A look at Instagram and Snapchat Stories

Social media users can continuously stream their photos in a constant loop using different social media story features. Users on Instagram and Snapchat can post photos to their account, while adding different filters and geotags for their followers to watch. Each social media story post has a lasting period of exactly 24 hours from the time first shared. Both social media channels have similar core features, but is there a defining factor that pushes one over the other? Continue reading →

The Campaign:

Burger Kings latest ad stunt is designed to ‘hijack’ people’s Google Home devices. Last Wednesday around noon, the fast-food giant introduced their 15-second spot on YouTube. The spot presents a single Burger King employee speaking to a camera. To prompt Google Home devices, the actor exclaims, “OK, Google, what is the Whopper burger?” This simple sentence triggered Google Homes devices across the country to read aloud the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry about the Whooper.

Burger King’s Ad Stunt Hijacks Google home devices

The Hijack:

In its infancy, the spot generated extreme buzz. However, after airing during The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, the plan began to derail. As viewers began catching on to Burger King’s stunt, they quickly began editing the Wikipedia entry. At one point Wednesday night, the Whopper was described as ‘cyanide.’

Burger King’s Ad Stunt Hijacks Google home devices

Burger King Fights Back:

It didn’t take long for Google to catch on either. A few hours after the sport aired on the various nighttime variety shows, it stopped triggering Google Home Devices. It is being said that Google disabled the ad from working, although Google has yet to confirm. The narrative continues.

Burger King was quick to respond with a revised version of the device-hacking ad. The new version outsmarted Google, as it still had the ability to infiltrate the devices. Although this stunt generated some negative publicity and angered customers, it generated volumes of brand awareness. By Wednesday night Burger King was a trending topic across social media. You know what they say, any publicity is good publicity!

At their annual F8 conference in San Jose, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook unveiled new projects that prove their innovative power. Facebook plans to enter technology fields that have previously been seen only in sci-fi movies. Zuckerberg and his teem look to bring concepts like brain-to-Facebook connectivity and augmented reality to our everyday lives. These once seemingly impossible technological ideas are becoming a reality.  Continue reading →

At first glance, dogs on Instagram may appear to dish out a daily dose of cuteness and nothing more. There are, however, plenty of dogs on Instagram who are just as charitable as they are cute. Many Instagram-famous dogs are shelter rescues who proudly raise awareness about the dangers of puppy mills while simultaneously promoting adoption. The reach of these dogs is substantial enough to profoundly benefit the animal community.

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Unless you’ve been hibernating for the past week, there’s almost no way you haven’t heard or read about the recent United Airlines disaster where a passenger was physically dragged off the aircraft. From a PR standpoint, the entire situation is an example of exactly what not to do; thanks to the Internet, the whole thing spiraled into a public relations nightmare within no time. Here’s what happened, and how it should have been handled.

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Tumblr’s Cabana app just launched, which allows up to 6 users to video chat with one another while also sharing YouTube videos. In recent years, Tumblr has explored expanding its video capabilities. Cabana seems to be one of the results of Tumblr’s video exploration.

How Tumblr’s Cabana App Works

Cabana is currently only available for iPhones, but an Android version will likely launch in May. After launching the app, users can connect with friends or contacts they already know, or search by username. This feature it similar to Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, and other apps. Like most social platforms, users can then either accept or ignore friend requests. Once contacts are imported, users can then set up mini-chat rooms.

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Do you have trouble keeping track of your budget and paying bills? If then answer is yes, then it is time to download the personal finance software, Mint. Continue reading →

Examining marketing that works for your competitors helps bolster your LinkedIn company page performance. Using key metrics to benchmark your performance against your competitors helps identify your strengths and weaknesses. By analyzing your LinkedIn efforts, you’ll discover what works for you.

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A New app by Dallas’ rewardStyle takes consumers from screenshot to shopping cart. Since 2011, rewardStyle’s feature LIKEtoKNOW.it. has been used by social media influencers. The platform is a social shopping service that lets influencers and bloggers on platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram get paid for their work. The screenshot option is the platform’s newest feature. It is extremely user-friendly and changes the way fashion addicts shop.

LIKEtoKNOW.it.

This was the first feature introduced by rewardStyle. After a blogger or influencers takes a picture of an outfit, they upload it to LIKEtoKNOW.it. and tag the featured items in the picture. After they tag the items, they then upload the corresponding links to where users can buy the products from. This is an extremely beneficial from all platforms and makes shopping easier!

Screenshot to Shopping Cart

The App:

In March 2017, LIKEtoKNOW.it. released its own app. The app lets audiences shop content from anywhere on your phone. It is doing this through one simple act: taking a screenshot. To use the new app all you have to do is take a screenshot of a photo you want to shop. After taking the screenshot, the app sends you a push notification, matching the image with influencer photos in its database. Shortly after, you can open the app and shop the content featured in the photo. Co-founder and president of rewardStyle, Amber Venz Box explains, “Liking’ has become transactional, but taking a screenshot is the most personal form of curation and it is the strongest indicate of purchase intent.”

If you, like myself, are an avid online shopper you won’t regret downloading the app. Take yourself from a screenshot to shopping cart with a simple download.

Screenshot to Shopping Cart

Influencer Marketing For Business

A rapidly growing area of business is influencer marketing. Influencer marketing happens when brands form partnerships with people. People who have strong social media followings are best fit. These partnerships are used to promote the brands products or services.

With the rise of social media, everyday people have been given a chance to promote their hobbies and passions. Sometimes, they are able to turn their hobbies and passions into business opportunities. Brand partnerships are a viable opportunity to turn their social media accounts into shopper marketing platforms.

Who Does This Benefit?

This is beneficial for both brands and individuals. Brands are able to tap into the network of their chosen influencer. Influencers create and maintain their networks. This is much easier than trying to build an audience from the bottom up. Additionally, the influencer benefits from the partnership. The influencer is given great visibility as they are seen by the brands existing customer base too.

When brands partner with influencers who work within the same space they operate, influencer marketing is most successful. For this rea

Influencer Marketing For Business. SheSpeaks Logo.

son, it is crucial that partnerships be well thought-out. Going through an influencer marketing agency is one way to ensure partnerships coexist intentionally.

For example, an automotive brand will be best matched with an influencer who is a car enthusiast and has prior knowledge in that space. This way, the audiences of the brand and the influencer are likely to overlap. With that, audience members find interest in the product or service the brand offers. Additionally, the brands audience is more likely to trust what the influencer has to say.

Overall, influencer marketing is most successful when brands choose influencers who are able to authentically represent their message. Authenticity creates trust and is able to bridge the audiences of both the brand and the influencer in an effort to successfully promote each.

As of this week, steps are being taken to make sure there is no more fake news from Google and Facebook. These online giants took action to implement policies to put an end to the spread of fake news on their sites. Last year’s presidential brought fake news into the spotlight. Many voters fell victim to false information found on Google or their own Facebook news feed. By using third-party fact checkers, Google and Facebook look to put the truth out to the public. Continue reading →

Facebook’s new Messenger feature, M, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make suggestions from reading words and phrases in your messages. Facebook announced on April 6, 2017 that they will expand, so M can anticipate your next move. Fear not. This feature will eliminate steps in your responses. It’s like it can read your mind.
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Did a news story about President Obama banning the Pledge of Allegiance ever pop up on your Facebook news feed? Or, how about one where a woman defecated on her boss’s desk after winning the lottery? As you may have guessed, both of these stories are very, very fake. Fake news stories on social media has recently become a large problem, especially for Facebook users.

Two out of three US adults say that fake news causes them confusion. Most fake news is shared on social media. Considering two out of three US Americans get their news from social media, this is a concerning issue.

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Improving your health may be simpler than you think. In fact, you can use your mobile device as a tool to make small changes that have a big impact on your wellbeing. A few ways to use your phone on your journey to improved health are: downloadable apps, accessories, alerts and podcasts.  Continue reading →