Tips for Pictures That Generate Breakthrough Results in Social #SESCHI

	Tips for Pictures That Generate Breakthrough Results in Social #SESCHI What picture of your brand are you painting in social? I don’t mean metaphorically, I mean what visuals are you using to represent what you do and what your audience cares about? Study and after study indicates that visual content is far more impactful in social than its text-only counterpart, and yet a majority of brands interacting in social aren’t adjusting their content mix accordingly. Cliches are Cliches Cause They Work “A picture is worth a thousand words.” We’ve all heard the phrase, and for good reason. Especially when it comes to engaging your audience in social. Laura Roth, of Incisive Media, moderates today’s session focused on ‘harnessing the power of visuals’ in social. Krista Nehrer, CEO of Boot Camp Digital, is the first presenter and she wastes no time to ‘prove’ images have more impact. Nehrer shows an image of a baby on the screen in the conference room. It flashes for only a moment, but when asked, the audience is able to describe the image to a T. More than simply proving recall, the audience also responded to the image with emotion. She then flashes a ton of text on the screen. Again the information is only shown for a moment. This time, the audience falls silent. We were not only unable to recall a majority of the information, we (or at least I) felt no emotion in reaction to the flashing text. Science actually supports that an image is worth a thousand words! Take that 8th grade science teacher who yelled at me for doodling. The 3 R’s of Pictures Nehrer introduces her 3 R’s of creating quality images. Real Pictures Real Things Real People Her point is simple and clear. People respond to images they relate to. So real photos taken of real things by real people is far more relatable, than say, my 8th grade doodles or photo shopped creatures. Translating these best practices to social, Nehrer points out that using images in social requires an understanding that real images drive real engagement. Instagram & User Generated Content is Growing Consumers are savvy and they don’t appreciate feeling misled. To keep brands and marketers to their promise, consumers are taking their own images to demonstrate how the product appears when they received it. The images featured here of the Big Mac – ad vs. a consumer’s reality – is a quintessential example. This emerging behavior is a great reminder to deliver on our brand promises as part of an image strategy. Expect your audience to generate their wn images and pictures of your brand. The question is, are you giving a product that is ‘photo-ready’? Continuing the discussion on user generated content, Cara Phillips of Federated Media, brings us back in history.  The Kiss is Gone If you’re over 20 years old you’re likely familiar with the picture known affectionately as ‘The Kiss’. It’s a WWII era image of a sailor dipping and kissing a young woman. That single image captured the imagination of the nation and still resonates with many today. But in some ways, the days of ‘The Kiss’ are over. Which is not to say photos don’t work. In fact, it’s the contrary. Photos work so well that we’re all generating our own photos. So in moments of great crisis or emotion, there are hundreds, thousands or millions of ‘photographers’ capturing the moment – not one. Photos are Art  Phillips, who spends every working hour of her day creating visual content, wants to empower the audience (and marketers everywhere) to think like an artist. ‘Photos are art, it’s subjective. So to be successful publishing images in social, you need to trust your own judgement of what photos are good.’ She then shows 2 different images of a boy with a dog, side-by-side. Both were cute, but boy on the left is being photographed in a ‘Glamour Shots’ like environment and is dawning all white. The boy on the right has messing hair, some dirt on his face and slobbering pooch. The image to the right ‘wins’ with the audience, and it’s not even close. Sorry ‘Glamour Shots’! Consistent Visual Strategy Phillips asserts that brands that succeed with visuals in social have a consistent visual strategy. Meaning, not only do they produce quality images on a consistent basis, but the visuals are all connected under a common – overarching theme. Pointing to Nike as a gold standard, Phillips explains that the images have a clear theme to her: our products are there to help you perform physical activities and reach your goals. So whether you are looking at their timeline in Facebook or peaking at their Pinterest boards, you’ll walk away with the understanding of how Nike can fit into your life. Marketers want data to inform all decisions. It’s in our DNA. And while we ultimately can measure the effectiveness of the images we use in social as it relates to certain KPIs, maybe the biggest lesson to take from this session is we need to embrace our inner artist as well. Know your audience, understand what they like and trust your inner artist to stay true to those points. Stay connected for more posts from SES Chicago. For instant information, you can plug into the conference by following @elizalynnsteely and @bslarsonmn on Twitter. Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter. © Online Marketing Blog, 2013. | Tips for Pictures That Generate Breakthrough Results in Social #SESCHI | http://www.toprankblog.com Read More » Targeting Your Mobile Audience with Aggregate Data #SESCHI Over a billion smartphones enter the market every year. They’re everywhere, and users are finding new ways to leverage them every day. Mine is rarely more than 3 feet away from me, and I use it for everything from research, social "creeping", and shopping to email, an alarm clock, and my camera. One of my biggest pet peeves is when things aren't mobile compatible. As it turns out, I'm far from alone. When it comes to websites, 61% of users won't return to a site if they have a negative experience and 40% will go to a competitor's site instead. Add on to that the statistic that 90% of all purchasing decisions begin with online research, and it’s understandable why appealing to mobile audiences has become so important. But doing so is very different than appealing to traditional web users. Lauren Moores of Dstillery and Ambrish Verma of Microsoft presented on why location is so important when it comes to targeting mobile users, and gave a few pieces of advice to help their fellow marketers target their growing mobile audiences in their SES Session: Key Mobile Insights Mobile is not only becoming increasingly popular, but users are relying on it for more and more things and using their devices to multitask. Here are a few key statistics offered in today’s session: 44% of mobile search queries have a strong location intent 84% of shoppers use mobile devices for search while shopping Mobile users are relying more on apps than on browser searches Retail queries on mobile drive better engagement than on desktop There are 4 main reasons people use mobile: communication, looking for local information, getting instant answers, and app usage Be Present During Each Step of the Consumer Journey through Targeting The days of making one ad for everyone are long, long gone. Now mobile users expect to see what they want, when they want and in the format they want. On top of that, they want to save time, money and hassle. As a marketer targeting has become an essential way to help them do those things. There are 3 main kinds of targeting: Device targeting: this makes sure your site and advertisements are optimized for the device they’re using. Device targeting provides some flexibility in budget allocation in terms of targeting certain devices. Device-targeted campaigns have been shown to result in higher click through rates. If you’re targeting mobile users, be sure to include a “click-to-call” button. Day-time targeting: this ensures that your information is shown at the time it’s most relevant to the searcher. See when people are checking your site, reacting to your ads, and post around those times. Location targeting and OS targeting: can be used to make sure your information is presented in the most optimized local and time context in order to provide an enriching experience to help users get what they’re looking for from mobile. Local ads can be targeted within a 5-to-100 mile radius of your store. Or you can use zip code, address or DMA. Use Location to Target the Right Audience, at the Right Time Location data is essential for capturing the physical patterns of consumers, especially mobile users. There are three key pieces of location information that can help you, as a marketer, find your audience: The IP address can help you identify if it’s a wi-fi IP address or if it’s “out in the wild”. Census-blocks are the most granular piece of census data that can be married with demographic data to provide more insight into those using your site. Latitude and longitude are the key to targeting mobile. This allows you to create a lot of context about a particular user, or a group of users. In your app make sure you have an opt-in for users to access their location for your marketing purposes. On mobile web you will receive the users IP address, so it’s important to emphasize usage of your app. Using location data, you can make a difference and change your marketing strategy in four areas: Creative: location can help you determine how to change your messaging, images and even content to appeal to your mobile users. Consider providing directions Audience Segmentation: location can help you understand where your users are and target those based on their proximity to you, those who will interact with you on a more frequent basis. Scale: location can help you go from digital to physical. It helps you find where searchers are over-indexing and under-indexing with your brand. This data can be used to scale your advertising by finding people on mobile and targeting them on desktop to expand your advertising and exposure. Visualization: location can help you visualize your audience in maps and in colors. You can identify where your brand action-takers are, creating an opportunity for you to expand your advertising in those areas. Sometimes you’ll be surprised by where your searchers and customers are! Include Site Link Extensions Site links are used to provide users much deeper and richer context. For mobile users it’s all about taking immediate actions in real-time and on-the-go. Guide consumers onto your ideal conversion path with Site Link Extensions. These can help increase click-through rates, and shorten the funnel to increase leads.  These can be used to link to social pages or to drive app downloads as well as pages on your site. Key Takeaways When considering a mobile strategy and site there are a few key things Moores and Verma advise you to keep in mind: Define your mobile strategy with a focus on consumer experiences relevant to your business Reach your customers via mobile site and apps to expand your reach Optimzie for location and platform to improve ROI mobile campaigns with targeting Use mobile ad formats to drive conversions with click to call, click to map and site links I guess the old phrase “location, location, location” still holds true. Do you use location targeting in your mobile strategy? How could you take it to the next level and make your mobile ads more tailored to those around you? SES Chicago is winding down, but check back for a recap on the highlights from the conference and the key tips you need to know. Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the TopRank® Online Marketing Newsletter. © Online Marketing Blog, 2013. | Targeting Your Mobile Audience with Aggregate Data #SESCHI | http://www.toprankblog.com Read More » Online Marketing News: 21 New Content Marketing Rules, 10 Free Monitoring Tools, 150 Million Instagram Users, 5 Ways Facebook Pages Get Festive Findability: 21 New Rules of Content Marketing – While the foundations of building a site are still in play, it's the content that's now successfully driving the success to companies investing in great marketing strategies. Many companies who invested heavily in search engine optimization have seen those investments lost; but companies who continued to push for relevant, frequent and recent content that provide value to their audience continue to see the rewards. Are you ready for a new world of search engine optimization, social media, and content marketing? Marketing Tech Blog 59% of Businesses Say Conversion Rate Optimization is Crucial to Their Digital Strategy – This highlights the growing focus on CRO in an increasingly competitive online marketplace, fuelled in part by more advanced targeting and personalisation technologies. Read the new report based on a survey of almost 1,000 client-side and agency digital marketers. eConsultancy Want to Boost Your Social Media Following? Get Visual – Videos and photos are more likely to get clicked and shared on social media. Here’s how smart companies are ramping up the use of visuals. Inc. Facebook Has More Mobile Users Than Ever – Facebook posted strong third quarter results, which the company says is largely attributed to its command of mobile advertising. Here are some tips to help you reach Facebook's growing mobile fan base. Inc. In Other Facebook News … while mobile is now 49% of ad revenue, a recent survey from Piper Jaffray found that for the first time, it was not named by teens as their "most important" social network, surrendering that distinction to Twitter. Marketing Charts Study: Instagram Fastest Growing Social Network, Top Brand Engagement Up 350% Since Last Year – Instagram is the fastest growing social network with 150 million users and 40 million photos being uploaded each day according to social analytics company. Marketing Land Why Google+ is an Essential Part of Your Social Strategy – Google+ now has over 343 million users and 34% of all social log-ins. If you're still on the fence, here's a look at just why you should be taking G+ seriously and how you can make it effective. Socialnomics Why Google Authorship is So Important for the Content You Create – Use Google authorship to claim the content you create and enjoy an author's advantages in visibility, click-throughs and results. Here's how to set it up. A lot of great comments too! Buffer Study: 72% Of Consumers Expect Brands to Respond Within an Hour to Complaints Posted On Twitter – Surveying 501 respondents who claimed they actively engaged with businesses on Twitter, the study found a brand's response time to tweets can significantly impact the brand's overall reputation. Marketing Land 5 Ways to Prepare Your Facebook Page for the Holidays – Are you thinking of the holidays on social? Here are some ways to make your Facebook page festive. Social Media Examiner Google Indexing Apps Just Like Websites – Just like it crawls and indexes websites, Googlebot can now index content in your Android app. Webmasters will be able to indicate which app content you’d like Google to index in the same way you do for webpages today — through your existing Sitemap file and through Webmaster Tools. Webmaster Central Blog Why YouTube is Worth Your Marketing Effort – [Infographic] Creating quality content and linking to it is a great way to increase your visibility on the web, but has your business considered having a presence on YouTube? YouTube has become the second largest search engine, and its viewership has been growing rapidly. Visual.ly New Google Plus Custom URLs: more than meets the eye – Many seemed to have missed the terms of use that have accompanied the new feature; most notably the phrase about payment: Custom URLs are free for now, but we may start charging a fee for them. The new TOS clearly states that Google may look to monetize the URL scheme. This would be a major shift in the business model of the platform, which has always been geared toward being a ‘no ads’ service. eConsultancy 10 Free Tools for Monitoring Your Brand's Online Reputation – Do you pay attention to what people say about you on the Internet? Occasionally Googling the name of your company, product or service might not be enough. The time to start managing your online reputation is before it becomes a problem. Use these tools to stay on top of your brand. Social Fresh A Timeline to Help Marketers Capitalize on Holiday Panic – [Infographic] 16.3% of shoppers looked for Black Friday deals & promos on Facebook. Capitalize on holiday buying anxiety. Social Times Study: 8% of US Adults Consume News via Twitter – Pew Research surveyed more than 5,000 U.S. adults, and discovered that 16 percent of respondents used Twitter. Of those, slightly more than half (52 percent) "ever" get their news on Twitter. Of course, flipping this on its head, the stats also say than more than eight in ten U.S. adults are not even on Twitter.  MediaBistro Google Launches Helpouts, Paid Video Chats With Experts In Real Time – A 'Helpout' is a Hangout-like video chat, but instead of speaking with a friend, you are connected to a supposed expert in whatever it is that you need help with. The tagline that Google has come up with for Helpouts is "real help from real people in real time." What happened to calling your mom? TechCrunch Stats: Facebook vs Twitter: Revenue, Users and more – Twitter's widely anticipated IPO is just around the corner, and, for many analysts, it would seem to make sense to speculate on Twitter's fortunes based on what has happened to Facebook and their IPO. But, they've always been different social platforms and different companies, so a head-to-head comparison is illogical as they diverge on every significant statistic out there. Check the visual from Statista for all the number goodness. MediaBistro Google Testing New AdWords Site Search Extension – A new flavor of AdWords form extensions has been spotted. It's a site search box, and according to Google, this test is related to the drop-down navigation. Search Engine Land From the Online Community From “The Truth About Visual Content Marketing Tactics: Infographics,” Matthew White said, Those are very interesting numbers from HubSpot on the importance of visuals. I also like your #1 con of infographics – too many poorly executed ones. I know this factor has begun to affect when and how I consume infographics. That being the case – where do you think storytelling is headed next? I see readers and content consumers increasingly craving more interactive – or, smart – content beyond graphics. From “How 5 Large Consumer and B2B Brands Are Using Vine” Tema Frank said, The challenge is in the creativity. It is hard to be creative and communicate a message in 6 seconds. Though as you show, it can be done. Personally, I think the first two here are all that great. The Phillips one flashes so quickly it is hard on the eyes, and the “culture” it shows is just a standard corporate office setup. The Cisco one makes me wonder who their target market is. Looks pretty high-schoolish. The HP one is perfect though. Clear message, well communicated. Barbara Mckinney said, No matter how you use Vine to promote your brand the important thing is to get started with Vine. There is no doubt that Vine is an easy, powerful way to integrate video into your marketing strategy. Studies are proving the importance of short, brief videos, and how influential they can be to prospects and to your existing customers-especially when they tell a story, and engage your public.