Social Media Roundup: October 13, 2015

Facebook Local Awareness Ads

A relatively new offering from Facebook, the Local Awareness Ad, makes it easy for advertisers to reach people in the immediate vicinity of their businesses. Since the debut of the platform, Facebook has refined targeting options and added new Call To Action buttons, such as "Send Message" and "Get Directions." Facebook has released a guide to its Local Awareness Ads, highlighting eight ways brands are succeeding with them and tips on how to use them in your brand's marketing. "There's great potential in Facebook's Local Awareness Ads. One aspect that many may overlook is the targeting capabilities that exist within Facebook and the ability to reach people based on very specific behaviors and interests," writes Australian social media consultant Andrew Hutchinson on Social Media Today.

Instagram Ads: Tread Lightly, Don't Offend

Brands that want to use Instagram need to be sensitive to the unique character of the network, which is still viewed as more personal and less intrusive than Facebook. Seeing broadly targeted ads for brands they don't follow may be offensive to Instagram users. Brands like mobile phone carriers and insurance companies that often carry negative connotations for consumers should be especially wary of annoying potential customers on Instagram. Above all, ads on Instagram should never be actual ads - they'll stick out like sore thumbs and will attract positive attention, says Lisa Braziel, writing on Ignite Social Media.

Inspirational Quotes on Pinterest

Pinterest abounds in inspirational quotes. Their prevalence suggests that people like them and find them useful. How can your brand take advantage of them? Here are some tips from Whizsky.com about what's "just right" when posting to Pinterest:

1. Don't blindly post quotes you like or find inspirational yourself. Always think about your brand's values when you're picking quotes to share with your network.
2. Use your own images to go along with the quotes you post, instead of tired stock photography images. Be sure to make the image and quote overlay look professional.
3. Take a long look at other inspirational quotes on Pinterest and make sure you're coming up with something fresh.
4. Don't post too much. You'll annoy the people you're trying to attract.

Using Emojis in Brand Marketing

Here are some examples of how brands are using the humble, ubiquitous emoji to tell their stories. Francis Fuster, in a blog on Flightpath, writes, "According to The Guardian, This allows brands to 'communicate with their target audience, to infiltrate their mobile phones, to demonstrate that they are on top of the latest communications trends, and also to convey messages in elegantly simple ways.'"

Google+ Is Dead, Long Live Google+

Although Google+ failed to live up to its mission as a Facebook killer, a lot of innovation came out of the effort. Google Hangouts, the popular video messaging and chat app; the powerful photo tools that have been baked into Google Photos; and single sign-on to all of Google's platforms are all parts of Google+ that have succeeded. This short piece on Future Visions urges Google to keep Google+ as a digital dashboard and master platform for users who use Google products and services.

Daniel Lieberman is the founder of Daniel Lieberman Digital ("I speak Geek - You don't need to"). Based in Shelburne Falls, Mass., he helps companies, organizations, and individuals learn to use the Internet to communicate, market, and brand themselves using the most up-to-date tools and techniques. Contact him at 413-489-1818 or daniel@daniellieberman.org.