Nothing is free in this world (at least that’s how the saying goes). But social media has always been a give and take proposition when it comes to the platforms, the users and brands. Several announcements this week added to the paradigm with Instagram rolling out ads and Facebook now offering free Wi-Fi when you check-in at select partners.
Both of these announcements present great opportunities for brands to think about how they can strategically approach these new offerings in a way that’s not only beneficial to them, but to their consumers as well.
Mashable: Instagram to Start Rolling Out Ads in ‘Next Couple Months’
Instagram continues to experience astronomical growth; fans can’t get enough of it and brands are clamoring to engage with the user base. This week’s announcement about pending ad integration could change all of that. Instagram has promised to make the integration seamless and user-friendly. For brands’ sake let’s hope that is the case as ads could provide a huge opportunity for additional engagement and awareness.
The Verge: Facebook’s Check-in Based Free Wi-Fi Rolling Out Nationally with Cisco’s Help
Our connected lives revolve around our ability to get online and a free Wi-Fi connection never hurts. Thanks to Facebook and Cisco, it’s about to get even easier. Simply checking-in at a place (and sharing your location with your friends) can now earn you free access. This presents a great opportunity for businesses with a physical location to easily encourage their customers to socially share their patronage.
The Verge: Facebook Graph Search Gets More Useful With Comments and Statuses
Your personal network and their influence and opinion has long been a benefit of the socially connected world we live in. From deciding which TV to purchase or where to head for happy hour, Facebook has long served as a great place to poll your friends. Now, with the updates to Graph Search, users can easily search their friends’ comments and statuses for their unsolicited thoughts and opinions. So how does this affect brands? This only reaffirms the need for a strong, strategic content strategy that engages your fans in the sharing of your content with their network.
Social Marketing
Smart Blog on Social Media: 10 Critical Social Media Mistakes To Avoid
The social media landscape is constantly changing and that means there are always new things to learn and mistakes that can be made. That’s why it never hurts to learn from the mishaps of others so you can avoid them for your brand.
What GFM Blogged About This Week…
Cause Marketing “Coopetition” – Joining Forces to Make a Big Impact
