Mediaboss Marketing

One of the most talked about marketing trends over the past few years has been influencer marketing, and rightfully so, as it provides brands with an incredible opportunity to be seen by extremely engaged audiences.

The majority of buzz surrounding influencers is the money they are able to make from sponsored posts and brand endorsements. Its a very lucrative time to be an influencer with a large, engaged following -- I speak with brands of all sizes daily through my agency that arent even sure what influencer marketing even entails -- they just think they need to jump on the train.

While many are leveraging their social influence to land big paychecks, many millennials are focused on leveraging their influencer for social good -- the media just doesnt like to focus on it. A story about a social influencer being paid six-figues for a single post is going to pull more attention, clicks and social shares than one about social good -- like The Santa Clause Affect-- but these stories do exist.

Related: 10 Laws of Social Media Marketing

There are so many benefits of building a personal brand, and the recent surge of social media stars is a prime example of how powerful your own brand can become. There are some social media influencers who have larger followings than some of the most popular actors and entertainers in the world.

Social media provides the perfect platform to establish, grow and then leverage a personal brand. Millennial initiatives like The Santa Clause Affect, are providing education, based on knowledge of the social media ecosystem. Understanding how to create content and build a following can be used for more than just become a social media superstar -- it can lead to successful career opportunities in virtually any industry or setting. They are teaching a skillset that can be used for enormous personal and professional growth opportunities.

Related: 4 Ways to Market Your Business for Free

Social media is the ultimate platform to raise social awareness -- Harambe is the perfect example of how the millennial generation is taking causes they feel strongly about, and turning them into viral stories.

In todays social setting, when somethinggoes viral, it is often turned into a meme. Millennials understand that they can use a twist of humor to garner social media tractions.

While many social influencers are leveraging their reach for personal and financial gain, a large percentage also useit to make positive impacts in society.

Related: Use These 5 Steps to Create a Marketing Plan

Social media stardom has created several self-made millionaires. Its opened the doors to paid endorsement deals, movies, TV, merchandise and more. While the odds of becoming rich and famous on social media are extremely slim, its a great example of how working hard can help you achieve your dreams.

Being a social media staris an actual career these days, as crazy as that might sound to those older than the millennial generation. Social media can be the breeding ground for new opportunities, and millennials have no problem teaching others how to best use it as a launching platform to create social good.

Jonathan Long is the founder ofMarket Domination Media,a performance-based online marketing agency, blerrp, an influencer marketing agencyand co-founder of consumer productSexy Smile Kit&trade...

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3 Ways Millennials Are Leveraging Social Influence for Social Good - Entrepreneur

Social media marketing is no longer in its infancy, nonetheless, brands continue to put their necks on the line with ill-fated campaigns that enable the public at large to plaster expletives and filth on its content.

Team GB and the National Lottery are the latest brands to fall into the trap of forgetting that the internet takes great pride in subverting cheesy and saccharine marketing campaigns, intended to evoke passion or emotion, into something all-the-more darker.

The sooner brands realise their personalised social media campaigns serve only as a reluctant canvas for the species' darkest urges, the better.

The campaign saw the UKs brightest athletes, complete with a full-on smile, wield toxic sentiments deliberately uploaded to erode any attempts at brand building and instead make a mockery of the efforts.

The National Lottery said: "We are aware that some people are maliciously targeting our British Athletics Twitter campaign with offensive and abhorrent content.

"We are dealing with this as quickly as possible and are hugely sorry for any offence caused by this malicious act."

But should the mishap have happened in the first place? There are plenty historic examples to learn from.

Here are six campaigns that suffered similar fates as a result of personalisation and social media.

UK crisp brand Walkers advanced beyond mere written expletives, allowing internet users to integrate a selfie into a personalised video from mascot Gary Lineker.

The long-time brand ambassador, in automated fashion, would unknowingly compliment the selfie before undeservingly entering the individual into a prize draw for Champions League Final tickets.

The #WalkersWave was being hijacked with despicable British faces, all seemingly receiving an endorsement from Lineker. A lack of moderation on the content saw criminals like Yorkshire Ripper' Peter Sutcliffe, Harold Shipman and Rolf Harris potentially projected onto the side of Wales national stadium before the final.

Walkers said in a statement: "We recognise people were offended by irresponsible and offensive posts by individuals, and we apologise. We are equally upset and have shut down all activity."

Watch the video in action here.

Microsoft opened up its AI platform Tay to the world in 2016. The machine was supposed to have the tone and interests of a teenage girl, designed to learn from Twitter interactions with real people.

The more you chat with Tay the smarter she gets, said Microsoft, and she did. Humanity made real efforts to radicalise and taint the project. By sending Tay toxic sentiment, she would absorb the content and integrate it into her future musings.

In a remarkably short time the account mentioned Hitler, 9/11 and outlined the hellish fate feminists deserve, back in 2016.

Since then the wayward teen has been in lock-down, perhaps Microsoft was not testing a bot, but was instead testing mankinds propensity to bring ruination to all it comes into contact with.

Nutella looked to spread the joy (and sales) by allowing consumers to mock up personalised jars back in 2015.

The high-in-sugar spread endured unsurprising connotations with poop, diabetes and more, all shared with the #MyNutella hashtag. Using the site, users could get previews of their labels, meaning they were just a screenshot away from whipping up a brand disaster on Twitter.

Nutella stood strong: Although some people have chosen to use the campaign as an opportunity to create and post less then appropriate images online, most consumers have embraced it in the manner it was intended...

Ferrero-owned Nutella has yet to pick up the campaign again, with a profanity filter and some human moderation, it could emulate the success of the Share a Coke campaign.

Coke released a well-intended gif maker in 2016 order to promote its new 'Taste the Feeling' strapline.

Social media users were able to overlay gifs from the ad with their own original ad copy.

Again, the campaign rolled out exactly as you would expect.

McDonalds New Zealand has learned the hard way how ruthless the denizens of the web can be when asked to express their creativity.

The company launched a hub where burger enthusiasts could design and name their own patties.

Those who participated in the scheme would receive free fries and a soft drink... even if they probably did not deserve them. It's unclear how many of these suggestions McDonald's could put on menu, naturally the hub was shut down before more damage could be done.

Aldi Australia made the mistake of running a fill-in-the-blank challenge on Twitter in 2016, it asked I became an Aldi lover when I tasted _____ for the first time.

Aldi no doubt expected answers like freshly baked pastries or fresh, free range eggs but that is not the route the campaign went down, in hindsight predictably.

Everything from genitals, unsavoury people, and of course horse meat, was thrown into the mix, most of which is not sold in the aisles of Aldi. Some sound advice filtered through to the brand from a concerned bystander.

As Mark Borkowski is the founder of Borkowski.do wrote on the subject after the Walkers gaffe, brands need to stop thinking people love them.

We'll close on a final image that should sum up these doomed endeavours, Boaty McBoatFace, the ill-fated poll to name a research vessel and the definitive case study in working with the public.

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Six personalised social media fails the National Lottery should have paid heed to - The Drum

Social media has changed a lot over the last five years and truth be told, thats the understatement of the century.

New platforms have come into the mix. Veteran platforms continue to evolve their algorithms, rules and layouts. There are constantly new things to learn about how to use social media to get the highest coveted asset of all in this space attention.

One thing that never seems to change about social media marketing is the need for something eye-catching. Marketers have argued over whether one-liners beat several paragraphs. Weve talked about the importance of hashtags.

But what also doesnt change, despite the constant ebb and flow of social updates, is the need for the content to compel a fan or follower to stop, look and react.

Social media is a noisy place. Your content is shoved between moving objects (videos) and GIFs (the hottest trend in commenting these days). To capture the attention of the person whos often mindlessly scrolling through the newsfeed, you need something just as catchy.

Does that mean your job is to pump out content thats just as loud? Far from it.

To get someone to stop and engage with your business on social media, you need to create compelling content that promises something in exchange for the persons time. Once YOU know the key takeaway (I cant decide that for you), then you can get to work creating images, videos and more that beg to be engaged with.

And when youre ready to do that, I have 10 tools that you can use to put your message together in a beautiful-looking post thatll stop a scroller in his or her tracks. Lets take a peek.

Im kick-starting this list with a tool thats relatively well-known but often not maximized to its full potential.

Canva is the go-to tool for non-designers because its so easy to use. Yes, you can create some fun social media graphics using its templates, but theres more to it. You can also design advertisements, infographics, brochures and more. Those pieces can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, which means you can get more out of every type of marketing collateral you design even whats meant for offline.

LinkedIn owns SlideShare, so its a natural platform to include on this list because it automatically syncs with one of the largest social media networks used today.

On SlideShare, you can upload your presentations, so they dont gather digital dust sitting on your computer after youve given them. Sharing them with your audience is easy. Simply press a button, and you can distribute them to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

You can also embed your SlideShare presentation on your website using IFrame or WordPress shortcodes (depending on what you use to house your website).

Take your presentation uploads a step further and add your voice overlay to them with SlideSnack.

With this presentation-sharing tool, you can upload past presentations, put your voice to them, and then share them on Facebook or YouTube. You can also embed them on most websites, including those that use WordPress, Blogger, Weebly and more.

Video is the holy grail of social media marketing because it incorporates both visual movement and audio interest. If you have a stellar idea for a video, turn your concept into a reality with PowToon.

You dont have to be a video master to use PowToon. This platform offers several templates to choose from that you can customize and brand according to your business. Then, all you do is plug and play your content and share.

With your video in place, you can use it to promote your business on YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and just about any social network.

Magisto is another video editor that makes it easy to put together professional-looking and -sounding videos, regardless of your skill level. Once you have your videos uploaded and a theme selected, you can drag and drop scenes and add your logo, captions, music and narration.

The free version is limited but still quite robust. With the commercial version, you get several more features, including the ability to custom-brand your video and use commercially licensed music.

Whats an easy way to get engagement? Ask a question. But sometimes, just asking a single question isnt enough to get a healthy response from your audience. Thats where Typeform comes into play.

Typeform is an easy-to-use quiz builder that lets you ask your audience questions. Use the drag-and-drop builder to put together a variety of styles of questions, including multiple choice, image-based, yes or no answers, short or long text answers and more.

Once you have your quiz created, share the link on any social network to encourage participation in a unique way.You can also embed Typeforms on your website.

Perhaps you want to have a little fun with your audience. Interactive quizzes with results you can instantly share are hotcakes on social media these days. Your company can create one, too, using Playbuzz.

Playbuzz lets you put together a series of tests or questions for your audience. Once the respondent is done answering them, theyll either get their end result (10 out of 10 correct!) or find out a fun fact about themselves (for example, which character youre most like on a TV show).

Its a simple way to engage your followers and make your brand fun. These are also great types of content because they encourage your followers friends to engage with your brand, too.

Piktochart lets you take survey results, stats and other tidbits of knowledge and turn them into an eye-catching (and scroll-stopping) infographic.

This type of social media content often scares many non-designers because it feels so rich, and thus hard to create. Piktochart simplifies the process by offering you over 600 templates to choose from.

With your template in place, you can add your own text, fonts, colors and logo. When its done, you can share it quickly with built-in social media options. Its fast and easy.

Visme is another tool that lets you put information together in a beautiful way. This platform offers several options for how that information is displayed, including in presentations, infographics, reports, wireframes and more.

Once created, you can share your content on your website, from a URL or on social media.

Podcasting is a huge trend these days, but if youre new to the world of audio content, production can be a roadblock. Podbean changes that by giving you an easy way to create professional podcasts in minutes without high-tech software or equipment.

Once created, you can publish your podcasts to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more. Or you can upload and promote your podcasts with a Podbean paid plan.

At one point, a lack of technological knowledge was a good excuse for not offering stellar social media content. These tools change that.

Once you have your content format in mind images, videos, quizzes, infographics or audio choose the tool that best matches your goals and get to work.

What other tools have you used to create compelling social media content your audience cant wait to consume?

Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

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10 tools for creating compelling content for social media - Marketing Land

Getting the message: universities realise their audience is best reached via social media. Photograph: filadendron/Getty Images

Clearing day used to be about spending hours on the phone often on hold or in a queue. And although clearing hotlines are still a big part of the process, universities are realising that if they are going to reach the text-happy generation, it makes sense to open up social media, live chat and text to start the application process and even make offers.

Speaking on the phone is not something many students do in their everyday lives, says Charlotte Renwick, associate director of customer marketing at Leeds Beckett University. We want to make it as easy as possible for students to talk to us comfortably. Of course we will still have lots of people on the phone lines, but we will also have provision for people to text in, use live chat and message through Facebook and Twitter and the teams on all those channels are trained to make offers.

Joe Field, social media manager at Sheffield Hallam university, says last year was a bit of a lightbulb moment: We used Facebook Messenger to initiate the application process, giving applicants an alternative route. This year well offer Facebook Messenger and Twitter DMs as ways people can enquire about course availability, and for us to get basic information about applicants suitability. Well also field questions on Snapchat, but wont use it for applications.

In Birmingham, both Newman University and Birmingham City University will be making offers through Facebook and Twitter messages.

Renwick believes social media also enables people to ask questions they might be otherwise reluctant to ask: Last year we had questions like: Can I bring my guinea pig?

Facebook Live broadcasts will also be featured throughout the day at several universities; Leeds Beckett plans to use the story features on Snapchat and Instagram to keep people updated about how the day is progressing.

Newcastle University, meanwhile, will keep prospective students updated via WhatsApp. Students sign up for personalised information on the clearing process, course places and help and advice around results day and this year were extending that to WhatsApp, so they get alerts straight to their phones, says Matt Horne, digital marketing and social media officer at Newcastle University.

Were using Snapchat influencers to encourage our target audience to sign up for alerts, he adds. Students will also be able to contact us through WhatsApp to ask any questions they might have about clearing, results day and coming here.

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Switching on to social media matters on clearing day - The Guardian

When Pratiksha Tewari, a young child psychologist in Delhi, wanted to wear something different for her friends wedding, she checked out Instagram and settled on a beaded necklace embellished with silver bells of NakhreWaali, an online designer jewellery store.

It worked for me because of the novelty pitch, said Tewari, adding that she cannot find such things at regular online portals. A lot of this stuff is sold on Instagram and small sellers often make customised stuff, which is good for people who like personalised things, she said.

NakhreWaali is one of the numerous budding online businesses running largely on the foundation of social media marketing in the country.

Startups such as NakhreWaali, Vajor.com and Prerto bet on unique, handcrafted fashion products that they showcase on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, creating a niche market away from big ecommerce marketplaces.

Fashion consumers in India want pieces that are unique, with a story, said Antalya Varma, fashion analyst from The Institute of Apparel Management (IAM), Gurgaon.

She expects such niche brands to steadily create a market for themselves, riding on the exclusivity factor. These brands provide a healthy balance in the market for fashion enthusiasts and consumers, Varma said. Most these startups were founded on shoestring budgets and are run without external funding.

NakhreWaali, for example, was started on a budget of just Rs 1.5 lakh. We started off with our own funds, said Gursakhi Lugani, its 24-year-old founder. Whatever savings I had from my corporate job and some that I had earned from my work as a creative head for an online fashion magazine was put into this business, she said.

Lugani never had any formal education in fashion. A friend of mine and I happened to attend fashion week, and we decided to customise our earrings for the event. The compliments we received made me think about turning this into a business. We took the plunge and NakhreWaali happened, she said.

Founded early last year, NakhreWaali is already one of the most popular shops of its kind, having earned Rs 25 lakh in the last six months. Bollywood actors Parineeti Chopra and Swetha Tripathi, comedian Mallika Dua, and TV personality Miss Malini are among its clientele.

Lugani attributes her success to social media. Weve never sold anywhere except online, she said. No one would know NakhreWaali if it wasnt for Facebook, Instagram and the likes we receive. These businesses have flourished greatly on the back of smart, eye-popping marketing on social media where people across the world have access to collections, styles, colours, and prices of their products. Sure enough, many brands are now popular in markets outside India too.

A large majority of our customers are from India, the UK, US, and UAE, said Prerna Agarwal, founder of Mumbai-based handcrafted jewellery brand Prerto. We also have stockist in New Zealand, Africa, Canada, Singapore and several other countries across the globe.

Agarwal, who has selectively opened the brand to a few fashion shows and exclusive multi-designer stores, said she has now managed to start another online business two months ago with her earnings from Prerto.

Apurva Lama, director of apparel brand Appycat Street, said she owed her business to social media marketing. Instagram alone drives half of our traffic, she said. Weve had sales from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Weve reached corners of India that we hadnt heard of and have built a steady international customer base with a number of sales in the US, UK, Dubai and Australia, she said.

NakhreWaali has built partnerships with entities in Dubai and Milan to enhance sales in those cities and plan to add more to the list very soon. Consumer connect is a common thread binding these brands.

Brands like Appycat Street and online designer apparel and jewellery store Vajor.com have collaborated with social media influencers like fashion bloggers and models who widen the market further for them. Natasha AR Kumar, founder of Vajor, said the brand placed high value in content development and has worked with lifestyle and fashion bloggers as well as people from different walks of life.

We have a section on our blog called Vajor Muse where we feature intriguing and inspiring women who are travellers, writers, environmentalists, artists who are doing all of this aside from their day to day jobs, she said. Started in 2014 without any external funding, Vajor has been growing at an annual rate of 200%, Kumar said.

Appycat Street have had Instagram stars and lifestyle and fashion bloggers Komal Pandey (College Couture), Nilu Yuleena Thapa (Big Hair Loud Mouth), and Dolly Singh (Spill that Sass) help them reach a wider audience. However, despite their success and popularity, many of these startups are facing some difficulty due to lack of funds.

Himani Singh, founder of online beauty store Ayca, said that being self-funded has made it sacrifice on things like customised packaging, which required huge volumes and cash flow. Singh and her business partner Mallyeka Watsa started Ayca by investing Rs 5 lakh from their savings. The brands turnover in the past six months has been around Rs 20 lakh and it has Bollywood actor Harshvardhan Kapoor among its clients. According to Varma of IAM, these brands understand their customers inside out and provide them with exactly what they require. India is an aggressive market, and with time competition is only going to increase, she said. These brands need to focus on what they bring on additionally to the table other than their basic products, through their brand image, sales and service.

Surbhi Gupta, an MBA student from Pune, said she was an avid online shopper and she had started purchasing products exclusively from smaller, customised websites rather than the big guns like Myntra, Jabong and Koovs. The big websites offer mainstream stuff to their customers things can be found in any mall, she said. There are so many smaller websites to choose from here, and the stuff they sell is pretty affordable since we know where and how most of them are being made.

Continued here:
Smart social media marketing drives millennial businesses - Economic Times