Instagram’s Latest Updates Could Help Brands Reach Consumers

Visuals are a powerful way to promote your brand. The right image can capture the soul of a brand and communicate it in an instant. Instagram – the largest image-sharing site in the world – boasts 70 million images and video uploads every day. That’s a lot of users – and a big potential audience for your brand. However, reaching the right audience via Instagram has been a bit tricky – until now.

The photo and video sharing social media powerhouse recently announced two big changes that look to be a boon to brands utilizing the app. Here’s what you need to know:

The Upgraded “Explore” Feature: Spurred in part by the explosion of users posting to Instagram, the company has updated its Explore feature to deliver trending topics in real time. Whether it’s images from the scene of a breaking news story or a nationwide event like #FathersDay, users will be provided with easy access to relevant content. Likewise, brands can gain exposure by posting content relevant to the latest trends and topics. Instagram has also added specific collections curated by an in-house team of editors that include categories like “ancient ruins” and “extreme athletes.”

All New Search: Instagram has improved its search algorithm to make finding people, places and events much easier. The update allows user to search people, places and tags simultaneously. With enough savvy, brands can utilize the search features to make themselves more discoverable to users.

To learn more about the all-new Instagram, check out the company’s blog. If you would like to discuss how your brand could utilize visual media to gain exposure, fill out the form to the right and let’s talk!

Branding by Jacob Tyler

17 Quotes on Design Philosophy From Apple’s Sir Jony Ive

Recently, Apple announced it was “promoting” its lead designer, Jony Ive. The promotion is little more than a title change, as Ive has led Apple’s world-changing product design since joining the company in 1996. “Sir” Jony Ive (he’s been knighted by the Queen of England) is well known across the globe for his innovative designs that made Apple the world’s biggest company and changed the way we interact with technology.

As designers, we draw inspiration from a variety of sources – the word around us, the innovative products and services of our clients and the work of great designers past and present. Ive is certainly one of those greats. The following collection of quotes from Apple’s creative maestro offer an interesting look into the philosophy that drives Apple’s world-changing designs.

“Simplicity is not the absence of clutter, that’s a consequence of simplicity. Simplicity is somehow essentially describing the purpose and place of an object and product. The absence of clutter is just a clutter-free product. That’s not simple.”

“There’s no learning without trying lots of ideas and failing lots of times.”

“Different’ and ‘new’ is relatively easy. Doing something that’s genuinely better is very hard.”

“We shouldn’t be afraid to fail- if we are not failing we are not pushing. 80% of the stuff in the studio is not going to work. If something is not good enough, stop doing it.”

“There is beauty when something works and it works intuitively.”

“If something is not good enough, stop doing it.”

“If you are truly innovating, you don’t have a prototype you can refer to.”

“What we make testifies who we are. People can sense care and can sense carelessness. This relates to respect for each other and carelessness is personally offensive.”

“Apple’s goal isn’t to make money. Our goal is to design and develop and bring to market good products.”

“True simplicity is, well, you just keep on going and going until you get to the point where you go, ‘Yeah, well, of course.’ Where there’s no rational alternative.”

“What I love about the creative process, and this may sound naive, but it is this idea that one day there is no idea, and no solution, but the next day there is an idea. I find that incredibly exciting and conceptually actually remarkable.”

“A small change at the beginning of the design process defines an entirely different product at the end.”

“When something exceeds your ability to understand how it works, it sort of becomes magical.”

“Designing and developing anything of consequence is incredibly challenging.”

“Making the solution seem so completely inevitable and obvious, so uncontrived and natural – it’s so hard!”

“It’s a very strange thing for a designer to say, but one of the things that really irritates me in products is when I’m aware of designers wagging their tails in my face.”

“The best ideas start as conversations.”

San Diego Digital Marketing Agency | Jacob Tyler

5 Themes from Interactive Day San Diego, 2015

Ah, Interactive Day. The one day a year when Southern California’s best, brightest and most innovative digital marketers convene to remind each other just how behind the curve they are. It is a day of inspiration and excitement and anxiety and terror: how do I institute this philosophy at my agency…how do I make these trends tangible enough to sell to my clients…when does happy hour start?

The Jacob Tyler team attended several insightful sessions throughout the day and identified a short list of the most prevalent themes discussed by leaders in the industry. Below are key takeaways, implications and points of inspiration from each theme.

1. Millennials (2015 is the peak year for marketing to millennials)

THE SCOOP:

  • This coming-of-age generation, now 18-34 years old, is the largest generation in the workforce.
  • Well educated and socially mindful, expect a growing annual spending power and influence among peers
  • A stronger connection to brands provides trust and relevance

PRO TIP:

  • Don’t be afraid to evolve with this audience and use a dynamic marketing approach. Be where they are, use their preferred media platforms, you won’t reach them otherwise. (Next Up: Gen Z)

INSPIRATION:

  • Lowe’s Fix In Six (#lowesfixinsix) campaign uses Vine to provide low-budget, clever improvements to make life at home a little easier. https://vine.co/Lowes

2. Personalized Content (Your content – whether text, images, or video – should be personalized and relevant for the audience)

THE SCOOP:

  • Ensure your campaign matches the data behind what your audience cares about.
  • Engaging experiences are made through personalization and relevance to the platform being used.
  • Content should be the start of a two-way conversation (talk to them, not at them).

PRO TIP:

  • Include descriptive and informative messaging that is helpful for the audience. It’s not only about the visuals.

INSPIRATION:

  • Top performing pins on Pinterest provide instructions and tips as well as a beautiful image — brands recognize that pins are about planning and information, not just aesthetics. https://www.pinterest.com/categories/popular/

3. Augmented Reality (Creating a near-real experience with a brand in a connected world)

 THE SCOOP:

  • Consumers today have made their purchase decisions well ahead of an in-store visit.
  • Augmented reality transports the consumer to a branded environment for a fully immersive experience. It can live anywhere your consumer lives, and become interactive through a variety of devices (smartphone, wearables or anywhere in between).

PRO TIP:

  • Start simple: how can my prospects see themselves using my product? Build a simple experience reflecting that, then test, and grow, and test, and grow.

INSPIRATION:

  • Always ahead of its own curve, the IKEA catalogue took augmented reality to an innovative (and still approachable) space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDNzTasuYEw

4. The Internet of Things (So much more than using Nest to create a connected home)

 THE SCOOP:

  • Speaking of wearables…the next generation of personalization and automation provides efficiency to living and working lifestyles.
  • Let technology learn more about you to improve day-to-day tasks and challenges through data.

PRO TIP:

  • Focus on how your brand and the information it gathers can simplify your consumers’ lives, and invest in the technology to build that connection.

INSPIRATION:

5. Live Interactions (Streaming video can be used to create a real-time, shared experience)

THE SCOOP:

  • Consumers crave real-time access to events as they unfold.
  • Live, user-influenced content creates an immediacy and shareability to brand experiences.

PRO TIP:

  • Listen to and know your audience, then build events and stories that invite them in as a live participant.

INSPIRATION:

  • Watch Gisele fight back to negative comments as the new face of Under Armour. http://gisele.underarmour.com/

How do these trends come to life, and how to they apply to your brand (or your clients’ brands)? What success stories have you seen, and what pitfalls should brands avoid?

Jacob Tyler | Branding Agency in San Diego

5 Easy Tactics to Reach Brand Enthusiasts

Do you own a gadget that you can’t wait to tell all of your friends about? Are you quick to recommend your favorite restaurant or a film you enjoyed to anyone who will listen? If so – to paraphrase the late Jeff Foxworthy – you might be a brand enthusiast. Brand enthusiasts are more than a fan of a certain product or brand – they champion brands, spreading word far and wide, without expectation of compensation. And they’re more common than you might think. According to a recent study, more than 25 percent of consumers are considered brand enthusiasts. That number doubles among Millenials, whose social media prowess makes them the most powerful and effective purveyors of enthusiasm – not to mention a powerhouse purchasing demographic.

Marketing to brand enthusiasts is a no-brainer, and the reasons are largely self-evident. Brand enthusiasts are trust worthier than advertising or marketing campaigns – and they don’t charge. They personify your brand from a deeply personal place, relaying their experience to a willing audience. Quite simply, brand enthusiasts are the most powerful arrows in your marketing quiver.

But reaching these magical marketing creatures – and convincing them to evangelize for your brand – is no easy task. There’s no magic formula, and if there were, there’s no way to guarantee enthusiasm for your particular brand. Aside from offering a great product or service, there are strategies you can employ to help you win brand enthusiasts to your cause. Start with these five:

Show Up: Don’t wait for brand enthusiasts to knock on your door asking to sample the goods. Go to where they are. With a little research, you should be able to find out where the conversations around your particular market are taking place – social media channels, chat rooms, etc. Be where the conversation is, and add to it.

Start a Conversation: Want to know what people think about your brand? Ask them. You will learn more about the perception of your brand from a conversation than you ever will from your assumptions. You’ll you gain a solid understanding of the way people feel about your brand, and learn how you can improve your brand in the eyes of your customers.

Gather Information: Brand enthusiasts are generally more willing to offer personal and contact information than more skeptical consumers. By collecting contact information and staying in touch with them, you can move from conversation to relationship.

Make Sure Your Technology is up to Snuff: Brand enthusiasts are known as some of the most tech-savvy consumers on the planet. As such, they research and engage with brands overwhelmingly through mobile devices. Make sure your website is easily accessible though mobile devices and operating systems.

Feed the Hungry: Brand enthusiasts devour content. After all, one can’t truly be considered an enthusiast if he or she isn’t an expert on the subject. Provide timely, targeted and useful information to your audience. If your brand enthusiasts like what you have to say, they’ll share it with the world.

Want to learn more about how you can generate enthusiasm for your brand? Fill out the form to the right and lets chat!

San Diego’s Best Branding Agency | Jacob Tyler

Is Your Facebook Ad Relevant? With the Social Network’s New Scoring System, It’s Easy to Tell

More than one billion people use Facebook. Chances are, a large portion of your audience uses the ubiquitous social network too. Just about every brand has a Facebook page (or should), but with the rise of Facebook advertising, more brands are paying to get their product or service in front of the Facebook community. With built-in demographic and geographic options, as well as retargeting information gleaned from cookies, Facebook ads are a great way to reach a predetermined audience. However, in order to reach a large audience, brands must create relevant ads. Facebook is understandably concerned about flooding users’ feeds with promotional material. Users do not want to have to sift through multiple ads to find posts from friends and family. As a result, Facebook ad space can be relatively scarce. To handle the tidal wave of requests from marketers, Facebook ads operate on a bidding process. Advertisers can set bid prices on Cost Per Click (CPC) and Cost Per Mille (CPM) – the cost you pay per 1000 impressions. It’s not quite as random as it sounds; Facebook provides a suggested bid you’ll need in order to “win” the auction.

Of course, the amount of clicks and impressions you receive depends largely on how relevant your ad is. Targeting the correct audience for your products or services and creating an eye-catching design is key.  And starting this week, you’ll no longer have to guess about your ad’s relevance – because Facebook will now quantify it for you. Based on shares, clicks, likes and “hide” options, Facebook will provide advertisers with a score of 1-10 for an ad’s relevance. This score will not only help advertisers gauge their efforts, but will factor into whether or not a bid is accepted – and could even compensate for lower bids, making Facebook advertising less costly for more effective ads. The following article from Ad Age is a good primer on the new feature. http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-starts-telling-brands-relevant-ads/297085/

Want to learn more about how Facebook advertising could fit into your brand strategy? Contact us using the form to the right!