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For the second year in a row, Northern Arizona University was ranked No. 1 in the nation for social media engagement by Rival IQ and Up&Up.

The study looked at the social media channels of 338 Division I colleges and universities between August 2016 and May 2017. Using software to analyze more than 316,000 tweets, 170,000 Facebook posts and 79,000 Instagram posts, Rival IQ, a company specializing in social marketing analytics and insights, teamed with Up&Up, a marketing agency for higher education, to rank effectiveness, provide deep analysis and highlight best practices.

Were honored to be recognized as the top-performing university for social media engagement for the second year in a row, NAU President Rita Cheng said. Its a testament to the camaraderie and spirit of the entire NAU community who cant help but share how proud they are to be Lumberjacks.

John Gallagher, head of marketing at Rival IQ, said alumni, students, fans and the community can drive engagement, regardless of a schools size.

Our social media presence is an extension of Lumberjack life, said Maria DeCabooter, social media strategist at NAU. Social media changes all the time, but great content remains the core element of our social strategy. We listen, respond and engage with our audience in efforts to match the enthusiasm of our campus, community and the Lumberjack spirit on social media.

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NAU ranks No. 1 in nation for social media engagement - NAU News

Social Media Isn't Just One Person's Job Inside Higher Ed (blog) The key to resourcing your institutional social media effort is to lean hard towards integration. Just like with any other significant marketing effort, you need to have a team that develops social media strategy, executes that strategy, and measures ...

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Social Media Isn't Just One Person's Job - Inside Higher Ed (blog)

Since the election, scores of activists have taken to the streets, town halls and rallies to blast President Trump. Thats all with the blessing of their boss thanks to social justice benefits and paid time off work policies that are growing in popularity.

At San Francisco marketing firm Traction, social justice benefits take the form of two so-called "Days of Action" a year.

"They can take part in a protest, they can volunteer for a cause that is meaningful to them," says CEO Adam Kleinberg. "Civic engagement is a foundation of our democracy, and companies should encourage it."

DOZENS OF WORKERS LOSE THEIR JOBS FOR PARTICIPATING IN DAY WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS PROTEST

Kleinberg says while he's liberal, Traction's new policy is neutral: so long as it's not a group that promotes violence, such as the Ku Klux Klan, his 50 employees can support whatever political group or cause they want. They must first get approval from management and submit a request for the time off.

"If someone wanted to participate in a pro-life rally," says Kleinberg, "they are absolutely welcome to do that. This is not about the partners at Traction promoting our agenda, it's about having a broader view of democracy, and encouraging people to be engaged."

But in the famously left-leaning Bay Area, conservative activists don't buy it.

"They want, basically, a harder left turn than we're seeing now," says Howard Epstein, vice chair of communications for the San Francisco Republican Party. "And if you're going political, you're going to discourage some people from going to your place of business."

EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE EXCUSES STUDENT PROTESTERS FROM HOMEWORK

It is a risk: Consumers opposed to an official endorsement of protest culture might spend their money elsewhere. When news of Traction's Day of Action benefit spread, Kleinberg was the target of a backlash and calls for a boycott.

"Traction has been called everything from fascists, to socialists, to communists, to libtards, candya---s. I'm not quite sure what being a candya-- is, but if being candya---s is what it takes for Traction to inspire change, we're willing to own that."

In a statement to Fox News, outdoor apparel maker Patagonia had a similar stance.

A protest in Brooklyn in February on Trump's travel ban. Earlier this year, Comcast gave its workers paid time off to protest the ban. (Reuters)

"We hire activists... who are incredibly passionate about the environment. And, at times, protesting is part of that passion," said Dean Carter, vice president of human resources. "It all fits in with the companys greater mission to make the best product, cause no unnecessary harm and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

Several big corporations are also responding to their workers desire to advocate. Facebook told its employees they could take paid time off to May Day rallies which, in many cases, were largely about defending immigrant rights. Earlier this year, Comcast gave its workers paid time off to protest Trumps travel ban.

Most companies give their workers time off to vote, but "this is different this is going to a new level," said Scott Dobroski, community expert with employment firm Glassdoor.

A recent Glassdoor survey found more than half of employees believe they should have time off to advocate for social change, regardless of their politics.

"Many employers," Dobroski said, "are taking note that social change and positive action matters to employees both in and out of the workplace."

Claudia Cowan currently serves as Fox News Channel's (FNC) San Francisco-based correspondent. She joined the network in 1998.

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Paying workers to protest: The controversial trend of social justice benefits - Fox News

Everything in digital media is going visual, including search. Platforms and brands have experimented with the technology for years to improve in-store experiences, increase engagement and retarget audiences.Heres what you have to know:

The numbers:

Pinterest LensPinterest in February introduced its visual search technology Pinterest Lens and is pitching itself to marketers as the place where consumers, especially millennials, come to discover items they didnt even know they wanted. The beta feature allows consumers to search using images. It isnot available to marketers yet, but Pinterest was pushing Lens hard in Cannes last week.

Its easy to see the appeal. Point the Pinterest mobile app at everyday objects a dress, a desk or a piece of fruit (Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp first demonstrated the tool with a pomegranate) and it will return related images, even outside Pinterest. Last week, the platform updated its Lens with the ability to zoom in and out on an object. Lens sets Pinterest apart from Facebook and Instagram, which does not offer any means of search through images, pinning it against the search and discovery mammoths Google and Amazon.

Google Lens A few months after Pinterest premiered its Lens, Google came out with its own mobile version, even adopting the same name. Google CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated the new technology at the companys I/O developer conference in May, describing it asa set of vision-based computing capabilities that can understand what youre looking at and help you take action based on what you are looking at.

Unlike Pinterest Lens, where a user takes a photo of an object, Google Lens uses artificial intelligenceso that information about a place or item automatically appears on the screen when a user scrolls over it with their phone. The visual search app can also be integrated into the Google Assistant, which means consumers can use a combination of voice and visuals to discover something they are looking for. Pichai said the technology will be available soon, perhaps in time with its Pixel 2 smartphone, which Google is rumored to be working on.

Bing Visual Search At the beginning of June, Bing upgraded its image search capabilities so users could search for images within images, something Pinterest, but not Google, does. Users can search for any photo and tap the magnifying glass button at the upper-left corner to zero in on anything within the image whether its an outfit, face or product. A selection of related images then appears, sometimes with links for the user to then buy the products.

Brands own visual search platforms Brands and retailers, such as Target, Neiman Marcus and Macys, began implementing visual recognition technology for their own apps and websites mostly around 2014. Home furnishings retailer Wayfair is the most recent brand to do so. In May, it created its own visual search engine for consumers to search for its products across desktop, iOS or Android.

The buyer view Searchers are increasingly interested in either graphic results, picture-based results or interacting with pictures for discovery because many people cannot explain what they are searching for in text all the time, said Scott Linzer, vp of media at iCrossing. We just dont have enough information on how far an advertiser can take it. One of the things we are working with Pinterest on is to find out how do I then take that level of intelligence from the picture and be able tomonetize against it for clients.

Were excited about all the new search and discovery tools and technologies hitting the market today, including Pinterest Lens and extending to voice search and other tools, said Orli LeWinter, svpof strategy and social marketing at 360i. While the advertising opportunities are few and far between at this moment, we believe they are indicative of a future where our technologies are much more intuitive to our lives.

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What to know about visual search - Digiday

The following is the final article in a three-part series from IBM. Read part 1 here and part 2 here.

Step 3: Learn.

It's easy to say marketers, especially social media marketers, have to be data savvy. But it's quite another in practice, when analytics has been in the wheelhouse of specialized data scientists. Especially when you move beyond simple web analytics, in most cases, they're the only ones who really knew how to make sense of all that data coming your way.

Until now. Simple-to-use yet powerful analytic tools are now available for the everyday marketer, merchandiser. and back-office process manager. You can access customer insights in real time, including the ability to understand how your customers are engaging with your brand through social and messaging channels. And save your (very expensive and probably over-taxed) data scientist for those truly complex analyses or one-time model setups.

Moreover, predictive analytics can be help you determine -- in real time while the customer is in your chat -- what offer is most relevant to a particular customer, predict their lifetime value and churn propensity, and even determine the optimal discount to get them to convert. The outcome of each engagement goes into a feedback loop, allowing the models to be continuously fine-tuned.

The marketing and operations teams can even monitor the relative importance of the drivers of performance to fine tune your marketing -- and your business. These tools move beyond pretty visualizations to help you look at where their customer experience is breaking, and even suggest next best actions or higher performing customer journeys. In other words, these tools help to learn from your customers' behavior and react quickly to their ever-changing needs.

Image: Watson Chat Bot and Predictive Analytics in Action

Read more about how IBM can help marketers engage successfully with their customers through mobile and social channels. You can also download their whitepaper here.

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Chat: the gaping hole in your social media strategy (Part 3) - Marketing Dive