Facebook to Open Instant Articles to All Bloggers: This Week in Social Media

Welcome to our weekly edition of what's hot in social media news.

To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention.

Facebook Opens Instant Articles Program to All Publishers: Facebook "will be opening up the Instant Articles program to all publishers – of any size, anywhere in the world."

"Opening up Instant Articles will allow any publisher to tell great stories, that load quickly, to people all over the world."

Twitter Introduces Two New Customer Service Tools: Twitter released "two new tools to help businesses provide even better customer service on Twitter." These tools include a simple way to "move from Tweets to Direct Messages" and "a new feature called Customer Feedback."

"Starting today, all businesses Tweeting around the world can start adding Direct Message deep links to their Tweets. Customer Feedback will begin rolling out to select brands over the next few weeks."

Facebook Updates Video Metrics in Page Insights: Facebook is rolling out a "redesigned video metrics interface in Page Insights" that gives publishers access to new metrics such as "minutes viewed" and "10-second views" and "more granular video performance data."

"The updated interface also makes it easy for publishers to access more granular video performance data by clicking through individual metrics on the updated Insights view."

Instagram Adds Two-Factor Authentication for Accounts: Instagram confirmed it is "beginning to roll out two-factor authentication," which will ask users to "verify a phone number" in addition to an email and password before granting access to an Instagram account.

Twitter Introduces GIF Search: "Now, sharing GIFs in Tweets and Direct Messages is even easier with [Twitter's] new GIF search."

The GIFs are coming! Get ready to search and send GIFs in Tweets and Direct Messages: https://t.co/uk75stt1zN pic.twitter.com/1dDD1B4CW2

— Twitter (@twitter) February 17, 2016

Twitter Rolls Out Video Capture and Sharing in Direct Messages: Twitter gave all iOS and Android users around the world the ability to "capture and share videos in your Direct Messages."

Starting today, you can capture & share videos in your Direct Messages. It's rolling out globally on iOS & Android. pic.twitter.com/b5CgWyTQ3H

— Twitter Support (@Support) February 17, 2016

In this blab from February 19, 2016, Erik Fisher and guests discuss the top news in social media. Topics include Facebook opening Instant Articles to all publishers (2:54), Anchor, a new audio social media platform (22:03) and two-factor authentication on Instagram (40:45). Subscribe to future shows here.

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Facebook Offers New Resources for Nonprofit Organizations:  Facebook launched a new website "geared specifically to nonprofits" where organizations can learn "how to strengthen their Facebook presence, leverage the platform to reach their goals, effectively use [Facebook's] tools and find success stories and best practices."

Facebook is "launching a new website geared specifically to nonprofits with detailed product information and examples."

Periscope Adds New Features to the iOS App: Periscope rolled out some new features for its iOS app. These include "a very subdued daylight curve on the map" and the ability for broadcasters to share their local time in live streams. "For those using an iPhone 6 or later, Periscope also added some stabilization to help with jittery streams."

Google Integrates the Places API With Google Maps Search: This Google update will "offer more consistent search results across Maps and the Places API, which results in better overall search quality for API responses."

How to Create a Monthly Social Media Report: When it comes to proving social value to key stakeholders, it's critical to create and share social media reports. As social marketers, we struggle with where to begin and to identify what metrics matter most. Discover how to effectively evaluate your efforts and tailor your report for your target audience.

The Content Marketing Paradox Revisited: According to a recent report from TrackMaven, the output of branded marketing content increased by 35% per channel while overall content engagement decreased by 17% in 2015. When content output was at its highest in October 2015, engagement levels took the sharpest downturn across all social networks. This finding suggests there is a ceiling to the amount of content that can be consumed, liked, and shared by social media audiences. The study also compared post volumes and engagement across each social channel and identified which networks are best suited for a pay-to-play strategy.

Omni-Channel Shoppers Study: Facebook IQ commissioned GfK to conduct a study in which participants were asked to research and shop for various items using multiple channels including mobile devices, desktops or laptops, and in-store. The study found that the convenience and flexibility of smartphones and tablets make them the preferred devices among most people shopping online and even while in brick-and-mortar stores. However, many consumers agree that the mobile shopping experience is still very much lacking in many areas. This report helps marketers and retailers better understand which aspects of the mobile experience are most important to customers.

Forrester's The New Normal: Performance Advertising Drives Effectiveness: Criteo, a global performance marketing technology company, commissioned Forrester Consulting to survey over 150 marketers in the U.S., UK, France, and Germany on their adoption of performance marketing measures such as retargeting, personalization, and dynamic creative content. The report explored how these new performance marketing tools are being implemented and integrated with existing advertising initiatives such as social marketing or paid advertising.

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What do you think of the Instant Articles program on Facebook? Have you tried Facebook Instant Articles? Please share your comments below.

Facebook to Open Instant Articles to All Bloggers and other social media news for February 20, 2016.

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Original source: Facebook to Open Instant Articles to All Bloggers: This Week in Social Media.
http://www.jretechnology.com

How to Create a Snapchat Geofilter for Your Event

Have you heard of Snapchat geofilters?

Want to use them to promote an event or your business?

Snapchat On-Demand Geofilters let you design custom filters people can use on their snaps based on a custom location you define.

In this article I'll explain how to create two types of Snapchat On-Demand Geofilters and explore several ways marketers can use them for business.

Snapchat offers two types of On-Demand Geofilters: one type for people and one for businesses. The area for on-demand geofilters must be between 20,000 and 5 million square feet and they cannot be active for more than 30 days.

Learn how to create a Snapchat geofilter for your event or business.

In Snapchat's submission guidelines, the distinction is that On-Demand Geofilters for people cannot include any branding, business marks, business names, business logos, or other promotional content for a business or brand. They're meant to be used for birthday parties, graduations, and other personal celebrations.

On-Demand Geofilters for businesses, on the other hand, are those that promote brands or businesses and must include a business name, which will be shown to let Snapchat users know that your business submitted the filter.

On-Demand Geofilters for businesses can use branding, business marks, business names, business logos, or other promotional content for a business or brand. They cannot, however, use photographs of people, URLs, phone numbers, emails, drug-related content, or content that you don't own or have the authorization to use.

The content in any On-Demand Geofilter must also adhere to all of Snapchat's Terms of Services, Advertising Policies, Privacy Policies, Community Guidelines, and other On-Demand Geofilter Terms and Conditions.

To get started, you'll need to go to the On-Demand Geofilters page and click on the Create Now button.

Click Create Now to begin the process.

You'll be asked to log into your Snapchat account. Then you'll be given the option to download templates for your On-Demand Geofilter and to read the submission guidelines.

Download a template or upload your own image file.

The templates provided by Snapchat are offered in both PSD and AI format. You can use these templates to quickly create your On-Demand Geofilters if you have Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator.

You need to create a PNG file that is 1,080px wide by 1,920px tall with a transparent background that is under 300KB in file size. You can do this without Photoshop or Illustrator.

For example, let's say that you wanted to create the image in Canva. You would use the Custom Dimensions option to create an image that is exactly 1,080px wide by 1,920px tall.

Be sure the dimensions of your image are exact.

I could add a shape at the bottom to create a banner effect.

Add visual elements to your image template.

Then add text or upload a logo.

Include a logo or text that represents the location of the filter.

You can download the image as a PNG file.

Download your filter image.

Then open the PNG file in GIMP and use the Select by Color option to select the white area of the image.

Use GIMP to edit your image.

Then use the Color to Alpha option to take the white selection and make it transparent.

Create a transparent space in your image.

Overwrite the PNG file you downloaded, creating a geofilter with a transparent PNG background that's under 300KB in file size.

Overwrite the file to create your geofilter image.

When you upload the file to Snapchat, you'll see a preview of what it would look like as an On-Demand Geofilter. This will allow you to edit your file accordingly until you get it just the way you want it.

Preview your geofilter.

When your design is finished, click Next to choose the dates you'd like your On-Demand Geofilter to be active.

Select up to a 30-day date range.

Then you choose the area Snapchat users must be in to use your On-Demand Geofilter.

Find your location on the map.

You'll then draw a geofence around your precise location. This fence must be a minimum of 20,000 square feet. At this stage, you'll get a pricing estimate based on the size of your fence and the date range you've selected.

Define an exact boundary for your geofilter.

On the final screen, you can confirm your order details including payment information and choose whether your On-Demand Geofilter is personal or business. This selection does not seem to affect the amount you're charged for your geofilter.

Finalize your order.

Your On-Demand Geofilter will go into review after you've entered your details and submit it. You should get an email confirmation as well.

See this when you've successfully submitted your geofilter for review.

You can click on My Orders to review your order status and cancel your order if necessary. Orders cannot be updated at this point.

You'll get an email from Snapchat to let you know your filter has been approved.

This is the confirmation email you will receive when Snapchat approves your On-Demand Geofilter.

You'll be able to use it if you're located in the area you specified with your geofence. Simply take a photo or video using Snapchat and swipe right like you normally would to access other filters like MPH, temperature, and standard location filters.

This is a Snapchat On-Demand Geofilter in action.

You can also visit the dashboard to review your On-Demand Geofilter's metrics to get additional insights about its usage, such as the number of people who have viewed and snapped your geofilter.

Additional information about On-Demand Geofilters can be found in the Snapchat FAQ section.

5 Ways to Use On-Demand Geofilters for Business

Let's look at some ways you can use an On-Demand Geofilter to promote your business.

Create an On-Demand Geofilter to brand your snaps

Do you encourage your employees to snap from the office or do you have a Snapchat account for your business? If so, brand your snaps with an On-Demand Geofilter.

Create an On-Demand Geofilter for your events

Are you hosting a local meetup, networking event, or conference? If so, create an On-Demand Geofilter to promote it and encourage as many attendees as possible to send out snaps at the event using the geofilter.

Create an On-Demand Geofilter for your local business

Want to turn a geofilter into an advertisement to nearby customers? Create an On-Demand Geofilter for your local business. You could include your logo with the text, "I'm at Sherry Closet's Summer Blowout Sale," "I'm having dinner at Ajo Al's," or similar.

Not only will people see it when their friends snap it, but if you create a large enough geofence, people nearby using Snapchat might come across the filter and stop by.

Create an On-Demand Geofilter for your service

Certain types of service-based businesses could benefit from having a geofilter when showcasing their best work via snaps.

For example, hair stylists could have a geofilter for their salon, photographers could have a geofilter for their studio or event venues, home builders could have one for neighborhoods they're building in, tattoo artists could have a one for their parlor, and so on.

Cross-promote your On-Demand Geofilter snaps

If you're using your On-Demand Geofilters for your own account, download the snaps or your entire stories and share them on your other social networks.

If you're encouraging customers to use your On-Demand Geofilters, ask them to download and share their snaps or stories to other networks.

The goal is to get as much mileage out of your Snapchat content as possible!

One word of warning, though. When sharing your snaps to Twitter or Facebook, you won't have any issues. When sharing to Instagram, even after you adjust the cropping from the square version, you still might lose a little of your On-Demand Geofilter as Instagram will not show an entire snap from top to bottom.

That might be something to keep in mind if you plan to cross-promote to Instagram.

In Conclusion

On-Demand Geofilters on Snapchat can be a great way to reach people in a specific location and have them spread the word about your event or business with their friends through photos and video. If you're on Snapchat, be sure to give it a try to see what you can do with geofilters. And if you'd like a visual walkthrough, check out this video from Jeff Sieh.

Have you tried On-Demand Geofilters? What business uses do you see? Let us know how you've used them and what your experience has been in the comments below!

Tips for creating a Snapchat geofilter to promote your event or business.

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Original source: How to Create a Snapchat Geofilter for Your Event.
http://www.jretechnology.com

17 Tips for Successful Facebook Contests

Are you planning a Facebook contest?

Want to make sure it's a success?

An easy-to-follow checklist of tips and best practices will help you launch Facebook contests your audience will love.

In this article I'll share 17 tips to make your Facebook contest a success.

Discover seventeen tips for running successful contests on Facebook.

Facebook periodically changes its rules and regulations about contests and other promotions. Be sure to check the Facebook Guidelines page before you launch your contest.

Check Facebook's TOS before every contest you run.

A S.M.A.R.T. goal is one that's specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Make sure you clearly define your contest's goals before you start planning. Do you want to promote a new product? Grow your email list? Perhaps you're looking to gather a bunch of user-generated content such as photos and videos.

To set your Facebook contest up for success, focus on one or two attainable goals.

Consider running caption, photo-vote, video-vote, and sweepstakes contests, which are always popular on Facebook. Sweepstakes are the easiest to enter and the key to driving lots of entries is to pick the right prize.

Del Mar Fans & Lighting's straightforward Facebook giveaway requires entrants to simply vote on which lighting product they prefer. Once they vote, they're entered. When the contest ends, a company rep will choose a winner at random.

Sweepstakes are popular contests, partially because they're so easy for fans to enter.

Remember, you need to develop a contest that will help you reach your goals. Try a photo- or video-vote contest if your goal is to collect user-generated content.

Figure out what software you need to run and manage your contest. Look for software with built-in voter verification features, so everything is on the up and up.

If you want to collect email addresses or other contact information, use third-party software that will help you organize all of the data you collect.

If you'd like to increase engagement, run a Facebook timeline contest. Choose a comment/like importer tool that allows you to collect a Facebook user ID number and name from everyone who engages with your post.

Whatever type of contest you choose, remember you can use the information you collect for future marketing efforts. 

Decide how long your contest will run and let your audience know.

Companies offering valuable prizes, like a trip to Paris for two, tend to let contests run for longer periods of time than those offering smaller or local prizes, like a meal or a one-night stay in a hotel. Some companies even do a weekly or monthly giveaway.

Palmer's Canada recently ran a "Celebrate the New Year Giveaway," during the month of January. At the top of the rules document, the contest period is listed, right down to the time zone.

Include the time period when your contest will run. Don't forget to designate a time zone.

How long your contest runs is up to you. Just make sure you share the time frame in all of your promotions.

Write a description of how the winner will be chosen, such as randomly or by community vote.

For example, BroadStreet Publishing hosted a 21 Days of Love Valentine's Day giveaway. In the rules they state that "a winner will be chosen at random," among other considerations.

Make sure your contest includes rules that spell out how you'll choose a winner.

Consider including a rule that says voting is only part of the process, and a judge or panel of judges will determine the final winner. Make sure to include a line stating that if you suspect fraud, you have the right to determine the winner.

Are you a local business hoping to increase foot traffic to your store or restaurant? Consider limiting entries to people who live within a 50-mile radius of your business. You can also specify age ranges and even gender in your contest rules.

KLIM, a company that makes technical outdoor apparel, is looking for women to model its clothing. In the contest rules, they specify that they want family-friendly images and "No duck face selfies."

Make sure to spell out who can enter your contest.

If you decide to limit who can enter, be sure it makes sense for your business.

Choose a prize that will be enticing to your ideal customer rather than one that will be generically appealing. If you offer a GoPro camera or an iPad, you'll get lots of entries. However, the people who are attracted to your prize might not necessarily be attracted to your brand.

Do you own a restaurant? Offer a meal for two. Do you have an automotive service shop? Offer a complimentary oil change. You get the idea.

Globe, a company that makes fire-fighting equipment, is offering a pair of boots to its winner.

A prize that appeals to your ideal customer is better than an expensive prize that's unrelated to your business.

Choose your prize wisely. This is where many brands go astray.

It's essential to choose a compelling image. You want to grab the attention of the easily distracted Internet users you want to fill out your form and enter your contest.

Ride365.com is offering a motorcycle as a prize for a current contest. Anyone who loves to ride will definitely want to enter.

Include a photo with a description of your prize to get people excited about your contest.

You have eight seconds to make an impression. Capture your audience with a catchy image.

Come up with a unique hashtag that reflects your brand and your contest. Then use it to extend the reach of your contest across multiple social networks.

Tools like Hashtagify.me will help you find trends in hashtags related to your industry.

Star Olives encourages entrants to use #STAROlives and #HowdoYOUolive on both Facebook and Twitter.

Create a unique hashtag so your customers are able to track your contest on various social media platforms.

Hashtags are gaining more ground on Facebook, now that it's integrated with Instagram. However, limit Facebook hashtags to one or two, because the more you use, the less engagement you'll get.

Your contest's design needs to reflect your brand. Be sure to incorporate your logos, colors, and art on your contest page, and make sure the theme is consistent.

For instance, DoubleTree Resort Lancaster has a fun, snowy image for their Winterfest contest.

Your contest's design should reflect your brand, as well as the tone of your giveaway.

There are plenty of free or inexpensive easy-to-use tools, such as Canva and PicMonkey, for creating designer-quality images, even on a limited budget.

Some contest software works seamlessly on mobile devices, others not so much. Since most people access Facebook via mobile, be sure your contest includes a mobile-responsive smart URL. That way, the contest imagery and form look good on both mobile and desktop.

Since most Facebook users access the platform via mobile, make sure your contest looks good and functions properly on mobile.

Be sure to test your contest on a variety of smartphones and tablets before you hit Publish.

When deciding what people need to fill out to enter your contest, think about the two or three pieces of information that will be most useful for your future marketing efforts (i.e., name, email address, and age). Limit your form to this information.

For their Oscar contest, Me Gusta Leer Mexico only asks for each entrant's name, email address, and pick for best picture.

The fewer form fields you include, the more likely people are to enter your contest.

The more information you request, the more likely people will skip your form altogether. Keep entry requirements short and simple.

If you use third-party software to host your contest, make sure your software has built-in features to make the contest entry form easy to share.

The Mississippi Gift Company recently ran a contest for a Peter's Pottery Lamp worth $250. When entrants finished filling out the form, they were shown a message that offered extra chances to win if entrants shared the form with a friend.

When you motivate people to share your contest by giving them additional entries, your contest will have better reach.

Make your contest easy for people to share with friends on all social media, not just Facebook.

While it would nice to be able to publish your Facebook contest and have it get ridiculous reach immediately, it doesn't always work that way. The success of your contest depends on how well you promote it, using both free and paid options.

Facebook advertising gives you a lot of bang for your buck, and allows you to really tailor your Facebook ads to your target audience.

There are plenty of free options as well. Place announcements or ads on your website and blog, update all of your social media profiles, email your existing lists, and write blog posts to get the word out about your contest.

Additionally, list a link to your promotion on giveaway sites like Contestgirl and Online-Sweepstakes.

Once you've notified the grand-prize winner, consider how to make everyone else a winner, too. Email all entrants to thank them for taking the time to fill out your form, and give them a special reward.

Lifesize, a teleconferencing business, offered a major prize (a retro gaming console), as well as a sweet pair of socks to everyone who entered their contest. Win-win!

Consider offering everyone who enters your contest a prize or discount.

It doesn't even have to be a physical prize. Even a special discount to all those who enter will be seen as goodwill from your company.

Each time you run a Facebook contest, you learn a little bit more about your followers and fans, as well as what motivates them to engage with you and share your contest. Use this information to fine-tune your efforts for the next time you host a contest.

Last year's Star Fine Foods' "How do you O-live" giveaway was so successful they ran an almost identical one for 2015-2016.

Fine-tune and re-run Facebook and social media contests, and they're likely to be even more successful.

Repetition is key to brand awareness. If you find a formula that works well for your customers, consider repeating the contest or some version of it throughout the year.

In Conclusion

Facebook contests are a great way to get to know your audience, and increase loyalty and reach. Know the Facebook contest guidelines and create contests that your target audience will love. Successful contests will help you leverage the power of Facebook even more.

What do you think? Do you run Facebook contests? What tips do you recommend? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Seventeen things you can do to run successful Facebook contests.

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Original source: 17 Tips for Successful Facebook Contests.
http://www.jretechnology.com