#mkt380csula

[hfarhat0416-blog]

A Change in Snapchat Can Be a Success!

Snapchat is usually known for its filters and posts that disappear within a day. With these features, it pushes users to post more content and spend more time on their platform. Usually, social media platforms need to keep launching new features that will keep users coming for more. Social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and of course Snapchat compete with one another to gain more users on their platforms. They strive to have users spend as much time as they can on their platforms. This will help these companies gain information to see what users might like.

Snapchat has been staying within its range when it comes to new ideas. All I have noticed that Snapchat does is coming out with new filters. These new filters will soon get old where users might move on to another platform. There is plenty of ways that Snapchat can step up its game in terms of coming out with new features.

Now don’t get me wrong! Snapchat is successful and it continues to grow in gaining more users and recognition. Ways that Snapchat can be a stronger competitor is infinite! Snapchat can come out with allowing users to have followers and not just friends. This feature will allow users to follow anyone they want. Snapchat’s restriction to having users follow people they only know (by username or phone number) can prevent some possibilities for Snapchat. If Snapchat opens up an explore page, this will increase web traffic for the platform. This explore page will also make things a lot more interesting for Snapchat and it will generate more users for the platform.

Another feature that Snapchat should look into is to have their app integrated in the smartphone. Facebook and Twitter are integrated in most phones where people can share photos through their albums without launching the app. This saves time and increases convenience for users. If Snapchat was integrated in smartphones, this will increase more posts, content, and activity for the platform.

Overall, there is more potential features that Snapchat can come up with. We shouldn’t be surprised with what is next for Snapchat. Snapchat’s potential in change will more than likely lead to being a success for the platform.

Article: Snapchat

Photo Link: Snapchat’s Success

[darlenenhieu-blog]

How to Keep Younger Consumer’s Attention

Social media can be a good way to facilitate interest in brands or purchase of products. However, too much advertisement in social media can prove hazardous, especially if targeted towards millennials and Generation Z. Currently, millennials and Generation Z make up the vast majority of the population so you may wonder how can I avoid losing their interest?

Well, first and foremost is to talk to them not at them. Consumers are growing tired of brands giving information without the engagement, most especially the younger generations. Plus when you talk to them, the engagement is more authentic and authenticity is crucial for long term trust and brand loyalty.  

Secondly, younger consumers tend to trust information they seek themselves rather than information they are given. That is why one of the best ways to reach them is to have information readily available when they are seeking those information. A good way to do so is having a strong presence in the different social media channels they may be on.

Lastly, take the time to learn about your consumers so that you know how to engage with them and what they want. You may have the best product or service out there but if you don’t know or understand your audience, no one will want it.

[anissazamaro]

Getting Rid of Photoshop Leads to Sales Increase

Aerie, a lingerie brand from American Eagle, launched a campaign back in 2014 where they would no longer photoshop their advertisements  to “challenge supermodel standards.” To have images of models unairbrushed is almost unheard of in the fashion industry, especially in lingerie. This ad campaign was ground breaking and paid off for them.

Since becoming a champion of body positivity in 2014 the company has seen their sales grow 20 percent by the end of the fiscal year of 2015. And there seems to be no stopping to this sales increase. For the first quarter of this year Aerie’s sales rose 32 percent, this greatly surpasses what their analysts figured.

Aerie decided to forgo airbrushing images when looking at “what’s happening today with millennials and the next generation,” explains President Jennifer Foyle, “and we really felt like girls today are just more independent and stronger than ever. We just knew that it would really resonate with this generation.” So they launched their campaign with a great hashtag, #AerieReal.

#AerieReal has been used in their print ads as well as on their social media platform accounts. The campaign features women of all ethnicities and body types, they are not the typical model type. All of the women have a girl next door look. Aerie has women that we see as our friends, the women we see and interact with in our everyday lives. These are real everyday women. When women view their ads they can see themselves in the place of the model.  This really resonates with women today with the increasing movements of body acceptance. Today’s generation is increasingly rejecting the mainstream ideals of what is beautiful.

Aerie has great posts on Instagram that at all times tie in the idea that they are real. All posts have #AerieReal incorporated directly in the caption sentence or at least just as a regular hashtag.  Instagram posts are all about showing the real you, they say “Why retouch beauty? The real you is sexy.”  Their social media posts focus on body positivity and welcome followers using their hashtag. They even use some of those posts on their own accounts. 

With their #AerieReal campaign they have seen much positive feedback on social media.

I’m completely OBSESSED with this whole #AerieREAL from @Aerie! Let’s continue to lift each other up and be PROUD of our bodies! 💪🏼👙

— Stephanie (@sweetsmileSTEPH)

May 17, 2016

[darlenenhieu-blog]

9 Simple Steps to Writing a Blog Post

Ever stuck on how to go about writing your blog posts? Well according to this article, the following are 9 simple steps to follow:

Step 1. Understand your audience

Step 2. Start with a topic and working title

Step 3. Write an intro

Step 4. Organize your content

Step 5. Write

Step 6. Edit/ proofread your post, and fix your formatting

Step 7. Insert a call-to-action at the end

Step 8. Optimize for on-page SEO

Step 9. Pick a catchy title

The most important part in writing your blog posts is understanding your audience. If you don’t understand your audience, then what you write will not generate any value because your audience will not want to read what you write. It is only once you understand your audience and what they want to know or care about, you can start choosing a topic to write about. When choosing a topic, they can be general. But, make sure they are not too random and follow a subject or theme you want to focus on. Also, don’t be afraid to narrow your topic if you decide that you want to be more specific!

A captivating intro can be what captures your audience’s attention and make them want to read more. Some ways to do so can be with interesting facts, stories or jokes. A captivating introduction is just the start though! Don’t forget to organize your content. Blog posts can have a lot of content in them and can be hard to keep track of or digest if it’s not organized well. This is why organization is really important and can make the content easier to digest and read. One way to do this is to create an outline.

Of course, we can’t forget about writing the blog post! Now that you have a topic, intro and organized your post into an outline, all that’s left is to research and write it all out. Once done, remember to proofread your post as well as fix your formatting. Wouldn’t suck if you put all that hard work only to see so many grammar mistakes or format issues that make your post look not as great as it could? Adding pictures can make a huge difference from a boring post to a really appealing one. Feel free to add a call-to-action at the end of your post. It can help you offer valuable information to your readers as well as generate lead.

When you’re done, don’t forget to go back and optimize your post so that people can find it more easily. Some ways to do this are with key words and anchor text, which are words that can link to a different page. And of course last but not least, having a catchy title is crucial because it can make the difference on whether a person clicks your blog post or not.

[markr357]

Since Lingerie Brand Aerie Ditched Photoshopped Ads, Sales Have Surged

Game changing campaign!

American Eagle’s Aerie apparently launched the perfect game-changer. Aerie is a lingerie brand and their aim was to feature unairbrushed models in its ads which was meant to challenge “supermodel standards”...You mean we have be duped all of these years? They haven’t been showing us what the models really looked like? J/K I already knew that but many people may have not...Whether people knew or not, Aerie’s campaign has been bringing in the big bucks. 

The campaign, #AerieReal, has helped the retailer’s sales grow 20% in the 2015 fiscal year and is showing no signs of slowing down. Jennifer Foyle, the president of Aerie feels that girls today are more independent and stronger than ever. Aerie got there creative team together and focused on what the millennials are into. After all every company should aim to provide resonating content across social media. 

It appears that CEO, Jay Schottenstein, it going to take advantage of the momentum by selectively expanding and developing a strong customer following. 

Here’s what some customers had to say:

This is great for Aerie because they have created content that is being talked about and their customers are reacting in a positive way. One of the best ways to get your content to resonate with your customer base is to create authentic/ real content. 

This could be huge for other brands/ companies that use models to promote their content across social media. Could this inspire giants like Vogue and Cosmo Universe to produce more authentic content? I highly doubt it..They pride themselves on those superficial supermodel standards that it may hurt their brand. This strategy would probably work best for other retail brands especially since Aerie has made their mark other brands will want to follow so they don’t become irrelevant. 

Although Aerie is using authentic/ real content, I feel that they can go a little deeper. All of there models are fit and have flat stomachs. Why not show more diverse body types? Say plus sizes or women with stretch marks...to some that may not hit home but their is a wider audience out there that can be reached such as mothers or someone who lost weight and can resonate with those models. It may be a big risk but with great risk great reward may follow. 

[anissazamaro]

Is Anything Private These Days?

Social media has become so immersed in our daily lives with people documenting almost every little and big event in their lives. The lines between private and public moments is becoming so blurred that for some it does not exist anymore. An ever increasing number of people are posting their private milestones for all the public to see. And this includes the life changing experience of having a baby.

Just over a week ago a husband, Kali Kanongata'a, from California live streamed his wife, Sarah Dome,  giving birth to their son on Facebook for all the world to see. The whole video lasts forty five minutes and in one hour garnered 2000 views. In total the video has racked up more than 120,000 views to date. But at the time the man did not know he was sharing the birth with the rest of the world, he thought he was just sharing it to his family and friends. He had mainly shared the video so that family members in Tonga could be a part of the moment. He did not know it went out to everyone else until he saw the viewer count on the video and thought about ending the live stream but then decided to just keep going with it.

The video has seen its share of criticism, or perhaps cynicism, and many saying that the live stream of a birth is an overshare. But Kanongata’a explained, “There’s a lot of negative stuff on Facebook and so I thought this would be positive, I figured as long as I kept it PG- this is a birth- it’s something to be happy about.” Where he is from in Tonga they would have “water births in public…our culture has done this for thousands of years.”

Personally I would never want any childbirth of mine to be put out there for the rest of the world to see nor would I want to view a live stream of another person giving birth, but that’s just me. I think it is a little weird that this man live streamed the birth when finding out about his cultural background it makes sense. He is from a culture where births take place openly in a community, so when you are far from that community sharing it with them via social media seems like the next best thing.  To each his own. Everyone has their own thoughts and limits on what they want to share and what they  choose to keep private.

[reedreason-blog]

What to say and how to say it....

When writing about an area of interest it is a good idea to keep in mind that bite size information is best because it made to be shared. Thinking as a marketer the goal of a post is to get the reader to a train of thought they may have been already prepped to follow but has not seen any supporting voices to encourage them to take a firmer position. 

Knowledge seekers will find out all about a topic continuously so by filtering out good solid information from questionable “facts” thereby separating the informed from the tabloid sense of truth that is often found around the internet. New Brands can use this type of consumer behavior to position themselves as not only a for profit entity despite the fact that it is what the primary goal of a business is. Ideally the perfect mixture would be to incorporate the core values and corporate culture of a company into the next campaign that compliments it purpose. The challenge for a newcomer is building credibility with their audience. A revealing study has shown that 43 percent of social media users don't know where the stories they read originally appeared which is an opportunity for the lesser known products to align themselves with great resources while still delivering quality content.  Keeping in mind that they must first build a reputation can be a daunting task for a small business without the financial leverage an established corporation has for original content, brands can easily look to partner with knowledgeable and reputable influences to create partnership that are mutually beneficial.  So if you do not know what to say, find someone that has your point of view and could benefit by you seconding the experts in the field.

[hfarhat0416-blog]

TIDAL Brings in More Juice with Beyoncé’s Lemonade!!!

In April, Beyoncé’s Lemonade album dropped on TIDAL. The album has increased brand awareness and facilitated many purchases for the streaming service. TIDAL is ran by Aspiro followed by Jay Z. Beyoncé’s album Lemonade has opened the markets not only to the “bey hive” but for other listeners as well. With all the attention this streaming service has been receiving because of Lemonade, other listeners began subscribing to the service.

TIDAL also used Beyoncé’s new album to promote their brand by making it exclusively available to their streaming service. This tactic gave the TIDAL a competitive advantage to stream new content that has not yet premiered. TIDAL highly depended on social media to help all users see that there is exclusive music that is being streamed on their platform.

All of the shares, likes, and reposts on social media with Lemonade has attracted more users to subscribe to their streaming service. TIDAL having all these subscribers is not only because of Beyoncé’s album. It is because they can expect more exclusive content that is not out yet in the market. The greatest tactic was to use the one and only Beyoncé to attract so much juice that we call attention.  

It is crazy how Beyoncé’s album has generated so much popularity and sales for the streaming service. Beyoncé and TIDAL is now everywhere on social media with this album. Beyoncé is having fans wanting more of that Lemonade and TIDAL. With the increase in desire for Beyoncé’s album and the increase in popularity for TIDAL. We can see that TIDAL will be having more exclusive content that no other streaming service will have until later.

I have friends who literally began subscribing just because her album was only available on their platform. The exclusive content like Lemonade is generating more subscribers because they can expect more music from other musicians before its premiere date. TIDAL continues to increase in terms of brand recognition and subscribers. All this juice that TIDAL is generating from Beyoncé’s album has opened the doors to many possibilities for the streaming service.

Article: TIDAL Increasing Subscribers Base

Photo Link: Beyoncé