Next Social Media Craze? AR.

Photo by Bruce Mars on Pexels.com

No matter how you think of it, augmented reality is poised to be the technological innovation of the decade, radically transforming the way we see the world. Apple CEO Tim Cook also predicted that AR “will be as important as eating three meals a day” over the next 10 years.

Understanding that technology can be so disruptive (think: the introduction of the iPhone in 2007), it’s time for marketers to notice it. In fact, Ad Age recently defined AR as a trillion dollar opportunity for those who plan ahead and gain consumer confidence.

However, there is no doubt that the introduction of RA could seem an intimidating and technical task for those who do not know it. Fortunately, social media platforms provide an effective and accessible access point, with Facebook and Snapchat offering native Augmented Reality solutions to brands up to now. This means that it is easier than ever to create meaningful connections with online customers and to offer tangible experiences with your product.

Social Provides Multiple Options To Bringing Augmented Experiences

Although Snapchat is widely known as the AR pioneer in social networks, Facebook has taken aggressive measures to compete. More recently, the platform launched Facebook AR Studio, a series of self-service tools that allow developers to create reactive 3D effects that can be accessed via the Facebook camera. This marks an important change in AR for social media, which was previously limited to the expensive advertising units of Snapchat with a few useful metrics behind them.

Now, early reports suggest that Facebook is experimenting with metrics that will better link its AR effects directly to the desired actions. This means that a consumer could interact or know a product using AR, then buy or subscribe directly from there.

It is also possible to integrate more complex experiences, created by third parties on social platforms. For example, Estee Lauder created a Facebook chatbot that would guide customers in the process of choosing a lip color and then allow them to test the different shades using augmented reality before purchase. In the end, you will be able to direct customers to a URL to unlock AR experiences, which further opens up distribution opportunities.

AR As A Piece Of The Puzzle

Keeping up with AR’s expansion capabilities on social networks is only part of the battle and does not necessarily translate into a winning strategy. It is essential to approach AR in the same way you would do with other types of content in your toolkit, as an opportunity to enhance a customer’s experience with their brand and drive action at various points in the pipeline. AR can help a customer quickly locate items on the shelves of crowded stores or educate them on how to set up and use a new device. Make an extra effort to make consumer life a little easier and you will be rewarded with their loyalty.

Do you think you would add augmented reality to your social strategy?

 

  Next hot trend? Socializing virtually. https://wp.me/p3QRy0-jWS

 Social Media Vs. AR… Bring it on. https://wp.me/p3QRy0-jWS

Is Your Social Media Always Me, Me, Me?

Are your posts mainly revolve about your product? Are they about you all the time?

If that’s the case, it’s time to do things differently: time to action the 80/20 Rule.

The 80/20 strategy

Being the fundamental rule of social media marketing, the 80/20 Rule suggests that 80% of social media posts must inform, educate, and entertain your followers, only 20% should be about promoting your business.

This rule sprouted off a concept called “permission marketing” shaped by Seth Godin about 13 years ago.

Based on Godin, “Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them. It recognizes the new power of the best consumers to ignore marketing.”

Why do people have the will to disregard marketing?

Because options are plenty when it comes to where and how to receive information.

So if grabbing consumers attention is the intended outcome, content has to rise above the clutter and give them a gripping reason to stick around.

Informative, educational, and entertaining content

Why should 80% of your social media content do just that? Because your audience prefers posts that present value, and not in an “unbeatable price” or “special offer” form. They want posts that guide them to either make a certain decision or solve a problem. Nowadays, this is called “adding value”: sharing (giving away) information in order to kickstart a relationship.

Ultimate Benefits

• Cost-efficiency: Permission marketing employs low-cost online tools – social media, search engine optimization, e-mails, etc. Furthermore, by only marketing to consumers who have expressed an interest, businesses can lower their marketing costs.
• High conversion rate: As the targeting audience are those who have expressed an interest in the product, it is easier to convert the leads into sales.
• Personalization: Permission marketing allows businesses to run personalized campaigns; it allows them to target specific audiences according to their age, gender, geographical location, etc.
• Long-term relationships with the customer: Through the usage of social media and e-mails, businesses can interact and build long-term relationships with the customers.
• Marketing reputation: Permission marketing only sends information to those who are anticipating the information. Therefore, prospects who receive the information feel less discomfort.

Source: Wikipedia 

 

What do you think? Ready to give the 80/20 rule a try?

 

   When “Me” on social media is bad for business  http://bit.ly/2qdmmzg

  The 80/20 social media strategy split. Do you follow?  http://bit.ly/2qdmmzg

Killed By A Selfie Is A Thing Now?

Photo by pexels.com

The phenomenon of selfies is so big, that even back in 2013 Oxford Dictionary named it “Word Of The Year”. In 2015, people uploaded 24 billion selfies on Google. Wait for it… People between 18 to 24 years old click 1 million selfies per day.

Snapping selfies and posting them on social media has become a form of self-expression, some people however, for the sake of more attention and “likes”, put themselves in dangerous settings. In many cases, this has resulted in fatal incidents.

In a study by the Indian Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care about the fatalities by selfie across the globe, the findings were troubling. Fatalities related to selfies killed 259 people between 2011 and November 2017. To put that in another context, selfies killed about 20 times more people than sharks.

A Trend On The Rise

Selfie-related deaths first reported in 2011. Almost 50% of total selfie fatalities happened in 20-29 year age group and 36% in 10-19 year age group. Fatalities for people over 30 are much less, I guess they’re just less interested in killing themselves over selfies! Don’t get me wrong, Millennials love their selfies.

The study also found that the main cause of selfie deaths are drowning, motoring, falling and fire. Most of the selfie fatalities caused by firearms happened in the United States, where permissive gun laws could be to blame. Internationally, India ranks first, followed by Russia, United States and Pakistan.”

“No Selfie Zone”

As a suggestion to curb the selfie enthusiasts, the study suggests that “no selfie zones” be established in tourist areas, mountain peaks, near water and on top of buildings. In my humble contribution, I suggest that security forces keep an eye on social media and observe the common dangerous places where people tend to take selfies and crackdown on them.

  When selfies could kill you

 Selfie Danger.. Selfie Danger!

How to rise above Social Media?

We’re so hooked on social media, those one on one interactions are now tucked away in the history books.

The days when admiration was a pat on the back and disputes were kept behind closed doors. Making private arguments public resulted in what a VitalSmarts study calls “social rudeness”.

After analyzing the interactions of more than 2000 social media users, they noted that 78% of people expressed an increase in online rudeness while 88% had no reservations about being less polite online than in person. They also found that one in five people diminished face to face interaction after an online confrontation with the same person.

So how do you protect your reputation and rise above the digital confrontation?

VitalSmarts suggested few things you can do:

Avoid monologues

They’re out there you know, those Facebook friends that frequently post about their views on a certain, usually controversial topic. I mean expressing your thoughts is great and a given right, but timing and location are everything. By posting drawn out monologues, you become a sitting duck for bullets of feedback, positive and negative of course. Although not always bad, today’s events are shaped by retweets and shares, where a shared post can go viral, it’s best to avoid them all together. Keep it light and engaging.

Stay clear of personal attacks

We all have differences of opinion, But we need to be serious about addressing them privately. It’s normal to be upset, but hitting that send button on your issues won’t solve them. It might temporarily ease your bitterness, but it usually just makes things worse and escalate confrontations. When a problem materializes, tackle it offline immediately and be done with.

Keep out judgmental words

Yes, we’ve done that too! Tweeted or posted something that might have not been frankly cheeky or humiliating, coated with sarcasm and directed at a certain individual while hiding judgmental words. When so many posts talk about a certain subject, it can easily be classified as something it may not necessarily be. This CNN story is a perfect example of that.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2018/09/19/man-shaving-on-train-viral-video-shamed-newday-vpx.cnn

No matter how delicate you try to be, your digital image can change. Social media is a mighty influencing platform, don’t abuse it. Instead, be a straight shooter, get your point across and assist others to understand your point of view.

Word to the wise

Who doesn’t like a bit of controversy every now and then? But for your reputation and the public eye, steer away from topics like religion and politics. Rather, talk about subjects that add value to your followers and are on par with who you really are.

Have you had a social media rudeness experience? If so, I would love to hear how you handled it.

 

   How to rise above Social Media?

  How to rise above Social Media?