Social Media: New Opportunities

When advertisers are planning their social media campaigns they mainly look at Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and usually allocate a big portion of their investment in Facebook.  Although Facebook continues having an impressive number of users, among younger demographics usage is declining.  Advertisers need to start looking to different platforms that will help them connect better with their target and achieve their business goals. When trying to contact and impact consumers, companies shouldn't be thinking about paid media to increase engagement, but being relevant on the platforms that consumers are spending more time.

So taking that in consideration, what other options advertisers should be considering?

As @jaysondemers mentions on his blog post about the The Top 7 Social Media Marketing Trends Dominating 2014, image-centric social networks like Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat continue on the rise, and may be the place where companies become more relevant.  More and more, people continue uploading and sharing images with their closest networks. Brands have started capitalizing on this trend and have started developing strategies that leverages the use of these platforms.

But besides image media centric platforms there are a new set of social media sites that companies should start looking into. Not necessarily to be in them but to identify insights and trends that would help them leverage their overall social media strategy.

The first one is Ello. This site  has become the new hottest social media site. “Ello is a simple, beautiful, and ad-free social network created by a small group of artists and designers, that now is open now to a wider audience”  As lily Heil newman mention s on her blog, this site is considered by many as the Anti-Facebook. The main promise of this social network is that is not run by advertisers and privacy is respected.. Currently, you can join by invitation only . It is so hot right now that the invitations are being sold on e-bay.


The second social network that is growing and worth looking into is: Shots. Selfie was the word of 2013 and it was named like it because everyone was talking selfies. Based on this premise Shots was created. Shots is a mobile social network through which you can snap and share selfies. You can reply to any given Shot, and also send private messages. The app is only available for iOS, but will be launching an Android version soon.

Finally we have Bubblews . The first social media that pays you for sharing content. Bubblews, allows users to create posts ("bubbles"), follow friends, and "like" and comment on other bubbles. The company pays its users who attract advertisers and traffic.

What other platforms you think we should be considering? Any advice?

Influencers

Trying to stay relevant and updated on any industry is always a challenge. Where can I get additional information? What is a fast way of keeping updated and learning about the topics I like? Are among questions we always have. Social media and the internet have made it  easier , by allowing us to connect with influencers.

Influencers are the best way to keep up with all the changes and emerging technologies.  They are experts of their industries, they’re well-informed about a range of topics , and are able to tell  the general population of  what’s happening and what we can expect in the world of digital marketing.

Some of the influencers I recommend you to follow are:

Amy: Digitally Royalty @AmyJoMartin She is one of the most recognized digital marketing experts right now. Besides being a NY time’s best seller, she founded a social strategy company to help brands measure and monetize their digital universe. Through her blog and twitter account she shares part of her knowledge and gives insights about  the digital Universe. You can also read her articles in fast company, Harvard Business Review and the Huffington post among others.  http://amyjomartin.com/

Jason Silva: @JasonSilva  To be able to keep up in the digital world is not enough to know what’s happening, you need to be able to understand what’s coming next. If you want to understand and have a different take away on the future follow Jason Silva.  His unique view on technology, innovation and creativity will open your mind to think out of the box. Jason Silva is a media artist, futurist, philosopher, keynote speaker and TV personality. http://thisisjasonsilva.com/

Dan Zarrella (@danzarrella)  If  you want to learn about twitter and how you can leverage the platform for your brands, you should be following him. According to his blog, “He has a background in web development and combines his programming capabilities with a passion for social marketing to study social media behavior from a data-backed position and teach marketers scientifically grounded best practices”  http://danzarrella.com/#

Let me know what you think? Any other you recommend?

#SMAnalyticschat #influencers #digitalmarketing

Privacy : Is the Cloud Safe?

On the past couple of weeks privacy and security of the cloud have been questioned.  After the leaks of nude celebrity’s photos, everyone is concerned about the real security of these online storage sites. Companies and people are using more and more these storage sites to save valuable information, but no one has taken the time to really understand the risks of using it and do something to prevent any incidents.

Which are the real risks of using the cloud?

• ·       Shared Access: at a company level access to the cloud is not limited to one user only. When more people has access , risks increase . Hosts also have access to all the information stored.
• ·       Virtual Exploits: The cloud is susceptible to all the virtual exploits.
• ·       Ownership:  Many users don’t realize that there are clauses in the contracts they signed, that state  that the data stored is of  the provider not of the user (even if  the user uploaded it )

Even though these risks are evident, many experts and cloud owners have defended the safety of the cloud and have attributed the breaches on the miss use of people and companies.

 I completely disagree, it has been proven that this storage sites have had responsibility in the breaches. Lacks of safety protocols are common within the industry. There should be specific laws and regulations that demand them to guarantee the safety of the information stored in their sites.

As users, we should ask how they are protecting our information and demand clear answers and policies.