Integrating Google Analytics with Arts Organizations' Digital Marketing Strategy

Arts institutions are at the heart of our communities, cultivating education, empathy, and economic growth. Yet, measuring their impact remains a challenge, which the pandemic has only accentuated. With shifts in audience behaviors, art organizations have realized the importance of technology. One such pivotal aspect is data analytics, which has the potential to shape their future, especially in digital marketing strategies. Google Analytics, a powerful tool for understanding online user behavior, can be seamlessly integrated into the digital marketing strategies of arts organizations to enhance their reach, engagement, and conversions. Here are several ways of how this can be done:

1. Audience Insights

• Demographics and Interests: Google Analytics provides a breakdown of users by age, gender, and interests. This can help arts organizations tailor marketing campaigns or content specifically to these segments.

• Geolocation: know where your audiences are coming come and setting up geo-targeted marketing campaigns for region-specific needs

2. User Behavior Analysis

• Acquisition: understand which channels (social media, organic search, email...etc.) are driving the most traffic. This will help in allocating resources effectively among various marketing channels.

• Behavior flow: Visualize the path users typically take through the site, helping identify which content or pages are most engaging and where drop-offs are happening. The explore page of Google Analytics enables account holders to create funnel and path explorations to understand user journeys.

3. Conversion Tracking

• Goals: Set specific goals like the number of tickets you hope to sell, the number of newsletter sign-ups you hope to earn, or the number of views you want to achieve for the newest video, and track how well your website is allowing these goals to be fulfilled. This provides clear metrics on the ROI of various marketing campaigns.

• E-commerce tracking: if the arts institution sells tickets or merchandise online, e-commerce tracking connected to an external platform such as Shopify provides detailed insights into sales data, helping refine pricing or promotional strategies. For example, data related to average session time and the number of events recorded prior to engaging in a conversion can be helpful in offering insight into user behavior.

4. Content Analytics

• Pageviews: see which exhibition or artist is drawing the most interest and capitalize on their popularity in marketing efforts.
• Event tracking: monitor specific events like downloads of a virtual art tour, plays on a promotional video, or interactions with an online viewing room. This can be combined with strategies in content marketing to maximize online engagement and reach.

6. Campaign Analysis

• UTM parameters: by tagging URLs with specific UTM parameters, organizations can track where users come from and understand the performance of specific marketing campaigns. This can include e-mail promotions, social media ads, and search ads.

Overall, GA allows the creation of custom reports and dashboards tailored to the unique needs of arts organizations. Currently, GA online tutorials and certificates offer some general information related to how to navigated this platform, but nuanced details are needed depending on the nature of an organization, namely whether it's for-profit, or non-profit, and whether its mission is to raise awareness or drive sales.

Marketing in the Metaverse

Recently, Mark Zuckerberg announced his plans to shift Facebook into a "metaverse" company, bringing alive a vision of an online world populated by avatars and accessible by Facebook's Oculus VR technology. The idea of a "metaverse" was coined by Neal Stephenson in his novel Snow Crash and various proto-metaverses have emerged over the years: arguably Second Life, Minecraft and even immersive games like Skyrim, GTA V or shared MMPORG environments reach towards an idea of a persistent online world that we not only visit, but live in.

Zuckerberg's vision is a little different because it aims to be a place we work, play and meet with avatars representing our real selves, and given that we now find ourselves working remotely more and more, there is a something seductive about the idea that we might be able to gather together virtually in an online environment that is sufficiently immersive that we can be as productive in such a space as we might have been in person.

At it's heart though, Facebook is an advertising company, so although Zuckerberg leads with a work/live/play utopia not subject to the limitations of geography, there's no question that this utopia is about marketing and advertising. The Social Dilemma illustrates how we companies like Facebook have developed algorithms to capture attention, to sow that attention with the messages and solicitations of advertisers, and to absolutely maximize the amount of marketing messages that can effectively be delivered to its users without turning them off completely. 

The metaverse is an extension of that idea - maximizing the amount of time that a user spends on Facebook's properties in order to market to that user. Imagine a platform, in which you live and play for most of your day, where every surface, every item you interact with, was rendered by Facebook technology and therefore able to support marketing messages ad infinitum. A Facebook owned-metaverse a la The Matrix would give Facebook the opportunity to own digital marketing channels far in advance of anything its competitors could offer - giving Christof-like powers to the curated Truman Show experience of its users.

More:

• What is the metaverse and why does it matter?
• The Metaverse is a clean slate for the ad-industry post cookies

Going Digital: How Digital Marketing has Revolutionized Retail

By Blaire Townshend

DataMentor Marketing Director Larisa Bedgood recently published an article on CustomerThink that outlines the successful strategies that retailers are implementing to optimize their relationships with customers online. She cites four such strategies, and how specifically they cater to the desires of today's customers. I found her data to be both useful and clearly communicated.

The strategies she outlined were as follows:

1. Optimizing search results to bring customers into stores
2. Using digital to improve in-store customer experience   
3. Using email to optimize personalization 
4. Recognizing the pervasiveness of mobile 

1. Bedgood wrote about the importance of search results in luring customers to visit stores, citing a Google study that found "3 in 4 shoppers who find local information in search results are more likely to visit stores." The local information considered to be valuable included: the price of the item at a nearby store, items in stock at the nearby store, the location of the closest store where item is in stock, and store hours and locations. Access to this information helps to galvanize the customer into action and makes purchasing easier and more attractive.

2. This next strategy capitalizes on the fact that 42% of shoppers use their smart phones to find information while in-store, both on search engines and the relevant retailer's website or app. Bedgood writes that successful retailers recognize the importance of this data, and ensure that their websites and apps are mobile-friendly accordingly. This helps the customer to have a seamless shopping experience, where they are assisted in their inquires both in person and via digital technology.

3. Bedgood argues that email is still the best way for retailers to optimize personalized interactions with their customers. Retargeting is cited as being particularly important, specifically "retargeting with a personalized email once a shopper visits a website"—Bedgood sees this as "one of the most effective tactics in which retailers are seeing success." Savvy retailers are: retargeting existing clients who visit their websites using email, sending emails featuring products that visitors have already looked at, sending emails featuring targeted product recommendations, and sending retargeting emails to visitors soon after they visit their website. 

4. Finally, Bedgood recognizes that mobile is absolutely integral to the digital customer experience, warning that customers who come across a website that isn't optimized for use on their mobile device will quickly transfer to another channel to find what they need. She writes that being mindful of these short attention spans is vital to one's success in digital retail, and that targeting across devices is a major priority. Successful retailers are able to cater to their customers seamlessly, regardless of what device they sign in to. 

The primary takeaway from Bedgood's article is that ease of use and the availability of relevant, personalized information are the key ingredients of a successful digital marketing retail platform. Retailers who have taken this to heart are seeing that their digitized customers engage with their stores and products on a variety of platforms, and have the sophistication to know when they are not being sufficiently catered to. Today's digital customers may expect a lot, but Bedgood argues that retailers have the ability to deliver on those expectations.   

Bedgood, Larisa. "4 Ways Retailers Are Making Big Strides in Digital Marketing." CustomerThink. 13 Apr. 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.  

 

A Positive Diagnosis for Digital Marketing

By Blaire Townshend

Yesterday Kentico Sofware and the research agency Millward Brown released a survey that analyzed upcoming opportunities for digital marketers, and the state of the field more generally. The survey is based on the contributions of 300 senior digital managers and directors from several continents. It was specifically meant to address the "growth and rapid change" that the industry is currently facing, and to determine how digital marketing agencies are responding to this growth.

Overall, Kentico found that most digital agencies are anticipating a good deal of growth—in fact, 90% plan to hire in the near future (graphic designers were cited as being in high demand), and 71% plan to invest in software. However, the survey also revealed several key challenges that face these companies:

• Competition
• Lack of understanding about product
• Expectation of high work volume at low cost
• High acquisition coupled with low usage of tools
• Lack of clients

However, despite these challenges, the survey also found that people "remain a key driver" in determining the success of these companies. The surveyed companies stressed that the following were key to success:

• Clients clearly communicating their needs to companies
• Employees grasping the task at hand
• Client willingness and ability to be cooperative 

So how can this information be of use moving forwards? When reading through Kentico's findings, I was particularly concerned by the challenge that cited expectation of high work volume at low cost. As someone whose understanding of the digital marketplace is new and relatively limited, I have felt myself guilty of this presumption at times. The ease of use which digital platforms give to their customers (platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter) belie the infrastructure and complexity which lie beneath the surface—and thus the funding, time, and human resources necessary to keep them up and running. I can well see, then, why clients would expect a lot for a little—we have done so for years now. I use Facebook, Google, and Twitter every day, and do not pay for any of them. I have come to expect that they will work perfectly and at any time, and I have been proven correct.

However, now that I am beginning to understand the other side of the issue, I can see why this mentality is damaging to the digital marketplace. If potential customers have come to expect these services for free, how can suppliers offer their products in a way that is financially viable for their own company's needs? Of course, display ads answer this in part, but I am still constantly astounded by how much our society takes these services for granted. In other words, I am becoming increasingly sympathetic to digital marketers and creators, and increasingly frustrated by my own presumption and that of those around me.

With the challenges of this survey in mind, I will be very interested to see if any appreciable shifts in client/company relationships take place, and if by the start of 2017 our society will be any amenable to the idea of paying for what they currently take for granted.


"Digital Marketing Agencies See Strong Growth and Growing Competition Ahead." Kentico Software. PR Newswire. 6 Apr. 2016. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

Instagram Update: The Algorithm Change Explained

By Blaire Townshend

A recent email blast sent out by Capacity Interactive—a digital arts marketing consultancy company—focused on the use of Instagram for digital marketing efforts, offering advice on best practices and updating its readership about the recent changes to Instagram—namely, the change from chronological feed to algorithm.

For those unfamiliar with how Instagram has worked up until this point, the platform has used a chronological approach on its users' newsfeeds since its inception in 2010. The projected change means that, rather than seeing your friends' posts in the order in which they were posted, you will now see posts "based on your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post" (Valinsky 3.15.2016). The company has argued that the current format does not maximize viewing potential - in fact, they cited that users miss about 70% of the content on their feed. They believe that the implementation of an algorithm will curate content better suited to user interests. Instagram also assures its users that they will roll out this change slowly, and that it will not affect its advertising procedures. In fact, these adverts already utilize this same targeting technology to reach their intended audience—so in a way, the algorithm change is ensuring that social and marketing content operate in the same manner.

So what does this change mean for the 200,000 brands that utilize Instagram as an advertising platform (Instagram 3.29.2016)?

Not much, actually. At this point, you cannot actually directly target people with Instagram ads as you can on Facebook. On top of this, "organic" posts cannot be used for advertisements—the only promotional material allowed on Instagram is that which has been developed specifically for marketing purposes. On Facebook, on the other hand, marketers can post their own organic content and use it for promotional purposes. The algorithm will not change any of this (Instagram all).

However, Capacity Interactive made sure to remind its readership of a few important takeaways when considering Instagram advertisement for the arts: 

• Make "thumb-stopping", visually arresting content a priority
• Remember that Instagram is an overwhelmingly mobile platform, and plan accordingly
• Make sure you are comfortable with Facebook first before graduating to Insta-advertising
• And finally, don't worry about the algorithm change. It changes the user experience, not the advertising landscape.

As an Instagram user myself, I will be interested to see how my experience will change. I, for one, welcome the algorithm in theory, as I have often felt that the chronological template did not allow me to engage with my closest friends in a way that I would have liked. However, as a future arts marketer, it is heartening to know that this change will not negatively affect the advertising efforts of the organizations I hope to work for.  

     

Digital Marketing Pitfalls

By Blaire Townshend

In a Forbes article written earlier this week, Neil Patel outlined a list of harmful digital marketing practices to avoid. As someone new to the world of digital marketing and curious about the pitfalls therein, I found this list to be quite valuable. Patel’s recommended against the following:

• Failing to identify your target audience.
• Not having a strategy at all.
• Forgetting about mobile.
• Rejecting SEO.
• Not doing any conversion optimization.
• Trying every digital marketing tactic in the book.
• Using every social media platform available.
• Paying for followers.
• Link building.
• Neglecting content marketing.
• Having not marketing budget.
• Expecting huge results in no time.

Though much of what Patel writes is simple and straightforward, even these suggestions bear remembering—it can be easy to make simple mistakes in the current digital marketing craze that has swamped the industry. My three most significant takeaways from Patel’s article were:

Simplify • Strategize • Systematize

Patel argued that novice digital marketers are wont to try out a whole range of tactics without effectively discerning why and if those tactics should be used. He said that it can be tempting to get over-excited, and to try using as many platforms as possible. He instead suggests that marketers begin with a detailed strategy—backed up with a realistic budget—before deciding on any tactics. He also suggests that marketers simplify their marketing channels, doing the market research necessary to determine what their target audiences use and reacting accordingly. Patel warns of the energy and commitment that many types of digital marketing—particularly social media—demand, and that potential users be realistic about what they are able to commit in terms of finances, staff, and time. Finally, Patel urges patience, noting that success in digital marketing does not happen overnight—especially success that stems from systematic, methodical planning.

Patel, Neil. "12 Things Not to Do When Using Digital Marketing in 2016." Forbes Entrepreneurs. Forbes, 10 Mar. 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

Going Digital: The Met’s Efforts to Modernize its Image

By Blaire Townshend

March has already been a busy month for The Metropolitan Museum of Art—and we’re only two days in. Yesterday, the museum officially launched its freshly-minted new logo, a bold and modern design created by the London-based firm Wolff Olins that has met harsh criticism from the arts community and even been described as a “typographic bush crash” (Davidson 2.17.16). However, The Met has not only changed its logo—it has done a comprehensive overhaul of its digital image, in an effort to make itself “more visually consistent and navigable” (Rhodes 2.19.16). Undoubtedly this overhaul is intended to complement the launch of The Met’s newest venture, The Met Breuer—a new branch opening later this month.

In keeping with its new brand identity, The Met has revealed a “wholly redesigned, simplified website” that ties in to the new logo, presents a straightforward interface, and focuses on being mobile-friendly (Titlow 2.29.16). This move not only contributes to The Met’s new image, but also directly caters to the astounding 91% of visitors who bring mobile devices with them to the museum (Titlow). The website syncs to the mobile apps that the museum has already created to enhance users’ digital experience of their collection.

The Met has previously made moves to utilize social media, as well, such as Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and SoundCloud, and has even looked to YouTube and Periscope to broadcast its events and increase exposure. It seems to do well on these platforms, boasting 1.1 million followers on Instagram and 7 million views on YouTube. It will be interesting to see how these social media platforms interact with the new website, and how—or if—The Met’s digital marketing managers integrate these elements into a cohesive brand identity.

According to Wolff Olins strategy director Amy Lee, “The Met’s incredible breadth and depth is its biggest asset, but also its biggest challenge” (Rhodes). The next month will certainly be a test of The Met’s ability to grapple with this disparity, as well as its effectiveness in navigating the complexities of a 21^st century digital market as a 19^th century institution. Will it succeed? Or, in the words of Jennifer Bostic, will it become the “Meh-tropolitan Museum of Art” (Bostic 2.23.16)? Only time will tell.

Bostic, Jennifer. "The Meh-tropolitan Museum of Art’s Rebranding." Hyperallergic. 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Davidson, Justin. "The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s New Logo Is a Typographic Bus Crash." Vulture Devouring Culture. New York Media, 17 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Rhodes, Margaret. "The Met Explains Its Controversial New Logo." Wired. 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Titlow, John Paul. "How A 145-Year-Old Art Museum Stays Relevant In The Smartphone Age." Fast Company. 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Ads that no one sees

AppNexus announced that it would allow advertisers to pay only for those digital ads that are actually seen by people. This is a very important innovation in the digital advertising industry, given that most studies estimate that only about half of digital ads are seen by real people.

However, many marketers might still pay for ads that no one sees. As programmatic advertising auctions became popular, they have put a downward pressure on ad rates as measured by CPMs  and advertisers have developed a taste for the cheapest option available. The problem is that the CPM metric measures page impressions but not always whether someone has actually scrolled down to where the ad is shown.

Ad agencies often have to promise advertisers lower ad rates as a way to land competitive deals. "One really interesting aspect of this is that procurement for marketers may effectively be forcing agencies to buy non viewable impressions." says Mr. O'Kelley, CEO of AppNexus.

http://adage.com/article/digital/a-market-online-ads-sees/301252/

How To Win A U.S. Election With Digital Marketing

When we think of marketing, especially digital marketing, we typically think of it in the scope of products and services.  However, digital marketing also has the potential to play a huge role in presidential elections in this day and age.  Ben Carson’s campaign strategy, for example, relies heavily on facebook to draw in voters.  His page has more than four million followers, and he runs scores of facebook ads targeted toward different subsets of votes.  The techcrunch article, “How to Win a U.S. Election with Digital Marketing” outlines an ideal digital marketing strategy that should be implemented to maximize votes.  

First, voters should receive a tailored message, based on demographics and location, potentially all the way down to zip code.  “For example, Steven in New York will receive the message about how important being pro-abortion is to the candidate, and James in Texas will receive the message that the candidate believes that creating jobs is the most important policy they can present.”  

The article goes on to say, “The best place to begin is with basic display (visual) banners or Facebook newsfeed posts, followed by tailored videos, one for each type of voter, state, city, etc.  Have the candidate create a video for each topic that is important to voters or trending in the upcoming election, then create YouTube campaigns to feature the videos before every video on YouTube with a related topic. For example, if the topic is healthcare, a video about how the candidate plans to improve healthcare will show up before every video on YouTube about Obamacare, treating illness, health tips, etc. People who are actively looking to watch videos on those topics will see the candidate’s video.”

 

http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/27/how-to-win-a-u-s-election-with-digital-marketing/

What are platforms doing with user’s data?

Recently, Facebook won dismissal of a $15 billion lawsuit accusing the company of secretly tracking the Internet activity of its users after they log off, because subscribers didn't specify how they were harmed.

However, should digital media platforms continue to use their subscribers’ information in an unwanted and unclear way, users may start to opt out or use technology that prevent these platforms to track them.

http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-wins-dismissal-15-billion-users-privacy-suit/301069/

“Shopping” as social media integrated experience

Facebook announced its new shopping program, Shopping and Services, a few weeks ago. Today, Pinterest announced that it’s expanding the reach of its “Buyable Pins” from supporting Shopify and Demandware only to several more e-commerce platforms, including Bigcommerce, Magento, and IBM Commerce.

Furthermore, many big-name brands are also now coming on board, including Wayfair and Bloomingdale’s, and Thousands of new Shopify stores are being added, too.

Expanding from marketing tools to marketplaces, seems to be al least a promising area for social media platforms. According to Pinterest 93 percent of Pinners use Pinterest to plan purchases and 87 percent have bought something because of Pinterest.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/05/pinterest-expands-buyable-pins-to-more-e-commerce-platforms-reaching-thousands-of-merchants/#.sjsih3:psHU

Rise of ad-blockers shows advertising does not understand mobile, say experts

“Apple's shiny new mobile system iOS 9 allows anyone using an iPhone to cut out ads, taking a bite out of the $31.9bn mobile ad market, not long ago touted as the savior of the publishing industry.” Not only did Apple change the color of their new product, it also changed their attitudes toward advertisements. Indeed, people are annoyed by ads, even including advertisers. According to a survey, 75% of online video ad viewers complained about seeing the same ads over and over, 62% were upset that there were so many ads, and nearly half thought the ads went on too long.

In my opinion, the purpose of the ads cutting system is to block frauds and enhance the mobile security for phone users. Nevertheless, a trade off for the reduced fraud-ads and virus-ridden badvertisement is the detrimental effects to publishers, especially small ones. While people may suffer less from the reduction of annoying ads that interrupt the streaming of the radio or videos, restricted advertising power will hurt the financing process of the ecosystem. As we have seen the effect power of the blocking system of iOS 9, $31.9bn has been eradicated from the media ad market. Among the blocked ads, I am certain there are quite a few are in fact legitimate and provide real great deals to people. By simply blocking ads without conducting quality examination and identity verification, ad-blockers will inhibit the growth of media market, suffocating many new media start-ups and small businesses. Then the problem will turn into a finance issue, rather than a negative advertisement effect. Therefore, I agree with Constantine Kamaras, chairman of the board of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), “The best path is a digital entente between users and companies that is based on quality standards and codes of conduct, but also on an understanding that all these services can only be financed, today at least, by advertising.”

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/oct/03/ad-blockers-advertising-mobile-apple

Digital Marketers Banking on Mobile, Social Channels

In this article, some statistics from Salesforce's research (survey of 5000 marketers worldwide) clearly states that marketers now view digital channels as the cornerstone of their strategy, and many of these channels now anchor marketing functions. 

According to the research, 45% of marketers plan to shift spending from traditional mass advertising to advertising on digital channels. The report looks at marketers’ top priorities across all digital channels, and how their budgets, metrics, and strategies are shifting to support their goals.

As part of the survey, Salesforce asked marketers to share their top challenges that they face while executing their strategy. And among the top concerns marketers worry about most is the need to constantly stay on top off all the new marketing technologies and emerging trends. 

The article also revealed some stark contrasts between marketing in 2014 and 2015 — significant changes for such a short period of time. In 2014, the top areas in which marketers planned to increase spend were scattered across multiple disciplines and disparate initiatives. In 2015, the top five areas are all tied to social and mobile channels.

According to the report, 78% of marketers today have integrated mobile into their overall strategy, and 46% rate mobile website or app traffic as the most important mobile marketing metric. The Salesforce report singles out two specific mobile opportunities: loyalty and location-based campaigns. Marketers running mobile-based loyalty campaigns say they are extremely effective. They also recommend that you don’t wait any longer to test location-based content. “The consumer appetite for location-based content is there,” says Salesforce. “You just need to discover how your business can respectfully and relevantly use customer locations to create a more cohesive journey in the real world as much as in the online world.”

Social media is no longer seen as the fringe marketing outlet that it once was. In the study, 66% of marketers rated social media as core to their business. 78% have a dedicated social media team, up from 57% in 2014. Salesforce says it’s time to get serious about social, and test new channels. you need to invest the resources — both headcount and budget — to support social as a viable channel. If you’re not yet seeing significant business results from social, they recommend starting small and focusing on just one platform. What’s the one channel where your social audience is most responsive? Direct more resources to growing that space instead of spreading your efforts too thin.

Link to full article:
http://thefinancialbrand.com/54470/digital-mobile-social-media-marketing/

Unethical or not, the Internet should take concrete actions to prevent the use of Ad blocker software

Among other benefits, the existence of digital advertising makes it possible to have free content on the digital media space. Advertising also subsidizes the cost of apps, which can take hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce, but are often free or low-priced.

However, ads have become more and more intrusive for the internet users and, as always that there is a problem to be solved, some companies found it and developed softwares to block ads, and 34% of U.S. adults are using them.

This is clearly impacting the revenue of many digital content producers and publishers and most of them claim that it is unethical to block ads and not paying for content at the same time. However, unethical or not, it is challenging to rely on individual consciousness on whether to use these softwares or not. The internet should take concrete actions to prevent the usage of these softwares. But, what is the appropriate action?  Should websites “curate” ads and only show the least intrusive to the users so to provide a better experience to them or should they block access to their web sites to people that block ads altogether, or both?

http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/ad-blocking-unnecessary-internet-apocalypse/300470/

Facebook and Google, both going for the online retail business

A few weeks ago, Google has announced a new feature called Purchases on Google. With this change mobile ads will have a “buy” button, which will redirect the user to a page where he can buy the product.

This week, the social network leader has also announced a new feature, Shopping and Services, to be released in the coming weeks. With this enhancement, retailers  and service providers will be able to show and sell their products from their Facebook page.

But, are Facebook and Google targeting the exact same segment? Facebook’s new feature, which also includes other engagement functionalities such as: “Call Now,” “Send Message” and “Contact Us.”, seems to be more like a branded front solution for small business, perhaps with the ability to fully replace the, frequently outdated, web pages that many of these small businesses own.  

Google, however, looks to be a pure shopping functionality targeting retailers at different size, based on search.The company, using GPS data to understand the shopping journey, will also provide retailers information on how to optimize their AdWord.

http://mashable.com/2015/09/08/facebook-shopping-and-services/#iqHB.amokgkV

http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/15/purchases-on-google/#.sjsih3:8hoC

Instagram is no longer framed by square. Pros and Cons of its format change.

Link from AdAge

http://adage.com/article/digital/instagram-s-formats-marketers/300130/

    Instagram has recently renounced the rigid square format limitation, allowing users to upload portrait and landscape photos and videos. Its action is a reaction to the popularity of vertical video – the dominating format on mobile. The flexibility of format avoids pictures and videos being cropped at awkward angles, and makes them more cinematic on the feed. It also allows marketers to migrate their Facebook campaign videos directly onto Instagram, greatly saving the time and energy of creating distinct campaign videos for each social media channel.

    Nevertheless, Instagram could lose some of its identity after initiating this change. According to TNW News, at its creation, Instagram limited the format to a square to pay homage to the original size of instant pictures and to promote the retro feel of instant photos. The flexible format and filter options have made the resulting pictures less artistic. In addition, Instagram could risk of being flooded by mundane and kitschy advertisement as the pliability of format might lead to marketers throwing everyday TV ads that would disturb users’ experience. Moreover, rather than creating unique user experience, some marketers might duplicate Facebook contents and post on Instagram, making Instagram indistinguishable from other networks.

    Beyond the format, other compelling issues should also be heeded. Marketers have long yearned for the ability to post through social marketing dashboards rather than merely via Instagram’s mobile app. This feature, if added, could help companies take greater control on contents and on posting schedule, as well as mitigate the risk of accidentally posting a damaging photo. Additionally, on other social media sites, companies have been posting links to connect users from their networks to brands’ websites that provide further details about an image. This is especially useful if the brand is promoting its product or publicizing its campaign. Given Instagram’s picture-oriented focus, it could potentially serve as façades for e-commerce stores. Moreover, Instagram doesn’t currently provide notification outside the app and would stop notifying the poster after certain numbers of likes and comments. It would be great if Instagram could, as other media networks did, offer the option of email notification so as to facilitate brands’ follower engagement.

Shazam Your Wine to Become an Expert in Vine

A PSFK article "Shazam Your Wine to Become an Expert in Vine" does not only have a catchy title but also covers a very interesting app, Delectable.

The app used to identify a wine, rate and share your drinking experiences with fellow Dionysoses. The updated version now allows users to "shazam" a wine and add it to your history under the titles: Top Styles, Regions, Top Rated Wines, and Drinks With."

To me, this is a flag for Google as an example of the increase in mobile, in-app searches as opposed go googling things as default. It will be interesting to observe how Google will address this challenge.

Apple Watch: a new digital marketing channel?

It seems like all eyes have been on the Apple Watch this month. There has been a flood of articles and blog posts about how Apple is executing luxury marketing strategies to promote the Watch and how this wearable technology is going to be groundbreaking. 

We must accept that, and at this point in time, it's probably not worth it to speculate if the Watch is going to be a fad, because it's Apple-approved. Apple's approval stamp in the modern society means real legitimacy.

So what we must think of now is: how can the Watch be a new digital marketing channel? This forward thinking will get us far, and in fact, PSFK advises us to not crowd the content. Read the whole article here.

The Age of YOU: the Future of Business Is Personal

Last month, the worldly renowned brand consultancy firm, Interbrand announced their list of the 100 Best Global Brands. With it, the company also declared that the future of business is personal. The Age of You has arrived. See the full article on the website.

On a short 1.5-minute clip, Interbrand's Global CEO Jez Frampton congratulates the top 100 brands and addresses the increasingly complicated nature of building brands in today's minutely transforming society. He says, "It's not just about having a great idea, a great identity, fantastic communications. Nowadays it's about building a tight, seamless experience -- an ecosystem if you'd like."

That is, the Age of You signifies customers' increasing expectations on getting personalized services. Frampton calls this the "mecosystem."

As soon as I saw this, I instantly thought -- digital marketing! Digital marketing strategies actualize the mecosystem in businesses through tactics that target intent-driven searches and activities. But how is this manageable to YOUR business? And how does this affect YOU as a customer?

The New York Times Gets Instagram!

In the face of hyper-digitialization, one could say that the newspapers struggled the most to find ways to survive. It was no exception for the worldly renowned company like the New York Times in its 160-year history. Last year was especially difficult with the executive editor Jill Abramson suddenly fired and leak of an internal report how the paper has been struggling to keep up with digital trends.

Well, it seems like this year has brought a fresh scene of change for the beloved newspaper company. Earlier this week, the Times got -- drumroll please -- Instagram! 

Already with 27.9k followers in four days, they have been posting photographs and snippets from their articles on the theme of "Beginnings" as exemplified by their first post on Insta:

On the company's new presence in social media, the new executive editor, Alexandra MacCallum said, "It's raising our profile with a different set of people than we're used to reaching, and I think that's a really important thing for the Times going forward." (source: Mashable article) 

So what does this mean for the Times and social media in the long run? People have increasingly been using social media as a source of their news feed (literally), and does the Times' Instagram acknowledge that? Is it simply a way to reach out to and engage more variety of audience for them? Or, is this a new way for the people get the real news fed into their minds while spending infinite hours on Instagram? How will the stories be curated anyways?

So many questions aside, many are responding with warm welcoming into their Insta world, instead of raising their eyebrows. I have a gut feeling that we could be witnessing a milestone moment in the history of news and journalism.