A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words

Social media has constantly been evolving, whether it be from AOL's initial communities, to email, to spam, or to Facebook. The most recent and undeniable turn that social media has taken is that of visual content or in layman's terms, images, mostly due to the fact that pictures can communicate what text would otherwise in a much faster and clearer way. 

The statistics below "illustrate" the evidence and thinking behind this point: 

• Pinterest and Instagram are the two newest and fastest growing social media outlets and Flipboard (a visual news app) was the most popular at the time of the iPad's launch. 
• Recruiters judge your LinkedIn profile more by the photo than the content.
• The most shared and clicked-on links on Twitter are images.
• Facebook images are what generate the most reach, views, and interaction.

Marketers have an opportunity to take advantage of this trend by not only including relevant images on their business' social media pages but to also join some of the fastest growing image social media networks such as Instagram and Pinterest to link their images and help generate more traffic, leads, and sales. 

Twitter Emerges True Winner of Superbowl

Some say the Ravens won it, some say Beyonce won it, some even desperately say the 49ers won it, but Twitter seems to be the true winner of the Superbowl. According to a study conducted by MarketingLand's Matt McGee, Twitter was mentioned in 26 out of 52 commercials during the nation's most watched sports event. This was a whopping increase from last year's low count of only being recognized in 8 out of 59 advertisement clips; meanwhile Facebook experienced a 50% decline in this matter and Google+ received no prominence whatsoever for the second year in a row.

The impact Twitter made on Superbowl Sunday goes on to show four main things:

1) Social media marketing has taken a greater impact on national television.
2) Brands believe that social media strategies can generate leads for them.
3) Twitter continues to prove itself as an extremely significant B2C resource.
4) Twitter has seamlessly integrated itself into the daily lives of consumers worldwide as the reliable, real time, marketing and news source for connecting brands, products, and people.

Facebook Releases Gift Card

Everyone has probably heard of a Macy's, Express, or even a Taco Bell gift card... but a Facebook gift card is one that even the most avid of Facebook users and advocates would most likely have not imagined. Recently Facebook did the unthinkable with launching it's own gift card, one that allows people to exchange gifts from multiple brands with each other across the platform. This is a perfect feature for social media marketers as it will allow companies to better connect with their consumers with the quick and easy way of a universal card. So far Olive Garden, Sephora, and Jamba Juice are amongst the large companies to take advantage of this unique gift card but smaller retailers should especially take note of it to make their brands and products more known and easily accessible.

The Facebook gift card is very simple to use - A user buys it for his/her friend or family member and they receive it in the mail shortly after. Once the recipient has the gift card, it may be loaded and re charged over and over again. An updated balance is available on the Facebook home page, via the Facebook app, or even via instant notifications on the phone or computer.

This is truly a "gift" for marketers of companies and retailers trying endlessly to connect with their target audiences.