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As concerns over data privacy abound, Vero is doing social media a little differently

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As concerns over data privacy abound, Vero is doing social media a little differently

Unlike Threads, Vero has been focused on steady, rather than exponential growth.

When Mark Zuckerberg launched Threads as a competitor to Twitter, it broke ChatGPT’s record to become the fastest-growing social network in history, gaining 100 million users in just a few days. But in the weeks since its launch, Threads’ daily active user count has fallen by significant margins, dropping 82% as of July 31.

Vero, on the other hand, has been growing slowly and steadily for years, flying mostly under the radar as it seeks to build a strong base from which to change the social media landscape. The app, which now has a user base numbering about 6.5 million people, proposes a different, more real, version of social media, one that is importantly lacking the incentives for addiction and vitriol that are present on other platforms.

“People are becoming more and more aware of the problem of platforms mining their data, and then using that data, selling it to advertisers,” Ayman Hariri, the co-founder and CEO of Vero said in an interview with The Street. “We’re definitely seeing people that do come onto the platform organically come because of those concerns.”

Vero is ad-free, subscription-based

Vero was designed to be a completely ad-free, subscription-based social network. Though the company has yet to activate the subscription model – and hasn’t said when it will do so – the result of this ad-free network is a platform without incentives, and therefore, without an algorithm.

“When people talk about data and data mining, it’s really about having enough information on somebody to know what their habits are, and whether or not there’s a way to design things to fit within those habits,” Hariri said. “It’s a negative thing in that you can make the product more addictive. You can potentially manipulate people’s behaviour. And that’s a red line we don’t want to cross.”

These problems of algorithms and misaligned incentives were at the centre of Meta Platforms’  (META) – Get Free Report Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s complaint against the company in 2021. The computer scientist said at the time that “Facebook makes more money when you consume more content,” adding that the platform designed its algorithms to prioritize profits in a way that incentivizes hate speech.

Vero has no such incentives.

“There’s no advertising. Therefore, it isn’t an algorithmic feed,” Hariri said. “Therefore, we’re not looking for content that gets any reaction. We’re not in that world at all. I don’t believe in it.”

It provides users with a chronological feed that, according to Hariri, gives people complete access to their entire following, something advertisement-based platforms have not been able to promise.

“There’s no place for hate speech on our platform,” Hariri said. “We’re not looking for people to be okay with that nor to train people that that’s okay.”

Vero currently employs a human content moderation team, but is looking into tools to bring that effort up to scale.

“I think that free speech and what X is particularly going after is a noble cause, but just the practicality of daily life makes it difficult to achieve something that will work for everybody,” he said. “We’re doing things in different ways.”

And where other platforms, such as YouTube and now X (formerly Twitter) incentivize their creators to make content by sharing percentages of ad revenue, Vero’s approach is necessarily different. There’s no ad revenue to share; the app, instead, will grant creators equity ownership in the platform itself.

Vero users own shares of the company

“If you choose to come to Vero and bring your following, you own shares in the company. It’s got nothing to do with discussions with me or anybody else,” Hariri said. “We’re looking very intently at the regulatory aspects and we’re making bold moves that nobody else has done because we truly mean what it is that we’re saying. We want to be different. And we want to have a different impact on people that join us.”

To that end, Vero acquired Tokenise Stock Exchange International in June, a regulated stock exchange for tokenised securities that was founded in 2018.

“It’s a challenge to go down the path of educating a market and selling to them,” Hariri said. “That’s why our product has to stand on its own two feet as a product that delivers you value. That’s what we’re focused on. That’s why it takes us so long.”

“Our growth is all ahead of us.”

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Ian Krietzberg is a breaking/trending news writer for The Street with a focus on artificial intelligence and the markets. He covers AI companies, safety and ethics extensively. As an offshoot of his tech beat, Ian also covers Elon Musk and his many companies, namely SpaceX and Tesla.

Sourced from TheStreet

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Maximize Your Facebook Ad ROI With These Three Proven Strategies

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By Jonathan Durante

Imagine you’re standing at the edge of a bustling marketplace where billions of potential customers are shopping. In this digital age, that marketplace is none other than Facebook, a vibrant hub of connections, interests and endless possibilities. It’s here that businesses big and small vie for attention, hoping to captivate the hearts and minds of their target audience.

But amid the flurry of ads competing for attention, how can you ensure that your Facebook advertising campaigns stand out from the crowd? How can you unlock the secret to maximizing your return on investment and turn your advertising efforts into a flourishing success story?

Below I’ll share three proven strategies that will help you navigate the dynamic realm of Facebook ads. My agency uses these strategies to guide our clients toward success.

1. Change Your Creative Frequently

Frequently changing your creative is important for keeping people engaged with your ads and getting more clicks. It helps keep things fresh for potential customers, so they will not get ad fatigue from being bombarded with ads featuring the same message or visuals every time they scroll through their social media feeds.

Changing your ads up also provides you with the opportunity to experiment with different types of content and gain valuable insights into what works best for your target audience. Try creating several variations of your ad creative, testing each one for a period of time and then switching it out for something else.

This will allow you to make more informed decisions when creating future campaigns, which will ultimately lead to higher ROI from your advertising efforts. By regularly modifying and testing different ad content, you can ensure that you are always making the most of your campaigns and getting the best possible results.

2. Use Strong Calls To Action

Effective calls to action can increase your click-through rate and drive conversions. They help guide potential customers through the sales process and encourage them to take actions, such as making a purchase or signing up for an email list. So make sure to include a CTA in every ad you create. This could be something as simple as “Sign up now,” “Learn more today” or “Get started here.” Make sure your CTAs are clear, concise and direct. Keep them simple, but use powerful language to encourage people to take action.

Another key tip is to create urgency. Include phrases like “Get it now,” “Limited time offer” or “Ends soon” to prompt people to act quickly before the opportunity passes.

Try experimenting with different CTAs and tones of voice in order to see what resonates best with your target audience. Remember, a strong CTA can be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful campaign.

3. Scale Your Budget Incrementally

If your ad campaigns are successful, you may be tempted to scale up the budget quickly. However, it’s usually best to take a slower approach and test each budget increase before committing fully. This will help ensure that you don’t overspend on campaigns that aren’t performing well and will also give you a better idea of the budget you need for maximum success.

Start with a small budget and gradually increase it as you get more data on the effectiveness of your campaigns. Analyse the data to identify areas where you can improve, and then adjust your budget accordingly. Scaling gradually by 10%-20% is a good rule of thumb we use at my agency.

As you start to see results, you can increase your budget more aggressively. Remember, digital advertising is a science—take your time and be patient to maximize your ROI.

Stand Out To Make Your Ad Dollars Count

In the vast virtual marketplace of Facebook, where billions of potential customers roam, it’s critical to make your advertising campaigns stand out. Refresh your ad creative frequently, and experiment with various visual styles and copy techniques to discover what works best for your audience. Use compelling CTAs to motivate users to take action. Lastly, don’t overlook the importance of strategically scaling your budget over time. Make every ad dollar count.

Feature Image Credit: getty

By Jonathan Durante

Co-founder at Expandify Marketing, a leading digital marketing agency. Read Jonathan Durante’s full executive profile here.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Sourced from Forbes

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Reaching Gen Z & Millennials: Different Social Platforms Call for Different Content Every Time

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By Catherine Salfino

There are 8 billion people in this world. And of them, 60 percent, or 4.88 billion, are active social media users. In the U.S., that number jumps to 74 percent. This poses a great opportunity for brands to connect with consumers. However, there is a bushel of social media platforms. And the users differ for each platform based on age as well as the content they want to see. That’s especially true for Gen Z and millennials. For marketers, knowing the difference can make all the difference in connecting and capitalizing on social platforms.

YPulse data shows Gen Z and millennials are active on an average of six different social media platforms. And they’re going to each platform for different content.

“For brands, this means that content can’t be one size fits all,” states the YPulse Insights article. “They’ve got to pay attention to exactly what purpose each one serves for young audiences.”

Fully 81 percent of young consumers don’t want to see the same kind of content on every platform, according to the YPulse research. The firm also found 65 percent of young users don’t like when social media platforms create new features that replicate other social media sites—meaning, they want different content on each.

For example, in a YPulse survey of 13 to 39 year olds, users went to TikTok for memes and viral content (66 percent), content from online influencers (58 percent), random people they don’t know (57 percent), celebrities (49 percent), and their friends (46 percent). But when the same generations go to Instagram, they mostly seek content from their friends (66 percent), followed by celebrities (63 percent), online influencers (55 percent), brands/products (52 percent), and memes/viral content (51 percent).

The most popular social media platform for clothing ideas among Gen Z consumers is Instagram (74 percent), according to a 2023 Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™ Survey. That’s followed by TikTok (71 percent), Pinterest (52 percent), YouTube (36 percent), Snapchat (18 percent), Facebook (13 percent), X—formerly Twitter (13 percent), and Tumblr (2 percent).

Among consumers ages 25 to 34, the top platform is also Instagram (78 percent), according to the Monitor™ research. That’s also followed by TikTok (57 percent), Facebook (51 percent), YouTube (43 percent), Pinterest (38 percent), X (22 percent), Snapchat (19 percent), and Tumblr (5 percent).

Simon Kemp, founder of Kepios, a strategy consultancy, and DataReportal, an online reference library, says social media user numbers continue to grow. He says his firm’s latest research shows social media adoption accelerated +1.5 percent over the past three months. Total social media adoption increased 3.7 percent since July 2022.

“This figure marks another momentous milestone along our journey towards universal connectivity,” Kemp said in a recent video when the company presented its quarterly digital report.

In the last quarter, DataReportal’s research shows females ages 16 to 24 spent the most time on social media, at 3 hours and 10 minutes per day. That was followed by females ages 25 to 34, spending 2 hours and 49 minutes per day on social platforms. Males ages 16 to 24 were next, at 2 hours and 35 minutes, followed by males ages 25 to 34 at two hours and 32 minutes. By comparison, men and women ages 55 to 64 average 1 hour and 40 minutes on social platforms per day.

That time spent on these platforms can translate into sales for apparel brands, especially among younger consumers. One-fifth (20 percent) of shoppers ages 13 to 24 say they have purchased a product directly from a social media post by clicking a link or image, according to 2020 Monitor™ research. The number increases to 23 percent among millennials.

Two-fifths (40 percent) of young consumers (ages 13-24) add that they’re likely to buy a product directly from a social media platform, according to the 2020 Monitor™ research.

Perhaps that’s why Pinterest is so popular with the younger set. YPulse research shows young consumers like that Pinterest offers in-post shopping where both creators and brands can tag the items they show, allowing users to purchase directly from the post. Gen Z and millennials put Pinterest in the number one spot for the kind of content they want from brands, including product recommendations that are linked within aesthetically pleasing pictures.

YPulse research shows the other top platforms Gen Z and millennials turn to for content from brands are Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. Where Instagram is concerned, 52 percent of young consumers say they want to see brands and products in the app. They like that social shopping also doesn’t waste their time or divide their attention by bringing them to another site. Also, these shoppers want to see niche or personalized content on Instagram, versus viral posts.

When it comes to advertising, young consumers are most open to watching it on YouTube (63 percent), followed by Instagram and Facebook, according to YPulse’s Social and Mobile Marketing Preferences report. And they’re open to content from online influencers on every platform except Facebook and Snapchat—two platforms where they prioritize posts from family and friends. Whether it’s a major celebrity or micro influencer, more than half of all young people (54 percent) say they have purchased something after it was touted by an online celeb on social media.

Social media holds the top spot for young shoppers when it comes to a source of clothing ideas. Over two-fifths of all Gen Z shoppers (43 percent) and 37 percent of millennials say they turn to social platforms for clothing inspo, according to 2023 Monitor™ research. That compares to 23 percent for Gen X and 7 percent for boomers. Celebrities also hold more sway with younger consumers. Among Gen Z, 17 percent look to celebs as a source of clothing ideas, as do 17 percent of millennials. That contrasts with 10 percent for Gen X and just 4 percent for boomers.

Brands should keep in mind the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the influencer marketing industry is expected to grow to $21.1 billion in 2023, citing data from The Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report.

Finally, YPulse says Gen Z and millennial consumers love viral content, which explains why TikTok is so popular with these cohorts.

“Lucky for brands, this kind of content is easy to get in on if done right—and is yet another way to blend ad and brand content into their feeds,” YPulse states in its Insights article. Since 49 percent of TikTok users want to see humour from brands, funny content is one way to connect with them. “But even if a brand doesn’t think humour is part of their identity, there’s viral potential for everything—wholesome, lifestyle, DIY, you name it—and as long as it’s entertaining and personal, young consumers will be interested.”

The Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™ Survey is an ongoing research program that measures consumer attitudes and behaviours relating to apparel, shopping, fashion, sustainability, and more.

For more information about the Lifestyle Monitor™ Survey, please visit https://lifestylemonitor.cottoninc.com.

Feature Image Credit: Getty

By Catherine Salfino

Sourced from Sourcing Journal

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Forget the hero ad – integrated creative is the new hero

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By Scott Everett

The 30- or 60-second TV spot – the ‘hero ad’ – has long been the prestige centre of ad campaigns. Is it time for that approach to die? PMG’s Scott Everett thinks so.

This might be controversial on the tailwinds of celebrating Cannes Lions, but it’s time to stop making hero ads the hero of every brand story.

The almighty 60- and 30-second spots that we have long revered as the centrepiece of every brand campaign are no longer the most important components of the marketing mix. That’s not to say that TV advertising and brand-building storytelling are not important, but it is time to acknowledge that advertising has fundamentally evolved. Today’s brands need a more nimble and data-driven creative model that recognizes live TV audiences are shrinking, streaming and social viewership are on the rise, and our creative canvas is exploding with opportunities to make advertising work harder and perform better.

Creatives have long put their faith into hero ads for building brands, but right now, we have an opportunity to embrace the power of integrated creative in telling stories and driving business impact. With audiences and engagement more fragmented than ever, customer journeys aren’t linear, and our creative strategies can’t be either. That means creative must be more unique, more complete, more agile, and in more places than ever before.

In media agencies, creative teams are benefiting from the innovation and inspiration that come from creative, strategy, and media working together. We are serving an increasingly complex and competitive marketing landscape, informed by new behaviours, artificial intelligence, and breaking through in new mediums ranging from Netflix to TikTok and Reddit.

Never before have we had more audience signals or indicators of intent helping us move people along the journey from awareness to purchase. Equally, never before has the journey been less of a straight path than it is today.

Mastering this creative flywheel is the hardest and most important job ahead of brands and creatives working together to build high-performing marketing strategies. Here’s how we can better align for the full-funnel future.

1. Build a flexible and robust story platform that fuels a high-performing media plan

Brand versus performance. Data versus instinct. Creative versus creators. Super Bowl spots versus Performance Max ads. It’s not either/or, and we all must embrace the healthy tension of building a plan together.

A flexible creative storytelling platform is a comprehensive, consistent library of stories that fuels a smart media plan, facilitating real-time iteration, optimization, and learning. When everyone is operating from the same blueprint and playbook, creatives can flex into any opportunity, planned or unplanned, and advertising works harder to deliver more for the brand.

2. Plan for speed and agility

While our creative palette for building cultural relevance has expanded, speed to market is critical. Everyone must work together across strategy, insights, creative, and media to adapt to where consumers are and what they expect from advertisers. Once everyone is aligned on the brand’s objectives, teams can be empowered to deliver impact in real time. This can be anything from partnering to accelerate the media and creative working hardest to leaning into emerging opportunities like AI, the metaverse, first-mover advantages with creators and platform partners, and any number of new ways of bringing creative ideas to market.

3. Embrace the white space between brand and performance

While TV ads are great for building broad awareness, product ads can be untapped opportunities for creatively engaging with a brand’s audience. Too many advertisers continue to bridge brand-to-conversion with discount messaging rather than creating a cohesive storytelling strategy around building brand and product love. The middle funnel is the creative frontier that makes all marketing work harder, and it’s beckoning us to think beyond the creative approaches of the past.

Technology advancements in this area are particularly exciting. For example, at PMG, we’re using AI to determine real-time creative insights that tell us what creative is performing best in any given moment, based on creative elements ranging from colour to product types to backgrounds or the use of models.

Once we let go of making hero ads the hero, creative can work harder across the full customer journey. Integrated creative can then truly become the hero of helping businesses meet their goals and accelerate into the future.

Feature Image Credit: Ali Kokab via Unsplash

By Scott Everett

Sourced from The Drum

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Ryanair’s TikTok lays bare the dark, twisted heart of capitalism

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By James Greig

The budget airline’s social media represents a bold new era of advertising in which the customer, far from being always right, is a snivelling little worm

There has been much talk lately about online abuse, with both the British and American governments drafting strict new legislation aimed at tackling the problem. But the internet’s most venomous troll has slipped under the radar: ultra-budget airline Ryanair. Casting aside the idea that the customer is always right, the brand’s social media presents a new, black-pilled mode of advertising in which the customer is both petulant brat and spineless coward, grumbling impotently as they submit to ever more degrading treatment.

Ryanair’s TikTok views the people who use its services with disdain and delights in the terrible service it provides them, safe in the knowledge that we are too broke to fly elsewhere. Taking all of the things which people hate about the company and turning them into a source of self-deprecating humour, it jokes about charging people for breathing, mocks customers for complaining about flights “which no one forced them to book”, gloats about having window seats with no windows and charging extortionate additional fees.

With both its TikTok and Twitter accounts, Ryanair has trapped its customers in a dom/sub dynamic. In one sense, it’s like the big-dicked top who fucks you good, treats you like shit and knows you’ll come crawling back for more. But the analogy breaks down when you consider that the company has no redeeming qualities other than cost: it’s more like a lover sending you a series of gloating texts about how terrible they are in bed, safe in the knowledge that you have no better options because you’re a broke-ass loser. Plenty of people lap this up, barking like seals (or replying “savage!!!”) at their own abjection. Over the last few years, the account has gained millions of followers and widespread acclaim. “The voice doesn’t just sound human. It sounds like a hilarious member of Gen Z: fluent in the latest memes, ready to pounce on bad takes and eager to troll for likes,” enthused one article in The Washington Post, which described it as “the most savage account of any airline”.

Ryanair’s antagonistic, self-mocking approach isn’t entirely new. Brands have been using irony for decades, usually in an attempt to capture something about the zeitgeist: in the 1990s it was slacker disaffection, today it is informed by the often chaotic and nihilistic humour of social media. Companies have previously embraced a bad reputation in an effort to transform it (one 2004 Skoda advert was premised entirely on the fact that everyone hated their product) and others have leaned into obnoxiousness – Cards Against Humanity, for example, once crowd-funded $100,000 to dig a hole in the ground. When people complained, “why didn’t you donate it to charity?” they replied, “why didn’t the donators?” Pretty twisted stuff… More recently, there has been a trend of advertising based on the idea that capitalism sucks: a Subway/UberEats advert with the slogan, “when your day is long, go footlong”, and a footwear brand cracking jokes about how young people today will never be able to retire.

As journalist Tristan Cross writes in The Guardian, these adverts “self-consciously [ape] the sardonic disaffection and dejection that many of us feel” and “affect a knowing posture, as if they, too, share our dissatisfactions with the modern world”. But this is slightly different to what Ryanair is doing: the brands mentioned above are coming to you as a friend, smiling in commiseration, and promising you respite from a cold and uncaring world. The Ryanair TikTok account is the cold and uncaring world. It is the sneering face of capitalist domination, lip-syncing to an audio recording of a toddler or a sassy exchange from a Bravo series.

Like Ray Liotta in Goodfellas, Ryanair’s message is simple: fuck you, pay me. Forgot to print out your boarding pass because you’re an old-age pensioner and you don’t know what an app is? Fuck you, pay me. Your luggage weighs a couple of grams over the limit because you’re transporting your grandmother’s ashes? Fuck you, pay me. Your flight has been cancelled through no fault of your own and you need to rebook? Fuck you, that’ll be £80. As a brand, they do not pretend to “value” their customers – we are profit cows and nothing more. CEO Michael O’Leary said himself that he would charge us to use the bathroom if he could. Instead of trying to gloss over this cold-blooded, mercenary streak, the Ryanair TikTok account embraces it.

There is admittedly something refreshing in its refusal to frame a transactional relationship in the sentimental terms of family or friendship. This is a carefully considered marketing strategy, no more authentic or anarchic than any other, and the decision to not sound “too corporate” has, of course, been signed off by corporate executives. It’s still capitalism with a human face, it’s just presenting itself as an outrageous oomfie rather than as a kindly neighbour or supportive friend. But the company’s celebration of its own greed does hint at a larger truth.

While they typically expend great effort in persuading us otherwise, the Ryanair approach is – at heart – how every business views its customers, from the major corporations downwards (except for youth culture and fashion publications, it should go without saying!) The cute little queer cafe that serves snacks and hosts Heartstopper viewing parties. The girl you went to uni with who has started hawking ethically sourced healing crystals on Instagram. The ten-year-old Girl Guide knocking on your door with a tray of home-baked cookies and a fantastical tall tale about raising funds for a local hospice. If they could get away with it, they would all slit your throat for the change in your pocket. Ryanair is just one of the few companies saying it out loud, having calculated – it would seem correctly – that we would find this admission funny.

In this respect, the Ryanair TikTok account shares a spiritual kinship with Donald Trump. As political theorist Corey Robin argues in The Reactionary Mind, part of the former president’s appeal was his willingness to expose the moral emptiness of capitalism, even as he revelled in it. Where previous generations of right-wing politicians had venerated the free market as a site of heroic and noble deeds, for Trump it was simply a matter of winning or losing – as he put it, investing in the stock market was no different from playing poker in a casino. Even though he proposed little in the way of changing it, Trump punctured some of the more flattering illusions about how our economy functions – and many people loved him for it. Are you starting to see the parallels yet? Only time can tell whether fans of the Ryanair TikTok account will go on to attempt an insurrection of their own, perhaps storming the British Airways Member’s Lounge in a fit of populist hysteria.

All that said, it would be overstating the case to praise Ryanair for its brutal honesty. While the company is happy to poke fun at its minor sins, the inconveniences and shakedowns with which anyone who has flown with them will already be familiar, it is not cracking jokes about its allegedly terrible working conditions, its violation of labour laws or the fact it was reprimanded by a watchdog for misleading claims about being a “low-CO2 emissions” airline, when it is in fact one of the worst polluters in Europe.

Ryanair’s bolshy TikTok account might be a calculated bit of schtick, but it’s entirely in line with the ethos of CEO Michael O’Leary, a man who admires Margaret Thatcher, who remarked that environmentalists should be shot, and once said, “You’re not getting a refund so fuck off. We don’t want to hear your sob stories. What part of ‘no refund’ don’t you understand?” Is this endearing brusqueness, or the contempt of a multimillionaire towards ordinary people? And is it an attitude any more charming when transposed onto the grotesque lips of an anthropomorphised airplane? Some of the videos are quite funny, and they are clearly an effective marketing tactic, but there’s something ugly at the heart of it all. If you want a picture of the future, imagine the Ryanair TikTok account calling you a pathetic little worm – forever.

Feature Image Credit: Courtesy Ryanair / Tiktok

By James Greig

Sourced from DAZED

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Event sponsorship is dying – marketers must pivot to a partnership model

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By Mike White

As new event paradigms dawn, event sponsorship is dying, says Lively’s Mike White. Promoters and brands clinging to the traditional sponsor paradigm will be left in the dust.

Marketers have long turned to events as an advertising vehicle, for good reason. Event marketing is one of the most impactful channels for bringing a brand story to life. A study about the influence of events showed that 93% of consumers feel live events have a larger influence on them than television ads.

It makes sense. Events afford brands an opportunity to build brand awareness with consumers in controlled environments that leverage a shared community, a moment in time, and a unique experience. When executed well, exposure to engaged audiences correlates with brand lift from association with popular events and entertainers.

But while there’s no question about the efficacy of events, the live event paradigm is desperately in need of a modern refresh.

Traditional experiential balances competing objectives

The first issue to overcome is a misaligned incentive structure that’s baked into traditional event sponsorship. Consider the typical brand-promoter deal wherein brands and promoters have different respective objectives.

Promoters want to sell tickets and add revenue to their bottom lines. Brands want to sell their products and achieve ROI from their investment. Since events are costly to produce, they often capture a sizable chunk of an annual marketing budget and, therefore, are under intense scrutiny.

This brand-promoter paradigm doesn’t even consider the motivations of audiences to participate in a one-of-a-kind experience, or the aspirations and needs of the event’s entertainers. (All parties, crucially, want to build community. More on that later.)

A new event paradigm: from sponsorship to partnership

The last two decades of my career on the bleeding edge of live and hybrid event production have taught me a critical lesson: because of disparate objectives between brand, promoter, sponsor, and audience, it can be hard to orchestrate a positive experience for all parties.

This is why sponsorship needs to be put to rest and partnership needs to take its place.

Under a partnership dynamic, all stakeholders invest and align on goals, using the following 4 steps.

1. Shift the event objective

First, marketers need to refocus the event objective to one goal that all stakeholders have in common: community building.

The objective is to convert event audiences who are there for the event’s entertainment into an always-on community so that you can create conversation and grow relationships and engagement over time.

This should align key stakeholders around a measurable goal, and overcome potential pitfalls of different objectives.

2. Integrate technology

Today’s audiences occupy more than a physical space in time. At any given moment, they’re connected to multiple environments across digital touchpoints, including social media channels, mobile applications, and other communication and streaming platforms.

To lose sight of these digital spaces is an immense opportunity lost, since an audience’s engagement in the context of multiple channels can expand the footprint of an event while building a shared community for the event’s partners.

At Lively, we’re highly attuned to these touchpoints. We call them ‘experiential media ecosystems’. When stakeholders are intentional about these ecosystems, they become owned channels for communication and engagement that live well past the one-time event.

Not only does this allow brands to experience sustained gains, but inviting audiences into an owned community offers rich and actionable data that can help marketers iterate meaningfully on strategy.

3. Focus on authenticity

Looking at event execution as a partnership means all parties align on the audience they want to engage. Authentic engagements between creative, sponsor, and audience are essential to successful activation.

Once brands and creators align on audience and messaging, brands can and should relinquish control to creative to allow them to communicate with audiences in ways that resonate genuinely.

4. Grow and engage the community over time

Event promoters have traditionally pushed back against hybrid and other tech-enabled events because they fear that streaming live events might take away an incentive for an in-person ticket purchase.

Promoters need to evolve their thinking, because streaming can expand the reach of live events, engage new audiences, and create fomo.

The content shared at live events does not replace the in-person experience. Instead, when events are well-executed, it makes our peer groups want to attend the following year.

If all three parties can benefit from an owned event community, it allows the audience to be engaged far beyond the event in interesting and meaningful touchpoints.

More than ever, events are ripe marketing vehicles for brand marketers. Ensuring that stakeholders are aligned is the key to reaping the benefits of experiential activations. Integrating technology to build and engage a community that lasts beyond the event invites new audiences and fortifies event interest. Promoting the community alongside all stakeholders will ensure that event ROI is even more than the sum of its parts.

Feature Image Credit: Unplash

Sourced from The Drum

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Still Use TweetDeck for Marketing? Time to Pay Up

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By Jennifer Torres
Musk’s revamped X network ushers in X Pro, formerly known as TweetDeck, behind its verified Twitter Blue tier.

The Gist

  • Transforming TweetDeck. Now a subscriber-only product called X Pro.
  • Pay to play. Users must be Twitter Blue verified.
  • X Pro view. Control multiple timeline columns in one interface.

In a move that could reshape the digital marketing landscape, Elon Musk’s revamped social network, X (previously Twitter), has unveiled its rebranded social media dashboard: X Pro, the successor to the well-loved TweetDeck. Long serving as the go-to platform for marketers juggling multiple brand and client accounts, X Pro is now ensconced behind a paywall, accessible exclusively to verified users of the platform.

The shift to a subscription model comes with its own set of perks, but at a price. Joining the “Twitter Blue” tier will set users back $8 monthly or $84 annually. In return, subscribers gain the coveted blue check mark, the power to edit tweets and a streamlined experience with prioritized rankings in conversations, searches and notably fewer ads.

For marketers, however, the key question remains: Will the benefits of X Pro justify its cost, or will they be forced to re-evaluate their social media management strategies?

From TweetDeck to X Pro: Will Marketers Embrace the Evolution?

TweetDeck served for years as a valuable tool for many marketers, with multiple account management capabilities, real-time monitoring and scheduled tweets — the collaborative platform also provided customizable columns to track specific hashtags, mentions, lists, keywords and the ability to perform competitor analysis.

Originally an independent app from 2009-2011, TweetDeck Ltd. was subsequently acquired by Twitter Inc. and integrated into Twitter’s interface, soon becoming one of the platforms’ most popular features — especially among marketers.

But the question remains, with the rebrand to X Pro, will the latest incarnation offer marketers even more?

What Can X Pro Offer Marketers?

In July, the company unveiled plans for a “new, improved version of TweetDeck.” However, they noted that access would be granted only to verified users, who were given a 30-day notice to secure their verification.

Mainly viewed as a name rebrand (as well as a new revenue source), the current features offered by TweetDeck are expected to remain with X Pro.

Among X Pro’s currently known features and facts:

  • All users will be able to continue to access their saved searches and workflows.
  • All saved searches, lists and columns will carry over and users will be prompted to import their columns when the application is loaded for the first time.
  • The platform supports full composer functionality, including Spaces, video docking, polls and more.
  • Teams functionality is temporarily unavailable but will be restored in the coming weeks.

And while X Pro is now offered as a paid service through Twitter Blue, verification does come with some perks. The subscription offers users a suite of enhanced capabilities, including sharing extended videos, the freedom to edit tweets within a 30-minute window, the option to retract tweets before they’re seen by others, the use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) for profile imagery, and entry to the Spaces Tab, a hub for audio content.

As the digital world continually evolves, so do the tools that marketers rely on. X Pro’s transformation from the iconic TweetDeck signifies not just a name change, but a paradigm shift in how digital marketing tools are packaged and priced. While it brings a fusion of old (and possibly new) features, it’s evident that its success hinges on its value proposition to its core users — the marketers. As the dust settles on this transition, the digital marketing community waits with bated breath, poised to decide if X Pro is indeed the next frontier or a nostalgic nod to an era gone by.

By Jennifer Torres

Jennifer Torres, is a Florida-based journalist with more than two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics. Currently, Jennifer is a staff reporter at CMSWire, where she tackles subjects ranging from artificial intelligence and customer service & support to customer experience and user experience design. Jennifer is also the esteemed author of a collection of 10 mystery and suspense novels, and has formerly held the position of marketing officer at the prestigious Florida Institute of Technology. Connect with Jennifer Torres: X

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How to Transform Your Business through Social Media Branding in 2023

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By Jessica Wong

Social media branding blends platforms’ expansive reach with the potent influence of finely crafted brand messages. This dynamic duo becomes the bedrock of highly effective marketing campaigns, fuelling amplified brand awareness, trust and audience engagement.

In less than two decades, social media has transformed how people communicate. Social media platforms have also dramatically altered how brands reach potential customers and build long-term relationships.

Social media enabled brands to break down barriers and reach their audiences directly. As a consequence of making it easier for companies to reach audiences, more businesses are leveraging social media for growth. Effective social media branding can help companies stand out in busy marketplaces and strengthen their brand identity simultaneously.

Social media platforms may have started as a way for individuals to connect. But as millions and now billions of people have joined them, they have also become powerful marketing tools. The latest statistics at the time of writing showed that more than four and a quarter billion people globally used social media at least once a month.

While that figure is impressive, the power of social media is not limited to user numbers. According to industry experts, nine out of ten people buy from brands they follow on social media platforms. There is no doubt about the strong connection between an engaging social media presence and conversions. Social media platforms are powerful tools to help build brands.

Defining social media branding

Social media branding combines the strengths of two cornerstone elements of successful marketing strategies — branding and social media marketing. To deliver transformative results for a business, social media branding strategies must do more than add a logo to a post.

Brand teams must integrate the brand’s unique value proposition with its look, voice and feel to craft memorable messages. Some of the most captivating social media branding is focused on encouraging interaction and engagement between a brand and its audiences.

Using social media branding to build brand awareness and reach

Through social media platforms, brands have an unparalleled opportunity to extend their reach beyond their existing audiences. By developing captivating content, companies encourage their existing audiences, or followers, to share it with others. Without additional effort on the side of the business, the audience grows.

Hashtags are another excellent way of reaching new audiences interested in a topic the brand is discussing. As non-followers pick up your company’s content and share it, there is an opportunity for it to go viral and be seen by thousands or even millions of social media users who may otherwise never have known about your company.

Establishing brand identity and differentiation through social media branding

Building awareness and reach are only two components of successful social media branding. As social media use grows, more brands use these platforms for their marketing, and it is becoming increasingly more challenging to stand out from competitors.

Social media branding allows companies to show their audiences what differentiates them from their competitors. Few other channels offer the same level of choice of communication, what to talk about and how to interact with their audience without a barrier. This is why social media platforms are such powerful tools for sharing value propositions and clarifying how brands are different.

Engaging and connecting with target audiences

Connecting with audiences has been somewhat of a side note throughout this article. However, connecting and engaging directly with an audience is perhaps the greatest strength of social media channels.

This immediacy allows brands to listen to feedback from their audience, respond to it directly and build stronger relationships. At the same time, brands can show their personality more easily than on other channels. For example, Taco Bell’s social media content and interactions have a distinct funny and sarcastic tone to them.

But brands can also showcase their values to their customers as Starbucks does with its community-focused Facebook content. One of the keys to maximizing the impact of social media branding is consistency in both verbal and visual messaging to reinforce the brand’s identity.

Leveraging user-generated content

The next step in building engagement is utilizing user-generated content. For example, by sharing a genuine product review, brands can highlight their unique value propositions through a third-party endorsement. User-generated content is a powerful tactic to build audience trust.

Influencing consumer perception and trust

Consistent social media branding, especially user-generated content, consumer reviews and testimonials, can influence and change consumers’ brand perception. Today, many consumers are sceptical of companies’ statements in their marketing campaigns.

Content that has been created by a product’s or service’s users automatically benefits from greater credibility and helps build trust between the brand and the audience. Brands can reinforce that trust by ensuring their messages resonate with users’ content.

Driving website traffic and conversions

Aside from allowing brands and consumers to connect directly, another strength of social media platforms is driving website traffic and conversions.

Social media posts are an excellent tool to introduce a topic and entice the audience to visit a website and learn more. Clear calls-to-action are imperative to encourage users to click on a link. Without them, it is too easy for content to get lost among competing messages.

Measuring social media branding success

Without measuring the impact of different social media branding activities, brand teams cannot know which campaigns have been successful and which need refinement.

Tracking critical metrics like views, reach and conversions is essential. To make analytics even more meaningful, companies can analyze the sentiment underlying reactions and adjust the effectiveness of their activity. Most social media platforms continue to develop more sophisticated metrics and tools to help brands in their journey.

Social media branding combines the reach of social media platforms with the impact of carefully crafted brand messages. Together, these two can help companies build highly effective marketing campaigns. Increased brand awareness, brand trust and audience engagement all drive business growth for years to come.

By Jessica Wong

Jessica is the Founder and CEO of nationally recognized marketing and PR firms, Valux Digital and uPro Digital. She is a digital marketing and PR expert with more than 20 years of success driving bottom-line results for clients through innovative marketing programs aligned with emerging strategies.

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Capturing the Future: AI Headshots Revolutionize the Face of Professional Photography

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I know what you might be thinking. “Will AI replace professional photographers? Are the days of hiring a professional photographer numbered?” As the owner of 415Headshots, a San Francisco-based headshot studio, I’m here to quell those fears.

The narrative isn’t about AI supplanting photographers. AI is assisting photographers create amazing headshots that were previously impossible, enhancing their skills and producing high-quality results. My journey with AI has been an extraordinary one, filled with intriguing discoveries and valuable lessons. Join me as we explore AI’s impact on headshot photography, transforming the professional industry.

AI and Its Magic in Professional Headshots

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly risen from a technological advancement to a creative ally in the world of photography. When we hear “AI,” many of us might think of complex algorithms, vast data, or futuristic robotics. AI transforms headshot photography, offering a fresh perspective to redefine artistic expression.

With AI in our toolkit, we now have the capability to generate realistic headshots that truly transform the concept of photography. These aren’t the traditional images we’ve grown accustomed to; they combine the science of artificial intelligence with the art of photography.

My personal journey with AI began with an experiment. Curious about its potential, I decided to work with www.corporateheadshots.ai and introduce my vast collection of professional headshots to an AI model. Essentially, this meant allowing the AI to learn and grasp the essence of what makes a headshot truly “professional.” The intention was to see if a machine could mimic, or even enhance, the nuances and subtleties that a professional photographer like myself brings into each shot.

And the results? Nothing short of awe-inspiring. The AI-generated images, showcased quality work, presented a range of emotions, angles, and moods. Each image was a testament to the potential that AI holds.

Harnessing AI to Create Stunning Headshots

In the past, headshot photography had been constrained by certain limitations. We had to consider several factors such as time, location, lighting, and the subject’s mood.

But AI changes the whole dynamic. It uses professional, high-resolution images to generate stunning headshots that can rival, and sometimes surpass, the works of human photographers.

Envision yourself as a photographer who had scheduled a few outdoor portrait shoots, but, unfortunately, it’s raining outside. Typically, you’d have to accommodate your clients’ schedule(s) and re-schedule for another day. AI can now allow photographers to take professional headshots in the studio and generate outdoor headshots of the same person.

AI-generated headshots don’t simply mimic; they mirror our styles and techniques to create stunning headshots. The mix of technology and art helps photographers and clients by giving them a special, digitally improved view.

AI as a Valuable Tool for Photographers

Navigating the digital realm requires a photographer to be versatile. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media profiles demand their own flavor of imagery, especially for their profile pictures.

The challenge has always been to adjust and adapt. As a photographer, this meant often needing multiple sessions or exhaustive editing to get the right fit for each platform. But with AI, this landscape changes dramatically.

The true genius of AI lies in its ability to understand and adapt. When it generates headshots, it’s not just churning out images—it’s creating purposeful portraits tailored to resonate with their intended audience. A LinkedIn profile demands authority and professionalism, while Instagram might require a touch more flair and vibrancy. AI, with its vast learning capability, knows these distinctions and crafts images accordingly.

For photographers, this is revolutionary. Imagine the time and effort saved in not having to re-shoot or spend hours editing for each platform. Instead, with a foundational professional shot, AI can produce a spectrum of headshots, each fine-tuned for its intended use. This adaptability isn’t just beneficial—it’s transformative, amplifying a photographer’s efficiency and reach.

Clients, on the other hand, find this adaptability invaluable. In today’s digital-first era, one’s online presence plays a decisive role in personal and professional branding.

Using high-quality headshots guarantees that they will always look their best, regardless of where you display them. You should optimize these headshots for different platforms. This flexibility, driven by AI, enriches their digital identity, giving them a competitive edge.

AI as a Game-Changer for Team and Business Headshots

The image of a company is not just about logos or taglines. It’s built every time someone sees a team photo or reads about the company’s values. Team photos, in particular, give a face to the name, painting a picture of who is behind the products or services on offer. However, ensuring consistency in these photos, especially for large teams, can be a challenge.

Streamlined Photography With AI

Photographers are no stranger to the challenges of traditional team photography. Arranging schedules, finding the perfect lighting for each individual, and ensuring that everyone’s headshots match the desired tone and quality can be a tall order. This is where Artificial Intelligence comes to the rescue. With its advanced algorithms, AI can help generate professional headshots with ease.

User-Friendly Tools for Perfect Shots

One of the major advantages of AI is its user-friendly interface. Even if someone isn’t good with technology, they can still use AI tools easily to get the results they want.

Whether it’s adjusting the brightness, contrast, or even the background of a headshot, these tools ensure every picture aligns with the company’s brand.

Amplifying Personal Branding

In today’s interconnected world, personal branding is crucial. An individual’s photo on platforms like LinkedIn or a company website can play a significant role in their professional journey. A great headshot can help them stand out, making a memorable impression.

With AI’s capabilities, photographers can create images that not only fit the brand but also elevate it. This ability to tailor and fine-tune photos ensures that every team member’s headshot enhances their personal branding.

AI’s Role in Modern Photography

It’s clear that AI is revolutionizing the way we approach team and business headshots. Not as a replacement, but as a potent tool that complements a photographer’s skills. It simplifies challenges, ensuring that photographers can focus on what they do best: capturing moments and stories. The resulting images, enriched by AI’s prowess, tell a compelling story of a company and its team.

Seamless Consistency With AI-Driven Team Headshots

One of the primary challenges in team photography is achieving a consistent look. Lighting, angles, and expressions can create many different photos, even if they’re taken on the same day. AI, with its precision and adaptability, can ensure that all headshots maintain a consistent style and quality.

AI can adjust each team member’s picture to match the specific look desired by a company. You can do this regardless of how you originally took the photos. This not only streamlines the process but also ensures a unified brand image for the organization.

Embracing the Future of Professional Photography with AI

AI doesn’t herald the end for professional photographers; instead, it’s an evolutionary step forward. It enables us to offer additional services and generate higher quality output, crucial factors that can spur our businesses’ growth.

The best AI headshots result from a partnership, a unique collaboration between professional photographers and AI. This synergy is the future—a future where AI and photographers work hand-in-hand to revolutionize professional photography.

Feature Images sourced from  www.corporateheadshots.ai.

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ChatGPT isn’t proving to be the death knell for Alphabet or for search advertising

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By Jon Swartz

Google appears to be in a good position to compete for digital advertising against OpenAI

OpenAI’s ChatGPT loomed over Alphabet Inc.’s Google earlier this year, threatening the search giant’s core business of advertising.

But the menace, which seemed so dire in April, hasn’t materialized. Analysts increasingly believe Google GOOGL, +0.55% GOOG, +0.59% is well-positioned to compete for digital advertising against the initial outsize influence of startup OpenAI and its major investor, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +0.18%, this year.

“As Google incorporates more [artificial-intelligence and machine-learning] tools … we have not seen any evidence of share shifts to [Microsoft’s] Bing, and in fact see ad budgets shifting back to [Google] Search as indications are that ad spend tailed off after the initial bump at Bing,” Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Black said in a note this month.

Black maintains a buy rating on Google shares, with a price target of $125.

Google’s brightened advertising outlook extends to rivals Meta Platforms Inc. META, -0.79%, Pinterest Inc. PINS, -2.00% and Yelp Inc. YELP, +3.02% as ad agencies loosen spending after a cautious start to 2023 because of economic uncertainties, Black said.

Analysts also anticipate Google search resilience despite the Bing threat, and they expect faster YouTube growth following several down quarters, with hopes high around the launch of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV this year.

Here’s what to expect when Alphabet’s numbers hit after Tuesday’s closing bell.

What to expect

Earnings: Analysts tracked by FactSet expect Alphabet to report $1.34 a share in earnings, up from $1.21 a year before. On Estimize, which crowdsources projections from hedge funds, academics and others, the average projection calls for $1.34 a share in earnings.

Revenue: The FactSet consensus calls for $72.8 billion in total revenue, up from $69.9 billion the previous year. Those contributing to Estimize expect $72.8 billion in revenue. Excluding traffic-acquisition costs, analysts from both FactSet and Estimize forecast $60.25 billion in revenue.

Stock movement: Alphabet shares have gained 36% so far this year. The broader S&P 500 SPX, -0.28% is up 18% in 2023.

Of the 50 analysts tracked by FactSet who cover Alphabet shares, 38 have buy ratings and four have hold ratings, with an average share-price target of $135.94.

What to watch for

Investors are keeping a close eye on Google Cloud, which accounts for a sliver of the company’s overall revenue.

Why? As most enterprises hash out their generative-AI strategies, it’s unclear how much benefit Google Cloud may reap in the second quarter and going forward. A second-half tailwind could offset ongoing cost-optimization headwinds, Jefferies analyst Brent Thill said in a note last week.

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan maintained a buy rating on Alphabet shares with a price target of $140. “Broader industry conversations have continued to increase our conviction that [Alphabet] will be a long-term AI winner,” he said in a note last week.

“We think [Alphabet’s] potential for margin outperformance (especially into 2024), YouTube revenue reacceleration [and] sustained cloud computing growth (with improved margins) remain underappreciated,” Sheridan said.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Jon Swartz

Jon Swartz is a senior reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco, covering many of the biggest players in tech, including Netflix, Facebook and Google. Jon has covered technology for more than 20 years, and previously worked for Barron’s and USA Today. Follow him on Twitter @jswartz.

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