Joel Comm's Blog, page 30

Top 5 Live Streaming Apps – Episode #40

Live video streaming is here to stay, and in episode #40 of The Top 5 Scope, I share my top five video streaming apps.

5 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2016

Death and taxes used to be the only two things we could all rely on. Now we can add a third: that social media will roll out all sorts of weird changes. Entrepreneurs will then scratch their heads, wonder what this is all about… and finally jump on the bandwagon and try to catch up. So before you scratch your heads, here’s a heads-up. Five major changes are currently rumbling away in social media and they’re going to break out in 2016. You need to be ready for them. 1. Live Streaming Goes Mainstream Live streaming is already out but it’s going to get bigger. Within months of its launch, Twitter’s Periscope service already had 15 million registered users who could use their smartphones to share instant content. Big companies have been quick to spot the opportunity. In July 2015, GE’s Droneweek exercise took viewers into the company’s factories and showed audiences, including the engineering graduates the company needs to attract, how jet engines, wind turbines and locomotives are made and tested. The company got to tell its story through a week of live, authentic content. Other kinds of content that firms can broadcast live include conferences, interviews, customer support, product demonstrations and special offers. For small companies, the select audiences who tune in are the firm’s most loyal customers. They’re the people you want to hug closest, and live streaming brings them about as close as they can get. If you’re not broadcasting live yet, expect to push up a Periscope in 2016. 2. On-Platform Content Opens Up 2015 was the year that Facebook snatched distribution from established content creators. Instead of publishers bringing Facebook users to their own websites, Facebook’s Instant Articles program let publishers distribute their content on the social media platform. The content would load up to ten times faster, more people would see it and the publisher could earn advertising revenue. But the users would stay on Facebook, reducing the publisher’s own brand value. Despite the risks, 350 publications have now signed up, including The New York Times, BuzzFeed and Huffington Post. More than 100 publications distribute their content through Instant Articles every day. The program started on iPhones and expanded to Android devices at the end of 2015. It’s still limited to select publishers but expect registration to roll out more broadly–and force all of us to compare the benefits of showing our content on Facebook with the advantages of bringing users to our Web pages. 3. Smarter Use Of Snapchat Of all the head-scratching moves in social media few have created a greater risk of a bald spot than the rise of Snapchat. You spend time and money creating unique content for a targeted audience only to see that content disappear as soon as it’s used. It’s the exact opposite of the quick burst and slow burn that a good YouTube video or blog post can achieve. And yet, companies as big as McDonalds, Acura, and Heineken have all waded in, keen to connect with the platform’s young audience — and scared to be left behind. The quality of the content has improved over the last couple of years, and it’s going to get better. There are enough good case studies available now for anyone to be able churn out effective Snapchat content quickly and easily. Now that firms no longer need to scratch their heads for good ideas, expect businesses with youthful customers to start churning out disposable content. 4. Video Will Continue To Beat Static Content 2015 started with the news that Facebook users were posting 75 percent more videos than they were posting the previous year. In the US, it was closer to 100 percent, and Facebook was pushing 360 percent more video content into people’s news feeds. Between April and November 2015, Facebook doubled average daily video views from 4 billion to 8 billion. Even though the company counts a three-second glimpse as a “view,” that’s still a huge amount of video-watching and it shows how keen Mark Zuckerberg is to eat YouTube’s lunch. Those figures are only going to grow. Facebook has already made clear that it prefers video content to link posts and even images so to build any kind of successful social media campaign, you will need to pull out a video camera and get shooting this year. 5. Virtual Reality Content Will Make Its First Appearance When Facebook bought Oculus Rift for $2 billion in 2014, even the most savvy social media watchers were left bemused. But the idea is starting to become clear. Just as video is a more engaging form of content than still imagery so virtual reality will be the next and most engaging step forward for content. The New York Times has already started creating virtual reality content that works with Google’s Cardboard virtual reality viewer and Paul McCartney invited a VR firm to film one of his concerts. It’s still early days for virtual reality but as we approach the end of the year, expect to see more moves towards a new kind of engaging content — and start scratching your head for a way to use it yourself.

7 Events You Must Put on Your Calendar in 2016

In an increasingly noisy world, getting media attention for your brand can be challenging. But savvy marketers understand how to ride the publicity train by being aware of what everyone is talking about and discovering how to ride the buzz. Every year has a series of events that you can tie to your business and win publicity. Here are seven to look out for in 2016. 1. Party Primaries (February 1st – June 14th) The primaries will run through almost half a year, from the Iowa Caucus on February 1st to the DC primary on June 14th. Some of those days will be more important than others. New Hampshire goes to the polls eight days after Iowa, and Super Tuesday on March 1st is the really big one. But every election and every caucus gives your business an opportunity to cash in on the news — especially when it comes to your state. Tell the press how your customers are reacting to the political news or what businesses like yours think candidates should be discussing, and you’ll have shot at turning a dull but important story that reporters have to cover into an interesting and fun article people will actually want to read. 2. Superbowl 50 (February 7th) Right after the Iowa caucus, attention will shift to Santa Clara and Superbowl 50. Every Superbowl is a huge occasion but the number makes this one even more special. Only the biggest companies get to buy an advertisement during the game but anyone can parody a top ad and put it on YouTube. Be quick and you can win views from someone else’s budget. 3. Spring Break (March) Every year, news sites and local newspapers have a chance to show pictures of young people having fun. And to judge them for having fun. They’ll look for an opportunity to make the most of it. Give students at your local college a special offer for spring break, and you can tell the local media about it. Connect your product to the parties and you can pitch for a place in the news. You’re not going to make the front page, but if you can give reporters an excuse to talk about a fun occasion you can land some attention and some extra sales. 4. New iPad Launch (March?) By mid-March 2016 it will be 500 days since Apple updated the iPad Air, its main tablet computer. The previous longest gap between updates came between the third and fourth generations when we had to wait 374 days. Rumors suggest a new iPad in March… although it could be September. Whenever the release takes place, it will be a huge media event. In the past, companies have used the occasion to offer new iPads as competition prizes but it’s also a showcase for any business in how to launch a product with the biggest fanfare possible. Even if you’re not upgrading, watch and learn. 5. European Soccer Championships (June 10th – July 10th) Last summer’s victory by the US women’s soccer team in the Women’s World Cup final was watched by 26.7 million viewers in America, a record for a US audience. Soccer might not be up there with the NBA or NFL but it is a game that’s played by millions of kids every weekend. This year, many of the world’s best players will be competing in the European championships, an event held, like the World Cup and the Olympics, every four years. That’s a month of publicity opportunities and sporty tie-ins. 6. Start Of The Academic Year (September) Just as students not going to school can be a media opportunity, so can students traipsing back to their dorms. They’re going to be carrying all sorts of products with them, from computers and tablets to duvet covers and rice cookers. Offer tips to help students get the most out of their stay, including with products from your industry, and you’ve given reporters an easy, fun story about a topic that always captures the public’s attention. 7. Presidential Elections (November 8th) 2016 starts with an election and it will end with one. In the past local businesses have won publicity with straw polls of customers, but you can also tell the press how your business might change depending on the winner or hold an event to bring together opposing groups of voters once the counting has been done. No media event will be bigger than the presidential election this year so, as always, if you can find a way to slip your business into a story the media has to cover, you’re in the press.

Top 5 Reasons to Go to CES 2016 – Episode #39

I love gadgets, and I’m always excited to attend the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas each January. In episode #39 of The Top 5 Scope, I share my top five reasons for going!

Top 5 Ways to Repurpose Your Periscope – Episode #38

Many people broadcast on Periscope but never re-use the content they create. In episode #38 of The Top 5 Scope, I share the top five ways in which you can repurpose your Periscopes so they live on forever!

Top 5 Kinds of Tweets – Episode #37

There are so many different ways to engage on Twitter. But in episode #37 of The Top 5 Scope, I share my top five kinds of tweets.

Top 5 Mindfulness Tips for a Happy Life – Episode #36

How can you live a happier life? In episode #36 of The Top 5 Scope, I share my top five tips for mindfulness. The wiser we are, the more we will live these out!

11 Experts Predict How Internet Marketing Will Change in 2016

What marketing changes are going to hit us in 2016? Ask a thousand marketing experts and you’ll get a thousand different answers. So I went to the super-experts: those already making waves in the Internet marketing realm. Here’s what these pros had to offer. 1. Content Marketing Will Get a Whole New Look Justin Brooke (@justinbrooke) of XXLContent.com predicts that 2016 will be the year of communities and mobile apps. Ad blockers and content overload will force marketers to get creative, he said, and come up with more innovative ways to reach and engage audiences. “The marketing community will realize that we’ve reached the peak of content marketing and online advertising. You can already see evidence that it takes bigger and bigger blog posts to cut through the noise. This will force marketers to innovate. Instead of free blog posts they’ll launch mobile apps and whole websites in an effort to raise the free bar enough to gain the coveted eyeballs. Advertisers will move to mobile ads to try and stay ahead of the ad blocking browser war. It’ll work for 2016, but not 2017. Advertisers will also start looking for more and more content sponsorship deals since content isn’t blocked by ad blockers. Eventually they’ll realize their ad budget is better spent on creating engaging communities, side projects, apps, and even mobile games.” 2. We’ll All Be Authors One challenge all marketers face is getting their information seen on an Internet already filled with lots of other information. Facebook has been fighting this for a while. The average Facebook user could see about 1,500 pieces of content in their news feed every day; Facebook only shows around one in five of them. C. Mike Lewis (@NomadCEO) of ghostpublishing agency BrandedExperts.com, sees books as one way in which business owners can shoot past online content and use their knowledge to show their expertise. “More business owners will be using authoring a book as the way to build their authority and trust in their market. Customer’s easy access to information has made being seen as the best choice in the market more critical than ever.” 3. Smarter Systems Will Smooth Processes And Build Relationships Marketers have been pulled in two different directions recently. On the one hand, we can totally automate the sales funnel. On the other hand, we also know that the strongest businesses are built on authentic relationships and real engagement. Bob Becket (@bobbeckett) of thedigitalaffiliates.com sees those two processes coming together in 2016. “It will be more and more important to not just systematize your business, but to create systems that help you engage with your customers faster and more personably.” 4. Finer Targeting And Higher Engagement With Smaller Audiences Kathleen Gage (@kathleengage), an online marketing expert at KathleenGage.com, sees businesses building a closer following with experts provided they can deliver exactly what they need quickly, fluff-free and increasingly with video. “It will be necessary for companies and organizations to be even more streamlined than ever in how they segment their markets and the messaging to their markets. Transparency marketing will be huge. People who allow themselves to be vulnerable in what they share will create a more loyal following among those who are interested in their information and expertise with an equally fast drop off of those who have no interest in what they stand for.” Internet marketing expert Matt Bacak (@mattbacak) agrees. He sees online advertising meeting email marketing in the coming year. Marketers will be able to get their information seen only by people they know want it. “My prediction for 2016 as it relates to internet marketing is that we will see more and more ad networks allowing their advertisers to upload email lists so that they can target customers with ads.” 5. More Content Will Be Live I have been seeing great results from live streaming, so I wasn’t too surprised to see a number followers predict that live content will become a more important way to build those targeted audiences. This is what Reed Floren (@reedfloren) of ReedFloren.com had to say: “More companies will take advantage of live streaming (Blab, Periscope, Webinars, Hangouts etc.) in order to stand out from the crowd and to build a very loyal following. We will also see a lot more businesses taking their customers online and communicating with them using other methods (phone calls, text, snail mail etc.) Most of this will be completely automated so your team can sell more to your best customers.” 6. Security Worries Will Create New Risks And New Opportunities 2015 saw some big online security stories. The Ashley Madison hack embarrassed a lot of people but it also worried any Internet business with a database, and every credit card company that deals with them. Tom Cone (@boatwarden) who sells security systems for boat owners at boatwarden.com, sees online businesses facing stricter payment procedures in 2016. “Expect credit card companies to increase the burden of card data security through PCIDSS. Watch out for precedent-setting big fines and the removal of merchant resources.” He also sees the Internet of Things generating plenty of aggregated data which could turn out to be valuable real estate for Internet marketers who can use it. 7. LinkedIn Will Link Better Most people see LinkedIn as a place to ask friends if they know anyone who can give them a job. Jimena Cortes (@thejimenacortes) of linkedblueprintcourse.com sees the site doing more in 2016 to turn contacts into assets members can use. “With the launch of Sales Navigator, LinkedIn is encouraging you to use their platform to find, track and contact prospects. LinkedIn has also expanded its capabilities for lead generation through Pulse, its publishing platform and now SlideShare.” 8. Mobile And Video Will Stay Strong Two trends that we’ve seen grow stronger and stronger over the last few years are the importance of mobile and the growth of video content. According to Warren Whitlock (@warrenwhitlock), speaker and author of Twitter Revolution, both of those trends will become […]

Top 5 Things to Do with a Penny Check – Episode #35

I had the best laugh ever when I opened an envelope from Amazon.com and found the smallest check possible. What are five things you can do with a check for one penny? Here are my thoughts on episode #35 of The Top 5 Scope!

Top 5 Tips for Being an Epic Man – Episode #34

As Mr. America of 1986, Tom Terwilliger has inspired people all over the world. Now, his Epic Man Project is helping men live a life of prosperity and authenticity. In episode #34 of The Top 5 Scope, we discuss 5 Tips for being an epic man.