Social media is a hot topic these days – and it can get complicated fast! Here at Ripl, our goal is to help you navigate social media, which includes updating you on the latest news in the social media world. With this in mind, we’ve gathered our favorite marketing & social media articles from this month for you to read. Here are our top 8 favorites:
1. “Instagram’s algorithm favors more realistic content because what that’s what people want” by Hanna Kozlowska, Quartzy
Summary: According to Instagram employees, staged and high production value photos on Instagram are now underperforming compared to “more realistic” photos. This is because users are more interested in relatable and behind-the-scenes content. For your Instagram posts, consider sprinkling in some photos that give customers a glimpse into your business’s daily life.
2. “Jennifer Lopez Wearing Versace’s Jungle Dress Was Marketing Gold” by Chavie Lieber, Business of Fashion
Summary: Jennifer Lopez made headlines this month for re-wearing her famous green dress from 20 years ago for the Versace Runway Show. As it turns out, this was part of a huge marketing stunt in collaboration between Google and Versace. Lesson you can learn from this: if you had a standout post in the past that received a lot of attention, consider running the post (or something similar to it) again.
3. “Rebranding Instagram and WhatsApp is Facebook’s latest terrible idea” by Mordecai Holtz, Fast Company
Summary: Facebook is planning on adding the words “from Facebook” to Instagram and Whatsapp’s branding. Facebook sees this as a positive change that will help integrate the separate brands and cause more internal unity within the company. However, considering Facebook’s scandals with how they handle data – publicly associating Instagram and Whatsapp with Facebook may lower consumer’s trust in all 3 brands.
4. “How to Hide Replies On Twitter” by Josh Oncompo, Lifehacker
Summary: Twitter announced last week they’re rolling out a feature that allows users to hide replies to their tweets. According to Twitter, this move is to help curb abuse on the platform. To hide replies, click the menu option on the right side of the reply to your tweet – then press “Hide Reply”. Although some users can choose to view hidden replies, the new feature gives the original tweeter more power in handling trolls.
5. “How Kacey Musgraves Turned A Struggling Mom-and-Pop Shop Into An Overnight Sensation” by Inside Edition Staff, Inside Edition
Summary: Country music star Kacey Musgraves turned a struggling photography studio in Downtown LA into an online phenomenon. Musgraves visited the photography studio, Tom’s One Hour Photo & Lab, last month and was touched by the owner’s story of his small business. The country music star ended up featuring the business on her Instagram, and even created social media accounts for the owner so he could advertise his business. Now it’s turned into a mini-celebrity hotspot, with new customers constantly coming in.
While not every business can find a celebrity patron, if you find satisfied customers that want to recommend you, encourage them to spread the word about your business! It can bring in scores of new customers.
6. “Disney Pulled Out of Twitter Purchase Due to Platform’s ‘Nastiness’, CEO Bob Iger Reveals” by Callum Keown, Barron’s
Summary: In 2016, Twitter was facing financial troubles, Salesforce and Disney were considering making offers on the company. However, as Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed in an interview this week, Disney ended up pulling out of the deal because of Twitter’s problems in dealing with nasty tweets.
7. “Hundreds of thousands of people read novels on Instagram. They may be the future” by Katherine Schwab, Fast Company
Summary: In August 2018, the New York Public Library started a new Instagram story campaign called Insta Novels, as part of the library’s goal to convince people to read more books. In Instagram stories, the library will post short stories that readers can read in full. This marketing campaign has already won one design award. Stories posted so far include Alice in Wonderland and The Raven.
8. “How to sell your creative products on Instagram using ‘shoppable’ posts” by Tom May, Creative Boom
Summary: If you’re selling on Etsy or Creative Market, are you selling on Instagram too? Since Instagram shopping has been introduced, you can now tag products directly in a post, so customers can buy directly with the app. The article gives you a step-by-step guide on how to sell your creative products on Instagram.
