated a lively session with four highly sought after foodie influencers, which you can view below.(Oh, and it probably goes without saying, the food was delicious.)
HERE ARE OUR TOP TAKEAWAYSAn investment in your employees is exactly that – an investment.One of the highlights of the day was Starbucks SVP Clarice Turner’s Keynote presentation on how the brand, after hitting an all-time low in 2008, righted the ship and has evolved into the industry titan it is today. The crux of that correction was based on one thing – that 47 percent of people at the time made their decision about where to buy coffee based upon the interaction they have with the people serving them. The percentage who made decisions based on the coffee itself? A surprising 26 percent.Starbucks took action and made meaningful changes to clear out the obstacles in their employees’ lives that would hinder their ability to focus on the guest’s experience. They gave 20+ hour employees healthcare benefits. They paid for employees to earn their degree…and more. Happy wife, happy life? Happy staff, happy guest.Ikea’s meatless meatballs are really good, an influencer told us so.Leslie Durso, a featured panelist and prominent plant-based foodie influencer, told the audience a story about how she recently partnered with Ikea to create a series of engaging posts, tweets, and Instagrams highlighting the retail giant’s new vegan meatballs. She also used Twitter’s hot new live streaming app Periscope to document her adventure through Ikea (which, let’s face it, is ALWAYS an adventure) to the Ikea Restaurant where she taste-tested the meatballs LIVE for her fans tuning in (Spoiler Alert: “They are really good!”). Ikea’s integration of on-brand influencers played a key role in the holistic campaign’s success, and all Los Angeles locations sold out within five days.Put social on the menu (and in the minds of employees).One of the more practical pieces of advice came from Gigi Dubois, who also participated on the influencer panel. Gigi stressed the importance of putting your brand’s social media handles on the menu (just as you do on your website) so they are highly visible and therefore can easily be added to tweets and posts. Ikea-meatball-loving Leslie added that it’s shocking to her to see how many servers don’t know the restaurant’s social media handles when asked. Both points may seem simple or obvious but they appeared to be “Aha!” moments for attendees. The in-restaurant trigger goes a long way in driving social conversation and making it easy for guests to share their experience.Your competitors aren’t as clear-cut as they used to be.In the past, it’s been easy to point to brands like Chipotle and say they are competing for share of mind and stomach with, say, Lemonade. But the reality today is that linear comparisons exist no more. For example, McDonald’s now has to proactively compete with a locally sourced espresso bar. Throw native food-based apps like Eat With Me (and a myriad of others) into the mix and the mud gets even muddier. Restaurants aren’t just competing with each other, they are also now competing with technology and the sharing economy.Go local or go home.One of the key takeaways of the day was: get real and get local. And most importantly, be honest and transparent about it. Local means different things to different people and brands, but according to Darren Tristano of Technomic, 57% of people say they make decisions based on whether or not the establishment sources local ingredients. Whether it’s locally sourced vegetables or fruit (top of mind for consumers at 66% and 67%, respectively), local craft beers, or even something as simple as a locally sourced honey, the reality is that people today care more than ever about where the food on their plate came from. This is particularly important for chain restaurants that are competing against the “Eat Local” movement. As Tristano said, you need to provide “food with a story.”Customer service doesn’t start – or stop - at the door.A common theme throughout the day was the importance of genuine customer service (which starts with the Employee Journey), both in store and online. Whether it was Mike Simms of Simmzy’s in Manhattan Beach, Susan Sarich of SusieCakes or Brett Schulman of Cava Grill, every owner of a successful restaurant stressed the importance of customer service extending to the digital space. Many have teams devoted entirely to engaging online communities, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Yelp, and are fully committed to responding to all questions and feedback – the good, the bad and the ugly – online, just like they do in the store. Those who don’t have the in house capacity outsource to companies like this one.
Want more tips and tricks for how to dominate social this year with Data, Creative and Amplification? Download our 2016 Social Media Survival Guide.
In the world of Facebook advertising, there is a huge difference between what intuitively makes sense...and what actually works. Understanding that difference is usually what separates the casual media buyer from the professional. In this post, we debunk a handful of Facebook advertising myths using real-life data.
I should totally target the friends of my fans! Leverage those social networks!This is the kind of thing that sounds great in a meeting. Throw some buzzwords around it, talk about network nodes, and voilà! You've got a great campaign! But you might be surprised to learn that friends of fans performed 42% under campaign averages in our testing. Truthfully, we don’t even recommend them to clients anymore. On second glance, you start to realize what a bad idea it is. Consider for a moment how many different people are in your own network. Just because you like something, doesn’t mean your mom or your high school sweetheart will. Targeting based off of friends of fans is hardly targeting at all.I need light, breezy images for my campaign! Everyone wants light assets to give a feeling of warmth on their Facebook page. But in reality, you need to embrace the darkness. We’ve talked about this at length in other posts where our research saw a 12% lift when darker backgrounds were used. Don’t trick yourself into thinking that what looks good in a vacuum is going to look good or, more importantly, stand out in the newsfeed.I don’t have a huge budget, so I should just switch to an Always-On StrategyAn always-on strategy is great… if you can afford it. Facebook, like anything else, has statistical lower limits when it comes to spend. In the past we’ve compared organic lifts that a page will experience as a result of ad spend. Pages with light spends (where you’re spending a couple hundred bucks a day) were actually punished for their light spend – showing no real lift over their averages. Pages with heavy spends (thousands of dollars daily) saw a 65% lift. Put simply, you’ll make bigger waves if you throw a boulder into a lake, instead of waking up every day to toss in a pebble.
The more keywords the better, right?Actually, no. Too many keywords in one category is a bad thing. The more keywords you add, the more duplication you see, and your reach will not grow additively. If a few of those keywords have low reach and you’re hitting those users over and over or they don’t respond well, then your overall category performance is going to take a hit.Any click estimate is better than no estimate at all right?The most tenuous part of any media negotiation is the estimate. If we’re talking to a client in a well-defined vertical that is running a campaign with known quantities, that usually isn’t a problem. But the truth is that there are campaigns that are entirely unique. We don’t know how an ad set featuring veterinarians with a conversion goal is going to do and we’ll do more damage to the campaign by pretending that we do. Instead, we always suggest running a small test budget to give an estimate based off performance as opposed to conjecture.Want more tips and tricks for how to dominate social this year with Data, Creative and Amplification? Download our 2016 Social Media Survival Guide.
Last Friday night, I stayed up to 2 AM playing with Meerkat and Periscope. I then proceeded to play with these social networks throughout the weekend broadcasting my morning breakfast, my run, my hike, my girlfriend singing, my son playing golf (much to his chagrin), and my Saturday night dinner party. I was amazed that nearly 100 people would tune into some of my broadcasts. I played with titles such as Best California Surf Spot (15 Viewers) to Girls on the Beach (78 Viewers).[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="900"]
Click Image to See Infographic[/caption]I’m completely fascinated that anyone with an iPhone can now broadcast their own TV channel to the world in an instant and people can “Like” and “Comment” on these videos in real time from virtually anywhere.My most fascinating experience was joining a group of guys my age for a beer at a bar in Northwest Africa. They were reading my comments, laughing, and trying their best to correspond. After such an amazing experience, I proceeded to use my iPhone and the Periscope app to fly all around the world in a matter of a couple hours.Time will tell exactly how this new technology will change our lives but from my perspective, it’s a game changer.We have witnessed how Twitter caused an uprising in Egypt and how the proliferation of video cameras have unveiled the problems in Ferguson, Missouri.How will live broadcasts change our lives even faster?Does live vs. pre-recorded make a big difference? I think it does. For some time, we have been fascinated with live content in the form of Live Sports, Live Concerts, Saturday Night Live or Live anything. To know that something is occurring right now makes us feel alive and in the moment. And, to know that we can interact with people at the other end of the broadcasts makes us feel like we are actually there. We have influence and significance in an event. We matter.We are also a culture that is beginning to demand transparency, particularly the younger generation who despises fabrication, trickery, and anything that is too polished or rehearsed. Live helps to ensure transparency.Some things that will be affected right away are News Broadcasting, Live Sports, and Concerts. It won’t be immediate but marketing will be affected over time. Like any revolutionary ad movement, it will start slowly then catch on like fire as big brands begin to accept it. The smart brands will jump all over live streaming video now for a variety of reasons. The number one reason is that it is much easier to build a following when a social media network is in its infancy. All the brands with the largest followings on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Vine got in early or paid dearly to catch up.Other core reasons for brands to jump in now is that live streaming video is a terrific marketing vehicle to connect with consumers through broadcasting:
This content can also live and breathe in the social channels for those who missed the live event. The key for brands is to get out there and do it. Creating a solid presence and a high frequency of content will be much more important than developing highly produced content. No one likes someone who comes to a party with well-rehearsed lines and an obvious motive. People want brands that they can talk to, get to know and introduce to their friends. Live streaming video is the next great evolution in brand marketing for those that embrace it now.Want more tips and tricks for how to dominate social this year with Data, Creative and Amplification? Download our 2016 Social Media Survival Guide.
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