Emotions to Channel for Viral Potential

By: Karina Rocha

May 2,  2016

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Viral Content- How does it happen? 

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Most campaigns and content are built with the intention of generating buzz for product or brand, and with the further reaching dream goal of becoming viral.

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While there is no secret formula to creating a viral campaign, we as marketers can only learn lessons from past successful campaigns and look for similar characteristics to apply to our own marketing strategies.

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The most striking similarity we found from all viral content, is that they all made people feel something. Researchers and marketers alike will answer the same when you ask them this question: why do people share content? Because they are motivated enough by their emotions to want to share the content with others. The emotion that they will feel though, is completely up to you, and the message that you are trying to communicate with your audience in connection with your brand.

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So in order to get you started, we’ve compiled a list of emotions and related campaigns that have had that special viral charm.

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1. Happiness and General “Feel-Good” Emotions 

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The most ‘feel good’ of campaigns, eliciting happiness in your campaigns and content is the most well received by all. Eliciting humor and adding a dosage of ‘cuteness’ in your potentially viral content is great strategy to apply to receive the best feedback.

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That’s exactly what Evian did in their campaign “Roller Babies” which is referred to by many as the most successful viral ad campaign. This video has been viewed over 123 million times, a response that definitely must have generated buzz for the brand

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So, what you learn from applying a positive mood in your campaigns, is that will be shared most likely because the audience finds it entertaining, cute, and or humorous.

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2. Sadness 

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At first you might think that channeling sadness may not have a positive outcome, but the truth is as with all things, when executed properly the payoff is worth it. The key is to center your product or brand in the best light possible.

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A brand that is notable for executing this successfully time and time again is Budweiser. Their “Best Bud” puppy commercials have had an overwhelmingly positive viral response. In this ad shown below, they advocate a strong message to avoid drinking and driving, that although does not illicit complete sadness in the end, it does make the audience pause to consider dire consequences of poor decisions.

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Lesson here is to apply this emotion to positively advocate for a greater message in relation with your product, and of course adding a puppy never hurts either.

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3. Inspire 

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Inspiring your audience with your product or brand is perhaps the most challenging but the payoff for this emotion is worth the effort. Associating viral content with your brand that inspires creates more than just buzz, it can have more lasting effects of creating positive correlations with the message you send in the content.

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The following ad campaign “Like a Girl” by Always generated a lot of talk and a lot of shares fro the message it told the audience. Viewed over 60 million times, it most certainly made an impact and reinforced positive perceptions of the brand as an ambassador for female empowerment.

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If you inspire your audience with your product, you will not only reap the benefits of social shares, but also great public image.

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4. Don’t make people angry

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We’re going to include the emotion of anger because sometimes campaigns go viral for all the wrong reasons. So avoid causing controversy in your ads, and while that may sound obvious it’s important to stress caution and consciousness at all times when producing content that will represent your brand or product. Negative publicity that is drawn to your campaign can create backlash and perhaps even legal repercussions.

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One such controversial commercial was produced by Coca-Cola. It was an ad featuring a group of young Americans sending ‘help and aid’ to a group of Indigenous people in Mexico. It was perceived as racist and culturally insensitive to many . In fact the ad received so much backlash, that it had to be removed from airtime and Coca-Cola even made a public apology.

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That’s why it’s important, should it turn that content you created may not be received as intended, you must remove it immediately and have you Public Relations team in place to remedy the situation as quickly as possible.

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What did we learn? 

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There are many approaches that one can take when striving for viral, but one thing is clear: you have to make you audience feel. Your particular brand and audience should help help you determine which emotion will resonate best with them. So get to your drawing board and also let us know in the comments below, what is your favorite ad campaign of all time?

How to Create The Perfect Infographic In 4 Easy Steps

 

Luz Bottecchia | April 30, 2016

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Visual storytelling is an art form that dates back to ancient civilization. Not only is storytelling deeply rooted within our history, but it is also a powerful marketing tool for drawing attention from different audiences. With the constant content shock consumers face daily, exceptionally crafted visuals not only can breakthrough to readers, but also separates your brand from the competition. Whether the brand is B2B or B2C, infographics are the best alternative to breaking down complex concepts, into visualizations that bring the data to life.

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The proof is in the pudding. Information with complementary visuals compressed into an infographic is shared 3x more than any other visual materials. Here’s why:

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Source: Portical.org

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Below are 4 steps to create beautiful and insightful infographics:

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1. Determine the audience

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First thing’s first: know exactly whom you are targeting. This serves as the foundation for your infographic, and it will dictate how you should word your narrative. Always ask yourself – who is my target? This can range anywhere from top-level executives to elementary school students. These two audiences clearly require two different ways for effective communication and should be regarded accordingly. Not only does this set up the direction for the infographic going forward, but it also provides you with a clearer purpose for the visual. Take into account the methods that you think will resonate most with this audience and use this as the guiding principle for the infographic.

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2. Understand your data

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The next step requires an analysis of the data you have garnered from the research process. Before moving forward to create the infographic, it is imperative to double and triple check the data is from a credible source. Without legitimate data, the infographic will not be influential and credited as a valuable source. Simply put, in order to create an infographic that will attract people’s attention and retain it, the infographic needs elements that are: compelling, competent and controversial. This is the basis for the story, so keep in mind to include data that will make on impact on readers, and use this framework to develop the pages in your story.

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3. Bring the story to life

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Now that you have completed step 1 and 2, it’s time to create an engaging visual that tells a story. The key message to remember is to pick the data that is most compelling and will draw the most attention from readers. Nothing is more boring than sitting in front of a computer screen reading and trying to comprehend statistics. Here is where you as the creator and marketer get to develop a design to translate the data into an insightful story. While outlining the plot, remember the elements of a story: there is a beginning, middle and end. Think about this when starting to string the facts together. Like any written story, an infographic needs to flow and work cohesively with the data that is represented. Focus on a particular theme or central key message and use this to guide the creative process. Once the story is crafted, don’t forget to include a call to action at the end that reflects the purpose for the infographic.

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4. Amplify your reach

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So you’ve created an infographic that you are proud of and tells an amazing story. What’s next? Now that the graphic is complete, you need to amplify its distribution to reach your desired audience, and even others who find it along the way. This part might not seem like the most important step, but it truly is. No matter how compelling and tweet-worthy the infographic is, it has no value unless is it distributed with a strategic plan in mind. The easiest, and perhaps most obvious step to the distribution plan is to share it on your company’s social media channels. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn are a few platforms in which an infographic has the potential to reach a wide audience. In addition, these platforms allow for ease of shareability and lets users curate your content as well. However, be mindful of where your audience is most active on social media, so your distribution makes sense and reaches the audience that matters most to you. Ultimately, the more people it reaches, the more impressions the infographic will receive and by association, will drive traffic to your brand’s site.

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Now that you know the basics, it’s time to tell your story. Follow these steps, and show us how you created the perfect infographic by posting your link in the comments below!

 

How to Incorporate Videos into your Marketing Strategy

By Blaze Pullman

April 28, 2016

Right after logging into Facebook, it is almost certain that within a few minutes you will come across some sort of video. Whether it is an online advertisement, someone’s original content, or a live stream, video has seemed to take over social media on all platforms. 8.5 in every 10 online users can be reached through online video marketing, so if you are not starting to use video in your marketing strategy, now is a good time to start. Here are a few ways in which you can start using videos to market yourself and your brand.

 

 

Utilize Live Streaming

 

Live streaming, made popular by Facebook, has recently become the newest form of video sharing on social media. You are able to record video from your laptop/ smart phone in real time and share it with your entire network. Most businesses and brands have not fully utilized this new feature since it is still so new, but getting the feel for this new platform could really help your marketing efforts in the future. You may be able to incorporate this into future branding, for example holding live question and answer sessions, having live press releases, etc.

This form of social video is only available on platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat, but it is certain that other platforms, such as twitter and Instagram ,will be following this trend in the near future. For this reason, it would be beneficial to understand how live video works on social media now, so that you can be ahead of the game in the future!

 

 

Make them Short and Sweet

 

Most users in today’s society look for the quickest way to gather information, so most social media users are not going to watch a three to four minute video any longer. Now, content must be condensed to under one minute in order to catch and keep the viewer’s attention. Most social media platforms only allow for a certain time limit for their videos, so you need to keep in mind the message you want to get across in your short video, and determine how you are going to make those few seconds memorable for the viewer.
A good tip for creating condensed content into your videos is to remember the top three ways you should use video strategy to most effectively market your brand: Educate, Inspire, Reveal. You should focus on one of these things during your video planning in order to get the most out of the few seconds that you have for your video.

 

 

Promote Content / Products

 

Another way you can easily incorporate videos into your marketing strategy is to create videos that promote your brand’s product or service, or promote content that you previously created. One way to effectively do this is share a piece of information with viewers from the content you are promoting, or give a “teaser” for an upcoming article or product that you will be releasing soon. This way, people will become interested in the content that you already have created, and they will get excited about what is coming from you in the future.

 

Relevant Video Ads

 

Creating video ads and promoting your content through these advertisements is another clever way to incorporate video marketing into your strategy. However, you must make your advertisements relevant to the content you are advertising on. It is necessary that you know your target audience before create an ad, because even the greatest of ads will fail to hit their target if they are aimed at the wrong demographic. These video ads could be key to driving traffic to your content, so make them creative and make them relevant.

 

 

Now What?

 

As video marketing becomes more popular and more effective, it is extremely important that you constantly keep tabs on the market for videos, and you keep with the pace of its growth. Video marketing is just getting started; it is estimated that by 2019, video will account for 80% of all global internet traffic. So get your foot in the door with video marketing now because it will be worth it in the long run.

Snapchat Latest Update: Everything you need to know

By: Karina Rocha

April 26, 2016

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Source: Snapchat 

On-Demand Geo-Filters are Finally Here!

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Marketers have  been eagerly awaiting in anticipation for Snapchat to implement advertisements into their application that will show a greater ROI and engagement. Well my friends, that time has come with their new on-demand geo-filters.

Snapchat recently announced in their latest update that they will be offering as an opportunity for businesses and people to pay for a geofilter. With an audience of over 100 million daily active users, the eagerness to get a piece of the action is understandable.

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With all of this excitement and buzz surrounding this latest update, there are many questions us as marketers have. So, we’ve compiled a list of the top questions you may have about the new geo-filters and how they can become the latest part of your visual marketing strategy.

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How do I get one? 

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Snapchat outlines the process of applying for a geo-filter in three steps :

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1. Design
2. Map
3. Buy

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Simple enough right? As you saw in the video Snapchat has depicted the process as first developing a design, choosing a specific geographic range and then submitting it for review to receive a quote.

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Of course Snapchat has put in place standards and policies to adhere to in order your request to be approved, but that is typical of any advertising platform.

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So compose we suggest that you create an engaging, fun filter that will compel the audience to interact with it.

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What is their 3V advertising model? 

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Vertical, Video, Views. The people at Snapchat have developed this pitch to marketers to entice their innovative new advertising opportunity.

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Vertical means that all the ads are displayed in a vertical format which is typically defined to be a mobile phone. Snapchat is highlighting the fact that your ad will targeted to the mobile phone user, most likely the millennial.

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Video means exactly that. Snapchat offers brands and companies to advertise their content in engaging video format.

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Views are defined by Snapchat as “100% viewable and full-screen”. Compared to other social media competitors, who can’t make that same offer. On Snapchat if a user chooses to apply a geo-filter, they do so willingly because its engaging; on the other hand, users don’t choose to see an ad on other sites.

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How much will it cost me?

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Depending on the amount of time and size of the area you choose, the amount will vary. But with that being said, prices start at $5 and range upwards from there making a great option for any business as marketers can choose to adjust it to suit their budget.

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Is it worth it?

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The snapchat audience watches more videos daily than any other platform.  The beauty of the geo-filter and Snapchat is that if they’re using your filter then not only are you guaranteed their interaction with the brand but also to everyone they may send it to.

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Snapchat also has implemented metrics to help you gage the success of your geo-filter, something entirely new we have seen quite yet.

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While this new outlet is still too new have any statistical information on its success, in the very near future this should be available to review. But if you’re seeking out an inbound marketing strategy then there should be no hesitation on your part. This is the latest and “coolest” platform to millennial, so in order to be ahead of the game- now is the time to act.

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If you’re marketing to the young millennial, then this is definitely something you should begin drafting plans for. Let us know in the comment section about your thoughts on this latest advertising medium. Do you still think Snapchat is just a fad or here to stay?

Who’s Where? Demographic Stats for Visual Content Platforms

Source: Unsplash

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By: Karina Rocha

April 25, 2016

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Today Pew Research shows that total 58% of the American population is on the internet. This number tells you, as a marketer, that no matter the market you are trying to reach, they’re most likely on the internet. Your task is is knowing exactly where your audience is.

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Getting to know you audience is key to delivering a successful message. So, once you are aware of where to reach them and where not to, then you can appropriately allocate your resources to narrow in on a targeted platform.

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As you will see, posting a video about your brand targeted to 15 year-olds will have more success in some places than others. Curating content to target different age groups for the same product is also a possible strategy to implement depending on your product.

So we’ve taken the liberty of analyzing each platform to let you know where the kids are, where the parents are, and where theirs are, too.

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Snapchat

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Snapchat, perhaps the youngest and freshest face on the scene. Business Insider reports that 45% of Snapchat’s adult users are between 18 and 24.

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If you can create successful engaging visual content for this platform studies show that 45% of college students would open a snapchat from a brand they did not know.

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The most affordable and popular digital content adored by this audience are geo-filters. Creating a captivating and engaging geo-filter for your brand is an excellent way to reach this ‘cool’ teen audience.

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Pinterest

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Pinterest is one of the most compelling visual content platforms for a variety reasons. You can find that your content has the potential to live its longest half-life on Pinterest.

On this platform you’ll find that an overwhelming 44% of its users are women compared to 16% of men users. The age demographic is average 18-29 at 37% with the 30-49 cohort close behind at 36%.

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Also notable is the geographic demographic composing of 65% of either suburban or rural. So it makes sense to find that Pinterest most popular pins would file under the lifestyle section.

From these key facts, you can see that this platform is not for everyone. While it can certainly not hurt to have one for company or brand, depending on your audience will determine how its success on Pinterest.

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Facebook

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Facebook is the most popular platform used by 72% of internet users and 62% of entire adult American population. With strong presence across all age and gender cohorts, Facebook is impossible to ignore.

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This is a platform you should most certainly not neglect because in order to reach your target audience in a sea of people, you have to make sure your content is speaking to them.

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Facebook is a tool that is not going away anytime soon, so post the content that your audience will want to see because they’re most definitely on Facebook.

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Instagram

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Instagram hosts a smaller niche much like Snapchat, possessing only 28% of all internet users with the ages 18-29 being the most popular.

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The typical user on Instagram can be described as a young millennial living in an urban setting.

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The visual content you post on Instagram therefore has to resonate with this “cool and trendy” crowd. Images that are beautifully captured, innovative, or a have splash of “cute” tend to receive the most engagement.

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If the aforementioned demographics sounds like your audience then research, creativity and a cool message drive results for your brand.

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Twitter

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Twitter’s demographics are as follows: 23% of internet users, 20% of entire internet population, and 37% aged 18-29.

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This is one of the few social platforms where men surpass woman in terms of usage with 25% compared to 21%. Geographically 29% of users live in an urban setting.

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But Remember this!

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While we hope that these demographics will come in handy when deciding where your visual content might resonate best, remember that these stats only give you a vague glimpse to your consumer. Your audience possesses more depth than just these facts, these are only your starting point. Make sure that you further delve into the mind and persona of your audience because the most successful visuals will capture their minds and interests.

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If you’re looking to read more about the social media demographics, check out this cool video and post!

5 Tips for Creating Visuals to Captivate

By: Karina Rocha

April 21, 2016

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We’ve thus far have given you plenty of examples and reasons to incorporate visual content into your marketing strategy but now we’re going to give you tips on just how to create it. Because while creating visuals may be simple enough, the real challenge lies in creating visuals that will captivate and propel a reaction. The internet is filled and saturated with content at this point so you have to make sure yours is standing out from the rest and achieving your goal.

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So in order to help you out, we’ve created these helpful tips and handy infographic to help guide you in the right direction.

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1.Be original!!

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Now this one may sound obvious, but far too many times some marketers may try to replicate something that was very successful for someone else. This won’t work, your audience will see right though it. You must create a visual that will stand out from the rest, which is no easy task. New and refreshing content is what drives shareable content. Therefore extensive research and preparation is essential for successful visuals. (Click here to check out some of our favorite data analysis tools!)

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2.  Brand it!

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Ensure that your audience will be able to connect your content back to your brand. That’s why it is important to make your images unique yet with an underlying sense of familiarity.  This can be done as simply as making sure that your logo is in a clear and visible spot to using the same font or colors schemes. Take for instance Chipotle, their witty taglines, simple grey background and trademark font their ads send a clear message- We are Chipotle.

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3. Get Straight to the Punch!

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Use very little words! The less words you use, the more impactful it can be. Images coupled with longer text are less likely to be shared or even read entirely for that matter. So choose your words carefully because the first glance is pivotal to whether or not your content will captivate your audience. Comedy and wit are typically the key elements to integrate, but of course if your brand markets to a more professional and serious audience then keep that in mind.

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4. Narrow your tools!!

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With so many tools out there, it’s essential to find out which one works best for you and stick with it. Using too many different tools and continuously altering between them can slow your ability to master a single one and having a go-to will also help you develop those key “brand-able” elements we talked about earlier!

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5. Listen to what people are telling you!

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Remember to read your comments and take count of the amount of shares or likes different posts receive. All of this is key info. If they liked it, you’re most likely on the right track! DO make more of it. If your audience takes particular interest in a certain piece, it’s important for you to take notes of why it may have been successful. This also applies to listening to what your audience didn’t respond to positively as well. In those cases, it’s important to act immediately and perhaps even remove the content should it be unintentionally offensive.

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Although these tips may sound simple, the most successful visual content is just that – simple. Trying to be over the top and elaborate has the potential to backfire your efforts. So, focus and narrow in on your goals of what you message you’re trying to send, who are you trying to tell, and how. Once you define these goals and combine our tips, then your images are on track to captivating. If you’re interested in reading more helpful content on creating visual content, click here to check out these other helpful tips!

Quick Tips for First Time Instagram Users

April 19, 2016

By Blaze Pullman

(Source)

In recent years, social media has taken the world by storm, with over 1 billion users on facebook, and 320 million users on twitter. However, Instagram has been quickly climbing up the ranks, and has passed Twitter with over 400 active users. So, if you are not currently on this social media beast, now is the time to start. There are so many amazing features to utilize on Instagram, but starting on a new social media platform can be intimidating. Here are my 5 quick tips for maximizing your potential on Instagram!

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Be Consistent
If you are looking to be effective on Instagram, consistency is key. Posting 1 to 5 times daily on Instagram is the best practice for reaching all of your followers. If you plan on making an account specifically for your company, think about creating a theme for your account, and stick to that theme every time you post. You also want to ensure that you maintain a consistent tone in your posts that are in unison with your company’s brand tone. Make sure that your imagery expresses a clearly defined personality and voice, and keep that consistent throughout your Instagram feed.

 

 

Utilize Hashtags
Hashtags are actually the most effective when used on Instagram, since they help organize and categorize images and video content, which aids the process of content discovery and optimization. Hashtags are the perfect way to categorize your content in order to ensure that users understand what your brand is all about. You can post up to 30 hashtags on one Instagram post, but 11 hashtags per post is the most effective. One of the cool things about hashtags is that it allows your brand to be recognized under whichever categories you choose, depending on what you hashtag. You can also create your own hashtag to use on your posts in order to get recognition!

 

 

Be Creative and Engaging
Creativity is important on Instagram, especially since the entire social media platform relies on the creativity of your images to engage followers. There are one hundred and one ways in which you can make your content on Instagram stand out, but some of the most effective ways to reach your followers include creating videos or making Instagram contests for your followers. By doing these things, your followers will be more engaged in your content and will want to see more from you.

 

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Instagram Bio
Most users forget about their Instagram bio when creating an account. However, users do not realize how important this space is, especially for a company Instagram account. This is the first thing that consumers see when they go to your page, so you want to make it stand out. If you or your company are trying to sell a product ( or even trying to sell yourself as a successful business person!) You can add links to your website in your bio. The interesting thing about this is that you can change the links whenever you like. So if you decide to create an Instagram contest for your followers, you can drive traffic towards the link in your bio, which would ultimately drive traffic to your entire page.

 

 

Focus on your Followers!
Your followers are going to decide whether or not your Instagram page is successful or not, so why not focus on them! Reply to all comments that they leave on your content, follow your followers, and comment and like their content. People want to feel like they are being recognized and appreciated by brands, so by doing something as simple as liking a photo or tagging a user in an image, this will increase the effectiveness of your Instagram account significantly.

 

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In conclusion…

Instagram is great for customer acquisition, customer service, and lead generation. Since most businesses are now switching over to using Instagram, you should too. It may seem daunting to start an entirely new social media presence, but your followers will thank you. With an entire platform dedicated to social marketing, you and your company can get extremely creative with how you choose to market yourself. Just remember to stay true to your / your company’s motto!

 

5 Tips to Make Pinterest Your Brand’s Visual Marketing Powerhouse

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Luz Bottecchia | April 16, 2016

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Want to get discovered? Look no further than Pinterest. This tool beats its counterparts when it comes to brand discovery. As a self-proclaimed “visual bookmarking tool” Pinterest is the perfect platform to build boards of visual content that can inspire and compel consumers to adopt your brand as their own.

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With over 100 million active users on Pinterest, it is no small task to make pinnable visual content that will resonate with consumers on this platform.

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Here are 5 tips that are sure to help your brand break through the clutter on Pinterest:

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1. Choose posts wisely.

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Gaining followers on Pinterest is not as easy as it seems. In order to gain visibility and build a substantial following, it is necessary for your brand’s content to provide meaningful and continuous information to consumers. Not to mention, the content needs to be high quality in order to break through the clutter and attract views from readers. It is also important to remember to not only produce great content, but also to manage it well into organized boards, so it is easily digestible for readers. These concepts go hand in hand and are vital for creating a following on this platform. If you need some inspiration to grow your following, visit Social Media Examiner for more helpful tips. Here’s how Nordstrom is beautifully managing its Pinterest profile:

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2. Keep it short.

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In the digital age we live in, the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000, or around the time the mobile revolution began, to eight seconds. With this in mind, it’s very important to make sure to follow the cardinal rule of Pinterest titles: use two to five words to get your message across. No one wants to read pages and pages of text. So it is imperative to create pithy titles that can quickly attract the attention of readers and compel them to click on your brand’s post, and if you’re lucky, they will repin it! Always make sure to include the name of your business and key search terms to increase your SEO. Here’s an example of how Buzzfeed’s fitness Pinterest board keeps it short and sweet:

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3. Don’t forget about other social media. 

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Maximize your reach using Pinterest sharing buttons on other social media platforms. By integrating other social media sites, this can help spotlight your Pinterest board and bring more attention to it. Also, remember to promote your Pinterest site on other sites, such as your brand’s Facebook or Twitter account. In fact, you can use the automatic feature in the Pinterest settings, which allows you to automatically publish your pins on other social media sites. By integrating these channels, you can increase visibility to your brand’s Pinterest profile as well as bulk up your content on your additional social media sites.

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4. Links are key.

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Increase traffic to your website by including your brand’s website link in your Pinterest post. Once users discover your post and click on it, always make sure to include a link for them to click on that will redirect them to your website for more information. Use creative ways to incorporate a link, such as including a call to action. This can be as simple as providing a teaser that reads “7 tips to cook the perfect Thanksgiving Turkey” with a beautiful image and text overlay. Also include an additional button for readers to click on to retrieve more information. Here’s how Lowe’s includes its website within its Pinterest pins:

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5. Go vertical.

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Be mindful of the platform you are working with. Most of Pinterest’s pins follow a vertical format; so make sure to keep this in mind in the planning stages of the creative process. There is no limit on length for pins on Pinterest, but remember to not overload your pin with large texts of information that can detract readers from clicking on the pin. A longer pin might not be as visually attractive to a Pinterest user, since they will have to scroll down to read all the information. Also never underestimate the power of infographics on Pinterest. An infographic is a great visual representation to portray complex data that can speak volumes to readers. According to Pinnable Business limiting the length of your brand’s pins to 5,000 pixels is a great format to follow. Here’s a great example from The Wall Street Journal’s graphics Pinterest board:

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Now let’s see how you Pin! Tag your Pinterest boards below along with which tip you find the most helpful, to show us how you’re leveraging Pinterest’s visual marketing capabilities for your brand.

Top 5 Websites for Social Media Analytics

Source: Unsplash

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By: Karina Rocha

April 5, 2016

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Why should you be monitoring your data? 

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For starters, let’s go over the importance of gathering data before creating and posting visual content.

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Researching analytics are crucial for every marketer but for inbound marketing, it is the driving force. Especially because this information already exists and is there for there for the taking!

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The social analytics for visual content allow you to see exactly how visitors are interacting with content. Whereas traditional marketing methods such as billboards only left you with vague guesses. Now, you can know what your audience is sharing, liking, or commenting the most. And with that info, you can gain insights and create more of what they want.

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Marketers now possess the ability to more than ever to precisely measure engagement with the number of shares, likes, and comments.

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While this is great news, sometimes the biggest hurdle is deciding what tools to use to interpret all of this data.That is why we have compiled a list of our favorite websites and tools to help you out.

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1. Curalate

Curalate is an amazing resource for collecting data thats analyzes your pictures, and tells you which of your visual content is the generating the most feedback. It breaks down just how your audience is engaging with your photos and across different visual media platforms to a science. This program works mainly with Pinterest and Instagram and has recently been garnering more attention with its innovative and creative tactics and approach to tracking the new consumer purchase journey.

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While this one may not be free, we think it’s worth every penny.

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“If a picture is worth a thousand words, Curalate makes brands literate”

-Josh Constine TED CRUNCH

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Source: Social Strand

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2. Google Analytics

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This program is perhaps the best known. This resource provided by Google is extremely effective in monitoring the traffic driven by your social media accounts. Use Google Analytics to determine which social media platform is most successful driving in customer acquisition. Visual content posted on social certain media accounts could be leading more customers to your website than others, so figuring identifying stronger profiles is key!

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(https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-analytics-tools)

“Google Analytics is the simplest and most robust web analytics offering”

Lou Dubois INC.

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Source: Inspiration Feed

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3. Hubspot Analytics

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Want to get a quick glimpse of all of your social media accounts and their performance? Then turn to Hubspot Analytics. Hubspot lays out your ROI on your main social media platforms. They offer an easily manageable interface that is a standout to gain a quick read on all of your accounts.

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Source: FindandConvert

4. Followerwonk

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This tool is an excellent addition to your resources to better engage with your Twitter audience. With Followeronk, you can identify potential influencers, interact with them, which can then lead to potential new followers. Further propel your brand by keeping in cultural zeitgeist.

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The prices for the program vary from free to $79 monthly fee.

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5. Keyhole

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Use Keyhole with any #hashtag-friendly platform. This program allows marketers to track and monitor the ‘real-time’ success level of engagement of their hashtags. Keep track of ‘key’ information such as how many people have used your hashtag, repinned, retweeted, or liked it. This data allows you to see the popularity of any promotional hashtag campaigns, as well as track customer interaction with your brand.

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So, go ahead try one out!

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While there are many more options out there to explore, these are just a few of the most popular and well recognized programs used by marketers today. Early recognition of what works and what doesn’t is the recipe for success in inbound marketing. Begin harnessing the power of social analytics and start integrating these tools as a part of your marketing strategy!

Social Media Marketing Campaigns: What to Watch for

Source: NY Daily News

Anywhere you go, no matter what social media platform you use, no matter what street corner you walk across, there are all sorts of different advertising campaigns that are vying to grab your attention. Social media in particular is always a great outlet to reach out to prospective customers, but to do that you and your business need to have something that is eye-catching, quirky, and something that stick in your brain.

 

And luckily we are here to help you think of something that will be just those qualities. Here are some great tips and tricks to use when creating your VM campaign on social media platforms.

1. Timing is EVERYTHING

In the world of social media, timing means the world. There are few brands that understand this as well as Oreo. During the Super Bowl of 2013, there was a totally unforeseeable power outage. The quick and savvy minds over at Oreo’s social media team within MINUTES posted this legendary tweet:

Power out? No problem. pic.twitter.com/dnQ7pOgC

— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013

This tweet then spread around the internet and various social media platforms like wildfire. It officially cemented Oreo as the team to watch in the world of visual marketing. What makes this an even more legendary case is that neither Oreo, nor Nabisco, Oreo’s parent company, were paid advertisers of the Super Bowl. So what this means is that even though Oreo didn’t even have a paid TV commercial to be aired during one of the most watched television programs of the year, they have the only ad that anyone remembers from that year and it wasn’t even from TV!

 

2. Think. Different.

Another great company to learn from would be Apple. Now Apple holds a strange area in the realm of social media. While they do create various visual marketing campaigns (which we’ll get to in a second), they do not really participate in social media directly. For instance, to this day there is still no official Apple Twitter profile, no official Instagram page, and even more interesting, no official Facebook page! However, this has not stopped Apple from absolutely dominating the social media spheres as anything that put out in terms of marketing of any kind completely consumes the zeitgeist. The first example of this would be the stunning “1984” commercial that was aired only one time, during the 1983 Super Bowl.

This commercial is so iconic that even people who weren’t alive during that time to see it either know about it, or have seen its influence across other mediums. There have been spoofs of this, imitations, but nothing comes close to the real thing or the impact it had on people.

 

Another instance of Apple’s genius was when they released the ever popular “Silhouette” campaign program. These first came to be in 2004 when Apple first released the iPod.

You would be hard pressed to find a single person who does not know these ads. Not only were they fun, they were enjoyable, catchy. They made you want to get up and dance and sing along with the commercial. They sold such a good feeling to you that you couldn’t help but want to be part of it. Now it’s very obvious that not everyone will have Apple’s resources, but as the saying goes, “Good artists borrow, great artists steal.”

 

3. Creativity Unlimited

 

Another company that is really on top of their game in the social media world is Starbucks. An Instagram page that is always flawless and seemingly can do no wrong is theirs. They post pictures for holidays, nice weather, anything. Not only that but every picture seemingly drips with comfort and good feelings.

A wondrous winterland, a frosty glow. Surrounding the siren, a garden of snow. #RedCupArt #Regram: @ArtyCraftyLove from Scotland.

A photo posted by Starbucks Coffee ☕ (@starbucks) on Dec 24, 2015 at 8:16am PST

Another thing that really helps Starbucks capture their fans and customers is that they actively promote people to submit things not just to them but also to express their own creativity. The coffee chain’s own products also expand upon this as many of the mugs and accessories that you can purchase from Starbucks allows for this expressions which they then capitalize on by regramming, retweeting and sharing on Facebook.

 

Spread Joy

In conclusion, the most effective and memorable campaigns are ones that really connect not just with the prospective customer but the zeitgeist as a whole. It really nails those moments that people connect with and this in turn allows people to grow a bond with not just those products but the holy grail of business: brand loyalty. It is through VM campaigns and being personable that your company too can reach these heights.