Social Selling and Communication Methodologies

Though the term "social selling" is now cast about as this new marketing wonder tool for developing business, the truth is that social selling is nothing more than a catchy phrase. In reality, few sales in the B2B environment can be attributed to social media. What we call 'social selling', in real terms, is simply part of the account/customer management methodology of using touch points to continually reach out to ones prospect or existing customer base.

Social networks can have a more lasting impression, since media that's posted can retain a level of visibility which you may not find with traditional mediums like brochures or email. Media is archived and made available in a feed and can be tagged and indexed and the hope is that your customers or prospects will proactively come across or search for the content that is made available on the network. But regardless, the sale itself is typically not completed using a social media network.

If we, instead, refer to these activities as advanced account management or customer relationship management techniques, this would better describe these activities as they're often mixed with additional forms of communication. In most sales-related activities, we tend to reach out to our customers or prospects by phone, email, in person visits, scheduled appointments, and now social networks. It's the mix of these activities that tends to generate a greater response. The best salespeople find a mix that works for their unique style, then take advantage of the above touch points to continually consult and communicate with their clients.

Anyone who tries to sell you a "social selling framework" is really only trying to sell you on one particular touch point methodology. They can dazzle you with numbers showing views on YouTube, rates of re-tweets on Twitter, and even Likes on Facebook, but this information is not truly valuable. None of these can truly judge impact. So before you or your company gets sucked into the idea that social selling will solve all of your sales-related problems, remember that the it's core principles of sales that always remain the most crucial. Which is simply getting your salespeople to talk to your customers. If you really want to have a more meaningful impact, you'd be better suited in developing a communications methodology and strategy. The strategy needs to include all mediums, all tools, and the various techniques in speaking to customers.

I've often been referred to as an expert in social. I find this laughable as my only expertise is my ability to communicate with people. I certainly see the power of using a social network as part of a larger strategy but it's never been the only strategy that I follow. So my advice to you is to be cautious and leery of those were selling their expertise in 'social selling'. True sales excellence remains in the relationships you build, and how you maintain them.

I'm sure this may seem controversial so I welcome your comments. 

Main image vis Shutterstock

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Original source: Social Selling and Communication Methodologies.
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Billboard, New York Mets and Nike Top Twitter Ranking

For the week of October 19 – 25, 2015, U.S. brands and properties captured more than 61.7 million social actions (retweets and favorites on tweets posted by brands) on Twitter. Powered by Shareablee data, the top brand on Twitter for each respective industry is shown in the ranking below. Billboard (Media Publisher) topped the ranking with more than 600,700 Twitter actions, followed by the New York Mets (Sports) with more than 475,500 actions. Tweets regarding Justin Bieber's new single 'Sorry' scored four of Billboard's top five tweets, and One Direction's 'Perfect' track scored the top tweet for the media publisher. The New York Mets' tweets announcing that the team had reached the World Series with #MetsWin, as well as its joint contest with Delta, captured the most retweets and favorites for the team.

Nike (Retail) scored the highest actions per tweet, averaging over 22 thousand retweets and favorites per Twitter tweet published during the week of October 19 – 25, 2015. Of the top performing brands, Nike also saw the highest growth in Twitter actions over the previous week with a 11,214% spike in engagement from tweets featuring the brand's real-life self-lacing shoes commemorating Back to the Future Day on October 21st.

i Total actions include all post-level retweets and favorites.
ii Total content includes all tweets posted by each brand across Twitter.
iii Actions per tweet is a calculation of the average number of post-level actions received, every time content is published.
iv Total followers includes the number of Twitter followers for each brand as of October 25, 2015.
v Unique Engaged Audience references the number of unique individuals who engaged with the brand on Twitter.

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Original source: Billboard, New York Mets and Nike Top Twitter Ranking.
http://www.jretechnology.com

6 Tips to Get Your Business Started on Social Media

By Daniel Tolliday
Published October 27, 2015

Do you want to create a business presence on social media?

Looking for tips to get started?

Setting up a good foundation on social media can help you build visibility and connections for your business.

In this article you'll discover six tips to get your business started on social media.

Discover six tips to get your business started on social media.

Social media-friendly businesses don't simply create a Facebook page or Twitter account and leave it at that. They target multiple platforms, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and perhaps even Tumblr, too.

Get set up on more than one social media platform. Image: Shutterstock.

From the outside, it may seem unnecessary to have an account on each of these channels, but from an SEO perspective, it absolutely is. When potential clients do a Google search for your business name, you want them to see a full list of your social media profiles in addition to your website. Chances are they'll click through to read your reviews, see how many followers you have and maybe (hopefully) even ask a question.

KnowEm is a quick, easy way to find out if your business name is available on specific social networks. Enter your business name in the search box, and the tool will search for your name across different platforms. There's also a special category for business networks.

It's important to fill out your social profiles completely. Incomplete or inactive social media business profiles give visitors little reason to like or follow your business. And inactivity is likely to have the same effect. You'd be surprised how many social profiles are incomplete or inactive for months on end.

When filling out your social profiles, keep these questions in mind:

What will people gain by following you? Remember that people are busy, so you need to give them a reason to follow you.

People who find OldSpice on Twitter know exactly what to expect if they follow the brand.

Do your profile summaries and descriptions include the who, what, where and why of your business? Also, make sure that your contact information is clearly visible.

Make sure that you include all of your contact information in your profiles.

Commenting systems such as Facebook Comments, Livefyre and Disqus make it easy for people to interact with your content through social media. Each system has its advantages.

Livefyre is ideal if you want to encourage discussion. It's used by popular websites like Hootsuite, CNET and New York Magazine.

Disqus gives you strong moderation features, requiring users to create an account prior to posting comments. It's a great choice for business bloggers.

Facebook Comments is the best choice if you get most of your engagement through Facebook, and it allows for direct Facebook shares.

Setting up Facebook Comments on your blog is easy if you follow the developer steps.

The easier you make it for visitors to share your content, the more likely it that they'll share your content. That's why it's important for blogs to have social media sharing buttons installed.

Include share buttons on your blog posts, home page, landing pages and anywhere else that provides value to visitors.

Add share buttons to your blog to make it easy for visitors to share your content with their own networks.

For articles or other high-value content, try placing share buttons at the top, bottom and side of the page.

Don't forget that social media is all about being social. If you only post about your products and services in an attempt to generate sales, you'll likely hear crickets in return.

Your message won't be heard on social media unless you're actively speaking with people. It's not necessary to reply to every comment of course, but at least try to stimulate engagement by responding to questions or providing further value when and where you can. This is called proactive engagement, and it should be an important part of your business's social media plan.

Follow these key guidelines when interacting with customers through social media:

Show some personality. Be lighthearted and humorous, but also serious when it really matters. People buy from people, so the more you show your brand's human side, the more likely people will engage with you.Respond to questions. Whether they're positive or negative, answering your customers' questions is important. Like Henry Ford said, it's not the employer who pays your wages; it's the customer. Plum Deluxe does this well on their Facebook page. Make sure you respond to customer questions as quickly as possible to let everyone know you value your audience.

Does your business come across as human, as opposed to just another company? It's vital to humanize your brand to build meaningful relationships with your customers and prospects.

When was the last time you dined out or made a large purchase without considering what other people had to say about it first? This is known as social proof. It's the online world's version of worth of mouth.

Research shows that people take online customer reviews and opinions into account when faced with a purchase decision.

People value online customer reviews and opinions, so be sure to enable them on your social profiles.

If you're not getting many online reviews for your business, ask people to post a review on Google, Facebook or another channel you want to target. That's a great way to find out what customers think about your products or services.

Over to You

It doesn't matter how large your business is, the social media landscape is a level playing field. The main difference between success and failure is often how social media-friendly you are.

Social media offers easy ways to build community, humanize your brand and generate interest around your products and services.

What do you think? If you're new to social media marketing, have you tried any of these techniques? What tactics do you recommend? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Tips for getting your business started on social media.

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Daniel Tolliday is the Content and Inbound Manager at Green Hat, a B2B marketing agency in Melbourne, Australia; specialising in lead lifecycle and marketing automation programs. Follow @danieltolliday on Twitter. Other posts by Daniel Tolliday »

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Original source: 6 Tips to Get Your Business Started on Social Media.
http://www.jretechnology.com

5 Refreshed Instagram Advertising Examples That Customers Can't Ignore

Have you created ads that are succeeding on Instagram? Great! Now it's time to change them.

Not only is creative testing a best practice for digital advertisers who should constantly be trying out new concepts to see what works; it also steers customers away from ad fatigue. On frequently updated mobile platforms like Instagram, audiences will quickly get bored with your ads if they continually feature the same creative and copy.

Not sure how to get started? Here are some ways that businesses are keeping Instagram ads fresh, fascinating and fabulous.

Here, Try The World experiments with several ad elements to attract subscribers to its global food delivery service. While both ads are unified and easily identified by a bold red color block, the photo elements have been switched up and the copy has been changed. As you'll notice, the meal in ad #1 is fairly plain, while the second example showcases a more stylized and inviting scene that accompanies the delicacies.

The second ad also features more streamlined copy that relies on one simple offer as a way to motivate subscriptions, instead of the first ad's bulky copy stuffed with numerous messages. These ads are a good example of how running a Creative Test can help brands determine the best image and copy combinations that effectively drive results.

Here, layover text gets a refresh from Chatbooks, a photobook app for Instagram and Facebook users. As you can see, the star of these two ads remains the same, but the surroundings have changed and the text has shifted from top to bottom. Since Instagram is a highly visual medium, it's important that advertisers keep text to a minimum. Chatbooks has done a fantastic job of mixing up its creative elements while showcasing text that is short and to the point.

Above, fashion subscription service Le Tote keeps its ads fresh and up-to-date while telling a story. The first ad mimics the Le Tote user experience by capturing the anticipation of unpacking one of its clothing deliveries. In the second ad, Le Tote reveals the package's contents, laying out the clothes in a style similar to popular Instagram hashtag #thingsorganizedneatly.

Le Tote's ads are a great example of how refreshing your ads doesn't mean you need to throw out entire concepts. Advertisers can easily revitalize campaigns by continuing a narrative with additional related images.

Sometimes the smallest adjustments can make a big difference. Rocksbox provides a good example of this with simple changes to its jewelry subscription service ads.

While the close-up photos of designer wares remain similar and the copy is the same, it's the call to action (CTA) component that has been refreshed. The first ad encourages viewers to click to learn more about their service; however, the second ad invites viewers to immediately join the bejeweled and bedazzled action — and the likes have piled up.

Spotify takes Instagram ad refreshes to the next level by playing around with ad units as well as messaging. In the first example, the music streaming service uses a colorful image to grab users by the eyeballs, conveying energy and motion that mirrors the excitement of running with a soundtrack — all within a static image format. In the second example, soundtracks are still the focus, but this time it's a dinner party atmosphere — and a video ad.

Spotify's ad progression is an excellent model for brands to follow on a newer platform like Instagram. First, test creative concepts on simple, easy-to-produce units — then, after initial success proceed to a more detailed and involved medium like video.

Note: The brands featured herein are meant to serve as compelling examples, and are not Nanigans customers unless expressly noted.

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Original source: 5 Refreshed Instagram Advertising Examples That Customers Can't Ignore.
http://www.jretechnology.com

5 Ways to Engage Holiday Season Shoppers on Twitter [Infographic]

Christmas is now less than nine weeks away, meaning shopping activity is about to ramp up as we head into the final stretch of the year. In order to highlight the beneficial role that Twitter can play in marketing your festive season specials and offerings, the platform has today released a new infographic based on data from recent research conducted by Converseon, which looked at U.S. holiday shopping-related conversation on Twitter between September 1st and December 31st, 2014. Converseon found that holiday shopping-related buzz surges by an average of 83% from 8pm-12am across the season, while on Sundays in November, when retailers release special offers, the conversation spikes by 87%.

"Our analysis of the 2014 holiday shopping conversation on Twitter revealed not only when users Tweet most about shopping, but also how their shopping interests and needs shift throughout the season. Retailers can use these insights to determine the most effective timing of their Tweets and to craft messaging that resonates from now through New Year's."

In addition to the infographic (below) Twitter has also listed some time-specific activities brands should be conducting to capitalize on increased shopping activity during the season:

October: Increase discount-focused holiday messaging: The flurry of holiday shopping chatter begins in September and kicks up in October. Most of these Tweets (80%) are categorized as "pre-purchase" conversation, meaning it's the perfect time for retailers to seed gift ideas and offer ways to help people prepare for the holidays.

November: Launch Black Friday campaigns and focus on customer service: Twitter holiday talk intensifies in November, and a significant amount of the conversation (26%) shifts to the shopping experience. Make sure your brand is top of mind when shoppers plan their Cyber Monday and Black Friday shopping strategies by launching engaging campaigns.

December 1-24: Offer last-minute holiday help: By December, shoppers are hustling. More than half (55%) of the Twitter holiday conversation this month is about consumers' holiday shopping progress. As deadlines approach, we see an uptick in mentions of fashion/clothing/shoes, electronics, and, of course, gift cards (the most discussed product in 2014).

December 25-31: Drive traffic to your mobile app: Many consumers will get new mobile devices for the holidays. (According to Gartner, 31% of annual global smartphone sales occurred in Q4 of 2014.) As a result, the end of December is a great time to use Twitter mobile app promotion to remind new phone owners to download your mobile app.

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Original source: 5 Ways to Engage Holiday Season Shoppers on Twitter [Infographic].
http://www.jretechnology.com

How Celebrities Use Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC]

On one level, celebrities use social media for the same reasons that regular people do: To connect with other people.

But they also use social media in a way that is similar to brands. They market their movies or their music or their concerts. They strengthen their fans' loyalty. They bring awareness to themselves. They get feedback on their work. And they get to express themselves a little bit in the meantime.

The hook that celebrities have that most brands and regular people don't have is that people are already interested in looking at their photos and learning about the narrative of their lives.

This infographic from Fragrances Cosmetics Perfumes.com includes information about the celebrities who are social media mavericks—e.g. Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift—and those who eschew it entirely—e.g. Kristin Stewart, George Clooney.

It brings us back to the beginning of some of the celebrity world's most notorious tweeters. Do you remember Ashton Kutcher's first tweet? How about Lady Gaga's? I like Tom Hanks' first tweet: "Testing…testing…Is this thing on??"

"Companies can seek guidance from a group that has mastered the art of online self-promotion. Celebrities are social media's power users, and their strategies provide a valuable pathway for businesses as they build—and maintain—their brands online. Being well liked on social media can enhance a star's career, with many celebrities openly admitting their careers have been significantly aided by the likes of Instagram," writes Deepa Seetharaman in The Wall Street Journal.

What kind of celebrity strategies should brands steal? Seetharaman suggests that companies use different social media platforms differently, like Rhianna. He says that just showing up, day after day is really important. "If anybody knows anything about the dark arts of social media, it's Kim Kardashian West.With 48.8 million followers on Instagram," he writes. "Ms. Kardashian West has built her career and empire on social media. Her appeal online boils down to one major thing, social-media experts say: showing up." He suggests that brands keep track of what their followers are saying, like Taylor Swift. And that they make sure that their social media use isn't too promotional, like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Social media has also become a medium where people can respond to the deaths of celebrities. It can be a place of public mourning.

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Original source: How Celebrities Use Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC].
http://www.jretechnology.com

How to Use 360-Degree Video in Your Social Media Marketing

By Antonio Calero
Published October 28, 2015

Are you using video on your social channels?

Have you thought about 360-degree videos?

360 videos produce more engagement and message retention than normal videos.

In this article you'll discover how to create a 360 video and use it for your business.

360 videos (also known as VR or virtual reality) are clips displaying a spherical scenario where the camera has recorded all possible angles of the environment.

Discover how to use 360 video in your social media marketing.

When watching 360 videos, you can interact and choose the content you're viewing. On a computer, you can view 360 videos with Chrome, Opera or Firefox. Click and drag the mouse on the video to see different angles. You get an even better viewing experience on mobile. Simply move your smartphone around to see different angles.

You can enhance the mobile experience by watching the video in a Cardboard viewer, which allows a 3D-interactive experience of the video.

360 videos are not new to social media, as YouTube introduced them in March 2015 and made them available for video ads a few months later. Since then, a few companies have embraced the new technology, producing videos that leave viewers amazed.

More recently, Facebook has also made this technology available, which is likely to contribute to starting a new social media trend.

Creating a 360 video is easier than you may think. The software provided with your camera and the social network where you host the video manage most of the process. You don't need any advanced knowledge of editing software.

The creation process isn't as hard as you think. Image: Shutterstock.

To create a 360 video, follow these steps:

Get a 360 Camera

Creating 360 videos requires a special camera with lenses that cover all of the angles around the camera.

It's also possible to create these videos by using six cameras recording simultaneously in a cube configuration. However, this process is usually more complex and requires advanced editing.

Some of the camera models currently on the market are Ricoh Theta, IC Real Tech, 360Cam, Nokia Ozo and Bublcam.

Record in 360 Mode

To record a 360 video, you need to change your mindset for a whole new technology, remembering that you'll be recording everything around the camera.

With traditional video, you might have props hidden outside of the frame to help you with your video, such as a teleprompter, other people, etc. All of this would be seen in a 360 video.

Preview the Video

A 360 video uses the same file format as any other video, and can't be visualized in spherical mode without using specific software (or a social media network).

All of the cameras provide their own apps to preview your videos, which gives you an idea of the final result. However, remember these applications are just viewers. The video file is not converted into any special format.

Edit the Video

Before publishing 360 videos online, you can edit them with most editing software to include titles and buttons, adjust color, merge clips, add background music, and so on.

When editing, you'll be working with a strange image format that is just a flat-stretched representation of a spherical recording, as shown here.

Editing 360 videos requires some practice to work on the flat representation of the clip.

This view can make the editing process a bit challenging in the beginning. But in reality, editing a 360 video is no more complex than editing any other video.

Upload the Video

Finally, the most important and easy step of all is to upload your video. The process is as simple as uploading any other video. Both Facebook and YouTube will automatically recognize the clip as a 360 video, and prepare it to be viewed. Nothing else is needed.

Creating 360 videos is a relatively simple process. If you're ready to get started with 360 videos for your business, here are some ways to use the ideas below to boost your social media engagement.

Nescafé is one of the first companies to see the potential of this technology. The company is currently using it to show viewers how their coffee is produced. In the following video (part of a series), the company shows users the first step of the production process: the collection of coffee beans.

The campaign goes one step further with a mobile app for iOS and Android that includes additional videos. The company is also giving away 10,000 branded cardboard viewers in 13 markets during events and as prizes for online competitions.

With this campaign, Nescafé not only shows users the freshness and natural gathering of their coffee, but also produces great branding while generating new leads.

Another company that effectively uses 360 videos to involve users with its products is Mercedes. During this year's IAA Motor Show in Frankfurt, the car manufacturer presented some concept cars, as well as other models. Mercedes didn't want the experience to be exclusive to event attendees only, so they created this video as a way to increase user engagement and extend the reach of their message.

You'll find some of best applications of 360 videos in the tourism and hospitality industries. Qantas has been successfully promoting some of Australia's most popular destinations with 360 videos.

In the following video (made in collaboration with Hamilton Island Resort and Samsung), Qantas not only focuses on the location (which is impressive on its own), but also lets viewers experience what it means to travel to that destination with Qantas. As such, the video includes shots from the cockpit during flight and landing, as well as the passenger cabin.

You don't have to be a multi–million-dollar global company to use this technology though. In fact, 360 videos are becoming popular among travel bloggers and YouTubers, who often have limited budgets and technical resources. Many times, viewers put more trust in their opinions, as they feel a personal connection.

Who doesn't like watching action videos of nearly impossible activities that can be performed by only a few select daredevils? Most of us don't have the skills (or courage) to do things like bungee jumping or wingsuit skydiving, or driving a Formula 1 car. But we're still curious about what it feels to experience those adventures.

As expected, Red Bull is an early adopter of this technology. Keeping with their strategy of featuring adventure sports to promote their brand, they've taken this one step further by allowing users to be part of those incredible experiences.

Adventure sports can also be used to promote outdoor locations in a much more active way, as in the following video produced by the Norway Tourism Office in collaboration with Red Bull.

Move the video (look up in the sky) to see how branding is implemented.

You're likely familiar with Zach King, the Internet celebrity who became popular by creating micro-videos that include himself doing magic tricks.

Now Zach is also creating 360 videos with the same type of content. Not only does he continue to bring the wow effect, but this new video format lets viewers be part of the action, too.

Other video bloggers with a more traditional approach to content use 360 videos as a way to let their followers be part of the stories they're sharing. This is a great way to increase engagement.

This is the case for Louis Cole, who produces daily videos of his travels around the world. In the following video, you can see how an average topic gains new levels of interest when viewers can join the action and be part of the moment.

Promoting an event usually requires showing pics or videos of what people can expect at that event. What better way to do this than to let people be part of that event?

When YouTube launched 360 videos in March 2015, one the first channels to create content for this new format was Tomorrowland, one of the biggest electronic music festivals in the world.

In fact, the following video was the first 360 video ever uploaded to YouTube.

Another interesting application that some companies are embracing is short films. The idea is not so much to do a direct brand promotion, but rather to let viewers immerse themselves in a story where the company's products are featured.

This is what Mini is doing with the Mini Connected campaign, which is a series of short films that let viewers join the story.

Mini is also using this campaign to generate leads by offering free cardboard viewers to users who want to experience the movies in virtual reality (that is, combining 360 videos and 3D).

Dimension Gate, a virtual-reality video production company, has found an interesting way to promote their brand. Rather than use a traditional demo reel to show some of their best works, they've created a series of short horror films with the objective of generating virality, which in turn helps increase their brand exposure.

You can watch one example (at your own discretion).

Many artists are joining the 360 video trend as a way to boost their content reach and generate repetitive consumption. As you know, the more you listen to a song, the more likely it will get stuck in your head. Artists, however, find it hard to make people listen to the same tune over and over, unless they're diehard fans.

A great solution to this problem is 3D videos. Since it's a challenge to see everything that's happening in the clip, many viewers will watch it several times to satisfy their curiosity, thus listening to the tunes many times.

This is what Swedish musician and DJ Avicii accomplishes in the following video clip.

Wild Child, an Austin-based indie band with a smaller budget, used a similar approach. By alternating a series of short scenes, the band was able to produce a sense of immersion and make viewers want to watch the video over and over again.

Wild Child – Rillo Talk (Virtual Reality)Virtual Rillo Talk what! We had a really weird afternoon making this video – never thought we'd be able to see it like this.

-on some phones (Android for sure), you can move the screen to get your 360 perspective on

#onioncreekproductions #foolsandfriends #wildchild #fools #austin #rillotalk #cleanbillmusic #360video #tinyplanet #virtualreality #360gopro #gopro

Directed by Aaron Brown
DP/Editor Ben Bloom
www.onioncreekproductions.com

Posted by Wild Child on Tuesday, October 6, 2015

One of the key success factors on social media is engaging with your audience. And there's no better way to do that than by making your audience part of your content production.

British television show Strictly Come Dancing has joined the 360 trend by letting viewers experience some of the best performances directly from the stage. This allows viewers to choose their own content, while incentivizing multiple viewings.

Strictly 360 degree videoYou've GOT to see this. Immerse yourself in Sunday's Pro Group dance with this amazing interactive 360 degree video, and feel like you're on the Strictly Ballroom floor. If you can't play this, try in YouTube: bbc.in/Strictly360

Posted by BBC Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday, October 4, 2015

Another great application of immersive television where viewers have control over what they want to see is nature documentaries. The following video from Discovery Channel is an excellent example of this.

Ever wanted to swim with a shiver of sharks? MythBuster Adam Savage takes you underwater in Virtual Reality to explore up close!

Posted by Discovery on Wednesday, September 23, 2015

This is a great way to make users remember a particular show or subscribe to a paid television service.

Conclusion

Although 360 videos in social media are quite new, their use is growing rapidly, mainly due to their content versatility and high levels of user engagement.

Furthermore, the launch of these 360-degree videos on Facebook opens a new battlefront in the war for video supremacy currently held between Facebook and YouTube. In the hope of getting more traffic, it's possible these networks will launch additional features to make 360 videos an even better option for brands and viewers.

What do you think? What is your experience with 360 videos? Are you considering using them in your content strategy? What other applications can you think of? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Tips for using 360 video in your social media marketing.

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Antonio Calero is a social media strategist and coach specialized in user behavior management. He helps businesses understand better their unique audiences to create effective social media content and campaigns. Other posts by Antonio Calero »

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Original source: How to Use 360-Degree Video in Your Social Media Marketing.
http://www.jretechnology.com

What YouTube Red Tells Us About Consumers

Last Wednesday, YouTube launched one of its most significant products to-date: YouTube Red, a new subscription service that allows subscribers to watch all the ad-free content they want, save videos offline, and gain access to music and exclusive video content – all for $9.99 per month. Perhaps one of the best features of YouTube Red is that mobile users can finally switch to other apps and continue to stream from YouTube. This move essentially opens up YouTube as a music streaming service.

Initial response to YouTube Red has been cold. The early critics are already crying out, "Why would I pay for something I already get for free?"

Of course, YouTube Red is offering more than the basic YouTube platform we already know (as outlined above). And, of course, critics are aware of the added features. However, the initial outcry suggests: maybe not every service is meant to operate on a freemium model.

Longtime YouTube/video creator Gary Vaynerchuk recently asked his followers if they would pay for his show. Nearly everyone responded, "no," even though many left guilt-ridden comments along the lines of this one:

"I thought seriously about your question and I do not think I would pay for the askgaryveeshow in its current form. I feel kind of ashamed for saying it so maybe it's one of those things where I am kidding myself, where if I didn't have Gary I would feel withdrawal and pay for it. But my heart and my gut would want more if I were to ever pay for what it is that you do."

This Facebook fan wasn't alone. Many responses echoed his sentiments. What Gary's experiment shows us is that we don't like to pay for the things we already have for free.

YouTube produces a lot of value for audiences, content producers, advertisers, and Google. Each of those four groups has the opportunity to create profit from the value YouTube offers. (Yes, even audiences can profit when they use ideas shared on YouTube to go out and produce their own business/art/content.)

However, it remains to be seen if the value-to-profit path will be paved with the freemium model. Rather, we may find that the traditional TrueView model offers the best value-to-profit path. Or, we may see that YouTube is nothing more than a foot in the door with an audience (for most brands). Regardless, this bold new step for YouTube is a significant milestone as brands, agencies, and content producers continue the transition to increased video content budgets. 

Or will it end up next to last year's YouTube Music in a pile of discarded Google products? What do you think?

This post originally appeared on the BuzzPlant blog

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Original source: What YouTube Red Tells Us About Consumers.
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5 Ways to Create Infographics for Instagram

By Eugene Woo
Published October 29, 2015

Want more engagement on Instagram?

Have you considered posting infographics?

Introducing infographics into your Instagram marketing campaigns will attract more viewers and set you apart from other companies.

In this article you'll find five ways to create infographics for Instagram.

Discover how to create infographics for Instagram.

Videos overwhelmingly beat photos on Instagram.

The easiest way to create a video from an existing infographic is to cut up the original infographic into multiple pieces. Then use a video editing tool to convert all of the separate images into a short video.

First, use a graphics program to split a long infographic into separate images. You may want to save them with their numerical order in the file names.

Take a long infographic and split it into separate images.

Next, upload the images to your phone. Open up a video editing app such as iMovie for iPhone (or find an Android equivalent).

Create a new project, and then add all of the images by tapping the File icon. Each image will be laid out on the timeline. Rearrange the images if you wish.

Create a new project in your video app, and then upload all of the images.

Instagram videos are short, so you need to make sure the entire video is less than 10 seconds long. If you use five or six images, make each image clip about one second long and each transition about half a second long.

Tap on the image to change the clip duration. When selected, it will have a yellow outline. Then pinch the image to change the length of the clip.

Tap the image and then pinch it to change the length of the clip.

Tap on the transition clip to change the duration and style. I usually stick to the simple Slide transition, as it's the least distracting.

Tap on the transition to change the duration and style.

To preview the movie, click on the Play button. Add music and change settings with the Settings button (the gear icon). Once you're satisfied, export the video to your phone by tapping the Share button.

Add music and change any settings, like the filter. Then hit Share to export your movie.

Finally, open up Instagram and create a new video post. If the video doesn't fit the square preview, switch to the full size option by tapping Resize. It's the double bracket icon in the lower-left corner of the Preview screen.

Switch to full size if your video doesn't fit in Preview. Just tap the double brackets in the lower left.

Save your video to the camera roll, and share on other social networks.

One of the challenges of using infographics on Instagram is that most of them are created in portrait (long-form) format. While Instagram now permits landscape and portrait images, the viewing dimension of every post should be optimized for mobile viewing.

Since content needs to be legible on a typical mobile screen, you can't just resize a long-form infographic to fit the Instagram image parameters.

Instead, crop one chart (with a single factoid) from a complete infographic to use exclusively for a post. Otherwise, create a mini-infographic that gets one point across.

For example, the White House created this #EqualPay infographic for their Instagram. The same information was in a variety of other places, including a Twitter video post.

In honor of #WomensEqualityDay, the White House created a one-fact infographic for Instagram.

The easiest way to create a mini-chart is to repurpose something that already exists. Buffer took a piece of a long How to Make Sales from Instagram infographic and created the post below.

Take a piece of a longer infographic to make a small image for Instagram.

Most successful posts consist of a chart or data point that displays something useful, funny or interesting. Look at your current content or brainstorm ideas to create small charts for your company's Instagram.

Sometimes the best way to convey a number in an infographic, especially a very large or important number, is to use plain text. This is one of those exceptions to the "show, don't tell" rule of data visualization.

If you want, and if it fits with your brand, add a hint of mystery to really grab your audience's attention. FiveThirtyEight puts a number over an image. Users need to click the post to see what the number represents.

FiveThirtyEight shares a number over an image. The audience needs to click to find out what the number means.

Convert your data into a quotable text snippet by describing it in simple text. Then add it as a text overlay to one of your images. Choose an image that's representative of your brand or the data itself.

Choose a representative image and add data in text as an overlay.

There's a variety of Instagram and image editing apps to use to overlay text on your images. Complement the image with icons and add context in the comment section.

A pictogram lets you represent data using icons. It's one of the most effective visual designs for conveying important percentages or ratios.

Design studio Infographic.ly has some great examples on their Instagram channel, like the one below.

Pictograms, which use icons to represent data, are perfect for Instagram.

The easiest way to create a pictogram is to use a tool for making infographics. This process takes only a few minutes.

First, choose the icon you want to use (most tools will have a variety of icons to choose from).

Search for an icon on your infographic creation app.

Specify the number of icons you want to depict in rows and columns. Note any icons that need to be highlighted with different colors. Pick a darker color for the number of icons you want to highlight and a lighter one for the others.

Choose the number of icons and rows. Then decide which icons need to be highlighted differently.

Add your title and export the image. Then post it to Instagram.

Pictograms are perfect for Instagram, because they can be optimized for mobile viewing.

Icon charts are icons filled with two different colors to depict a certain percentage value. Instead of the typical column or bar chart, an icon chart uses an icon to illustrate both the value and the actual information, like Project Orbis Singapore did in this post.

Icon charts visually display value, as well as information.

Create an icon chart using an infographic tool, just as you would for a pictogram.

Choose an icon. Then select the percentage of the icon you want as the fill value. For example, to show 20%, set the fill value to 20.

Choose an icon, and then add percentage of fill value.

Next, select the two colors you want for the icon. Again, pick a dark color for the percentage you want to show, and a lighter color for the remaining fill.

Then add a title and description.

Add a title and description to complete your icon chart.

Another option is to create a similar icon chart using a conventional design tool such as Photoshop or Illustrator. Simply fill the path of your object with two different colors. Remember, you'll have to calculate the percentage and height manually.

Combining iconography with data visualization delivers an engaging impact. See what message your company can covey with this type of infographic.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to create infographics for your Instagram marketing may take some time, but it's definitely worth it.

Many marketers have had plenty of success with infographics on web-based channels, and its use on mobile-based channels has only begun to take off. There's definitely a lot of opportunity to embrace.

What do you think? Do you create infographics for your business? Do you optimize them for Instagram? Please share your thoughts and experience in the comments.

Tips for creating infographics for Instagram.

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.4&appId=159389674132284"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));About the Author, Eugene Woo

Eugene Woo is the co-founder of the infographic software maker, Venngage. He is a developer and entrepreneur, focusing on infographic design, visual content marketing and data science. Other posts by Eugene Woo »

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Original source: 5 Ways to Create Infographics for Instagram.
http://www.jretechnology.com