by Fronetics | Oct 4, 2019 | Blog, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Also, this month in social media news: a court rules LinkedIn cannot stop third-party scraping public information and Facebook expands “Today In” section.
After a relatively quiet month in the world of social media news, social platforms have been hard at work making changes to provide a better user experience and cut down on spam accounts. This is good news for B2B marketers looking to stand out amongst all the competition.
With the growing influence of social networks, social channels have been challenged with making sure the information shared on their sites is authentic and “real” news. In response, social platforms have been working to sort through fake accounts and streamline ways to detect and remove these accounts, which often result in major losses of followers.
But this decline in user accounts does not mean that social media platforms’ influence is declining. In fact, social media usage is at an all-time high, and networks are pushing out new updates, features and policies to keep users happy.
Here’s your social media news for October 2019.
Facebooks announces new business tool for Messenger
Looking to increase leads and engage with new audiences? Facebook is trying to help. The social network introduced a new package of tools for the 40 million active businesses on Messenger, including booking appointments and lead generation workflows. As the new features were announced, Facebook also reported the Discovery tab will be phased out. According to Facebook, “Businesses engaging with potential leads in their preferred channel are seeing results, and finding it easy to continue the conversation and seamlessly nurture leads in Messenger.”
Twitter tests new ‘topics’ shortcut
Twitter users may soon be able to follow topics in the same way they would follow users. Users can see tweets about topics they choose (like digital marketing, supply chain procurement, or even sports) in the home feed. Individual tweets will be monitored through machine learning and chosen to be included in specific topics.
Though only in the testing phase, the new shortcut would help users discover the exact content they need and want without following a specific account. The Verge reports that Twitter is also working on other ways to improve the user experience, including searchable direct messages, the ability to re-order the photos in a tweet after you have attached them to a new post, and plans to add support for Apple’s Live Photos.
Court rules that LinkedIn cannot stop third-party data scraping of public information
hiQabs has been collecting public user information on LinkedIn to create analytics for employers that accurately identify employee patterns and help with retention efforts. But LinkedIn has tried to block the “data scrapping,” alleging that hiQ was violating the CFAA, as well as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Until now, when a San Francisco appeal’s court told LinkedIn to take a step back. The court’s decision means the CFAA doesn’t apply to public information, including information collecting via social media platforms. This decision could have major implications for social platforms looking to protect user privacy. We’ll continue to closely monitor any updates from this case in next month’s social media news.
Facebook expands “Today In” section
“Today In” has been running in six U.S. cities since January 2018, and has over 1.6 million people who have opted to receive regular local updates from Today In within the newsfeed. Facebook just announced they’ll be expanding the news section to 6,000 more U.S. cities and towns, bringing local news to “news deserts,” areas with limited local news available.
“Today In” showcases the biggest news stories and happenings in local regions. With declining engagement rates, Facebook created the separate newsfeed in an effort to boost engagement and discussions around topics that matter to local areas.
Facebook clarifies privacy settings for Groups
Public, closed, or secret? What do these privacy settings mean? Users across Facebook’s platform weren’t sure, so the network has changed the wording describing the privacy settings for groups. To make these settings clearer, groups now have the option of public or private. Facebook writes:
“We’re making this change because we’ve heard from people that they want more clarity about the privacy settings for their groups. Having two privacy settings — public and private — will help make it clearer about who can find the group and see the members and posts that are part of it. We’ve also heard that most people prefer to use the terms “public” and “private” to describe the privacy settings of groups they belong to. “
The changes leave privacy settings more straight-forward. Public groups show anyone who is a member and all the content shared within the group, while private groups will only show members and content to users that join the group.
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by Fronetics | Sep 26, 2019 | Blog, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Having the right social media image sizes for each platform is a key part of creating visually appealing posts.
Highlights:
- Each social media platform has its own set of image guidelines.
- Choosing the right social media image sizes ensures that your content is as visually appealing as possible.
- We like Canva Pro for quick resizing of images and graphics.
Social media is all about the visual. Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, having the right image can make or break the effectiveness of a post. Social media image size might seem like a relatively unimportant facet of choosing an effective image for a post. But you might be surprised to discover how important it can be.
An incorrect social media image size can make your post less visually appealing than it could be, and it can even erode how the number of impressions a post receives. Because each platform has its guidelines for sizes — and because each image type (profile picture, cover photo, etc.) has different size restrictions — determining correct social media image size is no easy task.
The infographic below gives you a complete guide to the various image size requirements on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Once you know the correct social media image sizes, you can set your photo editing software to the correct dimensions.
Social media image sizes: by the network
(Made with Canva)
Facebook
Facebook is perhaps the crown jewel of social media platforms, boasting 1.5 billion daily active users. While the platform is text-friendly, images are key to creating engaging content on the platform. An important thing to remember when it comes to images on Facebook is that they will display differently on your page’s timeline as compared to a user’s newsfeed. This means that your choice of image dimensions should be based on where you want your viewers to see your image.
Image dimensions:
- Cover image: 800 x 312
- Profile image: 180 x 180 (though it will display as 170 x 170 on desktop, and 32 x 32 as a thumbnail)
- Shared post image: 1200 x 630
- Shared link preview image: 1200 x 628
- Event image: 1920 x 1080
- Highlighted image: 1200 x 717
Instagram
Instagram is all about the visual – which means that it’s crucial that your brand’s presence on the platform is driven by high-quality images. As a rule, the platform scales down photos to 612 x 612, but it’s still recommended that shared images be set to 1080 x 1080 to optimize quality.
Image dimensions:
- Profile image: 110 x 110
- Image thumbnail: 161 x 161
- Shared photos: 1080 x 1080
- Shared videos: 1080 pixels wide
- Instagram Stories: 1080 x 1920 (minimum 600 x 1067); maximum 4 GB
Twitter
Twitter has 313 billion monthly active users and has recently updated its image guidelines.
Image dimensions:
- Header image: 1500 x 500; maximum 5 MB
- Profile image: 400 x 400; maximum 2 MB
- In-stream image: 440 x 220
LinkedIn
While the network may not be thought of as a highly visual platform, images on LinkedIn make a big difference in terms of post engagement. With 467 million registered users, it’s the world’s largest professional network. Having polished, well-sized images on the platform can go a long way toward maximizing its potential for professional networking and industry visibility.
Image dimensions:
- Banner image: 1584 x 396; maximum 4 MB
- Profile image: 400 x 400 (minimum 200 x 200); maximum 10 MB
- Company Cover image: 1536 x 768
- Shared image: 350 pixels wide
- Shared link preview: 180 x 110
- Company logo image: 300 x 300; maximum 4 MB
- Company cover image: 1536 x 768 (minimum 1192 x 220); maximum 4 MB
- Company page banner image: 646 x 220; maximum 2 MB
- Square logo (appears in company searches): 60 x 60; maximum 2 MB
An insider trick for quick and easy resizing
As you can see, there is quite a bit of variability in social media image sizes. You could spend hours resizing graphics or images for the same post across multiple platforms… Or, you could do what we do, and try a design platform like Canva. Not only does it already have all the proper dimensions available as templates, Canva Pro lets you change the size of graphics you created in a single click. It definitely makes life a lot easier.
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by Fronetics | Sep 10, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
As social media users increasingly prefer to share content and recommendations via private messaging apps, brands need to be aware of how to take advantage of this trend.
Highlights:
- Nearly two-thirds of social media users now prefer to share content and recommendations through private messaging apps.
- Facebook Messenger is by far the most popular of these platforms.
- Chatbots can help brands engage in conversations on messaging apps and capture leads.
A recent study has confirmed a trend we’ve long predicted: A significant majority (63%) of social media users now express a preference for private messaging apps for sending messages or recommendations to people in their circle, as opposed to posting publicly on social media.
Marketers need to be aware of the implications of this shift toward private messaging apps, or “dark social channels.” Recognizing that three out of five users now prefer to connect via a private channel rather than open social media platforms, brands can tailor content accordingly and create a strategy that capitalizes on this shift.
Private messaging apps by the numbers
GlobalWebIndex and WeAreSocial teamed up to conduct research on content-sharing preferences, looking at more than 3,100 internet users. They asked research subjects how they tend to share information like articles, photos, videos, and recommendations and received the following responses:
- Private messaging apps: 63%
- Social media accounts: 54%
- Word of mouth: 51%
- SMS: 48%
- Email: 37%
Next, researchers broke down the results further, to reveal which messaging platforms users prefer:
- Facebook Messenger: 82%
- WhatsApp: 56%
- Instagram: 34%
- Snapchat: 32%
These are striking numbers. Not only is the preference for messaging apps clear, but brands should take note of the dominance of Facebook Messenger as the preferred platform. It’s likely that this preference is accounted for by the prevalence of social media for content consumption and distribution. Therefore, private messaging apps within social media platforms, with Facebook Messenger chief among them, are an easy and convenient way for users to share information.
What brands need to know about private messaging apps
The trend toward content sharing via messaging apps is mixed news for brands. On the one hand, marketers are likely be dismayed that a significant percentage of website visitors will likely be coming from these untraceable sources. On the other hand, says Olivia Valentine of We Are Social, “it means that there are likely more brand advocates than you might think.”
Valentine is right. When users share content and recommendations on messaging apps, they are engaging in authentic, private conversations, making the recommendations all the more meaningful.
Not only are social messaging apps becoming the preferred content-sharing platform among users, but brands can use these apps directly to engage with their audience. Facebook Messenger now has over 1.3 billion active monthly users globally and offers businesses the opportunity to connect directly and authentically with their audience.
Chatbots
Perhaps you’ve been reading about the rise of private messaging apps for content sharing and despairing over the idea that to keep your business relevant, your marketing staff will now need to be spending every working hour responding to thousands of messages with prospects.
Don’t despair. This is where the latest trend in artificial intelligence for marketers can help. Chatbots are computer programs that simulate, with ever-increasing accuracy, human conversation. This software communicates with your prospects inside a messaging app, carrying on a conversation until a prospect is ready to move down the sales funnel.
When it comes to creating chatbots, we recommend platforms including HubSpot’s Chatflows, Chatfuel, ChatScript, and Facebook’s Bots for Messenger tool.
The takeaway: the shift toward messaging apps is a net positive for marketers
To take full advantage of the growing user preference for private messaging apps, marketers need to ensure that their content is easily shared, engaging, and generative of authentic conversations among their audience. Furthermore, using chatbots can help businesses capture leads and engage in direct conversations on these platforms.
As Valentine points out, while the increased use of private messaging apps does mean that a certain amount of web traffic will be coming from untraceable sources, brands should be celebrating the fact that this trend means that recommendations are far more meaningful and your audience is becoming increasingly empowered to advocate for your brand.
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by Fronetics | Sep 3, 2019 | Blog, Current Events, Logistics, Supply Chain
The long-rumored launch of an Amazon logistics service is unlikely to be rumor much longer. Here’s what 3PLs need to know.
Highlights:
- Amazon recently invited select shippers to use a service called Amazon Shipping.
- The retail giant boasts a global logistics footprint that covers 243.5 million square feet – and counting.
- Amazon’s hiring plans offer insights into its plans for logistics services.
Rumors of an Amazon logistics service have been swirling for nearly two years. In February 2018, the Wall Street Journal predicted that Amazon was planning to launch a “delivery service that would vie with FedEx, UPS.”
In April of this year, Amazon re-stoked discussion of its long-rumored logistics service by inviting select shippers in three major U.S. cities to use a service called Amazon Shipping. While more recent reports indicate that this Amazon logistics service may not be attractive to all shippers, it’s time to consider the possibility that Amazon is about to become a player in the logistics sector.
The growth of Amazon Logistics
Shortly before the April 2019 reports surfaced, Amstrong & Associates Inc., a logistics industry research and consulting firm, published a detailed report on Amazon Logistics. Summing up the report’s conclusions, A&A President Evan Armstrong said, “Amazon is acting increasingly like a 3PL.”
Armstrong’s report estimates that Amazon provides logistics services for 12% of B2C shipments worldwide, noting that third-party sellers account for more than half of all units sold through the Amazon platform. Eytan Buchman, vice president of marketing at Freightos, points to Amazon’s massive logistics footprint at 243.5 million square feet.
The network of warehouses and distribution centers that make up Amazon Logistics comprises 386 facilities in the U.S. alone. That includes 159 fulfillment centers, 47 inbound and outbound sortation hubs, 52 Prime Now hubs, and 115 local delivery stations, according to data compiled by Montreal-based research firm MWPVL International.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has often emphasized the importance of “how fast [a product] will ship or be available for pickup,” as in his 2017 letter to shareholders. As evidence of Amazon’s focus on logistics, Buchman points to the company’s 2018 competition assessment, identifying “companies that provide fulfillment and logistics services for themselves” as competition.
Yet experts remain divided when it comes to labeling Amazon outright as a 3PL. Armstrong, for example, doesn’t place Amazon in the same category as 3PLs because logistics “is just part of their business.” On the other hand, Satish Jindel of SJ Consulting Group estimates that Amazon generated $42.5 billion in gross revenue from logistics services worldwide in 2018, making it the world’s leading 3PL.
Hiring plans for Amazon Logistics
In doing a deep dive into the nearly 17,700 full-time vacancies listed on Amazon’s website, Buchman formed some interesting insights into Amazon’s plans. Here are the key points he found:
- 920 (or 5%) of the 17,700 jobs listed are in the logistics and transportation sector.
- About half of these logistics and transportation jobs are in the U.S.
- More than half of the vacancies require at least 4 years’ experience.
- More than 10% require at least 7 years’ experience.
- 14 jobs require more than 10 years’ experience.
Based on his analysis, Buchman believes that it’s “clear exactly where the company is moving – cross-border trade and international logistics, while improving courier delivery.”
What does Amazon Logistics mean for the sector?
The Amazon effect is the subject of much discussion, speculation, and anxiety for manufacturers and distributors, and Amazon Logistics is no exception. Other 3PLs, such as FedEx, have publicly insisted that Amazon poses no threat – despite statements to the contrary from Wall Street analysts.
In contemplating where Amazon logistics leaves other 3PLs, Buchman concludes that while “few operate at the same scope as Amazon’s level of business… most do already have the expertise, physical networks, and internal technological capabilities to differentiate.” He concludes on the relatively gloomy note: “Doubling down on improving user experience had recently become the way to stay ahead. But now, it’s looking like the way not to fall behind.”
At Fronetics, we’ve written before about the challenges that the Amazon effect poses for supply chain and logistics companies – and why it’s ultimately a net positive. Amazon’s disruptions to the sector are likely to continue, and, as they do, the rest of the industry has the opportunity to refine and sharpen its practices.
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by Fronetics | Aug 29, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Also this month in social media news: Facebook adds Instagram scheduling to Creator Studio and Twitter launches 6-second video ad bidding.
Highlights:
- Facebook is adding an easy option for users to create a still-image slideshow in its Stories feature.
- LinkedIn’s new audience engagement insights will offer improved audience discovery, content recommendations, and industry benchmarking.
- Marketers can now use Facebook’s Creator Studio app to schedule posts on Instagram.
After a somewhat tumultuous July in the world of social media news, August has been calmer. Our updates this month are less concerned with reproaches of Facebook from the Fed and more with news that directly impacts marketers, particularly in the B2B sector. LinkedIn has partnered with third-party providers to offer a robust set of audience engagement insights, and Instagram made the welcome announcement that posts can now be scheduled the Facebook Creator Studio App.
As Stories’ popularity continues to grow, particularly on Instagram, Facebook is working diligently to make its native Stories feature an attractive place for users to post. As part of an ongoing series of updates, this month the social media giant rolled out two new Stories features geared to boost usage. Keep reading for more details on the social media news this month.
Facebook Announces Continued Updates to Stories
As the popularity of Instagram Stories continues to grow, Facebook remains tenacious in trying to encourage usage of its Stories feature. This month, the social network began testing a Stories update prompt displaying a split panel, encouraging users to share to their personal as well as business Page Stories.
Earlier in the month, Facebook added a slideshow option to Stories. The feature allows users to add a still image slideshow to their Story, providing a simplified way to add a stream of images that play out through Story frames. While it was previously possible to achieve the same result by selecting images one by one for each frame, the new option will make it easier.
Facebook believes that Stories are the future of social sharing. While reports indicate that Stories usage is growing, it remains to be seen whether the social media giant can position itself as the preferred platform for Stories content.
LinkedIn Adds New Audience Insights
As part of ongoing efforts by LinkedIn to develop more insight into central topics of interest among its users, the platform has rolled out a new expansion of its marketing partner program with new engagement insights. Responding to the challenge of “reaching and engaging the right audiences at scale,” LinkedIn is partnering with multiple third-party providers to offer a robust set of audience engagement insights.
According to the announcement from LinkedIn, “With these insights, you can better refine your content strategy and make smarter marketing decisions to help deliver better ROI for your LinkedIn ad campaigns and organic posts.” Benefits include audience discovery, content recommendations, and industry benchmarking.
LinkedIn has long been a preferred platform for B2B marketing, and this latest announcement strengthens the network’s credentials.
Facebook Adds Instagram Scheduling to Creator Studio
The latest addition to Facebook’s Creator Studio app is a welcome one for social media marketers. Earlier this month, users began to receive in-app notifications saying, “Instagram and IGTV publishing now available.” Since Instagram scheduling has proven a challenge for social media marketers, this update promises an improved experience.
The new option to schedule Instagram and IGTV posts through Creator Studio offers increased capacity, and it allows marketers to upload to Instagram from a desktop, rather than only through a mobile device. Needless to say, the new publishing and scheduling option will make Instagram marketing far easier. However, it remains to be seen whether posts coming through this process will receive less engagement, a concern in the past with third-party scheduling tools.
Twitter Launches 6-Second Video Ad Bidding
Twitter is launching a new video ad option, namely, 6-second video ad bidding. The ad bidding option means that advertisers will only be charged if their video ad is viewed for 6 seconds. According to the network, “With mobile video consumption at an all-time high, studies show brand impact happens almost instantaneously (within seconds) with video ads.”
Twitter cited the results of a study by EyeSee, which “determined short-form (under 6 seconds) sound-off videos with clear branding drive significantly better ad recall and message association on mobile than linear TVC style videos.” Advertisers will be able to publish on-platform video ads as in the past, but the new option means they can choose only to be charged when a video is viewed for 6 seconds.
Stay tuned for next month’s social media news.
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by Fronetics | Aug 27, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Social media growth slowed for the first time, but marketers are still set to increase budgets in 2020. Here are three reason why they’re sticking with social.
Highlights:
- Social media promotes engagement, and can be used to reinforce ads and boost their performance.
- Brands can continually test campaigns on their platform, get immediate results, and scale successful outcomes.
- As followers like posts and engage with them, they help marketers build customer profiles and increase organic reach through shares and comments.
Video transcript:
Hi, I’m Elizabeth Hines, Creative Director at Fronetics, and today’s topic is 3 reasons why digital marketers are sticking with social.
Digital marketers have been using social media to deepen customer relationships and drive measurable business value. And social media investment remains high. If fact experts predict spending on social media marketing will increase over the next five years. But social media is not delivering on the goods. In fact, social media growth slowed for the first time this year since it started.
So why are digital marketers sticking with social?
1. Engagement
Traditional marketing methods have inundated the market. Consumers are exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 ads a day, most of which flash on a screen as an inherently passive activity. Social media, however, promotes engagement, and can be used to reinforce ads and boost their performance. Consistently publishing to your social media channels results in your brand remaining top of mind when a potential buyer is looking for your product or services and gives you accessibility to engage with audiences that are interacting with your social posts.
2. Cost
Marketers’ goal is always to capture leads and connect directly with prospects. Social media is a platform that companies can control at a relatively low-cost to operate. Brands can continually test campaigns on their platform, get immediate results, and scale successful outcomes. Whether it’s to network with industry professionals, provide customer service, or influence potential customers, social media provides a free, easily accessible way to do so. And more and more customers are expecting to be able to communicate on social media.
3. Mobile
The future of customer engagement is mobile. Social media, with its visual content and short text, is ideally suited for mobile engagement. Prospects engage with social media throughout the day due to its short-form nature, making it more likely you can connect with them. As they like posts and engage with them, they help marketers build customer profiles and increase organic reach through shares and comments.
For more information, please visit our website at www.fronetics.com.
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