Tag: social media
Change is good for Instagram
When brands release new icons and logos, previously loyal customers often groan with frustration.
Last month that is exactly what happened when Instagram changed its app icon. The flatter, the more abstract design was described by Adweek as possibly “one of the biggest designs fails of the year.” It’s safe to say that it was not loved at first sight for the new design.
But it turns out that the majority of us are wrong, according to new analysis from Dragonfly, a design –
analysis app by black Swan and researchers from Queen Mary University of London.
One of the biggest designs fails of the year is actually 10% more engaging to the human eye than its
predecessor, according to the Dragonfly app.
The new logo is actually 10% more engaging to the human eye than it’s predecessor, according to the app.
Dragonfly uses a computational model to process the visual characteristics of what someone is looking at
(orientation, contrast, texture, luminance) to assign a stimulus attention score to every pixel, demonstrating its attractiveness. The resulting graphics are Heat maps that display what grabs human attention in the first three seconds of interaction.
In conclusion, change isn’t always better, but in this case, it has been proven it is.
If you need help with your marketing then contact The Media Angel on 02921 320 200 or email info@themediaangel.co.uk for award winning media planning and buying advice.
11 tips for effective social media use
As award-winning marketing consultants, we were asked by Wales Online to put together 11 short tips on the effective use of social media for a business.
A strong social media presence is easy to achieve and can cost nothing other than careful planning and execution. Social media is one of the best ways to engage with your target audience and affordably increase your brand visibility. One of the main benefits of using social media for any business is its extremely cost effective nature.
Click here and follow these 11 tips. With these, you will be well on your way to seeing that follower count rise.
Twitter turns 10 today!
10 years ago Twitter posted their first tweet; now more than 500 million are posted every day. While they remain the go-to destination for brands and users looking for real-time information, Twitter hopes to become more than a social network. In fact, the brand hopes to become the hub for people to explore their interests.
From the ‘#’ to the promoted ad product, Twitter has been a major player in the social media revolution that has turned modern marketing on its head. Now brands can target individuals, start a two-way conversation, create interactive content via polls and join in on real-time issues.
CEO Jack Dorsey has a long-term strategy in place to ensure Twitter grows both users and advertisers. And it revolves around positioning Twitter as an “interest network”.
Twitter is a pivotal tool in the conversations, cultural moments and news events that are going on around the world. Its reputation as the resource of choice when something important happens has made them an invaluable resource for personal and corporate moments alike. Its real-time nature is still its biggest strength.
Twitter’s UK managing director Dara Nasr, discusses how he plans to grow Twitter as an ‘interest network’ rather than a social one, by highlighting all the topics that people are talking about. He explains: “Twitter is the shortest distance between you and what you are passionate about. We have 500 million tweets a day so almost every subject is covered. What we want to do is capitalise on this massive source on information.”
In the US, Twitter recently launched its first TV ad campaign aiming to do just that by targeting sports fans. A similar campaign is expected in the UK after Twitter appointed Lucky Generals to come up with creative for this market.
Twitter was the first social network to come up with a promoted ad product. Launched in April 2010, the promoted tweet was a big change from the previously popular banner ad, and its success led Twitter to launch promoted trends, promoted accounts and most recently promoted moments.
Twitter users are renowned for being passionate and engaged with other people’s tweets and so Twitter wanted brands to be able to utilize that engagement. So it was important for them to develop a product that was similar and suited to the organic product.
Twitter ads average engagement rate levels remain high between 1% and 3%.
Forrester marketing analyst Erna Alfred Liousas claims the key to maintaining brands’ interest in advertising on Twitter is to continue investment in the capabilities and communications that support its direction to be an interest network.
Twitter’s MD promises brands increased innovation and sophistication of products, in particular in targeting and analytics. The ability to target by keyword or interest really helps advertisers that have a tight plan to engage with their target market. Improved insight tools also enable advertisers to view other topics that interest their target market, adding an extra layer of sophistication and insight into their campaigns.
Twitter has also had a major impact on marketing, particularly in the areas of reactive, real-time and customer service. Hannah Beesley, social director at creative agency Iris Worldwide, highlights how events such as Oreo’s blackout ad during the Super Bowl in 2013 “woke brands up to the power of joining the conversation” and the risks.
Peter Markey, CMO at the Post Office, says Twitter is a vital part of the marketing mix because of its openness and transparency. “Twitter reminds all good marketers that your brand has to be authentic.”
Social media and our use of it will continue to evolve, and Twitter must evolve too. For marketers, the desire to draw customers closer to their brands will only intensify further and Twitter has steps in place to ensure they provide marketers with a platform which enables exactly that.
Get in touch with one of our team at The Media Angel on 02921 320 200 for award winning advice on how to benefit from Twitters 10 year success! Alternatively, send an email to info@themediaangel.co.uk and one of the team promise to be straight back in touch.
Tips and Stats from Facebook’s Boost your Business Cardiff Event
We went along to the Facebook’s Boost your Business Summer Tour at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. If you couldn’t make it, here are some of our essential stats and top tips.
We listened to talks from the panel which included Facebook’s Olly Sewell, Manager of the SMB Partner Management in EMEA, Jules White from The Last Hurdle, Justin Schwartz from the social media agency behind Rachel Organics. Did you know…
25m people use Facebook on mobile in the UK every day.- People visit Facebook on average 14 times per day via mobile.
- Facebook attracts 4bn video views every day.
- At least 50% of users watch one video per day.
- The future is sight, sound and motion.
- Instagram marketing solutions will launch from this September.
10 top tips when using Facebook advertising:
- Use the power of short videos to captivate your audience.
- With all your messaging, think about what your customers want to hear and see more so than what you want them.
- Set your objectives to gain meaningful results, such as website clicks, video views, events, and increase in sales. Focus on gaining real numbers, it’s not always just about likes and shares.
- The best kind of content is ‘real’ content and that really works. Think as the end user.
- When advertising you need to balance relevance and quality of ads with your bidding strategy and budget.
- Schedule offers when your audience needs them.
- Consider seasonality, e.g. Valentine’s Day or Christmas. You need to think carefully about when other like-minded businesses will all be trying to advertise at the same time.
- Don’t under estimate the worth of your audience. It can cost more to reach the same popular audiences at the same time.
- Use custom audiences to reach all of the people who matter to you.
- Think yourself as a mobile business, as this is where you customers spend most of their time.
If you need help incorporating social media as part of your marketing campaigns, then please get in touch. We’re always on hand to take care of your marketing. Email: info@themediaangel.co.uk or call: 02921 320 200.
Cinemagraphs could become Facebook’s new trend
Today’s social newsfeed of posts are far from the static state they once were. Have you noticed more videos than ever on Facebook? They could soon allow moveable images as eye-catching as these in social posts and ads…
Cinemagraphs are a type of GIF, a photo in which only a piece of the image subtly moves. Some social-networking sites and apps, such as Instagram currently support auto-play videos on loop, with the potential for moveable images to be able to do exactly the same.
Balenciaga Perfume:
Many popular cinemagraphs are borne out of the extraordinary design work of Ann Street Studio. This frosted perfume bottle reminded the designer of a block of ice, a place where creative ideas are frozen and then emerge into fruition; beginning to melt away, slowly, as ice turns into liquid.
This cinemagraph for Italian Pinot Grigio Ecco Domani, anchors the allure of modern Italy and the perfect summer evening, dining al fresco. The image perfectly captures the sleek, crisp and fresh taste of a glass of Ecco Domani. It’s truly captivating.
This cinemagraph was featured on Gilt Taste, a former online magazine and market for food and wine lovers. Imagine M&S recreating something similar online…
This ad as part of a series of cinemagraphs for Tiffany and Co. is made to capture the warm beauty of the Tiffany 1837 Collection in RUBEDO – a jeweler’s metal that radiates with the warm tones of first morning light… The image is so lifelike, we just can’t take our eyes off this one.
Coca Cola’s cinemagraph was instantly popular on Tumblr, receiving 35,000 “notes,” which is Tumblr’s term for likes and reblogs combined. This rate of engagement speaks for itself.
Calvin Klein uses CGI rain to drive users to the Encounter Calvin Klein website, were they could view the full fragrance film, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Lara Stone.
Marketers, have yourself a very merry stress-free Christmas & New Year!
A joyous time for families, the utmost important month in the retailer’s calendar, that mad panic for last minute shopping, all of which is just under 55 days time! Are you ready marketers?
The festive period can often be a stressful time for consumers, and even a more manic time for those of you are marketers. Your marketing team have the pleasurable task of looking ahead at your marketing budgets for 2015. There may still be time to secure a digital campaign before the tree goes up, but the clock is ticking!
Fear not, The Media Angel can help save you time and money and ease you into the New Year with a helping hand, starting with these top tips:
- Get the most out of winter bargains– TV airtime in December and January is an ideal time to advertise and be seen. Just like your furniture and clothing sales, advertising costs are reduced. And TV advertising needn’t be expensive with a target audience in mind.
- Be more dog digital – Treat this as your New Year’s resolution. Online advertising has doubled in the last year or so. New and recent platforms, such as ITV Player and social media can offer great packages, little wastage and provide measurable results to better your future campaigns, in a visually stimulating way, this will help your interaction with your customers. Also, make sure you adapt for mobile and tablet devices. Invest in a fast and beautiful website, after all it’s your digital home, your shop window reinvented in the palm of your hands. Let us help you take good care of it.
- Plan while you can– Treat your campaign like your upcoming summer holiday. Preparation is key! Media planning ensures your message is in the right place, at the right time. Whether TV, radio, outdoor or print, the best ad space can book up far in advance. Let us help you get ahead of the game and get in touch for media planning expertise and advice on making the best use of your media budget.
- Consistency– Show consistency by developing your brand for all media platforms, whether seeing or hearing your message, so people know who you are and what you’re offering.
- Be different – If you really want to stand out and get noticed, and create impact then try something different. Some of the best campaigns this year have attracted attention for their individual and simplistic, yet clever concepts- Billboards made of cake, live TV advertisements, and surprisingly good taste in soundtrack, e.g. M&S advert)
Get in touch with The Media Angel to see how we can help you wrap up marketing campaign with a perfect mix for 2015 (without the stress).
Award-winning month for Swansea University!
The Media Angel helps Swansea University achieves award-winning results with student recruitment campaign.
It’s been a fantastic month for our clients Swansea University who won University of the Year at the What Uni Student Choice Awards 2014; what an amazing achievement!
On top of this, they have also been shortlisted for the Heist Awards for their Making Waves Student Recruitment Campaign, so fingers crossed for another win.
We have helped Swansea University with their media planning and buying on their ‘Making Waves’ campaign for the last 2 years, the campaigns include outdoor, online, radio, press and social media.
Of course we can’t forget to mention their victory at the Varsity 2014, beating Cardiff Uni 19-15. An amazing achievement for Swansea all around.