Tag: social

For the last two centuries media publishing houses have controlled the flow of information to and from people. Media giants such as News Corporation and Liberty Media control large media distribution networks across the globe which distributed news and informational content. While the effectiveness of these media giants will only grow if they effectively use the internet, social media has opened up the door for anyone to distribute their content, ideas and information on a global scale.

This is one of the reasons social media and social media marketing are such a big deal for many people and businesses. The social web is also great for people and their freedom of speech and information. Social media sites like Digg, Twitter and Google+ give you the ability to quickly share or syndicate content from your blog or website and broadcast it the rest of the world. Unlike traditional media the users of the social web choose which articles are the most interesting by submitting their feedback and effectively voting for the content. The more users vote for a piece, the more traffic that article will get under typical circumstances.

What is great about this system is that the best content typically goes to the top of the pile. The web is so large that it is very hard for social media marketers to manipulate the amount of votes they need to get their sites to the top of social media syndication before they are caught and banned. Of course as you would expect when the stakes are high many people try to game the system on sites like Digg. It’s fair game too with a first page listing on Digg bringing anywhere up to 200,000 unique visitors a day. Sites such as Slashdot have had a similar effect leading to the spotlight overnight for some websites and e-businesses.

Even though very few good products have been created for social media marketing to help companies wanting to promote their websites and content there have been some good free tools like Social Bookmarker and AddUrl. Most webmasters and internet marketers have had to use spammy software or consume time submitting their content to all the relevant sites. In 2008 a product called Traffic Android was released that automates the time consuming sign up and submission process to social websites. Is was meant to be the first of many such helpful tools that entered the market however, other such tools have been few and far between and the good ones incredibly expensive.

The ability for webmasters to rapidly distribute their content and information is an extremely powerful benefit of web 2.0 and the integration of social media with social networking is another step to marking powerful web content syndication a reality. There are tools than integrate Twitter feeds with Facebook news feeds which is extremely powerful and perhaps the most intelligent tool ever invented. This means not only can you almost instantly distribute your content through social website networks, you can also post a link and short snippet about your content on Twitter and have it syndicate through your friend network on Facebook or vice versa.

While social media marketing is still a very new phenomenon, I hope this illustrates the impact it can have on your website. As the medium evolves and better search and syndication technologies and rich media grow it’s power can only increase. My tip is it’s better to get involved sooner rather than later to go through the social media marketing learning curve before hundreds of thousands of other webmasters get involved and big media companies come in and start trying to buy up all the major social websites.

How much screen time is too much for young kids? 

This has become an even more pertinent question in 2020, with children forced to spend more time indoors, and even attend school online, significantly boosting their internet usage and exposure.

The good news is that not all screen time is bad. Using screens as a babysitter or to placate a temper tantrum probably isn’t all that great. But doing school remotely, watching movies together as a family, and having video chats with friends might actually be a good thing.

In short, when it comes to screen time quality is a lot more important than quantity. This will be great news to the 85% of parents who are worried about how much screen time their kids are getting right now, and the more than half of those who fear that their child will be addicted to screens before the pandemic subsides. 

Screen time, even social media, can also give kids a chance to connect with their peers, staving off the loneliness that’s become such a standard part of pandemic life. Even if you’re a parent who’s been warned against the evils of social media, it might be time to take a second look. Setting up rules and boundaries on accounts and devices can give kids a safe space to reach out to their peers during these difficult times.

Learn more about why we should reevaluate screen time for kids from the infographic below.

Free Speech Social Media Platform

What is Social Media Marketing? It comprises the use of certain media to convince potential consumers about the company’s excellence through their merchandise and services. The main objective is to establish a clear communication between the company and its consumers. A clear thorough explanation of details regarding the company’s product or services may be promoted through online or offline marketing. Online marketing consists any e-marketing programs or campaign. This may be in the form of email, podcast, search engine optimization (SEO), internet TV, internet radio, webinar, blog and so on. Offline marketing is an approach such as radio, television, billboard, traditional prints (newspapers, magazines, flyers), personal marketing and sales promotion.

This method of marketing is highly concentrated on the essence of attracting the attention of consumers. This allows them to freely interact with the company using social networking sites. This constant proliferation of opinions from user to user may entice readers, thus making it a network of product endorsement. It is also known as Social Media Optimization (SMO).

Social Media Optimization is a branch of social media that collaborates with the internet in an attempt to attract visitors through a certain website. It is directly related with search engine marketing although there may be a difference. It may be in many ways that it can be connected with viral marketing where the promotion of the product is self-replicating through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites.

Advantages of Social Media Marketing

• low-cost and high returns
• broad website exposure
• highly feasible
• limited personnel
• maximize profits
• safe, risk-free and cost-efficient
• impact on search engine rankings
• consumer approval

The utilization of Social Media Marketing should be prioritize as soon as possible for the reason that the trend is spontaneously growing. The possibilities of company exposure is infinite without spending too much resources and effort. Much of our families and friends stay connected with social networking sites such as Facebook, Tagged, Twitter etc. Therefore, the chances of your website being noticed is never-ending.

Lyfeloop

Social media is the buzzword of the current century, thanks to the widespread availability of mobile devices across the globe. While you are away from your dear ones, this medium keeps you connected with all. In the older days, you had to rely on landline phones or trunk calls to communicate with others in a different location. Capitalizing over the erstwhile times, these online platforms have made it merely a matter of few seconds to contact with others nowadays. Additionally, its use in the business world has also witnessed a sea drift, owing to its extensive reach. Amid such religious use of this instant communication mode, it is important to keep checking if we are not getting too much dependent on it.

The growing popularity

Since around a decade, social media has been an inseparable necessity of the people worldwide. While the outbreak of internet created a global revolution in the business world, this communication mode was equally effective in alluring the commoners. Moreover, with the growing popularity of smartphone and mobile devices, the trend of being pro-active over various platforms has gained an unprecedented hike. Users prefer getting hooked up over Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, LinkedIn, Twitter and many other websites/apps for personal or professional use.

Here are a few stats from smart insights, an online magazine (till Jan 2016) to give you an idea of the growing dominance of this digital communication platform in our daily lives.

1. Total global population: 7.395 Billion
2. Total Internet users: 3.419 Billion; 46% of global population
3. Active social media users: 2.307 Billion; 31% of world population
4. Unique Mobile users: 3.790 Billion; 51% of total world population
5. Active mobile social users: 1.968 Billion; 27% of global population

This data is good enough to describe the penetration of internet, and more specifically, social media in our life. Hence, here it is worthwhile to think whether this much dependence is normal or we are slowly heading toward its addiction.

Good for entrepreneurs

Interestingly, this communication mode has proved to be a boon for business and marketing people as well, which is obvious by the fact that social networks have raked in a whopping $8.3 billion through advertising, alone in 2015. Moreover, nearly 80% of the Fortune 500 companies use Twitter to connect with their clients and potential customers. However, the question prevails – Is this platform is going through a global abuse, especially by the commoners?

Extensive use

As per another survey report, 1 million new users become active over mobile social media, which means 12 new users per second. Moreover, talking about Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp, both the platforms handle approximately 60 billion messages per day. Its use is more than 50% in almost all the age groups, be it 18-29 (83%), 30-49 (77%) or 50-64(52%), baring 65+, which is 32%. Likewise, while 62% males are pro-active over this online interaction mode, the percentage of females is even more, i.e., 71%.

Hazards of social media addiction

But natural, it is easier to get inclined toward destructive work instead of constructive activities amid such huge penetration. Consequently, we discuss every small thing over these platforms, be it Trump vs. Hillary, currency ban issue, or any other burning topic. Healthy discussion is fine, but the problem occurs when people go overboard and start posting hate messages, which is a major setback to this otherwise beneficial communication mode. Here are some of the other drawbacks of the overuse of social media.

• Social insecurity: Wandering if you also possess the same level of luxury and affluence as others do, which creates anxiety, and often, mental health problems.
• Cyberbullying: You can be the victim of online crimes.
• Social anxiety: You develop the fear of real human interaction, and prefer to hide behind your screen
• Distraction: It decreases your work productivity appreciably.
• Stress: Persistently switching from your work to Facebook, Twitter, etc. and vice versa could cause fatigue
• Emotional hiccups: Confiding on social media to eschew your real life problems could only lead to negativity and pressure.

To sum up, indeed the use of social media is increasing at an uncontrolled pace, which is a serious matter of discussion. It is profitable for business and marketing people who have a fixed goal to achieve through these platforms. However, for individuals, who are lurking for emotional support on these platforms or just killing their time, they are simply making their life miserable, and really need to get out of this addiction, before it gets too late.

Lyfeloop

Don’t you agree that the way Google’s chairman recently announced changes in their top management structure is creative and innovative? Some CEOs and Investor Relations managers might think that this does not suit them. Instead of the widely known and traditional approach of announcing the changes in a press release distributed by paid PR wire services, Eric Schmidt made the announcement on Google’s official corporate blog and with a message on his personal Twitter account, which has more than 230,000 followers.

New ways of disseminating financial disclosure information

This approach is not only innovative and creative. As IR Web Report researched, it’s also in compliance with local regulations, as it should be. In the USA, companies like Google and Microsoft are changing the way they disseminate their financial disclosure information. They are using their own websites instead of PR wire services, or they are using the wire services merely to distribute short advisory releases that link back to the full-text information on their corporate websites.

If replacing paid PR wires for corporate websites as primary channels for price-sensitive information in combination with social media is a growing trend in the USA, will companies elsewhere in the world follow this trend?

Online + social media strategy for financial communication

If research would show that investors, analysts and the media rely on companies’ own website or distribution lists for information, why would companies want to continue to pay for press release wire distribution services? If they would discontinue to pay for the wire services, it would save companies a lot of hassle and money. It would also give companies the push they might need to further develop their online strategies for financial communication, including social media, whereas at the same time still being compliant. You could even argue that it may not even be prudent for companies to continue relying on paid PR wires to meet their obligations.

Local compliance rules are leading

It goes without saying that companies need to comply with local regulations for fair disclosure. In the Netherlands for instance, companies need to issue a press release, using media that can disclose the information instantly and efficiently. As far as I know, in The Netherlands, the Google example would trigger a call from the AFM (Autoriteit Financiële Markten) to request the company to issue a press release instantly (providing the company is listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange). Would it help if companies talk to the authorities about the changes we see in the way our financial stakeholders are getting their information? Because if the only reason for companies to use paid wire services would be to comply with the rules, then maybe this year it will be time to challenge the authorities to change the rules.

What’s required to narrow the gap with Google?

In order to be able to follow Google’s example, firstly companies would need to have websites or blogs that are compliant and they would need to meet certain standards. I know from experience that this might still be a challenge in certain public companies and in these cases companies still will want to rely on paid wire services. Companies should also need to be able to demonstrate that investors, analysts and the media are using their companies’ own website or distribution lists to get information.

Do you know of any public companies outside the USA that are following Google’s online and social media strategy for informing the financial markets and what’s your view on this?

Lyfeloop

Does your CVB or tourism bureau use social media in its destination marketing plan? If not, what are you waiting for?

According to a recent study, 81 percent of all marketers surveyed said their social media efforts have generated exposure to their business, and 61 percent of marketers saw an increase in Web traffic. If your destination isn’t keeping up with trends in social media, your CVB or tourism bureau is losing money. Here are a few ways to market your travel agency using social media.

1. Search for groups and individuals’ interests on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to find out what people are saying about your destination.

2. Publish your blog articles on Digg, Delicious, Reddit and other social bookmarking sites to generate a wider viewing audience.

3. Constantly update your travel blog with new information, paying attention to Google Keywords to improve your search engine results rankings.

4. Extend friendships to tourists (former and future) to maintain relationships and keep them coming back.

5. Use photo sharing sites to link pictures taken by tourists to create a community among people who are interested in your destination.

6. Twitter travel deals and packages, as well as updates on area construction, new businesses, events and festivals.

7. Offer contests and promotions through social media outlets to help increase your followers.

8. Create customized URLs to Facebook and Twitter to provide another contact option for tourists. (e.g. facebook.com/yourcvbhere)

9. Create a network or online community among all businesses in your area to provide more information to your future tourists, as well as generate more traffic back to your profiles

10. Post videos on a YouTube account of different activities to participate in at your destination.

Having an active presence in many social media platforms will not only generate more exposure to your CVB or tourism bureau, but it will also redirect people back to your Web site.

Lyfeloop

An in depth look at how being ‘everywhere’ ultimately results in you being nowhere. In all the hype surrounding the advent of social media I feel that many offline companies might be missing the real opportunities. With all the chatter about creating fans and following tweets, some company owners and managers might be tempted to view social media just like they would a radio or TV spot: another avenue to push sales. There appears to be a kind of gold-rush mentality being applied to the social media boom, and just like the dot com explosion of the late 90’s, businesses and individuals are assuming that the number of followers or ‘hits’ they generate will translate into sales.

If you are like many of the new or well established business owners, entrepreneurs, or marketing professionals and you want to take advantage of what social media has to offer your bottom line, you should treat these bookmarking sites like any other tool or service that you utilize to operate your business.

• Have a clear goal for what you want that tool to accomplish.

• Identify the best method for using that tool to accomplish your goal.

• Monitor the success rate (or not) of utilizing the tool.

But, business owners and entrepreneurs alike still feel the need to automatically adopt all the latest social media trends and master every social media site, not realizing that this could possibly hinder their ability to actually grow their business venture. In fact there is a good chance that all it will do is leave you with a sense of social media overload. As a business owner you should be focusing on what makes your business grow and how to make your venture great, instead of mulling over how to get your Twitter followers over to your Linkedin profile so your Google Analytics account can monitor how many unique visitors are requesting connections to your WordPress blog in order to Digg their post and stumble upon more unique visitors so you can Flickr their MySpace account – what?

Which leads me to the number one issue affecting small business and start up enterprise:- Being everywhere at once! Too often I see business owners and marketing entrepreneurs creating accounts in a myriad of social media sites, – and then berating any potential customers with sales pitches and buy me now reviews. It appears from an external perspective that there has been no immediate need to utilize advertising within this space – it is simply done because ‘everyone else does it too’, but looking at the bullet points above, one must question the motivational force behind such marketing ploys.

Think about it. ‘Jack of all trades -master of none’ is one expression that comes to mind, but more pertinent is the fact that by trying to do too much at the same time is only going to hurt your image in the long run. I know it’s tempting to make sure you are registered on every social network and bookmarking site. But if you’re not careful, the need to be everywhere can evolve into an inability to be anywhere. You should develop a targeted marketing strategy with social media sites to ensure your focus can remain on growing your brand and in turn, growing your business.

So what does this mean to me as an online affiliate marketer?

The online business world is host to a gamut of business models, personalities, systems and resources – all of which are affected slightly different by the social media sphere. As an affiliate marketer, interacting with social media is an important factor for me, but for completely different reasons. Affiliate marketers, from what I have experienced are the biggest proponents of overkill in the social media sphere, and thanks to the barrage of ‘buy this now’ and ‘make money today’ linkbaiting attempts that occur within this sphere, there is proof enough that this is clearly not the right tact to take in building your online presence. Scatter gun approach…and hope? Or Clear and focused Brand building – it’s not rocket science.

Lyfeloop

What is Social Media?

The latest buzz around the world is Social Media. Social media is basically a media outlet that you use to communicate through. The growth of social media has been exponential in the past 5 years. New websites with different features and interactive capabilities are being developed constantly. Technology savvy individuals are working towards the new Facebook and Twitter.

The main question that arises now is whether social media is a trend or fad?

The simple answer to that is that social media is a trend and not a fad. The growth and use of social media is becoming very important in today’s society. You use your Facebook and Twitter account to communicate with friends, colleagues, and family and much more.

New Trend in Social Media

The role they have established in our daily lives is becoming larger than ever. They can no longer be categorized as a stage for social interaction. The credibility and trust people have contributed to them has immensely helped their popularity. They can now be seen as media outlets that have become very informative. You can constantly receive information from newspapers, major conferences, and famous personalities. Information can be passed on instantaneously and to millions and millions of people.

In today’s global world, information is only as valuable as to the timing of it. There is no point of receiving important information when it doesn’t reach to you on time.

Internet Marketing

This is a new form of marketing that has catapulted as a result of social media. In simple terms, internet marketing is promoting your website, product, or services over the internet. It is one of the cheapest and highly effective forms of marketing.

Communication and networking are the critical success factors of any business. Build your strategy around internet marketing. When you have a solid base for communication with your customers, then decision making process for your company becomes faster. You will increase your company’s customer intimacy and be better to satisfy their changing needs. Satisfying the demand of your customers will lead to increased profitability. Use internet marketing as a competitive advantage for your company.

Latest Statistics

There are over 95 million Tweets per day, and 700 billion minutes per month being spent on Facebook. By establishing internet marketing as a part of your overall strategy you can market yourself to those statistics. Internet marketing is the gateway to success in the future.

Understanding the importance of these numbers and developing a sound strategy on how to take full advantage of them will set you and your company apart from others.

Conclusion

Social media is a trend with increasing role in our society. Internet marketing is helping small businesses and entrepreneurs that lack advertisement budget to compete with larger companies.

Internet marketing has increased competition between companies. Realizing the importance and how to use it to your advantage will set your company apart from others in the future. The sooner you are able to implement an internet marketing strategy in your company the sooner you will be able to reap the benefits.

Lyfeloop

For the lives of today’s generation, social media has actively become an important part. With the advent of time, it is continually evolving and growing. People are very much attracted towards the marketing through which they can explore and expand their business.

It is considered as the most accessible and accurate medium to find the survey of your business, as it has completely changed the pattern of interaction between business and its customers. Throughout the marketplace, it has become the most innovative tool that can be used on various platforms like public relations, marketing or customer service.

Most of the business owners are utilizing their time of social media and digital marketing for the increase in traffic and sales of their respective business houses. Also, 90% of the marketers all around the world have declared that social media is generating immense exposure for their company.

For every marketing strategy, it is the substantial part which is cost-effective and offers phenomenal marketing opportunity. Below mentioned are some methods of digital and social media marketing where your business can be improved easily.

• Increased Brand Awareness: It is considered as the most cost-effective digital methods that can organize the content and increase the visibility of your business. By implementing this strategy, the brand recognition of the business could be improved that have the potential to engage a large number of consumers.

• Free availability: The creation of the social media or digital marketing platform is free to start and operate. If required, a person can make use of options like paid advertising that can be a great tool for the business expansion and inform a large number of users or audiences. But these means are not mandatory for some companies.

• Target your ideal buyers: This platform allows you to ensure that the right consumer is visiting your content and the business. By using methods like SEO, you can reach to your target audience by determining their searching content and topics. Based on demographic information and general characteristics, it is easy to identify the target audience for the products and services of organic website SEO companies.

• Brand Loyalty: Through some research, it has been found that around 53% of the people rely on brands exposed on social media. Customer engagement is the important aspect as it can influence them to be more loyal to towards your brand. Consumers instantly and quickly respond to the social media content when compared to various other platforms

• Open communication: Social media is the platform where the user can easily interact and communicate with their buyer or other users through Professional Web Design. This digital marketing place is the two-way communication methods where a message from both sides can be easily resolved which creates a great range of trust and reliability on the business from customers’ point-of-view.

Lyfeloop

Whether you have a startup or you inherit one, you cannot deny the fact that social media will now be an essential part of your marketing strategy.

However, it is very easy to go wrong on social media, and this can have a negative impact on your brand. So, we’re going to give you a quick rundown of the top five ways through which you can make your strategy work.

Here are 5 things that businesses can implement to maximize the effectiveness of their social media campaigns:

1. Plan Your Social Media Marketing Strategies

Many business owners think social media marketing basically means creating a new account and sharing a couple of updates. They apply the same theory on multiple social media channels and expect the same results. They think – “If you build it, they will come!” When they don’t get any foothold, they give up instantly thinking that social media doesn’t work. However, the harsh reality is that they did not formulate a real plan.

2. Schedule Your Social Time

Stability is the name of the game when it comes to social media marketing. The time and the frequency chosen for posting are crucial. You will have to keep an eagle’s eye on the current trends and alerts that are relevant to your business, and keep a track of what your customers are doing and saying. Interacting regularly and having conversations with your customers is necessary. Rule of thumb: Allocate at least two hours a week to every social networking site you are present on!

3. Engage With Your Customers

Focus on connecting and engaging with your customers. A business can engage with customers and prospects by promoting their updates, sharing what they are saying, mentioning them frequently, replying to their questions, asking them questions, inviting them to events, asking them for feedback or sending them a direct message. Frequently engaging with customers and regularly promoting what they share ultimately leads to more customer satisfaction and higher sales.

4. Content is Still King

Writing and sharing high-quality content with your audience and prospective customers should be one of your priorities because of the key role it can play in how you communicate with your readers and get your message across. A great write-up will attract people organically, and they will hang around much longer.

5. Be Fun

Last but not the least – your social channels should be useful; however, they also need to be relevant. Everyone loves to laugh and bond; so make time to engage your audience by playing with words or through jokes or fun images.

There is so much information available online; hence, hearing an advice from true and renowned expert will take you in the right direction. Focus on your goals, create high-quality content and keep up pace with the latest trends.

Lyfeloop

Internet marketing is a critically important way for any business to promote its brand and ensure that it is reaching as many potential customers as possible. The internet is a huge place though, with vast resources and possibilities for connecting with others. This is all good for your internet marketing strategy though. As long as you can figure out a way to shape that strategy around the obvious benefits of the internet, you can be successful marketing and ultimately selling your product.

The discussion now leads us to the importance and ramifications of social media for your business. By its very nature, social media is all about connecting people. In the past decade, billions of people around the world have flocked to social media for its ability to connect them with friends, family, and even business. This means that tailoring your online marketing strategy to take best possible advantage of social media trends is vitally important in making an impact on consumers and reaching the highest number of potential customers available. Social media is a broad category and includes a huge number of potential platforms for interacting and making contacts.

One of the most important of these social media platforms is Twitter. Some people lament the sad state of the modern attention span and Twitter is certainly not helping in that regard. The service allows any user to instantly share messages of up to 140 characters with anyone that wants to “follow” them. Twitter is free furthermore, and there is no limit to the number of tweets you can produce, or the number of followers you can acquire.

If you read that in the context of an internet marketing strategy and your eyes don’t absolutely light up, then you may want to read it again. That’s right, Twitter is the perfect platform for your business to make all the connections it can. Furthermore, the 140 characters allow you to quickly and with pinpoint accuracy, deliver your message to possible customers and clients.

While Twitter can be hugely important in obtaining attention and traction amongst potential customers, there are other social media platforms that will allow you to reach a completely different audience.

LinkedIn is one of these platforms, and it connects millions of working professionals around the globe. Although it doesn’t offer the same benefits of twitter, it does fundamentally connect you with potential clients and customers. By employing an aggressive strategy to make contacts and form relationships via LinkedIn, your online marketing strategy will by definition be targeting serious professionals who may actually benefit from your product or service.

Internet marketing strategies are key for your business. They allow you to harness the power of the internet in promoting your brand or image and simultaneously reach the millions of people around the world that are always looking for new products and new solutions to their problems. Although the internet is an inherently social tool, it makes sense to refine that social aspect to the point that your business strategy relies heavily on the power of social networks to help it grow. Whichever network you or your business choose to use, the odds are you will find opportunities for growth and developing new partnerships that you never thought possible.

Lyfeloop

Social media took off in 2004 when Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz launched Facebook from their Harvard dorm room. Since then, social media trends have skyrocketed, especially among teen users.

Over the last eleven years, social media has exploded. Teens post to several apps every day. Here are the top seven apps they use, according to Pew Research Center.

1. Facebook

Facebook is the number one app, with 71% of teens 13 – 17 using it every day. Facebook is extremely easy to use, and can be used on the go with a Smartphone. Link your Twitter, Instagram, and other accounts to your Facebook page, and you’ll be sharing all of your doings with your followers.

2. Instagram

Instagram is extremely popular with teens, with 52% using it. Once the app is loaded on your Smartphone, it’s easy to snap a picture of anything you want and post it instantly. You can even share it on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr with the click of a button.

3. Snapchat

Many teens also enjoy posting pictures and videos via Snapchat, but it’s not as easy to use as Instagram. 41% of teens use it.

4. Twitter

Twitter is still popular among teens, with 33% of them using it. With the ability to connect your Facebook page, Instagram, and other social media apps to your Twitter account, it’s easy to post content throughout the day. But many teens aren’t posting content directly to Twitter anymore. However, Twitter is a great place to hang out and chat with other users during events via Hashtags.

5. Google+

Google+ has become a bit popular with teens who already use Google for their email. Google+ gives users another place to post content, share it with friends, and find users with similar interests to follow. One advantage Google+ has over other apps: Google Hangouts. This app allows users to video conference each other, and even include up to ten people in a chat. 33% of teens are using Google+.

6. Vine

Vine is another video-sharing app, but only allows a six-second looping video clip. Some YouTube users will post a preview of their videos to Vine to entice new followers. Videos on Vine can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, once again making it easy to connect your networks. 24% of teens are on Vine.

7. Tumblr

Tumblr allows users to post multiple forms of content quickly and easily. You can connect other apps, such as Instagram, to your Tumblr account, so it posts automatically. 14% of teens use Tumblr.

These seven social media apps are the most popular among teens. Some apps are used by teens every day, several times throughout the day. Some are only used occasionally, and others only during certain circumstances. Try out a few to see which ones you like best.

Lyfeloop

Not long ago we kept waiting on the friendly neighbourhood postman or the long distance call for that matter. More recently, it’s the ubiquitous email. Come the present and things have notched up. We experience tweets, Facebook posts and updates continually. Not to mention the instant aspect of it all. This evolution in getting engagement social will reach newer heights in the future. There will hardly be any differentials between the real and virtual world. With this, we will look at potential trends shaping the near future.

The Rise of Location-Based Functions

Location-dependent services like Gowalla, Foursquare will dominate the prospective future. Brand agencies will continue to shape the already expanding service across various demographics, topography as well as regions. The populace will fancy leveraging content which is locale related. In addition, they will share such content, turning it into a closer social connection while being relevant. Currently, location-dependent services via mobiles make up for more than 50 million users. This will further perk up to 500 million users by the end of this year. By 2014, the services will contribute about $12.7 billion.

Content Sharing

Currently, video content sharing is a crucial aspect of keeping engagement social. This trend will only move north owing to the technological growth in video streaming. Such technology fosters the sharing motive for marketers and prospects alike. In truth, video based sites are controlled by consumers, not brand agencies. The masses craft and view the content they wish to see. More than 35 hours of video is upped every minute on YouTube mobile access accounts for almost 10%.

Augmented Reality: The True Experience

This real-time mechanism of combining information or live action with the real world will play key role in future social interactions. Augmented Reality brings alive both events social as well as real. In addition, it will bring to life places like the museums and tourist hot spots while also getting engagement social. Tech mechanisms for instance, Layar are getting increasingly popular via the Android platform. It will continue to foster the growth exponentially. Brand agencies using augmented Reality will play key role in E-commerce where prospects can ‘Try On’ different outfits and accessories.

Gaming: The Social Way

Zynga is to gaming what Henry Ford is to cars. They both made their offering affordable to the common man. Zynga’s valuation at $15 billion is a testimonial to that fact. By now, gaming socially has changed the manner we carry out trade and commerce in distinct ways. Let’s face it almost all are guilty of protecting their virtual cattle and preserving their towns green. The direction for such apps is only going one way – the progressive way. As brand agencies will continue to alter our lives and craft more interactive experiences. To sum up, turning engagement social in the prospective future will get the people to choose their market and in turn the market will come to them.

Lyfeloop

In the past, the fashion world has seemed like a place out of reach to the general public. A mysterious place; which only the rich and famous could be part of. These days, however, thanks to the revolution of social media, this world has opened up, and everyone can join in and share experiences. Social media has had a huge impact on fashions and trends.

One of the leading examples of social media which has affected fashion is blogging. The demand for blogging has increased immensely over the past few years, and more people are becoming involved in this way of connecting with each other. Fashion bloggers report on the latest fashions and trends via relevant websites, before they reach magazines, and interestingly, we now see bloggers sitting in the front row of catwalk shows. A place which was previously reserved for only celebrities and designers. The reason there is such a huge interest in this form of social media, is not only because we can usually relate to the writer, but also because they have the ability to report on the latest trends instantly after the shows have taken place. This diminishes the need to wait weeks or months on magazines being published, or websites updated. It also gives us a platform to interact and communicate with each other.

Popular websites such as Facebook, twitter and YouTube have also had a tremendous influence on ladies fashion and current trends. Top designers such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton have used these types of social media to stream live catwalk shows as they happen, which enables viewers to tell each other about the latest fashion before it reaches the shops. It is also a way to communicate directly with designers, which increases their awareness of what looks are popular and what fashion enthusiasts are interested in. It enables people to feel connected and express their opinions. It also allows people to have a direct influence on fashion trends, and know their views are valued. Designers are also developing ways for viewers to make instant clothing purchases, during these live performances.

Fashion dedicated sites such as Polyvore and Chitopia have in-built forums, where visitors can interact with each other, and share style tips and advice. There is also the option to upload photos, and show off your personal style. These types of fashions sites have a significant affect on current trends, as people love to talk to each other, and what better way to showcase your own unique style, and allow others to become inspired and even replicate ideas.

The increase in social media not only affects styles and trends, but it also allows designers to reach a higher amount of people, in a shorter time frame. It can greatly increase traffic to specific websites, and as a result, make a huge impact on online sales. The need and desire for social media is only set to continue and make way for an even more interesting and inspirational way to interact and enjoy the latest styles.

Lyfeloop

Social media is a valuable tool brands can and should be using to enhance their presence and build a loyal following. The companies that have successful social media marketing campaigns have a dedicated staff that stays abreast of emerging trends. This alone can help your brand stay ahead of the curve and its competitors.

If your business doesn’t have an in-house social media team to keep an ear to the ground, you can always resort to social media marketing services. Even with these services, it wouldn’t hurt to be in-the-know about industry trends. The following are the ones we believe will take precedence in 2017.

Ads Using Live Video Features

Live video feeds are growing more and more popular among brands and consumers alike. You can find businesses live streaming behind-the-scenes access to events and consumers sharing their thoughts and activities. What we’re seeing is the growing acceptance of live streaming on both ends of the spectrum. Those with large followings are almost guaranteed to have thousands of people watching their live feeds (if scheduled at the right time of day).

While this trend is worth keeping an eye on, there’s another one that’s worthy of noting – live ads. Imagine a local baker streaming the preparation of their cakes and pies, then telling the viewers to come and get a slice while it’s still hot! Never before has this been done, simply because it wasn’t economical (or easily accessible). The internet has opened up new opportunities for both large and small businesses, so get prepared. This isn’t a trend you want to pass up on – choose and hire one of the reputable social media marketing companies.

Remarketing with Dynamic Product Ads

Again, online media makes it possible for advertisers to do things that were once impossible. In the past, we weren’t able to remarket the exact same product a customer was previously looking at. If anything, your generic ad would show up, but never an actual product the customer was interested in. With retargeting, you can display dynamic ads that showcase the various products the consumer was viewing, increasing the chances of them coming back to make the purchase.

The Chatbots

Today’s consumers are looking for immediate access to brands – this is why social media has really taken off for businesses of all types. Those with a social media presence are prevailing because this is where customers interact with them.

Improving how your customers engage with your business is key to maintaining a high satisfaction rate. With the new chatbot feature, brands can interact with customers on social media and via their websites. Chatbots can be used to answer customer questions and even upsell their other products and services. Surveys already show that customers willing to spend $56 per purchase were enthusiastic about using chatbots during the shopping process.

It’s hard to predict which trends will stick around for the long haul, but one thing’s for certain – this year will be a time for advertising creativity. Hopefully, you have a social media marketing company on hand that can help you and your brand pave the way to a newer and better way of advertising.

Lyfeloop