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.
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Oct 2, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Our infographic gives you everything from the basics to the specifics of using Reddit for B2B marketing.
Highlights:
- Reddit is a social platform made up of thousands of individual forums where users can post content and vote on its relevance and value.
- The first rule of Reddit: avoid overt brand promotion and sales pitches.
- Creating your own subreddit is the best way to make Reddit a high-value marketing channel.
Reddit calls itself the “frontpage of the internet.” And for good reason. The social networking site boasts over 300 million active users, as well as 140,000 active communities and a whopping 14 million pageviews per month. However, when it comes to using Reddit for B2B marketing, it’s still a relatively untapped channel.
Our infographic is your ultimate guide to using Reddit for B2B marketing. Read on to find out more about this platform and how you can put it to work for your business.
What is Reddit?
Since the site was founded in 2005, Reddit’s user base has skewed young. However, as millennials come of age and rise to positions of influence within the B2B purchasing landscape, Reddit is becoming an increasingly effective way to reach your target audience.
At its most fundamental level, Reddit is a social sharing website built around users submitting links, pictures, and text, which the community can then vote on. Similarly to Quora, the content that’s voted as best rises to top visibility, while downvoted content becomes less visible.
The structure of the site resembles an intricate message board, divided up into hundreds of thousands of subfolders, called “subreddits,” which function as specific forums. Imagine just about any topic you can think of, and there’s probably a subreddit for it. In fact, for thinking about Reddit for B2B marketing, the following subreddits could be of interest:
If you’re looking for industry discussion on a specific marketing topic, it’s likely you can find a relevant subreddit. While each subreddit has different moderators and regulations, there’s one common thread that runs through the entire site: there is a premium placed on authentic content and interactions – and a disdain for overt self-promotion.
(Made with Canva)
Using Reddit for B2B marketing in 5 steps
Now that we’ve covered the basics about what Reddit is and how it works, let’s talk about how to make it part of your marketing strategy.
Step 1: Determine your target subreddit(s).
In the same way that a good digital marketing strategy begins with identifying your target audience, determining your target subreddits is the starting point for successfully using Reddit for B2B marketing. While the massive quantity of subreddits can be overwhelming, consider the following three questions to zero in on the right subreddits for your business:
- Does the subreddit relate to your business’ brand or products, as well as any specific keywords that shape your digital marketing strategy?
- How large is each subreddit’s audience? (Note: bigger isn’t necessarily better. A larger audience has the potential to generate more traffic, but it’s easier to establish your brand’s presence in a smaller subreddit.)
- How much engagement does the subreddit generate?
Once you’ve determined a few relevant subreddits with various audience sizes and high engagement, you’re ready to begin posting.
Step 2: Post links… to websites other than your own.
Before you start wondering why we’re encouraging you to promote other pages, there’s another facet of Reddit to consider. The platform takes the idea of Karma to a literal level. On Reddit, your reputation is referred to as your “Karma score,” and it’s determined by your level of positive participation on Reddit, measured by the number of upvotes you receive. As your Karma score rises, your posts become more visible.
One of the most effective ways to boost your Karma score, particularly when you’re starting out, is to post links to content that the subreddit community finds relevant and generate conversation. It’s important to make sure you don’t repost content that another member of your subreddit has already posted, as duplicates can hurt your Karma score.
Step 3: Share valuable content… that’s not a sales pitch.
When posting content to your target subreddits, the path to success is quite simple. Post content that offers value to the community. This means engaging in discussions, asking and answering questions, and, at all costs, avoiding blatant sales pitches.
Sam Holzman of ZoomInfo explains it this way: “Sharing a link to a product page will signal that you’re a marketer who wants to promote products, not an engaged community member. On the other hand, a blog post about the benefits of a particular product will be more useful to your fellow community members and, as a result, is more likely to be upvoted and commented on.”
Step 4: Advertise on Reddit.
While blatant sales pitches on Reddit are a sure way to a low Karma score, the platform does offer its own native advertising. Similar to Facebook and Twitter, Reddit Advertising is a relatively inexpensive way to boost the visibility of your content on the platform. However, it’s important to note that Reddit doesn’t offer the type of analytics as Facebook and Twitter.
Sponsored posts on Reddit appear at the top of targeted subreddits for a specified duration. You pay for duration as well as the number of impressions you receive. Sponsored posts look like any other Reddit posts. Advertising on the platform isn’t necessary for success, but it can help establish a visible presence, particularly at first.
Step 5: Create a subreddit.
Creating a subreddit isn’t easy – it requires a significant time investment to start and maintain. However, doing so is the best way to turn Reddit into an extremely valuable marketing channel. Once you’ve established your presence, creating a branded subreddit gives your customers and prospects a forum to interact, with you and with each other.
Particularly at the outset, you’ll likely need to promote your subreddit on other platforms. Post links to it on your other digital assets, and you could even offer an incentive for engaging on your subreddit.
Your branded subreddit is also an ideal place to offer customer service. Holding exclusive Q&As, referred to on Reddit as AMAs (“Ask Me Anything”), is another effective strategy to drive traffic and engagement on your subreddit.
The bottom line on Reddit for B2B marketing
Reddit is a rich resource for marketers and a fertile ground for marketing your brand and products. The platform is best thought of as a place to share and engage with high-quality, valuable content, rather than as a place for overt promotion. Effectively using Reddit for B2B marketing requires an investment of time and energy, but the results can be well worth the effort.
Related posts:
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.
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Sep 18, 2019 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Video Marketing
Here are 15 social video marketing statistics that every supply chain marketer should be aware of in 2019.
Highlights:
- 87% of business use video as a marketing tool.
- 83% of marketers report that video gives them a good ROI.
- Social video marketing trends to be on the lookout for: live video and 1:1 personalized video.
If you believe everything you read, you might think that social video marketing has taken a bit of a hit in the past year or so. Largely thanks to Facebook’s well-publicized inflation of video view metrics, companies are naturally wary of investing in video creation and promotion on the platform.
But Facebook’s transgressions shouldn’t undermine marketers’ confidence in the future of social video marketing. Both expert analysis and hard numbers support the notion that video isn’t going anywhere. As digital media expert Michael Humphrey puts it, “All the major upward trends still wrap around video.”
According to Lux Narayan, CEO of independent social analytics company Unmetric, audiences “are longing for more interactive experiences as well as long-form storytelling that only video can best achieve.”
Here are 15 social video marketing statistics we think supply chain marketers should be aware of.
15 social video marketing statistics for 2019
- 47% of internet users have watched brand advertising videos on social media within the past 3 months. (Toluna)
- Of the social media users who have watched branded videos in the past 3 months, 43% watched on Facebook, 38% on YouTube, 18% on Instagram, and 13% on Twitter. (Toluna)
- 87% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool, up from 63% in 2017. (Wyzowl)
- 55% of people consume videos thoroughly – the highest percentage of any content type. (HubSpot)
- 30% of users prefer video ads to text or still image ads, while 52% report having no preference. (Only 18% prefer text or still image ads). (Toluna)
- 83%of marketers say video gives them a good ROI, up from 78% in 2018. (Wyzowl)
- 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions. (Invodo)
- 68%of people say they’d most prefer to learn about a new product or service by watching a short video, over text-based articles (15%), infographics (4%), presentations and pitches (4%), and ebooks and manuals (3%). (Wyzowl)
- 48% of social media users have sought more information about a product or service based on social video marketing. (Toluna)
- 33% of survey respondents answered yes to having bought a product or service from a brand solely based on social video marketing. (Toluna)
- 88% of video marketers are satisfied with the ROI of their video marketing efforts on social media. (Animoto)
- 82% of social media users prefer live video from a brand to social posts. (Impact)
- 81% of marketers say video has helped them generate leads, and 84% say video has helped them increase traffic to their website. (Wyzowl)
- 61% of marketers have made more marketing videos in house in 2018 than they did in 2017. (Animoto)
- 67% of users said they would like to see more social video marketing in the future over other types of ads. The remaining 33% are indifferent, not opposed. (Toluna)
The future of social video marketing
Suffice it to say, the numbers bear out the fact that video marketing, and particularly social video marketing, is a trend that’s here to stay. Live video is increasingly popular, and savvy brands are incorporating it into their strategies.
In addition to live video, given the growing ease of shooting video on smartphones, another big trend is likely to be 1:1 video. Marketers can nurture leads via personalized video messages, rather than phone calls or emails, using video to offer additional content, product support, or simply to foster a relationship.
The bottom line is that video offers up the kind of engaging storytelling that users today want. And social media is the ideal distribution platform for video, making social video marketing a winning strategy.
Related links:
by Elizabeth Hines | Sep 12, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Video Marketing
Live video streaming offers businesses a cost-effective strategy for engaging with and appealing to today’s buyers.
With YouTube emerging as the world’s second largest search engine and video becoming themost popular form of online content,it is no surprise that businesses are looking for ways to engage their target audience through video. And they’re even diving into a growing trend in video marketing: publishing content in real time. It makes sense, given live video streaming now represents 33% of all online activity.
Live video was used more for niche markets in its early days. But 68% of marketers plan to start using live video in the next year, and 77% of marketers plan to increase their use of video overall.
(Made with Canva)
How can live video work for the supply chain?
Live video is an increasingly popular content medium for the millennial generation, which is important for supply chain marketers to note as the B2B purchasing landscape skews younger. Consider that around 73% of 20 to 35 year olds are involved in product purchasing decisions at their companies, with one-third reporting being the sole decision-maker for their department. And a 2015 Google/Millward Brown survey of buyers found that about half of purchasing researchers were between the ages of 18 and 24 — and that percentage has only grown in the last few years.
Another important trait to note about millennials? They’re immediately turned off by overt sales pitches. Instead, they expect vendors to offer them value outside the sales funnel by way of education, entertainment, inspiration, or knowledge. So instead of creating video content to promote products, supply chain companies should use the opportunity to provide viewers with these elements of value they expect.
Live video streaming is the ideal medium for doing so, as it offers the transparency, emotion, and personal elements millennial buyers desire. Vendors can connect with buyers on an emotional level while simultaneously communicating their companies’ expertise, which directly impacts the buyers’ opinions of their solutions.
4 reasons to try live video streaming
Live video streaming offers real benefits for supply chain companies in addition to the increasing opportunity to connect with prospective buyers. When clients ask about whether they should try live video, I give them these four reasons:
1. Earn customer/prospect engagement and feedback
Most live video platforms have features that allow for viewer interaction, meaning customers and prospects can ask you questions and get instant responses. (Talk about excellent customer service!) That generates a positive experience that strengthens their relationship with your company. Also, you get the benefit of hearing feedback from a portion of your audience, which you can use to drive change and growth.
2. Promote transparency
Live video can be unpredictable, raw, and honest — which, admittedly, can be scary for the person filming. But today’s buyers crave this kind of transparency. When you go live, things may not always go as planned, but that will work in your favor more often than not.
3. Appeal to those who love to be in-the-minute
Social media users love to feel on top of their information streams. Live video offers that sense of insider, up-to-the-minute scoop that appeals to them.
4. Publish video in a cost-effective way
High-production videos can be costly and can take weeks to produce. One of the best parts about live video is that you need only a smart phone, a Wi-Fi connection, and someone willing to appear on camera (which is sometimes harder than it sounds). Publishing happens in real time, and then most platforms allow you to archive the footage for viewers to access later.
The takeaway
We’ve seen clients have great success with live video streaming. It’s one of those trends that’s not going away anytime soon. In fact, social platforms are increasingly adding “live” and “Stories-like” features to satisfy users’ seemingly insatiable appetite for this format.
That means if you haven’t tried live video, you should think about it. Pretty soon you’ll be one of the only ones among your competitors who is not — if you’re not already.
This post originally appeared on EBN Online.
Related posts:
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.
Related links:
