Category Archives: Technology

Vine and YOU

Credit to Tech Crunch http://goo.gl/eJDnt

Credit to Tech Crunch http://goo.gl/eJDnt

Do you find yourself lying in bed at night wondering how else you can get connected? Lucky for you, Twitter’s new standalone app, Vine, is the latest media craze. Users can create six-second videos by holding their finger on the screen. When you lift your finger off, it stops recording; leaving you with the ability to record any sequence of six seconds into a video (Pocket-Lint).
These videos can then be shared on the Vine app, as well as be embedded into Facebook and Twitter posts. You can follow other users, “like” videos, and comment on them just like any other social media site. Vine is essentially Instagram with sound and motion, unfiltered.

Uses:
As great as Vine seems for just killing time and expressing some creativity, it can also uniquely be used to build/promote your business. This app gives you the ability to show 360 degree views (a boutique could circle around a new pair of shoes); you can use stop motion (a restaurant could show the progression of a dish being made); or you could show before and after pictures (a stylist could show a client before and after their treatment). (Steam Feed).

The possibilities are endless.

Vine is also a very nice, non-pressured way of getting into video. It holds a little more artistic class than YouTube by the very nature of the way that it’s shot and the six-second limit is a good ceiling to channel your ideas about what you can do with it. You also don’t need any video editing skills whatsoever. ~Pocket-Lint

If you’re thinking of giving this whole Vine thing a try, keep these tips in mind…

Vine Tips

  1. Visual Simplicity
    You want to be able to reach your whole audience, right? Try to avoid trying to send a complex message in a six second window.

  2. Integrate Customers
    By making contact with your customers, you’ll be able to create a community by generating more activity. By integrating DIY videos, creating contests, and allowing other users to send their ideas to you, you’ll be able to get feedback while showing your appreciation to your customers.

  3. Niche Market
    Show your customers who you are, humanize yourself a little! You can share videos of employees so the community can get to know them, tell stories through your videos; give them a reason to come back.

  4. Easy Discovery
    Just like Instagram and Twitter, you can add hashtags to help other users find your material. By incorporating tags, you are giving the community the opportunity to search keywords and find videos based on their interests; which, in this case, is hopefully you! (Red Rokk)

As with any social network, remember to be creative. It’s easy to get lost in the media blunder, but by having a unique/quirky edge, you are sure to find an interested market.

Additional Tips

If you are interested in using Vine for your business/organization, itech224 has a pretty good YouTube video that can get you started.

Go More In-Depth…

We never want you to feel limited to only what we’ve posted. Here are a list of other articles you can check out:

Next Week

We’ll look into Pinterest. For this week, what do you think about Vine? Have you used it or seen it in use?

Instagram and YOU

Credit to Idea Verse: http://goo.gl/AJi1M

Credit to Idea Verse: http://goo.gl/AJi1M

Instagram, acquired recently by Facebook, is one the most popular photo apps to download for Apple and Android users – boasting more than 100 million users. It’s as easy as open, snap (or choose from photo library), and filter. The app currently offers 17 different filters to help transform your photo, everything from black and white to “kelvin”. This app is like heaven for hipsters and trendy social media lovers alike. After choosing your filter, you can post your photo to Instagram where it can be seen on the feed of other users who follow you, or by users who find you in searches using tags.

What’s also cool about Instagram is the outreach to other platforms. Once you upload the photo to Instagram, you can also upload or embedded a link to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, or email . You can tag a location to your “photo map” and add names of venues or locations. Instagram has a social nature set up much like Facebook, where users can “like” and comment on your photos (About.com).

Instagram Filters: http://goo.gl/e87Sb

Instagram Filters: http://goo.gl/e87Sb

How to Rock Instagram

Instagram is a more niche platform than we’ve talked about before, but that doesn’t mean you should shy away. It is owned by Facebook, after all. People love seeing what’s going on with your business, and Instagram is a great way to stand out from the sea of photos out there.

You have to be smart and sneaky in order to catch the eyeballs and interests of social media users. They are no longer just a bunch of curios people trying to find their way… The best promotion is the promotion that doesn’t look like promotion. ~Bit Rebels

Using Instagram allows you to showcase your brand, target specific customers with tags, and interact visually and text based with customers. You will be able to show users the qualities your company possesses. Many users probably haven’t even heard of your brand. So try these tips (and add a little creativity) to boost your business’ exposure and create a following.

Instagram Tips:

  1. Engage your customers
    Feature customers using your products- appeal to their vanity. Ask them questions, respond to their comments, let them know they are valued.

  2. Snap behind the scenes
    People like to feel intimate with your business or your brand. Show how a product is made, what the raw materials look like, and what can be done with the finished product.

  3. Hold contests to generate engagement
    Photos attract users, but conversations engage them. Provide a close up and ask them what they think the product is. Another way to engage them is a photo submission contest – have the users submit a picture on Instram of them using the product. You’ll be surprised how creative some people can be…

  4. Showcase Employees
    Social Media Today suggests you should give your customers an idea of who they’re working with. By putting a face to your brand, you’re giving them someone to trust.

  5. USE TAGS!!
    As with many other social outlets, tags are the number one way to attract users to your product/brand, to help them find it, and to help promote you. Instagram tags are similar to Twitter – the hashtag (#). Use creative and descriptive tags so people can search for you, just like you would with a website and Google.

Additional Tips

This video does a pretty good job covering all the bases of how to use Instragram best for your business. Check it out.

Go More In-Depth…

We never want you to feel limited to only what we’ve posted. Here are a list of other articles you can check out:

Next Week

We’ll look into Twitter’s new app Vine. For this week, what are your thoughts on Instagram? Do you like it or not? Will Facebook’s ownership of Instagram affect its future positively or negatively?

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl and New Media

Think of the insane work that goes into only a few hours of national greatness called The Super Bowl. The food, the drinks, the stadium, the clothing, the uniforms….even the parking at the stadium. Millions of dollars in transactions are spent preparing for one night – check out some crazy stats from Time Magazine.

And then there are the commercials.


^^ Volkwagon’s Darth Vader commercial was one of the biggest hits during the Super Bowl.

Without the million-dollar commercials, it’s safe to say the Super Bowl wouldn’t be as glamorous as it is now. Some viewers watch more for the ads than the game. Even my focus shifts if the Packers aren’t the playing…

Advertising in a New Age

Technology changes drastically every year. Consumers want to be engaged more every year. Super Bowl advertisers don’t want to lose their connection with their 111.4 million viewers. So how are advertisers using new media this year?

Pick the Ending

    • Doritos is letting viewers pick which homemade commercial to air during the Super Bowl – a tactic they’ve used before. But ABC News says Coke is doing something a little different. They’re letting viewers pick the ending. And they’re meeting the viewer halfway. People don’t have to log in at Coke’s website to vote, they can also hashtag their pick on Twitter. You have to admit you are much more likely to cooperate when it’s through a platform you already have (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.). Whether or not this ends up working well for Coke or not, they’re catching on…

 

Sneak Peaks/Trailers

    • Some companies have tried showing entire commercials to consumer, which has worked, but marketers from places like Proctor & Gamble and Kraft foods are trying a different approach.

      ^^Tide’s “sneak peak” banner to create buzz for the real deal on Sunday.

      According to the NY Times, P & G and Kraft are offering up a sneak peak/trailer of their commercials. They are also encouraging consumers to spread talk about the sneak peaks on social media. Proctor’s goal is to generate buzz with their “teaser campaigns.” Will it work? We’ll find out after the Bowl if saving the big reveal for Sunday was the right move.

 

^^Kraft’s Mio Fit Sneak Peak

Premiere of a New Product

    • After the advent of the iPhone and Droid phones, the Blackberry has struggled to hold on to their market share. Research in Motion stated they will reveal the new Blackberry 10 at the Super Bowl. Other than that, they’ve been pretty hush hush. Volkswagon pulled a similar stunt when revealing the revamped Beetle design, but not many companies go quite that big. RIM needs a big move like the Super Bowl, because Blackberry is struggling. This is another campaign to keep an eye on and follow up after the game.

 

Go More In-Depth…

We never want you to feel limited to only what we’ve posted. Here are a list of other articles you can check out:

 

Wrap Up

Next week we will do a follow up of the ads aired during the Super Bowl – What worked? What didn’t? Did P & G pull of their sneak peak strategy?

Stay tuned, and if there’s something that interests you or you want us to talk about, let us know.