July 24th, 2014 by Elma Jane
You may only think of Instagram as a place to edit and share snapshots of your fancy vegan lunch or your adorable new kitten, but the photo-sharing app can be highly useful when it comes to building your business’s brand. Social media not only Instagram, is an incredible platform for people to use to drive more interest to their business. When it comes to building up your following, having good content is the most important factor. While paid traffic is a useful way to gain traction and drive more interest to your pages, she said that at the end of the day, word-of-mouth is the most beneficial.If you want to have more people inviting their friends to your page, you have to have something that’s worth sharing or talking about. Since content is king on social media, businesses looking to market on Instagram in particular should make sure that their posts are relevant and eye-catching with high-quality photos and videos. Most important tip for Instagram success however, isn’t about what hash tags or filters and photo effects to use. It’s even more straightforward: Social media is just like the rest of your life relationships. People want you to be real, honest and address issues we all have on a day-to-day basis. Instagram is a fairly simple social network to use, because unlike other social networks such as Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter, where text is the focus and no form of multimedia is off-limits, you’re limited to only posting photos or videos (15 seconds or less) with captions. For this reason, maintaining an active Instagram presence may seem almost effortless. However, Insta-fame doesn’t come without issues. The biggest challenge would be trying to help everyone. Obviously, the more interest and followers you gain, the more unique problems and questions you receive. For businesses looking to grow their Instagram pages, just remember. It’s all about quality. Great content, honesty and a personable, likable brand voice are all you really need for Insta-success.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Facebook, Instagram, multimedia, platform, social media, social network, Tumblr, twitter
April 8th, 2014 by Elma Jane
Today’s consumers are defining themselves by their mobile devices, their social presences and how they interact with brands, both offline and online. The digital evolution of the average consumer is alive and kicking.
Today’s consumer is more connected than ever, with more access to and deeper engagement with content and brands. Thanks to the proliferation of digital devices and platforms. Content that was once only available to consumers via specific methods of delivery such as via print, radio and broadcast television can now be sourced and delivered to consumers through their multiple connected devices. This is driving the media revolution and blurring traditional media definitions.
What are the specific characteristics or dynamics shaping today’s consumer behavior? Digital consumers are social-savvy and more connected to their friends, family and favorite brands than ever before.
Focused On The Gadgetry
Consumers love gadgets.
One out of four Americans plan to buy a smartphone in the near future. Thirty percent intend to upgrade from a regular mobile phone to a smartphone once able. For those ages 18 to 24, 49 percent they want to upgrade to a smartphone.
How frequently consumers use their mobile devices in a given month? Consumers spent an average of 34 hours and 17 minutes per month using apps on their devices, an increase of 9 hours and 52 minutes from 2012.
Interestingly, the amount of time consumers spend surfing the Web fell 1 hour and 54 minutes to a total of 27 hours and 3 minutes. The amount of time used to watch videos online increased by 43 minutes, to 6 hours and 41 minutes.
Social Media & Everyday Life
Digital consumers, by and large love their social media.
Sixty-four percent said that they use social media at least once per day. For mobile however, the growth figures reported suggest a broad shift is happening, pushing more people to access social networks via mobile platforms.
Forty-seven percent of smartphone owners log onto a social network each day. Additionally, the number of people who use social-media apps on their smartphones rose by 37 percent from 2012.
Digital consumers are also diversifying their choice of social networks, opting to use LinkedIn and Pinterest in addition to so-called traditional social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
As digital consumers find their own mix of devices and platforms to access and engage with social media, they are building profiles and connections on multiple social networks as well.
Two Screens Is A King
Digital consumers also rely on their mobile devices as a second type of television screen.
In a survey, eighty-four percent said they use their smartphone or tablet to surf the Web or to use apps while watching television. Of those, 44 percent of tablet owners shopped while watching TV, and 24 percent used their smartphones to make purchases.
Fourteen percent of tablet owners used their device to buy a product or service as it was being advertised on TV. Just 7 percent of smartphone owners said they would do the same.
Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit card Processing, Financial Services, Merchant Services Account, Mobile Payments, Small Business Improvement, Smartphone Tagged with: apps on their devices, average consumer, content, deeper engagement, digital consumers, digital devices, digital evolution, Facebook, gadgets, linkedin, media revolution, Mobile Devices, mobile platforms, offline and online, pinterest, regular mobile phone, smartphone, social media, social network, social presences, social-media apps, social-savvy, tablet, traditional media, twitter
