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I Moaned About VERO on Twitter, So the Billionaire Founder Rang Me up to Ask What They Can Do Better

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The other morning I posted an unnecessarily snarky tweet about VERO and a breach of my copyright. That afternoon, I found myself on an hour-long Zoom call with founder CEO Ayman Hariri after he got in touch to discuss what VERO can do to improve.

I’ve written about social media freebooting extensively in the past (1, 2). So-called feature accounts spring up, spreading community vibes, garnering an audience of tens if not hundreds of thousands, only to pivot to selling dropship t-shirts and novelty mugs. Others build followers and then start charging money for featured posts while touting for sponsored posts. The vast majority of these feature accounts post people’s artwork without permission, despite this being against any platform’s terms and conditions — and, let’s not forget, unlawful. It’s a quick way to make easy money from other people’s creativity.

On the left, my Explore page where four of the first 11 posts are feature accounts. On the right, a feature account that takes payments for sharing posts.

At the same time, Instagram and other platform benefits massively, actively encouraging this large-scale copyright infringement by featuring these accounts on the Explore page, and dropping them into people’s “you might also like this” feeds. Instagram must know that these practices are wrong but, given that feature posts account for hundreds of millions of post views each day — and therefore generate vast advertising revenue — it appears to be a policy decision, supported by the legal immunity afforded to them under the DMCA.

Appropriation Should Not Be Normal

For me, Instagram has normalized a culture of appropriation, both casual and blatant, to the point that artists blindly accept these breaches of copyright as they extend their reach, bagging them more followers in the ongoing popularity contest that is social media. I’m one of the few photographers that doesn’t appreciate this new normal, as it frustrates me to see my work enriching others while leaving me with nothing.

At an individual level, it’s small fry — a fraction of a penny in ad revenue that should go to me, not to Instagram. However, at a global level, it’s damaging to artists as, cumulatively, the value inherent in our art is extracted and diverted to Mark Zuckerberg’s immense coffers instead. We’ve accepted this because we’ve been conditioned to compete for attention rather than work as a collective.

VERO: A Different Approach

VERO has been a breath of fresh air, offering a platform that fixes many of the issues that Instagram users have been complaining about for almost a decade. High-resolution images, a chronological feed, more control over sharing, the ability to share different types of content, no ads, only content from people you want to see, and a desktop app. VERO has seen a surge in interest in recent months as Instagram has continued to ostracize photographers and influencers have been gushing about VERO’s superiority.

Like many photographers, I opened an account more than five years ago and lost interest before then rediscovering it in recent months. I don’t put a lot of effort into sharing on social media, but I like the VERO experience, and it feels like a genuine competitor to Instagram. Unlike many other Instagram alternatives that have come and gone, it’s not just for photographers, though photography is at the forefront.

A few days ago, I logged on and discovered an unexpected number of notifications: a “hub” account (as VERO refers to them) had reposted one of my photographs, crediting me and congratulating me on my work. The relentless cynic inside of me sighed and assumed that freebooting had taken next to no time to arrive on VERO, triggering my annoyance. Like every good millennial, I immediately turned to Twitter to voice my disgust and tagged VERO’s account. In my defense, countless people moan at social media companies every day and are met by resounding silence. I have next to no clout, so I figured I was just venting my frustration into the void, maybe prompting a few sympathetic replies to soothe my bad mood.

My unnecessarily snarky tweet triggered a back-and-forth with a couple of photographers with a few trolls jumping on board to inform me that I’m wrong before being soundly schooled by the ridiculously knowledgeable law student and photographer Martin McNeil. What I didn’t expect was a response from Ayman Hariri, the co-founder and CEO of VERO, offering to contact the hub account on my behalf and ask for the post to be removed. A constructive discussion ensued and, to my even greater surprise, Hariri then asked if we could continue on Zoom.

A Zoom Call With the Boss

Four of us — myself, Ayman Hariri, Martin McNeil, and VERO’s Head of Community Tom Hodgson — chatted for an hour, and it would have continued had I not cut it short due to other commitments. I’m aware that I’m in the minority when it comes to having my work posted without my permission and, from what we discussed, it’s apparent that VERO is keen to find a way to give creatives control over their content without impacting people’s desire to share work and have their work shared. Feature accounts are popular for a reason, offering ground-up, community-driven curation of encountered content rather than top-down, algorithm-fed discovery feeds controlled by the platform. As Hariri pointed out, VERO is ad-free — and has stated its commitment to remaining ad-free — so these feature accounts are not generating ad revenue for the platform, as is the case with Instagram.

I put forward my own thoughts on how artists can feel that they have more control, such as the option to mark an image as being available for reposting, or a system of reposting that is built into the app, effectively co-publishing the post, not too dissimilar to Tumblr. No doubt, VERO has pondered these options, and Hariri made it clear that he was wary of adding complexity to a social app that depends on simplicity. We seemed to differ in opinion here, but I’ve not just plowed literally tens of millions of dollars into my own Instagram alternative and, not having the same depth of knowledge, there are likely a host of implications that I’ve not thought through. Maybe my ideas are rubbish. We shall see.

 

My feed on the rather beautiful VERO desktop app, currently in beta.

A chunk of the discussion was centered around the technological solutions that would give artists more control, with McNeil citing the success of YouTube’s ContentID system — notably, something that it was forced to implement in order to avoid chaos, not a feature that it established out of a noble desire to protect creators (in 2007, Google faced a Federal court claim brought by Viacom who sought $1 billion in damages for secondary infringement, a case that ran for seven years and resulted in an out-of-court settlement. The lawsuit prompted Google to begin work that same year on what would become the ContentID system).

Solutions are out there — Google’s own reverse image search is evidence enough — and McNeil has been part of a collective of musicians, authors, illustrators, and photographers who have been consulted by Meta and others on the topic in ongoing talks. I’ve discussed previously the potential of technology such as that provided by French company IMATAG. None of these will resolve freebooting or intellectual property theft completely, but that’s not a reason to ignore it.

If You Care About Social Media, You Should Care About VERO

There are no quick fixes and our conversation was never going to find any, but the discussion felt productive, and it was refreshing to be able to engage, not just with the heads of a social media company, but with people who appear to be genuinely interested in taking our views on board and working to create a platform that is the best possible version of what it can be. Hariri came across as authentic and deeply invested, not just financially, but in establishing VERO as a social media app that respects its users and their content.

In Zuckerberg, we have a billionaire that is busy destroying his share price thanks to an obsession with technology that even his employees believe is pointless, while his chief underling tells photographers: “Thanks for your help now jog along.” In Hariri, we have a billionaire that loves photography and who has invested a vast sum of money gambling on an idea — an alternative to Instagram — that according to precedent, is destined to fail. I, for one, hope that it doesn’t.

I don’t know whether VERO can find a solution to freebooting, but in our conversation, its intentions seem clear. We need a new normal when it comes to social media, and VERO appears determined to provide it.

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Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He’s addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means. andyday.com

Sourced from fstoppers

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6 Pros and Cons of Social Media During a Job Search

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By Lida Citroën

I get it. Social media can feel like a waste of time. It seems to be all about self-promotion and reads like a popularity contest. If you’re in a job search or looking to grow your career after the military, how necessary is it to be active online?

Here, we’ll look at the pros and cons of being on social media while in a job search.

Cons of Social Media During a Job Search

It seems every day we hear about another influencer, celebrity or peer who’s made an online gaffe and landed themselves in career hot water. The negatives of being online include:

1. Mistakes can happen and, when they happen online, they’re public. An ill-placed post, comment or photo shared online can go viral quickly. Trolls may respond and use your comment out of context. This is terrifying. To ensure you don’t fall prey to online mistakes, it’s important to monitor your behaviour, relationships and conversations. This all takes time.

2.  It takes a lot of time to establish your online presence, build a following and become known for the values and contribution you can offer. How much time? That’s up to you. But if you simply build a LinkedIn profile and wait for job offers to roll in, you’re being naïve. Instead, the more you engage with others, form meaningful connections, post content that’s valuable and show your expertise and passion, the more your social media efforts pay off. 3. You must share to get found. During your time in the military, it likely served you best to keep a low profile. Now, it’s tempting to want to keep things close to the vest and protect your reputation, goals and career aspirations. But if you’re hidden from recruiters and others who might want to know or refer you to others, this could prove challenging to your career.

While not having an online presence doesn’t mean you won’t find a job, you will need to consciously put more effort into other self-marketing efforts. Your in-person networking, visibility and executive presence will need to be amplified to get the attention of potential employers.

Pros of Social Media During a Job Search

Why should you embark on an online strategy and routine practice during a job search (or when growing your civilian career)? Here are some reasons:

1. You become findable. Today more than ever before, recruiters and hiring managers scour online profiles to find potential candidates, evaluate them and appraise their value, skills and talents. Your online profiles can show you in a professional, polished and appropriate way to the companies you want to attract. Being found online makes it easier for recruiters to see what you focus on, what you’re passionate about and how you interact with others. These insights help them decide whether you could do the job and whether you’d fit in with the company’s culture.

2.  You can focus on specific jobs and employers. Using targeted keywords, filters and networking makes it easier for the right employers to find your profile for the right job. Discover the right keywords by reading job descriptions, talking to colleagues and doing online research. When your online profiles match up with keywords employers are searching, they find you! 3. You can control the social media platforms you engage on and how you show up. After you exit the military, your online strategy should be refined to build and grow your civilian career. Consider each social networking platform for the value it offers you to connect with your target audience, position yourself authentically and in line with your personal brand goals, and provide you the opportunity to share, contribute, serve and receive benefits. Not all social media platforms are the same.

Then, you can position yourself with intention and strategy, marketing yourself and your skills. When you approach social media armed with a plan, you’ll be intentional about where you show up online, how you interact, the content you share and with whom you connect.

While you’ll give up some privacy by being found online, you likely will find that you have a lot of control over how you appear, what you say and what others can learn about you. This can prove valuable for employers, customers and networking contacts to get to know you before having a conversation. Over time, these powerful online connections can provide you with insight for your career, mentor and counsel you around your transition, and help you build the civilian job skills you’ll need to succeed.

Before you decide you don’t need to be on social media to find a job or grow your career, check your assumptions and have a clear reason why. You will likely be asked about your decision as you move through your civilian career.

— The author of “Success After Service: How to Take Control of Your Job Search and Career After Military Duty” (2020) and “Your Next Mission: A personal branding guide for the military-to-civilian transition” (2014), Lida Citroën is a keynote speaker and presenter, executive coach, popular TEDx speaker and instructor of multiple courses on LinkedIn Learning. She regularly presents workshops on personal branding, executive presence, leadership communication, and reputation risk management.

A contributing writer for Military.com, Lida is a passionate supporter of the military, volunteering her time to help veterans transition to civilian careers and assist employers who seek to hire military talent. She regularly speaks at conferences, corporate meetings and events focused on military transition.

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By Lida Citroën

Sourced from Military.com

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Social media is creating a new era of resumes—what hiring teams can learn

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By Bailey Showalter

TikTok and LinkedIn created room for video resumes and more personalization for applicants

When social media first came into our lives, the common practice was don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your future employer to see. However, as social media has become more ubiquitous, our personal and professional lives have blurred. Social sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn have offered ways for individuals to find new jobs using their platform of choice.

Even TikTok announced its own feature to help job seekers find opportunities. More individuals are using social media with the goal of getting employed, showcasing their interests, and creating a digital, resume-like portfolio.

For over a decade, social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram have enabled individuals to promote themselves and their personal brands while enjoying creative freedom to showcase their talents. Employers are still struggling to fill open positions and individuals searching for jobs that provide autonomy and higher levels of fulfillment. Luckily, many aspects of social media can help hiring teams reframe their talent attraction strategies to make the best talent match for their needs.

A resume is still the primary currency of hiring

No matter the job, company, or industry, resumes still largely drive the hiring process, but resume formatting and delivery have evolved. Video resumes help employers shift hiring requirements (pdf) from education and experience to skills. Although the need for a resume has remained constant, this new era of hiring calls for a more modern perspective.

The traditional resume emphasizes education and experience, typically with previous jobs and degrees at the top, taking up a significant portion of the document. Job-relevant skills are developed through many avenues, both in and outside of formal training or workplace projects. Yet hard and soft skills, certifications and credentials, general interests, outside activities and ways to express intent for continual upskilling get buried at the bottom of a resume—or left off entirely. While this has been the norm, resumes should now be revamped with candidate skills at the forefront, showcasing what they can do versus what they have done.

Recruiters and hiring teams need to adjust their approach to what a resume should entail—with an emphasis on skills as the forefront of qualifications—to better recruit and hire the right fit for the job.

Quick, easily digestible information is critical

Social media doesn’t show every waking minute of individuals’ lives (depending on who you follow), but instead can highlight meaningful moments, enticing viewers to learn more. In the same way, resumes don’t represent the totality of a candidate’s capabilities and potential for success. Resumes exist to garner the attention needed to advance a candidate through the hiring process. Unfortunately, traditionally formatted resumes struggle to effectively articulate skills, limiting a recruiter’s ability to evaluate whether a potential candidate has the skills to be successful.

Digital credentials can bring greater reliability and trust to the hiring process. By providing a unified language of understanding to individuals’ hard and soft skills, digital credentials signify verified, data-backed qualifications and provide greater insight into the whole picture of an applicant’s abilities rather than saddling hiring teams with the task of filling in the blanks.

Studies show us that a hiring manager spends on average 6-7 seconds reviewing a resume. In that time, hiring managers need quick, easily digestible insights to help determine if the candidate is qualified to move forward in the process. So, while watching 3-minute video resumes might not be easily scalable for most recruiters, the notion of putting one’s skills at the forefront of their resume is here to stay.

Skills-based hiring and digital credentials

There is a nearly unprecedented mismatch between the number of open jobs and the number of people applying for those positions, with over 6 million potential candidates (pdf) and more than 11 million job vacancies in today’s hiring landscape. This large gap has amplified the need for capable workers, with hiring teams shifting expectations from those who “have done” a job to those who “can do” the job because of their skills, qualifications, and interest more than their past experience alone.

Many workers who left roles as part of the great resignation have shifted their career trajectory entirely. While they may be entering new industries without a traditional background, these job candidates likely have transferable skills that match well with their ambitions for a new role. But to match talent with suitable roles and close the hiring gap, talent management teams must be willing to prioritize skills in their review practices.

Additionally, previously identified skills that were a nice-to-have for job requirements are now must-haves for hiring. For example, in this digital world, hard skills such as working with tools like Microsoft Suite are crucial for remote or hybrid work and ensuring collaboration capabilities. Similarly, in a remote-first, digital world, a soft skill companies should prioritize is a candidate’s propensity for learning and upskilling. Both of these skills can be shown through verified digital credentials, whether it is a certificate of completion for mastery of a specific tool or an individual’s many certifications and badges, demonstrating their willingness to learn and expand their skill sets.

For hiring teams, reorienting their talent management strategy is crucial to understanding this new era of skills-based hiring. Social media has provided an excellent opportunity to understand better what does and doesn’t work in this digital environment. Each individual has a chance to show their unique skills,while hiring teams will have a competitive advantage in finding and retaining the best talent.

Feature Image Credit: Photo: fizkes (Shutterstock)

By Bailey Showalter

Bailey Showalter, VP of talent solutions at Credly, a business of Pearson, where she is focused on growth initiatives that help people connect to the right opportunity at the right time on the basis of their verified skills.

Sourced from QUARTZ

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Blockchain lingo made easy: here’s an updated glossary of web3 terms

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By Webb Wright

Whether it’s Meta, a MetaMask or the metaverse, here’s an explanation for many of the most commonly-used web3 terms.

Airdrop. In the crypto world, an airdrop is a free distribution of tokens or coins from a company directly into its users’ or members’ wallets.

Altcoins, or alts, are cryptocurrencies that are relatively new to the market and have relatively low valuations. A conjoining of the words ‘alternative’ and ‘coin,’ the term ‘altcoin’ initially was used to refer to any cryptocurrency that wasn’t Bitcoin.

Augmented reality (AR). A technology that combines elements of virtual reality (VR) with physical reality. In its current form, AR can be facilitated by devices worn over the eyes – such as glasses or goggles – or by a smartphone or computer screen. Pokémon Go is one common example of AR, because it blends virtual information with one’s physical environment.

Avatar. An avatar is a digital rendering of a human being or other entity in VR, a video game, the internet or another virtual space.

Bitcoin is at the time of writing the most valuable cryptocurrency in the world. It was also the world’s very first cryptocurrency, postulated by ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ (which is typically presumed to be a pseudonym) in a now-famous white paper called ‘A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’ in 2008.

Blockchain. A ‘blockchain’ is a distributed digital ledger that’s used to record transactions. It’s an immutable database, which means that information can’t be tampered with or altered once it’s been recorded. If there’s an error in an entry, then a new, revised entry must be made, and both entries will subsequently be visible on the ledger.

The name comes from the fact that a blockchain stores data in ‘blocks,’ individual units that are linked, or ‘chained,’ together. New data is filed into blocks – and blocks are subsequently chained together – in chronological order, so a blockchain becomes longer and longer as more information is added to it. Each new piece of information is also assigned a timestamp, which makes it easy for users to find out exactly when it was linked to the database. The transparency and immutability of the blockchain makes it a very reliable and trustworthy business resource both for individuals and companies.

Block. A block, the constituent element of a blockchain, is an individual unit in which data is stored.

A bridge, in a web3 context, is a protocol which links blockchain systems together, allowing users from one system to send assets and information to another.

To burn an NFT is effectively to send it into oblivion, the closest thing to destroying it completely. Nothing that’s been coded on the blockchain can be deleted, so anyone who wants to delete (burn) an NFT has to send it to a smart contract that nobody can access.

Centralized system. This is a system that is controlled and organized according to a rigid hierarchical structure. In such a system, power and decision-making authority is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of individuals at the top of the hierarchy. Corporations, for example, are centralized systems.

A consensus mechanism is a system that validates transactions and encodes new information on a blockchain. The most common consensus mechanisms are Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

Cryptography. A word derived from the Greek ‘kryptos’ meaning ‘hidden’ – this is the process of using mathematics to encode and protect sensitive information from malicious actors.

A crypto winter is a period of steep decline within the cryptocurrency market, resulting in the loss of huge sums of money for some investors.

DAO. A Decentralized Autonomous Organization, colloquially referred to as a ‘DAO,’ is an organization that is controlled by its members and not subject to the authority of any single individual or entity. Unlike a traditional corporation or government, they are completely free of hierarchical, top-down structures. Its codes of conduct are recorded on a blockchain to ensure transparency and decentralization. Participation in a DAO is usually accessed through the acquisition of a digital token.

Dapp. A decentralized application, colloquially called a dapp, is an application constructed on the blockchain. Dapps function autonomously, according to the stipulations in smart contracts. Like any other application on your phone, dapps come with a user interface and are designed to provide some kind of practical utility.

A decentralized system is one that’s controlled in equal measure by each of its constituent parts. Blockchains – the technological framework for web3 – are decentralized, meaning that no single individual, corporation or other entity is able to exert a disproportionate degree of control over how they are constructed and run.

DeFi. Decentralized finance, or DeFi, refers to a financial system built upon the blockchain, and therefore fully distributed and not subject to any centralized authority, such as a bank, government agency or financial management firm.

Digital twin. This is a virtual rendering of a physical object. But a digital twin is more than a mere three-dimensional simulacrum – they’re designed, ideally, to be as dynamic and environment-dependent as the objects they’re imitating. For example, let’s say a team of engineers is making structural improvements to a bridge. They could design a simulation of that bridge, a simple 3D model, which would allow them to make basic measurements and study the overall structure. But that simulation wouldn’t be able to tell them much about how the wind, the traffic or any other number of more subtle environmental factors have been impacting the integrity of the bridge. To study those processes, they might distribute sensors over the bridge in order to create a digital twin. This would allow the team to create a much more informative model.

Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain network built by Vitalik Buterin in 2015. The open-source network is home to its native cryptocurrency, also called Ethereum but more commonly known simply as Ether or ETH (there’s some debate about whether it’s pronounced ‘eth’ or ‘eeth’). The Ethereum platform also gave rise to smart contracts – a subject we’ll dive into another week. As of March, ETH is the second most-valuable cryptocurrency in the world, after Bitcoin.

Extended reality. Also commonly referred to as ‘XR,’ extended reality is a category of multiple technologies – including VR, AR and mixed reality (MR) – which, in various ways, blend virtual worlds with physical reality.

Fiat money. Not to be confused with the car brand, fiat money is a term used to refer to any kind of currency that has been declared legal tender by a government body. (The declaration itself is often called a fiat.) Fiat money isn’t backed by any intrinsically valuable commodity, such as precious metals like gold and silver. Instead, the value of fiat money is determined by the fluctuations of supply and demand. Paper money, like the US dollar, is fiat money.

Fiat money is subject to an economic force called ‘variable supply,’ which means the governing body that issued the fiat can control its value by tweaking a variety of levers, such as the adjustment of interest rates. Cryptocurrency, which is not subject to the authority of any centralized authority, is often positioned as the opposite of fiat money.

“Floor price” refers to the lowest price for which a product or service can sell at an auction. This is a common phrase to encounter on NFT auction platforms, such as OpenSea.

Fungibility. A term used in economics to refer to a commodity that is precisely equal in value and therefore exchangeable with other identical versions of that same commodity. A $1 bill, for example, is fungible, because it can be exchanged for any other $1 bill – they have the same value and therefore, for all intents and purposes, are identical.

Gas. In the context of web3, gas refers to a fee that’s required in order to execute a smart contract or transaction on Ethereum blockchain. Gas, which is often denominated in a very tiny fraction of an ETH called a WEI, is paid to node operators, AKA miners.

“GM,” a common greeting on social media among web3 enthusiasts, means “good morning.”

Gwei. The smallest denomination of the cryptocurrency ETH is called Gwei. 1 ETH is worth 1bn Gwei.

HODL is a common acronym used in the crypto space, which stands for ‘hold on for dear life.’ It’s typically invoked at times when the crypto market is undergoing some dramatic fluctuations and investors are feeling nervous, as in: “Don’t sell just yet, the markets will recover and your investments will bounce back if you just HODL.”

Interoperability, in web3-speak, refers to the ability of multiple blockchains to cooperate and exchange information with one another, enabling virtual assets (such as non-fungible tokens [NFTs]), avatars and other pieces of code to move seamlessly from one platform to another.

IRL. Shorthand for ‘in real life,’ IRL is an acronym commonly used in the web3 space to describe a person, place, thing or event in physical – as opposed to virtual – reality.

Layer 1 (L1) blockchains are the foundations of multi-level blockchain frameworks. They can facilitate transactions without support from other blockchain networks. All layer 1 blockchains – including Bitcoin and Ethereum – offer their own native cryptocurrency as a means of accessing their networks.

Layer 2 (L2) blockchains are built on top of layer 1 blockchains, often enhancing the latter’s performance and expanding its accessibility. Polygon, for example, is a popular layer 2 blockchain that allows users to enjoy the benefits of using the Ethereum network without having to go through that network’s relatively slow transaction speed and costly fees.

Liquidity is a term used in economics to describe the degree to which an asset can be converted into either cash or some other asset.

A main network, or mainnet, is a finalized version of a blockchain that is fully developed and available for public use.

Meatspace refers to the physical world, ie the tangible counterpart to the virtual world of the metaverse. It may not be the most elegant of terms, but it’s been catching on among tech circles.

Meta. Facebook Inc changed its name to Meta (officially Meta Platforms Inc) as part of the company’s pivot toward the metaverse. There are many who mistakenly believe that the metaverse is a technology owned by Meta.

MetaMask is a software built for the Ethereum blockchain that functions as a crypto wallet.

Metaverse. ‘The metaverse’ is not synonymous with ‘web3.’ The former is the virtual landscape that’s accessible via VR technology, whereas the latter is a term that’s commonly used to describe the next evolutionary stage of the internet. ‘Web3’ is inclusive of blockchain, cryptocurrency, the metaverse and other emergent technologies.

Minting is a term used to describe the process of registering a digital asset on the blockchain, thereby turning it into a purchasable NFT. Once an NFT has been minted, given the nature of the blockchain it cannot be altered. Minting NFTs on the blockchain requires a vast amount of energy, which has led many to criticize the blockchain and its proponents.

Mixed reality, or MR, is a technology that, like AR, blends virtual and physical components. Unlike AR, however, MR allows the user to interact with virtual elements in more or less the same way that they would in the real world. Looking through an MR headset at your real, actual dining room table, for example, you might see a virtual potted plant sitting on top of it, which you can then pick up and put down, just as you could with a physical, tangible houseplant.

NFT. A non-fungible token, or NFT, is a collection of data stored on a blockchain that is non-interchangeable – in other words, it can’t be replicated into multiple copies of equal value in the same way that, say, US quarters can be replicated and exchanged with one another. (See definition for ‘fungible’ above.)

NGMI is a popular slang acronym in the NFT space, meaning ‘not gonna make it,’ and used to refer to a campaign or specific token that is unlikely to attain a high value. Its opposite, WGMI – ‘we’re gonna make it’ – is also commonly used.

Off-chain transactions do not take place on a blockchain network, but they can subsequently be incorporated into a blockchain. The parties to off-chain transactions must consent to use an intermediary third-party to validate the transaction. (Note: “Off-chain” can also refer to data that exists separately from the blockchain.)

On-chain transactions are executed, verified and recorded on a blockchain network. Once completed, the record of these transactions is viewable for all members of the associated blockchain network. (Note: “On-chain” can also refer to data that exists on the blockchain.)

P2P. Peer-to-peer, or P2P, is a term used to describe a network of individual computers exchanging information with one another without the oversight of a central server. Management of a P2P network is distributed among its constituent computers.

PAOP. A Proof of Attendance Protocol, or POAP, is a virtual token that serves as evidence – also commonly called a ‘badge’ – that an individual attended, either virtually or IRL, a particular event.

Private key, in crypto-speak, is an alphanumeric code that must be entered by a user in order to access one’s wallet or authorize an exchange of blockchain-based assets or currency.

Proof of Stake, or PoS, is a system for validating transactions and establishing new blocks in the blockchain. It’s a consensus-based mechanism, with each validator’s role in the process being directly proportional to the size of their stake in the cryptocurrency that’s involved in the transaction.

Proof of Work, or PoW, is another system for establishing consensus and building new blocks in the blockchain. A PoW mechanism requires each participant in a cryptographic process to submit proof that they have expended a certain amount of contributory computational effort.

Public key is an alphanumeric code that’s connected with a particular wallet. Analogous to a bank account number, a public key is a code that other users would input to send assets directly into your wallet.

Redpilled is a slang term used to describe a situation in which someone’s worldview – or their perspective on a specific issue – has undergone a sudden and dramatic shift. The phrase refers to the famous red pill from The Matrix film franchise, which basically symbolizes the decision to swallow a hard and uncomfortable truth about oneself or about the nature of reality.

Smart contracts are blockchain-based computer programs that are designed to automatically go into effect as soon as the parties privy to the contract have fulfilled their respective obligations. Once they’ve been coded and their terms have been agreed upon, they become fully automated, which negates the need for any facilitating third party. Because they’re built upon the blockchain, transactions made via smart contracts can be closely monitored – but can’t be tampered with after the fact – by the parties involved.

A test network, or testnet, is a blockchain where developers can test the functionality of new protocols, before activating them on a mainnet.

Tokenomics, a blending of the words ‘token’ and economics, is an umbrella term that refers to all of the various qualities of a virtual currency that can cause its market value to fluctuate.

TradFi is tongue-in-cheek shorthand that some in the crypto community use to refer to ‘traditional finance’ – basically the pre-DeFi paradigm of centralized financial authority, in which governments, banks and other institutions control and regulate currency.

Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that creates three-dimensional, immersive digital environments, wherein visitors can interact with other people (or rather, their avatars) and other elements of the environment. VR technology, though still in its infancy, has been advancing rapidly. Meta’s Oculus Quest headset is an example of a piece of hardware that can transport the wearer to VR worlds.

Wallet. A crypto wallet is an application that stores and protects the keys to blockchain-based assets and accounts. (See definitions for ‘private key’ and ‘public key’ above.)

By Webb Wright

Sourced from The Drum

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The Metaverse Is the Future of Business. Here’s How to Plan for It.

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Businesses will soon need professionals whose job is to create a presence and potentially build with Web3 technologies and concepts in the metaverse — and there’s plenty that businesses can do now to prepare for that.

Twelve years ago, companies didn’t hire social media talent — they didn’t think they needed it. But now? Businesses need social media directors and entire social media teams. The same is true for playing in the metaverse.

It is my belief that within the next three to five years, a minimum of 30% of business is going to come from a blend of metaverse experiences and implementations of Web3 technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, virtual reality and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs). It is essential for creative agencies (e.g. advertising agencies, marketing agencies, etc.) to prepare how they will play a role in the metaverse now so their customers will be able to find them.

The big three

The first step in preparing for the metaverse is for creative agencies to decide which of the three roles they will play — either the expert experimenter, the contributor or the activator. Making this decision now will help companies get ready for when their customers arrive in the metaverse, and it’s only a matter of time before they do.

  • Expert experimenters. These are businesses that have an understanding of the metaverse already. To find out whether they are in this group, business leaders can ask themselves if their business strives to be the deep subject matter expert on all things in the digital universe, or whether it’s an early adopter at the vanguard of new technologies. In that case, they need to understand the technologies involved within the metaverse and how Web3 is speeding up evolutions and revolutions.
  • Contributors. These are businesses that are still in their infancy in terms of embracing this new wave of technology and deep subject matter expertise is not required. Creative agencies in this group can introduce their client partner brands to the metaverse and converge their physical and digital presence in a way that is profitable and meets customer needs.
  • Activators. This last group is made of businesses that focus on seeking ways to offer holistic experiences for businesses and audiences to have within the metaverse. Businesses in this group are like a hybrid between the expert experimenters and the contributors.

Nevertheless, whether you know a little or a lot about Web3, you can’t afford to be left out completely; defining your role is an essential first step in preparing for the integration of the metaverse. People are investing in the metaverse heavily. It’s expected to reach $5 trillion in value by 2030, and this number is exponentially growing each and every month.

Next steps

After leadership at creative agencies decide which role they want to play, they need to develop a strategy and strengthen their online presence. To do this, they will want to hire people whose job it is to prepare the company to implement itself into the metaverse, in whichever role the company has chosen to take. Doing this will help them strengthen their brand identity — and thus, brand loyalty — before the metaverse fully arrives (and it’s coming sooner than we think).

Additionally, leaders and creatives should focus on user experience. What kind of experience do they want their customers to have with their business in the metaverse? This is essential for brands getting established in the metaverse because if they can think one or two steps ahead of what their customers will want when they emerge into the metaverse, brands will be there waiting, ready to give customers what they’re looking for.

Finally, it’s critical for creative agency leaders to remain adaptable as they learn more about the metaverse while it’s still unfolding. Staying adaptable and remaining at-the-ready for change will help agencies stay ahead and prepared to meet customers when they find them in the metaverse.

The importance of Web3

Even if your agency isn’t embracing extended reality and other metaverse projects, experiences and communities quite yet, many of your client partners’ customers are. And arguably, meeting customers where they are is the single most important piece to building brands and businesses that grow and transform.

The metaverse isn’t just a probability — it’s inevitable. Throughout the evolution of the internet, waves of advancement emerged because of technological advancement. The internet went from simply being a new technology to sharing the world of information through web browsers to developing social media. Underneath all that were advancements in the programming language, faster internet speeds and, of course, the smartphone.

Now, we are in a new wave: the wave of augmented reality (AR), VR and mixed-reality experiences with the technologies to make them work even more soundly and profoundly. If you haven’t begun exploring immersive platforms and how you can approach conversations and tactics related to the metaverse with your client partners, the time has come.

The natural progression

If trends in technology really do repeat history, then it won’t be long before hanging out in the metaverse becomes more mainstream. We must watch where people go. An immersive virtual world in which customers socialize, shop, relax, work and play isn’t so far-fetched anymore.

Given there was a time when people thought the idea of online dating, smartphones, social media and real human connection online was scary and too futuristic, it makes sense that agencies might be facing those same fears about the metaverse. The popular movie Her may have seemed sad and dystopian, but there were some interesting predictive themes being provoked in that film. Concepts like love, connection, relationships, identity and community will evolve as they always have over time.

However, knowing what we know now, we understand that embracing new technologies is far better than avoiding them. And for creative agencies, it’s much more profitable. The metaverse is becoming so much more than a buzzword, and the reality is that advertisers and marketers will be doing business in a virtual world at an exponential rate as seamlessly as they advertise on social media — and very soon. Blending our real and virtual lives has already begun, and the sooner you get on board, develop a point of view and experiment, the better.

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Sourced from Entrepreneur

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Instagram is about to cram even more ads into your feed

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If you thought there’s no corner on Instagram without ads, you’re wrong, my good friend. Meta can always make room for more, and that’s exactly what it’s about to do.

As the company is struggling with a major financial loss, it needs a way to generate more revenue. So, Instagram is about to get even more ads, and they’re going to be everywhere.

There are already ads on your Feed, in Reels, in Stories… So is there even a place where there can be more of them? Meta found the way, so they will now be on in your Explore feed, and a feed of posts you see when you click on someone’s profile. Brands can already post ads to the Explore feed, and the profile feed ads are still in the testing phase. “As a part of this test, we will experiment with a monetization opportunity that will allow eligible creators to earn extra income from ads displayed in their profile feeds, beginning with select U.S. creators,” Meta writes.

But wait, there’s more. Instagram now also has AI-powered multi-advertiser ads. In other words, Instagram’s algorithm will pay attention when you engage with an ad. And then, it will deliver ads underneath that it thinks may interest you.

In the announcement, Meta writes that new ad placements and formats are there “to help businesses tell their story and reach new customers.” So kind of them, right? As a mere Instagram user and creator, I feel like both my work and the work of the people I follow are drowning in ads and branded content. I think it’s only a matter of time before we find an alternative for showcasing and selling our artwork.

[via Engadget]

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Dunja Djudjic is a writer and photographer from Novi Sad, Serbia. You can see her work on Flickr, Behance and her Facebook page.

Sourced from www.diyphotography.net

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How Do People Find Your Blog? With Tips to Keep Them Coming Back

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By Steve Allen

Can you imagine starting a blog and having no one read your articles?

Maybe you’ve already written some, but you’re unsure how people will find them.

In this post, I’ll show you all the places people can find your blog and what you can do to improve your blog’s exposure.

You’ll learn:

  • How to get seen on social media including YouTube and LinkedIn
  • Increase your visibility on search engines like Google
  • Get more traffic from other blogs
  • Get visitors from forums and Q&A sites like Reddit and Quora

The best part?

You’ll know exactly how people can find your blog AND how to keep them coming back, convince them to join your email list, and transform them into loyal followers.

Let’s dive right in.

How Do People Find Your Blog on Google?

People will find your blog on Google in two ways:

  1. Organic results
  2. Paid results

Paid results are shown at the top of the page, like this:

And organic results show below:

To get your blog to show up under a paid search result, you’ll need to join the Google Ads platform.

It works by listing keywords you want your blog to show up for and paying Google each time someone clicks on your ad.

The cost of clicks will depend on your niche and the competition of the keywords you choose.

On average, ads get clicked 19% of the time compared to the rest of the page.

Organic Results

If you want Google to display your blog posts in the organic search results, then you need to optimise your blog for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Organic results are free, but will take longer to show up.

To get the most organic blog traffic, you’ll want to show up in position one.

Here’s a breakdown of how many people click through the organic search results:

And here’s how you do it.

  • Then make sure you include your keyword in article titles and throughout the post.
  • For best results, publish as much content as you can around the same topic.

This will build up topical relevance for your entire blog and help you rank more of your articles higher in Google.

Another way to optimize your blog to increase your rankings is to get backlinks from other bloggers (more on this later).

How Do People Find Your Blog on Facebook?

There are four places people will see links to your blog on Facebook. They are:

  • Pages
  • Groups
  • Ads
  • Search

Facebook Ads

Like Google, Facebook ads are a great way to get your blog seen and result in more traffic.

You’ll need a page and an Ads Manager account to post ads:

An ad with the goal of sending people to your blog will cost money each time someone clicks on the URL.

Again, the costs will vary depending on a multitude of factors, but you are in complete control by setting a daily budget.

Facebook Search

Another way people can find your blog on Facebook is through the search feature.

If someone is searching for a topic relevant to a blog post you have shared on your Facebook page, they can be shown in the results.

Like this one here about growing tomatoes:

The more Facebook posts you share on your page and the more you optimize the post with the relevant keywords, eye-catching images, and engaging copy, the more traffic you’ll get from Facebook search.

Facebook Pages

Facebook pages are another excellent way to help people find your blog, build a social media following on Facebook, and drive more traffic.

Once you have a Facebook page, follow these tips to grow your engagement and drive tons of traffic to your site.

  • Post high-quality posts that grab your followers’ attention. The more engagement, the better.
  • Video has been on the rise in recent years, so why not turn your blog posts into videos and share those on your feed?
  • Recycle your best-performing posts.
  • You can also boost posts with an ad to kick-start your engagement.

Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are great for building a loyal community on Facebook and getting your blog seen by more people.

The best way to grow your reach in a Facebook group is to share a ton of value without always posting links to your blog. This will get the conversation going with other members and they will soon start promoting your stuff for you.

Then every so often, let them know about new articles to get more eyes on your blog.

Learn more about how to start a thriving Facebook group here.

How Do People Find Your Blog on YouTube?

There are quite a few ways people can discover your blog on YouTube.Here are the most effective places to link to your blog content:

  • In the video description:
  • Links in video cards:
  • In a pinned comment:
  • The end screen (you can place YouTube videos and other links here):
  • Your channel profile banner:
  • Your channel about page:

It’s a good idea to add a link to your blog and specific articles in these areas whenever you have the opportunity.

Then, you can focus on posting videos on your channel and using the YouTube algorithm in your favor to grow your engagement and reach.

Here are some ways to get the algorithm on your side to grow your channel:

Check Other Content to See What’s Already Performing Well

This helps your videos show up in the suggested sidebar when people watch videos similar to yours.

To find out what’s already performed well, go to a similar channel to yours and look at their videos with the most views.

Then open up a few of them and see which videos show up in the suggested section.

Creating videos like the ones suggested will help your own videos show up there.

Optimize Every Video

To increase the chance of your videos showing in search results, optimize your videos.

You can do that by talking about topics that people are searching for, including the keyword in the title, and saying the keyword and related terms in the video itself.

Also, make sure you add relevant keywords to the tags box under the advanced option of every video.

Niche Website Management

Keep People Engaged Throughout the Video

This is possibly the most effective way to grow your channel quickly because YouTube wants people to stay on the platform for as long as possible.

You can do this by starting your video with a pattern interrupt, a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) technique that shifts a person out of their current state and helps them focus on what you’re saying.

Tell the viewer exactly what they’ll learn in the video early on and give them an incentive to stick around to the end.

That could be a gift you want to offer them or something insightful they will find interesting.

How Do People Find Your Blog on TikTok?

Did you know people can find your blog through your TikTok account?

It’s true.

Unfortunately, the only place you can put a link to your blog is in your bio. Not only that, but you need a business account and 1,000 followers.

There is another way to create a clickable link though, which is covered in another article called How to Add a Website To Your TikTok.

To get your first 1,000 followers so you can add a link in your bio and help people find your blog, you’ll need to post high-quality posts frequently.

Check out How to Make a Viral Video on TikTok to learn how to grow your following.

How Do People Find Your Blog on Pinterest?

There are just two places to link to your blog on Pinterest.

Standard Pins:

And your profile page:

But how do people find your blog when using Pinterest?

Like all social networks, the Pinterest algorithm determines the best content to show its users.

If you want to increase blog traffic with Pinterest, then you can improve your reach by optimizing your Pins and posting regularly.

To add your blog URL to your profile, edit your profile and enter it under the website option.

Then, linking to a blog post happens automatically when you or someone else shares your content on Pinterest.

Alternatively, you can include your blog post link when creating Pinterest Pins manually.

How Do People Find Your Blog on Twitter?

On Twitter, people can find your blog through the Tweets you post and from the link on your profile page.

Your profile:

In a Tweet:

It’s important to remember that people who use Twitter or any social network will need to grow their following to help people find their blog more frequently.

To grow your following on Twitter, follow other bloggers or influencers who are in your niche and comment on their posts with valuable insights.

The people who follow these accounts will soon start following you and find your blog that way.

People can also find your blog posts when searching for topics on Twitter.

The more you post relevant content that is well optimized, the more you’ll show up in the results.

How Do People Find Your Blog on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the social media site for B2B professionals and business owners.

You can send traffic to your blog by placing a link on your profile page and in posts you share.

Also, make sure you create a company page for your blog because you can add a link here as well.

Then, you’ll need to grow your reach and engagement by posting content on the platform.

You can do this from your personal and company profiles. Provide original content that your connections will find useful and you’ll generate a steady flow of blog traffic.

How Do People Find Your Blog on Forums and Q&A Sites?

Want to get more traffic with Reddit or Quora?

These are also great sites where people can find your blog.

Reddit is like a modern day forum where people can discuss almost every topic under the sun.

You can create an account, add your blog URL in your bio, and join subreddits in your niche. Then share things that the users will appreciate. Some people can get thousands of visitors using Reddit.

Quora is a question-and-answer site that has become extremely popular in recent years. Instead of people having discussions on Quora, users ask questions, and bloggers, experts, and thought leaders answer them.

You can be one of those people who answer questions, sharing your perspective on topics related to your blog.

Then add a link to blog posts you’ve published that expand on the topics.

How Do People Find Your Blog Through Other Blogs?

So far, we’ve looked at all the ways people can find your blog through social media and Google search results.

But how do you get a steady flow of traffic from other blogs?

There are several ways to increase your visibility and traffic through blog marketing.

Blog marketing involves getting other bloggers to link to your content. When their readers see a link to your article, they will click through to your blog.

Here’s how you can do it.

Other Bloggers Linking to Your Content Organically

This is the most organic way to get consistent traffic from other bloggers.

The best way to accomplish this is to focus on creating quality content on your own blog.

Then, link to other bloggers’ blog posts and reach out to them, letting them know you linked to them. Some will soon return the favor and link back to your blog.

Guest Post

Another way to get links from other blogs to your blog is through guest posting.

This is where you create an article for another blogger in your niche for a link back to your blog.

Podcasts and Interviews

A little known strategy for getting links back to your blog is by being a guest on another blogger’s podcast.

They will usually link to your website, which can help grow your blog readership.

How to Get People to Read Your Blog Posts?

You can ask people to read your blog in direct ways without being pushy. The key is to write influential words that develop trust and motivate people to take action.

Here are three tips for getting people to notice your blog and read your content.

1. Focus on Great Content with Tons of Value

Learn how to create blog content and develop a consistent publishing strategy.

Make your articles as valuable as possible so your audience will read for longer and want to join your email list.

2. Hook Them with Your Titles

No matter where people see a link to your blog, you’ll need to grab their attention. To do that, use catchy headlines on social media and in email subject lines. Also, optimize your SEO titles to get more traffic from Google search results.

3. Ask Them with a Call to Action

Most people are busy and easily distracted, that’s why it’s important to prompt them to take action at every opportunity including in your social media posts, in your bios, in your blog post introductions, and in your emails.

People have doubts and need motivation to take action, so tell them what you want them to do. They will appreciate the confidence in you and see you as a leader they can trust.

Conclusion

How do people find your blog? Well, this post provided you with tons of ways – through social media, Google search results, and even places like Reddit.

Ideally, because you want people to find your blog, the most effective way to get seen in the long run is by publishing quality articles and increasing organic traffic.

Then you can focus on other means of traffic when search traffic is steady.

 

 

By Steve Allen

Sourced from Niche Pursuits

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Social Media for business: STILL a tale of two extremes?

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By Dom Hawes

While some businesses seem to find social media a doddle, others struggle. Many consumer businesses have found that social media allows a very personal kind of brand experience that is more effective, lower cost and more human than the dreaded call centres that social service centres replaced. But, many business-to-business organisations don’t love social media. They avoid it hoping it isn’t relevant to them. Wrong.

Lauren Irwin argued on this site that business do really need social media. She made that argument during the pandemic. That’s over two years ago, yet here we still are.

During the pandemic and immediately afterwards, we tracked tens of thousands of business’s search activity online. We were seeking to identify the most searched subjects related to marketing. Our premise was that – as an integrated marketing group – people searching for information probably had an itch that we could help scratch.

Most searched social media terms by marketers

More effective use of social media was a top five enquiry month after month. The most searched topics were;

  • social media advertising
  • social strategy
  • content
  • social influencers

It struck me as odd that while businesses were searching tactical issues like advertising, content and influencers, many hadn’t got to grip with the two most fundamental building blocks of social media: social service (including social listening) and social selling.

So… I took to social media to find out why. In this case, I chose LinkedIn as my platform as it seemed the best to elicit strong B2B responses and I posted a slightly provocative post about social being a cess pit of an echo chamber. The post performed so well, I invited the best commenters onto one of my podcast, Marketing Trek. One guest in particular fascinated me so I turned his story into a bonus edition.

Social media is an essential service and sales channel

I’ve pasted a player for both the main episode and the bonus below, but you can find the pod on all good platforms too. In the intro, I think I said something like “From a business perspective, social media offers many opportunities”. That might be the understatement of the century?

Social is an essential service and sales channel for every business. If you’re not already embracing it, you’re not seizing an opportunity that’s staring you in the face.

Jeff Watt, MD of city-based communications consultancy Greentarget agrees. “B2B have been slower than perhaps their consumer facing peers to respond to and manage and engage with channels like that.” He said, referring to social channels. “But there are lots of examples that we have seen more recently where reputational damage appears very, very quickly. It spreads very quickly on social media channels”, he added.

And there’s the rub. If you’re not already in it, how are you going to handle things when crisis hits? And who’s going to handle it?

Who guards your brand reputation?

Andy Sutherden is a seasoned marketer and communicator who was on the London 2012 bid and organising team and has worked for giant global brands all his life. He spoke to me about social media and reputation particularly around who is responsible for a business’s reputation on social.

“Communications and reputation should always sits at the board table”, he explained. “It strikes me that when I’m asked about the importance of enhancing a reputation, the [emergency] blue [rescue] light arrives when reputation has been damaged, or it’s in tatters and you’re there to fix it. I’d much rather be an expert that elevates the importance of getting and keeping a good reputation rather than waiting for something horrible to go wrong, then trying to fix it.”

So maybe now, almost two decades after social changed everything it’s time to look in the mirror and ask “are we really doing everything we can to extract value from social?

Episode 13: Into the Echo Chamber

Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Episode 13 BONUS: Alex’s Story

Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

By Dom Hawes

Sourced from State of Digital

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11 Tips Companies Can Use To Distribute Content For Consumers

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Sourced from Forbes

Companies can use a variety of platforms to distribute their content including social media, email and blogs. However, there are times where a certain method is seen as the best way to put out content and keep the consumers happy. Making content accessible the way consumers want it is a way to retain those consumers and adopt a loyal fanbase.

Companies are always looking for new and better ways to do so. Here, 11 Forbes Communications Council members share what they deem as the best way to distribute content and why.

1. Think Of The Consumer’s Preference

The best way to distribute content is to start with the consumer’s preference—not the content. As AI improves, companies and media outlets are using data and communication provided by consumers to choose the best channel for communication. Pushing content pushes consumers away. – Rob Wyse, Robert Wyse

2. Cater To The Audience

To have a successful distribution, we need to research the audience, create multiple audience segments, develop a content strategy for each audience and choose the right platform where they are active most. My favourite channel is video marketing via YouTube or social media to distribute content. Based on the data, video content has the highest impact on achieving business goals. – Yasaman Javadi

3. Team Up With Media Outlets

As a former journalist, earned content through respectable media outlets does much of the heavy lifting to reach target customers. Done right, customers are not bothered to vet the credibility of brand claims. Once the editorial channel is populated, the licensing and distribution is fair game for other channels. This approach is low cost, high impact but requires time and a solid hook. – Cheryl Goodman, Technology

4. Make Content Across All Platforms

Making content available across many formats and platforms is key to a distribution strategy. Consumers can begin their journey with short form content to build awareness, while long form content drives deeper engagement over time. Overall, all formats have a mutually beneficial role to play by providing content viewers with various options depending on their preferred consumption choices. – Victor Potrel, TheSoul Publishing

5. Find Out Where Consumers Get Content

Everything starts with your audience and figuring out where they consume content. Then, when you know the content platforms they are engaging with, you can design your content effectively by using those platform strengths while still effectively communicating the content you want your target consumers to consume. – Mark Sutherland, Missouri Partnership

6. Use An Opt-In Newsletter

Nothing beats an excellent opt-in newsletter for content distribution. It allows people to get fresh content that they can read, listen to or watch on their own time. It allows the brand to add commentary, outside sources, recommended articles, humor and insights in a snackable size that’s easy to consume and share. – Leslie Poston, Austin Data Labs

7. Make A Podcast

Starting with a podcast is a great way to reach customers because a long form audio or video conversation is easy to repurpose into blogs, video micro clips, social media graphics, email content and more. Plus, podcast guests offer co-promotional opportunities that reach consumers outside your network as well. Podcasts may take longer to build up and establish than other content, but it’s worth it. – Robert Neely, Lima One Capital

8. Use Multiple Channels

Different distribution channels and different content styles will appeal to different consumer target groups. Smart brands are creating highly personalized, visual and relevant content across multiple channels to engage with consumers at the right time, wherever they appreciate being contacted. Depending on the target group this may be direct mail, social media, WhatsApp or others. – Rafael Schwarz, TERRITORY Influence (a Bertelsmann group company)

9. Utilize Your Email

Of all of the tools in your marketing toolbox, email is one of the most useful. Not only can you create curated, segmented lists, but you can also glean valuable intel through analytics on the back end with open rates and click through rates, helping you define the messages that best resonate with your target customers. – Melea McRae, Crux KC

10. Layer The Content You’re Making

You spent a lot of time developing great content, so don’t limit it to just one channel. Layer your content so consumers can access it their way and on their time. Put it out on social media, include it in an email campaign and host it on your blog. Whenever possible, include a strong visual element like an infographic to increase both readership and retention. – Esther Bonardi, Yardi Systems

11. Be Original

The best way to distribute content to consumers is to do it in an organic way. Think of ways you can get your marketing content seen without shoving it down clients’ throats. Usually collaborating with influencers or utilizing social media ads are great ways to do this. Also concentrate on building your own social media presence. – Christian Anderson, Lost Boy Entertainment Company

Sourced from Forbes

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Good marketing needs a good story: Creators on effective branding

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Sourced from YOURSTORY

The highlight of various panel discussions that took place at Brand Residency 2022 was that startups need good marketing with a strong story to stand out.

We live in an age of data and information abundance. There’s not a single industry that will not benefit from the use of data, so much that it is as integral to a business as oil is for an economy. And then there are social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter, which are treasure troves for brands building an online presence as they help create awareness. So, the tools and resources are in place and good marketing is all about using them smartly, putting the consumers at the forefront.

This was the common thread of thought at Brand Residency 2022, an initiative of YourStory’s Brands of New India, where marketing executives and content creators threw light on what goes behind marketing a brand effectively. For direct-to-consumer (D2C) startups, good marketing means good business, because consumers tend to relate better to smart advertising and catchy jingles, backed by a good story. Ultimately, a good story is what will sell.

One size doesn’t fit all

Ayush Wadhwa, Founder and Creative Director, Owled Media, said the biggest mistake brands make is adopting the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Especially on social media, several brands tend to post one video across platforms. “Short videos on Reels do better on Instagram while longer narratives perform better on YouTube. Brands need to understand their target group’s needs,” said Ayush, on the second day of Brand Residency 2022.

He also explained why advertising needs to be personalised. “Brands make the mistake of using the same messaging across all kinds of advertisements. It’s important for new-age brands to have the right message on different platforms and for each touch point,” he noted.

Ayush Wadhwa

Ayush Wadhwa, Founder, Owled Media

Manish Pandey, a brand consultant and a content creator, shares a similar sentiment. He spoke about how content creators are fuelling the growth of startups, which is why influencer marketing is a top marketing choice for startups. He said brand building is as important for creators as it is for startups. “Take Ranveer Allahbadia (BeerBiceps) for example. He started with fitness videos on YouTube and now runs his own talk show with guests like actor Shahid Kapoor and spiritual leader Sadhguru. There has to be give and take of knowledge through your content,” he said.

Neel Gogia, Co-founder, IPlix media, said, “Every brand has a different purpose. Every platform has a different purpose. We decode influencers and brands on various platforms based on the need and category required.”

Creating a narrative

Prafull Billore, Founder, MBA Chai wala, elaborated the importance of sharing the brand’s story with the customers. Speaking from first-hand experience, Prafull noted that the audience connected better with the brand when they heard personal stories. “Share stories of your entrepreneurial journey with the world. You will be surprised to see how everyone loves passionate storytelling,” he advised young founders.

Prafull Billore of MBA Chai Wala

Prafull Billore, Founder, MBA Chai Wala

He also emphasised the importance of building a consistent network. “Entrepreneurs must remain in touch with old friends and acquaintances. This will not only help strengthen your network but will also show that the brand is true to its roots,” he said.

Anubhav Dubey, Founder, Chai Sutta Bar, said, “It’s the story that connects more with users when someone starts a new business.”

Consumer-focused and personalised marketing is the way to go. This is the secret sauce to building a successful D2C brand.

Edited by Swetha Kannan

Sourced from YOURSTORY

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