#interactivemediatrends

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Google + The Best Practices (Toronto Life example)

Because of quality diverse magazine content and the nice graphics Toronto Life has a strong opportunities on Google +. Unfortunately, at the current moment Toronto Life is not using its Google+ account actively and therefore seem to be missing out on the large segment of its market and losing effectiveness.

The account has only 343 subscribers. Toronto Life has not been active on Google + for the last month and moreover had only nine publications for over the last six month (essentially, the account is inactive). Another issue that it stopped using hash tags. Furthermore, there is not enough variety of posts (most posts are strictly Real Estate related), therefore TL doesn’t give its subscribers the insight of its unique brand personality.

 There are many Pros of Google +

1)   Google+ Hangouts

-       A Hangout can drive long-term loyalty with Toronto Life Google+ community

2)   Search Engine Optimization

-       Hangouts and the other activity occurring on your Google+ page can affect how the content ranks in search.

3)   Gmail Integration

-       When the business sends emails to list of customers, the latest post from Google+ page will appear on the top right-hand side of the dashboard of all recipients using Gmail.

4)   Communities

-       You can join the community as a brand (which you cannot do on Facebook) and discuss and share content based on specific topics of interests.

5)   YouTube Integration

-       Google+ is tightly synched with the YouTube channel, showcasing video content on both properties for one consistent experience.

Here are the best practices on Google +:

1.  Solid first impression is critical

 Unlike many other social media sites, a Google+ profile is a bit more extensive, which gives an opportunity to showcase brand in better detail. Toronto Life should use this opportunity to capture its great visual and written content

2. Engaging with the audience is very important

A Hangout can drive long-term loyalty with Toronto Life Google+ community

Feature Circles allows segmenting the audience. That way you’re always saying the right things to the right people.

3. Let your customers do the promoting

 Feature Ripples allows to watch how posts spread across Google+ and to identify brand advocates.

Google+ Badge allows people to +1 and add you to their Circles directly from your website.

4. Create outstanding content

Toronto Life has a lot of its written content, so why just not to share it more often via Google +?

5. Incorporate a wider range of topics

There so much Toronto Life has to say: politics, personalities, shopping, fashion and restaurants, but these material is not found on the magazine’s Google+ account.

6. Present content in different ways

 For instance, inserting images, videos and info graphics along with traditional text can be beneficial and spark more conversations.

7.  Create Events

Events drive attendance to your Hangouts. When followers RSVP to an Event, they’ll get reminders as the Event approaches.

Relevant links:

http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/ru//intl/en-GB/%2B/business/assets/getstarted_guide.pdf

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorieclark/2013/01/04/why-you-should-be-on-google-plus-even-though-no-one-else-is/ 

http://www.iacquire.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-using-google

https://www.google.com/+/policy/contestspolicy.html

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Social Media Trends: Instagram

According to Trend Reports between 65 and 85 percent of people describe themselves as visual learners (especially younger users). This means that information is easier to digest by viewing an image instead of reading text.

Visual content has become an increasingly crucial part of content strategy, and here the social networking site Instagtam takes the lead. The image-centric network Instagram is the perfect way for interactions to occur between companies and consumers. For example, you can encourage consumers to take pictures of themselves using a product or a service in action. It is a great way to establish loyalty and build brand ambassadors who will gladly spread the word.  Furthermore, some businesses can take pictures of employees at the office or at events – this can help a business come across as being more personable.

One of the examples of brands using Instagram as a marketing tool is Puma. Puma has created a campaign called Around the World in One Click, where brand fans are asked to take a picture of their Pumas in different places around the world (with geo-tagging turned on), using the hashtag #travelingPUMAs. Then users were entered for a weekly draw to win a Puma prize pack.

  The campaign kept the brand active and kept fans constantly engaged. It was also interesting to see just how far the Puma brand has reached (winners have included fans from USA, Spain, Brazil and other countries). By using all the elements of social media (geo-tagging, hash-tagging, overall sharing) Puma distinguished itself as a global brand.

With a good #hashtag, the right type of content and a little bit of interaction with your followers, Instagram allows you to build trust with the social media audience and possibly go viral. Cara Delevingne casted her entire DKNY campaign using Instagram. The model, who has 8 million subscribers used her own Instagram page to promote the upcoming DKNY collection and asked users to submit models entries by hashtagging a selfie with hashtags #CaraWantsYou and #CaraForDKNY.

The model has built a viable commercial brand around herself, which in turn has helped her to secure contracts with labels such as DKNY. The success of this campaign is at the very basics of Instagram marketing: you take your fans and make them the stars.Who wouldn’t want that?

Instagram has quickly become a popular way for individuals and businesses to share pictures with their audiences. Every second 3600 pictures are uploaded on Instagram worldwide. So how to cut through the noise and create ad campaigns that people will interact with? What are the keys to success on Instagram?

Instagram strategic recommendations:

Be true to your brand. Ensure that your images express a clearly defined brand personality and voice.

Share experiences. Offer a view into the world or lifestyle that your brand makes possible through the eyes of the people who use your products and services.

Know your audience. Learn what people love about your brand.

Show how your company sees the world and make it meaningful to people. 

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Where are the opportunities? Some quick analysis and facts about the Interactive Industry.

Hi folks, here are some highlights about market demand in the interactive media industry in Canada I learned in class and would like to share. Enjoy!

94% of the Interactive Media Industry belongs to Canadian-controlled companies with the biggest share in Ontario and BC.  Despite the fact that 51% of companies are small (72% less than $1  million) , 71% of gross revenue is earned by very large ones.

 Creativity and technical skills are in very high demand, followed by business/administrative skills (others are analytical and leadership skills).

 However, there is a slight difference in skill preferences among industry: most jobs in medium and large companies are technically-oriented, while small and very large companies value creativity as their most important criteria. This means that young professionals entering the digital media work force with creative backgrounds should target either small companies or large corporations, and technical people should concentrate on the medium-size sector. 

 Furthermore, most openings are in the intermediate level: companies want people with experience, but are not willing to pay a premium for senior positions.

The bottom line? There are lots of opportunities out there in digital media, but one needs to understand what skills are valued by what types of potential employers. Good food for thought as we begin our school year with a view to capturing some of those employment positions!