News

YouTube enhances its blurring tool -- YouTube has introduced a Custom Blurring tool that lets creators blur any object in a video, even objects in motion. This will allows producers to blur any sensitive or confidential information (the Creator Blog uses license plates or "a wardrobe malfunction" as examples). The takeaway: Companies seeking to share videos but concerned about privacy issues can make great use of this tool. The ability to track an object in motion and maintain the blur is particularly useful, and should cause lawyers to breathe a sigh of relief when they learn that people in the background of a video who haven't signed a release, for instance, no longer pose an obstacle to sharing the video. Read more

Snapchat introduces temporary, on-demand geofilters -- Snapchat has taken huge advantage of geofilters, which let you define a physical space, with designated snaps only showing up if the user is within that geofenced region. Geofilters have been available to everyone for over a year, but small businesses and individuals felt limited by the tool. A temporary geofilter (which starts at $5 for an eight-hour Friday event in a major city) lets you use one during a special event. Geofilters can be as small as 20,000 square feet (office-sized) and up to 5 million square feet (a few city blocks). They can be active between one hour and 30 days. The takeaway: Small businesses in particular can tap into Snapchat's soaring popularity for special events at their stores, for example, delivering content to participants that would be less meaningful to someone who wasn't on-site. They can also be a great way for bigger businesses to test the capability before making a larger investment in Snapchat's more expensive geofilter offerings, including content development. Read more

Twitter adds button to let customers DM brands -- Twitter has added a button brands can add to tweets that let customers send a direct message, making it easier to track a conversation while increasing the comfort level of customers who may need to share a credit card number or some other sensitive information. Early adopters include Delta and Alaska airlines, Hyatt, and Starbucks. The takeaway: Removing friction from customer-company interactions is always a good thing, and enabling this kind of simple interaction for customers already using Twitter could save a ton of time for call centers. Read more

Is Cheddar the future of video content? -- There's a new media company in town that doesn't aim to be all things to all people. Cheddar, from former Buzzfeed President Jon Steinberg, is targeted business-minded millennials with video distributed over television. Its one-to-two hours of live content from the floor of the New York Stock exchange will be diced into smaller segments and distributed across other platforms. Cheddar won't use pre- or post-roll advertising, generated revenue instead from distribution deals with streaming services like Netflix. The takeaway: There's a lot to consider in Steinberg's vision, but the biggest thing for me is the focus on a niche audience to drive an entire broadcast operation. I can easily see big brands doing something similar, like GE developing a media outlet focused on STEM education. Read more

AMP comes to WordPress -- Google has been making waves with its AMP initiative. Accelerated Mobile Pages use a derivative of HTML to create versions of web pages that load at lightning speeds on mobile devices. AMP now works automatically with WordPress.com sites. If you self-host a WordPress site, you can install a plugin to make your site work automatically with AMP. The takeaway: The whole idea behind AMP is to strip pages of the complex Javascript that slows loading. I suspect the WordPress implementation does that automatically, which could produce versions of your pages that don't contain any ads you may be hosting. I'll check it out on my podcast site and let you know. Read more

Trends

Publishers target multiple audiences with Facebook -- Publishers are maintaining dozens of Facebook pages that target specific audiences. BuzzFeed has 90, each dedicated to a specific topic like parents, weddings, and geeky, while The Huffington Post has 79 pages devoted to topics like weddings and divorces. Readers like the fragmentation, since they can follow the page that's relevant to them without getting content they don't care about cluttering their News Feeds. The takeaway: The idea that one company has one Facebook page is ridiculous. Know your audience and deliver the right content to the right people through a dedicated page. If you use customer profiles, they're a great place to start. Read more

Former workers can still deliver value -- My first job in corporate communications was at an oil company, way back in 1977. One of the things I worked on was communication with the company's vast network of retirees. It was ARCO's view that just because they had retired didn't mean they couldn't still contribute. That notion is becoming a bona fide trend, with companies like SAP and Nielsen using online platforms to maintain the connection with former employees, and not just retirees but also those who have moved on to other jobs. After all, as one executive put it, "You never know where your next client or next piece of work will come from." The takeaway: Former employees are a potent audience, one that many organizations ignore. Social networks make it easier than ever to engage that audience and continue to strengthen the connection with them rather than sever it after they have left the organization. Read more

There are better metrics than pageviews and unique visitors -- At least, that's what Buzzfeed things, especially considering that nearly three-quarters of its content is never published to its own website; instead, it is created for and distributed on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other networks. As a result, the company is focused on "re-anchoring," the process of identifying "the ways we've historically done things (our anchors) and question their relevance," according to publisher Dao Nguyen. The most important metric for the company is engagement. The takeaway: It's increasingly likely that communicators are measuring the wrong things. Pay attention to trends like these and experiment with metrics that deliver more meaningful results for your efforts. And keep in mind, the right metric will most likely always be a moving target from here on out. Read more

The slow fade of the YouTube Multi-Channel Network -- Interest in YouTube Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) has faded with the field already crowded, at least as far as investors are concerned. MCNs aggregate multiple YouTube channels into a single content management system in order to generate ad revenue. Once considered the future of the entertainment business, companies like Maker Studios, Fullscreen, and AwesomenessTV raised millions in venture capital, and one was acquired by DreamWorks Animation. Content creators don't like the networks, adding to their difficulties. However, smaller networks are doning well, since they can give more time and attention to their content creators. These include Tastemade (focusing on food and travel) and MiTu (aimed at Latino millennials). The takeaway: When MCNs were hot, I wondered why businesses hadn't taken a shot at creating one focused on their markets. I still think there's something to that (a car network, Ford?), but the fact that there seems to be no more room for big ones reflects the fast rise and fall of so many online concepts these days. Read more

Can AI billboards replace copywriters? -- Mad Men's Peggy Olsen may have never gotten started in the advertising game if she were getting into the game today. Olsen moved from admin to copywriter in the series, but M&C Saatchi's new COO, Camilla Kemp, thinks artificially intelligent billboards can replace copywriters. The company is testing one now and said, "God, if the sophistication behind that really takes off, you might not need copywriters anymore. You're basically getting an intelligent computer to figure out what to say and even who to say it to. So it might be able to recognize who you are and say, 'we know people like you...'" The takeaway: Think about the movie Minority Report and the animated billboards that greeted Tom Cruise's character. However, good copywriters are needed for more than billboard copy. I don't expect their value to decline any time soon. Read more

Gamification lives on -- You don't hear nearly the level of noise about gamification we were hearing a year or so ago, but that doesn't mean it's on its way out. Dutch company Flo has released a smartphone app that will reduce your premium in exchange for allowing the app to monitor your driving ans present you with a safety score. The score is based on acceleration, maintaining consistent speed, cornering, and braking, information derived solely from GPS. The goal is to inspire drivers to drive more safely; the reward is a discount on the driver's next renewal. (A score of 80 will lead to a discount of 80 euros.) The takeaway: When applied well, gamification works. Communicators should develop a thorough understanding of gamification and consider its potential for any campaign. Read more

Mobile and Wearables

79% of B2B sites are mobile-friendly -- Most B2B company sites are now mobile-friendly, according to a survey from DemandWave. 79% of B2B marketers surveyed said their sites were mobile-compliant, and increase of 22% from 2014. As for the rest, most say they have plans to address the situation, although some don't know if they'll invest in responsive design while others have no plans at all. The takeaway: I frankly am confounded by the resistance among those that are questioning the wisdom of adopting mobile. B2B customers are like everyone else: They're using their phones more and their computers less. Read more

Mobile accounts for most traffic to top websites -- Some 56% of consumer traffic to the top websites in the US is coming from mobile devices. People spend more time on those sites while using a computer and mobile bounce rates are higher. The takeaway: This makes perfect sense, since people use their phones more spontaneously, often while they're doing something else. It doesn't mean they won't revisit a site later when they're comfortably seated at their computer, or that they won't make a purchase. It also doesn't mean they didn't find the information they wanted quickly. Read more

Telegram now has more than 100 million monthly active users -- Wait, what? Telegram? If you haven't heard of it, Telegram is a hot new messaging app among the younger teenage set, and its user base has grown 60% in only nine months. Founded by the creator of Russian social network behemoth VK, Telegram offers a slew of features that make it appealing to users looking for alternatives to Messenger, WhatsApp, and the other dominant players, including impressive security. The takeaway: I know, you're just starting to wonder whether you should install Snapchat, and here comes Telegram. For now, it's just something to be aware of (and possibly try out), but I'm not aware of any brands using it yet. Read more

Virtual and Augmented Reality

Mobile VR will generate $861 million in 2016 -- If the price of the Oculus Rift -- available now for pre-order -- is daunting, you're not alone. Makers of headsets that require the use of the smartphone you already own get that, and are ramping up efforts to generate revenue from those who can't imagine a $600 or $700 investment. SuperData Research says mobile VR will rake in $861 in revenues this year. Leading the field are Samsung (with its Gear VR headset) and Google's Cardboard. Goldman Sachs says VR will be a $110 billion market within four years. The takeaway: More and more VR content is released every day, and it was a key area of focus at the Mobile World Congress that just wrapped up. The fact that inexpensive alternatives are available that make it easy for people to give it a try will undoubtedly spur more people to adopt it, creating a larger market for PR and marketing pros to reach with content that (for now) can stand out from the crowd. Read more

People have watched 1 million hours of Gear VR video -- If you needed more convincing about the surge of interest in VR and the adoption of headsets that use smartphones, consider data released from Facebook that says "people have watched more than 1 million hours of video" with the Samsung Gear VR. This is leading Facebook to establish a dedicated Social VR team. The takeaway: Just more data to reinforce what we already know: VR is hot and getting hotter. Read more

Research

Video marketing is the new normal -- Video marketing is growing faster than you might have thought. A survey by an animated explainer video company found that 61% of businesses are using video as a marketing tool, 66% of whom weren't using video a year earlier. 91% of businesses plan to maintain or grow their investment in video marketing. 76% say video is producing good ROI and 93% say it has increased customer understanding of their product or service. 64% say it has led to an increase in sales. The takeaway: Every communicator needs to build video skillsets and consider video as a component of any message. The cost of producing video doesn't have to be exorbitant and it doesn't need to require a huge investment of time. We should be paying attention to video trends, including the under-a-minute videos that don't require sound (because audio is turned off by default in the autoplay videos appearing on Facebook and Twitter). Read more

Most CEOs aren't on social media -- A CEO.com study found 61% of Fortune 500 CEOs have no social media presence whatsoever, and those who do rarely participate in conversations. "Consumer trends, meanwhile, are heading in exactly the opposite direction," according to Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes, who asks, "Social media is where your customers are -- shouldn't you be there, too?" The takeaway: Yes, yes they should. The arguments against it ring hollow while the case for it is strong. Read more

Pinterest isn't attracting Fortune 500 -- Despite Pinterest's popularity -- and its role driving traffic to websites -- few of the Fortune 500 have a presence there, according to a study from competitive intelligence platform Rivalfox. The study found that only 38% of the Fortune 500 have any kind of Pinterest presence, and only 17% use it regularly. And even though video is massively popular on social channels, only 1.3% of the pins studied were videos. The takeaway: This is another one I don't get. You're already sharing images and videos via Facebook, Twitter, and maybe Instagram. Is it just too much trouble to add them to a related pinboard? Read more

Don't restrict the company narrative only to new-hires

The latest from the FIR Podcast Network

• On FIR #23, I was joined by CreatingIs cofounder and former Cisco executive Ayelet Baron; digital and visual content marketing, social media, and online reputation speaker and consultant Krishna De (who also hosts the newest FIR podcast, Talking Social Business); and Peter Himler, founder and CEO of Flatiron, LLC. Our topics included a watchdog report about how much money the U.S. government spent on PR since 2007, and whether that’s cause for outrage or an inadequate amount to cover the government’s communication needs, a report demonstrating almost all employees would rather hear bad news than no news leads to a conversation about LinkedIn’s CEO being candid and transparent with employees in the wake of a 40% tumble in its share price, and more. Listen
• I'm thrilled to welcome Ireland-based Krishna De as host of our newest podcast, Talking Social Business, which will explore new social media tools for organizations as well as legal issues affecting European organizations employing social media. In episode 1, Krishna talks with Thibault Imbert, part of the team behind Adobe Post, a new free iPhone app for creating visual content. Listen
• On episode 107 of Thought Leader Life, Mitchell Levy and his co-host for the month, Dr. Stacy Feiner (executive coach) talk with Lise Stewart -- founder and CEO of Gaillard Group -- about building an organizational culture of conversations. Listen
• The Digital India team looks at an Android phone, the Freedom 251, for sale at a ridiculously low price in India. Listen
• Young PR Pros is back with episode 107, looking at gender and ethnic equality in PR and communications. Read more

• I'm delivering keynote talks at two upcoming Ragan Communication conferences. I'll talk about how communicators can use intranets to deliver a better job experience to employees at the Intranet Makeover Summit for Corporate Communicators in Chicago (April 21-22). On May 11-12, Ragan presents an internal communications best practices conference at Genentech in San Francisco, where I'll talk about why internal communicators need to assume control of internal messaging.
• I'll deliver a keynote address at AMPlify, the employee advocacy conference in Waltham, MA, taking place May 11-12.
• For something like the 20th consecutive year (I've lost count), I'll speak at the IABC World Conference. This time around, the conference will be in New Orleans (one of my favorite cities) June 5-8.
• I'm going back to Sao Paulo, Brazil, the teach a three-day course to communication executives, part of the ABERJE/Syracuse University communication certificate program. I'll be there September 1-3.

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