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Communications

Referee accused of unprofessionalism wanted it for charity

April 10, 2021 by CCN Reporter

A match official during the Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund clash created controversy after he requested an autograph from Erling Haaland in the tunnel following the game. The incident was caught on camera with the Dortmund striker signing one of the referee’s cards in one of the Champions League’s most bizarre moments. The Haaland autograph controversy created a furore on social media, with many slamming the referee for “unprofessional behaviour”.

Octavian Sovre Haaland autograph: Critics ashamed after ref claimed Dortmund star’s signature for charity

Romanian linesman Octavian Sovre was at the centre of a controversy following the Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund clash after he sought a meeting with Erling Haaland in the tunnel to seek his autograph. The event created a furore on social media, with many slamming the referee for “unprofessional behaviour”. Former Premier League stars Owen Hargreaves and Joleon Lescott, who were on punditry duty with BT Sport, slammed the official’s actions, suggesting that the incident does not look right, rather “childish”.

Have spoken to Romanian FA about the match officials/Haaland autograph. They say Octavian Sovre did it to raise funds for an autism centre he helps with. More info on @SkySportsNews

— Paul Gilmour (@skysportspaulg) April 7, 2021

However, latest reports suggest that the referee in question was not seeking personal gain but was aiding a greater cause. Sovre reportedly collects autographs from leading sports stars in order to auction them off for a charity in his native Romania that supports young adults suffering from severe autism. As quoted by Goal, SOS Autism Bihor Association president Simona Zlibut told Gazeta Sporturilor: “That autograph is for a noble cause. Maybe people don’t know, but Tavi (Sovre) is directly involved in supporting this Association. He has helped us a lot all these years!”. The revelation came as a huge shock to the critics who were severe in the criticism of the linesman for his behaviour. The report from Gazeta Sporturilor claims that Sovre had also been hoping to collar City boss Pep Guardiola, but could only catch up with Haaland.

Erling Haaland has developed into one of the greatest players plying their trade in Europe in recent seasons, but failed to make his mark against Manchester City on Tuesday. The 20-year-old was isolated quite a lot during the first half, but bounced back fairly in the second half, forcing a point-blank save from Ederson. Haaland did well to set up captain Marco Reus’ equaliser, who cashed in on his chance to earn Dortmund a precious away goal. However, Phil Foden had the last laugh as he turned a De Bruyne ball into the back of the net in the 90th minute to clinch a famous 2-1 win for Man City. The two teams will now face off at the Signal Iduna Park next week, with Manchester City chasing their first semi-final appearance in the Champions League.

Originally Appeared Here

Filed Under: Communications, Facebook

TikTok’s New Tool Lets Brand Create Video Ads In Browser

April 9, 2021 by CCN Reporter

This week in social media news, TikTok debuts a tool that lets brands creative native video ads on desktop, Reddit creates an ad resource hub, TikTok and IPG Mediabrands announce a creator accelerator program and Facebook launches new dynamic ads for streaming.

TikTok’s New Video Editor Feature Lets Brands Create Native Ads In Browser

TikTok has launched a new video editing tool that lets brands create ads with TikTok-style elements for free and directly from their browser.

Why it matters: The unfiltered nature of TikTok videos is part of what makes the app so appealing to younger generations. To excite their target audience on TikTok, brands must produce content using creative elements native to the app, such as viral songs, text styles and green screen effects. In addition to this latest video ad tool, TikTok is helping brands succeed by giving them access to a library of top ads on the app.

The details: The ‘TikTok Video Editor’ is an “online smart editor” that provides advertisers with a suite of TikTok-style editing features. The tool is located in the ‘Create a Video’ menu on your TikTok Ads Manager dashboard and on the Ad Creation menu when setting up a campaign. It enables brands to produce ad videos easily in their browser by editing each frame’s text, color, font, music, transitions and more.

Reddit Releases ‘Ads Formula’ Resource Hub For Marketers

Reddit created a resource center for marketers called ‘Ads Formula’ that includes updates on its latest ad offerings, industry insights and creative best practices. 

Why it matters: Reddit continues to see growth, reporting 430 million active monthly users globally in Q1– a 30 percent increase year-over-year (YoY). As it adds more users, it’s looking to help brands enhance their campaigns.  

The details: According to Social Media Today, Reddit’s new ad education center will offer an events calendar, engagement stats during and around events, as well as on-demand courses in the coming months. 

TikTok And IPG Mediabrands Announce Bespoke ‘Creator Collective’

TikTok and IPG Mediabrands have announced a three-year partnership that will match brands with popular TikTok creators and provide them with strategic counsel and co-creation opportunities for upcoming campaigns.

Why it matters: As per TikTok:

“The two companies will form a bespoke Creator Collective, bringing together a select group of forward-thinking and diverse creators who will provide hands-on guidance to IPG Mediabrands’ clients ensuring that their content is culturally connected, inclusive and resonates with the TikTok community.”

The details: The first program of the Creator Collective series will be a quarterly session called “Creator Camps,” where creators give IPG Mediabrands clients strategic guidance on their upcoming campaigns.

As TikTok notes, the Creator Collective is just one of the core pillars of the partnership.

The platform says it will provide IPG Mediabrands’ agencies and clients with access to TikTok insight and training, first-to-market opportunities, resources and best practices, and research and media trial opportunities.

Facebook Debuts ‘Dynamic Ads For Streaming’

Facebook’s latest ad solution, ‘Dynamic Ads for Streaming,’ lets viewers swipe through a brand’s ad to see personalized titles based on interests they’ve shown on Facebook and Instagram. 

Why it matters: The new release will help video streaming platforms increase sign-ups and make it easier for audiences to find films and TV titles they like, which is key for attracting new customers. Facebook cites research from Kantar showing that 64 percent of streaming trialists will try a new service because they knew of several things they wanted to watch, not because they have one specific title in mind. 

The details: With this new ad solution, advertisers no longer have to manually create new campaigns for each separate title. They can simply upload their content catalog to Facebook. Then the dynamic ads will use that catalog as a prompt to target users who have shown interest in one or many of those titles–by Liking a related Page, following one of the actors involved or being a member or fan of a related group. Users can follow the ad’s call to action in order to start a trial or subscribe.

Originally Appeared Here

Filed Under: Communications, Social Media

Brands Partner With NBA To Create Innovative Gaming Activations

April 9, 2021 by CCN Reporter

 

As March Madness drew to a close, many basketball fans inevitably turned back to the NBA, with playoffs set to begin May 22. The full-speed ahead re-emergence of professional sports, after a very different 2020 that saw many leagues play abbreviated seasons, has many brands looking for opportunities to capitalize on fan excitement. Burger King and Mountain Dew are hoping to reach fans with gaming partnerships that leverage the growth of console and mobile gaming over the last year. By tapping into heads-down gamers and consumers who enjoy casual mobile gaming, brands and advertisers can reach users that are typically ad-averse with fun, engaging partnerships and activations.

Burger King Leverages Popularity Of Gaming In New Promotion

A recent activation between Burger King Spain and NBA 2K21, a basketball simulation video game, lets gamers try different shots from “the menu court” for a chance to win several popular Burger King menu items. The bigger and better the meal item, the more complicated the shot. “Players who complete a shot from an item marker can post a video to Twitter tagging Burger King and NBA2K with the hashtag #BKMenuCourt to redeem the real-world equivalent of the product,” reported Peter Adams for Marketing Dive. Video game usage was way up in 2020, with Sony’s Game & Network Services segment seeing “revenue increased 40% [year over year] to 883.2 billion yen ($8.4 billion), partly driven by PS5 sales.”

Digital activations that integrate brand promotions and partnerships allow brands to capture the attention of gamers who aren’t watching linear TV, but are spending hours and hours on gaming platforms and devices. Brands are increasingly trying different ways to reach gamers with less intrusive, but still effective advertising. DigiDay reports, “Branded characters. One-off events. Programmatic ads. Marketers are finding more ways to get their brands into games — big picture, gaming has gone mainstream. And, while [gaming is] still somewhat under the radar for brand marketers, it’s becoming one of the largest and fastest-growing forms of media for the young, affluent, ad-averse people they’re keen to reach.”

Mobile Game From Mountain Dew Challenges Fans To Shoot With Pelicans Star Zion Williamson

A new mobile game from Mountain Dew lets players use their phones to help NBA star Zion Williamson shoot the ball. In the game called  “Zion Shoots. You Score.” players “control a digital avatar of Williamson whose shots are guided by swiping a smartphone screen or tilting a smartphone with motion controls enabled. The stronger the swipe or tilt, the harder Williamson shoots the ball, with a meter reading the shot’s power level on the side of the screen,” reported Adams for Marketing Dive. The game was created in collaboration with New Orleans Pelicans’ star Williamson, who has a five-year endorsement deal with Pepsi-owned Mountain Dew.

“Zion Shoots. You Score.”  is available at MTNDew.live through May 25, and, while users can play the game as guests, signing up through social media accounts is encouraged, offering Mountain Dew future engagement opportunities with users. The mobile game can also be accessed by scanning point-of-sale QR codes at certain store locations that, when scanned, activate the game for users. “People are naturally used to utilizing QR codes, they’re used to having their phones in their hands and they’re used to engaging them. Simplicity was the key here,” said Chauncey Hamlett, vice president and chief marketing officer for PepsiCo Beverages North America’s South Division. Casual gaming on mobile is growing in popularity, with mobile games generating $86.3 billion in revenues last year. And, overall, mobile remains a critical touchpoint for advertisers looking to reach younger audiences. “Authenticity is key here, and this kind of mobile-forward approach is something that we love about [Zion Shoots. You Score.],” added Hamlett.

Multichannel strategies that include gaming and strategic partnerships can help brands access hard to reach audiences. For brands, gaming and gamified activations that align with ecommerce strategies and include promotions and targeted advertising, are likely to play a major part in future digital marketing campaigns and technology strategies. This is particularly true at a time when personalization is so important to younger consumers and brands are looking to make connections and build loyalty. Gaming allows consumers to feel they are part of the action, increasing affinity for brands and allowing for future outreach and engagement.

Originally Appeared Here

Filed Under: Communications, Facebook, YouTube

Brightening Up Your Daily Dose of News

April 8, 2021 by CCN Reporter

 

ORLANDO, Fla., April 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — With so much doom and gloom crowding screens and news feeds, it’s vital that consumers have an outlet for alternative news stories that are sure to bring a smile to their faces.

The Brightly News team comprises a small, tight-knit group of developers who all share the same goal: to temper what news people consume and provide them some relief from all the negativities found on some of the most popular news sources.

Brightly News is a news curation site that tracks down and identifies trending news stories and brings them right to your inbox and social media news feeds.

“It’s necessary to be informed about current events, but it’s equally important to balance what we consume. As someone who regularly reads the news, I know how so much negativity can affect my mood. But here’s the thing, not all news is bad, and there’s a lot of good in the world. The Brightly News team created our website to offer consumers a space to take a break from negativity and see the brighter sides of life, which we believe is essential for mental health,” said Joe Sikes.

Brightly News had its soft launch in February 2021. The team has employed innovative technology–such as machine learning–to analyze over 140,000 news stories to bring readers a daily dose of good news for a change.

Each day, our innovative technology analyzes approximately 5,000–10,000 articles, with only the top 3-4% of that content making it through to the Brightly News website for readers. Additionally, members of the team hand pick top stories to be featured as the “Editors’ Choice” on the Brightly News Morning Vibes email and social media accounts.

The Brightly News team is excited to enter the news curation space–which involves identifying trending stories and sharing them with an audience eager to consume them. While technology plays a significant part in helping the team analyze articles, it’s the team’s thirst for information and positive news stories that have them picking the best of the best.

The Brightly news team is excited to use their talents to spread positivity and bring positive news to those tired of the same old doom and gloom.

About Brightly News: Brightly News is a news curation site that tracks down and identifies trending news stories and brings them right to your inbox and social media news feeds. What sets them apart from other curation sites is that their focus is on bringing positive content to the forefront of the news cycle to give readers some reprieve from the negative news that seems to make up most of the news presented to readers.

Originally Appeared Here

Filed Under: Communications, Facebook, YouTube

6 Email Marketing Tips for Virtual Association Events

April 6, 2021 by CCN Reporter

This is a guest post from Fonteva.

Effective email marketing strategies are vital for associations, nonprofits, and businesses alike—especially in a time of uncertainty. Organizations everywhere are trying to stay top-of-mind for consumers, and the amount of digital clutter has only increased. That’s why walking through some top tips (and mistakes to avoid) for event marketing is crucial.

This article will provide a deeper understanding of effective email marketing tactics. You will learn how to:

  1. Personalize your messages.
  2. Leverage intriguing subject lines.
  3. Use graphic elements wisely.
  4. Establish a drip campaign.
  5. Ensure mobile-friendliness.
  6. Conclude with a clear call to action.

As a result of COVID-19, organizations across the globe have shifted to virtual events to maintain engagement levels while social distancing. However, it’s important to recognize that even once things begin to settle down and return to a “new normal,” virtual engagement will continue to be a communication strategy for associations and other organizations.

Whether you’re planning a brand new virtual event for your association, or pivoting an existing event to the virtual realm, spreading the word is crucial for the best turnout. Ready to dig in? Let’s get started.

1. Personalize your messages.

When it comes to crafting an effective marketing email, personalizing your messaging is vital. Consumers, members, and other recipients get so many emails every day that it can be too easy to slip through the cracks. To avoid this, you have to make sure your messages stand out— and personalization is a great way to go.

Here are two ideas you want to implement as you begin drafting your email copy:

  • Address recipients by name. Any effective email starts out with a personalized greeting. “Dear John,” is always going to be a better opening than “Dear member,” or worse, “To whom it may concern.” After all, this is your chance to make a first impression on the reader as they skim over your message and decide whether to engage. From the beginning, it’s important the recipient feels that it is a personal invitation to your event, rather than a blanket, pre-written message.
  • Segment your audience. Personalization can go farther than just your greeting. Be sure your entire message is customized based on content type and relationship to each recipient. That’s where audience segmentation comes in. For event marketing outreach, you may choose to segment based on whether the recipient is registered already (you can send detailed event information) or not (send a generalized overview and an invitation). Further, you can segment based on a recipient’s previous event history as well.

Each of these tasks, while possible to complete by hand, can be streamlined by using the right email marketing software—thus saving your team time and effort to be used elsewhere. For even better results, be sure your marketing tools and CRM are fully integrated. When you start your engagement off on the right foot, your readers are more likely to respond to your marketing attempts in the way you seek.

2. Leverage intriguing subject lines.

A well-crafted subject line for your email is one of the most important elements in your entire campaign. After all, the subject line is what originally grabs (or loses) the reader’s attention even before opening the email.

If you’re overwhelmed or unsure of where to start, here are some examples of strategic subject lines to market your event:

  • Hurry! Register by midnight for 50% off your ticket price. This subject line expresses a sense of urgency and the fear of missing out which can lead to increased clicks and conversions.
  • Introducing our virtual event series: [Name of series]. This subject line makes it clear that the contents of your email include new information that the reader does not want to miss out on.
  • 7 reasons to attend our annual event. This subject line implies that the body of the email will clearly spell out a string of reasons why the reader should attend the event, which inspires the curiosity to continue reading.
  • 8 out of 10 association members want this one thing. This subject line peaks the reader’s curiosity, encouraging them to open the email and find out more. What exactly do 8 out of 10 members want? If they’re a member too, it will be relevant to them!
  • Warning: Event may cause too much fun. This subject line combines shock-value and humor to grab the recipient’s attention. Of course, the reader will want to know what kind of exciting event necessitates this type of warning.
  • [Recipient’s name], we want to see you at this event. This subject line uses personalization (as described above) to position your marketing email as an individual event invitation.

On the other hand, here are some not-so-great examples:

  • [Name of event] Association Event. Not only is this subject line bland, it gives no information about the event or even why the reader should open the email.
  • [Name of organization] weekly newsletter. If you’re trying to drive registrations for your event, this subject line will do no good. An event marketing email should be independent of any regular newsletters and demonstrate that with a unique subject line.
  • Event on [Date of event]. Stating the date of your event is not enough to convince recipients that they want to attend. What’s happening at your event that will inspire registrations?
  • Register for our event here. This subject line is simply telling the reader to register but fails to tell the reader why they should register (or even open your email in the first place!).

Writing the best email subject lines can be tricky, but it is of utmost importance for your marketing campaign to yield results. Doing some research on businesses and organizations that have seen success in their email marketing is a great way to gather inspiration and emulate effective strategies.

3. Use graphic elements wisely.

Studies show that communications containing visuals see up to 650% higher engagement levels than those solely composed of text. That’s because visual elements are a great way to grab the attention of the reader and they provide a more aesthetically pleasing experience overall.

Email campaigns should use several types of graphic content to take your messages to the next level, including: 

  • Images: Images are a classic example of graphic email content, whether it’s your own photography, stock photos, or clipart. Including pictures is a great way to brighten up your emails and increase engagement rates.
  • Videos: Video elements can be an excellent contribution to email marketing content, especially when you’re promoting events. You might include a video recap of a previous event, or a series of interviews with past attendees sharing their favorite memories and urging members to register.
  • Gifs: As a sort of combination of photo and video, gif content is a new and exciting way to grab the reader’s attention. There are plenty of pre-made gifs you can find online, or use online tools to turn your own short video clips into unique gifs!

However, visual elements can also have negative consequences when used incorrectly, as they can lead to sensory overload and distract the reader from the message in the text. Finding a solid balance between too little and too much graphic content is a great way to optimize your content for engagement.

4. Establish a drip campaign.

A drip campaign is a marketing strategy that utilizes a predetermined cadence of emails to nurture leads and eventually direct recipients toward a desired action. In this case, the action is registering for your upcoming virtual association event!

These examples of successful email drip campaigns demonstrate the way in which triggered emails can effectively lead to higher levels of recipient engagement. Simply put, the process is as follows:

  1. Your association team comes up with a collection of created emails.
  2. You utilize an email marketing automation tool to schedule emails at particular points in time.
  3. A recipient receives their first email in the campaign.
  4. Depending on whether they opened the first message, they might receive a second email pushing them further down the conversion funnel.
  5. If the user does not open the first, they might receive a follow-up email or the campaign could stop there.
  6. The process continues based on your predetermined email sequence.

Email drip campaigns are a great way to engage with your network without becoming too overbearing to those who are uninterested. Because the campaign takes cues from a user’s own behavior, the strategy allows you to pursue leads that continue to show interest and are the most likely to become registrants.

5. Ensure mobile-friendliness.

Did you know that more than 50% of web traffic comes from mobile devices? That means if your association’s materials are not mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to boost your online registrations.

Be sure these two elements are as easy to use on mobile devices as they are on desktop:

  • Emails: Most smartphone users have their email accounts signed in on their mobile devices for ease of use and increased accessibility. As soon as they receive an email notification, they can quickly decide whether to engage or ignore it. If a user opens your marketing email on their cell phone only to find that reading it involves endless scrolling and zooming, they’re likely to click out and never return. Instead, mobile-friendly emails are more likely to be consumed and responded to.
  • Registration forms: For your event marketing campaigns, not only should your marketing materials be mobile-friendly, but your registration tools should be too. Using mobile-friendly event registration software allows association members to register and pay on-the-go, rather than waiting until later (which may never come).

In order to ensure the most conversions, it’s important your campaign is easy to engage with. A member may have the desire to attend, but if the registration process is too difficult, they have a much higher risk of abandoning the process altogether.

6. Conclude with a clear call to action.

There’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a marketing email and thinking “so what?” The next steps in a marketing campaign should never be unclear— especially when it comes to event promotion. Because the end goal has a clear deadline (the date of the event or close of registration), it’s more important than ever to include a clear call to action in any email you send.

Large, colorful, and easy-to-read CTA buttons with actionable language are a great way to encourage recipients to take the next step in the registration process. Even if the reader starts to skim the text, the CTA will still be clear and persuasive.

Wrap up

By employing these tips in your next event marketing campaign, you can ensure higher levels of virtual event registration and attendance for your association. When you personalize your messages, grab the recipient’s interest, and design an easily accessible campaign, you’ll create a system of communication that each recipient will actually want to read and take action.

Originally Appeared On:  https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/how-email-drives-online-registrations/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CampaignMonitorBlog+%28Campaign+Monitor+Blog+Only%29

Filed Under: Communications, Email Marketing Tagged With: Email Marketing, events

Why P2P Marketing Might Be a Good Alternative to Influencer Marketing

April 5, 2021 by CCN Reporter

To understand what peer-to-peer (P2P) marketing is, let’s start with an example.

Recently, I was looking for a new face moisturizer. Of course, I could’ve trusted the numerous influencers I follow on Instagram, all with strong opinions regarding the “best, most effective” options available.

But I wasn’t convinced these influencers had my best interest in-mind. Yes, most influencers’ (and micro-influencers) are successful because they promote valuable products. But they’re getting commission off those posts, too.

So I handled my problem the old-fashioned way — I texted my friends and asked what products they use.

This isn’t to say influencer marketing is ineffective. Quite the opposite: When done right, influencer marketing is a fantastic opportunity to expand your brand’s reach and increase sales.

But depending on your team’s budget, influencer marketing could be limiting. Plus, influencer marketing inhibits your brand from reaching those consumers who still trust their peers above all else.

Enter: P2P marketing.

What is P2P marketing?

Peer-to-peer marketing (otherwise known as P2P marketing), is when consumers recommend products or services to their peers. An effective component of word-of-mouth marketing, P2P marketing uses reviews and personal recommendations from customers to appeal to new audiences.

Given 93% of consumers trust friends and family over all other influences (including review sites, blogs, and social media platforms), it makes sense why P2P marketing works.

And P2P marketing, a form of word-of-mouth marketing, isn’t new. People have been giving personal opinions about their favorite — and least favorite — brands, products, and services long before social media.

Some older forms of P2P marketing include Yelp, reviews on personal business’ websites, and good old-fashioned conversations between your consumers and their friends and family.

However, there are some new tools that help businesses leverage P2P marketing on a broader scale. Amazing Brands, for instance, helps businesses generate customer reviews and referrals, guarantee event attendance, or even increase in-store foot traffic.

The tool ultimately relies on the premise of P2P marketing, which is that there’s nothing more powerful than peer recommendations.

Other tools, like Higher Logic, work to establish a sense of community among existing consumers, and increase brand loyalty — a critical component of P2P marketing. (Since consumers won’t refer products or services towards which they don’t feel loyal.)

However, if you’re learning about P2P marketing for the first time, you might be wondering — why invest in P2P marketing, instead of more traditional forms of influencer marketing?

And what’s the difference, anyway?

What’s the difference between P2P marketing and influencer marketing?

Over the past couple years, influencer marketing has been one of the most popular and effective opportunities for brands to reach new audiences by leveraging those influencers’ built-in communities.

However, as mentioned above, consumers still trust their own peers more than anyone else. And influencers can often feel like celebrities to the general public — in fact, sometimes, they are actual celebrities, like George Clooney with Nespresso. This removes a level of authenticity you might be striving for as a brand.

Additionally, many small and medium-sized businesses can’t afford the typical influencer cost. Celebrity or macro-influencers charge between $3,000 and $500,000 for a single post — and while micro-influencers are undoubtedly cheaper, they can also charge upwards of $500 per post.

Ultimately, P2P is a form of marketing that can feel increasingly trustworthy and authentic through real, genuine reviews from peers who have no incentive to promote businesses they don’t care about.

To further explore the difference between P2P marketing and influencer marketing, let’s consider an example.

Jessica Alba’s business, The Honest Company, has a referral program in which they credit existing customers $20 for each invited friend who makes a purchase.

This is an example of P2P marketing.

Influencer marketing, on the other hand, refers to the influencers on Instagram (as well as other social platforms) who tag posts with #honestambassador, signifying the post is sponsored by The Honest Company.

These are both equally valuable marketing options, but they achieve different goals. The P2P marketing initiative (in this case, the referral program), aims to tap into The Honest Company’s existing consumers to reach new prospects.

The P2P program is likely more narrow in reach, but has the potential to convert more quickly than influencer marketing, since it’s leveraging the power of an existing relationship between customers and their friends or family.

The influencer marketing program, alternatively, is meant to spread brand awareness about Honest Company to a wider audience.

P2P marketing can take many different forms depending on your brand and business goals — including creating a referral program, encouraging reviews on your site in exchange for a small discount or prize, or organizing events meant to increase brand awareness to the larger community.

Ultimately, P2P marketing comes down to increasing the incentive for your consumers to share your product or service with friends and family, which is undoubtedly one of the best long-term strategies for success.

Originally Appeared On: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/p2p-marketing

 

Filed Under: Communications Tagged With: Brand Experience

How the News Feed Algorithms Work on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram

April 5, 2021 by CCN Reporter

You’re connected with hundreds of people — maybe even thousands — on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But when you log in to each of these social networks, it’s likely that you don’t want to be bombarded by every single update from every single connection. That’d be pretty overwhelming, wouldn’t it?

That’s how the folks from each of these social networks feel — and they’ve done plenty of user research to validate that feeling. In fact, that’s exactly why the news feeds — and the algorithms behind them — exist.

All three of today’s most popular social networks have gravitated toward an algorithm-based feed in the effort to create better experiences for their users. The trouble is, each algorithm works differently. What’s worse, they’re constantly changing, making it hard for marketers like us to keep up.

To help get it all straight, we’ve put together this simple guide on how the news feed works on the three most popular social networks: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Let’s dive in.

Note: Keep in mind that the algorithms are constantly changing. We’ll continue to write about major social algorithm changes as they happen.

What is a social media algorithm?

A social media algorithm is a compilation of rules and data that make decisions about what users want to see on the platform. The social media sites create unique algorithms for every person who uses the site which means no two people will have the exact same social media news feed.

Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm

Since the inception of the largest social media platform to date, Facebook’s news feed has been focused on personalizing the social media app’s user experience. According to eMarketer, we spend about 34 minutes each day using the platform.

To give users the best experience possible, Facebook’s team of engineers are constantly studying user behavior and picking up signals that show what kind of content each user is most interested in.

How It Works

The Like button has always been the epicenter of Facebook’s user experience — not only because we see it on everyone’s posts, but because it allows us to personalize our experience (and influence everyone else’s). Since it was first introduced in November 2007, it’s helped Facebook’s engineers figure out which posts were delighting users, boring them, offending them, and so on.

Nowadays, the algorithm that governs Facebook’s News Feed has become much more sophisticated. It isn’t just about the Like button anymore — and not just because reaction buttons are now in the mix. In fact, Facebook’s algorithm is by far the most complicated of the three social networks covered in this post.

Here’s a quick rundown of the most important things Facebook’s algorithm takes into account.

Relevancy Score

When picking posts for each person who logs on to Facebook, the News Feed algorithm takes into account hundreds of variables — and can predict whether a given user will Like, click, comment, share, hide, or even mark a post as spam.

More specifically, the algorithm predicts each of these outcomes with a certain degree of confidence. This prediction is quantified into a single number called a “relevancy score” that’s specific both to you and to that post.

Once every post that could potentially show up in your feed has been assigned a relevancy score, Facebook’s sorting algorithm ranks them and puts them in the order they end up appearing in your feed. This means that every time you log in, the post you see at the top of your News Feed was chosen over thousands of others as the one most likely to make you react and engage.

Ads are given relevancy scores, too, so that Facebook can show users the ads that could matter most to them. Again, this is supposed to give users a better experience — but it’s also helpful for the businesses that are paying for the ads. It’s calculated based on the positive feedback (video views, conversions, etc.) and negative feedback Facebook expects an ad to receive from its target audience.

Prioritizing Friends

Before 2015, Facebook was predicting what users want to see on the News Feed based on more indirect signals, like Likes, comments, and shares of others. Eventually, it added options for users to filter out posts they don’t want to see. But what about helping boost the posts users do want to see?

Through studies and surveys, Facebook found that many users were concerned about missing important updates from friends they cared about the most. In response to these concerns, the social media platform began changing the News Feed algorithm to give more control to the users themselves.

It started in April 2015, when the company began giving priority (in the form of higher relevancy scores) to posts from friends over the Pages they follow and promotional posts. Later that year, in July, Facebook introduced the “See First” feature, which lets you actually hand-pick which accounts — whether friends or followed Pages — you want to see first at the top of your News Feed.

Now, when you want to prioritize a person or page to “see first,” their posts will appear at the top of your News Feed. To prioritize the people or pages you want to “see first”: click the downward facing arrow in the top-right corner of any Facebook page and select Settings.

Set up the see first feature in Facebook

In the window that appears, scroll until you find News Feed Preferences and select it.

Facebook newsfeed preferences

Next, select Prioritize who to see first.

prioritize who to see first in facebook

Finally, select up to 30 of your Facebook friends to add as favorites. You’ll now see posts from these individuals first.

add friends to facebook favorities

Time Spent on a Post

Facebook started monitoring how much time users spend viewing certain posts. Of course, the time you spend on a post can vary depending on your internet speed, the length of the post, and so on — and the folks at Facebook are aware of that.

However, the platform’s strategists found that dwell time, the act of spending a lot more time on a particular post in their feed compared to the majority of other posts they look at, is a good sign that the content was relevant to them.

How does this play out in the feed? If you spend more time on a particular post, Facebook is more likely to show that post on your friends’ News Feeds.

Video Engagement

In summer 2015, Facebook surveyed users on how they interacted with video on their News Feeds and found that that many people who were interested in a given video didn’t necessarily Like it, comment on it, or share it with their friends. Since engagement is one of the primary ways Facebook measures people’s interest in posts, it had to come up with other ways to figure out whether people enjoyed the videos they were seeing.

To do that, the company started monitoring other forms of video engagement — like turning on the audio, switching to full-screen mode, or enabling high definition. So if you turn up the volume on a video or make it full-screen, the algorithm will interpret that as you enjoying the video, and will show you similar videos higher up in your feed.

The update doesn’t mean users will see more videos in their News Feed — only those who already engage more with video-related content.

Facebook’s algorithm is very, very complex, but we hope that gives you a good idea of what it considers important so you can tweak your Facebook marketing strategy accordingly. Now, let’s move on to Twitter.

Twitter’s Timeline Algorithm

Whereas Facebook makes most of the decisions about what will show up in your Facebook News Feed, Twitter’s historically taken a very different approach with what it calls the “Timeline.”

Your Timeline is the stream of tweets from the users you follow that shows up on your account home page when you first log in. It used to be that your Timeline was made up of every single tweet from every user you follow, in chronological order. But the folks at Twitter found that, similarly to what was happening on Facebook, users felt they were missing all the best tweets from the people they care about most.

The changes made to the Twitter algorithm aren’t nearly as platform-changing as the ones Facebook have made, but they are somewhat of a departure from the real-time element that has defined Twitter since the beginning.

How It Works

The engineers at Twitter have attempted two different approaches for surfacing the “best” tweets first on your Timeline: the “While You Were Away” feature and the even newer “Show me the best Tweets first” feature.

The “While You Were Away” Feature

This feature was added as an attempt to rid users of whatever FOMO (fear of missing out) they might have been feeling from the chronological nature of the original Timeline.

Basically, it’s a recap of some of the best tweets you may not have seen otherwise. How do these tweets make the cut? It’s determined by “user engagement”.

You can’t turn off the feature, but how often you see it depends on how often you use Twitter. The recaps pop up more frequently for users who check the app less often.

The “Show Me the Best Tweets First” Feature

The “Show me the best Tweets first” feature is a little more similar to Facebook’s News Feed. Why? Because it actually changes the content on your Timeline based on a tweet’s relevancy, rather than listing tweets chronologically.

By default, Twitter’s algorithm puts the tweets it thinks you’ll find most interesting at the top of your Timeline, these posts are still recent and in reverse chronological order. These tweets are chosen based on accounts you interact with most, tweets you engage with, and much more.

The “Best Tweets” Feature

The rest of the tweets will be displayed right underneath, also in reverse chronological order. Unlike the “While you were away” feature, these “best tweets” won’t be highlighted or indicated in any way — so you won’t be able to tell where the “best tweets” stop and the rest of the tweets begin.

There are two ways to remove these “best tweets” from the top of your Timeline. One is a quick fix: You can always refresh your Timeline to see all new tweets at the top in the live way you might have been used to seeing in the past.

But if you want to always see your Timeline live, then Twitter does allow you to opt out of this feature if you’d like — unlike Facebook’s News Feed.

To opt out of this feature: Tap the three-star icon in the top right corner of your screen. Then tap Switch to latest Tweets.

Set your Twitter timeline to see latest tweets first

Is Twitter Moving Away From a Real-Time Timeline?

There’s no reason to believe so — at least not right now. One of the three sections of your Twitter timeline is composed of tweets displayed in reverse-chronological order. After you scroll through the “While you were away” Tweets and “Best Tweets” you’ll be left with the tweets from your followers starting with the most recent.

What might be an emerging trend on Twitter is the opportunity to subscribe to people’s tweets. While this feature wouldn’t disrupt the timeline’s mostly reverse-chronological order, it could add just one more section to your feed that you’ll need to scroll through before seeing the latest updates from your followers.

Twitter isn’t the only social media platform iterating its algorithm to show the most interesting content first — Instagram’s algorithm is giving Facebook and Twitter a run for their money.

The Instagram Feed’s Algorithm

As of January 2021, Instagram has more than 1.2 million active users on the platform making it a hotspot for marketers in nearly any industry. However, it’s a newer platform compared to the other two on this list, so many of us marketers are still trying to figure it out. The best place to start is from the bottom up — with the algorithm.

Instagram’s algorithm has evolved since 2016 when it first began sorting users’ news feeds in order of relevance rather than recency. Now, the algorithm works similarly to its parent company’s — Facebook. Using machine learning to aggregate six factors, Instagram can determine what content you’ll appreciate the most and influence your news feed to prioritize that content.

These six factors shared by TechCrunch are:

Interest: This is a prediction Instagram makes about how interested you’ll be in a particular post.

Frequency: How often you use the app that will determine what posts you see first when you open the app again.

Following: The more people you follow, the less likely you’ll be able to see everyone in your news feed.

Recency: How recently was a post published? This impacts when you’ll see a post in your news feed.

Relationship: Who shared the post and your connection to them will be a significant factor in how often you’ll see their content. This is influenced by tagged photos, engagement, and even how often you direct message them.

Usage: The time you spend on Instagram affects the content you see as well.

What about the Reels, Shop, and Explore pages?

With the advent of Reels, Shop, and the Explore page, there are several opportunities for Instagram users to naturally affect the factors listed above by interacting with content outside of their news feeds. If you enjoy cooking videos, for example, you may see more of those types of videos and reels in your news feed.

Is Instagram removing likes?

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the latest Instagram algorithm update in the works — removing likes. Removing one of the most popular features of the app is being tested right now as a measure against bullying and increased pressure to post content that garners more and more social approval for young Instagrammers.

The change has already taken effect in several countries including Canada, Brazil, and Australia. While it hasn’t made its way to the United States in a widespread way yet, don’t get too comfortable with your news feed engagement appearing for all to see. There could soon come a time when only you will see how many likes your posts receive.

It’s All About Content Quality

The key takeaway for brands and individuals alike is this: Quality is Queen.

These algorithms are meant to filter out irrelevant and poor-quality posts so that the highest-quality content gets through. Control over what users see and don’t see is a collaboration between the social platform and the user. The user interacts with what they find interesting and the social media platform takes note and shows you more of that the next time you open the app.

The big lesson for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram marketers like us is to remember that it’s our job to post content to social that’s interesting, entertaining, helpful, and/or relevant to our audiences. This means picking relevant topics, writing delightful copy, and posting compelling images and videos.

By following these best practices, your posts will have a better chance of getting shown to users — so you can continue to inspire, delight, and educate them.

 

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Originally Appeared On: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-algorithm-works-facebook-twitter-instagram

Filed Under: Communications, Facebook, SEO Tagged With: Facebook Marketing

How to Verify Your Facebook Page in 5 Steps [+ Why You Should]

April 1, 2021 by CCN Reporter

The other day, we searched for “Taylor Swift” on Facebook.

I was shocked to find hundreds — if not thousands — of Taylor Swifts in the United States alone.

Fortunately, I was able to find the mega-pop star’s page easily, with the help of a small blue badge:

taylor swift verified badge on facebook

When searching for a business (or person) on Facebook, a verified badge is often the easiest and most reliable way to ensure the page you’ve found is authentic.

As a business, it’s critical you use a verified badge so that prospects and customers can easily find your true page and access up-to-date, accurate information about your brand. Without a verified badge, it can be difficult to trust whether the page is legitimate.

However, the process for securing a verified badge is different for a business’ Page than it is a personal profile. Here, we’ll explore the steps you need to take to obtain a verified badge — plus, why it’s important for your brand in the first place.

How to Verify a Facebook Page

Note: The following steps outline how to verify a Facebook Business Page — if, instead, you want to verify a profile, you’ll fill out the same form, but you’ll need to upload a copy of your official government-issued photo identification, instead. (You only need to verify a profile if you’re a public figure or celebrity.)

1. You’ll need to fill out this form to request a blue verification badge from Facebook. Since this is for business purposes, you’ll want to click “Page” rather than “Profile” … 

request a blue verification badge empty form on facebook

… and then click the “Select page to verify” drop-down menu to find your business page in the list. (Note: You must be an admin of the Business Manager account to submit this form.)

drop-down menu on the form to select your business page

2. Since this is a business page, you’ll need to attach a copy of a phone or utility bill, certificate of formation, articles of incorporation, or tax exemption documents.

the section of the form that asks you to attach a document verifying your business

3. Fill in the box explaining why the account should receive a verified badge. You’ll need to include a minimum of 10 characters.

the box on the form that asks you why your page should be verified

4. Add other social media account URLs if possible, as well as any additional comments.

the section of the form that asks you to include social media accounts or additional comments

5. When you’re ready, click “Send”. You’ll be re-directed to the following page, where you can watch the status of your request: 

the support inbox you'll be redirected to once you click "send" on your form

(Facebook notes: “You’ll receive a notification once we review your request. Please don’t submit more than one request for your account. For denied requests, you can submit a new request after 30 days.”)

Why can’t I verify my Facebook Business Page?

There are a few reasons Facebook might deny your request. Let’s explore two common ones, and how you can fix them.

1. Something is wrong with your submitted documents.

Facebook outlines a few primary issues you might have with the documents you submitted in the request form. If your document doesn’t align with Facebook’s requirements — or is low resolution or low-quality — consider re-uploading a new document that fits Facebook’s standards.

For instance, your document:

  • Might not be the type of document Facebook accepts
  • Might be a self-filed document. Facebook needs to see a document with an accompanying official signature or seal.
  • The document is blurry, low resolution, or corrupted. Ensure you’ve scanned your document at a high resolution or format.
  • The document is expired.
  • The document you submitted doesn’t contain your full business address.
  • The document’s language is unsupported (supported languages are shown in the image, below):

the languages facebook supports for verified badges

2. Your information — including business website, business address, and your business’s legal name — doesn’t match up.

When it comes to requesting a verified badge, accuracy and attention to detail is key. For instance, your request might be denied if your company’s name listed on your Facebook Business Settings is different from the name that appears on your submitted documents.

Here are a few considerations to keep in mind:

  • The legal business name on your submitted document needs to match the name that appears in your Business Settings. (To fix this, update your business name in Business Settings or submit a new document that includes the business name that appears in your Business Settings.)
  • Your document needs to include your business’s full address and business phone number. (A partial address won’t be accepted.)
  • Your email domain and website address need to match, and your website should feature your company’s name or logo.
  • Your business name needs to be listed on your submitted document. For instance, if a utility bill has your business’ phone number but your business name isn’t included, it won’t be accepted.

Why Its Important to Verify My Facebook Business Page

A verified badge tells prospects and customers that they can trust your Facebook Page as the true, authentic presence of your brand. Additionally, it’s often critical for differentiating your brand from other, similar terms that might make it difficult for users to find your business on Facebook.

However, there are a few other major benefits to having a verified Facebook Business Page, aside from increased visibility.

For one, Facebook’s algorithm automatically places verified badges at the top of search results when someone is looking for your business. This is especially important if your brand hosts a few groups on Facebook.

For instance, HubSpot has a few dedicated groups for various, niche purposes like HubSpot education or HubSpot marketers. It’s critical Facebook users are able to find the more general, official HubSpot Page when searching “HubSpot”, which is why it’s good HubSpot’s Page has a verified badge, which enables it to rise to the top of search results:

search for hub

Since the verified badge will help surface your brand to the top of search results, you’ll ideally increase followers and leads as a result of having a verified badge — a major benefit of the symbol.

Additionally, a verified badge earns you early access to new Facebook features that aren’t yet available for all users. This can help you level-up on competitors who might not have the same access.

And that’s it! You’re all set to request a verified badge for your own business’ Page.

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Originally Appeared On: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/verify-facebook-page

Filed Under: Communications, Facebook Tagged With: Facebook Advertising

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