Why 70% of Americans Feel Optimistic After President Trumps Speech to Congress.

Today, I woke up in a new America.

Like many Americans, last night I watched President Trump address congress for the first time and had no idea what to expect besides what I assumed would be a lot of the usual rhetoric. However, as a first-generation Hispanic-American, born from immigrant parents, I came away with a renewed sense of optimism for our country joining 70% of Americans (according to a CNN poll) who felt the same way.

“Knocked it out of the park.”
“Professional, direct, never attacked anyone.”
“It was the best speech I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.”
“Last night he became the President of the United States.”

These are just a few of the comments I saw on Facebook this morning in regards to Trump’s speech last evening, further showing that Americans might finally be warming up to our new Commander-in-Chief.

So why does Trump’s speech to congress feel different from other campaign speeches leading up to last November’s election? Perhaps it’s because there’s no real “opposing side” taking jabs as we saw during last year’s debates against rival Hilary Clinton, or maybe it’s because America is passionately searching for a glimmer of hope. Perhaps President Trump is actually showing us the part of himself that helped him become one of the world’s most well-known businessmen.

Last week I wrote a piece: Do These 5 Things if You Want to Become a Public Speaker. If you’re to take notes from the speech, here are 3 key takeaways and what you should learn from them:

1. Have confidence and conviction.

Last night, President Trump was cool, calm, and collected. There were no verbal attacks toward any racial classes or groups, and his tone remained steady around issues that are critically important to American citizens, such as healthcare and education. The key to effective public speaking is one’s self-confidence, in order to get others to buy in, and selling the message (ex: “Make America great again and here’s how…”) with authority which President Trump eloquently communicated yesterday.

2. Use your platform to take action and command attention.

There’s been plenty of criticism from liberals and conservatives alike after Trump took office. However, whether you voted for or against him, as Americans it’s in our vested interest to see the United States prevail as a country and Donald Trump succeed as our President. Last night, President Trump called for unity between Republicans and Democrats to come together on the issues that affect all Americans stating, “If we are guided by the well-being of American citizens then I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades.” Often, at a business conference, I will see a person on stage and automatically give him or her a certain level of respect and credibility as an expert in his/her field. The President of the United States should be no different. Last night I didn’t just see a President fulfilling his duty to the office and unifying his nation, but I saw an esteemed businessman clearly touch on several key points which affect every American regardless of race, religion, gender, or political affiliation. The point is, when you’re on a stage, you have power to command the room, and you better come forward with action which Trump clearly did.

3. Be clear and tailor your message to your audience.

I firmly believe that elected officials are put into office by the people in order to drive results. During his speech, President Trump was quick to call out that the stock market gained almost $3 trillion in value since the election which sets forth a record. Trump specifically called out companies like Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Walmart and others by name as corporations that intended on investing billions of dollars in the United States which will create thousands of new jobs for our country. Whether you’re speaking to a room of one hundred people or to one hundred million watching remotely, tailoring your message to your audience in a clear and concise manner is the key to any speaker seeking audience approval. Trump did a remarkable job at touching the hearts of both Republicans and Democrats by making his plans about us, the people.

Leading up to the election, President Trump loudly proclaimed that he would “Make America Great Again.” If last night’s speech and positive public reception is any indication of what’s to come then we are well on our way to a greater America.​

This article originally appeared on Inc.com and may not be repurposed without consent.

The post Public Speaking Skills You Can Immediately Learn From Trump’s Best Speech Yet appeared first on Carlos Gil.

Discover five actionable insights to help you become a public speaker within your industry.

Public speaking can do wonders for one’s career in terms of positioning as a thought leader within your industry and having exposure to countless executives in the audience which is advantageous for anyone that’s looking to grow a business or advance in their career.

However, the journey to becoming a public speaker isn’t one that comes overnight. Like anything else, it requires years of hard work, mastery of a topic, and a lot of patience.

Sure, it’s easy to watch well-known speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk or Tony Robbins take a stage and think to yourself “Oh, I can do that!” But the reality is that these individuals have invested years in speaking on those stages.

Having spoken at over 30 industry events and conferences such as SXSW and Social Media Marketing World in the past two years, I am often asked by aspiring speakers in my social network how to get speaking engagements.

Below is a breakdown of what it takes to become a public speaker in 2017:

1. Able to Teach and Drive ROI

Conference and event organizers aren’t looking for just someone who can come in and recite a blog post that they read online or provide vague, general content (a “theory”).

Instead, they are looking for subject matter experts or thought leaders on a particular topic or platform (i.e. social media, SEO, email marketing, etc.) who have performed the work previously and are able to teach an audience how to do it themselves in order to drive ROI for their business.

Conference organizers are hypersensitive to the fact that attendees often pay upwards of $1,000 or more to hear from seasoned experts, which is why you should not bother applying to speak at an event if you haven’t performed the work that you intend on speaking about. Ask yourself, what makes you qualified to speak on a particular subject matter?

2. Gain Experience in Your Community

Before speaking in front of thousands, I spoke at events at technical colleges in my community to a dozen or fewer individuals. Sure, it’s not as sexy as headlining a stage at a major industry event but it’s where you realistically need to start to gain experience speaking in front of professionals who can easily spot the difference between someone who knows their subject matter and fluff.

My advice to anyone reading is to get started with your local Chamber of Commerce and industry events within your community or host a small meet-up where you can speak about a topic.

3. Volunteer at Industry Conferences

If you want to get on the radar of the decision makers who organize top-tier events in your industry, be sure to volunteer your time at these events. As a volunteer you will get a free conference badge which will give you access to everyone attending, including speakers, and may even present you with an opportunity to speak–sort of.

Almost every conference that I have spoken at in the last two years has track leaders who introduce every session and speaker. What better way than to get your name in front of conference attendees and time on the microphone than by being a track leader? Events like Social Media Marketing World often will have up-and-coming speakers start off by being a tracker leader at their event before moving onto panels or solo sessions.

4. Email Event Organizers

Anytime someone asks me how do I get speaking engagements I let them know, in short, I email conference organizers. You don’t need an agent or virtual assistant to do this for you. Simply identify a dozen or so industry events that you want to speak at over the next year and send an email to the committee or individual responsible for selecting speakers (which is often posted on their website) and make your pitch.

My advice is to write an email or submission which clearly states who you are, what you’d like to speak about, why you’re the best person to speak on this topic, and examples of where you’ve spoken before.

5. Gather Testimonials and Speaking Examples

Having testimonials and examples of your work on stage is a key to success for any speaker. Throughout 2016, as I applied to speak on bigger stages, I was often asked for speaking examples so I invested in having a freelance videographer record a couple of my talks. You can find help on the Thumbtack app or find out in advance if the event you’re speaking at is equipped to record your talk.

Most importantly, have a website which showcases your work including testimonials from prior speaking engagements where you can send prospective organizers to.

This article originally appeared on Inc.com and may not be repurposed without consent.

The post Do These 5 Things if You Want to Become a Public Speaker appeared first on Carlos Gil.

Mistakes to avoid in your social media marketing strategy.

In 2012, after spending most of the recession struggling to grow my startup, I went to work for Winn-Dixie as their first-ever social media manager where I helped launch the company’s brand presence on Facebook and Twitter.

If there’s something that the early days of social media–circa 1990’s and early 2000’s with AOL and MySpace followed by the rise of Facebook–taught me, it’s that people control the medium while brands merely ride the wave until the next new channel comes along.

Successful brands and influencers find that by building communities of advocates on the platforms where their audiences live, they’re able to maintain such relevancy provided that they also evolve with their audience and platforms. However, social media can be a waste of time for you and your business if you’re not strategically positioning your marketing efforts around industry trends.

Below are five reasons brand engagement is declining online, and what you can do about it:

1. Overly Saturated and Noisy

Today, social media users have more options than ever before to engage with friends, favorite brands, celebrities, and creators. Besides Facebook and Twitter, there’s Instagram, Snapchat, Musical.ly and the list goes on. Mix in YouTube and live video and virtually everywhere you turn there’s a brand or creator trying to gain your attention or sell you something–which makes it nearly impossible to be omnipresent on every platform. For this reason alone, your brand’s social media strategy should be centered on the platform(s) where your target audience is spending the most time vs. competing in a sea of noise.

2. Organic Reach is Dead

On the surface, to you and I, they are social networks. However, channels like Facebook, Twitter, and soon-to-be Snapchat are publicly traded advertising companies that make money by selling ads digitally–no different than print publications. Because of this, an average of only 1 percent of your Facebook fans or Twitter followers see your content. While you may get lucky and hit the jackpot occasionally with a post or two that go beyond the 1 percent threshold, with Facebook ads you can tap into the best user database online–allowing you to run ads that target users based on interests, location, age, household income, etc. If you don’t want to go down the route of advertising, keep your strategy centered on direct engagement with anyone who’s talking about your brand or competition.

3. Social Media Isn’t TV

There’s a reason why consumers, more specifically Millennials and Generation Z, are watching less television and are instead turning to social media for bite-size content in the form of Snapchat or even Instagram. It’s to escape brands and being sold to, while still being able to chat with friends. For this reason, brands shouldn’t continue to treat social media as another place to drop pre-roll ads and professionally produced content like they would a TV commercial. Instead, look to leverage creators and influencers who are already building massive tribes and communities on the platforms to create native content for you much in the way that Taco Bell and Dunkin Donuts have tapped Snapchat influencers Shonduras and Mike Platco in the past.

4. Clickbait and Sponsored Ads

The keyword in social media is “social”. Yet in the year 2017, brands, businesses, and entrepreneurs continue to treat social media channels as another place to push out links to their eBooks, e-commerce sites, marketing funnel landing pages, and sponsored posts without investing the time to build a community which is watering down the power of social media very quickly. Community building happens over time through one-on-one dialogue, replying to tweets and engaging in discussions at scale. While most marketers will tell you that “content is king”, in reality the community is king because people relate to other people, not brands. Without community, all you have is meaningless numbers and zero results to show for it which brings me to my last point.

5. KPI’s and Metrics

In 2012, most social media marketers could get away with boasting about how they’ve grown their company’s Facebook page or Twitter followers. However the days of reporting on vanity metrics are long gone. Today, CMO’s are looking for immediate tangible results such as website clicks, new customer growth, and sales as a result of social media marketing efforts. Building a community and driving ROI takes time and does not happen overnight. If you’re expecting to run a Facebook ad campaign and see thousands of dollars pour in without investing time in building brand awareness and engaging your limited audience as real people, then you’re wasting your time and company resources.

This article originally appeared on Inc.com and may not be repurposed without consent.

The post All the Mistakes You Might Be Making on Social Media appeared first on Carlos Gil.

Failing isn’t about what you lose, it’s about what you gain in knowledge.

124 is the number of days that I was employed by LinkedIn before I resigned from what was my dream job.

Despite leaving the company on amicable terms to pursue a better career opportunity, to this day I am still asked the question “What happened at LinkedIn?” and the answer is simple: It wasn’t a good fit.

It’s taken me nearly two years to humble myself to write this piece and I’ve often contemplated if I should even do it as it’s tough to accept that I squandered a once in a lifetime opportunity.

However, there’s a lot to gain from self-reflection. For this reason, I want to share what I learned by failing in my dream job and how you can avoid the same fate.

1. Check Your Ego at The Door

While landing a new job can be an exciting time, wait for your employer to formally announce your hiring internally before letting anyone beyond your inner circle (ex: spouse, partner, mentor(s), or professional references) know. Keep in mind that you are being evaluated throughout the interview process including the time leading up to your first day. While those “Congrats!” on Facebook are good for the ego, letting the news spill early might breach a newly formed trust before you start and cause your new employer to second guess you as an ideal fit.

In my case, upon accepting my offer at LinkedIn (3 weeks before my start date) I took to the airwaves of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to announce my hiring which was my first mistake. LinkedIn is about LinkedIn and in the world of social media networks they are at the center of the universe.

2. Engage Your Peers on Day 1

Starting a new job is similar to the first day of school. However, unlike grade school or college, in the working world, your peers go a long way in determining whether you succeed or fail and it’s a decision that’s made for you as soon as a first impression is made.

As early as day one, go to lunch with your colleagues in order to build a rapport which works both ways both on a personal and professional level. Express an open desire to spend time shadowing them for a day or two to understand what they do, then offer to take tasks off their plate, and most importantly ask the magic question: “What can I do to make you successful in your role?” Amongst colleagues or management, the question will frequently come up “What do you think of the new guy/girl?” Any answer other than something along the lines of “They’re great!” or “I’m glad we hired them!” will instantly cast doubt if you are the right person for the role.

Like most companies, one of LinkedIn’s core values which make up their company culture is collaboration. What I came to discover in my first few weeks on the job was that my own peers were frequently asked to evaluate my collaborative performance by management.

3. Establish KPI’s and Goals

Having a conversation with your supervisor around expectations should happen on your first day as priorities might have shifted from the time you interviewed or there may have been a re-organization in staff.

Somewhere between days 3-4, the person that I replaced who was still with the company informed me that many within the organization were “concerned” that our numbers had declined and all fingers were pointed at me to fix it followed by the words, “This is LinkedIn, the expectations are high…” The key to avoiding this scenario is to establish clear-cut goals, performance benchmarks, and a timeline to work against from the start.

4. Seek Feedback Regularly

If a conversation occurs involving the language “I’m concerned about your performance and questioning if this is a fit…” comes into play, it’s likely that management has already come to a conclusion that you are someone they no longer have faith in and they are working with Human Resources on issuing a performance improvement plan (PIP) or termination. During your first week on the job, you should schedule a recurring 1:1 meeting with your supervisor on a weekly basis to review your performance and seek feedback. Don’t wait for them to go to you, you go to them.

5. What Got You the Job Won’t Keep You in The Job

When an employer is considering you as a candidate they look at the overall big picture which is what you’ve done up to this point, what makes you stand out from the field of candidates, and can you drive results which are most important.

No matter how talented you are or what you’ve accomplished in previous roles, employers are all about what you can do for them–right now. In your new role, seek to take on a project with a clear-cut outcome within your first 30 days.

This article originally appeared on Inc.com and may not be repurposed without consent.

The post I Quit My Dream Job at LinkedIn After 4 Months. Here’s What I Learned appeared first on Carlos Gil.

The journey to Silicon Valley doesn’t have to be through a university.

Considering that I dropped out of high school at the age of 17 and my first job was as a part-time shoe salesman, one would be surprised to find out that I started social media for Winn-Dixie, one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S., ran digital marketing for Save-A-Lot food stores, and currently lead social media globally for BMC Software.

Despite the aforementioned opportunities and over 10 years of experience, throughout my career, I have been turned down for dozens of social media roles because I did not meet the education prerequisite.

Which is why, when I was hired by LinkedIn on March 16, 2015, it wasn’t just any other opportunity but it was my dream job come true.

While I was out of work towards the beginning of 2015, I happened to be visiting San Francisco, interviewing for a job across the Bay in Oakland, when on my Uber pool ride back to the city a young lady entered the vehicle. Unknowingly, she worked for LinkedIn as a recruiter which I later came to find out after engaging in brief conversation, during which I let her know that I was in town interviewing for a job.

That single Uber ride of fate quickly turned into a series of phone and in-person interviews which led to my eventual hiring at the company within a matter of weeks.

I was lucky. During the interview process, I was never asked one time where I went to school.

Below are 5 strategies for those like me who don’t have a college degree yet have the same aspiration or greater as someone who does.

1. Build a Professional Brand

Your LinkedIn profile is your professional brand and where recruiters or hiring managers will go to learn about your experience, not your resume. Google yourself and you will see that your LinkedIn profile is likely one of the first few links that comes up in search results which is why it’s vital that your profile be optimized for success which includes having a professional headshot as a profile photo, a short summary which clearly articulates who you are, and examples of your prior work history including actionable results.

However, don’t sleep on other social networks, today employers are turning to Twitter, Facebook, and even Snapchat as part of the vetting process. Ironically, as I was going through the interview process at LinkedIn they were able to see that I was active on the platform–an important detail which I oversold throughout the process.

2. Have Recommendations and References

Within your LinkedIn profile, you should have multiple references from every previous employer including colleagues and managers whom you’ve reported to. A telling sign to hiring managers about what type of employee you are is whether or not someone can vouch for you.

Most employers require up to 5 references which they will personally call if they decide to move forward in the hiring process with you so make it easy by having those references send you an official letter of recommendation in addition to writing one on LinkedIn. Don’t forget to ask vendor partners and anyone that can speak to your professional work history for references too.

3. Sell Your Experience and History of Success

What will set you apart from other candidates isn’t where you went to school but rather what you’ve done throughout your career. Go into interviews prepared to talk about your career growth to this point including how you’ve gone from an entry-level role to mid-level management or above and spotlight results that you’ve driven along the way. Employers are often compelled by candidates that come to the table with examples and/or can openly “speak about a time in which they…”

4. Have a Good Answer to the Degree Question

If you’re like me and you don’t have a college degree, the question of “Where did you go to school?” can be daunting and kill the momentum in any interview. Especially when they add in the “I don’t see it on your resume” line. The best way to overcome this objection is by being both honest and optimistic.

Instead of saying “I don’t have one” which instantly changes the interviewer’s perception of you, lead in with “I’m open to going back to school, however up until this point my focus has been centered on gaining tangible, work-related experience”.

While this doesn’t directly answer the question in a “yes” or “no” manner it does open up the dialogue further as you’re letting your potential employer know that at your age you are still open to pursuing a degree. Keep in mind that anyone can go to college at any time, many adults pursue MBA’s well into their 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s.

5. Don’t Forget to Sell Your Personal Story

A degree might help one check a box, but it won’t guarantee anyone a job so the playing field is more even than one might think. Keep in mind that employers aren’t looking for just any candidate but rather the one that can adapt to company culture, drive results, and stand out above the competition. Which is why your story matters. Throughout the interview process, be sure to share your career story whenever you’re asked “Tell me about yourself?” and mix in the personal aspects about yourself such as where you’re from and what your hobbies. Despite not having a college degree, throughout my career I’ve been able to win over the interviewer almost every time by just being myself – a proud professional.

This article originally appeared on Inc.com and may not be repurposed without consent.

The post How I Landed a 6-Figure Job at LinkedIn Without a College Degree appeared first on Carlos Gil.

This is the 3rd year that I do a social media predictions roundup featuring industry colleagues. Looking back on previous year’s predictions, (click here for

Looking back on previous year’s predictions, (click here for 2015 and 2016) if there are two things that you can bank on happening in the year ahead it’s that Facebook is not going anywhere and social networks will continue to evolve at a quicker pace than even the savviest of marketers can keep up with.

In this year’s roundup, over 60 social media professionals were asked the following questions:

• What’s your social media prediction for 2017?

• What will be the most important social media channel in 2017 and why?

Fun facts about the results include:

• 58 out of 68 pros are on Snapchat
• Only 29 use the same username on both Snapchat and Twitter
• Word frequency: Video (100), Facebook (98), Snapchat (94), Twitter (86), Instagram (27)
• Most common name: Brian (Carter, Clark, Fanzo, and Bryan Kramer),

Now onto why you are here, enjoy

Carlos

————–

Andrea Vahl

Author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies

Twitter: AndreaVahl

Snapchat: AndreaVahl

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Marketing is going to get much more personalized in 2017 with the rise of Retargeting ads on social media and the ability to do more marketing in Facebook Messenger and in small focused groups. But businesses will have to keep their marketing messages relevant, useful, and engaging.

Most Important Social Network:

Social Network: Facebook is going to continue to dominate in 2017 but Instagram is rising as the place people like to be.

Aaron Kilby

Director of Marketing, Artisan Colour, Inc.

Twitter: Kilby

2017 Social Media Prediction:

In 2017 more brands and advertising agencies will add influencer marketing to their campaigns through social media. We have seen a small decline in content marketing and a rise of influencer marketing over the past year which will continue to happen. I also feel that the larger platforms like FB, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat will sit back and take notes on all of the smaller private tech companies launching new services on live streaming and VR and will either buy them up or take what works from each to only strengthen their own services by the end of the year.

Most Important Social Network:

I think that e-commerce through social media will be very important for brands. With Instagram introducing shopping tags and Pinterest with the ability to buy products from inside of pinned items only making it that much easier for the end user to buy their product.

Andy Crestodina

Strategic Director, Orbit Media Studios

Twitter: crestodina

2017 Social Media Prediction:

MarTech (especially social media management tech) has exploded. Now it’s going to settle down. Look for convergence of platforms and a lot of acquisitions. By the end of 2017, you’ll be more reliant on fewer tools.

Most Important Social Network:

The value of LinkedIn will become even more obvious as people realize the value of the data. How many major networks let you export your connections? One. LinkedIn.

Angus Nelson

Partner Consultant, Brain+Trust Partners

Twitter: angusnelson

Snapchat: mr.angusnelson

2017 Social Media Prediction:

I believe we’ll see an explosion of live event video, becoming more highly integrated into social channels. Media (not just sports) will penetrate FB in the same way the NFL experimented with Twitter.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook to rule them all.

Azriel Ratz

CEO, Ratz Pack Media

Twitter: RatzPackMedia

Snapchat: AzrielR

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Early 2016 Snapchat really stepped up their game, releasing multiple amazing updates to the platform. As 2016 comes to a close Instagram has been innovating faster than Snapchat can keep up. The winner of the social media war in 2017 will be the platform that can innovate the most consistently and keep their fan base interested.

Most Important Social Network:

While social media platforms come and go Facebook remains to be the most important social media platform through 2017. Facebook simply holds their user’s attention, continually giving them new content they want and new features that keep them interested.

Bernie Borges

CEO, Find and Convert

Twitter: BernieBorges

Snapchat: Bernie.Borges

2017 Social Media Prediction:

While social media platforms come and go Facebook remains to be the most important social media platform through 2017. Facebook simply holds their user’s attention, continually giving them new content they want and new features that keep them interested.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook is the 800-pound gorilla that no one can touch. This game is over.

Brian Carter

CEO, The Science of Digital Marketing

Twitter: BrianCarter

Snapchat: BrianBCarter

2017 Social Media Prediction:

More and more brands will rely on Facebook advertising (and increase said budgets) to drive social media branding, marketing, and sales-oriented campaigns. The consumer experience of this marketing will be primarily mobile (except when targeting people over 55), and the format will shift somewhat toward video. Some brands will experiment with live video but most will still prefer conventional planned and edited videos for now.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook. It is still the biggest social network, the most addictive, the one people (in the West, at least- I assume we’re not talking about China right now…) spend the most time on, the one some people love to hate because it has so much power over us, because it works on our emotions so effectively. It’s the mainstream social media platform, yet it contains tons of subgroups.

It has the most powerful online advertising platform in the world, or if you want to still call AdWords #1, the second most powerful advertising platform in the world… with which you can achieve any marketing goal you want, from awareness to leads to sales.

At a time when Twitter has been courting buyers (but no one is buying) and LinkedIn is in the process of being bought by Microsoft, and we don’t know how that will affect LinkedIn’s future, Facebook is going full-throttle. On their current course, it looks like their ultimate goal is to become the Internet.

Brian Clark

CEO, Rainmaker Digital

Twitter: BrianClark

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Social media marketing is facing a crossroads in 2017. Organic reach has been throttled in favor of profit, even while sponsored posts from unknown brands will face greater skepticism and higher cost thanks to click bait, terrible website UX, and fake news. Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, users will be spending more time in messaging apps and email than social media.

Most Important Social Network:

Speaking for myself only, it will remain Twitter. That’s my largest audience, and the integration with Medium for content syndication presents unique opportunities for digital marketers.

Brian Fanzo

Founder & Millennial Keynote Speaker, iSocialFanz

Twitter: iSocialFanz

Snapchat: iSocialFanz

2017 Social Media Prediction:

I believe live video use from brands will continue to grow as more brands are able to link actionable data like repeat viewership and demographics of unique viewers. I also believe no brand will be prepared for AR/VR without first having a live video strategy, therefore, brands will start thinking like a media company in 2017 to be prepared for AR/VR in 2020. Lastly, I believe employee takeovers & influencers creating video content on the brand social accounts will become the norm as brands switch to a culture & customer experience focused social media from the traditional sales and marketing of the past.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook, the dedication to live video led by Zuckerberg has only just begun. In 2017 we’ll be able to promote live videos, target replays towards certain profiles and leverage Instagram live video as an amplification of Facebook live content. Facebook will become the home for all live video programming in 2017

Bryan Kramer

CEO, PureMatter

Twitter: BryanKramer

Snapchat: BryanKramer

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Social with the main attraction of live video this last year will finally settle into itself and we will begin to see more business use cases. Content will also continue to target based on deeper video analytics enabling a much higher level of personalization. Our definition of entertainment will share air time with more online channels. And the dichotomy of all these areas will share the spotlight with the newest up at bat…. virtual reality. VR will steadily step into our lives and will quickly grow as a brand new marketing channel.

Most Important Social Network:

This is a toss-up between YouTube and Facebook video. Eventually, I think Facebook will win but we are a little farther away for that. Snapchat live video and Instagram live video will give everyone a run for their money, but again I think Facebook Live video will become the winner.

Carlos Gil

Global Head of Social Media, BMC Software

Twitter: CarlosGil83

Snapchat: TheCarlosGil

2017 Social Media Prediction:

As we saw throughout 2016, each social network is committed to growing and retaining its user base by continuously rolling out new features which in some cases as we’ve seen are a copy-cat of another platform. The more that social networks deviate from being unique, and offering a distinct value proposition to its users, to being a mere replica of another the more that users will be forced to choose where they spend their time on one vs. many. In 2017, we will see a mass exodus and consolidation occur as a result of oversaturation in the market. The proverbial “social media bubble” is bound to pop and when it occurs you’ll see two platforms standing: Snapchat and Facebook along with its myriad of channels (i.e. Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, etc.)

Most Important Social Network:

While many will argue that Facebook controls everything it’s actually Snapchat. While winning the Live Video game, Facebook is clearly trying its hardest to appeal to younger consumers including Generation Z and Millennials by rolling out features which those on Snapchat are already accustom to. Snapchat controls the market right now because of its user base, everyone else is adapting to what the audience that lives on Snapchat wants. From a marketing standpoint, if you are trying to sell to anyone on the planet ages 13 to 35 you must be on Snapchat, there’s no question about it. Everything else is a “nice to have”.

Cathy Hackl

VR/AR Evangelist & Speaker, Latinos in VR/AR

Twitter: CathyHackl

Snapchat: Cathy.Hackl

2017 Social Media Prediction:

VR storytelling will take off in 2017 and we will also see a lot of news coming from mixed reality devices. Social VR will be a topic that many in the social media space will start to look into. The VR/AR/MR conversation is at its core one about the future of communications and the next computing platform. This, in turn, will greatly impact social media.

Most Important Social Network:

Whichever social media channel embraces VR or AR fully will win the race.

Cyrene Quiamco

Snapchat Producer, The 11th Second

Twitter: CyreneQ

Snapchat: CyreneQ

2017 Social Media Prediction:

1. Video will dominate over static text/graphic posts. You already see every platform – facebook live video, Instagram stories, Snapchat stories – giving prominence to video sharing.

2. Social media will be as important as email for communication (if not already). You see some forwards brands already accepting job applications through social media. It won’t be long that social media will be the main form of communication and replace email entirely. It’s easier to use and faster than email.

3. VR and AR are coming! Snapchat is already dipping its toes to AR by its lens features. I think a lot more can be done with it. Maybe seeing people’s profile info when you take your camera out and seeing them through the app lens – something cool like that, but totally possible with today’s technology.

Most Important Social Network:

Snapchat is growing incredibly fast in 2016 and I don’t see it stopping in 2017. There’s so much information today, that no one has time to sort out yesterday’s or last week’s news. Snapchat offers the freshest new – they only last 24 hours and they disappear! It’s the most forward app on the market right now.

I think once Snapchat offers a user discover, not just for verified accounts, there would be less need to use other social media to find other accounts/users, therefore, it has the chance of being the most used social media app.

Dan Rosenbaum

Sr. Manager, Content and Social Media Marketing, San Francisco Travel Association

Twitter: DanJRosenbaum

Snapchat: DanJRosenbaum

2017 Social Media Prediction:

The type of social content that will continue to gain traction will be video. With Snapchat/Instagram stories and live video, gone are the days of expensive video production. It’s now easier to roll out a video strategy that integrates with your content strategy.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook Live. This type of platform is still in its infancy and Facebook is favoring it in their algorithm, which means much more people will see it. There’s still a lot of room for growth as Facebook starts to take on traditional cable and TV.

Daniel Newman

Principal Analyst, Futurium Research

Twitter: DanielNewmanUV

Snapchat: DanielNewmanUV

2017 Social Media Prediction:

The combination of real-time data and analytics with better-educated marketers has led to an era of “Right Time” marketing. Since social media has increasingly just become “The Media,” we are now looking at putting the right content in front of the right buyer at the right time. Thanks to advanced data and analytics marketers are now empowered to deliver the most relevant content making the online user experience better and brands more closely connected to their customers.

Most Important Social Network:

The most important social media channel in 2017 is the one where the highest number of your customers and community spend their time.

Donna Moritz

Founder, Socially Sorted

Twitter: SociallySorted

Snapchat: DonnaMoritz

2017 Social Media Prediction:

We will continue to see a shift from the “be everywhere” approach of churning out content to producing better content that provides an “experience” across a website, email and social. This means getting to know your audience more than ever and focusing on consistently producing core, quality “owned” content that is highly useful to your community (ie blogs, podcasts, video/live video). And, as algorithms continue to infiltrate every platform (including email deliverability), paid social will continue to become an accepted part of the content promotion.

Most Important Social Network:

My heart says Instagram (for pure creativity, engagement and connection) but my head can’t go past Facebook. With or without organic reach, the power of Facebook Ad targeting is massive. Facebook Groups are also one of the best ways to build community on social at the moment, and Facebook Live is huge (and just getting started), so Facebook gets my vote.

Gordon Meyer

Head of Marketing, YouVisit VR

Twitter: GordonMeyerJR

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Augmented Reality and 360/VR features to gain traction beyond basic AR on SnapChat and 360 support on Facebook. These more immersive tools for telling personal and brand stories will raise the bar and up the game for everyone. This evolution to highly immersive content will further cement Social as THE dominant medium for THE COUCH.

Most Important Social Network:

Twitter. Trump now has a global attention and favors Twitter as his social media channel to circumvent traditional media. Twitter will get a massive lift and will pull itself out of its stagnant growth. Twitter will make further gains as it integrates with OTT Television.

Ian Cleary

Founder, Razor Social

Twitter: IanCleary

Snapchat: Ian.Cleary

2017 Social Media Prediction:

In 2017 we’ll see a major push from Facebook for selling through Facebook and other providers will follow. There is no reason why people will not buy on social media channels if the social media channels create an environment for sales. Facebook Messenger will play a role in social selling.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook – There are 1.7 billion people on the channel and you’ll be seeing more on the channel.

Jeff Gibbard

Founder/President & Chief Strategist, True Voice Media

Twitter: jgibbard

Snapchat: jeffgibbard

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Short form video will continue to explode on every platform and Facebook will slowly morph into a video based platform with further updates being made to emphasize videos over other types of content. Snapchat will expand its advertising options.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook will continue to be the most important channel as it is the most predictable and has the most advertising options for businesses to use.

Jeff Julian

Co-Founder, EnterpriseMarketer.com

Twitter: jjulian

Snapchat: JeffJulianKC

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Video, live and produced, will continue to dominate. However, I think access to your audience will become more difficult without promotion on the big platforms. Find ways to share a portion of the content created specifically for each network are on, and drive your audience back to your site.

Most Important Social Network:

LinkedIn for B2B marketers. The Microsoft/LinkedIn integration announcement from December 2016 is very exciting from a marketing perspective. They will have to do something to increase consumption of video like all the other platforms are.

Jeff Sieh

Head Beard, Manly Pinterest Tips

Twitter: JeffSieh

Snapchat: JeffSieh

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Live video will continue to dominate. An irrelevant video that doesn’t provide value with flood the feeds until algorithms force the cream (entertaining and informative content) to rise to the top. Content creators who consistently create high-quality content that resonates with their audiences will be rewarded.

Most Important Social Network:

2017 will see an increase of Pinterest solidifying their goal of becoming THE visual search engine. Major brands will continue to join Pinterest because of the new video features, buyable pins, and promoted video pins. With Pinterest, more than another platform, being 5x more effective at driving a sale even OFFLINE at a brick and mortar store, it’s a sleeping giant you can’t ignore. Especially if you have a product to sell.

Jen Hoverstad

Principal, Harvlee Consulting

Twitter: JenHoverstad

Snapchat: JHoverstad

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Your mom will regularly live stream. In other words, we’re going to see live streaming explode from mainstream social media users across multiple platforms!

Most Important Social Network:

Instagram is the key channel to watch in 2017. With the addition of business analytics and Instagram Stories in 2016, as well as the upcoming launch of live video, Instagram is continuing to prove it’s a major player for user attention. Brands, businesses, and influencers will have to keep up with the updates in order to stay in front of their fans. And if they do? They’ll be ahead of the competition.

Jess Bahr

Director Paid Social Strategy, SocialFlow

Twitter: JessaBahr

Snapchat: JessaBahr

2017 Social Media Prediction:

2017 will be the year in which video stops being a competitive advantage and becomes the norm, with brands that can’t master video being left to the side.

Most Important Social Network:

There isn’t one most important channel for 2017, but finding ways to more effectively distribute content and customize content for each platform. It isn’t just about sharing the same piece of content everywhere, but customizing the content and message per each platform.

Jessika Phillips

Founder, NOW Marketing Group

Twitter: JessikaPhillips

Snapchat: JessikaNow

2017 Social Media Predictions:

In 2017 I believe the big focuses will be on Online Reviews, getting a handle on how businesses will use Virtual Reality and Live Video but the main social media channel still holding strong will be Facebook because of how it continues to adapt for business.

Most Important Social Network:

In 2017, Facebook will still own the social media space. Facebook will continue to grow Live, Trending Stories to replace Twitter. Facebook business tools like message bots, marketplace, Ads and it’s integration with Instagram will make it the go-to social media channel for business.

Jed Record

Consultant

Twitter: JedRecord

Snapchat: JedRecord

2017 Social Media Predictions:

In 2017 Social Networks will begin to resemble TV networks without the traditional “prime time” scheduling. On-demand and live broadcasting will be here to stay. The only people left watching TV over-the-air will also be using dial-up Internet, calling people from their land-lines, and wondering why they can’t find new release movies for their VCR.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook will continue to lead the social networks in 2017. The exciting channels to watch will be Instagram, Snapchat and FB Messenger as they continue to battle it out matching each other feature-for-feature.  Instagram surged in the second half of 2016, and Snapchat may now be the struggling rebels of the “Social Clone Wars”.

Joel Comm

CEO, Joel Comm, Inc.

Twitter: JoelComm

Snapchat: JoelComm

2017 Social Media Prediction:

2017 will be the year of live video as we move from early adopter to mainstream by the end of the year. Snapchat will soon enter the live video space with their Spectacles providing new first person perspective to live experiences around the world.

Most Important Social Network:

I expect Facebook to continue leading the way as their reach continues to dominate. However, Snapchat’s approach to hardware may find Facebook scheming to develop hardware solutions of their own in order to reach a more consumer-oriented user-base for live video.

John Lee Dumas

Founder, EOFire

Twitter: JohnLeeDumas

Snapchat: JohnLeeDumas

2017 Social Media Prediction:

People screaming into the wind and adding more noise to the world will fade away, replaced by people giving incredibly niche and specific value, serving less people but in a MUCH more meaningful way.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook. They rule. Others drool.

John White

Founder and CMO, Social Marketing Solutions

Twitter: JuanBlanco76

Snapchat: socialmktgsltns

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Social networking will become interest based, rather than users searching for people on social media that they already know. When you create a stronger connection with someone you’d like to work for or do business with via a personal interest, it gives you a leg up on the competition that has no connection with that person other than a sales pitch and a resume.

Most Important Social Network:

I don’t see one channel emerging in 2017 as the most important. I believe that it will continue to be a personal choice based on each individual’s personal and business networking goals. That said, I believe we will see a big emergence from smaller social sites like Snapchat and beBee that will challenge the most established sites. Market competition from smaller sites will encourage the established sites to innovate faster or be disrupted.

Jon Ferrara

CEO, Nimble

Twitter: Jon_Ferrara

Snapchat: JonFerrara

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Video streaming like Facebook Live will reign supreme and social media influencers who don’t adapt will fall Behind like silent movie actors such as Charlie Chaplin

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook – Live Video

Kate Talbot

Marketing Consultant

Twitter: katetalbot2

Snapchat: kataya102

2017 Social Media Prediction:

In 2017, Facebook Live will shift the social media landscape. I predict product launches, thought leadership interviews and educational series will all be hosted on the platform with live video. Brands, media, individuals, and influencers will learn to utilize all the Facebook Live partnerships and tools to create authentic, professional content, that inevitably — due to the algorithm — will reach a large audience.

Most Important Social Network:

The most important social media channel in 2017 will be Snapchat. With their expected IPO and launch into the hardware space with Spectacles, they will have the ability to expand immensely. They can acquire innovative technology in the augmented reality space to create a robust product that will expand beyond the millennial audience.

Kim Garst

CEO, Boom Social

Twitter: KimGarst

Snapchat: KimGarst

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Live video has been a part of the landscape for awhile now but I predict that we will see more integration and more usage of live video in 2017 by individuals, business owners and brands. Live video is like having a TV in your hand. Anyone with a phone can broadcast to the world. Pretty powerful!

Most Important Social Network:

While this may not be the most popular answer, I am going to say Facebook. Facebook is the elephant in the room and they are innovating at an astonishing pace. Beyond that, they have the most advanced monetization structure in their ads platform and that is an incredible opportunity for marketers.

Kim Reynolds

Marketing Manager, Social Media Examiner

Twitter: KimReynolds

Snapchat: PickyKim

2017 Social Media Prediction:

2017 is going to be the Year of the Bot. Facebook Messenger will continue on its course to becoming a powerhouse for personalization and customer service. Bots will become easier to create–while incorporating more diverse use-cases. Innovative marketers will focus their attention on creative ways to utilize the Messenger platform and Facebook ads.

Most Important Social Network:

With the unparalleled success of WeChat in China (once also just a messaging app), Facebook has a viable path to ubiquity with Messenger. Mobile first has been Facebook’s mantra for several years. Messenger–with its bots and AI–opens up an opportunity for making Facebook the world’s mobile gateway to everything from mobile payments to home automation and beyond.

Laurel Su

Social Media Manager, DocuSign

Twitter: iamlaurelsu

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Immersive 360 videos will be the new form of advertisement. Stock and still photos will be a thing of the past. Unless you can 360 a “demo” environment, people won’t click on your software-focus image.

Most Important Social Network:

Instagram for Americas. WeChat for International.

Instagram – Because of its seamless ability to stream LIVE videos, Snapchat-esque videos, the increased use cases of Boomerang, and its usual visual presentation. Instagram is the easiest platform to “ignore” advertising so if someone engages with your Instagram shot — you know you’ve done something right. A lot of Snapchat users are migrating from Snapchat to Instagram within this past year, simply because of the ease of using 1 platform.

WeChat – Because of its international presence. The ultimate all-in-one tool, WeChat is no longer just social media. It’s a “social life”. Their platform allows you to book an uber, share reviews of a restaurant like Yelp, share reviews of an Airbnb, post in a moments, share instant videos like Snapchat, et al. They’re opening up an office in San Francisco and are currently mapping out AliPay with a variety of other eCommerce platforms like Amazon and fashion stores like PopSugar. Currently, you use western companies like Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, BuzzFeed, Tech Crunch, BBC, Nat Geo, etc leveraging WeChat to reach a more international audience.

Mari Smith

Premier Facebook Marketing Expert, Mari Smith International

Twitter: MariSmith

Snapchat: MariSmithChat

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Facebook video + Live broadcasting, will really take off in 2017. Businesses will make a quantum leap in a) telling their stories better, b) making more emotional, personal connections with their audiences, c) using simple video creation tools (such as Animoto & Adobe Spark), and d) retargeting video views with Engagement Custom Audiences. As a result, businesses will see marked improvements in their video marketing.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook Messenger. Savvy businesses will begin to realize the rapid trajectory that Facebook is on with Messenger: gearing up to be a ‘mobile operating system’ similar to China’s WeChat. Those companies that build Messenger bots, and integrate commerce solutions inside Messenger, plus include live video customer service will be light years ahead of their competition. Coupled with stellar personal social customer care, bots help consumers get the information they need faster and more efficiently, resulting in increased conversions and customer satisfaction. Shopbots will come to Instagram, too.

Mark Schaefer

Executive Director, Schaefer Marketing Solutions

Twitter: MarkWSchaefer

Snapchat: MarkWSchaefer

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Overwhelming information density makes it more difficult to get our content to be seen. Engagement and social sharing are way down in most places. Content Shock has arrived and will continue to bully marketing efforts in 2017.

Most Important Social Network:

The answer varies by business and industry but I don’t think you can deny the overwhelming progress of Facebook to dominate messaging, video, live streaming, and news distribution. And virtual reality will change everything.

Marsha Collier

President, Collier Company, Inc.

Twitter: MarshaCollier

Snapchat: MarshaCollier

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Time to pay more attention to psychographics. Outreach deployed via traditional demographics won’t reach today’s audience for your brand. Stop selling with every post and reach out in new ways by facilitating intimacy with your community. Make proactive customer experiences the top goal.
Engaging one-on-one remains the most effective way to build a brand and convert customers. Chatbots still have a way to go and in 2017 we may see them lead in developing a more responsive AI, but relying solely on them is foolhardy. Get more visual! Pictures, infographics, and circular video can blend brand and personal to evoke present a human connection.

Most Important Social Network:

Targeting your audience through demonstrable data will prove which platforms work best. For B2B, the Microsoft acquisition of LinkedIn has gained more meaning; also look to Twitter as it still gains traction as the water cooler of the internet.

For B2C know that Snapchat grabs the eyes of a huge audience; their addition of Spectacles will only broaden its reach. Facebook and Instagram have a mesmerizing hold on their community, and if you read the data just right, it will remain a strong marketing platform. Twitter, the top “real-time’ newsfeed in our short attention span days, is a great arena for brand building.

Martin Jones

Sr. Marketing Manager, Cox Business

Twitter: martinjonesaz

Snapchat: martinjonesaz

2017 Social Media Predictions:

The marriage of social media, artificial intelligence and native advertising in video content is going to be a game-changer, and it’s coming. Imagine dynamic social ads, personalized in real time, within a social stream. That’s the future of social advertising, and if it doesn’t happen in 2017, look for it soon after.

Most Important Social Network:

One word – Micro-influencers (or does that count as two words).

While they have much smaller social followings (usually 500-10,000 followers) than celebrity influencers, their impact shouldn’t shouldn’t be underestimated. They can often provide much better results in getting their followers to take action, engage and respond to your message.

Who are they? They’re everyday individuals with smaller, dedicated followings that tend to have a much narrower focus than celebrity influencers. They’ve trusted authorities with strong relationships in specific niches, local communities, and industries, and they’re passionate about what you do.

A few added benefits – they don’t have agents representing them, they truly appreciate you recognizing the trusted value they bring, and more often than not, they’ll usually respond personally, to a simple email request.

Martin Shervington

Founder, Plus Your Business

Twitter: MartinSherv

2017 Social Media Predictions:

Last year I said, “Virtual reality is the next platform, and next year we will see the start of it appearing in Social. This will radically change how we produce and consume content, as well as push the boundaries of creativity and connectivity.” This year I will double down on that, but say that 360 and 360 live will start to get more interest. The technology is just about ready, and with good post production skills, you can produce some neat effects.

Most Important Social Networks:

‘The Physical Web’ – right now many people don’t know what it is, but Google are bringing ‘beacons’ to the mass consciousness through their Eddystone platform. You can target specific messages based on proximity, time of day, gender, and more. This will also bridge on and offline worlds like never before/ Think about being able to reconnect with your real world visitors through Retargeting (via Facebook) and Remarketing (using Google Adwords).

Melanie Deziel

Branded Content Consultant, Mdeziel Media

Twitter: mdeziel

Snapchat: m_deziel

2017 Social Media Predictions:

I’m excited to see the creative ways that brands embrace Facebook Live, 360-degree video and VR as means of taking consumers behind the scenes and sharing experiences that they could never have before. I think these formats are ushering in a new era of increased transparency for brands, giving consumers unprecedented access to the companies and products they love.

Most Important Social Network:

It’s hard to argue that anything other than Facebook will be the dominant network, but it’ll be interesting to see how their increased emphasis on video and live video impact the advertising marketplace and brand content strategies in the coming year.

Melonie Dodaro

CEO, Top Dog Social Media

Twitter: MelonieDodaro

Snapchat: MelonieDodaro

2017 Social Media Predictions:

We’ve seen Facebook get on the live streaming bandwagon with Facebook Live, I believe that will continue to have momentum over 2017 as marketers and businesses incorporate more live video into their marketing mix with Facebook and other live streaming platforms.

My biggest prediction is that Search will be a focus for Facebook in 2017. Facebook will be expanding their search functionality and hopes to soon capture some of the search traffic that would have previous gone to Google.

Mark Zuckerberg said in July 2016 Facebook is now getting two billion searches on the platform every day – a 33% increase in within 12 months.
Facebook has announced that improving the search functionality is a priority for them over the next five years.

I’m sure Facebook as part of this initiative to expand their search will be looking at ways they can monetize search. In order to do this Facebook will need to optimize their current search functions significantly, they’ll need to develop their algorithms and location data to provide better and more relevant matches and they’ll likely expand their ad platform in the process.

I expect to see Facebook move on expanding search 2017 and I don’t expect this to an immediate threat to Google in search, but I do believe Facebook has an opportunity to capture some of Google’s market share with search.

Most Important Social Network:

Included all in the field above.

Mia Voss

Luxury Travel Blogger, Mia On The Go

Twitter: miavossonthego

Snapchat: miavossonthego

2017 Social Media Prediction:

As the platforms ebb and flow with their successes and updates, I think people will start to diversify their social efforts. With the demise of Vine, it’s apparent that you can’t put your eggs all in one social platform basket!

Most Important Social Network:

YouTube – don’t ask me why it’s just my random prediction!

Michael Barber

Founder, Barber & Hewitt

Twitter: michaeljbarber

Snapchat: michaeljbarber

2017 Social Media Prediction:

We’re increasingly moving into a marketing landscape dominated by automation, bots, and machine intelligence, but meeting a consumer that rejects fake, boring, inauthentic, run-of-the-mill ads and stories lazily targeted to them just because they fit a persona, buying profile, or spent five seconds on our website. The brands that create meaningful, authentic, and real content tailored for modern consumers viewing habits (i.e. video, real-time video), and then leverage platforms to natively place that content within appropriate channels, will dominate 2017.

Most Important Social Network:

If you care about the channel that will continue deliver more dollars for every dollar spent than any other channel—social or otherwise—it’s email.

Michael Stelzner

CEO and Founder, Social Media Examiner

Twitter: Mike_Stelzner

Snapchat: MikeStelzner

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Content Creators Become Endangered Species

Algorithms, bots, artificial intelligence and people working for very big companies will destroy the business models of people who produce content by disrupting the free flow of information.

In the very near future, this information flow will be filtered and measured and censored in the name of “reducing clutter” and revealing “only what’s important.” Facebook will decide what you see. Google will serve up only that content that complies with its rules and is housed on its servers. Email solutions like Gmail and Yahoo will tighten their own algorithms so even reaching the inbox is at risk.

The information distribution highway will have toll stations that must be paid for by the those who create content.

If you want your content seen, you’ll need to house it inside the companies that control the toll stations. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and more will incentivize content creators to not link to off-site content. These large businesses will become the equivalent of the 1990s America Online–a type of “Hotel California,” where you can enter but never leave.

Traffic to websites will decline and blogs will shut down. Gone will be the days of information flow and true information freedom. The future will only be more controlled, more filtered and less open.

But, born from this filtered, computer curated world, will come something new. Some young person in a spare bedroom will invent the next big idea that frees information once again. The pendulum will start swinging back and content creators will experience a new creative renaissance.

Are you ready for the change?

Mike Allton

Content Marketing Practitioner, The Social Media Hat

Twitter: Mike_Alton

2017 Social Media Prediction:

While 2016 was a year of attrition for social networks (bye bye Meerkat, Blab, Tsu and others), 2017 will see far more stabilization. Not only will existing networks strengthen their base of users, they’ll continue to diversify and standardize features (i.e. video) making them more ubiquitous.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook is poised to be the most important social channel for years to come. They’ve correctly predicted the importance of video and taken a safe, yet expanding, route of implementation to ensure user uptake.

Mitch Jackson, Esq.

Senior Partner, Streaming.Lawyer

Twitter: MitchJackson

Snapchat: CA_Lawyer

2017 Social Media Prediction:

I predict that more and more people will appreciate the fact that while digital platforms come and go, human relationships can last a lifetime. Sure, sometimes these relationships are complex, messy and uncertain. But here’s the deal- that’s what makes people who embrace and nurture win-win relationships, so damn special, especially on social media.

Most Important Social Network:

While I’m a big fan of VR and AR, the most important “real world” social media channel in 2017 will continue to be the evolution of live video, especially video being produced on or being pushed to Periscope and Facebook. Live video creates compelling content by taking the power of human and adding a dash of unexpected engagement and entertainment. Add the ability to produce and consume this live video on a mobile device and you have magic!

Niv Dror

Community, Product Hunt

Twitter: Nivo0o0

Snapchat: Nivo0o0

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Twitter is due for a rebound. It’s still the dominant way to communicate around live events and had didn’t just carry the conversation in the 2016 election but often was what the conversation was about.

YouTube will continue to dominate video and Facebook will continue to dominate traffic to publishers.

Media perception around Snapchat will turn sour after the IPO (because people like to hype things up then knock then down) but that won’t change user engagement.

Most Important Social Network:

Twitter will always be most important for me, but arguably Snapchat will be what the most focus will be on in 2017. If you’re in the business of getting traffic (publishers) Facebook is most important.

Owen Video

YouTube Consultant, Video Spot

Twitter: OwenHemsath

Snapchat: OwenVideo

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Organic reach goes 100% away. Facebook has been hinting at this for months and social media remains the only internet marketing segment that still promotes organic reach as viable. This will end. Only paid traffic will be viable.

Most Important Social Network:

Channels won’t matter. People and brands are tired of changing channels to meet the changing whims of the culture. Content will matter and really it’s only video content that will matter. Whether it’s Facebook, podcasts, Snapchat, YouTube, or the bird… content will drive users (powered by paid promotion and email subscribers) to the channel they prefer to consume it on. My clients are immune to the next “trend” because they focus on creating better content and content transcends trends.

Peg Fitzpatrick

Director of Marketing and Social Media, Kreussler Inc., and PegFitzpatrick.com

Twitter: PegFitzpatrick

Snapchat: PegFitzpatrick

2017 Social Media Prediction:

The content glut has led to filtering content by large social media platforms and a push back to post more to be seen. After the push for more content and the “need” to be everywhere in the past, I feel that higher quality offerings will trump higher quantity of content. I think that higher quality content with authentic storytelling paired visual marketing will rise to the top of the social world.

Most Important Social Network:

Instagram. I see Instagram really coming into its own in 2017. They’ve bumped up their Instagram Story features and they have brand buy in. People love to be there and the engagement is high.

Pinterest is making a lot of interesting moves as well. While it isn’t a social channel, they’ve evolved their discovery engine and combined it with mega one-click shopping powers.

Phil Mershon

Director of Events, Social Media Examiner

Twitter: Phil_Mershon

Snapchat: PhilMershon

2017 Social Media Prediction:

As companies shift their media spend from traditional media to social media, businesses will be required to reinvent the way they connect with customers. I predict some new platforms will enter the market that restores the personalized connection with consumers. I also expect influencers and brand advocates to become a much bigger deal.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook. They still are the one place people spend the most time for personal and professional reasons. Until another platform can capture the broad appeal of users from 15-85, Facebook will remain the most important place for most businesses to stay relevant.

Rebekah Radice

CMO, Post Planner

Twitter: RebekahRadice

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Social media has changed the buyer’s journey. How customers arrive at your doorstep is more complicated than ever before. In 2017, marketers must understand that journey and then provide a customized, omnichannel experience.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook because of Facebook Live

Robert Rose

Chief Strategy Officer, Create Awesome Media

Twitter: Robert_Rose

2017 Social Media Prediction:

The biggest trend already under way is that social is becoming much more of a paid platform than an earned one. So, for 2017 I see two trends. The first is that anything that would be called “earned social” will move directly toward influencers and engagement of social evangelists who can reach audiences. The second is that live video becomes 2017’s combination of “Pokemon and fake news”. Live video will boom and simultaneously become hated. Lastly – Google is still gonna buy Twitter.

Most Important Social Network:

The most important one is the full pendulum swing to paid. Social will finally be officially recognized as a broadcast medium that requires a paid strategy to make work.

Robert Scoble

Futurist, Upload VR

Twitter: Scobleizer

Snapchat: Scobleizer

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Live video will become more important. Snapchat will show why it is doing the Spectacles and will add quite a few new features to them. Augmented Reality, er, Mixed Reality, will be the big tech story by the end of 2017 and that will cause many to reevaluate where they spend time (VR, especially the social kind as shown by Facebook, will take minutes away from more traditional social media platforms).

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook (and its components, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram) will continue being #1. The only thing that will disrupt it is augmented reality’s new user interface, but that won’t have a big enough impact in 2017. Maybe by 2020.

Roberto Blake

Chief Creative Officer, Create Awesome Media

Twitter: RobertoBlake

Snapchat: RobertoBlake

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Every year is the year of video, but in 2017 you will see nearly every social media platform go all in on video in some way. Video will become more valuable to companies than ever in communicating with audiences and you will see them invest heavily in Facebook video and YouTube, both in live and recorded video and in online advertising.

Most Important Social Network:

YouTube. Right now YouTube has our attention. There is not a week that goes by that a YouTuber is not a headline in traditional media outlets. As a platform, it is proven in terms of engagement, loyalty and has the advantage of television as the analog for older decision makers to quantify and qualify it’s value from a marketing standpoint.

Ryan Bell

Head of Studio, VRScout

Twitter: Ryan_A_Bell

Snapchat: RAndersonBell

2017 Social Media Prediction:

War and growth. We’ve come to the adolescence of social media. Platforms that were once considered “just for kids” are now worth billions, apps are getting easier to build and entrepreneurs are getting bolder. We’ll see many small deaths, large acquisitions and a constant target of the redefinition of the people and platforms that will win in the long term.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook. You can’t ignore Goliath. With Zuckerberg’s keen interest in VR, big moves with Oculus and public 10-year plan I’m excited to see what Facebook has up their sleeves that isn’t public.

Samantha Kelly

Social Media Strategist, Tweeting Goddess

Twitter: Tweetinggoddess

Snapchat: Tweetinggoddess

2017 Social Media Prediction:

I predict more CEO’s of the big corporates will embrace social media, especially video. More and more people want to know exactly who the people behind the brands are. We want more transparency and authenticity than ever before. So the CEO will step up and start engaging more with the customers to drive loyalty. People buy from people, and relationship building leads to sales at the end of the day. More companies will start seeing digital influencers as an important part of their marketing strategy. Here in Ireland, this is only starting to become apparent. It won’t be just the famous ones either, they will do their research and see who are the most engaging with their customers and reward customers loyalty more with proper rewards for social sharing. The social media platforms themselves will start to pay attention to their biggest advocates and invite more ideas from them (Well this would make sense really so hopefully it will happen).

Most Important Social Network:

I would LIKE to say Twitter as you can’t beat real-time news and tweets. I really do feel that Twitter has something up their sleeve. Whether it is by embracing and inviting their biggest advocates in to get ideas or whether it’s to help their biggest advocates by being more open about their data, demographics and results so businesses can leverage the power of twitter more. Real-time it will have something to do with that. We saw what happened with politics this year on Twitter. Maybe I’m wrong but would love to be right!

Sarah Evans

Digital Correspondent, Sevans Strategy

Twitter: prsarahevans

Snapchat: SarahsFaves

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Get ready for the (even bigger) rise of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Crazy filters and lenses are part of our social lives, but wait until brands start engaging them via television, live events and out in the marketplace.

Most Important Social Network:

Snapchat’s Spectacles may be one of the first glass wearables to go mainstream and change, entirely, the way we capture and share. Maybe even, dare I say it, fewer selfies and more of the world around us.

Sarah Moore

CEO, Eleven Lights Media

Twitter: TheSarahMoore

Snapchat: TheSarahMoore

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Video. Live video. Lots and lots of video. Every platform is incorporating video at some level and more specifically businesses are beginning to take notice of live video! 2017 will be the year of strategic live video implementation.

Most Important Social Network:

As much as we might want to believe other platforms are closing in on the empire that is Facebook, I believe that Facebook is still very strong and with its commitment to iterating on live video and its messenger platform, combined with the targeted ad platform, I can’t see it falling from its pedestal any time soon.

Shaun Ayala

Marketing Manager, Best Buy

Twitter: ShaunAyala

Snapchat: ShaunAyala

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Live video will continue to become a dominant medium. Snap Inc. will continue to surprise on how the camera and social will ingrate into what we do outside of the limitations a physical cell phone. Get ready!!

Most Important Social Network:

My pick is Snapchat, they are innovating outside of the cell phone, they will continue to innovate with their app, augmented reality and live i see could be there next big direction.

Shaun McBride

Social Media Strategy, Shonduras

Twitter: Shonduras

Snapchat: Shonduras

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Instagram stories will explode, VR will be on everyone’s radar, vlogging will become oversaturated and Snapchat will figure it out and CRUSH IT or everyone will give up on it entirely.

Most Important Social Network:

YouTube

Steve Dotto

President, Dotto Tech

Twitter: DottoTech

Snapchat: DottoTech

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Huge pressure will come on Facebook to find a way to filter our Fake News, or at least flag it as questionable. We may see a new form of verification for content, not just accounts.

Most Important Social Network:

Video will unquestionably be the most valuable digital asset of 2017. And unless Facebook comes up with some reliable way to search, YouTube will remain the channel of choice!

Stewart Rogers

Director, Marketing Technology, Venture Beat

Twitter: TheRealSJR

Snapchat: TheRealSJR

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Engagement with organic messages is now at an all-time low. If you want to get your personal brand or business seen on traditional social media in 2017, you’ll have to pay to play. Facebook will still rule the roost next year, especially for app marketers, and retailers. Twitter will continue to make advancements in its advertising model but will have to focus on getting its ‘abuse’ issue fixed, which I believe it will (after a few bumps in the road).

Video, including live streaming, will dominate as the most engaging medium throughout 2017. Individuals and brands need to ensure they are leveraging video effectively. New hardware will bring 360-degree video to the masses, and with 67% of consumers saying they either have, or want to try, VR on their mobile devices (Source: VB Insight, November 2016), immersive content is going to be more important than ever.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook will continue to dominate social media (including Instagram). It is too big not to. But it needs to watch out. A post-IPO Snap Inc. could start to cause it problems.

Sue B. Zimmerman

Captain, Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise

Twitter: SueBZimmerman

Snapchat: SueBZimmerman

2017 Social Media Prediction:

I believe being very focused with your content in your Niche is more important than ever. The more clear and compelling your content is the faster you will attract those you are meant to be doing business with.

Most Important Social Network:

Instagram – Instagram Stories feature enables you to creatively connect & share exclusive content in snackable fun ways. It’s the real, raw authentic content that will continue to build trust with your followers who will ultimately take action when you have an offer.

Tyler Anderson

CEO and Founder, Casual Fridays

Twitter: TylerJAnderson

Snapchat: TJASnaps

2017 Social Media Prediction:

In 2017, you’ll see more and more brands feature user-generated content (UGC) and incorporate it into their overall marketing. Not just featuring UGC across social media, but also email, websites, and more. Say goodbye to professional photo shoots and stock photography. You’ll also see more brands and businesses leverage influencers and customers to become their storytellers (via photos, video, live video, etc.) as that content is more influential and believable than branded content.

Most Important Social network:

Facebook. 93% of marketers use it and 91% are using Facebook Ads. It’s the most robust and effective form of social advertising and they continue to evolve and adapt. In 2016, we saw them evolve with reactions, instant articles, and Facebook Live. In 2017, we can strongly say they’ll continue to add features and improvements. They’ve already demonstrated that they’re all in with augmented reality and virtual reality.

Ursula Ringham

Director, Digital Marketing, SAP

Twitter: Ursula_Ringham

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Live streaming video will disrupt traditional B2B marketing. As long as the content is authentic and engaging, audiences will repeatedly tune in and help build a community for that brand.

Most Important Social Network:

Once LinkedIn opens up live streaming video, it will be a game changer for B2B marketing. Companies will be able to reach a more targeted audience with live content focused on specific business needs.

Victoria Taylor

Founder and Chief Social Strategist, Victoria.Live and Blend Social

Twitter: VictoriaTaylUK

Snapchat: VictoriaTaylUK

2017 Social Media Prediction:

I believe that social media users will want more vicarious experiences. People are demanding social media more and more as a channel for more vicarious experiences. I believe it will be no longer enough to post only opinions about an event; showing your community what it’s like to be there and involving them in the experience will be key. Live video, 360 images, and video will enable this more and more….. even just doing more real-time posting will add to the experience. Helping your community to feel like they’re a genuine part of the experience, as it unfolds will be hugely important in 2017.

Most Important Social Network:

This will be different for every single business. We can not make mass assumptions as to what will be the ‘go to platform’. Trying to keep up with a particular platform because everyone else is will not be the key to being successful on social, knowing what works for you and embracing that will. Being led by FOMO and trying to be the same as everyone else will make us blend in, in order to stand out we must really understand our businesses, what works for us and not be afraid to step away from something that does not work for us, embracing who we truly are, no matter what the platform is the answer to being successful on social media.

Vincenzo Landino

Creative Director, Aftermaq

Twitter: VincenzoLandino

Snapchat: VincenzoLandino

2017 Social Media Prediction:

Brands will begin to experiment more with interactive live video content. The focus is on the interactivity. While brands haven’t fully embraced live streaming video, in 2017 we will see a shift toward creating more interactive experiences that engage the audience and encourage user generated content.

Most Important Social Network:

Facebook Messenger. One can already message and make audio and video calls, but now you can make purchases, send money, hail an Uber, have secret disappearing conversations, transfer files and more! With over 1 billion monthly active users, this is becoming the channel to watch for 2017.

Virginia Salas Kastilio

CEO, Ginicanbreathe

Twitter: Ginicanbreathe

Snapchat: Ginicanbreathe

2017 Social Media Prediction:

The new launch of the FB Messenger Daily Stories function will cause a real stir in the market. Loyalty to Snapchat will waiver for a second but then reinstate . With Snapchat Spec they are building a strong foundation for trending their app even more globally and Snapchat will become a necessity for brands to connect to their communities. (With which they are very our of touch right now.

Most Important Social Network:

Snapchat, because I work for the BBC. And I know these things.

The post Social Media Marketing: 50+ Predictions for 2017 appeared first on Carlos Gil.

I don’t know how to say this, but I’m really disappointed.

Rather than offer a traditional product review which rants and raves about how great Spectacles are, I’m going to offer you a sincere synopsis of my experience.

I want to preface by saying that I’ve pondered for the last 24 hours how to write this post without coming across as negative or anti-Snapchat because the reality is that Snapchat is still my go-to social network.

What has changed though is how I feel about the Spectacles product and its launch.

I’ve been hesitant to write this post out of fear that someone at Snap, Inc. will see it and immediately blacklist me so I want to reiterate that this is not a knock at the company but rather feedback from one loyal user.

So here it goes…

I have never in my life developed an obsessive compulsive disorder over anything like I have with Spectacles.

Around three weeks ago, when the first Snapbot was launched in Venice Beach, CA, I didn’t think much other than I would buy them once they’re available for sale to the mass market.

However, as soon as the first tweets started to roll out my fear of missing out kicked into high gear.

I just bought @Snap‘s Spectacles from the “Snapbot” in Venice. Very fun! pic.twitter.com/cRbHzLEcOb

— Ross Sheingold (@RossSheingold) November 10, 2016

Seeing famous YouTube sensations like Jesse Wellens and Andy Milanokis tweeting that they had Spectacles triggered a series of emotions that I’ve never experienced before over a consumer product.  I was jealous, envious, and sad all at the same time. I was confused.

I am someone who has now spoken to upwards of thousands of marketing executives about applying Snapchat in their business. Disregarding the fact that they have millions of subscribers and followers, why did two YouTubers get a pair of Spectacles before me I pondered.

Then, a few days later, as I was visiting family in Florida the Snapbot appeared in Big Sur outside of San Francisco.  A good friend of mine was lucky to snatch a pair that he later flipped on eBay for a profit.

I’ll @venmo anyone $100 to drive to Big Sur and stand in line for me & get two pairs of @Spectacles

— Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) November 13, 2016

Once again, I felt left out and lonely, as if I was the only kid at school that didn’t have the hottest toy or nicest sneakers.

I started working every angle that I possibly could even reaching out to a senior executive at Snap, Inc., who informed me that not even employees were allowed to purchase them at this time. I would have to get them through a Snapbot.

As the days went on, I became obsessed with scouring Twitter to learn about people’s experiences with Snapchat Spectacles.  I would chat with friends across Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter in areas where the Snapbot would appear next as if it was a scavenger hunt leading me to a pot of gold.

Right now getting your hands on a pair of @Spectacles and/or being near the location of a #Snapbot is like winning the lottery pic.twitter.com/DAyKPpDe4r

— Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) November 15, 2016

When the Snapbot made its way to Catoosa, Oklahoma, I officially showed signs of my desperation when I begged my social network to fetch me a pair if they lived close by. I even went as far as trolling the Twitter feed to see who was in line at the location of the Snapbot and offered to pay them $1,000 to get me a pair.

@HollyHelpsYou @pbinfinity @Spectacles can you please grab me a pair? I will compensate you. Desperately want one for a @Snapchat keynote!

— Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) November 15, 2016

Still, no luck.

This brings me to last Saturday at which point my 6-month pregnant wife, daughter, and I were parked at the Muir Woods outside of San Francisco where I swore the Snapbot would be next.

As we sat in the car and saw the countdown from my iPhone, the seconds turned into minutes.

With my hands sweating profusely and heart racing faster than ever, I was utterly disappointed when I learned that the Snapbot wasn’t going to be in Northern California but instead at the Rose Bowl in Southern California.

But, I had a plan.

I immediately called a friend and asked, “Sean, do you want to make a quick $1,000?”

After a bit of convincing my friend, who happened to be 15 minutes away from the Snapbot, drove to the location, sprinted across a field of tailgaters, and stood in line for well over an hour and a half.

I was literally pooping my pants in excitement.  I was already planning on driving to SoCal that evening (approximately 6 hours away from my home) to pick up my new present.

This was until Sean called to let me know that they ran out of Snapchat Spectacles roughly a few people ahead of him.  My heart sank.  This made me want them even more.  These Snapchat Spectacles had officially become an obsession.

@gunitradio @Spectacles No, my friend @Seanperez007 texted me this pic right around the time they ran out. So close yet so far… pic.twitter.com/YBnlpc3FAe

— Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) November 20, 2016

The next day the Snapbot was literally at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  I decided at that point to pull the plug on my chase.

Not Jordan’s
Not an iPhone
Not Yeezys @Spectacles is the BEST marketing campaign ever & giving @Snapchat a boost

Credit: @VR4Me2Day pic.twitter.com/ULuLYYkOZe

— Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) November 21, 2016

I decided my sanity is worth a lot more than a pair of sunglasses, therefore, I’d just go onto eBay and purchase a pair.  This was until I woke up on Monday morning to discover that Snap, Inc. had opened up a pop-up store in the middle of New York City.

Finally, there was hope… or was there?

Please help @CarlosGil83 get a set of @Spectacles! https://t.co/mmMZ9caSdJ

— La Chica Gamer (@LaChicaGamer) November 21, 2016

While there was, in fact, a Snapchat Spectacles store, there was still only one machine.

Nonetheless, I raced to Facebook and Twitter putting out the call-to-action to my network to see who could get me a pair.

Sadly, my friends that either had already scooped up a pair, waited in line for someone they had committed a pair to, or they wanted to sell them on eBay to make some Christmas cash.

I get it.

OMG @Spectacles AVAILABLE IN NYC!! @geoffgolberg on #Periscope https://t.co/nxRgAvroHo@ijustine @CarlosGil83

— Vincenzo Landino (@vincenzolandino) November 21, 2016

Then it happened, a few friends reached out over Facebook saying that they would be heading to the store sometime that week and would get me a pair

Hallelujah!

One of those friends, Jessica Bahr, unfortunately, spent a total of 13 hours in line over two days and was turned down at the door on both occasions.

Fortunately, another friend of mine, Ronald Curiel, somehow waited his entire Tuesday until he was able to score a pair for himself and me.

Mission accomplished! Thank you @RonnieCuriel for standing in line and getting me a pair of @Spectacles, I can’t wait to use them!! pic.twitter.com/5aXnb05INA

— Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) November 23, 2016

Mission accomplished.

I was done.

No longer would I have to scour @Spectacles on Twitter nor see friends of mine posts with their Snapchat Spectacles while I sat at home empty handed.

From the moment I woke up on Black Friday morning, every time a car would drive in front of my house I jumped out of my seat, ran downstairs, and opened up the door thinking it was the U.S. Postal Service.

Because of the holiday, my package was delayed another day.

Then, on Saturday morning this happened…

My @Spectacles have arrived!!! YES YES YES!! pic.twitter.com/6LpW35u6uh

— Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) November 26, 2016

At last, I was the proud owner of a pair of Spectacles.

In my mind, I had already played out every moment, every selfie, every Facebook post and so I went upon my business and did as I had mentally imagined I would do.

So here comes the fun part….

Are you ready?

After everything I just mentioned, now that I own a pair and the thrill of the chase is over, I am not just disappointed – I’m devastated.

Countless hours over the past several weeks have left me wanting more than what Spectacles are, a pair of sunglasses that record 10-second snaps.

Snap, Inc., Snapchat, Spectacles, et al. had me sold on a vision.

They sold me on a dream that this product was so revolutionary that my life was about to change right before my very eyes.

But before I conclude this post, let me provide you with a more in-depth product review.

I spent all day yesterday in San Francisco playing around with Snapchat Spectacles.

Here are some of my first impressions post below.

LIVE on #Periscope: Initial @Spectacles Product Review https://t.co/8oPRhShSbf

— Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) November 26, 2016

The first step is to pair your Spectacles with your iPhone or Android directly through the Snapchat app using Bluetooth technology.

Content recorded using Spectacles is manually backed up to a new Memories section of your account, called “Specs”, and does not automatically send to your story.

In fact, it can be confusing right out of the gate and took me a while to figure out how to transfer content from the Snapchat Spectacles to my account.

My plan was to go sightseeing and create content at the Golden Gate Bridge, Painted Ladies, and all of the classic San Francisco landmarks to then show off to all of you.

This was until I discovered on the drive to San Francisco that my pair of Spectacles only had 16% battery and, unfortunately, I didn’t bring the case which charges them with me.

NOTE: Watch this video to learn how to charge Snapchat Spectacles 

By the time I arrived in San Francisco, which is roughly an hour drive from my house, my Spectacles were at 8% and then 0% after taking a few snaps from the car.

Perhaps that one was on me for not fully charging them before I left but, nonetheless, I should have been able to get more than a few snaps out of 16% battery life.

Though I was not able to use the Snapchat Spectacles to snap, they made for a nice looking fashion piece as I walked throughout San Francisco’s Mission District and then into Peoples Barbershop for a haircut.

Because my Spectacles battery died before I could synchronize my phone again, I had to wait until returning home later in the evening to then upload content which had been recorded several hours prior.

Once I uploaded content from my Spectacles to my story, I was disappointed to discover that the quality of my snaps was not on par with that of my iPhone 7+ which takes far better looking photos and video.

And that’s it.

The harsh reality is that I bought into one of the most hyped up marketing campaigns of all-time and fell for it.

Would I stand in line for 6+ hours in the cold of New York City knowing what I know now?

Absolutely not.

For anyone who disputes word-of-mouth marketing as being an effective means for mass amplification, look no further than my own experience.

Spectacles right now is a V.1 product which is not a replacement for your mobile device that likely takes better photos and video.

It is, however, a tool to free up your hands and allow you to create first person point of view content on the go without having to use your phone.

By no means will my experience stop me from creating all the content and tutorials that I already have planned around Spectacles.

I applaud Evan Spiegel and the team at Snap, Inc. for making a product that in time will change how others view the world around us.

This is only the beginning and I feel humbled by how I let their product launch consume me.

Well played.

A day with @Spectacles: First impressions, how they work, and FYI for prospective buyers

https://t.co/hly5j02g05 pic.twitter.com/WtsTU2H9Ax

— Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) November 27, 2016

The post 24 Hours with Spectacles and My Excitement Has Disappeared appeared first on Carlos Gil.

While some may downplay Vine as being innovative by comparison to today’s Facebook, it’s hard to overlook the fact that it played a significant role in how we consume and share content across all channels.

Think about it, within a few years our society has evolved from endless cat photos, selfies, and food porn to the alternative which is video storytelling – thanks to those 6-second, highly addictive, Vine’s which at some point kept you up way past your bedtime like the one’s below:

Before Snapchat, before Instagram Stories, before Facebook Live, there was Vine. And without Vine none of those platforms would be what they are today. No different than how America Online (AOL) and MySpace paved the way for Twitter and Facebook.

Unless you’re one of 1,000’s of Vine creators who made a living on the platform, not all is lost.

Below are three valuable lessons to take away from Vine’s untimely death:

1. The Social Media Bubble

Five years ago there were three predominant social networks called Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Today, there’s more options than ever to direct message such as: Messenger, WhatsApp, and Snapchat just to name a few.

If you want to share what’s happening in your world including you have Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter with a hint of Pinterest.

When you throw in newer, and in some cases unheard of, social media apps like Marco Polo, Anchor, House Party, and Bebo as well as utility apps that we cannot live without such as Yelp, Waze, Swarm, and Spotify (this is without factoring in YouTube, Periscope, or Facebook Live broadcasts) you have a tsunami brewing in the social media sea – I call it oversaturation.

As we approach 2017, you will start hearing more about Oculus, HTC Vive, and virtual reality which will take us even further away from where we are investing our time right now. This doesn’t just impact an isolated part of the population but it’s the next generation of consumer too such as my kids who I doubt will ever use Facebook how you and I use it today.

If you work in marketing and are reading this, take a step back and ask yourself how is it humanly possible to keep up with the aforementioned channels?

The answer is, it’s not.

I would be willing to bet a year’s salary that the average human being uses Facebook and maybe 1-2 other platforms max.

I am also willing to bet that within the next 1-2 years this social media bubble we are living in will explode and you will only have a few notable players left namely Facebook, Google (YouTube), and Snap.

It comes down to basic business principals, a businesses health is defined in two ways: revenue and growth.

When a social network is not profitable because advertisers are experiencing diminished return on their investments or it’s no longer growing its user base it dies which is likely what happened with Vine.

If you want to know what happens when technology advances, and most importantly we as humans advance, look no further to the newspaper, magazine, TV, Polaroid camera, AOL, and MySpace.

To put this into context, Mickey Mouse (Disney) who has more money than the world’s elite doesn’t want to buy Twitter…

Somehow in this rant I forgot to leave out Musical.ly

Hedge your bets and DO NOT go all in on every next-gen platform which leads me to my next point.

2. Own vs. Rent

While I never became an influencer or someone of status on Vine I did create over 600+ videos on the platform over a few years. In the last year alone my activity on Vine was nearly non-existent besides an occasional video here and there.

I personally found it much easier to create a short video on Twitter natively where I have more time to work with than 6 seconds.

In fact, about a month ago a friend of mine texted me asking why I removed my Vine metrics (views) from my Twitter profile to which I let him know it’s not a platform I am active on anymore.

Below is my most watched Vine ever – the sad part about it is it’s not even my content.

The same can be said for many of us who passively created content on Vine however there’s creators who had invested countless hours making Vine’s and most importantly a handsome living working with brands which you have to wonder how does one bounce back from such a loss?

Look, I have well over 100K+ people who follow me across LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook but the reality is that this is how much it means to my bottom line: $0

Unless you or I own these channels we are simply taking a gamble that we can build a business off the infrastructure that anyone of these channels provides us right now.

For example, in 2008 I founded JobsDirectUSA.com and eventually grew my business to the point where I could feed my family but it wasn’t without scraping a lot of emails from LinkedIn – real talk.

Had LinkedIn ever once made it impossible for me to get the email address of every HR professional or recruiter that I connected with who knows where I would be today.

My point is, you cannot build an empire on rented land.

It’s the same reason why I have found it difficult to write a book about Snapchat because by the time it goes to publish we are looking at another update and contrary to popular belief Evan Spiegel isn’t calling me afterhours to tip me off on any product updates.

You can however build your own empire on a domain that you own where you own the content, the email list, subscriber data, etc.

It’s why I am writing to you here – on CarlosGil.biz – versus Medium.

My advice to fellow content creators is to keep creating amazing content on Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, etc. but look for ways that you can save and feature your content on your own network.

Most importantly, get as many people as you can to opt-in to your mailing list (BTW, you can opt-in to mine here) so if Vine or Twitter ever go belly up you aren’t left in the dark which leads me to my next and final point.

3. Storytelling and Building a Brand is Channel Agnostic

Some of my favorite Vine storytellers in Alpha Kat, King Bach, and LeJuan James have gone on to build their empire on other channels well before Vine’s demise which was smart of them to do and I applaud them for doing so.

It goes to show that if you build an audience and are giving your community what they want in terms of content they will follow you to the next channel and the next one after that.

Brian Fanzo didn’t go away when Meerkat disappeared, instead he pivoted to Periscope and his community followed him there the same way that they follow him on Snapchat or Instagram.

If there’s something that I have never done is call myself a “Snapchatter” for this very reason.

Channels don’t define us, our community does.

While many will preach that content is king the reality is that community is, just ask Kim Kardashian or DJ Khaled who can pop up on any social network today and almost instantly drive loyal followers their way.

Don’t be married to the channel, look at it as a bridge that connects you to the broader world around you.

In closing, I’m personally and professionally grateful for Vine. It’s where I used to go on social media to create silly posts showcasing my non-business side well before Snapchat ever became a thing. Vine taught me how to be real on social media while speaking in short bursts which I credit to my success on Snapchat today.

RIP my friend, you’re gone but won’t be forgotten….

Below are my own Top Vine’s featuring a few friends along the way, enjoy

The post RIP Vine: What’s Next for Social Media Storytelling appeared first on Carlos Gil.

Snapchat, which now boasts over 200 million users in addition to its seemingly growing 10 billion video views daily, has become 2016’s poster child in marketing circles for how brands should be appealing to younger consumers — notably Millennials and Generation Z, which represents the broad age range encompassing 13 to 34 year olds.

According to Snapchat, on any given day its platform reaches 41 percent of Millennial in the U.S., which has created big business for the 5-year-old social network. This includes brands that have taken the gamble by diving head first into a channel still so new that user targeting with ads and demographic data doesn’t exist, unlike its peers Facebook and Twitter. However, as brands — such as Gatorade, who ran a sponsored lens during the Super Bowl which gained more views than the actual number of people who saw the game itself — see a real increase in consumer purchasing behavior, more brands are taking notice and can no longer ignore Snapchat’s impact on marketing to the younger demographic.

Two years ago, in these same circles, Snapchat was viewed in a snarky way by most marketers as a secretive channel for college students and teens to send inappropriate photos. Fast forward to today, and Snapchat has surpassed Twitter and LinkedIn among the most active brands on social media.

One of the brands which I covered in an article “Snapchat for business: How to reach Millennials through storytelling” earlier this year as an early adopter of Snapchat is MGM Resorts. Back in January, during CES in Las Vegas, MGM Resorts launched a Snapchat account for one of its iconic resorts — The Mirage — in addition to pasting a giant snap code in the shape of a poker chip on the side of the hotel, which gained mention in dozens of editorial bylines (including mine).

The unknown story is that MGM Resorts was also one of Snapchat’s first enterprise clients to BETA its geofilters product as they ran a 3-day geofilter throughout the highly populated Las Vegas strip. Based on the success of this “experiment,” Beverly Jackson, VP of social media at MGM Resorts, and her social media team have been working behind the scenes with Snapchat on a series of Snapchat filters at all MGM Resorts properties, which rolled out on August 1, and will continue to run 24/7 through the next year.

To demo the new geofilters, MGM Resorts flew me and a handful of other Snapchat influencers to Las Vegas recently for a fun-filled weekend to experience the M-Life brand and use the filters first hand. Below is what I came away with — and what every brand or marketer can learn from:

Geofilters vary by location

For starters, every MGM Resort property has a different geofilter — meaning if you go to the MGM Grand, Bellagio, Mirage, or New York New York, you will see a filter which is unique to that brand. Unlike the standard Las Vegas community filter that never changes, MGM Resorts is playing up the fact that every resort is a different brand within a larger global brand, and each has its own identity (as seen below).

Right now , Starbucks is running a standard “PSL” filter at locations throughout the U.S. to promote the launch of its Pumpkin Spice Latte — however, after seeing the filter at multiple Starbucks across the Oakland and San Francisco Bay Area, the same creative grows stale. As a consumer — and Snapchat user — I want to see geofilters that are relevant to what’s happening in my community or city. This is where MGM Resorts gets an A+ for originality.

Interactive that offers cross-channel UGC

One of my favorites over the Las Vegas weekend was the Aria “Fill in the blank” geofilter that allows you to write in a saying. Geofilters that can be customized are the “Holy Grail” of Snapchat for brands, as it gives the power of creativity to end-users. In my case, I used this filter multiple times and each time saved it for cross-promotion on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. When you put the power of creativity into the hands of users, it creates user-generated content (UGC) opportunities leading to higher in-app engagement and posting to other social media channels (since users find it “cool”) — which in turn results in more views centered on your brand.

Geofilters represent a different experience

Along with geofilters varying by location, each one of those locations offered me a different in-person experience that carried over to Snapchat. For example, the T-Mobile arena geofilter represented having fun at a Gwen Stefani concert. It also made my snaps look 10-times better. And the Beerhaus filter helped me make my followers on Snapchat feel like they were sitting next to me at the bar having a cold beer.

Always on

Currently, Snapchat’s non-enterprise geofilter product is limited to media buys, which are timed and have a start and end date. Most often a brand will run their geofilter for a limited timeframe, which is normally a day or a couple of days. As they say, Las Vegas is the city that never sleeps and, in the case of MGM Resorts, their properties literally never close — and neither does social media. So whether it’s 2:00 a.m. at Club LAX in the Mirage or 10:00 a.m. at the MGM Grand pool, geofilters are always on for guests and Snapchat users to capture their most memorable moments using MGM branding.

Fun and appeal to Millennials

Making your brand marketing resonate with Millennials can be challenging regardless of whether your brand is known for fun and entertainment — even if it’s a casino and resort in Las Vegas. MGM incorporates messaging within the geofilter creative (such as my personal favorite: “Snaps or it didn’t happen”), which makes it fun and cool to share on Snapchat. As a marketer, knowing your audience is the key to success.

The post How one brand uses Snapchat geofilters to create an omnichannel experience appeared first on Carlos Gil.

That was before I saw the people. So. Many. People.

Upon stepping outside, all I could see was the hordes walking around a community park, all looking down at their phones. With ages ranging from elementary school kids to fully grown adults, I quickly determined they weren’t texting and they weren’t on Snapchat.

So what had them hypnotized like a pack of blood-thirsty zombies?

And that’s when I realized it was the fictitious creatures that only live on the screens of mobile devices. It was Pokémon GO.

Again, I brushed it off thinking to myself “this can’t possibly last” – but that was before Pokémon GO surpassed Snapchat and Instagram amongst active users within a matter of days.

In the two weeks since Pokémon GO launched, while observing consumer behavior in my own community and also on social media, my mind has been racing around how any locally-owned small business (think your local coffee shop, hair salon, pizzeria, brew pub, etc.) can reap the benefits of having thousands of potential consumers walking around town (literally) and in front of their storefronts on a daily basis.

This is where the social media marketer in me quickly kicks into high gear to share these tips and tricks.

Snapchat

It dawned on me that the same people playing Pokémon are likely the same 13 to 35-year-old target demographic that’s on Snapchat and likely sharing with their Snapchat friends where all the local Pokéstops, Gyms, Lures and Meet-Ups are located. They’re probably sharing this on Facebook too.

So how does a local business reach this audience through Snapchat?

Simple.

Give them a cool graphic – also known as a “geo-filter” – to share with their friends, indicating where they found Pokémon and be sure to have this filter live within a walking distance radius of your business.

If you’re not familiar with how they work, paid Snapchat geo-filters are display ads that live within the Snapchat app disguised as creative art that’s layered on top of a picture or video. From Snapchat.com, you can buy dedicated ad space virtually anywhere in the U.S. for a set period of time as a low-cost means of reaching targeted Snapchat users, all within a set geographic range.

As a ‘Test’, to see if my theory could work, I ran a Snapchat geo-filter at a Pokémon Meet-Up in Chicago at the iconic Bean this past weekend – an event attended by over 10,000 gamers.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>If you&#39;re headed to the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pok%C3%A9monGO?src=hash”>#PokémonGO</a> meet-up in <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chicago?src=hash”>#Chicago</a>, let your friends know by using this <a href=”https://twitter.com/Snapchat”>@Snapchat</a> geo-filter! <a href=”https://t.co/E63DhLg6Zv”>pic.twitter.com/E63DhLg6Zv</a></p>&mdash; Carlos Gil (@CarlosGil83) <a href=”https://twitter.com/CarlosGil83/status/754722298452512768″>July 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Imagine that same geo-filter having a logo to Bob’s local sub shop or Susan’s coffee house? Or how about for an online business that sells products to 13 to 35-year-olds? Let’s assume that a gamer uses the geo-filter a few doors down from your store… you will still benefit when his/her group of friends come steamrolling just steps away.

This is how you growth hack an existing social channel to capitalize on mass consumer adoption of another product to drive eyeballs to yours.

Thanks to Snapchat influencer Shaun Ayala, he created the following two templates that any small business can click here to save and use on Snapchat for their own advertising.

Facebook

Currently, the Pokémon GO Facebook page has well over 1M+ likes.

With advanced ad targeting, any brand or business owner can place an ad in front of Pokémon GO gamers in their city or community.

A business does this within Facebook Ads Manager by selecting the age range of users they want to reach (ex: 18 to 35), the mile radius within their zip code that they want users to view their ad– keep it within 10 miles to stay hyper local – followed by interest level targeting which can reach anyone that likes the Pokémon GO Facebook page including other relevant pages such as Pokémon’s official page, events, etc.

Just yesterday, I was on Facebook when I saw Walmart run the ad below.

The key with Facebook ad targeting is to have an offer or call-to-action relevant to the audience you are trying to reach.

For example, I created a mock ad for a local ice cream shop in my city named “CREAM”.

As you can see in the creative above, the sample ad has an offer of “SAVE 50%” exclusive for local gamers that see it.

You can easily measure the ROI of your ad spend on Facebook through in-store redemptions.

Meet-Ups

Another tactic is to host a Meet-Up at your place of business or pub crawl, in which your place is either the starting location or one of the stops along the way.

A Meet-Up will likely attract hundreds, if not thousands, of local gamers which is always good for business if you have exclusive gamer specials on that day (i.e. free soda with the purchase of a burger, etc.).

Using the two aforementioned tactics, leverage targeted Facebook ads to reach Pokémon GO gamers and drive them to an event landing page on Facebook where they can RSVP and share the event with their friends.

Then, on the day of your Meet-Up, run a sponsored Snapchat geo-filter so anyone that’s attending your event can share branded pictures and videos from your place of business.

If you want to go one step further, promote your Pokémon GO Meet-Up to your email and CRM list.

Even professional sports franchises like the Jacksonville Jaguars are joining the frenzy and hosting Meet-Ups at NFL stadiums – get your business in front of these consumers through in-app advertising on Snapchat or Facebook and you’ve won.

Conclusion

It’s hard to predict exactly how long Pokémon GO mania will sweep the country and our neighborhoods, but for now, you’re sitting on a potential gold mine of consumers which are paying close attention to what’s happening on the iPhone screen in front of them as well as the world around them.

To put this all into context, I made the short video below:

GO get ‘em.

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