Tag: SMW NYC

How to Win at Instagram

Posted on by Jenni Dawes

Patrick Janelle is a self-proclaimed Man About Town, and with over 340,000 followers on Instagram he’s also the man to ask for tips on how he successfully parlayed his lifestyle into brand opportunities.

In Tuesday’s session “Custom Content: How Publishers and Instagrammers are Leading Campaigns for Brands” we heard from Melanie Altarescu, Head of Strategic Initiatives, WIRED and Patrick Janelle, Executive Director, Spring Street Social Society. Patrick outlined some of his best Instagram advice.

1. THINK OF INSTAGRAM AS A VISUAL DIARY

What’s your story? What’s the world that you’re sharing with followers? Janelle treats his feed as a journal, posting 2-3 times per day, always chronologically. He adds context to his photos – and further insight into his world – through always including captions, saying “Instagram is a personal platform, and it’s important to connect your photos to your story.”

2. DETERMINE 3 KEY ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFESTYLE TO FOCUS ON

For Janelle, it’s food, fashion and travel. He’s had success portraying those aspects for brands in those specific industries, as well as on broader campaigns for companies such as Capital One and Amex.

3. CREATE A CANVAS FOR OTHERS’ DREAMS

Janelle noted that one of the key reasons people follow him is to see the streets and cafes and restaurants around New York. He creates scenes that people can project themselves into, allowing his followers to imagine that it’s them taking New York by storm.

4. iPhone IMAGES NEED EDITING TOO

While Janelle uses his iPhone to take all his Instagram images, he doesn’t skip on the editing process. Images are run through at least one, and typically several, editing apps before being posted. Janelle’s top three recommendations are Snapseed for the selective adjust feature, VSCO Cam for its filters, and Afterlight for adjusting midtones and highlights.

Altarescu noted that, from the brand perspective, one of the key aspects of working with Instagrammers is receiving images they can use on other platforms. The brands leading the field, such as Park Hyatt and Victorinox, are tapping influencers and taking the content they create and crafting it into campaigns for their website, social media channels and even print initiatives.

Jenni Dawes is the Principal Consultant at COLLABORATEUR, a collective of creative and digital strategists based in New York City.

The Easiest Way to Get More Video Clicks

Posted on by Cassandra Ketrick

Let’s just say I’ve been a fan of Vimeo since way back when. In my film school days, Vimeo was where all the cool kids were, and I’m here to confirm—they are still there.

With 170 million global viewers, and an artistic community of friendly filmmakers at their full disposal, hearing Vimeo’s video insight was as exciting to me as hearing Martha Stewart had a drone battle at Social Media Week NYC. Wait, what? (See it for yourself)

If you are in the business of generating video content for your brand (and you should be according to Vimeo), then I’m here to share a piece of golden advice from Mike Weissman and Andrea Allen, presenters at Social Media Week NYC.

Your video thumbnail is easily the most important part of the video. That sounds crazy doesn’t it? But think about it for a second…just like an email header can single handedly ruin your open rate even though the email is full of gold, so can the video thumbnail.

The video thumbnail is the only thing users see before they click.

There are two thumbnails that offer the most clicks:

  1. Pictures of smiling people
  2. Pictures of cute animals, naturally

Turns out, the title card that you have a graphic designer whip up isn’t going to do the trick. People like people. I guess that explains the selfie craze.

A great thumbnail isn’t the end all, be all. You definitely need a video that speaks to your audience, like this indie creative Penny x Hundreds video that feels less like an ad, and more of an experience. Just because a viewer clicks your thumbnail doesn’t mean they are going to stick around.

Next time you create a video, don’t just haphazardly slap up a thumbnail. Think about what makes a great first impression, and perhaps consider a smiling animal—the ultimate video thumbnail combo.

I’m an NYC digital content professional and social media lover. Proudly born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Connect with me on Twitter @casscakey and if you liked this post please like, comment, and share!

Scholarship Application To Attend Social Media Week NYC

Posted on by Tyler Becker

Social Media Week is built on a philosophy of openness and inclusivity, and for the upcoming conference, we’re excited to open up our annual Scholarship Program to provide complimentary Campus Passes to eligible students, non-profits, and startups, thanks to Forbes, our Social Media Week NYC Scholarship partner. The SMW NYC Scholarship provides access to our official sessions, masterclasses, experiential floor, co-working spaces, networking lounges, and more.

Andy Thomas

So, who qualifies?

  • Students (currently enrolled)
  • Non-profit employees
  • Startup or small business employees (defined as a company with no more than 10 employees)

You can apply here, and if you’re application is successful, we will notify you on a rolling basis. Please note, we have a limited number of Scholarships and cannot guarantee that your application will be accepted. For any questions, email nycpass@socialmediaweek.org, and we’ll be in touch at our earliest convenience

And of course, a very special thanks to Forbes for supporting this program! Without their commitment to the SMW mission, the Scholarship Program would not be possible

Warby Parker & Google+ at Global HQ

Posted on by Lindsey Taylor Wood


It felt a little like Christmas morning when we found out that Warby Parker and Google+ were teaming up for a one-of-a-kind installation at our new Global HQ. This year’s theme is all about collaboration, so it’s a thrill to see incredible brands like these two doing just that.

Stop by the kiosk and check out what they are up to! Rather than looking at your new Warby frames in a mirror, you can show them to and get feedback from a Google Hangout full of SMW attendees from around the world — as well as celebrities, influencers, fashion experts, and Warby Parker employees — all of which will be jumping in throughout the day to share their thoughts with you.

Each Hangout will be streamed live on Warby Parker’s G+ and Youtube channels, and featured on a large screen monitor at the kiosk. So come by! Grab a pair of their signature shades, make some new friends and get the best tastemakers in the biz to weigh in on your new look!

Want to find out more first? Check out a Hangout from earlier today!

 

Engaging in Conversation: The New Ghostwriter Panel

Posted on by differencesmag

This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Vivian Nunez, please click here. 

The New Ghostwriter Panel included Aliza Licht, Terry Li, Sam Graham- Felsen, and was moderated by Todd Wasserman; to say it was incredible is an understatement. Each panelist is an expert in his or her field of interest and throughout the conversation it showed.

Mr. Graham-Felsen demonstrated extensive knowledge in the meshing of politics and social media, which ultimately transcended that niche and flowed into personal branding and the importance of authenticity. Having been a blogger for the Obama 2008 campaign, Sam understands how essential it is to have a voice that is all your own and to be able to have a candid conversation with those that interact with your material, a trait that the Obama campaign perfected. The ability to give a personal voice to the blog is what set Sam and the Obama campaign apart from any other organization that used ghostwriters, which is simply the middleman or filter between what the brand or politician wants to say and what you as a follower actually read or hear.

All the panelists opposed directly to the use of ghostwriters because it takes away the transparency of any brand and in specific Sam admitted to being a strong proponent of “cutting the divide between a company or politician and an audience”. Terry Li partially disagreed with the statement because he finds the ghostwriter to be useful if used wisely, like when someone has a speech written by someone else. Yet ghostwriting provides a specific dilemma because it takes away from the “social” side of social networking, it makes any young adult vulnerable to falling for the pretense that they are communicating with their favorite celebrity when they really are talking to his middleman.

Aliza Licht or @dkny as many might know her, has perfected the ability to remain authenticate, engage in conversation, and still represent the brand quite well, without having to resort to ghostwriting. An easy feat she admitted simply because while tweeting she is being herself. The key lies in the authenticity and the ability to create a flow of information; each young adult is aware of that natural flow because they take part of it every single time they use a social network. You engage with others on social networks assuming that it is personally them and although advertising might be involved subtly, like Terry Li and Bre.ad manage to do, you still feel like you are a part of a genuine conversation.

As a part of the younger demographic this is how you want to develop all your personal branding ventures after because between Aliza’s personal touch, Sam’s lens in storytelling and engagement, and Terry’s ability to create an unrecognizable divide between interaction and promotion, you are able to find a perfect equilibrium to propel your own personal brand.. During the Q&A plenty of the answers provided were geared toward young adults and advice was given. For instance if what you want is to be a strong influence in social media a key is to provide material not seen before or to truly engage in conversation, not just disseminate information. The topic of the panel might have been ghostwriting but the advice shared here goes beyond who sends out twitter messages, it is about a personal brand, and by personal I mean YOU!

A Student’s Perspective: Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed CEO, discusses the state and future of our social world

Posted on by smwnyc

Donovan X. Ramsey is a student at Columbia’s School of Journalism and one of ten students providing on the ground coverage of SMWNYC.

Jonah Peretti, Founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, took to the stage at Social Media Week NYC recently to discuss online trends and the future of content sharing. With Facebook going public and the relative success of new sites like Pinterest, it’s an important, big question and one that Peretti might be qualified to answer. In a packed auditorium at the Hearst building in Manhattan, he rolled out his vision.

“There’s a big shift happening and we’re at the beginning of it,” he said. “There are still industries to be disrupted. You need to think from the perspective of a user that wants to share something…The real key to a lot this stuff is emotional intelligence.”

Peretti cofounded the Huffington Post, a site that has revolutionized blogging and news online by mixing the two. Now he runs BuzzFeed, a hub for headlines like “Goat Massage” and “40 Things That Make Corgis Happy,” based on a type of emotional intelligence. In his address, Peretti referred to BuzzFeed as a “giant content site for the social world.” He described this world as one identified typically through social networking sites Facebook and Twitter but getting more social by the minute.

The socialization, so to speak, of content online happened in stages, according to Peretti. The first stage was that of portals like Yahoo, which catered to a general audience. They were the sites, with big home pages and categories, through which users had to go for content. The next step was the search stage. Think Ask Jeeves and About.com. Users began finding content by requesting it. The Internet was opening up and users were starting to have an influence on the creation and promotion of content. That led to the social stage.

He said one of the most interesting trends he’s spotted in the social stage is the tide of users who go to BuzzFeed looking for something to share on their Facebook pages. He said it represents a shift from how content was consumed before. It’s a sign that the audience sees themselves less as just that. They’re aware that they’re more than an audience. They’re participants.

Peretti’s big prediction was the streamlining of content online. “Facebook is the best example of content expanding from friend updates,” he said. “As Facebook matures, there’s news now and people are getting comfortable with a social world where everything their friends care about is mixing together.” In preparation for this, BuzzFeed has made changes like the addition of ex-Politico writer, Ben Smith as editor-in-chief. Their first scoop with Smith was Sen. John McCain’s endorsement of Mitt Romney. According to Peretti, BuzzFeed beat CNN by 30 minutes.

His strongest case study seemed to be his own company. BuzzFeed, with its simple headlines and variable content, is mostly directed by the interests of its users and their reactions to content all over the World Wide Web. In fact, the site goes as far as to organize content into categories based on users’ reactions. With one click, you could vote something as a “fail” and with another, browse a lists of “wins.”

During the presentation, Peretti brought up a slide of basset hounds running, their droopy folds flapping in the wind. He said such content is decidedly shareable because of its common appeal. It can go onto your best friend’s Facebook wall or be sent to your grandmother in an email. The key to creating sharable content in the social age is finding material that defines a moment, said Peretti. “Let the user become invested in the story…People are the gatekeepers in the social media world, not Google’s algorithm.”

Sports, Gaming, and Social Media

Posted on by differencesmag

This post is a series of blogs contributed by SMW NYC media partner Differences Magazine. To learn more about Differences Magazine and to see the original post by Vivian Nunez, please click here. 

 

Watching any kind of sports game has always been considered a very social experience, but in the last few years that social experience has transitioned more and more into a social media experience. Many of the questions that were addressed in the first half of the panel had to do with social media and whether its involvement in sports would take away from the integrity of the sporting event. The overall verdict was that a balance needed to be reached between physical “in the moment” interaction and virtual interaction with sporting events.

Sports networks have begun to use mass relevance as the perfect gateway to incorporate social media into the sports experience. They have also been using mass relevance as the perfect way to bridge the gap between those experiencing the event live and those tuning in through other platforms. The advantage to this particular kind of interaction is the conversation that emerges as a result. Many young adults are as plugged in to the TV set as they are to their smart phones while watching sports; the use of mass relevance really allows their voice to be heard regardless of where they are watching the event from.

Social media has also been incorporated into the everyday life of sports through its athletes. MLS, NBA, NFL, MLB, and the NHL all have athletes that connect to their audience through Twitter and although that interaction really helps leverage the brand as a whole, its most important contribution is the relationship it establishes. The use of social media cuts out the middleman that tends to exist between a fan and his favorite athlete. For the young adult demographic it is monumental to be able to speak or share thoughts with your favorite athlete or sports personality through Twitter, Google+, or any other social media platform.

The integration of social media into the sporting event really assists each sporting channel because as stated in the panel “fans are the insider perspective of games”, a lens you can get no where else. As a result, the Millennial generation can relate more to a game if they are also able to capture the moment and update their friends about it. The best aspect of being able to use social media through the season is that it is also as easy to get information during off-season, a win-win for both the sports brands and the sports aficionados.

The same theory of social media interaction in sports events is found in the gaming world. The gaming world might even be using it to a greater extent because it is their only base to be able to compare how good they are versus how good everyone else. Nonetheless the idea is the same, if social media was incorporated correctly and information was not only stated but used to start conversations the sports industry and it’s audience would benefit endlessly from it.