Snapchat’s audience filter feature now let advertisers use personal information to target users. Snapchat does this through the use of their filters. Brands now target specific audiences based on gender, interests, and even time of day. Snapchat’s audience filter feature is significantly more useful to advertisers than geofilters. Geofilters only enable them to reach a user’s specific location. While geofilters and audience filters have different targeting strengths, Snapchat’s audience filters provide more depth and precision to advertisers.
Author Archives: Tamara Karram
Networking on Instagram Through Direct Message
Networking on Instagram possesses a wealth of opportunity and is a growing social media strategy for companies, brands, and users to utilize. Instagram’s direct message feature emerged as the single biggest business development opportunity of this decade. With that said, Instagram remains one of the most under-utilized recourses where you can connect with anyone. Whether you are trying to reach a social media influencer or a company you want a job at, the possibilities are endless if done so strategically.
Searching Instagram using hashtags, locations, and user profiles is the most effective way to find what you are looking for.
Twitter Character Limit Expands to 280 in Controversial Decision
Twitter expanded the Twitter character limit from 140 characters to 280 characters. Twitter announced that they were testing 280-character tweets for 5% of their users at the end of September. The company decided to expand the limit to help users be more expressive. While many Twitter users reacted poorly to the tests, Twitter believes that doubling the previous character limit will make users more likely to tweet. The idea came about after Twitter discovered only 9% of users hit the 140 character limit in their tweets. This means that the limit forced users to edit their thoughts when tweeting.
Influencer Marketing on Social Media is a Cash Cow
Influencer marketing on social media is one of the
most effective ways for brands to grow. Not only has influencer marketing changed the way companies advertise, it’s also creating a new profession revolving around social media. These influencers make a living posting sponsored content for cash. Many social media influencers make thousands of dollars posting content. The type of content ranges from advocating for a brand as a whole to reviewing a specific product. The large price tag on these posts proves worthwhile for many brands because they are paying for that influencers credibility as well as their following. For the first time, companies can reach millions through sponsored posts and statistics show this method to be more effective than any traditional advertising.
Influencer marketing on social media became is the practice of building relationships with people who can build relationships for you
Snapchat’s Context Cards Puts Information About Location at Your Fingertips
Snapchat’s context cards are the newest addition to the apps suite of in-app tools. The new feature integrates Foursquare, TripAdvisor, Uber, and Lyft, among others. This collaboration gives users more information about Snapchat’s based on their location. Snapchat’s context cards act as packets of information on the location of where a user takes a snap. The cards pull data from various partner companies to give users as much information as possible based on their location. Therefore, when a user takes a snap at a particular location, they can open a card by swiping up. Continue reading
HiQ’s Lawsuit Against LinkedIn Becomes a Landmark Case
HiQ’s lawsuit against LinkedIn concerns access to the publicly available internet. HiQ labs is a startup data analytics company who is taking legal action against LinkedIn. HiQ is claiming LinkdIn denied them access to information on their member’s public profiles. This case will be the first time the courts interpret the issue of access on the internet. Moreover, the landmark lawsuit’s traction in the media adds to anticipation for the resulting precedent. Furthermore, this precedent will become common law and used as a guide for future cases surrounding this topic. Not only will this lawsuit go down in history as a landmark case, but it will also affect the landscape of the tech industry forever.
The Power of Citizen Journalism
The height of the digital age we live in has brought to light the power of citizen journalism. Crucial moments and crises are live streamed, recorded, and posted to social media seconds after they occur. Not only does this leave less room for lies and fabrication, it also gives the public direct access to news. Due to the nature of the way we use our smartphones, someone is always there to catch a crucial moment in real time.
The New iPhone X Makes a Splash
Impressive Features of the New iPhone X Separate it From Previous Models
The introduction of the new iPhone X from Apple has changed the way we think about smartphones. Except for a design change here and there, the iPhone has progressed along a steady and predictable course, until now. The new iPhone X takes smartphone technology to another stratosphere. Apple technology exists under a critical public spotlight. Therefore, we can safely assume the development of the iPhone X was a long and carefully thought out process. Each function of the phone is narrowly tailored to immerse its user in an entirely new mobile experience.
The new iPhone X features an all glass, a full-screen design that significantly differs from previous models. With a 5.8-inch super retina screen, the smartphone not only pleases the eye but also wows with its impressive durability. However, perhaps the most exciting new feature of the iPhone X is its face identification capability. Face recognition has replaced fingerprint’s as the primary way to unlock the iPhone. With just a glance, the new iPhone X need not do more than recognizing its user’s face to take them to their home screen. Another notable feature of the new iPhone X is animojis. The smartphones true depth camera analyzes more than 50 different muscle movements to mirror your expressions in 12 animated emojis. Other attributes of the phone include impressive power efficiency, a neural engine, dual OIS, and unparalleled camera capabilities.
Many argue that anticipation for the release of the iPhone X reached higher than it has for any other smartphone’s release. The only downfall’s of this revolutionary new technology revolve around its steep price. Anyone wanting the new iPhone X must be willing to pay at least $1000. Compared to the iPhone 8, the new iPhone X can seem to many an unnecessary luxury. Only time will tell whether the new iPhone’s X’s price tag will have a negative effect on sales.
Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat Push Each Other Toward Innovation to Improve the User Experience
Now more than ever the overlapping functions within Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are a gray area. The nature of social media platforms lends itself to constant evolution. While social media powerhouses like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are not becoming obsolete anytime soon, the purpose these platforms serve for users may be shifting. Remember when posting on your best friends Facebook wall was the first thing you did on their birthday? With similar nostalgia, you can remember a time when the function of posting “stories” belonged exclusively to Snapchat. Now that different platforms serve the same capacity, the user must align their social media priorities accordingly to adapt.
How do you choose between Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat?
This environment leaves these platforms questioning what exactly affects the decision-making process for users. Why would a user post a story to Instagram over Snapchat? Functionality and credibility. Users find themselves concerned with these two factors when deciding whether or not to engage new features. While functionality becomes apparent to users immediately, a platform’s credibility must build over time. As a result, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat must use different tactics to monopolize their shared user base.
Navigating the road to market domination makes taking concepts from the competition necessary. However, platforms then face the challenge of doing what their competitors do better. When Instagram gave users the ability to stream live video directly to their followers, Facebook’s identical feature suddenly seemed outdated. While competition characterizes much of the ingenuity social media platforms display, it can also set these platforms below their competitors.
Similarly to Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat’s service to you, the user experience always changes. Users become smarter and more observant with every post or like they give. Continuous growth and learning from users push platforms toward innovation. In turn, unceasing change keeps users using. This cycle, while never-ending, propels the user experience forward.
