As the use of Instagram influencer marketing continues to increase, so does its value to marketers. Here are some trends and tips to consider before incorporating Instagram influencer marketing into your digital strategy.

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Social media has had a huge influence on the dance industry in the past few years because it created a new avenue to showcase and express the art of dance. All levels of the craft can see the impact of social media on the dance industry.  Social media is revolutionary for dancers because it brings performers out of the background and into the spotlight. These are a few overarching trends of the impact of social media on the dance industry.  

Social Media Democratizes Dance

One of the significant impacts of social media in the dance industry is the democratization of dance. Social media democratizes dance because it grants a broader scope of access to performance opportunities and training. As a result, with the ease and accessibility of social media young dancers do not always have to rely on industry gatekeepers to pursue their craft. Barriers such as the financial burden of classes, location of studios, and dancer stereotypes have hindered performers in the past. Social media therefore opens the door and democratizes opportunities for people to participate in dance. 

Facilitates the Rise of Dance Influencers

The rise of dance influencers has been one of the impacts of social media on the dance industry. Online dance videos became popular around the year 2013. As a result, studios like Millennium and The Playground host weekly classes that produce multiple viral videos.  Aspiring dancers flock to these classes weekly to train and gain popularity. Dancers can become self-sustaining artists through social media channels. These videos highlight the raw environment of a studio class without fancy costumes or productions. Dance influencers can supplement their income through sponsored deals and promotions that engage and inspire niche markets due to their popularity. Social media has become part of a dancer’s resume, and this has helped advance the careers of many dancers worldwide. 

Promotes a Deeper Appreciation for the Process

Social media allows dancers and dance companies to grant behind the scenes access to their process. Dancers and dance companies are in unique situations to position themselves as experts in their discipline through the proper use of social media. Sharing behind the scenes footage from rehearsals, auditions, backstage, can help followers of dance companies to feel as though they are insiders. This type of content increases engagement and grows dance social media followings. Increased visual digital communication is one of the profound impacts of social media on the dance industry. This is important because it takes the audience places they could not reach before.  This promotes a deeper appreciation of the process of dance beyond what happens on stage. 

Ultimately the impact of social media on the dance industry is a positive change for dancers, industry professionals, and companies. The entire art form of dance grows with the spread of a new appreciation for the art through more content available to audiences. In the end, the impact of social media on the dance industry is positive and a new era in the landscape of this performing art. 

mwoodard

Melody is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and a Marketing professional working in the Dallas area. She has experience in mutiple industries and a special interest in digital marketing.

LinkedIn is known as the most professionally focused social media platform. LinkedIn has over 660 million users in more than 200 countries worldwide. Two professionals join LinkedIn every second. LinkedIn can increase brand awareness, generate leads, promote new positions, and educate customers. These are a few tips on how to create a thriving LinkedIn company page. 

Write a Strong Overview Section

The overview section is where businesses describe who they are and what they do. Thriving LinkedIn company pages have well thought out overview sections because this is one of the first impressions of the company page. Using search engine optimization strategies in the overview section is also a crucial part of thriving LinkedIn company pages. Overview sections with SEO content work well because they make the page more visible in search engine results and bring more people to the page. This section is where a company needs to be purposeful and communicate vision, mission, values, positioning, and product. 

Thriving LinkedIn Company Pages Use a Professional Tone

LinkedIn is a professional networking site, and therefore all content should reflect a professional tone. LinkedIn should is an extension of a company’s professional persona. Companies with thriving LinkedIn business pages engage with people appropriately and are not overdramatic. Be cautious about misusing jokes and humor on this platform. Pushing sales or one-sided content is also not beneficial for a LinkedIn business page because it is not keeping the ideal client’s interest in mind. Do not try to be casual to boost engagement. 

Post with a Purpose

Posting with a purpose is a valuable part of creating a thriving LinkedIn company page.  Quality over quantity is a significant factor to remember when deciding what to post or share on LinkedIn. Create posts that would benefit the ideal client or help them solve a problem. Being helpful and friendly is more engaging to clients than being sales-oriented. Studies also show that creating posts with original images that do not look like stock photos make content more appealing to followers. Using headlines that are clear and concise with a call to action for followers is a great way to post with purpose on LinkedIn. 

Monitor Analytics for a Thriving LinkedIn Company Page

Analytics are essential on any social media platform. Maintaining a thriving LinkedIn business page involves monitoring and acting on analytical data. Analytics show what is working and not working on a LinkedIn page. Analytics also show audience demographics. The information gained from monitoring analytics produces more targeted content because it shows how followers react to the content.

Having a strong LinkedIn strategy is an integral part of having a thriving LinkedIn company page. LinkedIn speaks to multiple audiences at the same time. Employees and prospective employees, current and potential customers, and industry players and competitors all interact with LinkedIn company pages. Utilizing these tips will help create the best page possible for successfully using LinkedIn as a business. 

mwoodard

Melody is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and a Marketing professional working in the Dallas area. She has experience in mutiple industries and a special interest in digital marketing.

There are currently over 3,000 different emojis presently in use today. The variety of unique emojis allows for many different ways to use Emojis in digital marketing. Positive and negative ways to use emojis exist due to the various messages they communicate. Here are a few things to keep in mind when determining the best ways to use emojis in digital marketing.

Emojis in Digital Marketing do not Replace Words

Israel will host an exhibit in 2020 comparing Egyptian hieroglyphs to modern-day emojis to show the similarities in the language and pictogram images. Similarly, In 2014 an author recreated the novel Moby Dick using emojis instead of words to compare both forms of the book. Both of these projects proved that despite their similarities, emojis are not a language because they are not complex enough. As a result, emojis should not substitute words in digital marketing. Consequently, using emojis instead of words is never recommended in digital marketing campaigns because it can make messages confusing.  Messages are enhanced through the use of emojis and not created by them.

Situations Determine the Emoji

Situations determine the best method for using emojis online. Social media is a great place to use emojis in digital marketing. Online polls feturing emojis that encourage users to repond with emojis increase engagement. In contrast, experts recommend being cautious about using emojis in emails because they are causal. It is not advised to use emojis in introductory emails because the relationship has not been established with the client yet. Companies that are in the entertainment, sports, music or similar industries have the potential to benefit from the use of emojis. Strictly B2B companies must use caution when determining the use of emojis. Organizations should also determine if using emojis would fit within the brand as a whole before using emojis in digital marketing.

Emojis Humanize Messages

In the digital world, it can be hard to read emotion from text alone. The use of emojis in digital marketing allows writers to communicate emotion and therefore enhance the overall meaning of their messages. The injection of exciting emojis add excitement to posts. Injecting the right emoji also adds empathy to difficult topics. Brands are more humanized and approachable  through the use of emojis that convey emotion. Emojis can give brands personality and can add playfulness to posts. Emojis can also digitally communicate body language and gestures that would typically come from speaking face to face. The clapping hands emoji is an example of using emojis to substitute gestures.

Using emojis is a beneficial way to engage with clients. They are also an excellent way to humanize brands and speak effectively in the new digital language of today. Emojis are not just for teenagers and texters anymore and can be a valuable tool for digital marketers. Emojis are an integral part of digital language and communications and can enhance digital marketing campaigns. 

mwoodard

Melody is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and a Marketing professional working in the Dallas area. She has experience in mutiple industries and a special interest in digital marketing.

Keeping track of analytics is the best way to know if your social media strategy is working.

Above all, you need to figure out what your business needs from social media.

For some businesses, sales are important; others need to increase brand awareness.

One of the best way to bring success to your company, is choosing the right social media analytics tool, depending on your business goals.

Having a lot of followers and likes is great, however, tracking audience reach and engagement is even more important.

Are you are struggling to grow your audience on YouTube, Facebook or any other Social Media platform hosting videos? It could be your video thumbnails.

If you are on YouTube and you are using one of the three default random thumbnails they provide, then your thumbnails probably “suck”.

VIDEO THUMBNAILS = A TOP 10 CRUCIAL RANKING FACTOR

Your video’s thumbnail image is one of the 10 most critical factors in getting someone to click and view your video.

Yet, look around on YouTube and you see that it is rather underutilized, despite it’s simplicity.

That spells COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.

90% of the best-performing videos on YouTube have custom thumbnails.

Here are three proven ways to have your video’s thumbnails stand out from the crowd and get clicked on.

1. Make Them Engaging

You want to elicit an instant response, a motivation from your potential viewer. You can encourage that response in a few ways:

a) By “Telling a Story”

Your video thumbnails need to say something interesting about what the viewer might find after clicking.

It can be anything: a “teaser”; “dramatic”, say, reflecting triumph over difficulty; “funny”. It can also simulate or show action or movement.

You have endless possibilities, but your objective is to create interest and curiosity.

b) By “Showing Emotion”

Your thumbnails need to show an emotion, fitting the story.

Aim for positive emotions. They are usually stronger, as this will elicit a positive response in your viewer. Excitement is also good for a response.

c) By “Being Relatable”

Your viewers will react better to thumbnails they can relate to.

TIP: Put YOURSELF on the video thumbnail. Your story and emotion are best portrayed by a human (and to lesser extent an animal) vs an object. And, people are naturally drawn to other people.

BONUS TIP: Get close in on your face and eyes. Thumbnails are small, so a full body shot is less recognizable. Also, we humans find someone’s face and eyes captivating.

2. Make Them Pop

Here you focus more on the technical quality of the image, than the content of the image.

a) By Using “Photo Editing Tricks”

Increase Saturation or “Vibrance”

When you increase saturation you will see greater intensity of colors. Decrease saturation and you will see the opposite – your image will look duller, grayer – flat.

TIP: In Photoshop, you have the “Vibrance” option as a better alternative for photos with people. While saturation affects all colors, vibrance is a bit smarter at avoiding skin tone colors and elevating other colors.

Up the Sharpness

Since video thumbnails are rather small, you can use a bit more sharpness to create more definition.

b) By Increasing Text Size

Your text must also be large enough to be readable. This one below is too small:

TIP: If it is large enough for your bifocal-ed grandmother to easily read on a mobile phone, then you’ve hit your mark.

3. Make Them Consistent

As you grow your following, you want your viewers to instantly recognize that the video coming across their screen is yours.

You have only a fraction of a second to capture your audience’s attention and entice them to click – especially on mobile.

This one below is an example of what not to do with thumbnails.

By “Branding”

For all the reasons why branding is good for business, you also have the opportunity to leverage the trust you’ve built with your brand via your video thumbnails.

Here are a few things you can infuse with your brand to create consistency across your published video content.

Include The Obvious

From your existing brand, these should be consistent with your offline physical media and your online properties.

• FONT
• COLOR
• LOGO

Be Creative

This is where you have some flexibility.

• SHAPES
• PLACEMENT

Do you want a vertical bar with your logo on the left? A horizontal bar with the title on the bottom? A thought bubble with your text?

Create Themes

You can use these shapes, placement and color of them to create themes.

For example, product demos, faqs, announcements. Then, on YouTube these can be organized into playlists.

Many Simple Ways to Up Your Video Thumbnail Game

Using these simple ideas, you will banish any default video thumbnails YouTube or Facebook provides (which “suck”) .

More importantly, you will be leveraging your thumbnails to brand your content, attract more viewers and grow your audience.

More Thumbnail Tips – Click Here

Tools and Templates for Making Thumbnails – Click Here

Go Deep on YouTube Optimization – Click Here

Giveaways and contests are fun ways you can reward your followers and boost social media engagement. They are also a great way to promote your product.

It can be hard to get your followers to comment, like or share your posts. Giving away a great prize from time to time could help keep your readers motivated. Your followers will be grateful and happy to engage with your brand.

To do a giveaway you could either use your company’s social media channels or partner with influencers to host or promote it.

Inspire your costumers sharing something to connect them emotionally with your product, at the end they will buy.

Everyone loves a good story, or should we say gossiping?

People love to be entertained. Get their attention with a funny story, ask questions, share behind the scenes information about your business, etc.

As George Bernard Shaw said, “The things most people want to know about are usually none of their business”.

Most of the time, as consumers we navigate the internet to look for answers, after all, we do not want people selling us anything.

A Facebook Live campaign can boost your brand’s exposure online and increase customer engagement.

Facebook Live is a free feature of the Facebook app that allows you to stream real-time video to your audience from your smartphone. It was released in April of 2016.

Did you know that marketers prefer Facebook to create live videos followed by Instagram?

There are many strategies on how to humanize your brand and leverage the power of Instagram as a B2B business. Instagram isn’t a space solely for millennials, bloggers, and consumer brands. Today, Instagram is also a medium for B2B organizations. Many companies wonder how they fit the platform and how they can differentiate providing valuable content to their audience. It is important to understand that a piece of content that performs well on another platform will not perform the same on Instagram.

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Katy Trail Ice House, Happiest Hour, Uptown, Deep Ellum. These are the places we know and love to unwind at in Dallas. But does there exist such a place where a digital marketer can unwind AND become a student of their craft? Here are 3 fun social media events in Dallas worth attending.

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Want to get more comments on your social media? Lucky for you, engagement is a strong force in the world of social media and there are plenty of ways to get more comments on your social platforms. For the sake of time, we will assume that you’re already putting engaging content out there. Now we just need to figure out how to get more comments. This blog will go over four clever ways to get more comments on your social posts. Continue reading →

Do you remember the days when you used an actual map to get around?  Yes, a paper map – the one you purchased from a local gas station and stored in your glovebox.  If you’re a millennial, then probably not.  Nowadays we all have our favorite go-to map app but sometimes typing an address can be a lot of work.  Now there’s a new iOS map app that’s accelerating the way you use maps on your phone in a visually compelling way.  Emoji-based map app WYD, short for “what you doing”, uses emojis rather than a text keyboard to search for nearby places to explore and share with friends. Continue reading →

Have your Instagram posts plateaued?  Did you know that Instagram posts with at least one hashtag average 12.6% more engagement than posts without a hashtag?  The quality of a hashtag is extremely important but yet so often overlooked.  Yes, hashtags are #everywhere.  And in most cases, they are thrown into the content and not utilizing their true potential.  Once known as a simple pound sign, the hashtag is a powerful tool that goes beyond aesthetics.  Continue reading →

If you’re like pretty much everyone on the planet, keeping up with the latest social media trends can be a daunting task. As soon as you’ve learned a new feature or believe you’ve figured out the ever-elusive algorithm, new features are released and past tricks are obsolete. So how is a digital marketer to stay on top of the latest and greatest? Here are 3 ways to keep up with social media trends.

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Haters are the early warning detection system for your business.

Discerning brands strategically use social media as an extension of customer service, with skillfully prepared teams in place for unexpected online situations. Nobody likes loud, verbal haters. While it might be easier to not deal with online negativity, these situations need to be addressed in a timely manner.

While It is certainly easier to avoid them at all costs, the dark cloud haters cast might actually offer a silver lining. Continue reading →

Having a difficult time getting the attention of consumers? Captivate your audience by providing them with engaging content. In a world of instant gratification, you have to provide content that will capture someone’s attention within seconds. Take a look at what you’ve been posting. What has been working? What hasn’t? Sit back, do some research and then captive your audience with these three steps. Continue reading →

Do you know the difference between Snapchat lenses and filters? If not, you’re not the only one. To unlock the difference between Snapchat lenses and filters, you have to be able to differentiate between them. It’s confusing because Snapchat introduced lenses after the filters, and users are not sure how to differentiate them.  There are similarities between the lenses and filters, but they are also differences. The main difference is that the lens is animated and the filter is stationary.  

This blog will unlock the difference between Snapchat lenses and filters. Continue reading →

How often do you open Instagram and stumble upon a stranger’s beautiful feed? You then find yourself scrolling for entirely to long. This is not by accident, this curated and cohesive Instagram feed is by design. When you think of your favorite influencers, many have a common theme. They utilize the same filters, have high quality images, and have an overall mood throughout their feed. Visualize in your mind what you would like to be known for and what makes your personal brand unique.  Continue reading →

To pod or not to pod? That is the question. 

Unless you’re someone who is deep in the trenches of all things Instagram, you may not even know what an Instagram Pod is, so let’s review.

An Instagram pod is when a group of people that have similar IG accounts (e.g. photographers, makeup artists, lifestyle bloggers, etc.) get together and agree to Like and comment on each other’s photos to increase engagement and activity. Since Instagram’s ever-changing algorithm is so elusive, this has become a popular way for accounts to be deemed more relevant. This method increases the chance of current followers seeing your content in their feed and new followers seeing it in the Discovery feed. But does it actually work? Here are  pros and cons of Instagram Pods.

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Identify your digital STAMP in five key steps for continued success in today’s social world. This is your STAMP! Simple-True-Act-Map-People. Hone in on two STAMP objectives. Here’s a breakdown of the five steps to identify your stamp.  Continue reading →

Anyone with a grasp of the big picture begins to realize that PR, marketing, sales, and even customer service are not four distinct silos that compete for dollars and face time with senior executives. They are four sides of the same square. What one does affects the other side and each one of these facets is a part of social media. In the book No Bullshit Social Media; The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing, Jason Falls and Erik Deckers remind us that social media is where our customers are. No Bullshit Social Media offers direct insights about precisely what social media should do for a brand:

-Enhance brand awareness
-Protect brand reputation
-Enhance public relations
-Build community
-Enhance customer service
-Facilitate research and development
-Drive leads and sales
Not just that, but these two take a deep dive into how to properly use social media and who should be at the helm. This last point is particularly interesting.

Social Media is for Senior Staff, Not Interns…

Social Media is NOT an entry level position- it requires Continue reading →

Keeping up with Instagram’s algorithm changes in a world where likes, comments, and followers are everything is a constant uphill battle. In simpler times, users were blessed with a chronological feed and all made sense in the world. Times have changed and Instagram is notoriously known for switching up the algorithm just when a user thinks they’ve nailed a high number of likes and comments per post, and new followers. While no one has been able to successfully identify and share Instagram’s secret algorithm, there are several ways to keep up and ensure your content shows up on the right feeds:

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Do you ever find yourself on Instagram just to kill a few minutes?  Before you know it you’ve wasted almost an hour mindlessly scrolling.  If you have an Instagram account, it’s probably a habit of yours that you don’t realize that you do.  Today with all the social media platform options, we are shifting more from text-based communication to visual communication.  With Instagram’s endless photo and video feed, it’s easy to become an #instaaddict.  Soon though we may know if we are spending too much time on Instagram. Continue reading →

Picture this: A long line of eager fans wait patiently outside the doors of your small business. Everyone is talking about the grand opening and are excited to use your product or service. Months leading up to this very day, they have been following your social media and already feel a sense of community with your brand. Why? Because you are leveraging the power of the ‘Gram. Sound too good to be true? Here are 4 tips on successfully using Instagram to help launch your business.

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Understanding your target audience is important when looking to improve your market outreach.

If you’re missing the mark with your audience, ask yourself if you truly understand them. Here are 4 factors to consider when understanding your audience.

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Instagram released their new Story Highlights feature in December 2017. While some have been using the Highlight reel to showcase more of their brand/profile, many haven’t tapped into this great new feature! Instagram Stories let’s the user capture a moment in time without making it permanent, the way Snapchat has done. However, with Instagram Story Highlights, the 24 hour rule no longer applies! The user can now add the Story to their Highlight reel! This is especially useful for brands and influencers that want to continue to promote a specific event or product after the 24 hour timestamp is up. Here’s a step by step process on how to use Instagram Story Highlights to promote your brand: Continue reading →

Photo by Jared Sluyter

What’s worse than stale potato chips? Stale content on your social media channels. Whether you are a leader, business owner, or entrepreneur, it’s advantageous for you to keep your content “alive” on social media. In fact, make this a non-negotiable priority. And, it’s actually easier than you may think.

So, without further ado, here are three awesome ways to keep your content from going stale across your social media channels.  Continue reading →

Photo by Matthew Hamilton

Today, one of the most iconic brands in athletic apparel is transforming the social media game. Adidas is chiefly synonymous with athletic shoes. While you may recognize the brand for their quality and style, you might also want to explore how to maximize your brand awareness on social media like Adidas.

The brand produces more than 850 million product units annually. So it’s no surprise that Adidas is cultivating an undeniable influence on social media, specifically Instagram. If you want to maximize your brand awareness on social media like Adidas, get ready to incorporate some of the brand’s tactics in your own strategic efforts.

“Change the game, run the world.”  – Adidas

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The new social media platform Vero is changing the game – but the jury is still out on whether or not audiences will take to it. Continue reading →