Creating Images For Instagram Ads

At this point, it is widely known that Instagram is working to integrate advertising into its platform. Two weeks ago, the first ad was distributed to inform the Instagram audience about the changes that will be taking place. This ad is pictured below.

image retrieved from blog.instagram.com

 

This platform has already been popular for brand promotion, especially in industries like fashion that utilize prominent imaging to engage viewers. Up until this point, users had to follow these brands to view posts. Now, companies will be able to buy ad space in users’ feeds. Instagram has assured that the new advertisements will align with the company’s ideals of the platform as a place for creativity and inspiration. The CEO Kevin Systrom said, “Ads on Instagram should feel like they should be on Instagram.”  This creates new challenges for advertisers that must create posts that are appropriate for Instagram and also engage viewers. Since Instagramers can easily scroll past ads, these images must also grab the viewers attention quickly.  I started brainstorming ads I would enjoy seeing in my feed.  I know that when I use Instagram, I am attracted to images that avoid clutter. Simplicity and modern designs are attractive and easy to view in small image space. The ad Instagram posted reflected this as well. I especially enjoy the cleanliness of this type of design. I found a couple of images that encompass this type of imaging…

A little Mondrian inspiration.

image from fineartists.blogspot.com

This is a display from Anthropologie that uses repetition to create an eye-popping ad.

 

 

image retrieved from  www.turningpointepress.com

Playing with perspective and shadows can also increase the attractiveness of an image.

image retrieved from  bubonik.com 

Creating an Online Community

The word “community” is often thrown around in reference to social media. So much, in fact, it has seemed to lose some of its meaning along the way.  Community values are traditionally considered to be neighborly acts of kindness and sharing with one another. When individuals interact on social platforms, they create communities of friends, relatives, and colleagues. They share common interests and post relevant information to one another to benefit each other. So why should the interactions with brands be any different? Many businesses have joined social media platforms to promote brand reputations, but struggle with finding the best way to use the platforms. Here are a few useful tips to promote the growth of an online community for your business:

1. Create Helpful Content

What is your area of expertise? What advice can you share with your followers?

Content that offers advice or tips is more likely to be shared by your audience because it offers useful information. By posting this type of content, your brand will gain credibility and create a reputation as a source for valuable knowledge in your field. This will also position your brand as a caring participant in the community that offers assistance to the other members, instead of one that simply pushes a product. This will promote interaction in the future, as your audience seeks assistance when problems arise.

2. Amplify Stories From Your Audience

When individuals post personal experiences with your brand, repost these comments or pictures on your page. This will serve a dual purpose. First, these interactions create an online culture for your brand. The images and comments from the brand’s users reflect the ideals and interests of these people. For example, if you own a coffee shop, your social media page can become a place for coffee lovers to post and interact, because they share common interests relevant to your brand. Secondly, these comments inherently have high credibility because your community created them. Viewers are more likely to believe a company is outstanding if a peer endorses the brand.

3. Offer Incentives To the Evangelists of Your Brand

Eventually, it will become apparent that there are members of your community that interact with your brand more than others. These are your super fans. They already have a solid interest in your brand, and have credibility within their friend group. Utilize these connections by offering incentives to these members to post about your brand, or amplify one of your posts. Incentives can take the form of discounts, coupons, or merchandise. These members can help to increase the reach of your posts by tapping into the friend groups they have already established.

Hopefully these tips will help to foster strong communities for your brand. Try them out and let us know how it goes!

Tips for Restaurants Using Social Media

When was the last time you went out to eat?

Did you notice any familiar symbols on the menu?

hint: lower left corner 🙂

 

image taken at Boyd’s Jig and Reel, Knoxville, Tn

It is no surprise that social media has become a popular tool for the hospitality industry to promote engagement with customers.  From diners to five star cuisine, an overwhelming percentage of restaurants have jumped on the social media band wagon to convince customers to come in for a bite. According to the Hospitality Technology’s Customer Engagement Technology Study, 89% of restaurants use social media to attract customers. Earlier this week, I was asked to apply my knowledge as a social media student/server to help a friend who is managing a social media account for a local restaurant. Here are a few of the tips we discussed…

Quick Tips for Social Media in the Food Industry

1. Understand the advantages of different platforms

Facebook and Twitter are the most widely used platforms by restaurants. This fact can most likely be attributed to the high number of members held by each social media giant. According to the Hospitality Technology’s study mentioned above, 94% of food service companies use Facebook, while 77% of these companies use Twitter.  These platforms are useful for engaging repeat customers and regulars. For instance, these platforms are a great forum for discussing special events or promotions. Perhaps the restaurant has a band playing or is holding a wine tasting. These platforms may be used to remind customers of special events, or provide a place for customers to post comments. In my experience, these platforms help keep the brand top of mind for individuals who already enjoy the brand. However, most posts will not be seen unless an individual has followed or like the page of the restaurant. So how is social media used to attract new customers? When talking to guests I have met that are traveling or new to town, the most mentioned tools used to find a new restaurant were platforms like Urbanspoon or Yelp. These platforms are tailored to the food industry and have search capabilities to browse nearby restaurants. For this reason, it is advisable to have detailed descriptions of food items, and photos of the establishment. Consider these platforms as a place to make a first impression. Of course, these are just a few of the various platforms available to interact with guests. When creating content for other platforms, remember to consider the audience and the type of engagement typical of the social media. What kind of content are these individuals searching for? How can this restaurant create that kind of content?

2. Make a plan for social media accounts

Do not dismiss social media because it is free advertising. When businesses purchase a print ad or a billboard, each detail is reviewed and arranged to best convey a message to consumers. This level of planning and consideration needs to be applied to social ads as well. What needs to be accomplished by a social media campaign? Who are you trying to reach? How can I tailor my information to these people? Something as simple as timing can greatly change the effect of the ad. Decide an overarching theme or personality to be portrayed in ads. This will help to make posts have a flow and consistency for viewers.

3. Meet my friend HootSuite

If you are not familiar with this program already….get excited. Hootsuite provides users with a space to manage multiple accounts and platforms at the same time. It can also be used to schedule posts, so that users may plan out social media events ahead of time. I doubt that any manager or owner has enough free time to post manually each day. This tool makes it easy for these busy individuals to set up social posts for the week and move on to other tasks.

Hopefully some of this information is helpful. I would love to hear other tips for creating successful social media campaigns for restaurants. What do you think??

Ebeth

The Breaking Battle For Second Screen

image from http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/510426/20131001/breaking-bad-finale-funny-memes.htm

Well, it has been almost one week since the dramatic ending of Breaking Bad, and surprisingly enough, the world is still turning.  10.3 million viewers tuned into to watch Walter White last Sunday and social media platforms were flooded with posts from fans related to the series finale.  There were finale parties with costumes, commentary during the aired program, and even blue party snacks made to imitate the crystal meth produced on the show.

image from http://guestofaguest.com/los-angeles/events/instagram-roundup-inside-the-breaking-bad-series-finale-party-bitch

It is no secret that Twitter and Facebook have been fighting to become the leading platform to post about TV. This conflict made Breaking Bad a particularly attractive opportunity to show the engagement of fans on each platform. It is difficult to discern a winner though, because each platform measures engagement differently. Twitter claims about 600,000 people posted about the show, with roughly 1.2 million messages or tweets over a 10 hour period surrounding the show. Facebook, on the other hand, says 3 million people posted, commented, or liked a post concerning the show over a 24 hour period.

I am not sure if either outlet will be able to position itself as the clear leader in second screen commentary.  The different abilities of both platforms seem to be advantages to the super fan. For instance, Twitter comments are short and easy to read, which may be ideal for the commercial break when fans are seeing what their friends have posted. On the other hand, Facebook allows more content, so it might be more useful when a fan wants to share larger content with his or her online community.  For fans like myself, I have different friends on each platform and interact with these audiences in different ways. So I may post about a show on both platforms because I want to share with both of these communities. Either way, the turf battle rages on and only time will tell if either of these platforms will achieve the throne of Second Screen King.

Perhaps the true winner is a platform that isn’t created yet.  What kind of attributes would you want in a social platform to discuss TV? Let me hear your thoughts!

****Figures pulled from New York Times article that can be read here.

Ebeth

Marky Mark and the Blogging Bunch

This week, Mark Schaefer, the author of the Tao of Twitter and Return on Influence, visited our classroom to discuss some tips for social media and blogging. I thought his tips were really inspiring, and I wanted to share a few that really stuck out to me.

1. Say the most important info first.

As a student, I have been beaten into this model of writing that requires me to start broad, then narrow, then broaden again.  This is not useful for blogging.  There is such an overload of information online and people don’t want to read useless information.  You need to grab their attention fast! Then, you may make the body of your argument in the paragraphs to follow.

2.  When tweeting, repost content you have enjoyed reading.

Valuable posts offer content! It can be difficult to constantly have original tweets that are also helpful, or informative.  Most articles have a way to tweet about the story to create buzz.  Tweeting about quality content you have found gives your followers great info, while also taking away the pressure from you.  I personally struggle with tweeting as often as I should, so this tip was especially helpful for me.

3.  Create human connections.

As we use these platforms to promote brands, or businesses, or even ourselves, it is important to remember that we are making HUMAN connections.  Even though networking can be done online, there is still a person on the other side of the screen.  Mark spent a lot of time in his book and in person discussing the importance of helping each other.  Being genuinely helpful online to each other will promote anything else that you are involved with.  You never know how connections will shape opportunities.  It is an idealist way of looking at social media and the internet. What can we accomplish if we all just want to help?

A special thank you to Mark Schaefer for taking time to speak to the Social Media class at the University of Tennessee. I recommend the Tao of Twitter and Return on Influence to anyone who is working with social media.  They are quick reads with a lot of great tips. You can also check out his blog at www.businessesgrow.com for more content on social media.

The Fuss About Facebook

image from scientific american.com

Facebook has been prevalent in the news recently for facial recognition policies. Facebook has upgraded its facial recognition software by adding millions of photos to its databank.  Now, any photo that has been tagged by a friend and all profile photos are included in the database.  The only way to avoid having your photos added to the database is to opt out of suggested tagging and to delete all profile pictures with your face.  So where is the line drawn?  At what point will we sacrifice some of our privacy for convenience, or will we sacrifice convenience for privacy?

When policies like this one come into the spotlight, it seems like the conversation focuses solely on what the company is doing or proposing. The “shame on Facebook” bandwagon is easy to join.  I feel there is another half to the story. I am guilty, as most of you are I am sure, of skimming through user agreements and privacy policies because I do not want to take the time to read the details. Many users are not actively following the regulations for their own information.  As social media grows and its role in society is defined, we have the opportunity to create regulations for the future. The groundwork we lay now will shape the ways in which policies will be made in the future.  We need to start being responsible for our role on a personal level.  We need to be aware of how our actions will affect the future. Ok, I will get off my soap box now.