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A Deep Dive Into Metaverse Marketing

A deep dive into metaverse marketing

In the age of rapid growth of technology, we notice various innovations in the market which may have been unimaginable before.

Among these innovations, there is the metaverse.

A deep dive into metaverse marketing
Source: https://img.i-scmp.com

What is the Metaverse?

The Metaverse is a unique, immersive and virtual environment, and it is rapidly taking over the internet.

The actual word ‘Metaverse’ generally indicates a virtual world that lies beyond or extends the physical world. The specific word was coined in the sci-fi novel Snow Crash written by Neal Stephenson in 1992. However, in the technical term, it is a virtual reality space that enables the users to interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.

This is a new version of the internet, supporting 3D virtual environments by personal computing, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets. Though in a limited form, we find ‘Metaverse’ on platforms like VR chat or specific next-gen technology related to video games. 

The concept of Metaverse

https://i2.wp.com/rayhaber.com

Generally, the Metaverse uses a shared virtual space allowing users to be represented by virtual avatars. In the virtual world, an avatar is a graphical representation of the user’s character. 

This representation may be:

  • a 2D form like an icon 
  • a 3D form as in games and virtual worlds

Depending on user-made decisions and interactions, these virtual worlds continue to evolve and grow.

Marketing in Metaverse

To compete in the global market, digital marketing professionals need to keep up with the latest technological developments. 

It involves understanding the Metaverse and its full potential. Marketers should know that Metaverse is not just a trendy new thing but will remain in the global market for a long time. The Metaverse is the next big thing.

How online marketers can cope up with expanding metaverse market

First of all, marketers need to consider the value of the millennials and Gen Z as their target market. This is because they are avid users of some forms of Metaverse, such as online games and VR technologies.

Biggest opportunities for brands:

Source: https://www.roundhillinvestments.com/

Several big brands are adopting Metaverse for their promotion. 

Big brands like Warner Bros, Hyundai and Gucci have already built their virtual worlds. 

Industry giants like Sephora, Nike and HBO are concentrating upon getting into AR and VR experiences. 

Other reputed brands such as Coca-Cola, Crockpot, and Anheuser-Busch are carefully making their move by selling non-fungible tokens which can be purchased or sold on the blockchain.

From selling virtual clothing, selling on NFTs, on branded shops in games, and providing virtual concerts and fashion shows are only some of the brands conducted in the past few years to determine how to market products to their consumers in the Metaverse.

Though Metaverse is not precisely what science fiction has shown it to be, it continues to produce remarkable results as a new platform for online marketing.

source: http://eng.koreanre.co.kr

According to a global survey, it is estimated that in 2021 an approximate number of 85 million global users will experience Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in a month.

With the rapid growth in virtual reality and augmented reality in recent years, metaverse technology successfully penetrated the internet.

Theoretically, it will comprise multiple reconcilable virtual worlds, allowing people to teleport from one experience to another quickly. 

These worlds shall facilitate everything from social interactions, being a source of online entertainment, being an avenue to do online marketing, and doing much more online. One may go for placing their own virtual advertisement in the Metaverse. 

What Mobile Marketing Association and Culture Group says about it

In their whitepaper, Mobile Marketing Association and Culture Group have described Metaverse as “shared virtual worlds that seamlessly blend applied game mechanics, massive interactive live events (MILE), blockchain-enabled digital goods and virtual commerce.”

Facebook has taken interest enough to invest $10 billion to become a metaverse company in the next five years and proposed taking thousands of new employees from Europe apart from changing the company’s name from Facebook to “Meta”. Several other multi-national concerns are showing interest in this technology as well.

The fundamental reason is that there are so many interactive opportunities to generate attention for a company.

Take Roblox, for example. It gets more than 200 million active users every month. Half of them are not yet teenagers. They love to play hundreds of thousands of virtual games. Most of these games require brand activation.

How is Metaverse responsible for bringing a revolution in marketing?

source: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/fictional-battle-omniverse

It is a revolution in the field of online marketing. It has already brought remarkable changes for the future of online technology. Metaverse gives a surety of getting the physical world and the virtual world together with the aid of new technologies. 

Such new technologies lead to the transformation in the way:

  • people interact with each other
  • do marketing online, 
  • entertain themselves
  • engage in various other daily life activities 

“It is a virtual environment where you can be present with people in digital spaces,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said about the Metaverse.

Director of the technical department at Byte Isabel Perry said, “Metaverses are jam-packed with innovative marketing potential, ranging from live shopping to virtual stores, fashion shows, launching of products, and live events, content production, NFTs…” 

These developments are paving the way for the real economy.

The possibilities these hybrid worlds offer are endless. It’s time for innovative brands to get involved in this new technology of the future.

Metaverse is the next generation of the online channel. 

source: https://i1.wp.com/journaltimes.co.uk

Metaverse works in a way that is different from normal advertising. It aims at creating brand experiences that are more engaging and exciting and less invasive than what online viewers are experiencing with current digital advertisements.

All the traditional methods of placing online and offline advertisements such as the flagship shops, large billboards and advertisements on the web are turning out into a thing of the past. 

Digitalization alone is not enough. People want it to be more interesting. For those looking to build relationships with customers from young generations today, the phrase “in real life” has taken a whole new meaning. People from every age group are showing interest in such innovations. 

Although this is currently a fresh concept, many luxury brands are already creating avatar apparel since 2018, and various such brands have been collaborating with games for the last few years.

Other areas such as NFTs and collectibles have made dramatic progress, and the new technology is driving massive interactive live events (MILEs).

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Why Facebook is now called Meta?

Why Facebook is now called Meta?

Something big and extraordinary happened on 28th October 2021, something we will never forget.

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company’s name would be changed soon to Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta in short.

The company makes a significant decision for millennials who grew up with Facebook and countless other similar platforms. Why change the company’s name? Will the company remain the same? What is Meta anyway? These are some of the questions popping up in our minds.

In this article, we shall try to uncloud the confusion and offer as many answers as possible.

Is Facebook still there?

Why Facebook is now called Meta?
source: https://satelindo.co.id/

Yes, Facebook is very much still there. Your favourite social media platform is not going anywhere. Nothing about the platform itself will be changing except the name. It will be owned and controlled by Meta Inc., which shall be its parent company.

What is a parent company?

Why Facebook is now called Meta?
source: Unsplash

A parent company holds together a conglomerate of various companies, of the same group, across industries or within a single industry. For instance, Alphabet Inc. controls Google and its other subsidiaries. Similarly, Meta Inc. will now control Facebook and other existing subsidiaries like WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus VR, and other upcoming ventures.

Why is Facebook now called Meta?

Why Facebook is now called Meta?
source: https://www.theapplepost.com/

On 28th October 2021, CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg spoke at a virtual and augmented live-streamed reality conference. This was to let stakeholders and users of Facebook know that a change was in the wind. He announced that the new name would be Meta. This change will reflect the work his company will focus on to develop and support the Metaverse.

 What is the Metaverse?

Why Facebook is now called Meta?
source: https://berita.teknologi.id/

It is a digital world where anyone can communicate virtually with others. Facebook or Meta Inc. has changed its name to signify that it is trying to set the stage globally for the advent of this technology in people’s lives.

However, virtual experience and communication have been around for many years now. For instance, there are many games and chat engines where people worldwide can communicate through their virtual avatars. Thus, it is not something new. 

However, it is not something that is brought to the mainstream either. For instance, virtual world communication and communication in the Metaverse is not something that companies use.

 How does one communicate on the Metaverse?

Why Facebook is now called Meta?
source: Unsplash

Easy! You have to use a Virtual Reality headset, VR Glasses, or any device that supports these. It will be a life-like video game and show you interacting with others in a “virtual environment.”

So, for instance, you can communicate with office colleagues and clients on the Metaverse. It will be a virtual environment, of course, but it will increasingly be realistic. Are you bored by working from home during the pandemic? It is one thing the Metaverse will solve.

This technology can also change the way we view education as well, as well so other fields like healthcare. Metaverse is a technology of the future, and Mark Zuckerberg is attempting to capitalize on the trend early on.

To sum up

Meta Inc. does not own rights to this technology. Other companies and industries will follow Meta soon. As for Meta, they expect to reach over a billion users within the next ten years.

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Facebook Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

Facebook Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

Are your demands screaming at you or inspiring you every morning to start your day and look forward to it? Both of these indicate a separate set of minds and result in different moods at day end. They have a different effect on you, even after you have achieved your goals. 

Are you wondering why am I saying this when the headline read something related to Facebook marketing tips? 

Most of us own a small business or intend to have one within this lifetime. Don’t you? It is an aspiration and uncharted demand of our lives that we have subscribed to. You may name it as one of your life goals or anything else. It is this demand that I spoke of at the very beginning. Some of us sell our self-made products too. That might be a tiny scale business, but trust me, it is business indeed, and many people do that. It is for this reason that you need to promote it well. Facebook is the first option that we can spontaneously think of. Thus, Facebook comes into the frame. 

All you need to do is have a Facebook business page. It will open your venture to a sea of possibilities because this social media giant has an enormous data bank. Got my point?

Facebook Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

Has Facebook’s Enormous Popularity Affected Its Effectiveness As A Promoting Platform?

Innovations and everything new attracts people. Facebook has been a hugely successful social media platform that now serves as an excellent channel for marketing. However, its popularity has made it familiar, and critics often question its effectiveness as a promotional platform. 

Such speculations are expected fallout of sky-high popularity, but you don’t have anything to worry about yet. 

Let’s understand this; the market doesn’t have any specific geographic periphery. It is as wide as the world is. That’s your market, and there is no shortage of potential customers. An enormous number of Facebook users might have made your task more challenging. To reach your target audience, you will need to prepare sharper strategies than before and increase promotional activities. This never means you have lost your target audience; it just got a bit tougher than before. Local businesses can now reach their target audience with minimum effort and increase their sales. 

On the other side, Facebook tools and utility features give you crucial insight into user data. This is a huge advantage for brands for creating effective strategies. Accurate data feed strategies, it has been proven to be highly effective for increasing sales and brand impression. You can also use exclusive Facebook marketing tips for enhancing your brand strategies. 

One of the most effective ways to promote your business to local buyers is through a relevant Facebook group. You can join as many as you want as long they serve your purpose and have your target audience. Make it a point to interact with the members of the group every day if possible. Through regular interaction, you can build customer trust, know their preferences and serve them accordingly. Thus, a massive number of Facebook users is an advantage for your brand. 

Facebook Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

Facebook Marketing Tips For Small Businesses On A Budget

With increasing popularity, the business prospects of Facebook flourished. Currently, organic content on business pages doesn’t reach a wider audience as it did a few years ago. Change is inevitable, and sometimes it might not be in your favour. 

Ideally, you must share content every day on Facebook. However, posting a paid content regularly is challenging for small businesses. That’s why I am sharing some tried and tested practical marketing tips for organically promoting your business page. 

Firstly, spare some time to know your audience and understand them. Standard promotional tips and hacks might not work for every venture always. Be very mindful while creating the content for your Facebook page and experiment with the type of content. Audiences love good content and will engage with a brand that offers it to them. So, make it a point not to offer your audience regular stuff; try to keep it as exclusive as possible. 

Secondly, keep your content relatable and thus acceptable. No audience will entertain foreign content. It is, in fact, why some beautiful and heavy-weight pages go unnoticed. When you know your audience and understand them, you can create relatable content. To experiment, you can create a Facebook story every day and track their performances. It will help you in finding relatable content ideas. 

Thirdly, you need to have a concrete plan or a good content strategy for your brand. Make sure you prepare a content calendar for it and materialize your goals accordingly. This will include types of posts, blogs, articles, Facebook ads, Facebook advertising, and even campaigns. However, make sure to update this calendar from time to time because preferences change within a short time. Audiences are exposed to a wide variety of content from different sources. So make it a point to stay updated with the changing trends and offer unique content to your audience. 

Fourthly, take time out to organize the tabs on your business page. These are a few minor details that can create a difference in customer experience. On your business page, you will find different tabs. Wisely choose the tabs that help them to interact with your brand easily. When you care to save their time and effort, they will prefer you over difficult brands to communicate with. 

Fifthly, besides your business page, create a Facebook group in line with your page. Study Facebook insights to know about your content performance and other details. Based on your findings, you can create engaging content and promotional campaigns. For organic marketing, you need to progress step by step for effective and sustainable results. 

The idea is to provide value; it never goes out of fashion. The best part of using Facebook for business is it takes your products or services to the largest possible audience. You can create prospects and convert them into customers with good content with appealing calls to action. It’s irreplaceable. 

Facebook Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

Tips For Creating A Sustainable Brand

Success without sustainability doesn’t live for long. If you are planning for a business, focus on creating a sustainable business. Let me take you through a few easy and practical ways by which you can make a sustainable venture. 

  • Build a business based on your strong belief:

Having a business, surviving the challenges and earning from can test your patience and is immensely tough. The odds will challenge your motives and try to change many things. They can change a few or more things but cannot alter your core belief. Instead, it will keep you motivated and anchored to your business despite the odds. 

  • Embrace the change and never resist it:

Progress and development are the other names of change. It is easier to stick with successful ideas and processes, but that won’t help you to improve your business. Improvement is to move ahead of your existing position. So, it is always wiser to embrace change and related prospects rather than resist them. 

  • Make value a priority:

You may offer great products and services but someone may offer much better than what you have been doing. What’s exclusive today might not be so tomorrow. However, things are different when you offer value with every purchase or subscription. It will bring people back to you and earn you customer loyalty. It can buy sustainability for your brand. 

  • Don’t be uncomfortable out of your comfort zone:

    We all love what we are comfortable with. It is fine for stability, but it can even make things stagnant and prevent you from achieving more. I am sure you don’t want that to happen. If you want to sustain your business and its profitability, then you must take chances. 

  • Find your area to excel and focus on it:

Every business is unique in its ways, even if it’s selling standard products or services. Similarly, you can identify what’s working best for your customers and improve it accordingly. You can identify your areas of excellence and work on them for further improvement. It only makes you better from your current best.

Facebook Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

Social media platforms have emerged as highly effective influencers. The popularity of Facebook makes it all the more important for your brand. So, make sure to optimally use Facebook marketing strategy for better sales and business sustainability. You can also contact us for advertising on social media channels that brings result. 

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Latest Buzz: Facebook Building Instagram For Kids

Facebook Building Instagram For Kids

Facebook is all set to woo its younger audience with an Instagram app for kids below 13 years. Yes, kids like and learn by copying their parents and others around. But, unfortunately, Instagram smites the adults. It’s the latest fad; even a critic cannot avoid it. 

Social media and its superpower to engage people are not new, but Instagram is an entirely fresh experience. As a “no strings attached” thing, you are treated with visual delights, almost in even click. 

After its phenomenal success with adults, Facebook is working on the kids’ version of Instagram. It has already triggered a buzz among its target audience, and parents are a bit worried about it. However, to set things clear from the beginning and avoid resistance, Facebook has already clarified that it is bringing a parent controlled Instagram.

Facebook has grown much beyond a social networking site; it has been working on building additional products to enhance the brand experience. The latest product is for people under the age of 13.

Facebook Building Instagram For Kids

Facebook Building Instagram App For Kids Under 13

As Adam Mosseri confirmed, the idea of Instagram for kids is being worked on, broke to the public, it spread like wildfire. It even got parents worrying about children’s involvement with the photo-sharing app. However, Mosseri has clarified that it will be a parent controlled experience for kids below age of 13.

Why Instagram For Kids?

Looking at the developments and coming to the bare fact, it is business. As kids watch their parents and other adults around engaging with the app, they get drawn to it as well. It is pretty usual. It is how the demand for Instagram among kids grew. Markets supply what’s in demand. So, Facebook planned to launch Instagram to help kids in connecting with friends, discover new hobbies and interests.

The social media app is compelling to inspire the audience, follow a line of action, set trends and be highly entertaining. Millennial kids have risen above the usual child’s play and engaging in what grownups do. It brings them to Instagram and other apps. Facebook is building an Instagram for kids. Joe Osborne, a spokesperson for Facebook, mentioned to one of the reputed news websites that kids ask their parents if they can join apps like Instagram. It has pushed the social media giant to build a version for kids under 13. The content and user norms will be for kids that are suitable for them.

Facebook Building Instagram For Kids

Critics Ask: How Safe Will Instagram Will Be For Kids?

Social media and its penetrating influence gave birth to multiple controversies. You cannot even ignore some. Instagram views this opportunity as an essential benchmark for the company and will be trying every means to make it happen. However, they will be doing so while ensuring it’s safe for the kids and everyone related. They have options for parents. It will be a parent controlled experience to Instagram. 

Often data is fished out from such platforms and are feed to different marketing objectives. Children are its target audience. It is what sparks the security concern for kids. In 2019, Facebook’s add-free Messenger kids app ran into a mess. The app developed a bug that allowed kids to join groups with unknown people. It was highly criticized in different circles, and children’s health advocates even urged Zuckerberg to take it down. 

We Leave You With A Thought To Ponder

Entertainment or infotainment, you are the best person to evaluate a platform for your kid. Children under the age of 13 are too young to decide for themselves. So, parental guidance and control are compulsory and will be there. They have been exploring bringing a parent on board to make it a fool-proof venture. 

Instagram or no Instagram, your child should collect the best of experiences of their childhood. They should have memories to cheer and stories to share when they grow up.

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3 Instagram Tools

Ecommerce has been on the rise, and we can blame Covid-19 for that, but this trend has been around since even before the pandemic. Brands and businesses have all turned to list their products online to reach a wider group of consumers that traditional sales would not be able to.

With the advent of social media, these platforms have found a way to capitalise on their influence. Having a designated area where businesses can directly sell their products benefits the brands themselves and makes it more convenient for consumers to find what they want.

Indeed, eCommerce is taking over everywhere — including social media, and it’s time we took a look at just how vital this wave is.

Speaking of social media, of course, one of the most popular and most used platforms is Instagram itself. In fact, they are amongst the top 5 most used social media apps in January 2020, based on the number of active users. There is no doubt that Instagram has, in recent years, devised ways to help brands boost their visibility on their platform. This includes the addition of eCommerce functions, which we will be explaining in detail below.

  • Instagram Checkout

3 Instagram Shopping Tools blog image 1.jpg

One of Instagram’s special functions is its shoppable posts or purchasable messages, where you could put a link to a product on a platform outside of Instagram. Users will then be directed to an eCommerce site where they can place their orders.

Instagram Checkout, on the other hand, takes that experience to another level. Instead of redirecting visitors to an external platform, Instagram now has a new function where users can make payment directly from the social media app itself. This may very well appeal to users who want to stay on Instagram and make a hassle-free payment.

  • Instagram Live Shopping

3 Instagram Shopping Tools blog image 2.jpg

Like Instagram Checkout, Instagram Live Shopping allows users to purchase products directly from the app itself, but in a live stream situation. At the bottom of a live Instagram feed, owners can add a small CTA to nudge viewers to the products. This is great for when you want to or will advertise a said product in your live stream.

Viewers who click on the CTA can have two options — either to add the product to the cart for later so they can continue watching your stream or head to pay immediately. From there on, viewers can use Instagram Checkout to buy your products directly on Instagram itself. This way, you don’t have to be worried that you’ll be losing viewers unnecessarily.

  • Facebook Stores

3 Instagram Shopping Tools blog image 3.jpg

You might be thinking, what do Facebook stores have to do with Instagram? Well, keep in mind that Facebook owns Instagram, and therefore many of its features are interlinked. Although Facebook launched Facebook Store for Facebook, it can be used for Instagram as well.

Your Instagram followers no need to create a Facebook account to interact with your Facebook store. This means that you can link your Facebook business page to other social media, including Instagram, Whatsapp, and Messenger — all of Facebook’s owned apps.

Once a store is created on Facebook, business owners can go to their Instagram profile and directly link their Facebook store. Visitors can browse products on Instagram without ever having to leave the app or create a Facebook account!

Facebook Store is an advantageous option for small businesses who can’t build an entire eCommerce website from scratch. This may be due to a lack of workforce, time, finances, or bandwidth. Instead of doing so, these businesses can turn to Facebook Stores to create eCommerce options on various social media platforms. Oberlo has a guide as to how one can set up an Instagram shop. If you do want to start an eCommerce store, Shopify or Magento is an excellent first step.

Shopping is a compelling feature on Instagram for brands, and it is likely to be even more developed in the future. Over 60% of users say they discover new products on Instagram, and more than 200 million people visit at least one business profile on Instagram daily.

Indeed, Instagram Shopping can offer so many benefits for businesses. Not only does it help to promote your products and increase sales rates, but the shopping experience for users is now more personalised as well.

The kind of products that are suggested to users on Instagram is often customised to suit each person based on what they have searched for and their other interactions on the app. This means that these products are most likely what the user would be interested in or care about. Users can even save a product and come back to it later by tapping the Label icon on a product page or a product list.

Overall, as more than 90% of Instagram accounts follow at least one other business account, Instagram is a great place to start marketing your brand. Not to mention that one-third of the most viewed Instagram stories come from businesses themselves! With more than 1 billion active users on the app, these numbers do hold some serious weight. So why not start putting these Instagram shopping tools to fair use?

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    How Long Should Your Video Content Be?

    How Long Should Your Video Content Be?

    Video length on different platforms

    Videos are increasingly becoming the more popular choice when it comes to digital marketing. After all, videos perform better than images on almost every social media platform.

    Consumers generally remember the content in videos better than in images. This is as videos are a lot more dynamic, and engage both our sight and hearing. Images, on the other hand, are static and only engage one sense: sight.

    Many marketers believe in the myth that videos are expensive and time-consuming, and not at all worth the slight advantage they hold over images. Furthermore, plenty of consumers may leave a video halfway, which would reduce the effectiveness of using such a medium.

    However, video marketing isn’t as disposable as you might think it is. 81% of businesses that use videos in their marketing strategy agree that it helps to engage your audience, deliver clear messages, and promote your brand, amongst other benefits. 95% of video marketers also noted that videos have helped increase understanding of their product or service.

    First off, videos definitely provide a significant advantage over images. Imagine if you were to convey a large amount of information via images. Your audience will most likely lose interest upon seeing such a lengthy wall of text.

    Meanwhile, videos are able to keep things concise while still answering the basic questions to help consumers make an informed choice. 64% of consumers tend to reach a purchasing decision only after watching a branded video.

    Not only that, but videos are far more engaging as well. Videos attract three times more engagement on Instagram than sponsored ads. They help to create a space for you to build connections with your audience, making your brand more personalised for them.

    So how long should your videos be?

    Be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, every platform has its knicks and knacks. In order to make sure your video does the best it possibly can, you need to understand not only the features each platform offers but the type of audience they cater to.

    Take for example the users on TikTok or Snapchat. They are often used to watching short clips on these platforms and would probably not appreciate it if they were suddenly forced to watch a long video. On the other hand, YouTube users are more accustomed to watching lengthier videos and therefore it is more acceptable to show them longer content. Different platforms are able to hold attention for different amounts of time, so keep that in mind.

    • Facebook

    Facebook insights have discovered that videos “get shown organically to more people when they’re at least 3 minutes long.” Keep in mind that an organic Facebook video is one that is posted and gains exposure without any advertising spend.

    At the same time, Facebook’s algorithm rewards engagement over duration, so it is not guaranteed that your video will get more exposure just because it is 3 minutes long. Therefore, make sure to focus not just on your video length, but your video message as well. By encouraging engagement such as likes, shares, and comments, your video is more likely to get a boost in their algorithm.

    The same can not be said for Facebook Video Ads.

    Marketers can also fork out a sum of money in order to get more views for their videos. For every person that watches your video for longer than 3 seconds, Facebook will charge you for a view.

    Therefore, if you’re paying to promote a video ad, you need to get your main point across as quickly as possible. The viewers that Facebook push out your ad to might not necessarily be familiar with your brand or your content, so they might lose interest easily. If that’s the case, retention is the most important target — so cut to the chase and keep it short.

    One additional tip that we recommend marketers to keep in mind is to optimise their videos to still be understandable even with the sound off. 85% of users on Facebook actually watch plenty of videos without the sound — perhaps they are in a public place — therefore, in order not to ostracise this crowd, the message of your video should be clear even while its muted.

    • Instagram

    On Instagram, there are two types of videos you can post: IGTV as well as Stories and Reels.

    The latter has restrictions on the length of your video which means that your videos generally cannot be longer than a minute. If you wish to post a video longer than 60 seconds, you would need to post it as an IGTV.

    However, HubSpot has found that videos that receive the most comments on Instagram are on average 26 seconds long. It would be best to keep videos on Instagram shorter than a minute.

    This is because people are often used to scrolling quickly through their feed on Instagram, and pausing to watch a long video actually goes against their muscle memory. As such, their attention span for videos on Instagram generally does not last as long.

    Furthermore, it is not possible to rewind these short videos on Instagram, which means that people would most likely skip or move on if they miss a part of the video and are unable to understand the point of it.

    • Twitter

    Twitter’s previous video duration limit was only a mere 30 seconds. Now, they have started allowing users to upload videos up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds long on their app, matching the character limit that they set for their tweets. However, this does not necessarily mean that you should post videos of that length.

    In fact, Twitter users are also often scrolling through their feed quickly on that very same app, which means that they would be more accustomed to shorter content. Therefore, it is still recommended to keep video content under 30 seconds long.

    If you want to get people to watch your long-form content on Twitter, you can create short teaser videos and link people out from there — be it to another social media platform such as Facebook or YouTube.

    • YouTube

    The main difference between YouTube and other social media platforms is that on YouTube, users are actively seeking out videos to watch. Instead of having a curated feed for them to scroll through, users are browsing through video content with the mental preparation to watch them.

    It is also significant to note that unlike Facebook’s algorithm, YouTube’s algorithm actually rewards videos that have more watch time by pushing them up in search results as well as users’ recommendations.

    Therefore, longer videos do have the potential to do better on YouTube — as long as viewers are engaged and actually stick around to watch your lengthy video content. YouTubers are, in fact, recording longer videos, which has been observed to rank higher in search results.

    Planning out a video marketing strategy may sound complicated, but break it down and you will see that it is easier than you think. Why not ask MIU if you have any further questions on video marketing? It is, after all, the marketing tool to look out for in 2021.

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    7 Tips to Boost Your Social Media Shares

    7 Tips to Boost Your Social Media Shares

    Having a social media strategy is a must when it comes to digital marketing. Just take a look at how much social media has influenced the way we market and communicate!

    However, we can all agree that the right social media strategy will bring you the best returns. Not all methods built equally, which is the difference between a good strategy and a bad strategy.

    One area to focus on in your social media strategy is the number of shares you accumulate. After all, part of what makes social platforms so powerful is the ability to expand your reach and gain enormous amounts of exposure — only by word-of-mouth. Going “viral” is a thing — and it’s not always bad.

    Social shares do precisely that. However, to get the maximum amount of social media shares, there are steps to follow. Results don’t come by easy — they need the effort to achieve it. Here’s what we think can help you get the shares you need.

     

    1. Prioritise the most shareable content format

     

    This might go without saying, but a lot of times, marketers make the mistake of sharing all forms of content without considering what sort of content they are.

    Research has shown that visual content is the most shared on social media, as they are quick to read and easy to digest. TikTok is one such proof that visual content is all the rage right now — look at how rapidly it has grown within the past few years. Sprout Social Index found that of all content that has been shared on social media, 68% of them are images, and 50% are videos.

    Use the functions that are already available in these social media platforms to your advantage. For instance, Twitter allowed you to pin one tweet that your followers would see above all else, and Instagram has the Highlights section where your audience can click in to discover more about your brand. So prioritise putting videos and images in these areas for maximum shares.

     

    2. Use in-built features to generate responses & increase engagement

     

    When we talk about the function, social media platforms are now rolling out many features to cater to the increasing number of brands that use their site. Twitter has an in-built poll feature, as does Instagram. Besides that, Instagram also has a question-and-answer feature for their Stories. Get your audience responding and boost your brand awareness with such features!

    LinkedIn also just released a new update where users can add links to their stories as well, to redirect viewers to their site. There are plenty of inbuilt features that you can play around to increase engagement on your social media platforms, so don’t hesitate to try it out!

     

    3. Ride the wave on trending topics

     

    This is the formula for getting viral — which, as mentioned, is not always bad. Want to score more shares? Find out what are the hot topics and capitalise on that. Better yet, use a popular meme to capture your audience’s attention. Not only does this personalise and humanise your brand, but your audience is also more likely to want to share it around. When you project your brand to be more than just a business-oriented figure, your consumers would be able to relate with you more.

     

    4. Craft engaging captions

     

    Captions are another essential part of what gets your post noticed. Without a good caption, you would probably lose half your audience. Depending on the platform, you need to adjust your captions accordingly — for example, people go onto Instagram for the pictures, and hence they are more unlikely to want to read a lengthy caption. However, those scrolling on Facebook and LinkedIn would be more open to reading and taking in an enormous amount of text and information.

    Whether your caption is long or short, make sure that it includes the keywords that you want to highlight about the post. Furthermore, always remember to put a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of every post to make it more engaging. Whether it is to ask your audience to follow your brand, purchase something, or click a link, we cannot stress enough the importance of having a CTA. Just remember not to overdo it and stick to only one CTA instead of having multiple — that will confuse your audience and result in them not wanting to take any action at all.

     

    5. Come up with a strong hashtag strategy

     

    Captions aren’t the only things that can help boost your post. Hashtags are just as important when it comes to building up your social media strategy. Using the right hashtags would bring your brand not just more exposure, but the right kind of exposure. An excellent first step is to use your own branded hashtag so that new followers can find your content easily.

    Additionally, you can engage in tools to help you find the best hashtags. Our previous blog post talks about some of the best free SEO tools beginners can use so that you can start there. Some helpful tools include All Hashtag’s free hashtag generator and Influencer Marketing Hub’s hashtag generator tool. Others like Sistrix, Kicksta, and HashtagsForLikes are all free as well.

    Since Instagram only allows a maximum of 30 hashtags, All Hashtag will give you up to 30 relevant hashtags based on one single keyword. The site also has an analytical tool to help you get useful information about your hashtags for your marketing strategy. And if you’re not sure where to start, they can offer you insights into the top trending hashtags on Instagram. So start exploring and experimenting with some of the incredible free tools out there!

     

    6. Make your posts mobile-friendly

     

    Let’s face it — most consumers nowadays are scrolling through social media on their phones. More than 80% of shares from social media visits come from mobile devices. To reach them properly, it is exceptionally vital to make sure your social media posts are crafted not just for the desktop version but also for mobile versions.

    Take into consideration each platform’s image previews so that the main point comes across in a single glance. Check those graphics are legible (even on a small screen) and zoomable so that your message is readable by your audience — otherwise your words will be for nought.

     

    7. Find out when the best times to post are

     

    Although this sounds like common sense, you may be surprised to find out how many marketers don’t consider this when planning their marketing strategy. Knowing which days and times your audience are the most active on social media is a crucial step to getting your post noticed.

    Sprout Social has an in-depth guide to helping you find out which are the best times to post, depending on the platform you’re using. Of course, this differs based on the industry you’re in and from company to company, so it is best to track your analytics to decide what works for you.

    Do also keep in mind that Covid-19 has changed the way consumers use social media and how they engage with brands. For your marketing strategy to work effectively, it is best to adjust your brand behaviour to adapt to such changes. Why not check in with MIU to find out how you can further optimise your marketing strategy? We offer free consultation services for anyone who’s looking to up their marketing game!

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    The Privacy Debate: Apple vs Facebook

    The Privacy Debate: Apple vs Facebook

    In 2020, Apple announced its new product and policy changes at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The announcement happened back in June last year. However, you might not be familiar with it as Apple later decided to push back the changes until early 2021.

    Well, 2021 has begun, and the tech giant has decided that it is now the right time to roll out its new software update, which will be available in iOS 14. Known as the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), the latest update will require apps to obtain permissions from users before tracking their online activity. IDFA is a unique, random and resettable device identifier (ID) assigned to iOS users.

    Privacy is one of Apple’s most well-known core values, and its products include features with innovative privacy techniques. The privacy policy is to minimize and prevent the amount of information accessed by anyone other than the user. After all, their website claims that they believe privacy is “a fundamental human right”.

    Apple has incorporated plenty of privacy technologies and functions into many of its in-built apps. These include (but are not limited to):

    • Safari
    • Maps
    • Photos
    • Siri
    • iMessage
    • Wallet & Apple Pay

    Listing what privacy technology each app has would take too long and be too much to digest for our short article, so we’ve taken the liberty of linking you to Apple’s website here where they explain in detail how each of their apps protects your privacy.

    So what’s the big hoo-ha over Apple’s latest update?

    Facebook’s stance

    In response to the upcoming iOS update, Facebook ran a few full-page newspaper advertisements attacking Apple’s plans for IDFA and data sharing in December 2020. Claiming to speak on behalf of small businesses, Facebook continued its protests further by publishing a few blog posts and even set up a new website — all in a bid to pressure Apple to retract its pending update as well as to inform everyone of the consequences this might have.

    Facebook full page newspaper ad

    In December 16th 2020, specifically, Facebook listed 5 points that will be limited by the new update from iOS 14, which are:

    1. Effectively deliver ads to people based on their engagement with your business
    2. Measure and report conversions from specific customers
    3. Ensure your ads shown to the most relevant audiences at the right frequency
    4. Accurately attribute apps install to people using iOS 14 and later
    5. Predict and optimize cost per action over time and efficiently allocate budgets for ads

    According to Facebook, such an update will ultimately benefit Apple as small businesses rely on their ability to run personalized ads to survive. Small businesses could see a cut of up to 60% of their website sales from ads since general ads would be less effective than personalized ones. These businesses would turn to charging consumers for subscription fees or adding more in-app purchases to make ends meet.

    Therefore, Apple stands to gain from this as it collects commissions from its app store, as per its policy. Furthermore, Apple’s personalized ad platform excluded from its new software update, which only benefits Apple themselves. Not to mention, a subscription-based internet would reduce the quality of free-content and make the internet more expensive.

    Facebook has also hosted three webinars to help web and app advertisers prepare for this change, which anyone could sign up for:

    “We disagree with Apple’s approach and solution, yet we have no choice but to show Apple’s prompt. If we don’t, they will block Facebook from the App Store, which would only further harm the businesses and users that rely on our services. We cannot take this risk on behalf of the millions of businesses who use our platform to grow.”

    – Facebook

    Apple’s stance

    Apple denounced Facebook’s protests in a statement by claiming that the App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 does not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users and creating targeted advertising. It merely requires them to give users a choice.

    Interesting enough, users have always been able to opt-out of IDFA tracking, though it is not a well-known fact as the process to do so is rather complicated and difficult to find. With the new update, IDFA will become opt-in rather than opt-out by prompting users to allow tracking. An example of such a prompt can be seen below where users will tell exactly what information an app wishes to tap into.

    IDFA tracking

    This kind of consent interface is not new, particularly for iOS users. It is also replicated for other permissions such as when an app requests access to your photos, camera, microphone or location. Adding third-party tracking to that list helps protect users from abuse by allowing them to control what each app they use can and should access. AppTrackingTransparency preferences can be set for each app individually or for all apps, depending on the user.

    Facebook’s attempt to call Apple out for uprooting small businesses can be seen as hypocritical by some. The media giant has recently faced backlash over the lack of support for small businesses regarding their Facebook Help Centre. Of course, with 10 million advertisers on Facebook, it is inevitable for them to turn to automation to answer the many questions it receives a day.

    Additionally, Covid-19 has reduced its regular staff capacity when more businesses than ever are turning to the platform for their promotional efforts. While this may not necessarily be Facebook’s fault, its stance against Apple’s IDFA has many raising questions on how much the media giant actually cares about small businesses.

    Top that with the fact that Facebook has a poor track record of anti-competitive behaviour and privacy issues and you might start to side with Apple on their pro-privacy policy changes.

    Conclusion

    While Apple’s new software changes might seem to be a radical leap, it may not necessarily result in negative consequences in the long run — even for small businesses. After all, the advertising industry has long promoted the notion that personalized and targeted ads are better.

    However, several studies have shown that most of the money made from targeted advertising does not in fact reach the creators of the content, including the app developers. More often than not, the profits end up in the pockets of data brokers — companies that collect or buy your personal information to sell it to others.

    In reality, small businesses cannot compete with large ad distribution networks, the ones who really get to control the ad industry. Since targeted advertising is seen as superior to other methods of reaching customers, anything else will inherently command less value on ad markets.

    This not only means that ads have a lower ad value if they aren’t targeting users, but it also drives the flow of money away from innovation that could otherwise bring us different advertising methods that don’t involve invasive profiling and targeting.

    As an example, non-targeted ads such as “contextual” ads could be a good alternative — if only more research and development were done to optimize it. These are ads based not on your personal information but only on the content of the webpage you are visiting at the time.

    Of course, there could just as well be a short-term solution to all this — personalized advertising and privacy do not have to be at odds with each other. Small businesses who are worried about the immediate effects such an update might have on them can only hold on to the hope that both Apple and Facebook can find a middle ground for all of this.

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    Marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

    Marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

    If you’ve scoured through many marketing articles, you have no doubt picked up on the fact that digital marketing is the new form of marketing. As internet penetration soars at a record high – and is still rising, the number of users on the internet is expected to increase.

    Digital marketing provides brands with a way of reaching out to an audience that they might not traditionally have access to. As social media becomes a highly popular platform for everyone to connect on, businesses are able to use this opportunity to grow their audience and brand.

    While digital marketing can span plenty of aspects, from SEO to PPC to email marketing, this article will discuss the details of social media marketing in particular. Read more if you want to find out how to use social media to your advantage!

    Digital marketing on social media

    Social media as a marketing strategy is all the rage right now. It has been proven that social media is often the driving factor (and one of the most influential) behind word-of-mouth and evangelist marketing.

    In the information age, consumers often turn to the internet to seek answers to their problems and pain points. While this may be the best chance for your brand to put itself in the spotlight, it can also be a double-edged sword if your brand does not have much of an online presence — or worse, a negative one.

    This is where marketing can step in to help. Managing your brand’s online presence is no easy feat, but it is possible to do it — and do it well. Of course, it helps if you understand what each social media platform is meant to do and how it aligns with your brand. Here are some tips to help you get started.

    Facebook

    facebook marketing

    Facebook is one of the most versatile social media platforms as it is widely used not only for personal use but for professional matters as well.

    Businesses can use Facebook to connect to their followers by sharing photos, updates and general news on their page. Fans of your brand may visit your Facebook page to explore events, check updates and more.

    As of April 2019, Facebook was reported to have 2.38 billion monthly active users worldwide. It is an absolutely useful place to start building a fanbase for your brand. Remember to engage with your audience bty posting status updates, photos and more! Start by publicising your page and linking it everywhere, including your website.

    Share your products, offers and services to keep your followers informed about your brand. Better yet, if you can invite them to engage in your posts by including things that nudge them to like, comment or share your content, it would do wonders for your brand.

    Although you might be running a business page, it’s important to remember that plenty of your followers also use Facebook as a personal network to connect with their friends and family. Make sure your brand fits into this atmosphere rather than constantly hard-selling your products and services. This way, people will be more interested and engaged in your brand.

    With Facebook Ads, you can check details like social graphs and activities to better understand your buyer persona. Knowing the preferences of your page visitors will go a long way in helping you market your brand, be it on social media or otherwise. Use this information to tailor your content to your main audience and turn them into leads!

    Instagram

    instagram marketing

    While it may have started as a personal social media platform, Instagram is quickly turning that around. Since it has been bought over by Facebook, plenty of business-oriented functions have been introduced to the app to help brands connect better with their audience.

    With 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram is a fantastic place to market your brand and improve your online presence. In Singapore itself, there are 1.9 million total active users — a huge audience that you can potentially market to!

    Since being bought over by Facebook, Instagram has introduced many tools that can help businesses market themselves more efficiently in a non-salesy manner. From polls to FAQS, such tools supported by the platform itself can simplify the customer service process so much more — so take advantage of it!

    When consumers are satisfied with their customer experience, they will naturally have a better impression of the brand and are more likely to patronise them again.

    Twitter

    twitter marketing

    Twitter’s 310 million users may pale in comparison to Facebook’s and Instagram’s user statistics, but make no mistake. The social media platform is a concise way to connect with your audience by serving them bite-sized information that they can consume on the go. In fact, 175 million tweets are generated in a day, making up for what Twitter lacks in the quantity of its platform users.

    With 280 characters or less in each tweet, Twitter is a sea of content waiting to be read, followed, and re-tweeted. By allowing you to share quick bites of information and photos, the social media platform is a perfect vehicle to drive people back to your landing pages.

    Since each tweet is often short and sweet, people tend to scroll through them quickly in an effort to consume as much as they can. When marketing on Twitter, make sure your content is enticing enough to capture your audience’s attention and make them pause on your tweet.

    Try incorporating quotes, photos, GIFs or even polls related to the link you’re tweeting to get people wanting to read more. Remember to build relationships with followers — while people may follow you because they enjoy what you have to say, it is important to engage them in conversation as well.

    Like you would on Facebook, ask and respond to questions, respond to mentions and direct messages. This not only personalises the brand but is a good way to show your customer service as well.

    An important marketing function that you can adopt is to use hashtags on Twitter. They allow you to reach a wider (and more targeted) audience, as people who are searching for specific information often turn towards hashtags to find what they are looking for. Conduct some research to see what your buyer persona is hashtagging to make sure your posts will be found by the right people.

    YouTube

    youtube marketing

    Since it was bought over by Google in 2006, YouTube has become the leading video-sharing platform in the world. As one of the world’s most used search engines, Google has since incorporated its advanced technology and algorithm into YouTube as well. YouTube is now but another platform that the search gives priority to in its search results.

    It is no doubt proven that videos are a lot more engaging and shareable than text content. Not only that, but they also help your search rank in Google. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

    Creating videos for YouTube therefore matters a lot. You want to make sure that there’s a purpose and value to the video you are uploading, so as to provide high quality content for your audience. Keep in mind your production value as well. Both the video and audio of what you upload should be crisp, clear, and easy to understand. No shaky cameras!

    YouTube gives you a gateway to be an educator in your industry. Upload webinars or videos speaking on important topics that further the education of your audience. When you position yourself as the source of important industry news, people will naturally flock to you for trusted updates and information. In return, your brand will gain a reputable name for itself.

    Hashtags on YouTube are also another important aspect that you can take note of when posting your video. Though they are not often talked about, hashtags can actually help your video go a long way in finding the exposure that it needs. Read more about our guide to YouTube hashtags here.

    All in all, no matter what social media platform you choose to engage with, the best tip is to use whatever is available to you at hand while keeping a customer-centric view. Your brand will go much further this way and your consumers will thank you in the long run.