You’ve enjoyed the sweet, sweet thrill of posting a single photo on Instagram. Now, get ready to double, triple, or quadruple the good times with the power of multi-image photo Instagram collages! Because sometimes, one hot pic just isn’t enough to capture the magic of your new haircut, or spring menu, or collection of designer parrot caplets. With a digital collage, you can combine multiple images into one bold visual statement. You can build basic collages for your Instagram Stories directly in Stories Create mode. But to take your collages to the next level (or to craft something for your main feed), you’re going to need to look outside the app. Read on for our favorite fool-proof graphic design tools to help create professional-looking photo collages for Instagram — no scrapbook scissors required. Bonus: 14 Time-Saving Hacks for Instagram Power Users. Get the list of secret shortcuts Hootsuite’s own social media team uses to create thumb-stopping content. 14 Instagram collage appsA Design KitPhoto-editing favorite A Color Story spun off its graphic design tool A Design Kit a few years back, and it’s become an instant classic. (It appears on basically every list we do of best apps for Instagram!) Design templates let you get craft with texture, shapes, lines, and color, while elements like stickers and font-nerd-approved fonts add the perfect finishing touch. UnfoldThe Squarespace-owned app features hundreds of templates to jazz up your videos, photos and texts, with stylized collage options. Unfold also has fun effects and fonts to make your post pop. Professional-grade preset filters add a unique vibe to your images. OverOver updates their collection of striking modern templates and graphic and text elements daily, so there’s always something new to play with as you’re crafting your perfect Insta collage. Photo-editing tools are built right into the program, too, so you can layer, mask, and tweak like a Photoshop pro with zero previous experience required. MojoBeyond a huge library of chic collage layout templates for Instagram to choose from, Mojo’s animation features offer the best of both worlds: your fave photos paired with dynamic text or graphic elements. Tweak the timing and components as you see fit to customize pre-loaded designs. TezzaLove a vintage vibe? Tezza might be the app of your dreams. Templates take inspiration from ‘90s magazines, Y2K mood boards, and dreamy vintage cinema. Textural overlays like dust and paper give your collages a sense of depth and dimension. Craft a video collage with special effects if you’re craving something even more dynamic. PicCollageThe vibe can lean a little more “Scrapbook mom” with PicCollage, but 200 million-plus users certainly seem to like it. No judgment! Tons of grid options are available to quickly combine multiple images, but themed templates are on hand to help make it easy to celebrate or commemorate auspicious occasions (Happy Halloweeeeen!). New stickers and backgrounds are added each week so you’ve got a fresh set of tools to play with regularly. Pic JointerWe’re not convinced “jointer” is technically a word, but with dozens of grid combinations (sorted by ‘classic’ and ‘stylish’) at your fingertips, who cares about the English language? Let the pictures do the talking, you grammar nerd! The patterned and colored backgrounds are a fun option to help brand your collages. SCRLFor next-level collagery, download SCRL. The app allows you to make a seamless scrolling image for Instagram’s carousel feature (a format that is actually privileged by the Instagram algorithm, FYI!) and it’s prettttty impressive. Layer on your fave camera-roll pics (or videos!) into one big graphic, and SCRL will chop it up to be ready to go for a multi-image upload. Collage Maker ◇There are a lot of apps called ‘Collage Maker’ out there. (Gotta get that sweet, sweet SEO!) But our fave is this one. There are 20,000-plus combinations for your photo collages — all the grid options you could ever dream of, plus formats shaped like cascading hearts, kissing faces, or flower petals. Include videos in your collage if you’re feeling bold, and even add on music. Layout from InstagramThe official collage app from Insta itself. Yes, it’s annoying that you have to download a separate app to access this multi-photo design feature, but it is what it is. Remix your fave pics into various grid combinations and export right into Instagram’s create mode when you’re done. StoryArtStylish filters, animated story templates, stickers and gifs: get creative with the formatting and editing options of StoryArt. Chic typography and influencer-cool design details like faux-Polaroid frames offer a quick and easy way to craft on-trend collages for your main feed, Stories, or Reels. StoryChicIt’s been downloaded 10 million times and manages to have a 4.4-star rating on the Android app store — so it’s fair to say that StoryChic is a fan favorite. More than 500 templates and tons of fonts and preset filters offer ample opportunity to get creative. StoryluxeMost of Storyluxe’s collage templates (and there are a lot of them) are stylized to look like good old-fashioned film strips and prints. If that’s a look that feels like a fit for your brand, this could be the app for all your future Instagram collages. Storyluxe also features specialty designer fonts: an opportunity to make your content stand out from the crowd, if adding a few key text phrases feels right. PicMonkeyPicMonkey is a robust online photo editing tool — helpful if you prefer to do your graphic design from your desktop. It’s owned by Shutterstock but you can upload your own images (even ones from free stock photo sites!) to avoid premium charges and take advantage of their sleek Instacollage templates. Their designs are particularly helpful if you want to combine imagery and text. How to make a collage on InstagramTragic news: at this point in time, there’s no way to build a collage for your Instagram main feed directly in the app. (Why are the Insta gods so cruel!?) You can, however, craft a basic collage for your Stories using Instagram’s Story Create mode. (Check out our Complete Guide to Instagram Stories for Business if you haven’t already!) 1. Open the Instagram app and tap the + icon at the top of the screen. Select Story. 2. This will open your camera roll. Tap on the camera icon here to access Create mode. 3. On the left-hand side of the screen, you’ll see a list of icons. Tap the third from the top: a square with lines in it. This is the Layout icon. 4. Tapping the Layout icon will open up a quadrant of layout on your screen. From here, you can fill each segment either with a fresh photo or something from your camera roll. a. Option 1: Take a photo! To capture a photo, just tap the photo-capture button: the white circle in the center of the btoom of the screen. Once you take a photo, your pic will fill that top left corner shot. Continue shooting three more photos. To delete something and take a new pic, tap the photo and then tap the delete icon. b. Option 2: Select from your camera roll. Tap the square camera-roll-preview icon on the bottom left corner of your screen to access your camera roll. Tap the photo you wish to be in the top left corner of the quadrant. Repeat until the screen has four photos. To delete something and take a new pic, tap the photo and then tap the delete icon. 5. If you want to try a different layout, enter Layout mode and tap the rectangular grid icon directly below the Layout mode icon.This will open up a selection menu where you can choose an alternative style of grid. Tap your preferred style, and then fill each segment either with a photo capture or an image from your camera roll, as outlined above. 6. Happy with your new Insta collage? Hit the checkmark to confirm and move on to add stickers, text, or effects. We’re sure you’re eager to start creating the Instagram collages of your dreams, so please, don’t let us keep you — but if you’re on a creative roll, you might want a little refresher on how to schedule Instagram posts in advance. Churn out those amazing collages, pop ‘em in the Hootsuite dashboard to blast out into the world, and then sit back and wait for the accolades to come rolling in. Start building your Instagram presence using Hootsuite. Schedule and publish posts directly to Instagram, engage your audience, measure performance, and run all your other social media profiles — all from one simple dashboard. Try it free today. Get Started Easily create, analyze, and schedule Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels with Hootsuite. Save time and get results.
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The chatbot market was nearly USD 600 million in 2021, and is expected to grow exponentially in the next few years. While it is very easy to build a bot, not many businesses have been able to create the best user experience, making what should be a tool that makes life easier, more burdensome. As a result of the need for chatbots and the number of challenges that may arrive when creating one, here are a few points to consider when developing a chatbot. Pick Your Use Case Bots can be used in various industries to provide assistance with scheduling, reminders, teaching, showing images, tracking, calling, supporting customers and accepting payments, to name a few. These industries include finance, healthcare, education, sales and marketing, retail and hospitality. Bot Libre has supported a number of clients especially in retail, customer service, education and healthcare. Choose Your Language The programming language you use to create your bot is just as crucial as the human language it can understand. Bot Libre developed the OMNI deep learning model for metaverse-ready chatbots by combining vision deep learning models with NLP deep learning models to provide multiple senses, integrated learning , awareness and navigation, not only in for the internet as it is today, but for what it will be tomorrow, through the Metaverse. Choose Your Platforms In order to decide the best place to distribute your bots, you should be aware of who and where your customers are. Bot Libre allows users to deploy their chatbots to Facebook, Twitter, SMS, telegram, email, mobile applications, video conferencing, skype, Microsoft bot framework and websites. Once deployed, Bot Libre bots can send and respond to messages and even make posts. How to add a virtual agent to your website How to create a chatbot for telegram How to create a chatbot for Facebook page How to create a chatbot Facebook Messenger How to create a chatbot for Twitter How to create a chatbot for Twilio and SMS How to create a chatbot for Skype and Microsoft Outline The Bot’s capabilities Every user of your bot will not have the same needs or intentions. Therefore it is important to offer a clear guide to all your bot options, so users can be assisted as quickly as possible, providing a positive chatbot experience. For example, a Bot Libre Bank Bot can help your customers with bank queries like account types, opening an account, bank balances , statements and other issues that may come up. Finally..Think Nuanced Not Nuisance You will likely create your bot with common responses to common questions that are asked in your specific bot niche. However humans are not always predictable and therefore they may come up with additional questions or give ambiguous responses that the chatbot was not prepared for. This leaves the chatbot confused, and many times the customer frustrated. Bot Libre offers a solution to this by providing a platform to train your bot using a conversation flow to set responses, keywords and topics. As put forward by contributors in a recent Forbes article, “ Wherever you are in your journey as a business owner, using chatbots can help you improve customer engagement, expand your customer base, qualify leads at the outset and expand to global markets easily. With so many advantages, it makes sense to start using chatbots for your business growth right now.” If you wish to build a chatbot for your company, you can check out Bot Libre’s open-source platform that allows you to build a unique company bot with no programming and access to hundreds of pre-made bots, with varied purposes, personalities and a multilingual platform that supports any language. For support, email [email protected] Learned something? Please give us a to say thanks and to help others find this article. from https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/how-to-build-the-best-bot-the-chatbot-market-was-nearly-usd-600-by-bot-libre-aug-2022/7288/ Over the past few months, we’ve seen major changes in both the ways users consume social media and the opportunities presented to local businesses by new social media search functionalities. In July, we reported on Instagram’s new immersive map, potentially changing the game for local business discovery. Since then, it’s also been reported that TikTok is the go-to search engine for Gen Z, with 40% of Gen Z users preferring the video sharing app, and Instagram, over Google Search. Naturally, TikTok is jumping on product developments, improving its search functionality, and even testing a ‘nearby’ feed. We’ve also seen Twitter introduce Location Spotlight for local businesses, which displays important business information and integrates with Google Maps to help customers find them.
Social platforms seem to be putting more and more focus on search and local business discoverability. On Instagram, we’re seeing a push for users to find local businesses through creator and influencer content. Meanwhile, on TikTok, the everyday creator can go viral with their video content, which can include recommendations of local areas, businesses, or services. And now Twitter is now promoting local businesses through enhanced profile attributes. But what about Facebook? Well, Facebook has always presented itself as a strong promoter of local businesses. Businesses can create pages, which can act as local citations. Your business page shows up in search queries across Facebook and provides an additional platform for user recommendations, engaging followers with news, updates, and offers. Facebook’s online community groups also provide an avenue for local businesses to promote their services, or to get user reviews and recommendations. In future, we could see Facebook integrate with Instagram’s map search, and become an even more valuable platform for local businesses. As shown below, a simple search for ‘Brighton dog groomer’ brings up related local pages with their business info, followed by conversations taking place on local community groups. This demonstrates the power that user recommendations on local community groups have, especially as they show on search results. And then there’s YouTube: the ultimate creator platform, which we know consumers can use it search for almost anything. While YouTube is indeed a global platform, local keywords can still have an impact on business discoverability. For example, the search term “san diego restaurants” brings up food and travel vloggers providing their recommendations. It’s clear that, while some of the original tech players continue to boost local visibility through creator content, newer platforms are starting to embrace it even more. With these changes in mind, it’s important to consider how consumers are really consuming content in 2022. Video-first PlatformsSocial media channels have moved in favor of short-form video content. This has led to a change in how users, particularly younger people, consume information, through quick, visual pieces of content. If someone is looking for the best way to make a key lime pie, they might now watch a video, rather than read a written recipe. If someone is traveling somewhere new, they might watch videos of their destination, rather than reading travel blogs. For someone trying DIY, their go-to for information could now be in video format. In the below screenshot, you can see a search for ‘key lime pie’ on TikTok which brings up video tutorials and recipes to make a pie. When you think about it, doesn’t video make more sense for these kinds of content anyway? You could argue that this reckoning has been in the works for a long time. In many cases, video provides the user with everything they need to know in as little time as possible, in the most engaging way. Authentic and Trustworthy ContentSocial media has always been a place of fake personas, edited and filtered images, and carefully curated, aesthetically-pleasing content. This is now changing, as “young people have decided to share it all, from messy break-ups to professional failures.” TikTok creators are often their most authentic selves, and this hunger for realness, trust, and authenticity has spread across social channels. BeReal: A Case Study in the Appetite for Authenticity BeReal is one of the newest social platforms taking the younger generation by storm, now with up to 10 million daily active users. BeReal, which describes itself as ‘Your Friends for Real’, is a photo-sharing app with no functionality to edit or filter images. Every day, at a different time, users are notified that they now have two minutes to take a photo. The app takes a photo using both the back and front cameras on the smartphone, to give a realistic view of what the user is doing or seeing at that moment. No curated images, just an authentic peek into someone’s life, there and then. The joy of this is that you’ll most likely find everyone else is going about their day-to-day life, watching TV, cooking, working, or studying. Users don’t experience ‘FOMO’, or feel bad about themselves for not living the ‘perfect’ life we often see on platforms like Instagram. Users require authenticity as the number one trust signal: a TikTok user sharing their recommendations for museums to visit in Toronto or an Instagram travel influencer showcasing their most recent Miami Beach hotel stay might be viewed as more trustworthy than Google reviews—definitely something we’ll aim to explore in our next Local Consumer Review Survey.
In the screenshot above, we can see that a content creator has tagged the Miami Beach hotel in her photo, showing her experience at the location there and then. The hotel’s comment (highlighted) is an example of a great way to respond and engage with user-generated content such as this. Anyone viewing the post can see what the hotel may look like, what their experience might be when they get there, and potentially the promise of good customer service through the hotel’s online engagement. When it comes to search, users want to see real reviews and real experiences, and this is what video on platforms like TikTok and Instagram can provide. For anyone browsing nearby restaurants, for example, social search adds authenticity, from real and trusted content creators. With video, you can see the plated food, you can grasp an idea as to what the interiors and vibe of the restaurant would be, and you can hear about and see recent experiences directly from the creator themselves. Source: TikTok This example from TikTok shows food, drinks, interiors, and exteriors from Chicago restaurants, so that users can get a feel as to what the restaurants feel like, as well as what the food served will look like. Traditionally, a search result would rely on the Google algorithm, which can present potentially fake reviews, out-of-date images, and poorly-optimized websites —none of which bode well for a good IRL experience. Ultimately, social search showcases a more authentic, real-life world experience, rather than relying on content that’s been carefully, and likely artificially, crafted for algorithms. Why are social platforms making substantial changes for local businesses?This might be an effect of the pandemic, where more local businesses took to the world of digital in order to continue making money during lockdowns across the world. Social platforms are tapping into a market that is more digital than ever before, enabling local businesses to grow and increase visibility through their channels. If more local businesses advertise on these platforms, grow their followings, and become more active through social search, this naturally results in more revenue opportunities for the platforms, and so the imperative for them to develop more functions for local businesses grows ever more. Creating Viral Video Content for Social SearchThis might sound good for Gen Z users, or local marketers in industries such as leisure, tourism, or hospitality. However, social media, and in particular video, can be highly valuable for local marketers across a variety of industries, for older audiences, even in the most niche of places. Here are some great examples of local businesses causing a stir on TikTok, and reaping the rewards by doing so: The Pool Guy, a swimming pool engineer based in the UK, has gone viral for his pool-cleaning videos. These have led to increased discoverability throughout his local service area and beyond, and even celebrity bookings. This Manchester, UK-based hairdresser shares incredible hair transformations, and often finds that clients travel the breadth of the UK just to have treatments with her. TikTok isn’t just kids performing dances or lip-syncing along to popular music. It’s full of people giving advice on health and fitness, financial advice, home improvements, advice on plant-care—you might even find your local dentist on TikTok! While they might reach global audiences, you’d be surprised at how showing your trust and authenticity through TikTok can help boost your local brand awareness and drive customers from both your local area and from further away. Taking Advantage of Social SearchNow we know the power of social media video, and the rising importance of social search, how do local businesses take advantage of these evolutions in social media? First of all, increase your social media presence. Being active on channels like Instagram and TikTok could work well, especially for businesses with a visually pleasing interior, or a product or service they can easily show off through video. If you’ve got subject matter expertise in law, healthcare, or finance, answer frequently-asked questions through short-form video on these channels. You never know who your content might reach. Secondly, engage your audience to drive user-generated content. Get users who visit your location to tag you and share content from their experience. Engage with anyone who does share their experience on social and thank them! Your potential customers want to see authentic content from existing customers, and user-generated content is the catalyst for this. Reach out to local influencers and offer them a gifted meal or a visit to your location in exchange for creative content on social media. Make the most of content creators on social media, as these are the people shouting about your brand, and boosting discoverability through social search. In ConclusionSocial search is growing. With this, in turn, platform product developments and user behavior are now intertwining to become a force to be reckoned with. Users are engaging with, learning from, and searching for more video content, to help answer their questions, inspire something new, or be entertained. Now’s the time for businesses to start getting creative behind the camera to meet user needs. Through video comes authenticity and social proof from a range of creators across social platforms. Creators are showcasing their content in the most real and trustworthy way, and users are hungry for realistic content. Local businesses should make good use of user-generated content throughout their local marketing campaigns. While we might still be reliant on Google, the power of social media is always growing, and social search could have a huge impact on how you achieve your business goals. Jenny looks after the BrightLocal community, through managing our social media channels, connecting with our community, and producing our online webinars.
from https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/the-rise-of-social-search-transforming-the-way-local-businesses-are-found/7286/ Videos tell a story. Whether you’re writing an original video script or using a video script template, your script is essential to that story.
And videos are powerful selling tools. 92% of marketers say that video is central to their marketing strategy.
But creating videos can be intimidating. It’s complicated whether you’re a writer, marketer, or movie producer. There are many steps to planning, editing, and producing videos and each step is important. Writing an effective video script can mean the difference between video success and failure. This post will show you how to write an effective script for your videos. Are you ready to get started? What is a video script?A video script contains the dialogue, plans, and action for your video. It’s a crucial tool that gives you and your team cues and reminders about the goal, timeline, and results you want for your video. Even the most basic video will be better with a video script. Creating a video is complex. Most video projects include:
Each of these elements can be tricky to execute, and when they combine, it’s easy for mistakes to happen. But your script will include details that make the process run smoothly. A video script is vital to help your team prepare for and organize the video-making process. Plus you and your team will be more confident and produce a better video with a comprehensive script. How to Write a Video Script
1. Choose your target audience.Any marketing project is better with the right buyer persona. This is especially true with video. Because videos often take more time and investment than an online ad or blog, it’s important that your video speaks to a specific audience. So, before you start developing characters or a brief for your video, you need to figure out who your video is for. Your target audience for your video script can impact:
If your video is for brand awareness, you may be broadcasting to a large and diverse audience. But what if you’re introducing a product or feature? In that case, you’ll want to focus your audience on the buyers that are most likely to feel the pain point your product solves. If your video is for employee or customer retention, you might want a different approach. You’ll want to review data, reviews, and testimonials before you begin your script brief. This will help you create the story and dialogue that your audience will respond to. 2. Set a goal for your video script.Videos are usually team projects. Without a single focus, every person could come to the video with their own idea of what it’s about. As the project continues, this can turn a simple video into a convoluted mess. That’s why it’s important to start your video script by just thinking about your goal. So, before you jump into a storyline, character, or setting, figure out the why. Why are you making this video? Do you want to teach people about your product? Are you introducing a new pricing structure? Are you trying to expand into a new niche? If you’re not sure about your goal, think about the problem you’re hoping this video will solve. For example, say you’re struggling with conversions for a new product.
Don’t jump into your video script without deciding on a single goal. Then, use your goal to set the metrics you’ll use to measure the video’s performance once it goes live. 3. Choose the main character for your video.Video marketing helps you show your viewers what your product can do instead of telling them. And characters are essential to storytelling. Choosing the main character for your video before you begin your script will help you focus on telling a story, not just selling an idea. This will help your audience connect and engage with your video. You may already know that your main character is your ideal customer or your CEO. They could be a celebrity, a cartoon of your product, or a narrator who speaks in your brand voice. But if not, before you start writing your video script, decide who will be the focus of your video. If you don’t know who your main character is, go back to your goal and target audience. Think about who your buyer persona wants to hear from as they reach that stage of their journey. Next, outline your main character. You can use the habits, quirks, and voice of your main character to paint a picture for your audience that helps them remember and relate to your video. Once you’ve figured out your main character you can decide how they relate to your product. Do you want to talk about their back story? Are you going to talk about a specific experience they had and how your product helped? 4. Create a brief.Creating a brief allows you and your team to document the answers to the most important project questions. This helps everyone involved understand the who, what, when, where, and why of your video. Say you’re three-quarters of the way through the editing process. If your boss or colleague wants to completely redo half of your video, that’s a huge problem. Challenges like this can impact your budget, timing, and campaigns. But with a brief, you can refer to the goals and project plan your team mapped out together, and say, “Actually, that’s not what we agreed to.” Then, you can move forward. Focus on your goals, topic, and takeaways in your brief.A brief doesn’t have to be fancy, nor does it have to follow a specific formula. But there are several key questions it should include to craft an effective video script.
You can easily create a brief in Google Docs to serve as a living, breathing template that you revise over time – and that your team can collaborate on. 5. Use your brief to write an outline.Once you’ve picked a topic and written a brief, it’s time to start constructing your video script. We recommend starting with an outline to give structure to your video script. This way, you can break your video into subtopics and decide how your dialogue (or monologue) will progress. Are you basing your video script on a blog?You can’t just rewrite a blog post and call it a day – there’s a specific way to write a blog-based script so that it shapes an effective video. Alicia Collins can teach you a bit more in the video below (and yes, we wrote a script for it). Like Alicia says in the video above, a video script shouldn’t simply regurgitate the blog post word-for-word. Blog posts are ideally written to be conversational. But there are pauses and verbal explanations you’ll need to add to your speech patterns that you wouldn’t have without your script. But, using the blog post’s subsections is a helpful starting point when figuring out how your script will progress from one section to the next. Are you writing an original video script?Start with a well-structured outline. Many video scripts follow a three-part structure that includes:
This is a basic video script structure, but there are many ways you can go as you outline your story. This structure will help you write a script that covers the details that make your video believable and useful to your audience. As you create your outline, think about where natural transitions happen. For example, say you’re writing a video script about the life of a new product. You might outline your script with the steps a business might take to launch a product, including:
Your primary goal is to engage your target audience with a situation they can connect with. This can help them understand how the challenges you share in your video relate to the problems they want to solve in their own lives. 6. Start writing your script, section by section.Your video script doesn’t have to be fancy. You’re not trying to submit this script for any awards – its purpose is strictly functional. A good script makes it easy for the people on camera to get their messages across while sounding and acting naturally. Write conversationally.Writing a script isn’t the same as writing a college paper or marketing research report. You want to write the script how you want the video subject to speak. Saying, “I’m gonna create a video after reading this blog post” on camera will read much better than, “I am going to create a video after reading this blog post.” Keep sentences short and crisp and try to avoid compound sentences. Make it thorough.A script doesn’t just include dialogue. If your video will require multiple shots, characters, or scenes, include these details. Be sure to include any necessary information about the set or stage actions, such as a wardrobe change. Basically, you want the script to be thorough enough that you could hand it off to someone else to shoot, and they’d understand it. Write for the audience and the platform.Make sure you’re keeping your script conversational for the people you’re trying to connect with – and infuse humor, tone, and inflection accordingly. For example, if you’re writing a short-form video for Facebook, you might want to consider keeping your script choppier with sentence fragments. But if you’re producing a long-form explainer video for your website, make sure you’re as thorough as possible. Script every single word.It’s understandable to think you can just jot down the main bullet points for a script, and then just wing it on camera, especially if you know your subject matter. This approach makes it tough to communicate a message as clearly and concisely as possible and it usually results in a lot of redos. So, we suggest scripting every last word. Doing this will keep you organized during filming and save you loads of time later. 7. Edit your video script.Writing is tough, and it’s easy to get stuck if you expect your video script to be perfect on your first draft. It’s worth doing two to three rounds of edits to cut any unnecessary words in your writing. These are a few more tips for editing your script so that the video script can make your final video shine. Give yourself a break.Step away from your script after you write it, and don’t go back until you can look at it from a fresh perspective. Check for transitions.Dialogue and actions will move your story forward. So, look for moments in your script that feel abrupt or awkward. Then, add details that will help your viewers understand what is happening. Cut the extras.Great writing and interesting dialogue will be bad for your video if they don’t advance your story. Edit out these parts and save them for a later project if you think they can be useful. 8. Do a verbal run-through off-camera.Now that you know how to write a script, it’s time for a table read. This is the part where you practice bringing your script to life on camera. Why practice? Because some words look great on paper, but once you read them aloud, they just don’t sound right. Reading your video script out loud can help you make the language more conversational and your sentences shorter. You can read your script aloud while editing, but the table read is where you really get to fine-tune the tone. It’s when you can nix anything that sounds too proper, improper, robotic, or otherwise inappropriate for the message you want to convey. Check out this video for a fun example of a table read: Video Script TemplateWriting a script from scratch is way harder than starting with an example. This video marketing starter pack includes a free video script template. Take a look at this HubSpot video below. Next, check out how we’ve used HubSpot’s video script template below to include the elements described throughout this blog post. Download the template and get started today. Video Script ExampleThere are many different ways to write a video script. Usually, the format you use will depend on the length and complexity of your video. Adding columns can help you organize crucial information like:
Besides the video script template above, the examples below are other ways you can approach your video script. Single column script:Two-column video scriptFour-column script: Image Source Video Script Writing Tips
1. Create a powerful beginning.You have more viewers during the first 10% of your video than at any other time. So, your top goal when writing a video script is to hook viewers at the beginning so that they keep watching until the end. Use the first few lines to introduce the main character or narrator and what the audience is going to learn by the end of the video. You can offer in-depth details later in your video. For example, if you’re teaching viewers how to optimize their blog for SEO, your introduction might be: “Hi there! I’m [narrator’s name] from [company], and in the next [length of video] minutes, I’m gonna teach you how to get your blog ranking on Google.” And don’t forget that some viewers will be watching your video without sound. Viewers who are silently scanning your social media or website will still need to quickly understand what your video is about. 2. Be concise.When it comes to marketing, shorter videos tend to be more compelling than longer videos. In fact, 68% of people said they’d rather learn about new products and services through a “short video,” according to a survey by Wyzowl. To make short videos, you need a short script. Don’t write a script any longer than two pages. If you can keep it to one page, even better. The result is a video that’s succinct, engaging, and allows for a simple editing process. 3. Write in short paragraphs.Time is important when you’re writing a script. If you’re reading at an average pace, you’ll cover about two words per second. Short paragraphs make it easier to understand the timing of your script as you write and edit it. They also make it easier to use a teleprompter. So, try to keep your paragraphs to 3-4 sentences at most. 4. Support any B-roll with the proper callouts in your main narrative.If your video will transition from a person speaking in front of a camera to a close-up shot of your product or a demonstration, write these cues into your script. This way, anyone who reads it knows to introduce these things to the viewer. What is B-roll?These secondary shots are often referred to as B-roll, which take place while the person continues to speak off-screen. B-roll is one of the main differences between a blog post and a video script. For example, if a blog post reads, “take a look at the graph below,” it’s clearly referring to a graph embedded below that sentence. This phrasing won’t work on camera. Instead, your video script might read, “in the graph you see here” – while you show the graph on-screen. Give cues to your characters or narrator.These written exceptions help cue your talent to take certain unspoken actions while reciting the script. It’s also a good idea to add open loops so that your audience has an idea of what is coming next. This will make them more willing to wait through a section that they mind not find engaging. 5. Use graphics to make your video stand out.Visual cues are important to add to your script. Graphics help you make your dialogue easier for viewers to understand and remember. Options for graphics you can add to your videos include:
It can be tempting to add visuals just for the cool factor. But every image you add should offer value to your viewers. And if you think about these visuals as you write your script they will feel more natural in your final video. 6. Add some variety to your script.Writing video scripts is fun, so make sure that the fun shows. As you write and edit your script, try new things to spice up your dialogue, visuals, and structure. These are a few ideas that can help you add something new to your script writing. Create backstories for your characters.For example, say your main character is talking about finding a better toothbrush. If her back story is that she was a cookie-loving pastry chef who’s prone to cavities, sharing her back story lets your audience know what inspired her when she was first starting out. Use opposites.Opposites are a popular concept in improv acting, and they can help when you’re adding variety to your script. For example, say your script features two ambitious characters. One could be ambitious because they got poor grades in high school and they want to prove themself. The other is ambitious because they have always performed well in school and they want that to continue. These different motivations will help make their conversations more interesting. Get inspired.Films, videos, books, and pictures can all help you create a more vivid world for your video script. You can apply your inspiration directly to the scenes you write or use it for motivation when you’re feeling stuck. Think visually.Another way to add variety is to step back and look at the big picture. Writing an outline of your script on notecards, or using a card for each scene can help you get a sense of where your script may need some work. 7. Plan to repurpose your video content.While a great final video is your ultimate goal, you’ll also want to plan for the future as you write your script. Most marketing videos won’t just post to a single platform – your team will share clips on social media, in email, and during presentations. So, it’s smart to plan for repurposing. As you write, think about moments in your script that could be engaging on their own. Even if you’re writing a script for a short video, try to write with quick clips in mind. For example, if you’re creating a two-minute video, plan to pull out a few five-second clips. Use your video script to create incredible videos.A video script can be a quick outline or a carefully written work of genius. Either way, it will form the foundation of your video and have a major impact on your results. When you’re scripting you can let your creativity run wild, test new ideas, and push boundaries. Use these steps, tips, and templates to invent and experiment. Get to work and help your business soar. Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
from https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/how-to-write-a-video-script-template-video/7284/ We commonly think of bots as problem solvers or functional tools as virtual attendants. However, there’s a lot more to be explored in this incredible world of bots. Besides improving customer service, chatbots can create personalized experiences and totally meet the expectations of the users by strengthening the brand to outstand its commercial value once you define it well, bringing into play the real concept of brand equity. When we have in mind such a concept, we are aware of actions and strategies that can be applied to a brand to show its worth, and chatbots can lead to the 4 pillars of brand equity — loyalty, awareness, associations and perceived quality. I’ve highlighted three actions and strategies which I consider important to add value to your brand through chatbots. Here we go… Voice & Tone Determining the voice and the tone of a bot is crucial for better communication with the audience reflecting the brand personality. It might seem simple to think of a bot’s voice and tone as a savior with a promising mission, however, other factors should be taken into account to develop a suitable voice and an appropriate tone. Both of them should be aligned with the brand to deliver the message that users are expecting to receive without unpleasant surprises. The main idea here for a good voice and tone is to prepare the bot for different events and scenarios in a consistent way so that they can easily associate them to the brand. Observe how other brand’s bots communicate with people and explore different journeys and stories when designing a bot. Naming What counts the most is experience for sure. However, we can stress here how important and intriguing a name for a bot can be. Have you ever got yourself flattered when a friendly company mentions your name while purchasing a product or from an intelligent contact? Names are powerful and they can narrow the gaps between the serious and institutional perspective of a brand and people by using a human connector — a name. There’s no magic formula to get the best name for a chatbot and let’s not forget that the name itself can’t do the whole thing. That’s why other actions and strategies should be considered. Visual Identity Consistency appears here in the form of a visual strategy to drive all attention to capturing users’ eyes. Bots with a strong brand identity are more likely to provide a better experience and a positive impact through the choice of a style. Be sure if the bot uses the same style of communication as well as all the other elements of the identity such as colors, logo, illustrations, emojis, shapes, etc. It’s worth remembering that the familiar feeling given by a visual identity can affect the user’s mood which is a major key on the purchase decision when in touch with the brand. Emotional connection Competitive differentiation is quite important for a brand to stand out in the market, but what brings the great secret is the emotional connection. Chatbots have lots of emotional connectors besides voice and tone, naming and visual identity. Having at hand the brand’s core values and essence can help you work on other actions to reach the connection through cultural impacts and sensory memory, for instance. Brands can go beyond improving engagement with the objective of expressing their purpose through chatbots enabling users to feel confident about choosing their services and products. And remember — choose being different, but different with a purpose. from https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/brand-equity-for-chatbots-we-commonly-think-of-bots-as-problem-by-luci-costa-aug-2022/7282/ As a small business owner, there’s no end to the number of tips and ideas you get from others. You may be thinking, “I already have enough work; I don’t need more!” We understand! Being a business owner is a huge challenge. But if there’s one thing that can’t be put on the back burner, it’s your marketing. You need a strong digital presence, but you don’t need to create it alone. The good news is that the right digital marketing agency can partner with you to take your digital marketing off your plate. You’ll get the best of both worlds — a great digital marketing presence and time to focus on your business! Why should you focus on your digital presence? Let’s look at four reasons. 1. Reach More CustomersYour small business provides a valuable service that makes a difference in your community. But if no one knows about it, how can they benefit? In order to reach more customers and grow your business, you need a strong digital presence. By having a well-designed website and using digital marketing, you can reach a wider audience and connect with potential customers who may not be aware of your business. A well-designed website can showcase your products or services and give customers the information they need to make an informed decision. It can also be optimized to rank well in Google search results, so customers who are ready to buy find you quickly and easily. By investing in a strong digital presence, you can take your small business to the next level. 2. Stand Out From the CrowdAs a small business owner, you are always looking for ways to stand out from the competition. In today’s digital world, having a strong online presence is one of the most important ways to set yourself apart. Your website is often the first impression potential customers will have of your business, so it’s important to make sure it is informative, well-designed, and user-friendly. Customers have more choices than ever before, and they are not afraid to shop around for the best deal. As a result, it is more important than ever to make sure your website showcases the reasons customers should choose you over your competitors. Start by clearly stating what you offer and what sets you apart from the competition. Then, provide detailed descriptions of your products and services, along with strong visuals. Be sure to include customer testimonials and reviews to highlight the satisfaction of your previous clients. Finally, make it easy for visitors to get in touch with you by providing clear contact information. Of course, your website is only one part of your digital presence. That’s why it’s best to work with a marketing agency like Local SEO Search that can help you create and implement a multi-faceted digital plan. When you take these steps, you’ll be positioning your company as the clear choice for your ideal customers. 3. Showcase Your ExpertiseHow can you show your ideal audience that you have the experience and expertise they are looking for? By using a website and other strategies to reach your audience online, you can showcase your expertise in their field and reach a wider audience of potential customers. In addition, by regularly posting fresh content and engaging with customers online, your business can build trust and credibility, which are essential for attracting customers. When potential customers see that a small business has a strong and professional online presence, they are more likely to choose that business over its competitors. 4. Increase Brand AwarenessIn the past, small businesses often struggled to reach their ideal customers due to limited marketing budgets. However, the rise of digital marketing has levelled the playing field, allowing even the smallest businesses to compete for attention online. By creating a well-designed website and utilizing SEO best practices, small businesses can increase their visibility in search engine results pages and reach more potential customers. Additionally, social media provides an excellent platform for promoting content and engaging with customers. By regularly posting interesting and relevant content, small businesses can build a following of potential customers who are interested in their products or services. In short, digital marketing offers small businesses a cost-effective way to increase brand awareness among their ideal customers. Sound like a lot of work? It often is, which is why choosing a digital marketing partner like Local SEO Search is such a great idea. Get Started Building Your Digital Presence TodayIn order to compete in today’s business world, small businesses must have a strong digital presence. This means having a website, being active on social media, and using search engine optimization techniques to make sure your site appears at the top of search results. By building a comprehensive online presence, you can reach more potential customers and grow your business. Contact us today to get started!
from https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/4-reasons-your-small-business-needs-a-strong-digital-presence/7280/ Free, open-source software powers much of the web. And it’s part of what makes the web design industry so unique. Could you imagine a traditional line of work that relies so heavily on no-cost tools? The concept would likely be unfathomable to anyone from an accountant to a zoologist. Yet it’s something web designers have embraced and, to some extent – expect. Whether it’s building a website with WordPress, crafting a layout with Bootstrap, or storing data via MySQL, it’s an everyday occurrence. And these tools are just a few examples. We have a multitude of free options – each helping us do our job more effectively. This has been the case for years. And things have gone remarkably smoothly. Some tools come and go, but the underlying philosophy of open-source software has endured. But that seems to be changing. Lately, there’s been talk of so-called “free riders” who benefit from such projects without necessarily giving back. That begs the question of what our responsibility is when using free, open-source software for commercial purposes. What, if anything, do we owe? What follows isn’t a definitive answer. Instead, it’s a collection of thoughts on how we might reach a better understanding of the issue, along with some simple actions we can take. Take a Freelance Free RideGranted, the debate over free riders has largely been about corporate users. The everyday freelancer hasn’t been the primary subject of debate. But the lines can get blurry. Consider that anyone with the desire and skill can extend open-source software. As such, they can also financially benefit from their efforts. This has been encouraged within the WordPress community. Many a theme and plugin has found success through commercial or freemium offerings. Once a certain status has been attained, does that developer become part of the conversation? Likewise, one could build a custom plugin that’s specific to a client project. With that, we’re not only making money from building a website. We’re also able to charge more for a custom solution designed around the core software. The ability of a freelancer to repeat this process could lead to significant growth. In the eye of some observers, a threshold might be crossed as revenue grows. The Uncomfortable Truth about Free and Open-Source SoftwareIt seems like there’s so much gray area when it comes to giving back to some open-source projects. There are arbitrary standards about who should contribute and how they should do so. Etiquette is often insinuated but not clearly defined. Plus, the mere fact that an app or framework is publicly released ensures that users will take advantage to various degrees. Some will use them in ways the author neither expected nor intended. Others will discover methods to profit from it. This may make project stakeholders squeamish. Yet it’s also the reality of our world. Technology can be used for good, bad, and everything in between. It’s part of the risk you take when allowing anyone to access your creation. If everyone from a solo entrepreneur to a large hosting company can freely use an app, it shouldn’t be a surprise that some will refuse to play nicely. In a competitive market, people are looking for an edge. Ethically speaking, sometimes their actions go against the grain. What Should We Do?Defining what counts as a contribution is open to interpretation. There are both official and unofficial ways to do so. With that, it’s up to each of us to think about what we want to give back to the projects we benefit from – or if we want to give back at all. If your skills and schedule allow for an official role, then becoming a volunteer is a wonderful way to give thanks. Regardless of the software, there is almost always a need for human resources. Even a few hours a month can make a positive impact. Not everyone has the time, resources, or expertise to dedicate to official contribution channels. However, unofficial efforts are also worthwhile. If you fit into this category, there are still some valuable ways to pay it forward: Respect Software LicensingThis kind of contribution doesn’t require any grand gestures or public declarations. By using an app, you’re agreeing to the terms of its license. From there, it’s up to you to follow through. For example, there may be rules about redistribution or using companion software that follows a set of standards. Staying within those boundaries is good practice and a show of respect for those who put their precious time into the project. This is the least we can do to help a project fulfill its promise. Share Your Knowledge and ExperienceIf you’ve had experience with an app, take some time to share it with others. Pass along tips, tutorials, or opinions through social media or a blog. Tell your clients how their organization can benefit from the software. This raises awareness, which is the lifeblood of many open-source offerings. It’s particularly important for small projects that don’t have widespread name recognition. As an aside, it’s also worth letting the people behind the project know about your efforts. They’ll likely appreciate the recognition. Support the EcosystemA healthy ecosystem is often part of a thriving open-source project. Think of WordPress as a prime example. If there were no third-party themes and plugins available, the core software would become less appealing. Extensibility means a great deal. You can support the ecosystem by using and promoting your favorite items. Purchase commercial versions if they fit your needs. And you can contribute your own creations as well. Recognize Other ContributorsA lot of work goes into making great tools. Countless hours spent in design, development, support, and other areas are required. But it doesn’t have to be a thankless job. Taking the time to say “thank you” to contributors goes a long way. So often, we only see the negatives in the public sphere. Thus, a quick note of encouragement can make all the difference. Again, it doesn’t have to be anything grand. Whether it’s a shout-out on Twitter or an email, make a point of spreading positivity. It’s something everyone needs to hear now and again. Think about the Software We UseIn this age of powerful open-source software and nearly-instantaneous downloads, it’s easy to take what we have for granted. And no one can blame you if your focus tends to be on the task at hand. That’s a natural part of running a business or having a job. At the same time, it’s important to take a step back and think about the software we use. Where does it come from? Who built it? How have their efforts impacted us? Then consider what you’re able to give back. Perhaps not all contributions are equal. But they all matter nonetheless. from https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/making-money-with-open-source-software-whats-our-responsibility/7278/ Successful Conversational AI (CAI) solutions give users the ability to engage with businesses and brands when and how they want to. The control for engagement is with the user — no more waiting in long phone queues or having to visit a branch office to get things done. All of the information is at the user’s fingertips or voice call — or can be, so long as the information needed to provide value is available to the user. When we consider a Conversational AI chatbot solution without integration, it is not as engaging. In many cases, there are locked linear conversation flows that have limited functionality. They usually answer FAQs, provide some general support for contact information and answer some of the repetitive questions that cause noise to live agents (such as hours of operation), but your users simply don’t get the best value out of the Conversational AI experience. Why? Because it’s pretty generic. There is no level of personalization. There is no making the bot about being able to help and assist with the detailed challenges the user is experiencing. For some organizations, this is enough. But businesses that want to focus on customer engagement and success, more is needed. And to do more, enhancing the experience to not just provide information to the user but also to assist them with performing actions and providing customized, detailed information is key. And the only way to do that is to integrate with other systems.
When we consider a Conversational AI chatbot solution, we already have some level of integration built in. We have the code for the actual bot and we have the Natural Language Understanding (NLU) service which drives the understanding of the user requests. The bot needs to talk to the selected NLU and that requires communication between the two services. At its simplest, that is what integration is: communication between two disconnected services allowing them to speak with one another. It can be a one-way or two-way communication, it all depends on the contract and the needs of the solution and the experience. With monolithic technology solutions, everything is located in one large piece of software and generally within a single database. When this occurs, integration may not be needed because the system has access to everything it should need directly within its own borders. But monolithic web development has its challenges — it’s more complex to maintain and deploy components in isolation — in many cases (not all), it’s an all-or-nothing delivery and maintenance approach. Today, as cloud computing and global scalability continues to propagate, software is built with a service-oriented approach, with each service being focused on doing just one thing or a small set of related activities. This type of disconnected design allows for reusable and more scalable services, allowing smaller pieces to be updated, maintained, and deployed more rapidly. And with this disconnected service architecture, some type of communication is needed to allow these disjoint systems to engage and speak with one another. They can be sibling services within an organization that are maintained independent of one another to perform certain unique actions, perhaps maintained by different teams. They can be external systems that a Conversational AI chatbot solution needs to extract or send data into to achieve an objective. It doesn’t matter — the point is that a path and method of communication is necessary to achieve its objective.
The easiest way to connect to services is via an Application Programming Interface, or API. This API effectively defines what is possible to do with the system on the other side — is it read only, is it full access to write data, etc. It is the gatekeeper of how a tool can interact with other tools and outlines the contract in which a solution is opening up a window in which other services can engage and perform some level of action with it. What happens behind those doors can be completely black-boxed. The service requesting to engage doesn’t need to know what’s going on back there, and it’s probably best that they don’t. As software continues to evolve, rapid functional and architectural updates occur that allow for growth and scalability without impacting external resources. For example, a migration from one database to another may occur inside that black box. Is this relevant to the system that’s making the call? No, all the caller wants to know is when they make the request that they get the information they are expecting back. In many cases, the API exists as a separate layer between the two systems. It creates abstractions as to how it interacts within that black box, so that systems and any proprietary information or business logic stays isolated. There’s no sense in showing all of the secrets of a solution, but the API interface allows systems to engage without knowing those details. I’ve already described what is exposed in the API as a contract and that is essentially true. By identifying what is being made available through an API, a system is committing to provide access to data through those interfaces. This allows for a contract to be in place so that a caller has an expectation of services available and expectations are managed. For many services, you need to know who is connecting. Authentication is generally the first step in any contract when requests are made. For generic information, authentication may not be required but a key of some sort is provided so that an understanding of who is using the data and the volume of requests can be managed and monitored. But if you need private information, such as customer information, then an additional level of authentication is needed. This ensures that the information returned is acceptable based on the credentials of the caller. From a security perspective, this is highly important since contracts are generally binding agreements and an organization wants to ensure that its data is kept secure and is accessible only to authorized individuals. Anything. No, seriously, anything. You will want to ensure that it’s in a format that makes sense for the conversational flow and that it is engaging to the user, so a proper amount of conversation design is needed to choose the right pieces of data, but really any data can be utilized. With a Conversational AI chatbot solution, there are some key items that can be incorporated to create value-based experiences for your users:
The ability to pull all of this information into a single system provides a more personalized experience for the end user. If they can get offers that are relevant to them based on previous buying habits, which is available in their CRM, and can see which location has them in stock, the value of that conversation increases significantly than just saying “contact your local retailer for availability”. A Conversational AI system is only as strong as its reach. And how people are engaging continues to evolve. When Conversational AI first came to prominence, it was through a web widget. Now, an omnichannel customer experience for organizations is important as you want to reach your users where they are and where they want to and can engage. Most of these channels are independent of one another and require the ability for the bot to communicate through them, and that requires an integration of another sort: channel integration.
For each channel, you need to understand the capabilities so that you can expose and engage in just the right fashion. With many channels, you can incorporate multimedia and engagement buttons to drive the conversation and make it easier for the user, while at the same time not restricting them to just those options. But in other channels, such as SMS, those engagement options are not available and as a result your conversational approach needs to change. This is just one simple example, but it can be used to illustrate how complex these integrations can be. An SMS integration may be as simple as a destination phone number and a message body, but an Apple Business message may include a slideshow of sales options and commerce opportunities built in. The level of integration needed, and the design needed to support a value-added engaging experience, are significantly different for both. And how you integrate with Apple Business will also be different than Instagram which will also be different than Snap, and as each continues to evolve their service offerings you will see the engagement opportunities continue to change. Any Conversational AI chatbot solution has one objective: to allow a user to do something effectively and efficiently through a conversational interface. Integrations make this possible. Extracting data from multiple sources and bringing them into a structured format for use by the Conversational AI brings immense value to the end user, allowing them to create and utilize a highly personalized experience. Knowing the channels that are being integrated with continues to enhance that personalization, by offering the experiential elements that make the most sense to users. Determining which data is required and identifying the appropriate data source should occur at the beginning of the design activity for a use case. Understanding early on the APIs needed to extract data from — or if a custom integration needs to be developed if there is no existing availability to the data source — allows you to design and craft the most valuable experience for the users. At the end of the day, the key is to give value to your end users. Make their lives easier and provide a structured and efficient way to do it at their convenience — when and where they want it. Ready to build an efficient personalized customer experience within conversational AI solution? Let’s chat! from https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/platform-integration-makes-things-possible-with-conversational-ai-chatbots-by-master-of-code-global-aug-2022/7276/ Like my post? Please share! We talk about ranking factors a lot, but not much about systems. Your business’s local visibility depends on the ranking factors tilted in your favor, but you can’t get more factors tilted in your favor without systems that help you learn as you go. Otherwise, you’ll be like a magician who tries to learn a new magic trick real-time while in front of a live audience. Whether you do your own local SEO or do it professionally for clients, you probably spend most of your time on how you measure and how you troubleshoot. Those are crucial, of course, but they’re not as useful without two other systems that most people never develop:
You don’t need to be perfectly “scientific,” because usually it’s impossible to be. You just need the ability to arrive at a hunch and see what happens when you act on it. Along the way, you jot down (at least roughly) what you did and monitor it in Search Console or Analytics. So where can you set up a little test for improving your local SEO effort? The first thing you’ll need to determine is which business or other entity you’d like to mess around with. Think of these as the possible labs in which you might set up your experiment(s):
What kinds of ideas or moves should you test out? I consider Darren Shaw the GOAT at setting up and documenting tests; check out his Slideshare and blog posts. Those should provide plenty of food for thought. Beyond those ideas, here are a few examples of experiments I’ve done and blogged about over the years: …plus other quick-n’-dirty experiments I’ve blogged on here and there, many more I’ve tested out but haven’t chronicled in a dedicated blog post, and more still that I haven’t even written about at all. I’m a doodler, and I highly recommend you doodle, too. The longer you do local SEO, the more questions you’ll have, but some of those questions have answers that you can Zatōichi your way toward. -- Any other kinds of businesses or entities someone could experiment on? What about specific “Petri dishes” within that business? Any tests you’ve done that you care to describe, or great tests someone else did? Leave a comment! Like my post? Please share!
from https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/testing-in-local-seo-how-can-you-do-it-and-not-fubar-the-business/7274/ There was a time when Facebook was the be-all-end-all among social media platforms. That was a different day and age. The scene has changed with the emergence of so many new platforms. Facebook has a total of 2.9 billion monthly active users globally, making it the most used social channel. But, BuzzSumo recently analyzed 880 million posts and found out that engagements on Facebook pages have taken a dive by 20% since 2017. Now that’s alarming to any marketer, but don’t take a step back just yet. Facebook still holds the crown for being the leading social media platform, with 60.6% of all social media users using Facebook. And the rat race among all the marketers there is intense. To win the race, you better know how to write a Facebook post that draws the right attention. Otherwise, you will get in trouble. Think you need some help with this? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. How to write Facebook Posts that engage the crowd?There is a vast variety of audiences who are active on Facebook. The platform’s content versatility does an amazing job at engaging all the people present there with their content, but how does a social media manager keep up with it efficiently? Here are a few tips which you must make your gospel to write engaging posts for your Facebook audience. Keep It BriefWe know how the audience’s attention span has evolved to be very short, especially because of social media. So now, social media managers must churn out short and concise content. Long-form content out there doesn’t really hold the younger audience on Facebook. Keep your creative copy simple and snappy, which conveys your message. If you are using links, the link preview which Facebook generates leaves an even lesser need to elaborate. So it is an easy task to keep your caption close to 40 characters. Now, look at this poetic caption on the post of National Geographic. It leaves you wanting for more, and hints at it with the beautiful link preview. Make it eye-catchingA post consists of the caption and the visuals. In fact, some may say that the visuals make better anchors for holding the viewer’s attention. Did you know that it takes the brain only 13 milliseconds to process an image. So why not use this to your advantage? Use attractive and dynamic visuals in your posts. You see how the above post by Gucci is text-heavy, but the visual appeal is strong enough to hold the reader in place. Visual components have the added advantage of giving your branding a very definitive identity. Your brand’s post will be recognized if you are consistent with your branded posts with similar colors, fonts, and especially logos. We’ll know a Gucci product in our sleep if we glimpse that “G” anywhere on a product. That’s strong visual branding for you! It can be videos or GIFs as well. Infographics are a great way to integrate visual and informative styles into a single post. But be sure to follow Facebook specs for using images in your posts. Call’em out with compelling CTAsWhenever you are making a post for social media, your objective must be crystal clear at every step of the way. If it’s ambiguous to you, then don’t expect your audience to get your point either. If your viewer has gone through your whole post, you have them hooked. Now is not the time to let them off it. Give them their next step with a compelling call-to-action like Subscribe, Book Now, Download, Sign Up, etc. This will give the viewer a direction to follow. Strike a balance between casual and promotionalHow do you feel when loads of ads come up while scrolling through your home feed? Annoyed right? So you definitely don’t want to become that page that is all about self-promotion. Keep your posts a healthy mix of promotional and casual. But is there a theorem we can refer to for creating the perfect formula? There’s an answer to everything! In fact, there are two common rules for deciding on a content mix. One is the “80/20 rule,” and the other is the “rule of thirds.” According to the first rule: And when we consider the rule of thirds, it says: However, neither rule might be just right for your brand. Don’t worry; nobody will stop you from following your own rules. What works for YOU is your rule. Getting the hang of this balance will help you figure out how to write Facebook posts perfectly. Decide on a posting frequencyNeither too little nor too much of anything does anyone any good. The same goes for your social media posting. Too little posting will make your audience forget you; post too much, and they will get frustrated. Other than that, there are thousands of posts being uploaded daily on Facebook. How do you stand out in the users’ feeds amidst such tough competition? Well, you have to play it smart. First, see what the number of your followers is. Hubspot has found data stating accounts with less than 10,000 followers saw a loss of 50% engagement on each post if they posted more than once a day. So for a business page, posting 3-5 times weekly is a healthy limit for Facebook. You may need to post just once a day on Facebook. But churning out quality content daily can get hectic. Hence best would be to plan ahead. Schedule your posts in advance. You can take the help of social media scheduling tools (more on that later), so you don’t miss out on your daily routine posts. So these are a few tips for you to remember while posting on Facebook. Now let us take you through the types of posts that work best so you get clarity on how to write Facebook posts. 6 Super-engaging Types of Content for FacebookUnderstand this, however many rules you follow, unless you have good quality content, nothing is going to save you from getting lost in the crowd. Figure out the style and tone of your brand and create most of your content around that theme. Here are some content ideas which businesses often use and bear favorable results. Asking questionsBefore you ask how to write engaging Facebook posts, think about how engagement is simply a conversation. The easiest way to begin a conversation is to ask a question. This is applicable on social media as well. So ask them a question. Above is a Facebook post from Baskin Robbins asking people their preference of flavors. Ask any sort of question it depends on the tone and online personality of your brand. You might ask something as trivial as “what book are you reading?” Or you can ask their opinion on relevant industry-related topics. Starbucks is a brand from which you can learn engagement through perfectly conversational questions which they ask on their Facebook page: There are other ways you can engage your tribe through questions. You can conduct polls to take opinions on simple queries. Facebook conveniently offers the feature to create poll posts. TutorialsNowadays, if you need to learn something real quick, just look for a “How-to” video online. And there’s a tutorial video for everything! From folding laundry properly to setting up a business, you can learn everything from the internet. And people find these videos extremely helpful. The proof of this fact is that social media is flooded with them. So why not leverage this sizeable demand and share some of your expertise in your niche through tutorial videos. You will be surprised just how much of a crowd you can draw from a relevant video, giving out information that people are interested in. See how social media marketing guru Neil Patel is giving an expert lesson on his Facebook page. Behind-the-scenesAll of us love to have an insider’s scoop of the information, whether we admit it or not. We’re sure you never ignore a video where your favorite TV show reveals the fun that happens behind the camera. Or the process of preparing your favorite coffee drink. Even glimpses of how the CEO of a company spends their off-day with their pets. It’s all fascinating to watch as this unknown side of things evokes our curiosity. Why do you think this sort of content holds such appeal to a viewer? It’s because this is a form of storytelling that seems authentic and helps the viewer connect to a business on a more personal level. So share the daily ongoings or some inside stories regarding your business. Give them your origin story, or let them meet your employees, the stars behind your show. Anything which is not common knowledge, your audience is gonna love to hear all about it. And this will bring in a hefty engagement to you in return. Starbucks has shared on their Facebook page just where their magical coffee beans are roasted: Give a little to gain a little; it’s as simple as that! Better use UGCIf people are creating content around your business or products, consider that you have succeeded in reaching your audience. So why not use this user-generated content to bring your audience closer to your brand? When people have actually used your products and uploaded content around them, you can feature that content on your official Facebook page. These types of posts are undeniable proofs of authenticity which will earn you not only engagement but also newer customers! GoPro is the biggest and one of the best endorsers for user-generated content as most of their Facebook page is filled with videos and images taken with their cameras by their users. Infographics for the winIf you are wondering “how to write Facebook posts,” maybe it’s time you thought a little ahead of that. People nowadays are quick to scroll through their feeds. They need something entertaining or interesting to hold them to a post. Now, instead of always going for entertaining concepts, you can give them niche-related informative content. And the best way to do that is using infographics. They are a good way to educate your audience by incorporating information and creativity to give people easily digestible info. Use graphs, charts, abstract patterns, and anything which represents your content perfectly. For example: News, trending, and sensationalInternet is nowadays considered to be the holy grail of all the news. Majority of the public get their scoop of the latest happenings from their social media only. Don’t misunderstand; we are not saying that you should make your Facebook page into a news-hub. But you sure can post about stuff that is relevant to your industry and niche audience. This way, you will be able to specifically target the audience who are relevant to your business. At the end of the day, that’s the kind of engagement you want from your Facebook posts. We hope these content ideas get your wheel of thought spinning. Now something that will definitely make your Facebook posting ultra-effortless. How To write Facebook posts Effectively with SocialPilotManaging your social media content when there are so many options and so much to do can become a burden. This is where social media management tools come in handy. SocialPilot is one of the best in business for handling all your social media marketing-related problems. Be it content strategy or analytics.= It’s a 360-degree solution for all of them. Let us go through all that it can do. Schedule your content in advanceWhen you manage multiple Facebook accounts and have tons of content to deal with, you need SocialPilot’s efficient scheduling to make things easier. Plan and schedule your posts in advance to manage your content smoothly without a fuss. The tool also offers a bunch of features to help you customize your posts for Facebook. These include adding images, gifs, custom fields, CTA buttons, tagging other profiles, adding custom UTM parameters, and specific audience targeting for efficiently reaching your audience. Visualize your Facebook marketing strategyHaving a bigger picture always helps when planning out your content on a weekly or monthly basis. You might be missing an important occasion or posting a bit too often at a time. To avoid making these rookie mistakes, try SocialPilot’s social media calendar tool feature. This gives a bird’s-eye view of what you have planned to post for a day, week, or month. You can easily move around the scheduled posts on the calendar and edit them from the same space. Strengthen your Facebook marketing with Boost postingAfter figuring out how to write engaging Facebook posts, why just leave them for the platform’s algorithm? Give them the extra push with SocialPilot’s boost posting and improve their visibility by leaps and bounds. Selecting the boost post option while creating the post will do the trick! This will garner maximum engagements and help you keep ahead of the competition. Direct Conversation with Social InboxThe best way to get those engagement rates high is to directly enter the fray and take a hands-on approach. Start by following up on the reaction of the people around your post. See what are they talking about. To help you with audience interactions on Facebook pages, use the social inbox feature on SocialPilot. This is a nifty way to keep an eye on what sort of comments you generate and messages you get from your audience. And reply to them at the same time to have productive conversations Make these conversations visually interesting with images and GIFs. Instantly reply to their queries in real time, so you never keep them waiting. AnalyticsGet a comprehensive overview of the results your marketing efforts are bringing in with a capable social media analytics tool, such as SocialPilot. Keep track of your own activities on Facebook, such as how often you posted and how each of them performed. Key metrics such as likes, shares, and comments, along with the overall rise and fall in engagement rates, are also included in these reports. Monitoring the performance of a campaign will help you understand the current trends and adjust your strategy beforehand to get the best results. SocialPilot will go as far as letting you schedule analytics reposts as pdfs, so they are automatically generated and shared with your clients via email. Conclusion – The Big Question But the question we had started with still remains – How to write Facebook posts? Well, the answer is not a definite one. There is no certain formula or template for it. It depends on your brand and the image and personality you have created around it. There is a lot to explore regarding content varieties, and it is very easy to get lost in the chaos. So remember to keep consistent messaging in your posts. You can certainly experiment with things that your audience likes. This doesn’t damage your brand image. While it doesn’t “sell” anything, “fun” posts that just tap into popular trends and issues important to your audience actually cements a connection with them. So keep in mind that the main aim is to connect your brand to the desired audience. Help is always available when you seek it with social media marketing tools like SocialPilot. Take the 14-day free trial to boost your Facebook marketing results. from https://fatsfixedassettracking.com/how-to-create-an-effective-facebook-post-that-gets-the-job-done/7272/ |
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