2017 is already a big year for social giants Facebook and Instagram. For users there are many new features that make both platforms engaging and fun to use. These changes will have a deeper impact for brands and marketers.

Facebook

In-Stream Video – With the Audience Network launch last May, Facebook now runs In-Stream Videos which allows Facebook’s 4 Million Advertisers to reach more people with pre-roll and mid-roll placements. This also includes Facebook Live. In-Stream Video has proven to increase overall CPM results and continuing to show potential as the popularity of video increases. If you have quality video to share, this may be an option for your next campaign.

Messenger Advertising – Facebook Messenger has changed extensively in the last few months. Some say it has officially emulated SnapChat with the use of filters (and stories). However, The good thing about Facebook Messenger in terms of business is the ability to interact with fans in real-time and has changed the ecommerce space entirely. For example: Jasper’s Market – The user has clicked on the call-to-action button which started a messenger chat including the 20% offer. From there a real-time conversation can begin.

Instagram
Carousel Photos and Videos – For a few weeks now, social marketers and users alike have been excited with the carousel photo and video feature that is now available on Instagram. The Carousel Ad has been in the Advertising space for a awhile but now the Carousel option lets you create a single Instagram post with a slideshow of up to 10 images and/or videos. Users can scroll them. You can tag users on individual slides within the post and marketers can upload their product catalog to the mix. This will allow for users to click on items within the photo, see how much it costs and purchase the item in just a few steps. Amazing!

Instagram Stories – With 300 million daily viewers and 500 million monthly viewers, Instagram is leagues ahead of Snapchat when it comes to the ability of advertising reach within stories. At first, Instagram only allowed 30 brands to participate in advertising within the new feature and now it is a placement option for all with access to Business Manager and Power Editor. Of course, this option should be used only if you have quality imagery and video to connect with appropriate target market.  Airbnb was one of the first brands to capitalize on this awesome feature. As the year continues, look for many new trends with video content, advertising and metrics. Remember, don’t be afraid to try new objectives to fully optimize your social campaigns.

Ogden, Utah

Dana and Ski Patrol at Powder Mountain, UT

Last year I was on location in Ogden, Utah with our photographer Nate, from Speed Photos, for a Content Spree. This is what we call our intensive quick focus shoots of an area where we capture stills, video, 360, depending on the immediate need, in a quick 2-3 days. When we are mapping out a Content Spree, the itinerary and routes are meticulously planned using Google Earth, first hand referrals and researching, but always allows for spontaneity to drive the creative flow, as when you’re on location you can’t plan for everything! Weather, talent, traffic, equipment failure and more are all waiting to create havoc in your strategically planned shoot! Sometimes, these non-calculated moments some of the best and most unique content is captured.

We were slated shoot content all over the Ogden valley including three ski/snowboard locations (Snow Basin, Nordic Valley and Powder Mountain), while also covering downtown Ogden. Temperatures were single digits the majority of the time, which makes getting out of bed early to capture sunrise over the Nordic Valley really tough, but a large hot coffee and this glorious sunrise made it worth it!

The last afternoon of the Content Spree, was shooting at Powder Mountain, which consists of over 7,000 miles of back country terrain covered in 500 inches of Utah’s pristine powder only accessible by a few lifts or hiking. Luckily Ski Patrol gave us a lift via snowmobiles, allowing us access to shots we wouldn’t have been able to capture otherwise. They were even stoked to be in the shoot!

These Content Sprees are a lot of fun, and you really get immersed into the area you’re shooting. It’s a great learning experience as well to work hand-in-hand with the photographer creating content together as we go. Most importantly, it’s a great benefit to our Clients and they’ve been extremely happy with all of our results.

Content Spree Summary: 2.5-day Content Spree | 500 stills developed | 12 hrs of B-Roll scenic video produced | 100% organic talent

Check out a few of our favorite shots:

“What should we watch?”

The rallying cry should ring familiar. Netflix, Hulu and their ilk use sophisticated algorithms to provide tailor-made recommendations based on your viewing habits, and those of your friends.

And Chill takes this to the next, logical inflection: a chat bot you interact with in natural language. The bot analyzes words and phrases to deliver personalized movie recommendations, complemented by a YouTube trailer for the flick it’s suggested. Coolness factor aside – because chatting with an A.I. as if it were a human is nothing if not cool – And Chill is just one more bot heralding the renaissance of chat.

Instagram has been all over the news the past weeks with changes to its algorithm, influencer marketing news, and recently, an announcement about its new business manager platform. This tool, although primarily a funnel to get businesses to promote their content, will provide some much needed data on a channel that to-date has been a bit erratic.

Here is what you need to know:

This is the first in what’s to be a recurring series on “Context Over Dogma”; posts marked #NoFilter are brutally candid assessments of social media trends, best-practices, and industry watchdogging. Call it “truth-to-power”, call it “playing the fool”, but these are the places in which the team from Pandemic Labs will wax politically incorrect (read: more truthful) than an agency probably should.

Today’s topic comes from the recent news that Instagram will roll out an algorithmically-ranked newsfeed, forsaking the reverse chronological order that has, to date, ruled the user experience. Under the new system, which won’t roll out fully for at least another 6 months, posts with more relevance to a user (according to Instagram’s algorithm) will appear more prominently in the newsfeed, upon opening the app. So, the stuff you are more likely to engage with, or find interesting, is to appear at the top of your feed. A few things: