Social Media Roundup: Aug. 9, 2016

Instagram: Getting Started with Business Profiles

Switching to an Instagram Business Profile gives marketers tools to get the most out of their presence on the popular photo and video sharing platform. You'll need to be sure you have the latest version of Instagram and a Facebook Page to connect to. Once you've set up your Business Profile, you have access to some valuable new features, spelled out with examples by Kristi Hines, a contributing editor for Social Media Examiner:

• Connect to your Facebook Page for cross-posting and promotion
• Add phone number, email, or location so your customers can find you more easily
• Get analytics about how your posts are performing and who your followers are
• Create promotions on Instagram

Pokèmon GO - 6 Easy Marketing Ideas (Act Now, Before the Fad Fades!)

We had to say something about Pokèmon GO... despite all that's been said already (and before it's gone). So here we "go." Pokèmon GO gathered more eyeballs than Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat (at least for a single day in June), according to app store optimization and marketing firm Sensor Tower. Pokèmon GO uses GPS and smartphones to make a cartoon map of your current location and puts Pokèmon monsters and other creatures over a virtual reality layer that sits on top of "real life." Since the game is location-based and social, some smart marketers have already figured ways to ride the wave (while it lasts). Jeff Rum, founder and CEO of Ignite Digital Strategy Group, writing on Social Media Today, offers 6 easy ideas for marketers to take advantage of the Pokèmon GO craze. Here are three to get you started:

1. Post a picture of your business with a Pokèmon character in it on your Facebook Page.
2. A paid Lure Module lets you place a Pokèmon at your location for 30 minutes.
3. People who come to find Pokèmons located near your business may be attracted to your product or service. Help them in with related promotions.

Facebook Live Video Service Gets a Refresh

Facebook's Live video service is getting a major update. All users can now publish live streams up to 4 hours long, double their original duration. Streaming video can be played full-screen in both portrait and landscape mode on iOS. Also, a new video-only mode will allow both viewers and broadcasters to hide comments and reactions to improve the viewing experience. These new features are in addition to the new features rolled out last month, and show that Facebook is serious about continuing to improve Live video for its users, as well as for media publishers and celebrities. Saqib Shah, writing on Digital Today, provides the details.

Snapchat Passes Twitter in Daily Usage - Don't Pass Up the Marketing Opps

With more than 150 million daily users, Snapchat, the 4-year-old visual messaging service, has surpassed Twitter in daily usage. With its more modern photo and video sharing features, Snapchat apparently offers its large, young user base a better experience as a platform for visual expression than Twitter, in spite of the older service's updates to improve. Writing on Bloomberg.com, Sarah Frier reports: "Messaging on Snapchat is 'very modern,' Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said.... He acknowledged that Twitter at times can be confusing and alienating - something he's trying to fix."

Food Photography Tips from "A Guy Named Patrick"

If you're a food franchise, it's a good idea to brush up on how to take great photos of your offerings for social media marketing. This 4-minute how-to video on Time.com features Patrick Janelle, a former art contributor at Bon Appétit and an Instagram influencer with 450,000 followers. Patrick and a friend visit a series of restaurants and provide tips and tricks for taking pictures of food that look delicious and attract clicks. See what they're up to and take home a few tips for your restaurants - or yourself!

Daniel Lieberman helps companies, organizations, and individuals use the Internet to communicate, market, and brand themselves using the most up-to-date tools and techniques. Based in Shelburne Falls, Mass., he also is the founder and CEO of Spelt Gourmet, the home of creative wheat-free cooking. Contact him at 413-489-1818 or [email protected].