CaliberPulse

Is a weak content marketing strategy hindering your social media efforts? Ten years ago, social media was an untrusted tactic that only the most cutting-edge marketers dared to explore. As the social movement gained traction, successful case studies emerged & people began to see how it could help their organizations.

Social media exists in a state of constant change, which means community managers must evaluate and adapt their strategies often to achieve established goals. Implementing a stagnate social media plan can end up costing your company more than it benefits you.

If you think Instagram is like all the rest—just another social media tool—think again. It allows brands to express themselves to consumers in a unique, powerful way, and with more than 100 million users, it’s shouldn’t be ignored.

The hottest app in social media, arguably, is the Vine. Brands, celebrities and individuals are all experimenting with this new image-based messaging tool. You’ve downloaded the app, now how do you create an effective message in just six seconds?

Facebook users should be accustomed to change and they can expect to see some big ones coming to the social networking site in the near future. Earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Graph Search; a new way for users to search for photos, people, interests and places within the social networking site’s database. But wait, there’s more!

We’ve all watched social media become an integral part of PR in recent years and now we are seeing image and video messaging become an integral part of social media.

As the nation slowly recovers from the recession marketing budgets are also recovering. Companies that survived the economic downturn likely implemented a conservative marketing spending plan, and have emerged with a renewed spirit and business strategy. Having survived the financial crisis, the landscape is now filled with strong competition. Brands are turning to their marketing partners for advice on determining how to best communicate their core messaging in this new market and how to distinguish themselves among their competition.

Today Twitter joined the ranks of fellow social media networks Facebook and LinkedIn when they announced their plans for an advertising Application Programming Interface (API). This step will allow brands to create, optimize and measure Twitter ad campaigns using third-party advertising management providers instead of purchasing individual ads from Twitter and uploading them one at a time. In short it means advertisers will have more control of their Twitter ad campaigns.

This year, as we celebrate 15 years in business, we’ve made self-promotion a higher priority here at Caliber. We’re guilty of the same crime that many agencies fall victim to – not practicing what we preach.

Hashtags became a part of everyday lingo for active Twitter users, but now they are popping up in the strangest places. You are likely to find them on your television screen while you are watching your favorite shows, on printed pieces arriving in your mailbox, splashed across other social networks (Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram), and prominently displayed on event banners, billboards, websites, etc. So what is a hashtag and how do you successfully implement this tactic for your brand?

With the continuous rise of technology and digital accessibility, the marketing industry has found itself in the heat of what could be called the ‘Gilded Age,’ for mobile marketing. What can be attributed to the massive increase in mobile ad spending and mobile device use? Accessibility, accessibility, accessibility! Marketers know their audience well. Generation C, those between the ages of 18-34, accounts for 23% of the population, and they thrive on connectivity 24/7. What better way to get your message in the hands of these connected consumers than through the medium that never leaves their hands in the first place?

As we cross the threshold of the eleventh month of 2011, we find ourselves once again in a unique position to reflect on lessons learned in the months behind us and apply them to projections and trends in the year to come. November Caliber Pulse articles will do just that. In this week’s post, we will examine the well-predicted trend of localized marketing.