10 Creative Brands using Twitter's Photo Collage Feature by Nick Cicero

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, which translates to roughly 4500 characters on Twitter. Fortunately for us, Twitter’s new photo uploading feature will let you upload up to four photos without so much as losing a character from your original tweet.

With a new iPhone and Android App update anyone can create photo collages and tag up to ten followers in these photos right from their phone. For the personal user, it’s an easier way to share and connect with friends on Twitter with a reinforced emphasis on visuals. But for brands, it provides a new way to engage with their audience on a number of different levels.

Now while this update will generate massive amounts of photos on Twitter in general, allowing users to upload 2-4 images to essentially the same tweet opens up a number of creative new use cases.

For example:

• You could upload two photos and ask simple “A or B” “This or That” type questions.
• You could upload four photos and give people multiple choices to a question (as Dove did below).
• You could share and tag fan photos
• You could create mini storyboards between the four photos like a tiny Twitter comic book.

All it takes is a little creative thinking time.

We’ve been keeping a few tabs open on our Twitter lists and watching for interesting uses, below are 10 brands taking advantage of Twitter’s Photo Collage feature in their social content.

1. DOVE MEN + CARE

 

2. CHANEL

Chanel is really maximizing the space, the split photos create this really cool black and white contrast effect. Notice how the time flies on their watches as you flip through the photos.

 

3. BEN & JERRY’S

 

4. PGA TOUR

The PGA Tour has been having some fun collecting the photos from one fan who was taking selfies with different golfers at the Shell Houston Open.

 

5. GE

GE has taken the photo collage and created a message you can read left to right within their photos “The greatest thing an engineer makes is a difference.”

 

6. KENNETH COLE

Kenneth Cole’s team shared two backstage photos from their show at Lima Fashon Week. You can see that you don’t have to post four photos exclusively, like I mentioned before you could upload two photos and ask simple “A or B” “This or That” type questions.

7. QUAKER OATS

8. THE SPIDER MAN MOVIE

 

9. PUMA RUNNING

10. HP OFFICIAL NEWS

Source: http://socialfresh.com/10-creative-brands-using-twitters-photo-collage-feature/

Why Your SEO Efforts Will Fail Without a Social Strategy by Rachel Serpa

Since the dawn of MySpace, social media has managed to creep into every area of our lives. Admit it: you check yourself in at the airport, find all of your favorite recipes on Pinterest, and even catch yourself thinking 140 characters at a time. Social networks have infiltrated business as well, with both B2C and B2B marketers realizing that the only way to effectively connect with modern consumers is to build social experiences around their brands, products and services.

Although they were at one time considered the north and south poles of marketing, social now plays a significant role in shaping search results. Here are three reasons why your SEO strategies need to be social, and how you can start leveraging social media to improve your search performance today.

More UGC = Better SEO

SEO is a huge pain point for many marketers as they struggle through keyword discovery and fight against the conglomerates that be to surface under phrases that people actually use. When it comes to search rankings, relevant, quality content is key, and when customers post comments or reviews and syndicate them across their social networks, they provide valuable user generated content that improves keyword performance. User generated content is especially useful because it puts your product or service in terms typically used by consumers, uncovering new keywords and increasing searchability. Websites that feature ratings and reviews typically experience a 10-20% increase in CTR on search engine results pages (Inchoo).

#SearchingForHashtags

Once a Twitter-ism, the hashtag has emerged as an acceptable and universal means of communication across the digital landscape, even finding its way into verbal conversations. Consumers now classify and search for specific content using hashtag terms across social networks like Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn, and search engines including Yahoo, Google and Bing have recently amplified hashtag visibility in search results. Smart brands are increasing reach and visibility by leveraging both new and existing hashtags to optimize event promotions, user generated content, branding initiatives and more.

“Social Search Engines”

Over the past several years, major search engines have been increasingly relying on users’ social graphs to provide relevant and timely search results. For example, not only does Bing showcase tweets and other social media posts related to users’ searches, but by connecting Bing with their Facebook profiles, users can also see status updates and photos that their connections have posted that are relevant to their search terms. Connecting with consumers via social, having a strong social presence and increasing content shares across networks is becoming mandatory for brands as search results become increasingly social.

As the paths to search and social success continue to merge, only the brands that learn how to incorporate social media into their search strategies will rise above the competition  - literally.

Source: http://blog.gigya.com/why-your-seo-efforts-will-fail-without-a-social-strategy/

3 Ways to Create an Effective Omni-channel Marketing Strategy by Rachel Serpa

With the rise of social, mobile, and digital technologies, gone are the days when brands could get away with speaking to customers through a single, one-directional medium. Consumers today demand a connected, multi-channel relationship with their favorite brands – so much so that 45% of in-store consumers turn to social platforms on their mobile devices to influence their buying decisions (Social Media Today). Clearly, brands that ignore the need to establish an omni-channel strategy are going to get left in the dust.

However, as the physical and digital worlds become increasingly intertwined, many marketers are struggling to successfully connect with consumers across all available outlets while still providing an aligned customer experience. Our new white paper will teach you how to create a successful omni-channel experience while establishing cohesive brand and consumer identities through the following techniques:

• Developing a mobile strategy
• Streamlining digital and physical interactions
• Socializing the customer experience

Download the white paper to start taking steps toward creating a successful omni-channel strategy today.

Source: http://blog.gigya.com/3-ways-to-create-an-effective-omni-channel-marketing-strategy-3/