Category: Social Media

As marketers, business owners, and just human beings we are constantly sold tools and tricks that promise results. With the overwhelming amount of “helpful hacks” it becomes difficult to decipher what will drive results and what’s ineffectively adding to your to-do list. In order to cut through some of the “grow your business overnight” noise we too often hear, we’ll let you in a little secret. If you currently have a Facebook business page, the Facebook Pixel is one tool you need in your back pocket.

The Facebook Pixel is a snippet of code placed on your website. This code allows you track and better understand the actions people are taking on your website.

As an Agency, it’s one of the first things we make sure is set up in a new social partnership. Without it, you’re severely limited on what you can do in terms of tracking and targeting. With it, real rub-the-lamp-ask-for-three-wishes-magic happens. Of all the tools in Facebook’s marketing arsenal, the pixel is perhaps the most useful. Here are some of the fun (ahem, more sales is always fun) benefits of installing your very own Facebook Pixel…

1. Collect Data

A Facebook Pixel is simply an analytics tool that allows you to collect data from your website visitors. This data is #important as Facebook offers you a myriad of insights and targeting features to put this information to good use. What good is driving people to your website if you can’t study who they are and what they do?

One of the data features made possible with the pixel is Facebook Analytics. This expansive tool clearly lays out your sales funnel, depicts the lifetime value of your users, and shows the junction between organic and paid content. Facebook guru, Andrew Foxwell, describes it as “a MUST LEARN for all Facebook/Instagram marketers big and small.”

2. Run Efficient Ads

With the Facebook Pixel you can optimize ads for website conversions. That means your ads will be shown to users most likely to partake in a certain action on your site allowing your budget to be spent most efficiently.

The standard optimization features do not always ensure your ad is shown to the highest converting audience. For example, when you optimize your ad for “Link Clicks” Facebook looks at users performing this action and serves your ad to similar people. A user who clicks your ad might do so for several reasons outside of actually being interested in your product or service, which then skews data, wastes money, and equals fewer conversions.

By optimizing ads for your desired action Facebook collects data (with your pixel) that helps it to better understand the type of person most likely to convert. Your ad is then served to those that are most likely to do the same. This means smarter targeting and more conversions.

3. Measure ROI

Without a Facebook Pixel it’s difficult to track the conversions attributed to your ads or posts. By installing Standard Events or creating Custom Conversions, Facebook will know when a certain activity has taken place on your website. You’re then able to track conversions attributed to your ads and outside your ads in real time.

It doesn’t stop there. You can also add a “Conversion Value” to certain actions taken on your website. This will clearly lay out your ROI from each ad and help you strategize your spend.

4. Retargeting

We’ve all experiences that magical moment post online shopping when the item left in your cart “randomly” appears as an ad on your newsfeed. That sneaky “Hey, remember me?” you’re served is no coincidence. These brands are utilizing the wizardry of remarketing and Dynamic Ads.

Potential customers visit your website every day. If you’re not utilizing retargeting as a way to usher this warm audience down the sales funnel, you’re missing out on lots of conversions. By creating Custom Audiences of past website visitors you can serve relevant ads to people familiar with your brand.

By using some of the many “rules” Facebook has available for each audience you’ll be able to narrow in on not too cold, not too hot, but juuuuust the right leads. These “rules” include”:

• All website visitors
• People who visited specific web pages
• Visitors by time spent

5. Create Lookalike Audiences

This has to be one of the coolest things you can do with your Facebook pixel. Creating Lookalike Audiences is the magic sauce to getting your brand seen, gaining new customers, and growing sales.

By creating Custom Audiences of people that have been to certain pages on your site you can then create audiences of people similar to those people.

This goes beyond the standard interest and demographic targeting. A Lookalike Audience is built upon a source audience (website visitors, customers etc…). Facebook takes the data points of that audience and finds people similar.

What does this mean? If you’re looking for ways to reach more people like your ideal customers, you just found it. Not only will you be able to retarget your ideal customers, you’ll be able reach more just like them. This means more people likely to convert will be seeing your ads.

So, now that you know the potential a Facebook Pixel can give your business, are you ready to create one. We sure hope so! Let us know in the comments below how it goes.

An important part of managing all of your business’ social media accounts is knowing all that you can do with them. Every week updates are rolling out and new programs are being launched. It can be a lot to take in and wrap your head around. Luckily, we are here to make things a little easier.

Here are this week’s updates with the potential to help your business:

1. Google Hire

Google has announced the launch of Hire, a new service that helps businesses streamline their recruiting process. Hire is integrated into Google’s G Suite business software and gives employers the ability to collaborate in the hiring process.

Takeaway for your business:

With Hire, you can now build up a database of potential employees and track them at multiple stages of the interview process all in one place. It also allows you to export the information into Sheets. This cuts down considerable time moving information from place to place.

Learn More Here & Here 

2. Facebook Ads Targeting Households

Facebook announced that for the upcoming holiday season they will be displaying relevant ads to your whole household. Using the relationships that are declared on Facebook and other information such as where you are accessing the internet, Facebook can determine that you are in the same house.

Takeaway for your business:

Although it may seem a little invasive, it can only improve your business. Younger generations are not the only ones consuming ads and purchasing products online. Parents consist of more than 50% of internet shoppers. This is important because instead of posting an ad directly to someone’s son or daughter, the ad would be posted to their parents or other relatives as a gift idea.

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3. Facebook Modifying Link Previews

In an effort to reduce the spread of false information on their site, Facebook is no longer allowing the editing of link previews. In the past, it was possible to edit the title and description of the article you are linking to, essentially creating “click bait”. Facebook is doing away with this feature.

Takeaway for your business:

Posts scheduled to go out with edited previews will revert back to whatever Facebook is programmed to publish. If you’re publishing a blog on your website, make sure the title, cover photo, and subtitle are all correct on the back end. That way, when your blog is shared, it appears exactly how you intended.

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4. Snapchat Upgrades Video Recording and Photo Editing

The first part of Snapchat’s update is the introduction of the Tint Brush. This new feature gives you the ability to change the color of any part of your picture to fit your creative needs. The other aspect of this update is Multi Snap. Before Multi Snap you could only record 10 second long snaps. This update allows you to record for a whole 60 seconds without interruption.

Takeaway for your business:

With these updates, you can now add your business’ personal touch to your messages with consistent colors that fit your brand. The addition of minute long videos gives you much more freedom than being limited to 10 seconds snippets.

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Social Media Tool of the Week 

If you are looking to improve the quality of your Instagram account, look no further than VSCO. VSCO is essentially Instagram editing on steroids. Instagram only has so many filters and options available and they have grown overused over the years. VSCO offers a various range of filters and editing tools that you can’t find on other mobile apps. It is perfect for polishing up your old pictures to be more eye catching and stand out on your audience’s feed.

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When was the last time you sat down and caught up on what’s happening in social media? No, we don’t mean scrolling through your Instagram feed. We mean following updates released, reading up on what industry leaders recommend, and discovering what’s driving sales and growing a community on social.

It’s okay if it’s been a while. We get it- you’re busy! It can be daunting thinking about this on a weekly basis. That’s why we’re bringing you a round-up of social media updates each week.

What are you waiting for? Let’s dive in!

1. Creating Audiences based on Instagram Business via Facebook

Facebook Ads just dropped a game changer that will allow you to target those who have interacted with not only your Facebook Page but your Instagram Business account as well.

This update gives you the ability to target an audience within a specific timeframe from when they last interacted with your posts, videos, or the account itself. Facebook originally only used interactions from within Facebook to target your audience. Now the update expands that to your Instagram interactions as well.

Take-away for your business:

The engagement you receive on an Instagram Business account can be significantly higher than on a Facebook page.  By linking these two social media titans together, your overall page engagement is going to skyrocket.  You will see more of your Instagram following popping up on your Facebook pages and vice versa.

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2. Visual Planner on Mobile via Later

Let’s talk scheduling because it’s something extremely important to the success of your social media accounts and saves you immense amounts of time.  

For Instagram accounts, specifically, we are big fans of the Later app. One of our favorite features Later provides is the Visual Planner. You are able to view the entire Instagram feed to help you establish your aesthetic and make sure your next post will complement your last.

Prior to this week, you could only manipulate these images in the Visual Planner on the desktop; this update now makes those same tasks possible within the app.

Take away for your business:

Instagram is a platform based entirely on pictures and the idea that your followers are enjoying the content you are posting, which is why the Visual Planner is our favorite tool.

You can manipulate and edit posts as if you are viewing them live on your Instagram feed, creating confidence that your content will be perceived well by followers. This update will make scheduling and editing your posts easier on the go!

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3. Messenger Ads via Facebook

While Facebook Messenger Ads was released to many advertisers in November 2016, it is now going global!

If you’ve seen these ads on the timelines before, you’ve noticed how they pull you directly into a Facebook messenger conversation when clicked. This is much different than any other ad type released so far by Facebook.

Messenger is a feature that has grown increasingly diverse over the past few years- almost becoming its own social media platform. This means the power of the app is something that shouldn’t be ignored by advertisers.

Take away for your business:

When using these ads it’s important to offer something of value to your audience. For example, you might use these advertisements to answer customer questions or share an informational white-sheet.

The big thing here is these ads are more personal than any other advertisement offered before on the app. Once that conversation is started your potential buyers are farther down the sales funnel than they would be if they had clicked through to your website or liked a post. The potential here is huge!

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4. Sales Navigator via LinkedIn

In the world of B2B, leads are everything and finding them can be tough. Creating the right connections is something new businesses find themselves struggling with, but with the Sales Navigator tool on LinkedIn that just got easier.

Instead of spending hours networking, searching, and hoping it will be the perfect match, let LinkedIn do the work for you. Their Sales Navigator tool shows you what really matters to the buyer and gives you recommendations of who you should be focusing on specifically.

Along with finding leads and prospects, this tool helps you track the success of these prospects.

Takeaway for your business:

Business-to-Business communication is a vital part of being an industry leader, which is the goal of every business.

Using the connections right in front of you on LinkedIn will make your network even stronger; ultimately furthering your success.

This is a tool that will streamline a process that could take weeks or months into something that takes a few hours a day.

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Social Media Tool of the Week:

As a business leader, you know the importance of promotion and utilizing your resources in the best way possible. With all of the ad campaigns you can send out, there is another secret weapon you can use; influencers. Influencers are users on social media sites have an extremely attentive audience that will be interested in what that user is promoting.

Our focus this week is on a tool that will help you find influencers whose followers will be interested in your products. This tool is called Intellifluence, an online database that allows influencers to sign up for this platform and from there, businesses can pitch them products and promotions to post to their social media accounts.  With a database of over 15,000 influencers and available in over 88 countries, this is going to be a huge help with creating a larger reach for your business.

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It’s a new week and, of course, our social media world keeps spinning and changing. This can sometimes leave business owners in a bit of a fog. Fortunately, what’s below will help get your head out of the clouds.

We’ve collected some of the most earth-shattering updates and all the deets on how they might change the atmosphere of your business. Let’s get started!

1. New Metrics via Facebook Ads

Show me the numbers baby! Facebook recently announced the addition of a few new metrics to their arsenal. Although no time frame was given, we can assume to see these in the Insights tab within the next few weeks. For those of you numbers people, this update is about to fuel your obsession.

The first is ‘Landing Page Views’, which will allow marketers to better define their click engagement. Previously, click engagement referred to any click on an ad or post, misleading advertisers on the platform. Now, marketers will not only be able to tell how many people clicked their link, but how many people made it to the landing page after the page fully loads.

Next up in Facebook’s box of tricks is ‘Pre-Impression Activity Breakdown’ metrics. Sounds a bit complicated, doesn’t it? Don’t fret. It gives marketers the ability to decipher if those that engaged with their ad are a new or existing customer. By using pixel fires, Facebook will track who has been to an advertiser’s website or app previously before engaging with an ad.

Lastly, Facebook is crafting three new ‘Page Interactions’ metrics: ‘Follows’, ‘Previews’, and ‘Recommendations’. ‘Follows’ will allow page admins to see the rise and fall of their page follows over time. ‘Previews’ will give advertisers insight into who is seeing their Page information, but never clicking through. Finally, ‘Recommendations’ will show how many times their Page was showed as a recommendation from friends and family.

Takeaway for your business: When it comes to tracking ROI and the success of Facebook campaigns, great insights are essential. Marketers need to understand how their digital presence is driving action in order to improve and fine tune their strategy.

For example, the new ‘Landing Page Views” metric, will not only give advertisers insight into the number of people clicking through to their website from a single ad but also point out issues with loading time and the mobile user experience.

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2. Photo or Video Reply via Instagram Stories

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, so what’s a boomerang worth?  Story replies just got a little more profound with Instagram’s new feature, which allows users to respond to Stories with photos and videos. Users can also add a little extra razzle dazzle by utilizing filters, Boomerang, rewind, and stickers.

Takeaway for your business:  This update might seem small, but the impact is huge when it comes to engagement. If a text reply is like meeting your crush over a quick cup of coffee, sending back a photo or video is a romantic weekend getaway. These new replies are going to lead to more personal and meaningful engagement on Stories.  

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3. Voice Filters, Backdrops, and Web Links via Snapchat

Snapchat sticks it to the man (AKA Facebook) with their new round of updates. We all know Facebook has tried to strong-arm Snapchat out of the ring over the past year, but these new tools are the right hook it needed to get back in the fight.

The new backdrops feature allows users to green-screen their photos with different scenes and patterns. Currently, it only works for photos, but one can assume video will be added in the future.

Voice filters will change the way a Snaper’s voice sounds in their videos. Unlike before, users will now be able to change their voice without the accompanying visual filter.  

Lastly, and maybe the most exciting update, is the ability to add web links to your Snaps and Stories. Users will then be able to swipe up on a linked Snap and land directly on the webpage.

Takeaway for your business: These new features gives businesses plenty of room for creativity. The new backdrop feature adds an eye-catching element to content that can be done straight in the app, while the voice filter gives marketers the ability to show a little more humor and personality.

The weblinks will be huge for any business that has built a successful Snapchat community. Now, advertisers can include a direct call-to-action in their Snaps, which will drive website traffic and convert followers into paying customers.

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Social Media Tool of the Week:

As a business professional, one of your most valuable resources is your time. You’ve probably realized you never have quite enough of it.

This week we’re bringing you a tool that’s going to save you a little of it. Enter our ‘Social Media Tool of the Week’, ManyChat. ManyChat is a Facebook Messenger bot that will significantly reduce the amount of time you spend answering basic customer service questions by answering them for you.

Now, before panic ensues about robots taking over the world, know that a human response is still recommended for some conversations. This bot just helps to eliminate the time you or your marketing team spends answering simple, routine questions.

With the application, you can set up a welcome message and option buttons for your customer to choose from. Based on the response given the bot can then send follow up messages.

This will not only cut down your time responding to messages but also give your followers the instant response they have come to expect.

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To all of our marketing professionals out there, we have some news for you….

Social media is a massive asset to your organization and keeping up with it is a must!

Being able to properly utilize the platforms your potential and current consumers are on is the key to successful digital marketing. Although you may have noticed, these platforms are constantly updating their algorithms, layouts, and basic functions.  

You probably find yourself asking “When did this happen?”, “What am I supposed to do now?”, and  “Will my current strategy still work?”.  

For those of you finding themselves asking these questions on a weekly basis, we have just the thing! Below are the newest and most relevant updates in the social media world this week. We’ve also included some helpful tips and takeaways so you leave knowing exactly how these will impact your business.

1.’Meaningful’ Community Focus via Facebook

Facebook hit quite the milestone this week with finally acquiring 2 billion active users. So chances are, your potential customer is on the platform. Which is why Facebook’s new mission to build meaningful community comes at the perfect time to not only reach your ideal customer but build a relationship with them that lasts.    

They have already tailored their algorithms to weed out “fake news” and help increase positive interactions on the platform. This ‘meaningful community’ has a similar idea. With several new features added to Facebook groups, group admins will have more power to manage members and content.   

Within groups, new administrative tools have been released that will give admins access to real-time metrics, membership request filtering, removed member clean-up, scheduled posts, and group-to-group linking– features they didn’t have before.

Takeaway for your business:  Two of the most exciting features within this round of updates are the real-time metrics and the ability to schedule posts.

One of the biggest complaints from Facebook group admins was in the inability to access any metrics regarding group activity. Now, users will have metrics on page growth and post engagement with the new ‘Group Insights’. This will help to know popular times to post, what some of the most popular posts have been, and the who the top contributors are to the group.

The scheduling feature is nothing new to Facebook, but it is new to groups. The lack of scheduling ability has been one of the biggest frustrations for admins and its addition is giving group leaders a big sigh of relief everywhere. Now, with the new group metric, you can schedule posts for the most popular times in bulk and not have to worry about logging in multiple times a day.

These are features that will enhance the way you use Facebook for your business and make it more user-friendly, accessible, and increase engagement.

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2. Customer Geofilters via Snapchat App

Here Snapchat goes again making our life easier. Now, users can create promotional geo-filters filters straight from the app rather than on the website. Now, users will be able to create and submit a filter from anywhere they take their mobile phones.

Takeaway fro your business:  This update simply makes life easier. Snapchat says that this feature is mostly for personal use of the app and that businesses should still use the web studio feature if they want to get the most out of custom filters. Still, if you are ever in a crunch for time or have limited access to your desktop, this makes for a great solution.

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3. Discover v1.1 via Facebook Messenger

This is an update to the previous version of the Discover feature dropped by Facebook back in April and makes it easier and quicker to find the perfect messenger bot for you. Now, by simply tapping the ‘Discover’ icon in your messenger app you can search bots by category, trending bots, and ‘featured’ bots, which are the top bots Facebook recommends.

Takeaway for Your Business:

Messenger bots have taken off quite a bit since they first launched. Many attest that the use of bots can dramatically help your business, not only in saving time but in giving your followers the immediate response they have come to expect in this quick digital age.

Setting up an interactive bot that’s right for you can have a big impact on your business. This intuitive update will help in the selection of your bot and save browse time.   

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4. LinkedIn Search via LinkedIn

This new search feature is going to change the way users tailor their profiles, as well as help employers find the right candidates. With the new Search Appearances feature, users can now see exactly what types of people are looking at your profile and what skills they are interested in.

Takeaway for Your Business: There is no “perfect” way to select an employee, people have been studying the hiring process for decades now and have yet to perfect the process.  

There are countless of variables that you can not account for when selecting an employee, but this could make online hiring a little bit easier.  

When you are searching for potential candidates, it is overwhelming to get through all of the profiles out there, but if you can search more specifically based on a tailored profile it would make it easier.  

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5. “M” Feature via Facebook Messenger

Facebook has created a community within its Messenger app, almost diversifying it completely away from Facebook itself.  To add to the games, bots, video chats, they are adding an AI assistant to help you navigate the countless features of this app.  

With the addition of the “M” button on the text board inside Messenger, a virtual assistant pops up in a conversation when it senses a user needs help with something. For example, if the topic of going to a certain location comes up in conversation, this virtual assistant will pop us with the Uber or Lyft apps to help users get a ride. Talk about a helpful assistant right?

Takeaway for Your Business:  AI is taking over the social media world and enhancing the way businesses interact with users on each platform.

This update could potentially help you with partnerships and general interactions with your customers. The automated assistant will help with suggested responses (in Spanish and English), location sharing, setting reminders, starting polls, and much more.

 Learn More 

Social Media Tool of the Week:

This week we are featuring a tool that everyone should have in their arsenal no matter how grammatically correct you think you are. Grammarly is browser extension that helps with checking spelling, sentence structure, and puncuation.

The tool picks up a range of communication suggestions from poor use of vocabulary to simple spelling errors. Because the tool is a  browser extension, it proofreads all web based writing. This way mistakes don’t make it online.  

The ability to use this program for any type of writing whether it be for Facebook, Twitter, blog posts, Tumblr, or an email is why it has been mentioned in our blog post today.  As marketers, we know the importance of accurate copy!

 Learn More 

Have an update we didn’t cover? Make sure to leave it in the comments below! As always thank for reading. We will see you next week with even more social media updates!

Getting started on social media for your business can be nerve wrecking. You might have set up an account and strategically planned a posting schedule, thinking you got over the biggest hurdle, only to discover that every platform updates at ridiculous frequencies.

We’re here to tell you we get it and want to save what’s most precious to you- your time! Each week we’ll be giving you the low-down of significant updates on social media and how you can utilize them to grow your business. So grab your to-do list and pen because you’ll be leaving with lots of instantly implementable tips this week.

1. Disappearing Direct Messages via Facebook and Instagram

As we have seen with the extremely popular app Snapchat, disappearing pictures and messages have kept millennials interested and tuned-in. Most of us are familiar with the addition of stories on Facebook and Instagram, but now we also have disappearing direct messages on these platforms as well. By clicking on the paper airplane icon you will be taken to your direct photo/video messages inbox. Here, you can view the photos and videos that friends have sent you twice within 24 hours and then they disappear. You can also send photos and videos directly to friends as well and, again, they will be able to view them twice within 24 hours before they disappear forever.

Takeaway for your business:

With Facebook and Instagram’s addition of this 24-hours-then-gone feature, followers are provided a sense of urgency to view these photos and videos. Taking advantage of these timely direct messages may help your business gain more visibility and turn your followers into paying customers!

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2. Facebook Jobs Tab to Attract Millennial Talent

For years now LinkedIn has been the go-to for finding potential employees and applying for jobs, but now there is a new (and seemingly better) way of doing things. Facebook has implemented a Jobs Tab to encourage businesses to share job openings on Facebook. With the ability to “Boost” the post and customize the audience in Ads Manager, your job postings can reach more millennial job-seekers who may be right for the job.

Takeaway for your business:

Facebook may just be a great way to find potential employees for your business. 41% of millennials are said to use Facebook on a daily basis, while only 13% of millennials are on LinkedIn. Now that’s a pretty significant deficit! The new Facebook job feature will help you target the right audience for a better chance of finding the perfect candidates for your open positions.

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3. Facebook Albums

Facebook has just added new features to photo albums. Users can add text posts, videos, and check-ins to photo albums and request notifications from specific albums. Facebook has also made it easier to add contributors to form a group album.

Takeaway for your business:

These new photo album features are extremely helpful in organizing photos, videos, and check-ins. With the rise of experiential marketing, we couldn’t think of a better time for Facebook to drop this feature. Don’t just shares photos, share experiences!

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4. Paid Partnership Feature on Instagram

This Instagram partnership feature has been in the works for awhile now. Their goal is to increase transparency for brands and users in order to benefit the community as a whole. Those promoting products and brands on Instagram can now set their location as “Paid Partnership with x” rather than hashtagging #ad or #spon. The creators of the brands being promoted will receive analytics and engagement metrics to help evaluate the effectiveness of the partnership.

Takeaway for your business:

Influencers on Instagram can be a huge help to reach a wider audience. Now creators can gauge how helpful promoting their brand with a partnership really is. More on this feature is expected in the coming months.

Learn More 

Social Media Spotlight of the Week

If you haven’t heard of it yet, you’re going to be glad you did today! MeetEdgar is this week’s social media tool spotlight. This scheduling tool will save you time and money by storing your updates in an unlimited content library and automatically re-sharing your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter posts.

The automatic re-sharing of your content gains more exposure and directs more traffic to your website. MeetEdgar also has cool and helpful tools such as the auto-expiring content feature, direct video uploading, and in-app click tracking.

Lot’s social features are moving in the direction of automation. It’s helpful to pick and choose where you can save time by incorporating automation into your business and where you need that personal touch.

There is nothing more frustrating than realizing the social media platform you have just mastered has changed things up on you, yet AGAIN. These changes, even if seemingly insignificant, could have a massive impact on the overall success of the platform as your marketing tool.  

If you find yourself continuously frustrated with these updates and you have to constantly ask yourself, “How do I keep up?” and, “Is this relevant to me?” Well then, sit back and relax, and read up below; because The Agency has your back!  

We do the nitty-gritty research to figure out what social media changes have occurred in the last seven days and how your business can benefit from them. Here is a recap of last week’s social media updates:

1. New Geofilters via Snapchat

If you’ve created a geofilter for your business before, you’ve most likely realized the power it can have for your brand. A simple filter gives your customer the power to share with friends that they’re enjoying your product or service in real time. Now, it’s now gotten even simpler to submit a creative and shareable business Snapchat filter.

If you’re an avid user of the templates feature on Snapchat, you’re aware the only templates available were weddings, birthdays, and celebrations. This made it difficult to design a template that fit perfectly with your brand. Fear no more because the app recently added: Prom, Business, Food & Bars, Love, and Graduation, which makes it easier to create more brand specific filters.

For those who have not seen a Geofilter, we have included an example of a local Geofilter as reference:

Takeaway for your business: A geofilter’s “fence reach”, aka area the filter will be available, is 20,000-5,000,000 sq. feet, which means a properly placed Geofilter can potentially reach everyone on Snapchat within that area.

Now, with the ability to customize geofilters even more, you can make them a killer promotional resource for events, sales, or the launch of a new product. With Snapchat geofilters, each person using your filter promotes your business to their audience, expanding your reach and brand awareness exponentially.

Here at The Agency we are big fans of utilizing geofilters; they are relatively inexpensive and not a lot of businesses are using them yet. We have had a lot of success creating geofilters in heavily populated areas on special occasions (ie. St. Patrick’s day).

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2. Activity Feature via YouTube IOS App

YouTube is the second most popular search engine right after Google, so it’s time that they step up their user game! Well ask, and you(tube) shall receive. The YouTube IOS app has just created an “Activity Feature” tab where users can catch up on all the notifications and recent videos you may have missed in one place.

Takeaway for your business: For businesses that rely heavily on YouTube to promote their videos, this change is a great way to see and control your notifications more easily and help manage your business more effectively.

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3. Video Metric Changes via Facebook

Everyone who has Facebook can openly admit to watching videos every now and then on their downtime (some of us spend more time than we’re willing to admit). With over 100 million hours of videos being watched every day, businesses and marketers know how important it is to upload and track their video performance, as it can lead to new sales.

Facebook has made five new changes to video metrics, making it easier for marketers to measure how their videos are performing. Search Engine Journal has provided the graphic below detailing the 5 changes.

Takeaway for your business:  The most important takeaway from this is if you have not yet started to utilize video on Facebook, start now! Facebook is constantly ranking videos as more and more important so get out there and start recording!

These new features will create a better way to interpret analytics, tailor your content to your target audience, and our favorite thing, more views!

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4. Live via Youtube Mobile App

It seems like every day some platform is tweaking the way they use the live feature on their sites, and this week’s culprit is YouTube. Originally, the video site had created some intense guidelines to going live, stating that a channel must have 10,000 followers in order to go live via the mobile app. Now YouTube has announced that any channel with 1,000 subscribers or more will be able to go live on mobile!

Takeaway for your business:  This is going to make it easier for smaller channels to gain some followers with live feeds. These feeds are new and may feel awkward at first, but having that face-to-face live interaction with subscribers is vital for building trust!

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5. Business Chat via iMessage

Does everything Apple touches turn to gold? Well, businesses should hope so! In the next update expected to come out in the Fall, Apple has announced that businesses will be able to communicate directly with their customers via iMessage.

Apple states that companies will now be able to “have personalized conversations and even make purchases with Apple Pay.” This new update will let customers schedule appointments using calendars, preview lists of products for them to choose from, reserve tables, review your business logistics straight from their device, and most importantly, speak directly to a representative of the company.  

Takeaway for your business: In an age of all things digital, consumers are craving human interaction immediately, and without leaving their homes. It is essential for businesses to utilize this new update in order to have high customer satisfaction.

With this update, any user of IOS 11 will be able to chat with a support member of businesses they find using Siri, Maps, Safari, and Spotlight search.

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Social Media Spotlight of the Week:

Our spotlight social media tool this week is… Google Trends!  A tool that has been around for a few years, but is now more useful than ever. Engaging and connecting with your followers can be huge for your brand’s growth, and Google Trends will help you do that.

By compiling what people are talking about and engaging with at any given moment, day, week, or month, Google Trends assists you in creating content that people really want to see.

This is a tool that every business can benefit from. With archives going all the way back to 2004, you can compare the progress of industry averages then to now. The possibilities are unending with Google Trends.

We will present you with a challenge for the week: use this tool to create content and see what impact it has on the reach of your posts.

Just when you think you’ve cracked the code to promoting your business on social media, your favorite platform switches it up again! As a business owner, entrepreneur, or marketer, you may have found it frustrating to finally get into a groove with your social posts and ads when a new update throws you off your game.

We’re here to tell you that we get you, understand your struggles, and are ready to help. It’s vital for your business to spend less time scouring the internet for the latest updates and more time turning followers into clients and customers.

So grab a seat, because we’re sharing what’s changed this week, what it means for you, and how your business can use these changes for growth.

1. Links via Stories via Instagram

Yes, you read that right, you can now directly link on your Instagram Stories without having to direct followers to “Link in Bio.”  This feature was previously only available to verified users on the app (that blue check mark is very difficult to obtain), but has now been rolled out to users with 10,000 followers or more!

Takeaway for your business: The ability to give your customers effortless access to their favorite products is one of the many reasons social media marketing works so well. As a brand, you want your potential customers to be able to find your product with as little friction as possible. Now, you can direct them to simply swipe up on the story and lead them to exactly what they are looking for. Even if you don’t have 10,000 followers, your brand can still reap the benefits of this change. Now when partnering with influencers and collaborating with brands that might have a larger following than you, a direct link can be placed to the product you’re having them feature.  

2. Rewind via Instagram

In between the ‘Boomerang’ and ‘Hands-Free’ features is a truly magical update. While recording a story, you can set your video to play in rewind. You won’t realize how fun it is to record something coming undone until you try it!

Takeaway for your business: Prior to this update only someone with a deep understanding of video editing could produce video like this. Now your brand has the ability to edit video to look professional, without a background in production. This opens up a whole new realm of creativity for your content.

3. Collections via Instagram

Instagram added a feature that allows users to save other people’s Instagram posts to their page. These posts can be organized into folders called “Collections” giving users the ability to categorize content.

Takeaway for your business:  This new feature is great for brands that utilize user generated content! By being able to save and organize posts, reposting content from your customers has been made that much easier. Collections’ “save for reference later” premise is also very similar to Pinterest. While these remain only visible to the user right now, it makes Instagram more e-commerce friendly. Now your followers can save your brand’s photos with a certain product they like to shop later.

4. Transferring “Likes” to “Community” via Facebook

On Facebook pages with larger audiences, a new feature is being tested. The ‘Likes’ section on pages has been replaced by ‘Community’. Now, instead of seeing who’s liked the page, ‘People Talking About This’, and who’s checked in, you can see your friends who like the Page, total Likes and Follows, Visitor Photos, and Public Posts. Below, Mari Smith’s page shows how the interface is laid out.

Takeaway for your business: When an update is in beta, Facebook oftentimes only releases it to a few influential brands, before all users have access. If all goes well, you can expect to have this feature soon. Before it was difficult for your followers to see mentions of your brand. Now, fans of your page can see all the mentions and shares you’ve gotten. This will encourage those people to interact with your other fans building a ‘community’. Also, once they see other followers mentioning your page, they may be more inclined to mention your page themselves.

5. Facebook Ads-Creating a Value-Based Lookalike Audience

The ability to create Value Based Lookalike Audiences is a ‘coming soon’ update to the Facebook ads platform (it’s currently inthe beta phase). This new feature, that we expect to roll out soon, allows you to assign a Lifetime Value to customers of a certain Custom Audience. The real power in this comes from the ability to then create a Lookalike Audience of customers with high lifetime value. Jon Loomer’s website does a fantastic job of explaining and displaying this in practice:

Takeaway for your business: Not all customers are equal. Some may make only one purchase, while others come back again and again. By first providing Facebook with a lifetime value of all customers within your custom audience, you’ll then be able to create a Lookalike Audience based on your most valuable customers. This means you can use this audience for lower funnel targeting! The cost per result may be higher at first, but the overall cost per conversions will most likely be significantly lower. Here is another example from Jon Loomer’s website:

6. Unit Feature for E-Learning via Facebook

If your group is set as a “School” or “Class” type, you now have the ability to add “Units”. Within each Unit, multiple units, new content, and previous wall posts can be added. Students can also see their progress as they complete work within Units. Mari Smith has displayed what this feature would look like if she utilized it in one of her online groups to keep track of work:

Takeaway from your business: This feature could simply be used to better organize school or e-learning groups. For those who need to keep up with deadlines and work progress of employees or students, this is a game changer. We know that online learning and training is growing in popularity because of the increased use of technology (hence the importance of this blog post).  To be able to create groups on your Facebook pages and track learning, training, and deadlines without creating outside platforms will be a great utilization for your company.

Social Media Tool of the Week

The wonderful tool that we think you need to know about for the week comes from our friends at Sprout Social.  This is a scheduling tool we use consistently here and they just dropped a new version of their app, 5.0.  This app is Android and Apple friendly to make your social media scheduling easy, timely and ON THE GO!  With the creation of this version of the app, you can do everything you can do on the website on your tablet or cell phone making your job that much easier.