I’m obsessed with Snapchat. I check it at least 10 times a day (no exaggeration) to see what my friends, and even certain brands, are up to. But should your brand be on a platform like Snapchat?
ICED Media’s Greg Littley was ready to tackle this important question head-on in yesterday’s event, “Ephemeral Messaging Masterclass: Maximizing Your Snapchat For Storytelling” He explained that Snapchat is the next platform brands should seriously consider, especially if their goal is to create brand awareness. However, that brand needs to be prepared to bring unique and consistent content to the table.
If your brand’s target audience is between the ages of 15 and 25, Snapchat cannot be ignored. Snapchat has 120 million users sending over 700 million snaps a day, which is more than the combined content pushed out on Instagram and Facebook. There are numerous brands on Snapchat creating engaging and exciting content, from Fortune 500 companies like Amazon, Taco Bell, and GE to universities like Princeton, University of Michigan, and NYU Stern.
Throughout the masterclass, Greg delivered some key points to help determine if Snapchat is right for your brand:
Snapchat is a very powerful tool: it is currently the most personal and direct way to connect with your consumer, simply because your phone never leaves your hand.
If you don’t have the means to produce content every day, then make sure your brand can bring a unique storytelling element to the platform when you do post.
Make sure you can offer an exclusive experience outside of your other social channels.
Is there a secondary story that your brand hasn’t been able to communicate on other platforms? Then Snapchat might be your answer.
Snapchat is not for every brand, but if you have interesting content and want to tap into this intimate community of Millennials, then you should really consider creating an account. So, will your brand be the next to join Snapchat? I hope so!
Erica Santiago is an Assistant Director of Communications at NYU Stern by day and a part-time MBA student by night. You can follow her on Twitter @ericasantiagony
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:
Pictures of smiling people
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!
When you initially meet Yunha Kim, you wouldn’t automatically assume that she is the mastermind behind Locket, the super successful lock screen app for Android, but that’s before she begins to speak with an intelligence and passion that you would expect from the head of a company. I’m not the only/first/last person to take notice. When companies like TechCrunch and VentureBeat are writing about your company and when Tyra Banks expresses interest in investing in your idea, people are bound to jump on the band wagon. During my visit to San Francisco, I got a chance to speak to Yunha about her journey from Investment Banker to Founder and CEO of her very own startup. Find out below what exactly it takes to get an idea from concept to realization.
1) You started your career as an Investment Banker and with your switch from iPhone to Android user, you quickly found the calling for this company. Can you tell me a little bit about your first couple of months of the company?
YK: I can barely remember the first couple months of the company. It was just so crazy.
In the first month, I was running around pitching our idea for investment. After getting funded by Great Oaks VC, I was then running around pitching to advertisers and I did that for a half year. Then I started pitching again for another round of funding.
When we had no money or product, I was getting somewhere around four hours of sleep every night. I was living with five other guys out of a two-bedroom apartment with three dogs and a hamster where we worked and lived. We were also getting by with hot dogs and ramen noodles.
Sometimes, I wondered, ‘What did I sign up for?’ but I think I was really happy, getting things off the ground, creating something out of nothing.
2) This idea actually came from our culture’s tendency of constantly checking our phones. Can you give us a little more insight into that?
YK: While pulling long but boring hours in investment banking (prior to Locket), I wasn’t able to do anything fun on my monitor, so I was checking my phone a few hundred times per day. That’s when I realized I keep on checking my phone every single day, bringing it to the restroom, everywhere I go. Every single one of those moments I was unlocking my lock screen which was a picture of a daisy which came as a default lock screen with my Galaxy S3.
One day, I was looking at it wondering why anyone wasn’t doing anything with the most valuable real estate in advertising. If people check their phone 150 times per day, with 71 million Android users, that’s 10.7 billion glances on the lock screen every day in the US that we have not been able to monetize. It occurred to me that this will be the next big thing in mobile advertising.
3) What do you feel are some of the benefits of Locket?
YK: Locket brings content you care about to your lock screen based on your interest, swiping habits and time of the day. It’s a quick passive way to learn about what’s going on around you, in your world. I am too busy to check out all my apps on my phone, but with Locket, I am consistently updated. I was able to learn about a fire in Soma which is only a few blocks away from our office through my lock screen, then I looked outside my window and I saw that fire.
4) How do you find a life work balance with being in such a busy and quickly expanding company? What does your typical day look like?
YK: When you are in a startup, it’s really difficult to balance your work and life (if you even have a life). It’s like when you have a baby (your startup), and the baby cries, you can’t really say you are off your work hours and let it cry. So, it will feel like you are on call 24/7.
5) I know focus on the company has changed, can you tell me a little about that?
YK: Recently, we have stopped our paid-per-swipe-ad service. We are now focusing on contextual content on your lock screen. Based on an user’s interest, swiping habits and time of the day, we serve content that people care about in a visually delightful way on the Android lock screen, and as the apps is consistently used, the content becomes more relevant
Stephanie Carino has spent over the past 10 years working in the city in the Fashion, Food and Event industries. She currently works in the PR Department at leading Technology and Business Book Publisher, Apress. On the side, she also writes event coverage and reviews for, Socially Superlative, a NYC-based event website, covering predominantly food, travel and entertainment stories. Connect with Stephanie on Twitter.
When I was introduced to PINCHme at TechStyle Lounge in September, I knew the Australian venture was going to be huge before they even debuted in the US. The thought behind it seemed like Birchbox, but free. The idea of getting complimentary care packages sent to you with products that you choose seemed too good to be true.
Since their US launch on November 12th, 2013, the company has had over 400,000 people signup for the chance to get their very own blue boxes sent to their homes. I had the chance to pick Jeremy Reid’s brain, PINCHme’s Executive Chairman, to find out how they started this consumer revolution.
How did you come up with the concept for PINCHme? JR: I started looking at the way CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies were marketing their latest products, and it became evident that product sampling was the most effective means. However, I realized that product sampling in its traditional form is very wasteful and inefficient, so I started looking at the ways in which the CPG industry had embraced the digital age. It became apparent that in comparison to other industries, CPG was significantly behind the curve. I thought that if I could marry both in an efficient and accountable sampling platform, it would prove as a pretty exciting initiative.
Where did the company name come from? JR: ‘Pinch me, I’m dreaming. How great is this? I get to try all these new and great products for free in exchange for my feedback.’
What made you decide that the US should be your second market? JR:It was always our intention to launch PINCHme in the US. We launched first in Australia, serving as our beta market since the PINCHme business model did not yet exist, or rather had been tested before in the US. Following the success of the Australia launch, it was always our goal to expand to the US within 12 months, which we achieved.
When PINCHMe launched in the US, the website advertised an once in a lifetime trip to Australia for two winners and their guest. Were the winners chosen? JR: The competition closed on December 31, 2013 and winners will be announced next week.
What can you tell me about your experience with “the power of free” through this experience so far? JR: Free clearly sells very well. In the past 8 weeks alone, we have had over 400k consumers sign up to be members of PINCHme. This, by any means, is extraordinary growth. Our goal, over time, is to build a multi-member community, which we are on track to deliver.
How do you decide what products get featured? Are there only specific items you guys are willing to showcase or is it “the more, the merrier”? JR: Yes, we have a curated approach where we are really trying to offer our members both exciting and new quality products to try. In order for sampling to work well, consumers must have a rewarding experience with the product. Thus, it’s important for us to ensure that we maintain a high standard of offerings to keep both our members engaged and to deliver an attractive experience for our brand partners.
What’s the craziest story you have through the brand thus far? It could be pertaining to a customer or brand or the experience of building up the company, etc. You can be as vague or specific as you want. JR: We recently ran a campaign for a major car air-freshener company. The company was focusing their marketing efforts on an older demographic that they believed were buying more expensive cars and wanted to keep those cars smelling nice. Once they offered the product on the PINCHme platform, we saw significant demand from a much younger demographic. Particularly, 18-29 year olds.
What we discovered through our insight was that the product was substantially more popular for younger people who were smokers concerned with keeping their cars smelling good. Through the PINCHme platform, this brand now has a whole new target market to go after.
Your company is very social media driven. Can you tell me why you think this was important for PinchMe? JR: In today’s world, where everybody is connected online by numerous social media platforms, it’s critical for all brands to have a strong social media presence. Additionally, brands need to be well represented within the social realm, as many consumers today will look at peer-to-peer recommendations before buying a product.
What would your dream accomplishment from this company be? JR: From a consumer standpoint, PINCHme is the go-to destination where consumers can discover, discuss, and buy new CPG products. From a manufacturer’s standpoint, PINCHme is the preferred media platform for launching new consumer products and receiving valuable feedback.
Any exciting news coming up for 2014 that you’d like to divulge? JR: PINCHme is currently in discussions with several major CPG companies, where they will be using the platform to launch new and exciting products into the market. Also, we are on target to have the largest database in the sample box category.
Stephanie Carino has spent over the past 10 years working in the city in the Fashion, Food and Event industries. She currently works in the PR Department at leading Technology and Business Book Publisher, Apress. On the side, she also writes event coverage and reviews for, Socially Superlative, a NYC-based event website, covering predominantly food, travel and entertainment stories. Connect with Stephanie on Twitter.
Day 1 of Social Media WeekNYC 2012 was literally a buzz with engaging keynotes, panels, and networking session, far too many for one person to cover. Therefore, the best SMWNYC attendee strategy, from my experience, is to pick your spots for the in-person show-ups, and cover the rest vis a vie LiveStream feed. Accordingly, I was able to hit three Day 1 sessions, hashtagging and tweeting up a #smwnyc storm along the way. Here are the highlights:
Managing Social Media on a Global Scale: This first Opening Day session found hosts Syncapse and Amway discussing, debating and sharing their best practices for managing a global social media presence across multiple countries and languages, with multiple stakeholders, distributors and marketers involved. The key takeaway centered around the idea that “social media fosters horizontal collaboration” within businesses. The speakers affirmed their tremendous support for this idea, and conceded that – while it’s an ideology that can be difficult to embrace at first – in the end is for the better good of the company.
Keynote: Valerie Buckingham on The Importance of Authenticity followed by Panel: Beyond Borders: Impact of Social Media in a Global Economy: Head of North America Marketing for Nokia Valerie Buckingham kicked off this noon event by focusing on the importance of authentic voice, asserting the idea that what you bring to the social media conversation can be enhanced by examples from around the social sphere. The panel that followed aimed to explore key trends, cultural behaviors and opportunities beyond American borders, especially in light of the accelerated pace of both innovation and appetite for interacting with brands in emerging markets. The key takeaway from this discussion was that – from a marketing perspective – as you move from market to market, you ought to ask yourself one question: do the digital tools you are utilizing tap into the regional social venues of interest? If so, then proceed.
Social Media Week’s Opening VIP Reception Hosted by Nokia: Crowdcentric, title sponsor Nokia, and SocialVibe hosted this lavishly awesome kick-off, invite-only opening party at the trendy Greenwich Village Country Club. Passed appetizers, complimentary libations from Heineken and Bulldog Gin, and – most importantly – exceptional conversation with engaged thought leaders made this the ideal way to properly kickoff the week.
Greg is a motivated Cornell University Hotel School alumnus, affectionately known as a Hotelie for life, with keen interests in social and digital marketing for hospitality and lifestyle brands. He’s passionate about sales and marketing in the hospitality industry, specifically as it relates to the dynamic online space. In his free time, Greg obsesses over growing his musical intellect (both modern and past-time artists apply), tennis, and running skills. Check out his lifestyle blog covering these topics at http://www.thesocialsonictraveler.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter.
Many of your fine social media-savvy folks are aware that the official floodgates for Social Media Week 2012 registration have opened. As a resident New Yorker, I’ll be hitting the pavement hard throughout the NYC boroughs, blitzing innumerable SMWNYC 2012 events for the second consecutive year. As a returning attendee, I figured it apropos to offer some helpful suggestions to newbie attendees mapping out Social Media Week schedules. My attendee tips for planning your Social Media Week visit:
Don’t fret if your schedule looks kind of sparse right now. As of this writing, even I – as an overzealous, overenthusiastic attendee – have some gaps in my week-long schedule. But have no fear…there are TONS of events that are going to be added in the next days.
Be sure to actually register for the events you want to go to. So often last year naive attendees thought that just because SMWNYC events were free, they could just walk in…NOT TRUE. Planners are understandably strict about having your registration with you, so just make the reservation. It’s quick, painless and FREE!
Vary your schedule with “different” kinds of events. While obviously every event is centered around social, digital media and tech, it’s important to keep your schedule of events diverse with events that you are passionate about. Be bold! Sign up for events that are related to your true personal interests: music, fashion, the arts — whatever it may be. The great thing about the week is that it brings ALL kinds of worlds together to speak about social, so there is a tremendous depth and breadth to the schedule for attendees to enjoy. It’s totally worth it, for both mental stamina and sheer happiness. Happy Planning!
Greg is a motivated Cornell University Hotel School alumnus, affectionately known as a Hotelie for life, with keen interests in social and digital marketing for hospitality and lifestyle brands. He’s passionate about sales and marketing in the hospitality industry, specifically as it relates to the dynamic online space. In his free time, Greg obsesses over growing his musical intellect (both modern and past-time artists apply), tennis, and running skills. Check out his lifestyle blog covering these topics at http://www.thesocialsonictraveler.wordpress.com.
You tweet like the best of them. You’re a mayor. Your comments are no stranger to Gawker’s articles and you’ve made endless connections on LinkedIn.
Needless to say, you are no stranger to all that is social media. You know who’s who and have been attending panels all week or watching via the SMW livestream…
So why not party like the best of them? Or at least get a chance to see Chiddy Bang while sipping on some Macallan…
Well now is your chance to rub elbows with the kings and queens of social media and all who fall in between!
Thrillist is giving you a chance to attend the exclusive, invite-onlySocial Media Week Closing Night Celebration on Friday, February 11th at District36.
It’s the second day of Social Media Week and we hope you are all enjoying the awesome panels and parties! Have you been meticulously and strategically planning out your agenda for this week?
What’s this all about? Join industry executives, social media insiders and bloggers to share insights and ideas in a relaxed setting fueled by good music, food and cocktails.
Throughout this week we’ll be posting on the ground accounts from individuals that attended New York Social Media Week events. To participate, email a blog submission to info@socialmediaweek.org
Cameras were flashing, Foursquare check-ins were documented, and hashtags were encouraged during this evening’s Oysterpedia event at Mermaid Inn.
Holding the launch during Social Media Week undoubtedly generated a great deal of buzz around the app.
The full version of the app (which costs $1.99) allows you to ID 200 types of North American oysters. You can also save and rank them as you try them. If you’re not looking to pay the 1.99 however, the lite version allows you to download a 60-oyster version for free.
I’ve waitressed in two different seafood restaurants- leaving me with a combination of 5+ years serving seafood- and had never attempted to try an oyster until this evening. The event literally and figuratively caused me to get the app, and eat it too.
What do you think, is the Oysterpedia app worth downloading?
This blog post is a contribution from Daniel Teweles, the VP of Business Development and Marketing for Personal Democracy Forum (@pdfteam). You can follow him via @dteweles and www.danielteweles.com.
Personal Democracy Forum (PdF) has been experimenting with and documenting how politicians and governments are using social media long enough to appreciate having the term “social media” to describe these technologies!
In our role as conveners abroad and domestically (PdF’s annual conference in NYC is the world’s leading conference exploring and analyzing technology’s impact on politics and government), PdF regularly gets to interact with, learn from, and promote social media innovators and applications. In our editorial role on techPresident.com (the web’s leading blog covering the intersection of technology and politics), we regularly analyze, dissect, and explore the implications of the growing role social media plays in affecting change.
And so, with the idea of taking our ever growing and (often) random assortment of community all stars and zeitgeist tapping topics, we’re thrilled to announce our event at Social Media Week NYC 2011: WikiLeaks and Online Civil Disobedience, Hosted by Personal Democracy Forum, hosted at the Art & Culture Hub at Hearst.
On December 3rd, noted cyber-libertarian John Perry Barlow tweeted:
Internet freedom activists using distributed denial of service attacks to shut down websites say they’ve invented a new kind of online civil disobedience. Critics worry that the tactic can backfire, and moreover, that the internet is more an ally of authoritarian regimes than we think.
Amanda Rykoff is a NYC-based sports fan, TiVo junkie and social media enthusiast. She shares her observations, commentary and diatribes on these and many other topics at The OCD Chick. You can follow her on Twitter @amandarykoff.
This popular event, hosted at the spectacular midtown offices of JWT and sponsored by Meebo, attempted to answer this potentially multi-billion dollar question: with so much choice in how consumers tap into their social graph, how do media and brands reach, connect and influence these networks at scale?
An outstanding panel took on that question and many more, and engaged in an entertaining, intelligent and extremely informative dialogue about this new and evolving topic. Here’s who shared their insights and opinions with an engaged, constantly tweeting crowd:
Berkowitz led the panel through a practical (and slightly aggressive) agenda, including: What techniques will work? How can marketers maximize the audience? And what’s next in this new and constantly evolving world of social graph optimization?
Social Graph Optimization Panel at JWT
What’s a Social Graph?
But before we even get to those questions, there may be a few of you out there who want to know what a social graph is. And just in case you need to know, you’re in luck. When people use the term “social graph”, they’re referring to an online representation of our relationships (personal, family, business) on social networking sites.
Social Graph Optimization
Social graph optimization is just the term for how to maximize a presence in a user’s social graph (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Or to put it another way, for people that run websites and brands, how to get SEO optimization and lots of visibility in all the feeds in the social graph?
Simple, right? Not so fast.
We’re in a new, constantly evolving social media world, both as consumers and marketers. The social graph and the ways to reach consumers constantly changes and grows. As consumers are provided with seemingly infinite networks, marketers need to be creative, sensible and practical about ways to connect with consumers. Social media and social graph optimization represent important new tools to be explored, but aren’t the so-called magic marketing bullets.
Tale of the Tweets
What follows is my recap of the panel, which I call the Tale of the Tweets. It’s a collection of live tweets from the event which provides an entertaining, unfiltered and real-time look at what the panelists discussed. For more insights from the Twitterati (and there were a lot of people live-tweeting the event), Twitter Search #smwgraph.
Just Getting Started
Aaand like every #smwny event, we’re starting a half hour late.
Amanda Rykoff is a NYC-based sports fan, TiVo junkie and social media enthusiast. She shares her observations, commentary and diatribes on these and many other topics at 