DIGITAL - Instagram Reaches 700 Million Monthly Users

After six-plus years many social media apps become a bit stagnant and growth slows.

Not so for Instagram who announced yesterday they now have 700 million monthly users.

It’s the quick bump in growth that is so impressive - the latest 100 million users signed up in just four months.

This announcement was right on the heels of a blog post which noted over 200 million people use Instagram Stories every day.

To put the growth of Instagram Stories into perspective - the feature was just launched last August, while Snapchat launched five years ago and has 161 million daily users.

Instagram is expanding on its international presence and sticking with its foundation as a visual communication medium.

According to TechCrunch here’s how long it took Instagram to add each 100 million users:

• October 6, 2010 – Launch
• February 26, 2013 – 100 million;  28 months
• March 25, 2014 – 200 million; 13 months
• December 10, 2014 – 300 million; 9 months
• September 22, 2015 – 400 million; 9 months
• June 21, 2016 – 500 million; 9 months
• December 15, 2016 – 600 million; 6 months
• April 26, 2017 – 700 million; 4 months

“Growth was driven by a number of factors, including our ability to better connect people with their friends on Instagram,” said a spokesperson. “We also took steps to simplify and improve our sign-up process, which helped bring in new people from all over the world.”

Instagram is now more than twice the size of Twitter.

DIGITAL - How to Avoid Annoying People on Social Media

According to Sprout Social Q3 2016 Social Index, many brands can be annoying their customers on social media.

Sprout surveyed more than 1,000 Facebook, Twitter and Instagram users to determine what annoys them about brands on social, what drives them to unfollow and which industries are on the right side of the line.

86% of social media users want to and do follow brands on social. But when they do, they’re looking for relevant content.

According to Sprout, one of the biggest mistakes companies make is not providing the content their followers want.

Too many promotions tops the list of annoying social media actions.

This is followed by using slang or jargon, not having personality in the account, trying to be funny when they’re not, and not responding to messages.

Sprout’s suggestions to avoid these mistakes:

“Identify your brand values, collect data, identify audiences and target your content accordingly. Additionally, pull together guidelines that steer clear of over-played phrases and stay true to your brand’s personality.”

Not surprisingly, many of the factors that annoy customers also cause them to unfollow a brand. 

With 57% of people who follow a brand likely to make a purchase from that brand, it’s important to figure out well-balanced social media messaging.

Promotional posts are valid to followers, but not too many. Add to that most people have to see a product or service 2-4 times on social before they purchase it and social marketers’ heads may begin to spin in confusion.

Sprout’s suggestions:

“...you don’t want to bombard your audience with the exact same messaging over and over again. Minimally edit and revise your social post in order to keep your followers attentive and engaged. Change the headline or photo for a blog article you’re posting on Facebook. Link to your website by including a different quote or data point in your Tweet. Try posting the same product photo on Instagram in different settings and environments and make sure to include an updated caption.”

Some of the most annoying industries on social media according to the survey include government, banking/finance, marketing/advertising and real estate.

A few of the most liked industries on social media are retail, media/entertainment, consumer goods and technology.

Some interesting findings in the report are around perception versus reality.

Sprout looked at how brands’ responsiveness was perceived and cross-referenced that with data on how each industry actually responds.

People perceive media and entertainment as the third most responsive industry - but in reality they are the least responsive.

While people perceive utilities as an unresponsive industry, in reality they are the most responsive of all industries.

Sprout’s conclusions:

“Your followers aren’t interested in overtly promotional social content or poorly received puns. They want to be informed through content that’s adjacent to your industry and relevant to their interests. They want to be engaged with, talked to and recognized.”

Read the full report.

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 - Snapchat Offers New Advertising Features

In an effort to improve mobile commerce and lead generation marketing, Snapchat is testing deep-linking and auto-fill in their ads.

With deep-linking, consumers can swipe up and tap a link to be taken out of Snapchat and into a new app - to a playlist in a music app, or a product page in an ecommerce app.

Auto-fill allows viewers to fill out lead-generation forms with one tap on the screen after seeing an ad.

This time-saving feature addresses the challenge advertisers have getting consumers to take the time to fill out forms, particularly when they are using a smartphone with its small screen and keyboard.

"Snap's new features make its advertising platform more amenable to the type of direct response advertising that could make it a social commerce player," said eMarketer analyst Yory Wurmser. "Mobile retail above all is about relevant, compelling images and simplicity."

Other social networks already have these features so Snapchat is taking steps to catch up to them and stay on top of social commerce in general.

Some interesting statistics for businesses thinking about advertising on Snapchat:

• Over 100 million active daily users
• Snapchatters watch over 10 billion videos per day

• 58 percent of college students would be likely to purchase a brand’s product or service if they were sent a coupon on Snapchat.

DIGITAL - Using Emojis for Marketing

Most everyone has dropped an emoji into a text or social media post - the symbols are turning into the new internet slang.

And more brands are using them in their marketing than ever before. 

Research, by mobile app provider Appboy, also showed most mobile phone users have a positive perception of brands that do so.

Their survey of mobile phone users in the U.K. and U.S. concluded that most users age 14 and over thought brands that used emojis were fun and relatable.

Analysis of the Appboy platform showed in June 2015, brands sent 145 million mobile messages containing emojis. A year later, Appboy reported that 814 million emoji-containing mobile messages were sent, an increase of 461%.

As companies look to stay relevant or be part of a trend by utilizing emojis, it’s important to keep in mind that 11% of respondents thought they were unprofessional and 12% childish.

So how can emojis be used effectively?

Before using emojis, organizations need to determine:

• How their audience interacts online
• If emojis will enhance the branded message
• Which emojis are relevant to the company brand
• How often to use them and
• Ensure they understand what the emoji means.

Domino’s Pizza won the Titanium Grand Prix for breakthough idea of the year for developing an emoji ordering system - a quick tweet featuring the pizza emoji led to an instant order, which was confirmed through a direct message.

Chevrolet composed a press release using only emojis for the launch of the 2016 Cruze.

The creative folks at World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched the first emoji based fundraising campaign with their #EndangeredEmoji Twitter campaign. Every tweet using one of their custom emojis resulted in a donation to WWF and increased awareness about protected animals.

While these campaigns were done by big brands, smaller companies can also use emojis successfully.

Emojis aren’t likely to become the go-to digital marketing tool, but can be effective for some campaigns and even one-on-one communication with customers.

Using them just depends on relevance, target audience, affinity and frequency.

DIGITAL - Important Facebook Demographics for Marketers

With over 1.13 billion active daily users, Facebook is one of the most important social media channels for marketers.

So it’s vital to understand the demographics of the Facebook user and accurately target your social marketing campaigns.

Gender

Pew Research Center’s report on social media users in the U.S. showed that 77% of female and 66% of male internet users are active on Facebook.

While some people claim Facebook users are diminishing, daily usage continues to grow along with mobile users. The switch seems to be from desktop to mobile rather than a shift away from the channel.

Age

According to the Pew study, 82% of internet users who use Facebook are 18-29 years old. 30 to 49 year olds make up 79%, 50 to 64 year olds account for 64% and 48% are over 65.

The rumours of young people leaving Facebook for platforms like Instagram and Snapchat seem to be just that. The prime target demographic for marketers of 24 to 35 years, seems to fit well with the social media channel.

Location

Facebook has more rural users than any other social media platform with 67%. But you are also likely to find them in urban areas (74%) and suburban (72%).

The geographic reach of Facebook is broader than other channels so if you want to market beyond the city and suburbs, it may be for you.

Income

78% of online users with incomes over $75,000 use Facebook.

The next step in Facebook demographics is to use the Audience Insights tool - designed to help marketers learn more about their target audiences, including aggregate information about geography, demographics, purchase behavior and more.

And you can view this information for three different groups of people:

• The general Facebook audience
• People connected to your page or event
• People in custom audiences you’ve already created.

Once you have defined an audience, you can save it and create an ad based on those target Facebook demographics.

The better you know who your audience is, the better you will be at engaging with them and developing strong customer relationships.

BUSINESS - How to Get People Talking About Your Company

Are your customers advocates for your brand or business?

In this connected, social media world, people are talking and you want them to be saying great things about you!

A recent Social Media Examiner podcast features Joey Coleman, a customer advocacy consultant and coach who has worked with Hyatt Hotels, NASA and Zappos.

Coleman believes customer advocacy happens when you reach the point where your customers are such big believers in who you are and what you do that they become your external sales force.

It is the end goal for most organizations - the customer drives new business and increases their own business with the company.

In the podcast Joey describes seven phases of the customer journey:

• Assessing - the customer assesses if he wants to do business with you
• Admitting - the customer makes a purchase
• Anxious - the customer may be second guessing his purchase
• Activating - the kickoff meeting or when the package gets delivered and opened
• Acclimating - where the customer is getting used to doing business with you
• Adopting - when the customer takes ownership of the relationship
• Advocating - when the customer becomes a raving fan.

Coleman explains that most companies fail at the acclimating phase. It’s a vital part of relationship-building since the customer is figuring out if he wants to have a long-term relationship with you.

Most marketers believe that once the product ships or the contract is signed and gets handed off to the implementation or service delivery team, they no longer have any role, responsibility, or ability to influence acclimation.

Coleman believes this is wrong and presents marketing ideas that are designed to build engagement with the customer, and thoughts around retention bonuses for staff.

Marketing is becoming more customer-centric and adopting this model can help transition customers through the phases and develop more advocates.

He also makes some very important points about when not to ask for feedback or involvement. For example: don’t ask at time of purchase, hold off until the adopting phase.

If you have wondered how to get people talking about you on social media and to their friends, customer advocacy is something you want to learn more about.

Listen to the podcast.

Bark 'n Yapp Helps Owners Find Products and Services for Dogs

A Canadian start-up has launched a website that allows dog owners to meet, connect, research, review and locate products, services and resources to enhance their dog's life.

“We were always looking for good information on where to buy good products, who we could trust to walk our dogs, or where to stay when traveling”, says Galen Udell, Founder & Top Dog of Bark 'n Yapp.
 

“The best resource was always other dog owners and typically we got this through conversations in the dog park. Our goal with Bark 'n Yapp was to bring together deep and rich local information on everything ‘dog’ to help create a highly engaged community based on trust and peer referrals, just like you get when you talk to other dog owners at a dog park.”

Like other online review sites individuals can rate and recommend different businesses, but Bark ‘n Yapp also gives the opportunity to rate parks, trails and travel options.

Unlike other sites and apps, each dog can have its own profile on Bark ‘n Yapp.

The site launched with over 5000 Canadian locations already in the system and a plan to quickly expand into the U.S.

The mobile app is currently in development.

DIGITAL - Instagram Announces New Business Tools

With more businesses using Instagram, the company saw a demand for tools to make the platform more effective for businesses.

After surveying users about business needs, they announced new Instagram Business Tools that will be rolled out in 2016.

Business Profiles

With a business profile, companies can choose how they want their customers to get in touch with them: call, text or email with a tap of the contact button as well as get directions. Business profiles also unlock access to insights and the ability to promote.

Insights

Insights give businesses demographic and behaviour information about who their followers are and which posts resonate better than others - all from within the mobile app.

Promote

A business can turn well-performing posts into ads right within the app—helping to connect with even more customers. Simply pick a post already shared on Instagram and add a button encouraging people to take action. Options include selecting a target audience or allowing Instagram to suggest targeting, and choosing the length of time for the promotion.

Business profiles, insights and the ability to promote will be rolling out in the US, Australia and New Zealand in the coming months, and will be available in all regions globally by the end of the year.

DIGITAL - 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

After surveying over 5,000 marketers, Social Media Examiner recently released its eighth annual social media study.

In this free report, you’ll discover:

• What social platforms marketers will focus on in the future
• The top social media questions marketers want answered
• How much time marketers invest in social media activities
• The top benefits of social media marketing and how time invested affects results
• The most common forms of content for social media marketing.

The report also examines the role of content in social media marketing, live video, paid social media, how marketers respond when new networks emerge, and how bloggers re-publish their content.

They take a look at how business-to-business companies' social marketing differs from business-to-consumer companies. Also highlighted are the significant changes since the 2015 study.

Download your free copy here.

DIGITAL - Top Social Media Sites that Matter to Marketers

Narrowing down which social media sites are the most important for your organization can be a big challenge. With new ones popping up and the feeling you shouldn’t ‘miss out’ on any of them, it can be overwhelming.

Luckily, Hootsuite has compiled the key demographics for the core group of platforms that are crucial to consider for your social media strategy, allowing you to focus your budget of time and energy where it’s most effective.

They also include a list of companies that have used each platform successfully - giving real-life examples that can only help you create effective campaigns.

Did you know that YouTube reaches more 18 to 34 and 18 to 49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S and that besides being the second largest online search engine, it is also heavily used as a resource for how-to content?

The New York Times saw a 2.3 times increase in subscriptions through strategic use of Facebook - a platform that over 1 billion people use daily.

Twitter has over 80 million monthly users and 50 percent of users visit or shop at the website of a small or medium business they follow.

Instragram users are two and a half times more likely to click on ads than on other social media platforms. With 75 million daily users, that’s a lot of clicking.

Hootsuite’s post goes into more - very useful - detail about these platforms as well as Pinterest, Snapchat and LinkedIn.

Read the full article here.