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In the News
Hot Off the Press
- Omnicom’s Patent-Pending Software Ties Earned Media to Sales
- Omnicom Public Relations Group this week introduced a patent-pending analytics platform for earned media, or the publicity gained through promotional efforts other than paid advertising. The agency’s OmniearnedID aims to help marketers evaluate the effectiveness of these campaigns with the same precision as for paid media. Omnicom says OmniearnedID can support a brand’s entire marketing strategy, not just its PR, by linking earned media to measurable business outcomes like sales and brand reputation.
- LinkedIn Adds New Post Visibility and Reply Controls to Manage On-Platform Discussions
- LinkedIn’s following Twitter’s lead with the addition of new reply control tools on your LinkedIn posts, which enable users to restrict who’s able to comment on their platform updates.
- TikTok’s New Q&A Feature Lets Creators Respond to Fan Questions Using Text or Video
- TikTok is testing a new video Q&A feature that allows creators to more directly respond to their audience’s questions with either text or video answers, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The feature works across both video and livestreams (TikTok LIVE), but is currently only available to select creators who have opted into the test.
- YouTube Counts Views for Shorts Like Regular Videos
- YouTube provides insight into how views for its new Shorts video format are counted, and explains whether it impacts channel metrics like average view time. YouTube Shorts launched in September 2020 and currently remains in beta. The 60-second vertical format shares similarities with TikTok videos and other popular types of short-form content. Shorts are shown on a channel’s page and a home page carousel where users can tap through and view Shorts as they would view Stories on other apps.
- Twitter Reminds Users of Upcoming Changes to Verification Policy
- Twitter has issued a reminder that its up to date verification coverage will come into impact this Friday – which additionally implies that all presently verified profiles that do not adjust to the new necessities are susceptible to shedding their vaunted blue tick. Inside its revised verification guidelines, Twitter has set some fairly hefty necessities that profiles might want to meet as a way to qualify for consideration. Think you’re an influencer? Learn more about how to get verified.
- Pinterest Launches Augmented Reality Eyeshadow Try-On Tool
- Social media image-sharing platform Pinterest is introducing an augmented reality (AR) try-on tool to help users assess and compare eyeshadow. The company is also expanding product tagging beta and will soon give creators the opportunity to develop shoppable Story Pins and tag products. The pandemic has helped drive AR innovation, especially in the cosmetics and automotive industries. Both categories have expanded use of the technology.
- ‘Post-truth’ Climate Impacts Gen Z’s Conflicting Brand Perceptions, Forrester says
- More than half (51%) of Gen Z respondents aged 18 to 23 years will always research a company to ensure it aligns with their position on corporate social responsibility before making a purchase. The percentage of that same age cohort that said it’s “cool” to be associated with a brand on social media fell to 46% in 2020 from 52% in 2019, Forrester found. In a separate survey, 44% of 12- to 17-year-olds said they don’t trust ads they see online, while 56% agree that ads are a good way to learn about new products.
- Facebook News feature launches in UK
- The UK is the second market to get Facebook News, which launched in the United States last year. Several major news publishers, including Channel 4, Sky News, and The Guardian have signed deals with Facebook to provide content. The new feature is a dedicated tab within the Facebook mobile app, accessible by tapping the three-line icon for more options. The tab features a mix of major daily news stories and “personalized” news selected for each reader based on their interests, as decided by Facebook’s algorithm.
Creativity
Out of the Box
- The Bernie Sanders Meme Proves the Internet Is Resetting
- The internet often speaks earnestly of cultural resets. Shakira performing at the Super Bowl? Cultural reset. Parasite winning Best Picture? Cultural reset. Beyoncé doing literally anything? Cultural reset. Loosely defined, cultural resets are the moments when things shift and the mood in the collective pop culture room recalibrates. This week’s cultural reset? A 79-year-old US senator from Vermont sitting in a chair. Wednesday’s inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris was full of fashion moments: Lady Gaga’s golden bird, Harris’ pearls, Michella Obama’s everything. But it was senator Bernie Sanders (D–Vermont), decked out in his coat and mittens and holding a manila envelope (and maybe a cashier’s check?), who captured the attention of meme-makers everywhere.
- Tag Team Says Geico Was Their First Invite in 30 Years to Be More Than Just a Soundtrack
- Few lyrics have proven more prophetic than “Tag Team, back again,” the line that launches listeners into 1993’s timeless track “Whoomp! (There It Is).” Long after the song’s initial dominance of radio stations and clubs, it reemerged time and time again in popular culture. But it wasn’t until Geico approached the Atlanta rap duo about bringing “Whoomp” to one of its national ads that Cecil Glenn and Steve Gibson, the artists behind the iconic song, finally got to be front and center, sharing the screen instead of just a spot on the soundtrack.
- Heinz (Anonymously) Asked People to Draw Ketchup and This is What Happened
- Heinz Ketchup recently decided to conduct a little experiment. Along with its Canadian agency Rethink, it invited consumers across five continents to “draw ketchup.” Fortunately for the brand, the majority of them drew bottles of Heinz—going so far as to include the brand’s name and logo (albeit with one misspelling), its famous “57” number and the tomatoes on the vine that appear on its label. There was one outlier, however, and he drew mustard.
- Your Font Says a Lot About Your Company
- When it comes to fonts, there are basically two main categories: serif and sans serif. When it comes to marketing, fonts (just like colors) pack a huge psychological punch. Whether you’re aware of it or not, the type of font you use often says more about your company than the actual name. As consumers, we’ve subconsciously learned to expect certain personality traits from companies based on what type of font they use.
Tricks of the Trade
Tips and Tricks
- Why Content Marketing Works
- While content marketing might not be the fastest way to grow your revenue, quality content impacts your visitor’s buying decision more than any other any other technique according to HubSpot. Content like blogs, emails, images, infographics and videos can explain your unique offering, prove your expertise and thought leadership position, and help your target audience to find you on search engines. Content marketing is also all about consistency. If you disappear from the feeds and minds of your audience, there will be a competitor that will be happy to take your spot.
- 8 Simple Steps that make for a Successful Web Design Process
- The modern web design process is where art, technology, and psychology meet and it evolves over time as new trends emerge. It is a mix of technical acumen, cognizance of HCD (Human-Centered Design), and an eye for art. If this process is executed well, your visitor’s attention and conversion to a customer will increase promptly. Does web design start with creative? NO! The process begins with discovery. Keep reading.
- How to Overcome 9 Common Marketing and Web Design Mistakes
- It’s great to learn from your experience, yes, but far less painful to learn from someone else’s mistakes.83 marketers share their mistakes, so we can avoid making the same ones:
- Creating content for peers rather than customers
- Not defining correctly who you want to target
- Focusing on irrelevant metrics
- Not trying something new
- And more…
- It’s great to learn from your experience, yes, but far less painful to learn from someone else’s mistakes.83 marketers share their mistakes, so we can avoid making the same ones:
- 11 Valuable Data Points To Be Gleaned From Clients Google Analytics’
- It’s essential to identify key data points from Google Analytics to create an informing strategy that will achieve a client’s marketing goals. 11 experts from the Forbes Agency Council share some of the most valuable pieces of information you can use to accomplish this task. Continue reading…
- 5 Childhood Lessons That Apply to Crisis Communications
- There are so many things that we learn at a young age that eventually shape who we become and how the world views us. Not just how to talk, walk and tie our shoes, but what’s right, what’s wrong, and many other choices and moral/ethical mashups in-between. Together, these form a foundation, or the beginning to a playbook rather, that sets us out into the world with something we can add and refer to along the way.
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