We collectively sprang forward in the early morning hours of Sunday and digital platforms are bouncing into action as well. If you could use some inspiration to end your work week, today’s Weekly Reads dishes on how to protect your mental health from your seemingly endless Instagram feed. Also on deck: targeting baby boomers and our admiration for Facebook and Twitter as they take on the giant task of curating Major League Baseball and March Madness, respectively.
U.S. News & World Report: More Live Sports Are Coming To Facebook
Swing, batter batter! The ink is drying on a deal between Major League Baseball and Facebook. Facebook will exclusively stream 25 weekday afternoon baseball games this season. Bloomberg theories that the deal cost the social platform around $30M. The partnership is the first of its kind between Facebook and a major professional sports league.
Forbes: Social Media Matters for Baby Boomers
Don’t sleep on the baby boomer generation. This segment population is actively online and a study by Google recently demonstrated that they spend more time online than they do consuming TV content. Facebook and LinkedIn are the best places to target this audience.
Refinery29: How to Keep Your Instagram Feed From Depressing You
If scrolling through endless photos of perfectly staged cups of coffee and B list celebrities sponsored by flat tummy tea has you feeling down, you’re not alone. Protect your well-being with these tips, compiled by a research psychologist.
Mashable: No, Instagram’s chronological feed isn’t coming back
Insta users still rue the day that the platform stopped displaying posts chronologically and switched to an algorithm that constantly evaluates a post by its performance. By ranking your content, they greatly increase overall engagement on the app and appeal to advertisers with deep pockets. A rumor that a chronological option was being rolled out in personal settings took off like wildfire last week but, unfortunately, it’s not true.
Adweek: Twitter Has a Courtside Seat to March Madness
The buzz is on brackets. Twitter collaborated with the NCAA and Turner Sports to develop custom hashtag-triggered emojis. Adweek breaks down the most tweeted about games, moments and players. Upsets, snubs and livestream to follow.
YouTube
Entrepreneur: 6 Ways You Can Use YouTube to Reach Your Intended Audience
Of all the possible platforms and channels you can leverage to target an audience, clients often tell us they find YouTube the most daunting. That said, the power of video marketing can’t be overstated. Jason Rich breaks down business storytelling and how to share behind-the-scenes footage to compel your audience to take action.
On the Blog:
It was a big week for blog content down at SXSWi in Austin as Jon Woods and Adrienne Schafer brought us the latest trends and insights from the country’s biggest technology and marketing-focused conference.
- Lessons from Westworld’s Unforgettable Experience
- Friday Favorites from SXSW
- Knowing What Makes People Tick Can Make Them Click
- Saturday Favorites from SXSW
- Serve Ads to the Circumstance, Not Just the Individual
- Sunday Favorites from SXSW
- Why Carly Rae Jepsen Should be Every Communicator’s Inspiration
- Monday Favorites from SXSW
Project Highlight:
Sun King Brewery | Legislative Action Campaign
Sun King Brewery was challenged with the task of changing a state law that restricted Indiana’s brewers to producing a limited number of barrels of beer per year in the state, while facing off against some large distributors and beer producers wielding money and influence in the state house and with businesses.
