Strategic Public Relations

The Six Ingredients for Snackable Content

Can you define snackable content?

Many marketers asked the same question will use the infamous quote: “I know it when I see it.”

This is because the definition of snackable content lacks clearly defined parameters. This can give the term a subjective meaning. Even I’ll define it here in simple terms.

“Content is snackable when it is designed
for simple and flexible audience consumption.”

The content’s overall design makes it easier to consume, the audience more likely to consume it and it extends from the story and includes how the content is transmitted and shared.

As many as six different factors can make content snackable. And while all six aren’t required for content to be considered snacakable, they are all part of the broader content experience.

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Brand's Annual Report Published via Instagram

"Story drives the form. Form does not drive the story."

A local journalist instilled this mantra in me recently. And it would appear this mantra is being applied to annual reports.

Over the last decade, annual reports have gone from dry as toast financial documents to become a brand's "secret weapon" (vs. bread and butter /rimshot). Take this example from Warby Parker -- which provides an interactive, behind the scenes look at "how it all goes down" at the popular online eyewear brand.

Rather than having the production, or typical annual report format, drive its creation, The Calgary Zoo chose Instagram to serve up its year in review and to help reinforce its story.

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 Now before you go out and start snapping pics of your existing annual report and posting them to Instagram, here's why it works for the zoo.

• Telling a Visual Story: The Zoo already had a very visual story to tell. Instagram helped amplify this fact. They didn't try and reverse engineer the annual report into square photos for Instagram.
• Creating Snack-Sized & Healthy Content: Each page became a destination for the Zoo...helping them reinforce important points and distribute the annual report more easily online. 
• Supporting a Broader Plan: This execution is part of a broader plan for the Zoo as it relates not only to it's marketing efforts, but also to it's annual report...and its role in these broader efforts.
• Reinforcing the Brand: The Zoo does a great job of using visuals to reinforce the experience visitors have at the Zoo as well as the broader platforms the Zoo supports, including protecting penguins for example. The point is, while there are many snack-sized messages, all of the pictures come together to support a common theme - the Calgary Zoo.

It is a great use of Instagram, a great idea for the Calgary Zoo and an important reminder to us that the restrictions of a platform can increase our creativity and not simply limit it.

Vine's Foes, & Most Fans, Are Missing the Point

Less than 10 days after it's debut, news about the Vine app is a lot like Super Bowl pre-game commentary. We've got so-called experts everywhere weighing in on who will win and who will lose. Whether you like Vine, hate it or couldn't care less whether it thrives or withers, I'm willing to bet you're missing the point of this app.

It's not about a shiny new social toy. It's not about the increasing popularity of snack-sized content, social video or the recent resurgence of the gif.

It's all about Twitter.

Twitter Tool First, Video Platform Second
Vine extends Twitter's utility, giving users another reason to make the 140-character platform their social destination of choice. That's a big deal for Twitter, making it a more desirable ad platform for brands. Some suggest that Vine is as important to Twitter as YouTube was to Google.

And I'm willing to bet that a Venn diagram of Twitter and Vine users would show most of Vine's circle overlapping with Twitter's (much larger) circle. Vine's generated a lot of conversation on Twitter over the last seven days, racking up more than 26,000 mentions each day.

One reason Vine's generating buzz and is a top download on iTunes is because Twitter owns the app and promoted Vine on it's blog. Social video isn't a new concept. But Twitter's promotion was the rough equivalent of the Oprah Book Club, driving more downloads, more quickly, than the app could have achieved on its own. Brands as varied as Gap, CNN, Jo-Ann Stores and others are already playing with Vine's stop-action video snippets.

Controversy = Sign of Success
Unfortunately, pornography was being posted on Vine seemingly hours after the launch. Vine responded quickly, after a brief stumble. But I'm wondering if such an early attempt to exploit the platform is more a sign of its potential than of its potential issues. Either way, you can assume the app will be tweaked on an ongoing basis to deal with its issues.

Bottom Line?
Despite my opinion of Vine, the decision to tap this  shiny new app for your marketing efforts comes down to a few simple questions:

• Is your audience using Vine?
• Is your audience using Twitter?
• Does Vine allow you to reach them more effectively?

If Vine, or another other shiny new tool, doesn't help a brand more effectively connect with consumers? It's just noise.


 Related Articles
Vine's Potential & Problems - Nieman Journalism Labs' take on Vine's news impact.
Seven Places to Watch Videos on Vine, Even if You Don't Have the App - FastCompany points to several sites that have already sprung up to serve up Vine content on the web.
Vine: The New Twitter or Chatroulette? Salon walks through the pros and cons of the app, including its connection to the popular gif movement.

Instagram vs. Vine .gif via Laughing Squid

The Impact of Color & Font on Messages

Living in a battleground state, I've been subject to a long and noisy 2012 election season that started in May. Attack ads saturating every media channel are seemingly in concert with an incessant rhythm of autobot phone calls and other campaign techniques. The din is bringing people to tears. But only two different yard signs, for a single candidate, have stood out for me this election season.**

And it’s all due to the impact of font and color choice - and perhaps my profession.

One Candidate, Two Signs
The only race discussed locally as frequently as the Presidential election is the race for an Ohio U.S. Senate seat. The Republican candidate, while 35 years old, looks very young. And I initially assumed the red yard sign on the right was a shift in his campaign strategy. It's actually from a special interest group and the white yard sign on the left is from the campaign team. The white yard sign is consistent with the candidate's overall branding and communication efforts.

Less Really is More
The sign on the right has tighter copy. As a result, it doesn't mention his more youthful first name. Less copy also allows for a bigger font size, which pops as white on a dark red background. The color choice is a reminder of the candidate's party and even the font looks more credible. The white yard sign on the left's italicized font has an almost Comic Sans look to it. It conveys youth more than it conveys credibility.

It's in the Details
Can a single yard sign make or break a candidate's election campaign? At the end of the day, getting elected requires the most votes. But the above example would have definitely helped address a specific issue for this candidate. And it's a reminder of how the subtle details behind our content work together to achieve a larger goal.


**This is a post about how font and color choice can make a big impact on communication devices. This is NOT a political post

Top Photo Apps Getting Instagram Engagement

Lately I've noticed my more heavily edited pics are getting more likes. To assume that more apps/edits equate to more attention is short-sighted. Format is no substitute for content, and likes aren't the best engagement metric.** But with that said, here are the apps I've used to create my five most-liked photos on Instagram.

1) Camera+  |  Every single picture above was run through Camera+. I use it on nearly every picture I take and Creamy Whip? Zip Dip! relies soley on Camera+. The HDR filter helps light, the sun rising and setting in particular, to really pop.

2) Slow Shutter Cam  |  Slow shutter and stop action apps are amazing niche apps. Initially, I took more with my stop action app, MogoFoto. But spend an evening at a festival or an amusement park and you'll see why Slow Shutter Cam turned Tilt-a-Hurl into my most liked picture.

3) Marble Cam  |  "Sharks with frickin' laser beams..." was taken with MarbleCam, an intersting novelty app that focuses on the center of your image in a whole new way.

4) Picfx  |  Picfx has a lot of fans. One reason is because it can distress photos, creating a whole new look. One Way is a great example of this.

5) Rays  |  Pictures with light sources in them are perfect for the Rays app, which will enhance them. It turned Cloud Porn with Inception Vibe into one of my favorites and one of my most-liked photos.

Bonus Tool  |  Statigram: Statigram makes Instagram pics easier to access, including your own photos. It serves up stats like the image above, and gives you access to several contests and other tools. This article on its various features is worth checking out if you're looking for an easier way to navigate Instagram.

Again, these results are based on content as much as format. So your experience with the above apps may vary. Now that Facebook's purchase of Instagram is final, I'm hoping posts like this one don't become humorous artifacts from " a time before Instagram was folded in to Facebook."

**Defining engagement is a lot like defining influence. The definition varies from person to person. And while I can see how likes are considered engagement, likes are passive enough that I don't think it's the strongest, standalone example of engagement. And unless you're goal is to raise awareness, likes are more of a progress metric compared to a data point measuring overall success.

Infographic: At 5, the #Hashtag is One Versatile Character

The Hashtag celebrated its fifth birthday yesterday.

We were inspired to create an infographic capturing how a single character could become "kind of a big deal."

Multiple Media Channels
The hashtag has done more than help Twitter with its paid media strategy. It has expanded past Twitter to  integrate with other sites like Facebook. It has also impacted offline media channels, including TV and print as you see in the picture above.

It's a great reminder that simple can be very powerful.

The infographic reviews the hashtag's history, how it's being used across media channels and also includes tips for brands on how to use them more effectively.

Be sure to check it out. 

Pinterest: 10 Tips for PR People

>> Carlo Pandian approached me with a ready-made guest post. But his pitch was so good that I pitched him on writing about Pinterest instead. PR's ability to drive consumers through the purchase funnel tends to focus on awareness. I like some of his Pinterest tips for PR people as they include tips for generating more than awareness -- while adhering to Pinterest's much-appreciated no direct sales rules.

Don't Forget: The tips below assume YOUR audience is on Pinterest and the tactic of pinning supports broader strategies in your plan.<<



The idea behind Pinterest is to create attractive pin boards on your profile based on your interests, or your products and services if you’re a business. Once you have created your pin boards all you need to do is ‘pin’ relevant images to the right boards and try to raise a following.

Direct Sales Aren’t Allowed
There are strict guidelines you will need to follow. In the terms and conditions it does state that you are not able to use the site for direct sales, but there are plenty of other uses that can lead to more sales.

First and foremost you must receive an invitation to open an account. A quick shout out on Twitter should be enough for someone to lend you a hand if you need it. Check within your own circles first though, with over 10 million users it’s likely you already know someone who can invite you. Failing that you can request an invite directly from Pinterest.

Here 10 tips on how to get on-board and start making use of this popular platform.

1.      Create product specific boards and show images of your goods.  If you offer a service you can still use the images from your blog posts or web pages.  Each image links back to the page you pinned it from, which is why it’s very useful for adding links to your website and bringing in new traffic.  Create new boards for your ranges to keep things organised.

2.      Think outside the box when it comes to marketing.  You cannot directly sell anything but you could use the site to pin special offer coupons, QR codes on your images or attractive images of entire collections to excite the viewer.

3.      Try to cross promote all of your social sites with Pinterest.  Link up your website, Twitter account and Facebook when you create your profile and send your pinned images over to your various sites.  Add your profile pictures and cover photos from Facebook onto a pin board, send pinned pictures directly to your Twitter account and encourage users of all social networks to visit all of your sites individually.

4.      Add the 'Follow me on Pinterest' button to your website next to your other social media buttons so people can follow you with one easy click. 

5.      The ‘Pin It’ button is another essential addition to your website specifically your product pages and your blog.

6.      Conduct market research by reaching out to users and asking for their opinions. Show ideas in the making, products which are being developed and see what the reaction is.

7.      It’s possible to add video content onto Pinterest so if you create your own video marketing remember to add these onto the relevant boards. Remember there is no direct selling, so consider the contents before pinning.

8.      If you have stories or news about your company across the Internet add it to your ‘In the News’ board.

9.      Ask your employees to all create their own pin board on the company profile.  Let their personality show, yet ensure they are aware of the rules first.

10.  As with all social networking you mustn’t be selfish.  Repin, share and comment on the pins and boards of others in order to raise an interest in you.

Related Articles 
Pinterest Best Practices
15 Ways to Use Pinterest for PR 
The 10 Commandmants of Pinterest for Business

Pinterest - The Social Media Darling Of 2012: Infographic by Infographiclabs

 Author
Carlo Pandian is a freelance writer based in London and blogs for Media Recruitment on public relations, marketing and careers. When he’s not online or cycling around town, you can’t get him out of the kitchen for his love of food.

Context + Relevance = An Important Equation

Aside from a low-grade entertainment value, animated gifs seem bent on little more than triggering seizures and furthering memes. One of the only times I've used them in a post was about a month ago. The motion can distract from the point you're trying to make.

When I saw an animated gif on Instagram, I wanted to post it because it was a good use of the usually abused technology. But the factoids in it focus on Facebook's purchase of Instagram. The topic's been covered and I didn't have anything to add to the discussion.

End Factoid Abuse
Regardless of the content, without context and relevance, my post would have been dancing baloney . The following video is a fun examination of how these factoid storms, without context or direct relevance, just leaves you all wet. It's a factoid mockumentary. It's...it's...well, just watch it.

Rolling Thunder 2.0
Back when 2.0 was dot com, startups were trying to flip their company instead of build it. Startups would issue a steady flow of news releases -- whether or not they had news. We called this rolling thunder. Today we all love a diet of eMarketer factoids, made even tastier with Twitter's 140-character menu, infographic eye candy and a culture where sharing content is more popular than creating it.

"Mr. Dugan, your glass house is ready..."
I'm as guilty of this habit as anyone else. Stats comparing  AOL, Facebook and Draw Something's path to reach 1 million users are not only impressive, they have parallel structure! But they're out of context and don't take into account that Draw Something and Facebook benefitted from the path AOL initially carved out for them, not to mention years of technological evolution.

When we look at any research, our first question should always be: sample? From there, anytime we're trying to make a point or we're putting together anything from a tweet to a powerpoint deck, let's take a deep breath and also ask: context?

Instagram's Android Launch Complete's the Picture for Brands

With 1 million downloads made in the first 24 hours of its release, Instagram's long-awaited Android app has clearly been well-received.

The Android release was a bit of a tidal wave as you can only access the platform via its mobile app or using your app login to use web-based options that tap into the Instagram API.

More users mean more potential for your audience being on the platform. So here's a quick recap of Instacontent, from here and elsewhere, to help users get their sea legs with an app that's gotten a serious second-wind. 

Watch How Brands Do: There are a variety of brands with an established Instagram presence. Luxury and beverage brands have quickly taken to the platform, having found a user base. But the media are also using it to give you backstory access around events like the upcoming U.S. Presidential election.

But before you follow everyone's well-documented lead, ask how this fits into your larger social > online > marketing > business strategy. If it doesn't roll all the way up, it's not worth investing time and resources.

Manage Your Feed: Statigr.am, by far, looks to be the best way to manage your feed, track statistics and even organize your photos and the people you follow into lists. It even allows you to message each other users through the site,  gives you promotional tools and promotes contests from other brands and users.

Use Supporting Apps: If you're taking pics with your phone, you can access a handful of apps to make your images stand out and better represent what you're trying to communicate. And there's a lot of Instatips too to help you optimize your use of Instagram.

Back that Pic Up: You'll want to have a backup copy of your photos, right? Well Google+ app users have it easiest as Google+ can automatically backup your phone's pics. But there's also options for Dropbox users and everyone else.

Take It Elsewhere: Some brands are tapping into the API-provided portability of Instgram content. Starbucks streams relevant user pics into its online Coffeehouse. And any user can easily stream their pics into a Tumblr or onto Facebook for non-Instafans to check out their work. And don't forget sites like Animoto make it easy to turn your pics into a video.

Go Offline: Photowalks are a great way to get a handle on the app and its potential. I've organized two of them and they're fairly simple to execute. If you're not about socializing in real time, you can still use any number of sites to print your pics in a number of ways. I've used CanvasPop forexample and highly recommend it.

It's Deja Vu All Over Again
With apologies to Yogi Bera, I'm already seeing a lot of Twitter "how-to" content becoming relevant again. From filling out your profile and using an avatar to posting content before following a ton of people -- many of those basics apply here (and to Pinterest!). You can even project an Instafeed by user or hashtag, to create a visual back channel at events.

How's that for a link-laden, to-do list? It's not even taking into account Instagram-related content I've curated on Pinterest and Scoop.It. There's a lot of opportunity and creativity in this site. If your audience is not on it, you can still use it for your own personal reward.

Follow me on Instagram
Cross-posted to my work blog.
Infographic via Visual.ly 

5 Tips for Free, Easy Photo Edits

The news of Google's latest service shutdowns means picture editing is no longer a Picnik for many bloggers, Flickr users and others.

Google is shutting down Picnik and wrapping the technology into services like Google+. And while many die hard Picnik users are understandably miffed, the odds are good that several alternatives have come about to handily replace their de facto image editor.

Whether or not you use Picnik, here are five tips for free and easy photo edits.

1) Your Computer: Most laptops come preloaded with image editing software. It may only cover the basics, but it'll do in a pinch and they work whether or not you're online.

2) PowerPoint: This may be seen as Macgyver by some and MacGruber by others, but you can pull images into a powerpoint slide, edit them and save them out again as jpgs. This is also great if you don't have photoshop and want to combine images. Again, you're limited in what you can do, but you can do more than you think.

3) Pixlr: If you prefer Photoshop, but don't have access to it, check out Pixlr. It's a great, free online image editing tool that closely resembles the graphic design software.

4) BeFunky: I've used BeFunky in the past for some photo fun, but they've enhanced and expanded their offering with plenty of free options to edit and filter images, add special effects and more. Thanks to Matthew Dooley for the heads up on BeFunky's full array of options.

5) Picassa: I use it on my desktop. It also connects to Picnik, but it lets you do quite a bit of editing without it. It's also a great photo management tool.

Bonus Tip: If you're in love with a photo app on your smartphone? Use Dropbox or something similar to transfer images back and forth and simply edit on your phone. It's not as straightforward as the above options. But if there's a filter you're in love with on your phone, it's an option for the right shots.

UPDATE: Thanks to David Parmet for also tipping me off to the Aviary App which allows you to edit pics from/in Facebook. 

Picnik is a great site. Hopefully Google makes a quick and obvious integration of Picnik into all of its photo tools. In the meantime, the site's given refunds to all its users and is free to all until it shuts down in mid-April. This gives die hard fans plenty of time to find an alternative that might even improve upon their former photo editing habits.

Social Media Consolidation Leaving Users in Lurch

Picnik is just one of several sites changing their policies or shutting down completely. Co.Tweet's moving to paid only as part of Exact Target's product offering. Twitter bought Summify and it's shutting down soon.

Social Media is maturing and, as sites buy other sites or evolve, it's impacting users. Hopefully it means more from mainstream sites like Twitter and Google+ in the above examples. Just remember it's business. And it's something  we'll surely be seeing more of in the future.

And a thanks to ShannanB for inspiring this post.