Tag Archive for: Social Media

Facebook Adds New Features to its Video Creation Kit

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On Tuesday Facebook announced new updates for its video creation kit feature. The updates are to give video advertisers more templates, editing options, and a new ‘save’ option. Facebook’s overall purpose of the new features is to optimize ad placement, while giving advertisers more support to create custom designs.

What is the Video Creation Kit:

Facebook released this feature back in August of 2018 with the mobile-first mindset, since it was becoming the most effective way to connect with customers. It enabled users to turn existing image and text assets into mobile-optimized videos framed in 1:1 for feed environments or 9:16 for stories on Facebook and Instagram. The template options are based specifically on what you’re trying to do for the product.

There are two 6 second video options if you’re promoting a product or selling multiple products. It allows advertisers to use keywords to generate interest and sales, or show a selection of products, promoting special offers. There are also two 15 second options to show product benefits or promote product discovery. You can highlight features, use case studies, explain how the product works, bring your brand to life, and share what makes it unique.

The platform gives those with limited video production staff or resources the ability to produce quality video advertisements. It’s most beneficial to small or medium sized businesses that may not have the tools or extensive knowledge on video production.

The New Updates:

Resizing Tool

Advertisers can now optimize the size of their videos for various ad placements. They say it only takes a click of a button to transform one video into many videos with multiple aspect ratios automatically for different places such as Stories or News Feed. Facebook says you will save time and be able to create videos that appear to be customized for each placement, without shooting additional content or having to edit manually.

Editing Options

Facebook has added new templates, including a single-image template with the option to add visually engaging motion, and 20 new fonts for text overlay. They have also added new event and seasonal stickers, such as Back-to-School season and Mother’s Day with more to come in the fall.

‘Save’ Feature

Before users were not able to start and stop projects whenever they wanted. Videos were required to be published in the same sitting as they were started. Now advertisers are allowed to save unfinished videos as drafts and return to work on it as they please.

You can read Facebook’s full announcement about the new features here.

Why We Care

The Video Creation Kit was made for anyone who wants to build Facebook and Instagram video ads that display well on phones, including digital and social agencies, in-house production team, Facebook marketing partners, direct advertisers, and digital creative agencies. Facebook is giving small companies with limited resources the opportunity to create customized content for multiple ad placements, ultimately allowing them to better compete with larger brands.

More From Onimod Global

To catch up on the latest digital marketing news and trends, click here. To find out more about who we are and what we do, click here!

LinkedIn’s Newest Update Makes Advertising More Transparent

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Company transparency is especially important when advertising on the internet, social spaces in particular. Social media users want to feel safe and ensured that their information isn’t going to be exploited for advertisements. LinkedIn just recently announced it has launched a new update, called Ads tab, for company pages. The intent is to bring even greater transparency to ads, increasing trust in their environment, while benefiting companies and users.

What is Ads Tab & How it Works

The Ads tab will be available on company pages, showing sponsored content ad history for the last six months. Members can view all native ads running in the LinkedIn feed through the tab, but the advertisers will not be charged for these engagements and the clicks will not impact campaign reporting.

LinkedIn said in the announcement that “the Ads tab builds on similar tools they’ve recently introduced to help members understand and control their ad experience, including new ad settings that each member can access from their LinkedIn account.”

They also added that this is just the first of many updates they have in the works to provide members with useful information about the ads shown to them on LinkedIn. The Ads tab will be implemented across their platform over the next few weeks, meaning it won’t be available to all companies immediately.

Why We Should Care

Transparency is something that benefits both companies and LinkedIn users. This extra layer adds more security to the LinkedIn platform, making it a more trusted source, attracting more users. An increase in users means the potential to gain a larger audience, and ultimately larger ad reach.

Putting it to Use

At Onimod Global we are your in-house cross-channel digital marketing experts. We offer services in SEM and Social Media. We handle paid advertising on Google, Bing, and across all social platforms, including LinkedIn. We market across multiple social platforms to create visibility for your company in places your customers are searching, interacting, and engaging. Having your brand in the correct positioning in essential, and we at Onimod Global have the expertise to know exactly where you and your ads need to be.

Learn more about what we do here, or if you’re ready to become a client, contact us here.

How to Optimize Your Dark Social Usage

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Private messaging apps such as WhatsApp, direct messaging via social media, emails, etc. are all referred to as “Dark Social” by marketers because content shared through these platforms are particularly difficult to track and analyze. This is becoming an increasingly popular way for users to do their social sharing. Read more

How To Create Loyal Customers With Social Media Transparency

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Customer loyalty is a priority and goal for all companies in existence. How to create those loyal customers is much easier than you may think, and it all has to do with transparency. According to the social media company, Sprout Social, 86% of surveyed U.S. consumers think it is more important than ever for businesses to be transparent.

 

Customers are much more willing to show loyalty to companies that are consistent with being clear in communication, open, and honest. For example, an 89 percent of U.S. customers are willing to give a transparent brand a second chance after a bad experience, and 85 percent are willing to stick with them through a crisis. These astonishing numbers prove that transparency is key to business success.

 

Gaining Trust and Sales From Transparency

Customer loyalty will come with your ability to communicate the message of transparency in the most effective manner. Customers that also purchase from you only on occasion poses an opportunity to convert them into being a loyal customer.

Typically, organic brands are very transparent because that information in their ingredient lists is crucial to their brand message. If you take a look at Horizon, the organic milk brand, you can locate any of their organic farms on their website as well as seeing their manufacturing processes, stories about the farmers and shipment processes. This is all given directly on their website with 100% transparency, making them an elite brand that does millions of dollars in sales each year.

 

The Role Of Social Media

In this same report, 81 percent of the group consumers say that businesses must be transparent on social media. This is more than they expect out of politicians (79 percent), friends and family (66 percent) and even themselves (71 percent). This adds a significant amount of pressure to a brand’s plate making sure they are proactive with mistakes and responding to customers at all times.

 

Here is an example of the makeup brand rising in popularity daily, Morphe, disclosing a mistake in production via Twitter to all 526,000 of their followers. It is statements like this, in addition to publicly addressing customer concerns, that consumers expect from businesses.

 

As relationships are continuously built through social media channels between brands and consumers, people want business to be more open and honest than ever, especially in public settings. Marketing teams that accept this expectation and do their best to treat transparency as a mandatory business practice are the most likely to retain customers and increase sales in doing so. Long-term, transparency is a differentiating factor that will motivate consumers to stick with your brand through a difficult times and to remain loyal over time.

 

More From Onimod Global

We would love to work with you and help you optimize your social media strategy for any event your company is hosting. To contact our experts or request a quote, please click here. We can’t wait to hear from you!

 

How To Drive Event Engagement With Social Media

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Social media marketing can be a fantastic tool to use in a variety of campaigns, especially in event promotion. This tool has not only changed the ways people promote events, but it has also changed how influencers and consumers can engage with brands and events associated with them. Social media marketing strategies allow for an open conversation between a brand and the consumer, and this is one of the most crucial steps in ensuring a successful event with high engagement.

Whether your event is a corporate event, an influencer party, a festival or concert, social media marketing can be a driving factor in your success if used correctly. Here are several ways you can use social media to drive engagement before, during, and after your event.

 

Pre-Event

 

Content Strategy 

In the initial stages of event planning, you will want to have a rough outline of social media content for the months, weeks, or days leading up to your event. Your company may already have an existing content plan in place for event management, but it is always in your best interest to customize the strategy to your specific event.

Social media content should be centered around the concept of your event, and all of your posts should match the tone, whether that be serious or more creative. Anything you create should also drive consumers to a landing page for sign-ups, donations, or anything related to the promotion of your event. Be sure to include educational pieces about featured speakers, sponsors, and any topics the event will be covering.

 

Influencer Involvement 

Get your sponsors and speakers involved! Most times influencers will be excited to help you push your event on social media, especially if they are a featured speaker. Create graphics and other messages that are easy to share on all social platforms, and also create content specifically related to sponsors that they can easily share as well.

Sharing, in this case, is caring for the success of your event. Be sure that any social content you post and push to consumers is readily available to share among event attendees. Don’t under-estimate the power of social share, this will increase your visibility with little to no cost associated.

A great strategy would be to invite a sponsor or influencer to take over your Instagram account or do a Facebook Live feed. It’s a place for your own followers to get excited about the event that you’re hosting, and it also gives the fans or followers of the influencer a chance to be directed to your page for more information on what they are sharing.

 

The Day-of

 

Vlog

Especially if this is event is annual, creating excitement around the event for years to come will be based out of any content and footage you have from years past. Occasionally, this may not be allowed depending on the privacy or overall tone of the event. However, if your company allows you to do so and it makes sense in your content strategy to create footage for the upcoming years, we absolutely recommend filming as much as possible.

 

Live Stream or Social 

This is an example of a live Twitter feed wall shared by Social Media Today, which are typically big hits at any conference or event. Common tools that will help you build a live-feed for your event are: TweetBeam, Twitterfall, Twubs, and HootFeed from Hootsuite.

 

Live Updates On Your Social Networks

Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are perfect platforms for this strategy. A unique content idea you could do at a convention would be to interview guest attendees on your company Instagram or Snapchat story. Tweeting live updates from the event is also a great way to interact with any attendee using the event hashtag that you create. This will allow you to retweet easily, and Instagram also has the new feature of being able to share photos on Instagram stories with credit to the user.

 

Post-Event

 

Gratitude Via Social Platforms

The content strategy doesn’t end at the event, the really successful conventions and events will always take it one step farther. Here are where the opportunities to engage with your attendees with give you the maximum value of social media marketing. Starting with gratitude, it will always go a long way to thank speakers, sponsors, and guests via social media to ensure they know that their presence was appreciated by your company. This will in turn help you build bonds and gain lifetime customers.

 

Creating Promotion For Next Year

Now that you have all of this material and content, it is time for your social team to get to work on compiling a promotion video or more social content for next year’s event. This can include testimonials from this year’s attendees, quotes from speakers and sponsors, and any footage of your guests having a great time!

 

More From Onimod Global

We would love to work with you and help you optimize your social media strategy for any event your company is hosting. To contact our experts or request a quote, please click here. We can’t wait to hear from you!

4 Social Media Predictions For 2018

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The dynamic of social media is constantly changing and 2018 has the potential to be an important year for social media. After analyzing an article from Marketing Land written by Laura Collins, there are some interesting changes that could happen in the world of social media. Listed below are some social media predictions the article points out that could have major implications on the future of the industry.

1. Instagram’s Continued Dominance
2017 was an incredible year for Instagram in terms of revenues, user engagement, and a rapidly growing user base. Instagram is continuing to innovate already in 2018 in ways that are attractive to their users and advertisers. The Marketing Land article mentions how Instagram announced last month that there is a new capability to incorporate hashtags. “Advertisers could pay to target followers of particular hashtags, or perhaps appear in the top posts section for those relevant to their business.” This hashtag integration could ultimately take the platform to new heights if utilized correctly and just like last year, 2018 could be another big year for Instagram.

2. Twitter Revamp
It’s not a surprise that Twitter has been struggling to compete in recent years with the other social media giants for ad revenue. There was very slow growth in 2017 especially and the article predicts that 2018 is “sink or swim” for Twitter’s future. It hasn’t even been a month in 2018 so far and Twitter is already making steps towards changing their ad offerings. The article mentions how new “premium video content partnerships designed to turn the platform into a destination for high-quality entertainment. Its new pre-roll and mid-roll ads will offer advertisers brand-safe inventory with high visibility standards and a chance to target people who are highly engaged and predisposed to view video content.”

3. Snapchat Revenue on the Rise
Although it was reported that 2017 was not Snapchat’s best year, there were still major strides made from the mobile based social media giant. The article points out how Snapchat is learning from their mistakes and they “recently released a pixel to address accusations of a lack of transparency or ability to measure ROI.” There is also talks of a “total redesign of the app as a response to older users reportedly struggling navigating the interface.” Ultimately, the prediction being made for 2018 is that Snapchat will become more flexible for their users and advertisers, and then see ad revenue growth from a more diverse group as a result.

4. Live Streaming Becoming the “Go-to” Option
The drastic increase of live streaming viewership has definitely caught the attention of major social media platforms. It is now a mainstream aspect of most social media channels, as brands have been utilizing live streams to capture the attention of followers. An article from Entrepreneur predicts that in 2018 “more brands will begin to realize the power of live streaming, and will incorporate it into their monthly content plans to help attract a larger following.” Moreover, the importance of live streaming can’t be overlooked by organizations and those who are not using the feature correctly or at all will fall behind.

Contact Us
For more information regarding digital marketing expertise, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

5 Intriguing Digital Marketing Stats So Far in January

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Although only a little over 2 weeks have passed by in January, 2018 has been an interesting year so far in the digital marketing world with some surprising statistics. Some of the stats listed are from Christopher Heine in his Adweek article that caught our attention.

1. Branded Content Booming on Facebook
Many marketers and organizations have the mindset that spending ad dollar on Facebook is the only way to receive a large amount of impressions, clicks, shares, etc. According to a study from an article in Marketing Land,  they found that branded content posts on Facebook rack up twice as many earned media impressions as paid advertising impressions. “833 branded content posts received 617,986 paid impressions compared to more than 1.2 million earned impressions.”

2. Breakdown of Social Media Users
The number of overall social media users has continued to increase so far in January. According to the Pew Research Center, they found that around “69 percent of U.S. adults are now social media users.” Another interesting statistic they found was that “86 percent of 18 to 29 year olds are the demographic that patronize Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, and other social platforms.” Ultimately, social media continues to attract new individuals and it will be important to keep an eye out on the age demographics of users.

3. App Install Ads
So far in the month of January it appears as if app install advertisements have been a success. Apple claims that “50 percent of consumers who click on ads they see in the App Store download the app.” This is good news for corporations like Facebook, Twitter, and others as the Adweek article touches on how the “app install space has driven revenues for these organizations.” It will be very interesting to see how Google will respond to Apple’s recent app install successes with their Google Play Store.

4. Continued Growth of Global Advertising
There are always a large number of U.S. organizations that are looking to expand their advertising presence internationally. The article mentions how “events such as the Olympics, European Football Championship and the presidential election propelled global ad revenue to $532 billion in 2016.” The interesting part is that global digital ads “totaled around $160 billion or 30% of worldwide ad revenue.” Based off these numbers, expect to see a larger presence of international digital marketing in the future.

5. New Years Live Viewing
It appears that more people are starting to watch the Times Square ball drop on their smartphones then their televisions. Facebook found that “more than 10 million people used Facebook Live on New Year’s Eve , which is up 47 percent from 2016.” This meant that Facebook had ten times the number of viewers as CNN, as the annual countdown only totaled “1.7 million viewers in prime time.” Moreover, this shows how live viewing has major implications on the future of the television industry as pulling up a live stream on a smart phone is a much more convenient approach than turning on the T.V.

Contact Us:
For more information regarding digital marketing expertise, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

4 Digital Marketing Skills Every Professional Must Have

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Digital Marketing is a very broad term that consists of many important areas for professionals to master, and is also a fast growing industry for employment. SEO, SEM, social media advertising, email marketing, and data analysis are all critical aspects that every digital marketing expert should have experience with. Besides knowledge of these key areas, what are some other important digital marketing skills professionals should have?

1. Copywriting and Content Development 
Being able to effectively communicate and deliver persuasive messages is one digital marketing skill that can never be overlooked. Content is one of the most important components of every advertising campaign, and is a major factor when it comes to SEO and ranking for certain search queries. It is crucial that every blog post, Google ad, commercial, and company website contains relevant and powerful content. Driving home the “big idea” to every potential consumer is how you get your name out there, and why others should do business with you. Ultimately, content development is a skill that more and more marketers are being asked to master.

2. Website Development Knowledge
Some people confuse digital marketing and website development as two completely separate fields. In some ways this could be the case, yet having website development knowledge will greatly benefit an individual’s digital marketing expertise. Being able to understand the basics of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and how to operate within a content management system (CMS) are all important. Another thing to keep in mind regarding website development knowledge is that it goes hand in hand with SEO, and understanding how to achieve good organic rankings on search engines. Moreover, the more website development knowledge a digital marketing professional has, the better.

3. Research and Strategic Planning
Staying current with the latest digital marketing trends and updates will only set yourself apart from the other digital marketers in the industry. Taking 30 minutes out of your day to read up on articles from Search Engine Land, Forbes, AdWeek, and Search Engine Journal can be extremely beneficial. Effective research can sometimes require more than simply “Googling things” like understanding the industries of clientele and who their target audiences are. In addition to research, strategic planning is also very important. This refers to analyzing past data and knowing how to deliver better results in the long run.

4. Account Management
Having proper account management skills and understanding how to effectively interact with clients is huge. Demonstrating strong account management means you have a firm grasp of execution, planning, strategy, budgeting, data analysis, and more. Being flexible and customer service-oriented is important as well. Campaigns consistently need monitored, problems arise, and some clients experience their best business outside of the typical Monday-Friday 9-5 hours. In the end, account management is huge in digital marketing, and certain “soft skills” often times get overlooked.

Contact Us: For more information regarding digital marketing, visit the Onimod Global Website. We provide weekly news updates on the latest in the world of digital marketing. Enjoy!

2017 Year in Review: Digital Marketing

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As we near the end of 2017, we recall many of the new ideas and innovations that this year brought to us. In digital marketing, there have been many changes. Digital marketing is centered around change, as it is required for this industry to live and thrive. Now we take a look at some of the biggest changes to digital marketing in 2017.

The Move to Mobile

This past year saw an incredible shift in user preference to mobile devices. It has grown to such a height that mobile search has now overtaken desktop search. The trend began early in 2017, but did not slow down at all. 33.3% of all transactions from Cyber Monday were completed on a mobile device. This mobile activity is up nearly 17% from the previous year.

It is also worth noting that age does not matter when it comes to mobile. Most people assume that the only demographic utilizing these mobile technologies are younger generations. In reality, older consumers are regularly active on digital devices. In fact, 50+ year old consumers had a 12% growth in smartphone usage over the past year. Read more in our article, “How to Reach Senior Citizens Using Digital Marketing”.

Competition Between Social Platforms

In 2017, each major social platform was vying for the spotlight. Twitter attempted to increase their numbers by doubling the character limit from 140 to 280. Sadly, this change did not produce the desired effect they were looking for, as their Q3 reports showed another decline in activity.

Snapchat focused on increasing advertising revenue. Their ‘Snap Pixel’ gives marketers better insight into consumer behaviors, which is certainly valuable when forming any kind of marketing strategy.

In the end, one social media platform came out on top in 2017. There can only be one winner, and this winner is Facebook. Facebook provides a larger audience, better targeting options, and superior results when it comes to digital marketing. Their resources and refined tools cannot be outdone. It is also very likely that their success will only continue to grow in the upcoming year.

The Importance of a Marketing Strategy

Digital marketing has become much more calculated. As the industry grows, experts are looking to make the most precise decisions when it comes to their digital marketing efforts. This means that anyone serious about digital marketing should be using a well thought out marketing strategy.

Long standing organizations have the benefit of possessing a history of data. This data is invaluable. Past behavior predicts future behavior. So, data can show you exactly what decisions to make, without much risk of failure.

However, if you do not have a large database to fall back on, it is best to begin with broad objectives which are then refined over time as you begin to notice what works and what does not. For more detailed information in creating a marketing strategy, please take a look at our article, “Create the Perfect Digital Marketing Strategy”.

Digital Permeation

As the digital industry continues to grow, it expands across many other industries. Digital marketing presents all businesses with the ability to better market their products and services. The main advantage is digital marketing’s low cost. Of course, digital marketing campaigns can become expensive if desired, but most campaigns produce results for mere pennies on the dollar.

This advantage has allowed digital marketing to infiltrate every area of business possible. There are no real limitations when it comes to digital marketing. Any organization looking to sell their product to a specified target audience can do it.

As a result, digital marketing strategies have been developed for entire industries. Food, healthcare, metal fabrication, you name it. All of these industries have been affected by digital marketing, and will continue to be affected in 2018.

Top Qualities of a Successful Digital Marketing Agency

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What separates a successful digital marketing agency from a mediocre one? Numerous agencies claim they provide the best digital services available and will always go out of their way for client needs, but is this really the case? Listed below are some essential qualities that every digital marketing agency should possess in order to be successful in today’s industry.

Flexibility
Is your current agency available for any needs that arise outside of standard office hours (9-5)? From our perspective, digital marketing is a 24/7 operation and any agency that thinks otherwise is not providing the best service possible. Problems arise, campaigns need monitored, and some industries experience their best business outside of the typical Monday-Friday 9-5 hours. Therefore, flexibility is huge when it comes to digital marketing and if your agency isn’t fulfilling your needs then it may be time to make a change.

Experience
Evaluating the previous experience of an agency is a major factor when determining their success. Does the agency have a proven track record? Are their clients legitimate and relevant to your business or industry? Will they address your specific needs? Always be sure to analyze an agency’s portfolio and case studies to determine if their experience matches your needs. View our Case Studies at Onimod Global and take a look at our credible experience in all aspects of digital marketing.

Transparency
When it comes to digital marketing and working with clients, transparency is a huge quality that clients desire and often expect. An agency demonstrating transparency refers to the clarity of billing, accuracy of data, how campaigns are actually performing, and what’s happening in general. Working with a digital marketing agency that is trustworthy will ultimately lead to better results in the long run. Moreover, transparency is a quality that can never be ignored when evaluating an agency. It separates successful digital agencies from the mediocre ones.

Expertise 
Every agency should be an expert when it comes to SEO, SEM, Social Media, Data Analysis, Website Development, and every other critical component of digital marketing. Is the agency a Google Partner? Are the employees certified in Google AdWords and Analytics? These are important questions to consider when evaluating whether an agency is legitimate or not. All successful digital agencies in today’s industry demonstrate many if not all of these capabilities and always be sure to check out previous work/case studies for reassurance.

Contact Us: At Onimod Global we are a proven digital marketing agency and know what it takes to fulfill the needs of every client. Check out Our Work and see what digital solutions we have to offer! We look forward to hearing from you!