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Six Social Media Marketing Trends To Stay On Top Of In 2017 Forbes As a marketing director, I've been focused on planning our company's social media marketing strategy for 2017. In doing so, I've been paying attention to areas of social media marketing that are trending for the upcoming year. Here's what I've gathered ... 5 top social media trends to watch in 2017PR Daily (registration) How to Protect Your Company's Reputation on Social MediaBusiness 2 Community all 11 news articles »

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Six Social Media Marketing Trends To Stay On Top Of In 2017 - Forbes

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. had a rough 2016. The company watched as its stock declined from a high of more than $32 to a low of just over $11. Why?

One reason may be that the company has done a poor job in managing its TotalSocial brand[TotalSocial is a proprietary metric developed byFays firm, Engagement Labs]. Literally, they have not been able to manage how people talk about it either on or offline.

Retail and apparel brands are dependent on social influence, as it drives sales and what consumers say about your brand is at the core of who you are. Whether it is conversations that are taking place off-line IRL (in real life) or online, these conversations are greatly influenced by what is being worn by those we admire and know personally. Thats why its fairly surprising to learn Abercrombie & Fitch, a brand that has undergone a major transformation in the last two years with a new lead designer and overhaul of its brand marketing campaign has been floundering for a while, and has yet to figure out how to effectively manage its social marketing strategy.

According to a TotalSocial analysis, which looks at the full social impact of a marketing strategy, both online and off-line, Abercrombie & Fitch is performing well for off-line consumer conversations, but not at all well for social media. This is probably related to the social media ire A&F drew by stating its refusal to make merchandisefor large women because the brand didnt want overweight peoplewearing the clothing. That attitude didnt fit with an Internet culture that celebrated warts-and-all acceptance of ones flaws, and one that holds disdain for bullying.

Whatever the cause, the consumer influence mismatch this brand has between online and off-line performance represents a key opportunity to turn the good conversations happening in real life into the social media world and its story can be used as a canary in a coal mine for other retailers trying to serve a similar audience.

The below quadrant chart plots the retail landscape by levels and types of consumer conversations according to TotalSocial. The farther to the right and higher in the quadrant, the better the brand performs for overall consumer influence.

The largest number of brands in the category is clustered in the lower right quadrant, performing well offline but not at all well online. Department stores such as Macys and Kohls are joined by specialty retailers like Old Navy, American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch. The inconsistency between the brands online and offline performance represents an opportunity to move the positive conversations happening offline into the social media world.

Do Youth-Focused Retailers Harness the Power of Social Influence?

Overall, youth-oriented brands like H&M, Charlotte Russe and Hot Topic earn rather low scores for social engagement. Doesnt it seem counterintuitivethat brands aimed at the youth market arent leveraging the power of their target audiences desire to share? There is a lot of room for improvement.

To improve social performance, the retail and apparel category as a whole can look closely at the two strongest performers in their own category Nordstrom and Amazon.

Lessons From the Leaders

Nordstrom earns its success with phenomenally positive conversations, both online and off-line, and has succeeded in connecting with the influencers who give the most frequent and persuasive advice, both online and off-line. It is clear that Nordstrom thrives with the quality of its conversations.

On the other hand, mass online retailer Amazon achieves success with quantity. In fact, about 170 million times every week, somebody is exposed to a conversation about Amazon nearly one time for every two living Americans. In addition, the brand gets a lot of sharing of its content, particularly in off-line discussions referring to its marketing. One thing that both brands have in common is that they have taken a holistic approach to consumer influence leveraging social conversations about their brand on and off-line.

To be a successful social marketer, use the following strategies:

It is a social gaffe for any of us to be awkward IRL or too often humble-brag on Instagram. Yes, that can be embarrassing. For brands, the stakes are much higher than for people. How your brand lovers and haters talk and share about you online and off-line can either drive or harm sales. To harness the lovers and keep the haters at bay, embrace a holistic approach. Thriving for a retail brand in 2017 is all about directing the right conversations and sharing and letting your brand be styled in part by consumer social interactions.

Brad Fay is chief research officer of Engagement Labs.

Original post:
Think Tank: How to Avoid Being a Socially Awkward Retail Brand - WWD

PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Eastside Distilling, Inc.(ESDI)("Eastside" or the "Company"),announced today that it has hired L&A Social Media and initiated a campaign to increase the presence on the internet and expand upon the recent success of the Company's Portland Potato Vodka. The campaign will include marketing through key digital channel.

Eastside's Portland Potato Vodka is the Northwest's premium potato vodka and a tasty gluten free alternative to a plethora of grain-based spirits.The spirit has the clean, crisp taste of Oregon mountain water that mixes especially well in favorite Northwest cocktails like the Portland mule and Aardvark Bloody Marys. It drinks great straight-up or on the rocks, and as a form of "personal anti-freeze" while you are warming up during a Portland winter on the patio at the On Deck Bar. The key to producing a vodka this smooth is to start with the right ingredients. Most vodka is made from grain, but at Eastside, we feel grains are better used for whiskey. Potatoes, on the other hand, make for a vodka that is low-octane and exceptionally clean, meaning you can say goodbye to the 'burn'.

We chose L&A for its outstanding background record working with such mainstream brands as Taittinger Champagne, Monkey Shoulder Whiskey, Sol Beer, Virgin Wines, Drambuie Liquor, Reyka Vodka, Matteus rose, Russian Standard Vodka and many more. L&A also has had a hand in helping create and grow new and entrepreneurial brands, as with Australia's highly successful Nudie Juice brand that sold for $80 million AUD to Monde Nissan, which L&A helped from in the early days.

Gina Lednyak, Managing Director at L&A Social Media commented "We are a strategy and implementation agency that is passionate about creating, producing and implementing wildly creative content to add value to consumer's lives through social media. Through storytelling and a wealth of experience, L&A ensures that brands stay relevant and innovative, by starting powerful conversations with loyal followers of amazing brands like Portland Potato Vodka. We will be leveraging the amazing story and unique value proposition of Portland Potato Vodka to develop long lasting, trusted relationships between Portland Potato Vodka and its loyal fans, as well as expanding to reach new target consumers for the brand."

Melissa Heim, Executive VP of Operations for Eastside Distilling, commented, "Our Portland Potato Vodka opens with refreshing mineral water, gentle ethyl notes and has a silky finish. Absolutely no burning. Without advertising, sales of Portland Potato Vodka and despite our 'no frills' packaging grew over 80% last year through word of mouth among people who recognized it as superior, local and potato, not grain. We think it is appropriate for us to introduce Portland Potato Vodka to even more consumers who are looking for an alternative to traditional grain-based Vodka."

About Eastside Distilling Eastside Distilling, Inc. (OTCQB:ESDI) is located in Southeast Portland's Distillery Row, and has been producing high-quality, master crafted spirits since 2008. Makers of award winning spirits, the company is unique in the marketplace and distinguished by its highly decorated product lineup that includes Barrel Hitch American Whiskies, Burnside Bourbon, Below Deck Rums, Portland Potato Vodka, and a distinctive line of infused whiskeys. All Eastside spirits are master crafted from natural ingredients for unparalleled quality and taste. The company is publicly traded under the symbol OTCQB: ESDI. For more information visit: http://www.eastsidedistilling.comor follow the company onTwitterandFacebook.

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About L&A Social Media L&A launched in 2008 out of the vision that marketing was quickly changing - and content was taking over. L&A is an expression of the values that the company launched with innovation, adventure, authenticity, and of course, adding a bit of magic to the world. L&A's creative and inspiring team use the principles and values of psychology to create powerful social media campaigns that grow brand awareness & consumer loyalty as well as build community for large global brands and startups alike. L&A has worked in with clients like 20th Century Fox, NETGEAR, Sol Beer and Rekorderlig Cider and have been able to bring a strategic digital presence into their offerings as a brand and business.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain matters discussed in this press release may be forward-looking statements. Such matters involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the following: changes in economic conditions; general competitive factors; acceptance of the Company's products in the market; the Company's success in obtaining new customers; the Company's success in product development; the Company's ability to execute its business model and strategic plans; the Company's success in integrating acquired entities and assets, and all the risks and related information described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the financial statements and related information contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and interim Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.Examples of forward-looking statements in this release may include statements related to our strategic focus, product verticals, anticipated revenue, and profitability. The Company assumes no obligation to update the cautionary information in this release.

Investors: Robert Blum, Joe Diaz or Joe Dorame Lytham Partners, LLC (602) 889-9700 esdi@lythampartners.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eastside-distilling-turns-to-social-marketing-to-get-out-the-word-about-its-award-winning-portland-potato-vodka-300400922.html

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Eastside Distilling Turns to Social Marketing to "Get out the Word ... - Yahoo Finance

David Mihm recently founded Tidings to help small businesses make the most of their marketing time and budgets online. Mihm has been involved in online marketing since 2000 and search engine marketing since 2003. As his career has evolved, he has increasingly focused on strategies and tactics to help local businesses acquire customers beyond just the search engines. In 2012, Mihm became director of local search strategy and led the growth and development of Moz Local, as he was responsible for product strategy and marketing for Moz's Local, small-business-oriented products. Prior to that, Mihm was known for co-founding Getlisted.org from which he was acqui-hired by Moz.

Tom Maguire recently joined some of my favorites in the industry at Matchcraft, where hes been appointed as director of business development for North America. Maguire is a highly motivated, 20-year executive who has worked with numerous media companies and ad agencies both in the U.S. and around the globe. With experience in new platforms (internet/mobile) as well as a base with traditional media (yellow pages, newspapers, direct mail), Maguire brings a wealth of contacts and experience to his new position. Prior to this, Maguire was VP of business development at Acquisio and director of business development at Media Pro Services.

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Craig Donato recently joined ROBLOX as chief business development officer. Previously, he was VP of business development at Nextdoor where he was responsible for launching its monetization strategy. In that role, he worked with the product team to develop a differentiated native advertising product while building a sales and revenue operations team. Donato successfully acquired a base of active customers, including a handful of high-profile reference accounts and he hit the annual revenue goal in under nine months. Prior to this role, Donato was the VP of social at QVC. While there, he led QVCs social shopping and social marketing efforts. Donato also launched the development of QVCs social shopping platform, which served as a focal point of innovation for its online shopping experience. In addition to leading product development, Donato built editorial and community management teams to program the platform, he helped integrate the platform into the QVC.com core experience and increased retention and engagement among QVC's audience.

Tessa Brown is a customer success professional who prioritizes meaningful relationships above all else. Having worked for a technical start-up in the digital marketing industry, Brown has had the unique experience contributing to the foundation of a company through department development and materialization of concrete goals from scratch. She is currently a customer success manager at StreamSend and focused on building relationships with clients through effective email and social delivery. Prior to this, Brown was director of customer success at Local Market Launch where she managed the restructuring of the customer success and account management departments and project managed technical integrations with high-level partners to ensure meeting of deadlines and resolution of unexpected issues. She also conducted regular training webinars and onsite visits with customers to increase adoption of their software and product offerings.

Heather (Shaw) Murphy recently changed roles and left Cxense where she was senior director of sales development for North America. While there, Murphy sold software that enables media, e-commerce and consumer brands to take control of their audience data to deliver more engaging and personalized user experiences. Businesses using Cxenses advanced real-time analytics, personalization, data management (DMP), advertising, search technology and video platforms to gain more engaged users, increased digital revenue and higher sales conversions. Murphy has joined Ayfie as senior director of sales development. Ayfie is a text-understanding engine that can quarry volumes of textual content at lightning speed, with near-human accuracy. Ayfie provides government, commercial and non-profit organizations with aided-intelligence. This relevant, actionable and structured insight is surfaced in workflow at the highest point of value for maximum impact.

AnniversaryCheck

Heather Hagar celebrates two years as director of recruitment at Townsquare Media. Jim Thompson just celebrated two years as SVP of analytics and audience at Billboard / The Hollywood Reporter. Bill Olive blows out eight candles at AdzZoo as a founding equity partner. Jason Marrott celebrates seven years as general manager at Avantar. Brian Clark marks 11 years as founder and CEO at Rainmaker Digital. Jason Crilly celebrates two years at Populus as founder and Marcus Mamolen celebrates 12 years at GIGLINX as president.

JobCheck

Product: The Odyssey Group seeks a VP of product management; apply here. Mapquest seeks a principal product manager in Boston, MA; apply here. SiSense is in search of a director of product marketing; apply here. Dealer.com is hunting for a principal OEM product manager; apply here. Ford Models is in search of a product manager for its digital platform; apply here. DealerTrack wants to find a product manager for operations; apply here Mastercard would like to find a business leader for global new product development; apply here.

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Executive Changes At Tidings And Matchcraft - NetNewsCheck.com

A roundup of todays big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology

U.S. SMBs Plan to PrioritizeSocial Media Spending Over SEO and Emailin 2017(eMarketer) When Infusionsoft asked SMBs about marketing channels where they expect to increase spending, 56% planned to up their social media budget, while a third planned to dedicate more resources to digital advertising and search engine optimization.

Street Culture: How Some of the Most Successful Startup Leaders Motivate Their Teams(Street Fight) New tech startups might not have a formula to create culture, but many leaders consider culture an important component for success. Though every company is different, some trends emerge: leaders must be transparent, they must hire for fit, and they must give employees a way to feel that they partially own the company.

Snapchat Parent Snap Inc. Files for IPO(WSJ) Snap Inc. lifted the veil on its highly anticipated initial public offering, revealing a business that is growing at a torrid clip but that also faces challenges keeping users engaged, attracting new onesand justifying a valuation that could reach $25 billion.

Openings and New Hires at Cuebiq, Unacast, Toys R Us, and Propel(Street Fight) Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. This weeks edition includes moves and new openings at Yext, Square, inMarket, Placed and Tiger Pistol.

Data Management Platform Adoption Is on the Rise, but Challenges Remain(AdExchanger) Marketers in some industries, such as manufacturing and education, are seriously lagging in DMP adoption, according to a survey released Tuesday by market research firm The Relevancy Group.

Why Retailers Struggle to Adopt Mobile Payments(Digiday) Legacy retail giants are still focused more on cutting costs than improving the customer experience; overhauling hardware and software is enormously complex; and consumers needmore incentives to usemobile paymentson a daily basis.

Why Search Continues to Trouble Small Business Owners(MediaPost) The survey results found that 40% of respondents did not feel their use of AdWords yielded new business leads, while an additional 33% said AdWords produced very few leads.

Amazons Holiday Quarter Doesnt Match High Expectations(New York Times) Despite a 55 percent increase in profit, Amazons revenue in the fourth quarter of 2016 was not as strong as Wall Street had predicted, and an after-hours sell-off by investors dropped the companys share price more than 4 percent.

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Street Fight Daily: SMBs to Prioritize Social Marketing, Snap Files for IPO - Street Fight