Snapchat Geofilters

Geofilters... They're graphics that snapchatters add to their photos and videos, showing where they are in the world. There are even geofilters for sporting events and parades. The filter will only show on your snapchat app if you've enabled filters, but also if you are in a part of the world that snapchat has created a geofilter for. It adds an extra element to the application, setting it aside from other image sharing applications, such as Facebook and Instagram. Facebook and Instagram allow it's users to label their posts with the location of where they took the photo, but there are no elements added to the images themselves. This is another way that snapchat has set itself apart from the other social media platforms. I can also envision a brand having their logo incorporated into a geofilter, meaning that anyone who uses the filter will be showing their viewers the brand, spreading the advertisement.

Image: www.snapchat.com/geofilters

Society6

www.Society6.com is a website where designers can upload their designs to be printed on various products, such as t-shirts, mugs, clocks, rugs and bed covers. I have recently started to upload my designs to this site. The society6 YouTube channel has several videos showing how they make their products, showing that they are a company that cares about the designers that upload their work to the site. These demonstrations, pared with the images that society6 upload to their Instagram and Twitter accounts, @society6, show the designers and customers that they are a credible company, that creates quality products.

Interactive Social Media Marketing

Have you ever watched a YouTube video where are are able to change the story, just by the click of a button? Follow this link and play the video. Whilst it's playing, type "r" and watch what happens.

www.digitalsynopsis.com/advertising/honda-civic-type-r-the-other-side/
This interactive video, which is ultimately an advertisement for the Honda Type R car, is so engaging because it enables the audience to see the different stories at once, just by clicking the 'r' key.
Companies are constantly competing against each other for viewers attention. Honda also have other YouTube advertisements which are very visually appealing, making the viewer want to watch the video right until the very end.

The "Honda Hands" video currently has more than 15.5 million views, and it definitely deserves it.

By making an engaging video with all the correct elements for a viral video, and posting it online, the work is done. The audience then spreads the message, and millions of people see it.

If only it were easy to craft a viral video..

#FoodRevolutionDay

Food Revolution Day is an initiative that British chef, Jamie Oliver put together in the hope to raise the worlds knowledge about food. #FoodRevolutionDay was used all around the world on the 15th of May, 2015, on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. A live stream of the event was broadcast on YouTube on the day, showing a live count of signatures for the change.org food revolution petition, spreading the message that the world needs to learn more about food. Jamie Oliver, being a world renowned chef, was able to create and host a successful campaign, reaching every single country in the world. This was possible with the aid of each social media platform used, and also by celebrity endorsement. The message was able to be quickly and efficiently spread worldwide due to the aid of the social media platforms used to market the campaign. 

Promotion of the YouTuber

YouTuber, a job title that has only come into existence in the last 5 or so years and has grown in popularity, exponentially ever since. 

Zoella, the YouTube channel and brand created by 25 year old Brit, Zoe Sugg. She is "a writer & enthusiast of all things "Beauty, Fashion & Life" related." I first came across her YouTube channel three years ago, and have been a subscriber since. Over these three years, I have seen how she has grown her brand online. Here are the social media platforms Zoella uses and some current stats, as of 17/05/2015.

Main YouTube channel "Zoella" subscribers: 8,162,509 

Vlogging (video logging) "MoreZoella" channel subscribers: 3,129,284

Instagram followers: 4,500,000

Twitter follower: 3.290,000

Facebook fans: 2,184,003

Pinterest followers: 25,906

She also uses Snapchat, Tumblr, Blogger and Google+. 

That's 10 social media platforms that she currently uses, and I may have even missed some! Whenever a YouTuber has a new video published, they usually post a link on Twitter and Facebook, and sometimes promote it on Instagram and Snapchat. Being online is such a large part of Zoe's life that it has become her full time job. Even though she has been able to launch a beauty product line, and is in the process of writing her second novel, YouTuber is her main job title. Some say that it's easy to upload a couple of videos weekly and post a couple of times on various social media networks. But when I think about the work that goes into maintaining this online presence, that millions of people constantly view and read, I feel that it would be quite a hard job at times, especially with the amount of criticism that these online personalities receive. Also, it's not like anyone has had this job title before, meaning that YouTubers are diving into untested waters, not knowing what will happen and how their job may or may not develop. 

#Hashtag

#... The easiest way to group information online. Its original name is not 'hashtag' or 'hash symbol' but 'octothorpe'. Chris Messina saw the # as a thing, and grabbed at it. He first used the # in August, 2007. Soon after, a bush fire in California caused an evacuation of 1 million people. A friend of Messina's was "using twitter as an example of citizen journalism, where he was taking information from various sources, aggregating it on twitter and I asked him if he would considering using #Sadiegofire." (Messina). It basically took off from there. The # has become so popular, that even large charities use the # to promote their fund's on TV and on social media platforms. #IllRideWithYou and #PutYourBatsOut are some examples of hashtags going viral, having thousands if not millions using them at one point in time. Even Q&A on the ABC uses twitter and the # to get viewers to ask questions to the politicians on the panel. I don't think the # is going anywhere any time soon.

Reference: SBS2, The Feed. "Octothorpe: The History OF The HashTag | The Feed, YouTube video viewed 11/05/2015.

#ChocPlusWhat

Ever considered the combination of chocolate & vegemite? I know I haven't. It first started twitter marketing campaign, #ChocPlusWhat. It's a marketing campaign, implemented by Cadbury Australia, that got its chocolate lovers to suggest new chocolate flavours for the brand to produce, making it an easy way to spread the message that cadbury are going to be bringing out new flavours.


Then, this image recently surfaced on the social media platform, Reddit. The image shows a never before seen flavour combination of chocolate, caramel and vegemite. Shortly after, Cadbury Australia addressed the rumours with the following. tweet.
pic.twitter.com/uZHUJ64BlL

Some new, less dramatic flavours include salted caramel, pretzels & peanuts and also golden toffee. The new flavours are 'limited edition' and will not be a permanent cadbury flavour. Even if the flavour is not that tasty, there will be a large amount of people who will buy it just to taste it for themselves. I don't personally see this new flavour being on the shelves for long.

I guess I'll have to taste it first in order to judge.

Controversy for Conversation

Budweiser had recently come out with a new slogan for their Bud Light brand. The slogan reads...

'The Perfect Beer For Removing "No" From Your Vocabulary For The Night' #UpForWhataver

It just seems that the company has resorted to being controversial just to create conversation amongst social media. It's sad that in order to be talked about, the company could only write a dis-tasteful and horrific slogan, insuring exposure for the brand.  

Due to its controversial nature, you can assume that this campaign will become viral for the wrong reasons. Twitter and Facebook will most likely be the platforms where people will express their complaints and concerns. It can also be assumed that after the Budweiser brand had reached a peak in exposure, they will then remove the slogan, as it had achieved the marketing objective of increasing exposure of the brand. 

The Webby Awards

With the popularity of social media constantly rising, means that there are creators out there that should be recognised for their achievements in social media. There are countless amounts of people who have been made famous through social media, but few who have been able to continue on and end up having a job consisting only within social media. The majority of these people and creators, have been highlighted through the likes of the Webby awards and the YouTube awards.

Some of this years winners include:

Special Achievement: Jerome Jarre
Webby Breakout of the Year: Tinder
Special Achievement: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Website: Last Days

The categories are vast, ranging from websites to individual art, actresses and actors, to applications and even trends that rise in popularity on social media.
This following clip, narrated by Stephen Fry, is a montage celebrating 25 years of the internet at the Webby Awards, 2013.
Warning: Explicit language is used.

www.webbyawards.com

Reddit High Profile Q&A's.

iAma: an 'ask me anything' forum space on the social media platform, Reddit.com.

This forum space is used by various professionals to promote and talk to Reddit users directly. Obama, David Attenborough, Bill Nye The Science Guy, Snoop Dogg, Bill Gates and Korean pop star Psy are just some high profile names that have used this space to converse with those who have questions for them. Rather than using traditional social media advertisements, such as Facebook, Reddit hosts a scheduled and structured Q&A where Reddit users view a brief promo written directly from the professional, (mostly actors, musicians, politicians and comedians.)

It is quite a unique way to reach out to their audience. Even Obama has had a Q&A session on the website, making it the most popular and commented iAma session of all time. These informal sessions allow the professionals to answer questions they would not normally have a chance to answer, from people who wouldn't normally have the chance to ask.
For example, here is a question that Barack Obama answered.

But how can you tell that it is actually Obama, and not someone impersonating him?
Of course, that's covered with a link to Obamas personal twitter account, stating that he will be answering questions on Reddit.

To see other top past Q&A's, click here.

Emojis, Not Jst 4 Txting.

Emojis were introduced into the 2011 iOS update, and then Android soon adopted the graphics into their software as well. First used predominately to make texting a little more fun, they are now used across multiple social media platforms, particularly SnapChat. It's users are able to resize and reposition the graphics, to make cool and unique images to share. Here are some examples I found.



It's pretty cool how something that was originally only available in Japan, moved onto everyone's smartphones. Then, people started using the graphics more creatively, rather that just using them in text messages.
Images: instagram.com/ableparris  For more, visit: ableparris.com

Snap Chat 'Discover'

In a recent update, Snap Chat introduced a new feature called 'discover'. It allows users to view snippets of video/images from companies and brands such as CNN, MTV, National Geographic, Daily Mail and Cosmopolitan. The unique thing about this advertising, is that it will not show up in your direct Snap Chat feed. It is hidden away and can only be found by people who explore the application and who actually want to find and use it. Snap Chat sent out a video to its users when they launched the feature, showing people where to find it and how to use it. Since then, users have been left to their own devices, and haven't consistently been pestered to use it. To me, Snap Chat is refreshing. When I am using it, I am not constantly being advertised to. I am only subjected to content that I want to watch. When people use the discover feature, they are doing so willingly. It isn't annoying, it isn't interruptive and it's not in your face.
I guess I can thank Snap Chat for not taking Facebook's offer of $3,000,000,000!

Unwanted Instagram Ads

As an Instagram user for the last four and a half years, I was surprised when I saw advertising material on the application earlier this year in my own personal feed, but I guess I just forgot that Facebook owns Instagram. Since Facebook bought the popular app in April 2012, the social media giant has been able to use both Facebook and Instagram data to target its advertisements to particular users, in order to increase likes on the posts and potentially sales as well.

      Image: www.marketingland.com

The advertising material is distinguished by the "sponsored" title. It is also clear what company is behind the ad by the accounts name displayed on the post. Personally, every-time that I see an Instagram ad, I click the button that allows me to hide it. I also select the "I don't like this ad" button, hoping that Instagram will get the hint that I don't want to be advertised to on yet another platform. But of course I know that I am wasting my time by clicking this hide button, because no matter how many times I hide the annoying, intrusive content, there will always be another ad from another company.

I don't even read much into the advertisement before I 'hide' it, as I don't want to be sucked into something that I will probably be interest in, as I have been targeted to view it. It just makes me want to disconnect completely from social media all together... but we all know that's not going to happen any time soon.

Paying For YouTube

As I have a YouTube account with my own videos and am a YouTube partner (meaning that my videos are monetised), I recently received an email from YouTube about a new app that will affect how people with monetised videos make money. In the email is stated that YouTube were to release a second YouTube application that would charge is users a monthly fee in order to view ad-less content. Here is a snippet of the email...

Dear YouTube Partner, 

Your fans want choices. Not only do they want to watch what they want, whenever they want, anywhere and on any device they choose, they want YouTube features built specifically with their needs in mind. Over the past several months, we’ve taken bold new steps to bring these experiences to life. Since inviting hundreds of thousands of fans into our YouTube Music Key Beta, we've seen tremendous engagement. And we've seen an equally enthusiastic response for our new YouTube Kids app, designed to give families a simpler and safer video-viewing experience – it’s already crossed 2 million installations in less than a month. We’re excited to build on this momentum by taking another big step in favour of choice: offering fans an ad-free version of YouTube for a monthly fee. By creating a new paid offering, we’ll generate a new source of revenue that will supplement your fast growing advertising revenue.         (YouTube, 9th April, 2015.)

So basically, there will be two YouTube applications. One where advertisements are shown before and during content and one where there is no advertising at all. I assume that there are people out there that are willing to pay for free content... but I don't think there will be many. I am eager to see how this application goes down the line. It is ultimately advertisers that lose in this, as the revenue from looking at YouTube content on this new ad-free application will go directly to YouTube and not to any advertisers. I personally do not think that advertising companies have anything to worry about, as I don't think many people will actually pay for free content.


When ad-block can be installed onto mobile devices, that's when they need to worry. 

Natural Dolls Go Viral

"Tree Change Dolls" is a project that Sonja Singh (the creator) didn't think would get so much attention and become viral. Sonja is a scientist from Hobart, Australia. Due to having a job that became redundant, she took up a craft that she found enjoyable. The art involves taking the makeup off of second hand dolls and re painting natural faces on them. It has an amazing affect, and makes the dolls look a lot more inviting and less fake.

Sonja was encouraged by her family to put photos of the dolls onto the internet, thinking that some people might like the transformations of the dolls. She posted some photos onto her Facebook profile that connected with just 200 friends. As time went by, the photos made it to Reddit and a lot more people were able to see this amazing hobby that Sonja had. Because of the popularity, she was able to start her own Etsy page (where she could sell the dolls) and also create her own independent website.

"When you google 'What happens when you go viral?', it's all about HOW to go viral. There's nothing on what to do if it happens by accident." - John, Sonjas partner, (SBS2)

If Sonja had never shared these dolls with the world via the internet, she would not now have a career in creating and selling these popular dolls. SBS2 featured this story on their show 'The Feed'. SBS2 then uploaded the full story to YouTube on the 19th of Feburary, 2015. Today, less than 2 months later, the video has 3.37 million views!

With the help of social media, Sonja has been able to turn a hobby into a job that she loves! 

GoPro Mini Documentaries

Anyone that has just a slight interest in video or video production will know about the brand GoPro.
For those reading this that aren't familiar with the brand, GoPro is a camera company that produces compact, sturdy and durable cameras are able to be strapped to poles, mounted on helmets and are able to be used underwater. I personally associate GoPro with extreme sports, high quality production and creative videos.

But... I have never seen a GoPro television advertisement.

Instead, their advertising is predominately done on YouTube, through the GoPro channel that currently has 2.9 million subscribers. The channel has videos ranging from 30 second clips to 20 minute mini documentaries. Their videos are high quality, showing off the power of the small camera. Every clip on the channel starts with a small logo animation, labelling it as a video that has been shot with a GoPro camera. The only thing that all the videos have in common is, is that they all have been shot on GoPro. The stories range from a clip under 2 minutes of a skateboarding cat to a 19 minute mini documentary titled "GoPro: Ocra Rescue", shot in 4K resolution.

Each clip is a direct advertisement to the viewer, as the viewer is seeing what the GoPro camera is capable of. It is a brilliant and effective way of advertising as the videos are engaging. The most popular clip on the channel, a 5 minute ad for the GoPro HERO3+, currently has 37.5 million views.

This video published on the 4th of June 2012, titled "GoPro: New York City... A Day In The Life - Starring Skate Legend Ryan Sheckler", has 4.3 million views. In the video, GoPro cameras are mounted onto ally way gates and are connected wirelessly to the skateboarders phone, where he can see the live video feed. He also has a GoPro stuck underneath his skateboard giving an interesting angle to the clip. He uses a remote to turn on the cameras whilst he is skating. It's both an engaging video and an effective advertisement, showing the different ways that GoPro users can use the cameras.  I highly recommend watching this video start to finish, especially if you have never seen a GoPro video before.

The most viewed advertising on TV (advertising screened in the annual Superbowl in the U.S), receives the attention of approximately 110 million pairs of eyes. A 30 second advertising spot in the 2015 Superbowl was a casual $4,000,000. $8,000,000 would buy you a 60 second spot. When you compare this amount of money with GoPro's small expense to upload a video, it's easy to conclude that GoPro wins.

Superbowl Commercial: $4,000,000, 30 seconds, 110 million viewers.
GoPro Video/Commercial: Free advertising, 5 minutes, 37.5 million viewers.
Even though the GoPro videos are not getting the viewership that the Superbowl advertisements get, they do not need to spend such large sums of money to get a decent amount of people viewing their content. Even though it may cost some money to produce the video, it doesn't cost anything to publish the video to YouTube. Saving money is always a win, especially when it comes to promoting something.

Lopez adds 17 million views to 'Home' promo.

Can you imagine a day without seeing one advertisement? 

We're exposed to thousands of ads a day, even though we may not consider them as advertisements. Anything that makes someone think about a brand, is considered an advertisement. 

No longer are we only subjected to advertising through TV, billboards and magazines. It's hard to escape being advertised to in this day and age. I would personally love to experience a day when someone/thing is not constantly trying to sell me something. 

This brings me to the advertisement I saw when I clicked on a YouTube video, categorised under the "Popular in Australia" videos. 

'Jennifer Lopez: "Feel the Light"American Idol XIV' is the title of the video. It is a video of Lopez singing to the live Idol audience. She stands in the middle of the stage, dressed in a white gown that spreads into a large circle around her, allowing lights to create images onto her dress. 

"Feel the Light" is a song from the DreamWorks film 'Home', which opens this month. Throughout the performance, we see images of the characters of the film projected onto her dress. Idol usually gets 8-10 million viewers watching it live, which is an impressive number of people to be advertising to as one. 

On the same day of the performance, 19th of March, the video was uploaded to YouTube. After almost 10 days of the video being live, it has attracted 17.8 million views and counting. This is an incredible extra amount of people that have now been advertised to, with the little effort of uploading the video to YouTube. I personally wasn't expecting the performance to be an advertisement, but found the video engaging. 

Yes, there may be a portion of these viewers that had already seen the Idol episode and just wanted to witness it again, but you can safely assume the majority of the 17.8 million figure were new viewers, and therefore new people to be advertised to. 

YouTube allowed the target audience to grow from 8 million to 25 million. It just goes to show that a company can rapidly expand their target audience buy creating something engaging and then upload it to a social media platform.  

Another way that we've been advertised to, by a projection onto a dress. 

A Career in YouTube

'YouTuber'?
YouTuber, a term that has only come about in the last 5 years.
Someone that classifies themselves as a YouTuber, is usually employed by Google (who owns the video charing site). A YouTuber creates videos for the public to watch on the internet, and there are some very successful ones out there.

Swedish YouTuber Felix Kjellberg, commonly known as 'PewDiePie" currently has more than 35.5 million subscribers*, making him the most subscribed person on YouTube to date. Collectively, his videos have a total of 8 billion views. He is most known for reviewing games on the site, showing his reactions to gaming situations. He has an infectious personality and is quite entertaining. His content must be good if there are that many people who want to see his videos.

This is his most popular video, gaining almost 64 million views.
"A Funny Montage" showing various clips from his channel titled "PewDiePie"

Other notable YouTube personalities who have a large following...
Smosh (USA) 20+ Million
The Fine Bros (USA) 11+ Million
Zoe Sugg (UK) 7+ Million
Tyler Oakley (USA) 6+ Million
Caspar Lee (RSA) 4+ Million
Community Channel (AUS) 1+ Million

Making Money
As a regular YouTube user myself, I have been subjected to many advertisements through watching YouTube content. I have an application on my laptop called 'AdBlock' meaning that I don't see the ads before a video is played, but advertising companies have found many other ways to advertise to YouTube users.
Sponsorship
I have personally seen many videos on YouTube where the person is talking about a product that a company have sent them to 'try out'. Just by talking about the product is an effective way of advertising, as there can be millions of people who will see the video (depending on the YouTuber). For those popular YouTubers who regularly do reviews on beauty products, beauty companies will utilise the viewership and sponsor the YouTuber to talk about their product. I have heard many YouTubers say "I don't talk about a product unless I love it." But I doubt that this is always the case.
I also remember a video that I saw of two British YouTubers, Alfie Deyes and Marcus Butler, that travelled to Germany for an X-Box One convention.  The trip was paid for by X-Box.
In the following weeks, I saw that Sony sent Alfie a new PS4. He said that he didn't know he was getting it and it was out of the blue. X-Box utilised Alfies following of 2+ Million on his daily vlogging channel.
Sony then counteracted, and just sent him a PS4, hoping it would appear in one of his videos (which it did)
Promotions.
One other advertising techniques that I have noticed whilst using YouTube, is that of promotions.
Audible, a audio book company, have done many deals with several YouTubers. In the last month, I have seen 5+ YouTubers mention that if their viewers use a particular promotional code, they can get their first book free. It is a great way to penetrate the market, allow a user to experience the product and hope that they purchase a book in the future.

Even though I can block automated advertisements, I can't block out the product placements and sponsorships. And I have to admit, I have actually gone out and made a purchase, because one of my favourite YouTubers recommended the product. As new technologies develop, advertising companies react accordingly to maintain or gain audiences.

*Subscribers: users of YouTube who have the subscribed content on their YouTube page home page.  

"Snapchat Murders Facebook"

I recently came across a video on YouTube titled "Snapchat Murders Facebook." It was quite difficult to keep scrolling after reading that title. It was so good that after I watched the video, I clicked the subscribe button. The guy behind this channel is Casey Neistat. His videos are posted monthly, indicating that a lot of time and effort is put into his videos.

"Snapchat Murders Facebook" currently has 656,249 views, but I think it deserves more.
I love how social media can change so dramatically when something new comes along. In this case it's snapchat! In the video Casey asks people on the street "How often do you use Snapchat", they reply with "Everyday" and "The question is when do I NOT use snapachat?". They also go onto say that no-one really uses facebook any more.

Casey also explores how previous social media platform have risen to fame and then disappeared again. From friendster, myspace, facebook, instagram (bought by facebook for 1 billion) and Snapchat (declined facebooks offer of 3 billion).

"The reason why this [snapchat] is a 10 billion dollar big deal, is that no ones is yet to figure out video on mobile... Because the stories dissapear, there's a sense of urgency."

A company who refuses to sell for 3 billion dollars, deserves the title of "The future of social media."
Watch out facebook, you may be becoming the new myspace.