Trends

Facebook Live Video Tips

June 12, 2018 by The Motherhood

Did you know that since it debuted in 2016, Facebook Live has streamed 3.5 billion broadcasts?

The role of video in social marketing, especially live video, continues to become more and more important. The live video experience is social at its core, and on average, they generate six times more interactions than regular video, and daily average broadcasts from verified publisher Pages have increased 1.5 times over the past year due to Facebook Live use (source).

Marketers, publishers and consumers of media ALL want to break through the clutter, and Facebook Live is a great vehicle to help achieve that: Facebook Live videos continue to show up in the news feed since they encourage engagement.

Have you gone live yet? Below, we share some tips on how to make the most of your Facebook Live broadcasts.

When and why should your brand use Facebook Live?

To connect with your audience in a real, human way.
To communicate hot-button issues.
To connect communities during a crisis or share urgent information.
To provide a behind-the-scenes look.
To give viewers a glimpse into your life or company culture.
For interviews.
To broadcast a regularly scheduled program or event.

Tips before recording:

Promote the upcoming Facebook Live event with a post on your page an hour or two in advance to give your organic followers a reminder.
Always test your Internet connection and ensure your device is fully charged prior to going live! It’s always a good idea to have a backup device ready as well.
To get comfortable and practice, you can restrict privacy settings so that only you can see the live video. (Under Live Video settings window, on the right-hand side, there is a padlock; click on that and choose the “Only Me” option.)
Facebook recommends broadcasting for at least ten minutes. Experiment with time of day and see when your engagement and active viewers peak (this information can be found within Facebook’s analytics).
Good-quality lighting and audio equipment is worth the investment if you are regularly broadcasting live.
Make sure your lighting is appropriate (face the window instead of having your device facing the window), and if you can, remove glasses to eliminate the glare on the screen!
If you’re using a phone or tablet, don’t shy away from recording with the device horizontally. It shows more of your surroundings to help viewers place you in context, and the formatting works better in the news feed.
Once you’ve connected to wifi, make sure to switch your device to Airplane Mode! In this setting, you won’t get calls or other notifications that could disrupt or be a distraction to your video.
Don’t kill time just to fill time. Record with a purpose and have your content ready.

Tips during the broadcast:

Acknowledge your audience! Answer questions or thank commentators verbally by name for their input.
If you are hosting a broadcast in which you expect a steady volume of questions, have a colleague or friend help field them (some can be answered via text and some verbally).
Encourage interaction. Static Facebook posts that encourage likes, shares, comments and other engagement are penalized for seeming spammy. But, encouraging these during a Facebook Live broadcast gives viewers an actionable request and may help make your content or call-to-action more visible the more times it is liked or shared.

Tips for after recording:

Once a Live Video is created, it will live on your Facebook page (up to 500 videos can live on your page).
Pin the video to the top of your feed to increase video views.
Promote the video with a boosted post after the broadcast to target and extend the reach beyond your organic followers.
If an influencer creates a Facebook Live video for a brand, the brand can and should boost it on their own page.
You can create an edited version of the Facebook Live video to promote with an ad.
You can upload a custom thumbnail, with a graphic overlay if you’d like, to convey the topic of the video.
Respond in a comment to anyone you may have missed during the chat to increase engagement.
Captioning the video is another option post-recording, which is helpful for those viewers who tend to scroll through Facebook on mute!
Take a look at your Insights, and if you have a high-performing video, you can make it a more prominent “featured video” on your page.

Do you broadcast live? We’d love to hear your best Facebook Live video tips!

Influencer Spotlight: Jessica McFadden, A Parent in America

September 15, 2016 by The Motherhood

What has made click-throughs on one social media channel nearly obsolete?

What will steal the scene in lieu of toys this holiday season?

Where is engagement happening in 2016?

Jessica McFadden of A Parent in America and A Parent in Silver Spring has the answers, and we’re sharing them (and more!) with you in this month’s blogger spotlight.

Read on to learn more about why her blog is not her personal journal and what always results in a win when it comes to brands, bloggers and their readers. Give Jessica a shout-out at @JessicaMcFadd!

Want to see more? Check out our Influencer Spotlights here!

How does the Blogger Spotlight Series work? Each month, our internal team convenes and discusses our latest programs, stellar partnerships and top-performing influencers. It’s not about numbers, but rather, the quality, authentic content they’re delivering consistently. It’s about reliability, professionalism and partnership. We discuss our nominations for the month and ultimately decide on just one blogger to invite as our featured blogger. Stop back October 1 for the next blogger spotlight!

Social Fresh 2016 Conference Trends Round-Up

August 24, 2016 by The Motherhood

The Motherhood is thrilled to have been able to attend the Social Fresh 2016 Conference in Orlando! We heard from an amazing lineup of speakers who shared valuable insights on everything from creating authentic brand content, to running social ads, to providing SEO predictions for the future — just to name a few topics. We especially loved learning that more than half of the conference speakers were female, the most they’ve had in any of the 18 Social Fresh conferences to date! All of the speakers were incredible. Thank you to the presenters and Social Fresh team who made this conference a must-attend event.

Here are some of the trends, ideas and insights that grabbed our attention at Social Fresh 2016:

1. Human-first, good-quality content is still key.

The Social Fresh 2016 team presented this stat: “creating content is the most time-intensive task for social media teams, taking up 18.5 percent of their days!” As any content creator knows, it can be difficult coming up with creative and relatable content; however, when done correctly, it pays off:

67 percent of followers will share your content if it is good. – Heather Taylor
78 percent of followers believe that companies that provide good content want to build a relationship with them. – Melanie Deziel
Videos that show people in the first several seconds receive twice the amount of engagement. – Stacy Minero

It’s no surprise to us that authentic content equals the best content. Conference speakers, like author Sally Hogshead and Cory Vasquez of RE/MAX, drove home the fact that people want to see relatable, empathetic content from brands and influencers. Real, honest posts will cut through the crowded social space.

Hogshead encouraged the room to stop looking at what will make their brand better, but to look at what makes them different, and capitalize on that. Being different can be your brand’s advantage. In her words, “The goal isn’t to create the same message to blast to your following. The goal is to create the right messages that break through and stand out.”

Having “human-first” content was another prevalent theme. Vasquez shared a checklist of characteristics that make her brand’s content “human-first”: timely, engaging, honest, relatable, good quality and empathetic. Twitter’s Stacy Minero also encouraged the audience of marketers to highlight human stories, saying, “People are drawn to people.”

Takeaways for creating human-first, branded content:

“People can tell when you’re trying to go viral, so be authentic.” – Jeremy Goldman
Expert content creator Sarah Evans encouraged the audience to ask themselves, “Will this make people care, share or swear? If none of those, it’s boring content.”
“Woo them, don’t sell them…. Lay off the sales pitch!” – Heather Taylor

2. Video (especially Live Video) continues to become more and more important!

Jeremy Goldman of the Firebrand Group shared an eye-opening session on the future of video in marketing. The Firebrand Group found in a recent survey that the majority of marketers (75 percent) are turning to Facebook for videos, rather than YouTube or other platforms, due to higher engagement. YouTube video comments don’t hold as much value as a like, comment or share on Facebook.

Their study also showed that 85 percent of marketers see positive ROI from video marketing. Goldman predicted this video trend to rise, saying, “As video grows in popularity, the demand for good–quality videos is skyrocketing.”

This is a trend our own network of influencers has also been predicting, calling video the #1 trend in blogging and social media in 2016.

Takeaways for creating compelling videos:

80 percent of people mute ads, so make sure your ads make sense without audio, or use text and captioning within the video content.
Always think, “How can I make this video social and interactive?”
Pay to promote your Live videos after they are broadcast Live.

3. Twitter is becoming more interactive.

Minero shared ways of getting your followers’ attention in their feed. She reported that Twitter is moving away from broad impressions and toward participation — from viewing to doing. With attention spans as short as eight seconds, attention is the new currency in brand advertising, according to Minero.

In order to “stop people in their feed,” companies are working with Twitter to create customized branded emojis and stickers. Minero used the #TacoEmojiGenerator as a great example of this, which was a hit with the Social Fresh audience.

Tacos over everything. Tweet us 🌮 + any emoji and we'll reply with something we think you'll like. #TacoEmojiEngine pic.twitter.com/f5yhqCeLKk

— Taco Bell (@tacobell) August 17, 2016

Minero’s tips for creating hashtags on Twitter:

Keep in mind that the most utilized hashtags are usually the less branded ones.
Let your hashtag provide a way for people to express themselves and their motivations (see REI’s campaign for #OptOutside as a great example of this!).

Were you at the Social Fresh 2016 Conference? We’d love to hear your top takeaways from the event or your feedback on our takeaways!

Back-to-School Shopping Trends Your Brand Should Know

July 20, 2016 by The Motherhood

According to eMarketer, retail sales in the United States will increase by 2.6 percent during the 2016 back-to-school shopping season. And although it’s only mid-July, consumers have already started their back-to-school shopping, making it an opportune time for brands to integrate a back-to-school approach into their marketing strategies.

Here are some quick facts for brands and bloggers to know about the back-to-school season:

There’s a 290 percent increase in pinning related to back-to-school from July to September.
85 percent of back-to-school pins are related to five specific categories: Food and Drink, Kids, DIY, Education and Photography.
In 2015, back-to-school search interest started trending up a week earlier than the year before and a whole three weeks earlier than in 2013.
31 percent of parents will complete their back-to-school shopping after the school year starts.
More than half of college students are using their smartphones to comparison shop.
Parents are planning to spend an average of $917 per child on back-to-school supplies this year (with about $343 of that amount for technology).

Three trends to keep in mind this back-to-school shopping season:

In-Store purchases dominate, but mobile supports:

More than 80 percent of college parents, 74 percent of college students and 77 percent of K-12 parents purchase their supplies in-store. Consumers use search and social media on their mobile devices to research the best deals before heading to the store. Searches related to “near me” spike in the back-to-school season.

Takeaway: Social and search trends during this season provide opportunity to drive in-store visits.

Products endorsed OR SHARED by influencerS are top of mind:

Shoppers said blogs and social media conversations weigh in as much as traditional ad formats when it comes to driving their back-to-school purchases. Social media assists 46 percent of college students and 30 percent of parents with school-aged kids as they search for deals and coupons on their smartphones.

Takeaway: Integrating influencer marketing into back-to-school strategies and creating social sharing incentives for consumers will help brands’ products rise to the top of consumers’ shopping lists.

Deals and visuals will draw consumers:

Video and visual posts are continually rising to the top of social media feeds, even more so since recent algorithm updates. Visual central platforms like Pinterest and Instagram continue to increase in popularity, generating high engagement levels. Reportedly, consumers rate discounts and deals higher than value (quality) and brand loyalty when it comes to back-to-school shopping.

Takeaway: Combining these two trends can lead to a high return on back-to-school marketing and content creation.

Summer DIY Never Looked So Good with Olympic Paints and Stains

July 14, 2016 by The Motherhood

For many of us, we kick off the summer with a list of projects we want to finish before the fall. By July, we may have lost our motivation to make it through the whole list. Most often, these projects include things we’ve been thinking about since spring, if not longer, so what we really need is a little inspiration just to get us started!

Earlier this year, we partnered with some incredibly creative, DIY-inspiring bloggers on behalf of Olympic Paints and Stains and challenged them to put their project ideas into action through beautiful, thoughtful mood boards that reflected projects they hoped to complete. We then armed them with their favorite Olympic Paints and asked them to document the process.

The results are AMAZING.

OFFICE, LAUNDRY ROOM AND BATHROOM MAKEOVERS

Kenda of Remaking June blew us away with her office makeover, taking a standard-looking home office and turning it into a dreamy, chic, streamlined space that we all want to work in!

Katie of Mom’s Favorites also revamped her office space with a modern accent wall that’s so beautiful it could double as art.

Christy of Thrifty and Thriving transformed her laundry room into a space where we want to hang out (and maybe even do some laundry)!

Vanessa of See Vanessa Craft lived up to her crafty name and reputation with a striking before-and-after.

DIY Furniture

Jenn of Jenn’s Blah Blah Blog turned four simple wood crates into a rustic yet polished-looking coffee table that would easily be a focal point of any room.

Sia of Thrifty Northwest Mom delivered this hugely impressive transformation of a simple bookshelf when she incorporated candelabras from her wedding and brought the whole thing together with a fresh coat of paint. We’re in love!

Olympic Paint understands the thought process and the preparation that goes into home projects, and it’s with this in mind that they designed and launched the new Olympic Paints and Stains Color Center at Lowe’s, which each of our bloggers visited and utilized as they planned out their projects.

The Center allows people to browse paints and stains in one place, where colors are organized to make finding and comparing shades easier than ever. You can shop in three different ways, depending on what works for your creative style, whether it’s by color (through the chips), lifestyle (through the lifestyle brochures) or project (using room and project brochures). If you want to see how a paint color will look before you head to Lowe’s, you can upload a photo of your room to the Olympic Paint Visualizer Tool.

The Motherhood worked with these bloggers as part of a sponsored campaign on behalf of Olympic Paints and Stains.

Heat Up Your Summer Marketing with Influencer Campaigns

June 13, 2016 by The Motherhood

With the official start of summer quickly approaching, The Motherhood’s social listening team compiled a few ideas to heat up your summer marketing tactics by integrating influencer campaigns that take advantage of trending topics and seasonal events.

Social posts on mobile devices increase by about 30 percent in the summer, and posts with the keyword “travel” spike by 46 percent, so this is no time for online marketing strategy to take a vacation. Brands can reach consumers online during this peak vacation and travel time by knowing the trends and drawing on natural topics and tie-ins for the season.

According to Facebook, the top summer topics from 2015 were running, beach, parties, parks and forests, and movies. This summer, consider crafting an authentic influencer marketing campaign to create valuable content while leveraging these summer events and trends.

Here are some seasonal events and search trends to be aware of when creating your summer marketing campaigns or your brand’s social posts:

June

SCHOOL’S OUT FOR THE SUMMER – As kids’ annual vacation from schoolwork begins, parents plan activities. There are more than 40,500 searches of “summer activities for kids” in June alone. Celebrate summer break and include your product in posts or pictures of fun summer activities.

TRAVEL PLANNING – Make your brand top-of-mind during summer travel planning. Fun fact: Tuesday is the most popular day to make travel-related purchases online. If possible, post early in the week about how your brand purchase can help with consumers’ travel plans!

FATHER’S DAY – Searches related to “Father’s Day,” specifically related to “gifts” and “ideas,” peak this month! Mobile dominates Father’s Day searches and social posts and the most likely requirements for gifts are “fun” and “practical”.

Fun June Holidays: National Candy Month & National Adopt-a-Cat Month

July

INDEPENDENCE DAY – The average American spends about $300 on Fourth of July celebrations. Searches for “grilling” peak around this holiday. Festival- and holiday-related content brings 1.5x more engagement than average. Creating Independence Day themed content can generate high engagement and value yearly.

STAYCATIONS – Searches about “staycations” peak in July and increase in popularity every year. A surprising number of travel searches are for hotels near home. This trend promises to increase in popularity in the future, so creating evergreen content could bring high value over time.

Fun July Holidays: National Ice Cream Month

August

RIO OLYMPICS – Nothing brings the world together like the Olympic games, with millennials more focused on team victory than individual glory. It is an inherently social event, with 86 percent of online users planning to use Facebook for “voicing Olympic reactions.”

MOVING MONTH – Searches for real estate and house hunting peak in late summer. This, as well as all of the college students moving into their new dorms, leads to a increase in moving.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL – Be early and be online: consumers search for information on back-to-school products before searching for a store near them to purchase. Pay attention to the must-haves in your product category this season and bridge the gap between search and store.

Fun August Holidays: Family Fun Month & National Picnic Month

September

LABOR DAY – Searches related to “Labor Day” are highest on the day itself, including a high number of searches for sales around this holiday.

GRANDPARENTS DAY – There are more than 450,000 searches for “Grandparents Day” in September. While only 13 percent of grandchildren communicate with their grandparents via social media, younger generations will still be posting about the holiday on their social channels!

Fun September Holidays: Baby Safety Month & Self Improvement Month

Timing is everything with these summer trends and events, especially on social media. By posting content at the beginning of the week or month that is focused on planning and activities, you can fuel inspiration long-term! Posting slightly before peak periods will allow your brand to lead the conversation as well as provide opportunity to rise to the top of online search results. Furthermore, these trends and events resurface every year, so evergreen blog content from trusted influencers created with SEO in mind will continue to provide value for years to come.

Keep in mind that for every topic and event listed above, there is bound to be a trending hashtag with it, so consider adding a trending hashtag or two to your social posts to increase the reach of your summer marketing efforts.

Happy Summer!

Interested in building an influencer marketing campaign with these trends in mind? Contact us!