Behind The Scenes Of Wonderful Instagram Photos To Make You Rethink Social Media

Instagram has played an enormous role in the social media world since the beginning of the decade. Users capture square-shaped snapshots of their lives to share with the rest of the world, simply with the click of a button.

This social media platform has opened up a whole new realm for individuals to take a photograph, apply copious edits and filters to it, and pinpoint exactly how to design the post to appeal to their audience. Although witnessing a beautifully crafted photo can leave a long-lasting impression on a viewer, the behind-the-scenes work can leave the entire concept looking quite deceiving.

Let’s face it, photo editing has allowed us to drastically modify the appearance of both ourselves as well as objects around us — creating a false sense of perfection and beauty to the untrained eye. Thailand-based photographer Chompoo Baritone studied what goes on behind the scenes of the Instagram world, showcasing these awe-inspiring insights within the not-so-perfect world of Instagram.

Let’s take a closer look into what is really going on!

Capturing a breath of (not so) fresh air…

Filters are not the only thing lending a helping hand…

Baritone captures the true essence of winning…

How to stand out in a crowd…

The truth behind an ocean-side getaway…

Take a step back every once in a while…

Is the grass really always greener on the other side?

We want to extend an enormous “thank you!” to Ms. Baritone for gifting us this peek into real life, allowing us to understand that there is beauty in everything. Even ourselves.

Source : http://bit.ly/1RcQZ2F

10 Facts, and Clever Observations, About the Internet That Will Blow Your Mind.

When work and life get stressful, I like to stop, take a deep breath and take a few moments to put things in perspective. I have found the incredibly talented speakers at TED to be a great way to inspire and set me straight. Recently, it was a fascinating discussion about the origins of life.

Consider, for instance, the fact that modern humans have only inhabited the earth for 200,000 years. To put this in perspective, if the earth was 24 hours old, we have only existed for the last minute and 15 seconds. More interestingly, we did not start roaming the earth until about 70,000 years ago when the last ice age cut our population down to an estimated 2,000 people, and we were forced to seek new lands to inhabit.

We went from the verge of extinction to where we are today in a relatively remarkable short period of time. Now that’s perspective.

This perspective continues when you consider just how far the Internet has progressed in just 20 years. Consider, for instance, that to reach 50 million users, it took the telephone 75 years, but the Internet only four. More impressive, the Angry Birds app needed only 35 days.

If that does not blow your mind, consider just a few of these other amazing statistics about the Internet, all of which have evolved over the past two decades.

1. There are 47 billion websites, including the first website ever created more than 24 years ago. While estimates vary about the percent of total websites that are dedicated to adult content, I am convinced that if theyremoved them all, the Internet would cease to exist.

2. There are 3.2 billion Internet users worldwide, accounting for almost44 percent of the global population. Almost half of all Internet users are based in Asia. Unfortunately, the other half are holding up lines at Starbucks.

3. There are 950 million households worldwide with a television, buttwice as many people access the Internet from a handheld device. Interestingly, only a fraction of these people know (or care) that their device also serves as a telephone.

4. YouTube visitors view 6 billion hours of video each month, and over 300 minutes of video are uploaded every second. Interestingly, 80 percent of visitors are from outside the US. All of this explains whyAmericans are so misunderstood around the world.

5. There are 1.49 billion people on Facebook (more than in China) who use the social-media site an average of 21 minutes every day and share 1.3 million pieces of content every minute. The best way to avoid most of that content is by simply blocking all baby pictures.  

6. Facebook accounts for the highest percentage of total time spent on mobile apps, 18 percent, and when you add Facebook Messenger and Instagram to the mix, this total reaches 22.4 percent. The second highest percentage spent on mobile apps was on Pandora, which accounted for only 10.5 percent. This implies that when Facebook develops it own music streaming service, we can pretty much shut everything else down.

7. There are between 5 and 10 million iOS apps downloaded every day, and more than 100 billion total apps downloaded as of June 2015. That total would be far lower had I noticed my 4 year old downloading apps on our iPad sooner.

8. In 2015, we will send and receive 205.6 billion emails, almost 60 percent of which will be spam. Unfortunately, my spam filters still have yet to figure out that I have enough hair, don’t want to work from home and have no relatives in Africa.

9. It is estimated that we will take 1 trillion photos in 2015. In 2000, we took only 86 billion photos. Unfortunately for all of humanity, most of that increase can be attributed to duck-faced selfies.

10. While all of these statistics are amazing, the reality is that the web as we know it -- Facebook, Amazon, Wikipedia, etc. -- represents only 1 percent of the total discoverable web. The remainder is the “deep web,” or that which is not discoverable by means of standard search engines. I am fairly certain this is where my lost set of keys has gone.

Again, it is difficult to fathom the incredible evolution of technology over such a remarkably brief period of time, but it is fun to imagine what life will look like in just a few short years.

Source : http://entm.ag/1PCjyFV

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7 essentials for gauging the real value of PR and social media

Despite what we've said elsewhere about the difficulty of determining ROI for PR and social media, gauging the value of what you do is eminently doable and highly recommended. You just have to do it right.

Follow these seven steps, and your calculations will resonate with your top executives:

1. Count all costs.

Calculate ROI as an accountant or CFO would: Use "all in" costs. Take into account all costs, not just your paid ad spending or what your agency billed you. Factor in internal time and resources, as well as any miscellaneous expenses and, of course, salaries. It's better to be accurate and transparent than appear to be fudging your numbers.

2. Be conservative with your counting.

Always err on the downside. You don't want to appear to be massaging numbers to make them look good, so take the low end of any estimate on the "results." Be conservative; let senior leaders do the inflating if they want to.

3. Explain everything.

Even if it seems obvious to you as a professional communicator, it will not be as obvious to those green-eyeshade guys. We throw around terms that CFOs may never have heard of. So make sure you can explain your "engagement index" or "quality index" to your mother before you bring it to a meeting. Always include that explanation on any chart that has an index.

4. Make sure the value matches the objectives and/or goals.

There is no point in demonstrating value in terms of leads if the goal was to change perceptions. Make sure that whatever value you are assigning reflects the goals of the program. Just as important, the value you are claiming must be relevant to the priority stakeholders or business objectives. So if saving money isn't a priority (and I've worked for clients for whom it hasn't been), then measuring cost efficiency won't be perceived as a value.

5. Don't try to measure a long-term strategy with short-term value.

Increasingly, social media is being dismissed as "not worth it" or seen as lacking a sufficient payout. The problem with this thinking is that, done correctly, social media can build long-term value in customer relationships, trust, forgiveness, enhanced perceptions and recruitment—none of which is measured by "likes," pins or follows. If the goal is building relationships, then you should measure that over time. If the goal is to sell stuff instantly, then social media probably isn't your best bet. (Hint: Email has been shown to be more effective in that regard.)

6. Don't use the lingo of accountants to articulate social change.

Unless you've done the math, borrowing the lingo of accountants will not help you articulate value to your senior management or board. Quite the opposite is true. If you use the term ROI improperly, you are very likely to confuse and frustrate your organization's leaders.

7. Don't fall for the "ROI" excuse.

Communications skeptics use "What's the ROI?" or "What's the dollar return we can expect?" as ways to resist new campaigns or any sort of change. They question the true value of these programs and seek a convenient way to reject them.

If you are feeling cocky, you might reply by asking whether they know the ROI of the potted plants in the lobby, or whether they demand precise ROI analyses for their lunches with potential big clients or donors.

The point is that ROI cannot be easily calculated for many investments, but that doesn't mean they are bad investments. So don't automatically accept "What's the ROI?" as a legitimate critique of a program that you propose. Be prepared for this tactic by presenting the value of your proposal in terms that are closely aligned with the social change and/or financial goals of the organization.

Source : http://bit.ly/1RIIaLr

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Facebook says no to 'dislike' button but tests 'sad' and 'angry' ones

Facebook will begin testing a new feature allowing users in Ireland and Spain to express a range of emotions on posts starting on Friday (Oct 9) - but there will be no "dislike" button, the social network said

DUBLIN: Facebook will begin testing a new feature allowing users in Ireland and Spain to express a range of emotions on posts starting on Friday (Oct 9) - but there will be no "dislike" button, the social network said.

Facebook described the new "Reactions" options as an extension of the "like" button, to give people more ways to easily signal how they feel.

Users have for years pressed the world's leading online social network for a "dislike" button to complement the existing thumbs up one, which allows users to express they "like" a post.

"Not every moment is a good moment, and sometimes you just want a way to express empathy," postedFacebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. "These are important moments where you need the power to share more than ever, and a 'Like' might not be the best way to express yourself."

During the trial, users in Ireland and Spain will be able to select six emotions, as well as the like button, as they consider how they feel about posts. The options for the trial are: "love," "yay," "wow," "haha," "sad," and "angry," and are similar to emojis used in text messaging. Each expression comes with a correspondingly themed emoji.

"Reactions gives you new ways to express love, awe, humour and sadness," Zuckerberg said. "It's not a dislike button, but it does give you the power to easily express sorrow and empathy - in addition to delight and warmth."

Chris Toss, Facebook product manager, said Reactions would give users greater ways of engaging with stories and content. "It's a much broader range of human emotions you can express," he told Irish national broadcaster RTE, speaking from California.

A spokesman had no information on the length of the trial or when it might be extended to Facebook users outside Ireland and Spain.

Toss also said the social network decided a "dislike" button would not add value to the site. "Liking" something on Facebook also plays a key role in the social network's algorithm, allowing users to see content they regularly engage with and enabling targeted advertising.

The new range of empathy buttons could eventually be used for similar purposes, but not during the trial, according to Toss. "If you're coming for humorous content and you're saying 'ha ha' to lots of funny cat videos, down the road we might use that to show you more cat videos, but as of the initial test you won't see any of that," Toss said.

Source : http://bit.ly/1Lpltef

10 ways to combine SEO and content marketing

Gone are the days when search engine optimization was enough to land your website onto Google's good graces.Now you must to add content marketing to your arsenal of digital marketing tool if you want to gain search engines’ approval and ultimately win the heart of online users.

Given the important role content marketing now plays in the success of online business, it's time that SEO ties the knot with content marketing.

The two digital marketing tools that were once viewed as separate entities are now an inseparable couple, promising to inch businesses closer to the proverbial “overnight success. ”The amazing duo can greatly help your online business reach the pinnacle of success and outwit your competitors.

Here are 10 ways you can ensure that the two digital marketing tools work in harmony:

1. Set common goals.

Setting common goals is the first step to make SEO and content marketing work together to bring additional revenues.

Ask yourself what activities overlap between the two digital marketing techniques. Is it increased online traffic, rankings or links? How can you align the activities to achieve common goals?

The answers to these and other similar questions will give you a starting point in creating an integrated SEO and content marketing strategy with clear and focused goals and strong communication.

2. Establish key performance indicators.

Another way to optimize synergy between SEO and Content Marketing is to establish key KPIs that will track performance, and ensure that it is on track for achieving common goals.

These KPIs include content sharing, links to content, online user engagement, call-to-action conversion rates and several others.

3. Understand your target audience.

Understanding your audience is the key part of an SEO and content marketing strategy. Create personas of the target audience and develop a unique digital marketing strategy for each group. The personas can be based on age, location, gender, hobbies or interests.

Don’t undertake any digital marketing activity without considering what your audience wants, and also what you want them to do in return of fulfilling their demand.

4. Create SEO-optimized content.

Google places great emphasis on quality content. You can make the content more relevant for the search engine by incorporating high-impression keywords. Optimizing the content in this way will allow your Web pages to become visible to online users by appearing on the search results.

Avoid overstuffing keywords into website content. In order to play it safe, limit the keyword density to 1 percent or less. This will ensure that your site doesn't get penalized by the search engine, decreasing online traffic.

5. Research high-impression and relevant keywords.

Include high impression and relevant keywords in the website. Each keyword that you select should be researched properly using online tools such as Google Planner, Google Trend, Word Stream and other similar tools.

Optimizing your content in this way will ensure that your online content is able to attract maximum number of online users.

6. Attract online consumers through link building.

Another way you can make SEO and content marketing work together is through link building. Link building is a pure SEO strategy that results in distribution of online content to a large number of targeted, qualified audiences. You can greatly increase your content’s effectiveness through these efforts.

The links pointing to the published online content is placed on various high authority and high page ranked sites. These sites attract thousands of online visitors that can be diverted to your site by placing targeted links on the site they first visited.

Enlist SEO professionals to enhance your link building strategy. Here are some reputed SEO companies, based on user reviews:

TIS India

SE Media Online

Anpee Media

7. Focus on internal link building.

Internal link building works wonders in increasing your website’s ranking along with your published content. Moreover, creating internal links will also result in improved user experience due to easy navigation around the site.

Internal link building is simple to implement, and should be part of your digital marketing arsenal. This will help to improve your ranking and guide users with the content that is relevant to them.

8. Optimize your website content’s title and headings.

Your website content’s title and headings should also be optimized using relevant keywords and phrases.

The title is displayed on top bar of the browser, and headings are included inside the content. Your title should be descriptive, persuading users to click. Headings should be catchy enough to make the content readable.

Both must also be SEO-optimized to make your content more visible in the search results page.

9. Measure your results.

Make use of various online tools to measure the outcome of your combined SEO and content marketing efforts. Google Analytics can track changes in search volume over time. You will also know which pages and content attracts the most visitors, and the keywords they type to enter the website. The information gathered can help you fine-tune your content.

10.Keep your efforts going.

Combining SEO and content marketing must be an on going effort that should not stop at any time.

Make the most of the opportunity and watch the extraordinary combination of SEO and content marketing work wonders for your organization or client. It will position you perfectly on the fast track to success.

Source : http://bit.ly/1N6CI3x

Wath ever is your marketing plan, do it with passion!

Why video marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach millennials

Marketers want to reach Generation Y, and for a good reason. This demographic, born between 1980 and 2000 and now known as "millennials," will collectively spend more than $200 billion annually beginning in 2017, which comes out to $10 trillion over the course of their lifetimes.

How can businesses connect with this purchasing powerhouse? Millennials aren't as responsive to the TV commercials and print advertisements that worked for older generations. Instead, they want engagement. The good news is that they're highly engaged with video. Here are three reasons why incorporating video into your marketing strategy will help you reach millennials.

1. Move millennials through the purchase process

 

Today, millennials consume video for more than just entertainment. They use video to learn about companies and make purchase decisions. According to a recent consumer study byAnimoto, eight out of ten millennials find video helpful when researching a product or service. In fact, they're 85% more likely than baby boomers to purchase a product or service if they can watch a video explaining it beforehand.

Video helps guide millennials through the purchase cycle. You can do so in a number of ways, like including demo videos on product pages or embedding customer testimonials on an "About Us" page. For example, online clothing retailers ASOS and Net-A-Porter include videos of models walking in clothing for sale and.

Further, in the video above, New York Yoga uses video to show potential customers what it’s like to attend their classes. It's easier than ever for consumers to make purchase decisions and have intimate interactions with brands online.

2. Create buzz on social networks

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are embracing the social video trend started by YouTube in 2005. It's apparent when you scroll through your Facebook News Feed — video has taken over.Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook's content will be mostly video in five years. In June 2015, Facebook revealed that its users watch 4 billion video streams every day.

Video as a social medium is becoming increasingly relevant, especially among millennials. The numbers don't lie.

According to the aforementioned Animoto study, 84% of millennials follow brands or companies on Facebook, 75% follow them on YouTube and 47% follow on Twitter. Social media platforms have become a destination where millennials keep up with not only friends, but also companies and brands.

It's not passive, either; millennials are engaging with brands that use video. Animoto data reveals that 66% of millennial males and 60% of millennial females are more likely to comment on, share or like a brand on social media if it posts videos; 57% of millennial males and 58% of millennial females are likely to follow a company's social media page if it posts videos.

3. Drive results and keep millennials engaged

Nearly half of millennials consider companies that produce video content as experts on their product or service. As branded video content becomes increasingly popular, companies that capitalize on this opportunity will be seen as early adopters and interesting brands to follow.

Video doesn't just improve brand perception; it also drives results. In analyzing 2 million tweets posted over the course of a month last year, Twitter found videos boosted retweets by 28%. Liveclicker's "Video Commerce Report" revealed that companies that include video on product pages see a higher conversion rate and higher average order value.

Aside from the business advantages of video, brands need to understand that millennials simply prefer it to text. In fact, two-thirds of millennials said in an Animoto survey that they would rather watch a video from a company instead of reading text; nearly half said they only watch video on their mobile devices.

What's the big takeaway?

Millennials love being online and connected with their social networks. In that time, they're sharing photos and videos, commenting on social media posts, tweeting at brands and shopping online. 

As a business selling a product or service, you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't have any videos online. A simple video marketing strategy can help you meet the standards that millennials today are creating. If you're not yet using video to market to Generation Y, now's the time to start.

Source :http://on.mash.to/1LDy0gm

The dos and don'ts of content marketing from the experts

How do you attract new customers, and what makes a video fly or fail? 

Would you like to boost your business blog or experiment with online video? Content marketing – from online tutorials to an active Twitter feed – is an effective tool for building awareness of your company. In our live Q&A, our expert panel discussed the trends, mistakes and tried-and-tested approaches that small businesses should consider when developing a content marketing strategy. 

Defining your target market

Our first question came in from reader Jonathan Paxton, who was looking for advice on attracting a global audience through content. Karen Webber, marketing director at content marketing agency Axonn Media, said: “My top tip would be to not expect the same content to engage people in each territory.” However, she added that all content should promote one brand message, while being sensitive to cultural differences.

Sammy Todd, marketing manager at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), said: “Talking about things that matter to each of your target markets is key. But this doesn’t always mean creating new content from scratch each time – just knowing what local angle to exploit.”

Social media is vital for growing awareness in new markets, and making sure your content reaches your target audience. Vicky Stewart, head of business development at content marketing agency Seven, added that social networks are a great way of seeing which types of content are most popular, then using that insight to tweak your content strategy.

How to make your business stand out from the crowd

With many big brands using content marketing, how do small businesses cut through the noise? Webber said the first step was deciding what you want your content to achieve. “Who are you trying to engage and spur to action? How will you measure success?” she asked.

Todd suggested finding a niche, “an area that isn’t being exploited elsewhere”. She advised business owners to establish their company as an industry expert. She also pointed out that effective use of SEO is vital for making sure your content is read.

Walsh added that content should tell a business’s story, both the good and bad. “Share insights that you may be a little uncomfortable sharing.” While you might want to promote all the good things about your business, content that reveals your startup mistakes and how you have overcome them can give your brand authenticity.

How about video, one reader asked – if it’s the future of content marketing, how do small businesses with a limited budget make it work?

Anna Cusden, communications director of Look Fabulous Forever – which has used YouTube videos and blog posts to build a solid customer base – said: “Video is something that’s been central to the success of our business. Our makeup tutorials are made on a very small budget – small studio, real women as models, one cameraman and one makeup artist,” she said. “I suppose it’s about working as creatively as possible and maybe finding people who will be sympathetic to your business aims and not charge you a fortune.”

How to establish trust

One reader asked how small businesses can use content marketing to inspire consumer trust. Mike Hollingbery, founder of BozBoz, a creative digital agency in Brighton, suggested bringing customers into your content strategy by including user-generated content (tweets, comments and reviews from customers and potential customers) in your marketing. “If customers feel invested in what you do and share your ethos for why you do it, they will become emotionally invested.”

Mark Hopkins, marketing director at Kia Motors (UK) LTD, echoed this sentiment. He said: “Put people at the heart of your [online marketing] conversations – consumers relate much better to discussions based on human insight and emotion, so bring that to the foreground.”

Seven’s Vicky Stewart added that companies should admit their mistakes in order to build trust. “Saying sorry is always a good starting point for any brand that hasn’t put their customers first,” she said.

Finding strong content topics

Nick Taimitarha asked: “How can you find the best topics [for content] that prospective customers will want to read?” Kim Willis, strategy director at content marketing agency Cedar, suggested two questions to get started: “What are they [the customer] interested in and passionate about?, and what does your business have authority in? If a topic ticks both those boxes, it’s a good start.”

Cusden shared her approach: “We often ask our customers directly what they would like to see in our content. Not only does it make them feel included, it also helps us come up with ideas.”

How to compete with big businesses (and their budgets)

This Q&A sparked an interesting discussion on Twitter. One of a number of questions that came in from our followers was: “In a world where large organisations are spending millions on their content marketing, how can small businesses compete?”

Carla Bradman, marketing manager at Paramount Properties, pointed out where SMEs have an edge. “One advantage a small business has is the speed in which they can react. Those managing content marketing at a small business can usually get access to the directors for approval (if even needed at all) and comment at the drop of a hat.”

Todd had some good tips for organising your content creation in a small team: “One thing that really helped me to start from scratch with a small budget was to create a content roadmap ... a forward view of all the content we plan to create and curate over the next few months, which is organised by overarching themes that are relevant to our audience.” 

Source : http://bit.ly/1Ol08n9