DIGITAL - Facebook Launches TV Video App

Facebook’s new video app has now launched on both Samsung Smart TV and Apple TV, allowing users to save videos throughout the day and watch them when they get home.

The new app is part of Facebook’s concerted push into the video market.

Having already invested heavily in their live video feature, the app will provide a place where users can go to watch each other’s videos and more easily find other video content.

The move is potentially game-changing, opening up valuable television advertising dollars for the company and allowing Facebook to compete with market dominators like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, and Hulu.

Facebook has already dabbled in live broadcast of sporting events, and is looking at creating original content as well.

The new app isn’t the only video-focused change that users can expect.

Facebook also announced that videos will play with the sound on by default, vertical videos will now expand to fill the screen, and videos will continue to play in a thumbnail window while users continue to browse.

These changes are each designed to complement the new video app, and make Facebook a destination for users who want to watch, and share, video content.

 

However, the launch of the video app corresponds tragically with breaking news about arrests related to a rape streamed live on the service late last month – one of multiple such incidents.

A Facebook spokesman told CNN that, "Crimes like this are hideous and we do not allow that kind of content on Facebook. We take our responsibility to keep people safe on Facebook very seriously and will remove videos that depict sexual assault and are shared to glorify violence."

Facebook may need to more comprehensively address the issue in order to prevent these incidents from casting a shadow over their efforts to pull more users into their live video services.

Facebook is far from the only live video service to experience such gruesome content – both Snapchat and Periscope have also been used this way.

However, Facebook is a much larger player in the mobile market.

The company’s efforts to combat fake news have been met with approval by a consumer base tired of constant misinformation.

Tackling the issue of inappropriate content being broadcast on their new video efforts will hopefully also be a priority.

Either way, Mark Zuckerberg believes that video is “a megatrend on the same order as mobile.”

He spoke about the company’s focus on video in an earnings call in March, and stated that the company will continue to “put video first across our family of apps.”

It’s unlikely that Facebook will go head to head with Netflix when it comes to original content or scripted video content.

But the new app, along with video-focused changes and Facebook’s slow rollout of mid-play ads, will certainly offer new advertising revenue, and new services for both users and content publishers.

About Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a published academic, an editor with the Editors Association of Canada, an independent scholar and researcher, and a self-care and narrative coach. She is particularly interested in the intersection of technology and identity - how our tools shape our selves and change our stories, and in how the nature of work is changing as we incorporate more technology into our daily lives. 

DIGITAL - 2017 Social Marketing Planning Guide

As you plan 2017 are you looking for some guidance to set you up for social marketing success?

Social, digital, mobile - they are all vital to business success today and even more in the future.

Simply Measured has created a 2017 Social Marketing Planning Guide that takes a look back at the trends of 2016, including what is on its way out and what is on its way in, and planning tips for this year.

The guide includes:                               

• A roster of which trends will and won’t survive 2016
• An exploration of fresh trends you should think about in 2017
• A checklist to help you get started with your planning today
• Some examples of common social objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for major brands
• A list of resources to consider as you put together your 2017 plan.

While you may know that ad-blocker usage has been growing through 2016, showing more resistance to traditional “billboard” style ads, what does that mean to your social marketing plan?

According to the guide:                                    

“Digital marketing, and social in particular, is where your brand can get creative, disseminate well-made content, startle audiences into paying attention, and experiment with strategies on a more temporary basis. Unless your brand is clearly spreading spam or worthless, offensive content on social, you likely will not be blocked by your target users. This is the digital and social marketer’s advantage.”

Traditional TV viewership is declining especially among teenagers and young adults, making social media video even more important going forward.

Dark Social refers to the sharing done through non-public channels like Facebook Messenger, Twitter DM, Slack, or even text message and email and is something that many social marketers have been ignoring.

There’s a lot of sharing going on behind the scenes that can be taken advantage of and the guide shares some tips on how to do so - like using hash fragments.

Not enough visuals, too many "salesy" posts and too much automation are passé this year.

One of the highlights of the guide is the resource section.

If you are interested in the top LinkedIn groups to join or people to follow for social marketing trends, there’s a list.

The best Twitter lists, blogs and email lists are also included to get your social marketing to the next level.

Download the guide to learn more.

DIGITAL - The Shift to Mobile Commerce

E-Commerce, which encompasses all of the commerce that happens over electronic systems such as the internet, has already changed the consumer landscape.

Consumers demand fast, responsive, accessible marketing and information and brands are adapting to meet these demands.

Now e-commerce is expanding more fully into m-commerce, as consumers move more fully into mobile-immersed lives.

People are purchasing more of their goods and services online, and using e- and m-commerce in ways that continue to integrate the digital and physical worlds.

The Internet of Things is a big part of the shift in mobile commerce.

Products such as the successful Starbucks app allow people to place orders before they arrive in the store, and exemplify how the world of connected devices is changing consumer habits.

Starbucks has also led the way in providing a seamless mobile purchase environment within the app, and has connected the app to a revamped rewards system that offers incentives to the consumer to use the app for their purchases.

Marketers and retailers should keep this in mind as they develop their own mobile apps and strategies.

Other services that offer integrated online and physical retail moments, such as same-day shipping, curbside pickup, and online reservations for restaurants and hotels continue to expand the mobile commerce market.

And store locators, location-based advertising and recommendations, and store associate chat options help digital customers find their way to physical retail locations.

Since offline sales still account for more than 90% of retail purchases, getting customers into physical stores is still an important part of marketing strategies.

Android Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay are all other examples of the intersection of the Internet of Things and e- and m-commerce.

MasterCard has introduced the Commerce for Every Device program, which hopes to provide payment capabilities for a range of connected devices, offering convenience with the promise of security.

Even without looking at connected payment options for wearables and other internet-connected devices, people are already taking advantage of the larger screens and personal accessibility of smartphones for their purchases.

Payment options are more smooth and frictionless, and the unreliability of mobile shopping carts that plagued retailers as recently as 2014 have mostly been smoothed out.

With new mobile payment options being rolled out in quick succession, including North American and European companies like Ericsson following Africa’s lead when it comes to mobile commerce, smartphones are positioned to maintain their dominance.

One mobile commerce service that has tried to find traction and consistently failed is the buy button on social media sites.

Consumers are not yet ready to move their consumption onto social media sites, and they tend to go directly to retailers.

However, once levels of trust in the security of social media sites rises, it’s possible that buy buttons will seamlessly integrate customer purchases into their social media experience.

On the other hand, conversational commerce is growing and will continue to grow.

Chatbots, virtual assistants, and the aforementioned sales associate web chat services are an important part of the new e- and m-commerce.

Bots and virtual assistants are not yet providing the rich and interactive experience that consumers want, but they are in the early stages of technological development.

By Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

DIGITAL - More Consumers Using Social Media to Connect With Businesses

One is hard-pressed to make the argument that social media doesn’t matter.

There are few business models left that can’t benefit from some social media exposure, marketing or advertising.

According to studies conducted by Forrester research, adult savviness with respect to social media is on the rise – up three per cent from 37 to 40 per cent.

Other key findings made by the research firm include the discovery that 31 per cent of consumers are in constant use of social media to connect with businesses, a four per cent increase from 2015.

Sixty-nine percent of these consumers buy online and on mobile.

According to Hootsuite, a popular social media marketing and management dashboard, one of the greatest advantages to businesses is building brand/product loyalty:

“A study by The Social Habit shows that 53 per cent of Americans who follow brands on social media are more loyal to those brands.”

For the less technologically-savvy social media user, dashboards such as Hootsuite can alleviate overwhelming decisions of what platforms to use and when, as the ‘one stop shop’ allows users to post using one system to a number of platforms at the same time.

The optimization tools also allow its users to schedule posts ahead of time, therefore optimizing traffic flow and resulting in more targeted leads.

Built-in analytics allow for better tracking to ensure your audience is achieving best results though interacting through your website/social media platforms.

Networking, piggyback advertising and creating repeat business lies in the sharing of content, frequency of use and paying it forward (sharing posts from other industry members, colleagues); this big picture approach has longer-term benefits and helps establish better branding.

Market research indicates more investment into the social media marketplace in the future.

According to Entrepreneur.com: “recent research from Econsultancy shows that 71 percent of brands plan to invest more heavily in social media in the coming year to reach new followers and build brand reputation.”

The blog continues on to rank their top picks for platforms, as they relate to promoting brand awareness, with Facebook leading the pack and appealing to the broadest spectrum of users.

Instagram is ideal for image-based branding – clothing retailers or foodies; Google+ is shaping up to be a good tool for connecting with men in the technology sector (research indicates that two-thirds of its users are men in this industry); Pinterest, much like Instagram, notes higher success rates for women-dominated industries such as clothing and jewelry; and LinkedIn is a strong platform for business-to-business corporate users.

Keep it visual. According to Entrepreneur.com: “Articles with images receive 94 per cent more views. Twitter content with images receives nearly twice as many views as text posts, even though there are seven times more text posts on Twitter.”

Above all, the leverage for business owners in using social media platforms is about creating a level of interaction between their business and users – publishing engaging content, offering freebies, or discounts that entice users to ‘like’ the business page, posting strong visuals – these are all potentially lucrative methods to increase online presence and ensure your business is current.

By Lindsay Seewalt

Lindsay is an experienced journalist and mother of three whose heart and home is always open to a four-legged friend. With her Corgi, Angie, as household editor-in-chief, Lindsay gives back to the animal planet through the written word on anything and all ado about pets. She is passionate about topics regarding animal welfare and responsible pet ownership, which she aims to instill in both her readers and children to be compassionate animal lovers who are conscious and considerate that furry friends around the globe deserve a voice.

DIGITAL - Artificial Intelligence Offers Marketing Opportunities

Artificial intelligence (AI) has fascinated humans for generations, and dystopian futures full of malevolent intelligent robots have remained a science fiction staple since the 1940s, and have only grown in popularity since the term “artificial intelligence” was coined in 1965.

Robots and AI - benevolent or violent – still feature prominently in science fiction, but also in speculative fiction and non-fiction, and they are a significant research direction for many technology companies and institutes.

The fear of malevolent AI is on the minds of many, but others see the potential for deep connection and community within benevolent AI, such as in Eugenia Kuyda’s fascinating and heart-wrenching construction of an AI that spoke in her deceased best friend’s voice, using his words.

This is a type AI that drives connection and community, and is a tool for health and healing - a far cry from HAL 9000, and closer to projects like benevolent.ai, that use AI to advance healthcare and search through emerging research for marketable trends.

It is this potential for conversation and connection that makes so much marketing and customer interaction possible in developing AI technologies.

More and more, AI and adaptable bots are part of the fabric of everyday life.

AI is no longer a science fiction trope, it is now a reality. And, critically, AI, or at least learning bots, are a marketing tool that will become increasingly relevant as consumers demand round-the-clock, real-time responsiveness from brands. 

AI is already present within marketing.

AI systems are curating content, making suggestions for products or “people you may know”, analyzing credit and debit card usage to prevent fraud, and even helping people fight parking tickets or keep their housing in the face of housing insecurity and homelessness.

As marketing moves forward, customers will expect more interaction, and more responsiveness.

FastCoCreate’s sector forecasting suggests that marketers will strive to “make everything a catalyst for conversation” and AI will be an important part of that process.

There are risks with using AI, as Microsoft learned with the launch (and quick shut down) of Tay. Allowing AI to learn from the internet at large is a significant risk, and Tay learned the worst parts of contemporary human interaction from Twitter.

Marketers will need to be aware and ready to respond quickly to problems in the system, and be conscious of curating and guiding the process or risk repeating Facebook’s error when it’s “on this day” algorithm failed to analyze context and ended up presenting users with ex-partners, unhappy memories, and even deceased pets and friends. Good automation requires good algorithms.

Artificial intelligence is here, and is a fascinating, exciting, and growing field. It will have significant impact on employment and labour, marketing, even health care and education.

The current consumer climate is changing rapidly, and adapting to customer demands through using leading edge technologies – including AI – is an important tool in any marketer’s belt.

By Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

DIGITAL - Pokémon GO Popularity is Declining

Pokémon GO peaked on July 15 with around 45 million active users.

(Chris Helgren, Reuters)

At that point the game was making more than all other mobile games combined. The mobile game was revolutionizing Augmented Reality (AR), and suddenly bringing the Internet of Things to the front of people’s minds.

The game, and its immediate uptake among an unprecedented number of users, was the first of its kind in terms of immediate enthusiasm and user engagement.

It had, and has, implications for anyone interacting with the digital world (which, at this point, is nearly everyone).

Now, the game’s popularity is in decline.

Interest in Augmented Reality, which was piqued by Pokémon Go’s popularity, has also started to decline, while interest in Virtual Reality (VR) remains high.

Was all the hype about AR unwarranted? Probably not.

AR intersects with the Internet of Things in ways that VR currently cannot – products like Microsoft’s HoloLens allow for a blending of digital and physical worlds that even the coolest Vive game can’t.

Despite that, both industries are growing, and with the development of the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance (VRVCA) and the continued interest in AR technologies such as the award winning HoloAnatomy for HoloLens, that growth isn’t likely to stop anytime soon.

So while the AR hype will probably fade for a while, the industry remains vibrant and growing, and Pokémon Go’s success will be something that developers look to recreate.

Pokémon Go’s popularity decline is probably not just a temporary dip.

So, is Pokémon Go is on its way out?

Again, probably not. Between mid-July and mid-August, the game lost approximately 25% of its active users, and a linear projection would see the game dead in the water by winter.

However, the decline is not surprising.

The average mobile game only maintains 22 percent of users a month after they first play the game. Other estimates put that number even lower.

Even if the game loses users at the standard rate, there will be a “long tail” of user engagement. Ars Technica estimates that it’s possible as many as 26 million people could still be playing the game in mid-2017.

Niantic’s plans to release Legendary Pokémon in special events are sure to draw the older fans back into the mobile game even if they’ve dropped off from daily play.

And the developer has other plans to continue engaging players, including the introduction of player-versus-player battles.

There are many ways the game can keep itself afloat, and regardless of where Pokémon Go ends up, the doors it has opened for marketers, developers, and users won’t be closing anytime soon.

By Tiffany Sostar
Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.