IGTV Video

How Brands Can Take Advantage of IGTV Video

Video has always been king. This week Instagram rolled out it’s latest major updated with IGTV. This will allow users to upload videos of up to one hour in length. Previously users could only upload videos of a limit of one minute. Users can access IGTV Video on the Instagram homescreen or download the standalone app. This is a game changer for creators and marketers alike. Creators will be able to develop their channels with different videos that users can subscribe to and even put links in the description of their videos to drive traffic to their personal website or elsewhere.

Currently, there are no ads on IGTV, but in their announcement of the update, Instagram did mention that ads could eventually end up here. But that doesn’t mean this is not an additional place for brands to create and distribute long form videos.

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Brewers Social Media; MLB Facebook Stream; Little League

Facebook set to stream 25 MLB Games this season

With the 2018 Major League Baseball a quarter of the way through the season, Facebook and the MLB reached a deal to stream 25 afternoon games on the social network. This means that you will be able to watch those 25 games from anywhere by simply logging into your Facebook account on either mobile, desktop or TV. The MLB games will be available for free through Facebook’s Watch Tab, which is the site’s video hub for original and live content, and can be found through the news feed.

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Top 5 Things Brands Should Stop Doing On Social Media

Top 5 Things Brands Should Stop Doing On Social MediaAs the new year is now in full gear, I have read numerous articles on Digital Trends and what to look for the upcoming year. The more I look around and notice that brand / businesses are still falling short on social media and digital. In order to advance digital in 2017, we first need to correct our mistakes and enhance what we were doing in 2016. Social Media has been around for awhile now, and many people managing brands Social Media channels have years of experience doing so, and should be well past the ineffective social media and digital habits. If you have not made any New Year’s Resolutions yet, there is still time to do so, and you and/or your business is still doing any of these, let’s make a resolution to stop and adopt better practices, strategies and become better marketers.

Here are my social media, digital and web items that should be left in 2016.

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Why Email Marketing is Crucial to your Marketing Strategy

email_marketingIt’s that time of year. When marketers send out e-newsletters in droves, announcing Black Friday deals, store hours, when Santa will be at their location, flights to get home for the holidays, etc. My inbox gets filled up more this time of year, than any other time. The holiday season is upon us.

E-mail marketing should be one of the pillars of your content marketing strategy. Social Media is great to mention your Black Friday deals, holiday items, etc, but as a marketer I like to think of Facebook and Twitter, etc, as rented platforms. Everybody’s favorite past time is complaining about the changes that Facebook makes to it’s platform, how brands are not getting the organic reach as they have in the past, etc. Technology changes fast and there are new social media platforms coming out just as fast; that consumers are flocking too. Everyone is always trying to be on the next great thing. These platforms can go away at any moment and everything you have built will be gone. Don’t get me wrong, social media is an extremely important component to your marketing strategy.  Read more

My Periscope Perspective and Tips

wersm-twitter-buys-periscope-video-streaming-app-657x360When new technology comes out or becomes hot, I like to test it personally and then figure out how it can be used for the brand. I think of what I would do with it to promote the brand, how it will benefit the brand and do we have time to incorporate it and do it well instead of just doing it because everyone else is doing it. If this is another social network, I think about how it will be incorporated in our strategy and how we will get people to follow us on this new network and be relevant.

Recently, for the first time, I decided to add Periscope to our wheelhouse and do some live videos when we are out filming creating our YouTube videos for Visit Lake County. The first video I did was 2 weeks ago, and it was on Six Flags Great America making their announcement of a new coaster coming in 2016. I figured this was a pretty easy and I could potentially have a decent attendance, especially with some coaster enthusiasts. As it turned out, I was quite surprised with how it went and the amount of people who were watching us live and interacting us. Read more

Instagram Now Allows Portrait and Landscape Imagery

In a somewhat surprising move today, Instagram has allowed users to not only share photos in square posts but they can now share posts in both portrait and landscape orientation. My first thought was “No, don’t change the uniqueness of the platform’, but after scrolling through my Instagram feed several times, I feel that this will be a win for the users as they are not just constrained to the square format. Plus, think about why you view Instagram. I go to see beautiful images of this amazing world that we live in and now not only will I be able to see a small portion of a ballpark like Yankee Stadium but a panoramic view of it, which is even better.

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