Since 2013, the Internet has been inundated with GIFs. The format may have originally been introduced in the late 1980’s, but it wasn’t until platforms like Giphy, the first and largest repository of GIFs, that the trend really took off. Giphy started to invest in collecting pre-existing GIFs, as well as generating some of their own from trends in pop-culture, to make GIF culture popular. The lo-fi format means animated GIFs are easier to share…
The world of social media is constantly evolving and the marketing tactics that worked last year, or even last month, might not be as effective today. And yet despite the rapidly changing environment, many brands and marketers are still using time-consuming, counterproductive marketing tactics that are doing more harm than good. The end of the year is a good time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t work for your social media campaigns. If…
Despite the fact that Instagram is now being used by 48.8% of brands (and that number is expected to rise to 70.7% by 2017), many businesses have yet to implement an Instagram marketing strategy. Unfortunately, there are still many myths that have created hesitation among businesses when it comes to using Instagram for marketing purposes. These common myths include sentiments that Instagram takes too much time, or that a company’s offerings are too boring to…
The pervasiveness of social media in today’s culture makes the medium one of the most powerful political tools. Case in point, the ongoing U.S presidential race has seen candidates utilize social media tools extensively to explain their party’s views, as well as to air their disagreements with their opposing party. Already, this race could be jokingly referred to as one of the biggest Twitter wars in history. So, social media has a massive influence on…
We’ve all witnessed some pretty bad social media marketing fails. From a lack of fact-checking to cringeworthy spelling mistakes, there’s no shortage of social media mishaps by brands that are key examples of what not to do. “Always do what’s best for your readers and your subscribers, and delight them with every email.”- BuzzFeed email policy However, it’s not only on social media where things can go wrong. When it comes to email marketing campaigns,…
Social media errors are nothing new, but for businesses or big name influencers, errors on these platforms can result in a heavy blow to a brand’s reputation. A report from MarketingSherpa states that 95% of adults aged 18-34 are likely to follow a brand via social media, while a report from Ambassador states that 71% of those that have a good social media experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to others. So…
Marketers get your voices ready; Millennials would rather listen than read. Before 2014, podcasting was largely an under-utilized format filled with amateurish content. The whole medium had a Wayne’s World-esque connotation to it, in other words, premium content was not worth wasting on the format. That all changed when the mega hit podcast series, Serial, rose the bar for quality content in podcasting, winning a Peabody Award for excellence after it was reportedly downloaded an…
The best organizational blogs are those that present a good mix of perspectives and fresh ideas. One way that many organizations create a diversity of voices on their blog is by inviting guest bloggers to contribute content. However, it’s highly likely your organization already possesses many individuals that are highly capable of contributing their interesting points of view. Getting our entire team to contribute content helped establish our organization as a thought leader and even…
Due to the rise in the remote workforce, distance is no longer a factor in hiring top talent; therefore, the traditional in-person interview is becoming harder to carry out. As another way to filter through talent, companies are utilizing social media to secure potential new hires. This trend has gained so much steam that 92% of recruiters said social media has become part of their hiring process. Though companies are frequenting these platforms to find…
Social media calendars out there suck. Most people just download a spreadsheet template or Google Doc from the web and just manage it there. So, what’s wrong with that? Everything. Let me try to list all the reasons why managing a social media calendar on a spreadsheet is wrong. Mistakes. Managing a spreadsheet basically means that you are constantly importing and exporting content from other places to manage it. We come from an agency background…
