Doing One Thing and Doing It Right: How EyeEm Is The New Instagram

If there is one takeaway from the insatiable growth of Instagram, SnapChat and Pinterest, it is that there is a lot of potential in photo-sharing. Along with photo-filter options, it's a short yet effective way to communicate a message.

Since Zuckerberg decided to add video to Instagram there is a lot of debate about whether adding more services onto a platform is indeed adding more value. It should be no surprise that the owner of Facebook has taken this route, after his platform has adopted more widgets than Angelina Jolie has foreign family members, but what could he have done to improve Instagram instead of expand it's services? Better filters? Different interface? It's no secret that Instagram is a huge point of contention within the Facebook decisionmakers as since the purchase of Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion, they have done very little to change it or make a profit off of it. It's almost as if they don't understand it. So what do they do? Attempt to appease users while making a stake against Apple's Vine by adding the rising popular service of video.

The issue with this is that Instagram users are not inherently Vine/video users. Video has sound, takes a bit more time to put together and doesn't make our selfies look beautiful in sepia tone. But there is one app that DOES get it.

Behold, EyeEm.

EyeEm not only has better, new and improved filter options but it has improved the user experience so changes in filters and frames are in the inherent swipe of your finger across the image. EyeEm also crops in shapes other than box and puts images together in unique montages across individual's profiles.

The truly revolutionary facet however, is the tagging. Upon posting you are giving an action and a place that uses geo-targeting. The application then guesses upon your location as to what you are doing.

An example is that I was in Edinbergh this weekend taking pictures outside of a cathedral. It then tagged the cathedral I didn't even know the name of yet along with that I was praying. While that wasn't correct, the accuracy of not just predicting the location correctly but a closely corresponding action was impressive. Another example was later that weekend I was in Newcastle taking pictures whilst drinking with friends. I didn't have time to post so I just did them all the next morning on EyeEm. The app used the iPhone's geo-location to remember where they were taken and did the same predictive tags of "Out for drinks," "Dancing," or "Dinner" with each corresponding bar or restaurant by name.

It gets better. Upon using each tag a drop-down function also lets you know which tags are trending and how many pictures are tagged under those categories - a function that could be insanely beneficial for all users across all platforms. And praise Jesus, there is no need for hash signs! EyeEm uses keywords and even spaces for tags so we can do away with the obnoxious in-text, one word translating business of #omgImsosickofthis.

While EyeEm, like Instagram, still hasn't figured out how to pick up a decent profit off its services - it has done loads to improve a service many have left alone, assumably with the UX perfected (or at least 'good enough'). Thankfully, that was not the case for EyeEm and time will tell if it's the case for 100 million Instagrammers.

Instagram: Better Tags and Better Brands

Instagram may be profitable yet.

According to AdWeek, the photo-friendly Facebook arm released last week "Photos of You", a better way to accurately tag users in photos (other users including brands).

So how does this look? Just like Facebook, if you tag someone they get notified and can approve or disapprove of the tagging. Once the user approves, that image is put into that user's photo-feed.

Again in +Adweek, they use the timely example of the +H&M partnership with Beyoncé. If H&M tagged Beyoncé in a photo during their campaign, she could approve it and share it with all of her fans. But perhaps even more powerful, the tagging could be done vice versa.

An example of this, say that could be used by +Urban Outfitters, is a consumer could tag themselves in a trendy shot wearing their latest lion t-shirt. If they tagged the retail business in their post, Urban could then more easily share and promote their customers and products.

What about Instragram ads? According to Zuckerberg, they're still thinking on them; but in the meantime this is definitely something brands can easily and freely sink their teeth into.

Timeline of Facebook's Privacy Changes [INFOGRAPHIC]

Infographic by WebpageFX

Amazon Gets Social with Pages, Posts and Analytics

It’s a tech trend to find everything in one place: It’s why Facebook invented Graph Search, Google built out Google+, and now Amazon is helping retailers market products from their e-commerce platform.

Essentially, Amazon’s Pages and Posts work intuitively like you would expect them to, as customizable home bases to publish content and update clientele on business announcements. Brands can choose their own URLs free of charge and Amazon Analytics have been built out to measure and tie social interaction to sales. Widgets have also been added to link to social networks along with a special compatibility with Facebook Posts.

While not revolutionary to tech or e-marketing, this is a great step for Amazon toward offering free, in-depth tools to small businesses that can’t afford the powerhouse data firms of Salesforce or Sysomos Inc. It builds on a familiar service and relationship preexisting customers understand and will no doubt be an easy conduit to channel emerging business unfamiliar with social media and analytics.

Video Ads to Hit Facebook This Summer

Since Facebook juiced up their mini-feeds with adverts it has been a touchy subject, but that is nothing compared to the expected backlash of video ads (that we can only assume will be auto-play).

According to Ad Age, Facebook has not finalized the format of the advertisements but it can be expected that they will be housed in either the main news feed or the sidebars, or most likely, both. According to the same article, the ads will be capped at fifteen seconds and the frequency capped to be sure no viewer sees each more than three times per day. The asking price, you ask? According to one executive, the video ads’ ticket price reaches the upwards of a million dollars.

The hopes are to tap into the deep pockets of TV networks with plenty of video to spare, but the real question is whether Facebook can withstand another disastrous hit to a demographic growing tired of the network donning out their information and pinning them with adverts while they provide little innovation in its services that’s actually new (Facebook Home is just an extension of services and Facebook Graph—wait, what happened to Facebook Graph?). They have been patient with the network's slow adoption to mobile and their broken promises of user/marketer privacy, but video will be a hard sell to keep them from migrating to other less ad invasive environments.

Facebook Home: A Small Step Toward Big Profit

Facebook Home, the latest push from Facebook, incorporates goals of both penetrating the mobile market while delivering the same targeted advertising they have been so successful with on desktop.

In short, as of April 12th in the US, the Android HTC First will roll out with Facebook Home pre-installed. Other Android users will also be able to download Home via the Google Play Store and their other accompanying apps.

At the press event summarized by Tech Crunch, Mark Zuckerberg elaborates on emphasis of Home.

“Today we’re going to finally talk about that Facebook Phone, more accurately, we’re gonna talk about how you can turn your phone into a Facebook Phone. After noting we spend more than 20% of our mobile time on social apps, we asked ourselves — if we’re already spending this much time on our phones, how can we make it easier? What if they were designed around people first, and you could also just happen to interact with apps?”

A great example of this already existing concept is Facebook Messenger--an app that combines your texts with your Facebook messages into one application on current Androids. A great idea no doubt, but it's an app I've seen have its fair hare of double-message doozies. Hopefully, with Facebook Home we'll have more luck.

The takeaway? Facebook is making strides toward truly infiltrating mobile. And with the current spreading chasm between Google and Samsung it can only lead to a greater competition between the search and social network giants.

From Never Enough to Niche: How User Purpose Is Getting Specific

When Facebook was first introduced to college students in 2004, it had a purpose and a target. College students could connect and share images and messages. Over time, the Facebook demographic widened, no longer requiring college emails but opening it up to anyone. This still only appealed to youth, but over time businesses caught on and in turn older generations. Pokes and pictures were followed by gift giving, pages, apps, music, notes and Zynga online games. In 2012 there were over one billion active users from across the globe. And now, everyone hates it. Why?

The service hasn’t necessarily changed. Sure, ads are now a concern, timeline has been introduced and soon Graph Search will supposedly change everything again, but the concept of promoting yourself and sharing content remains the same.

What’s different is the culture surrounding Facebook. They are no longer the only big fish in the tank, and more than that, users are no longer intrigued with simply being somewhere.

Facebook is the early generation of mass adopters. For that reason, they contain everyone, especially those that don’t know why they’re there. From there, more specific platforms were developed for a specific purpose: Twitter focuses on syndicating content in under 140 characters, Instagram beautifies our ugly faces, LinkedIn promotes our professional experience—all of this is in ADDITION to networking.

Networking, the act of connecting and maintaining a presence, is no longer a reason to be somewhere. You need a message or reason for being there. Businesses that have succeeded on social networks know this. And users are not close behind.

There was a time when being everywhere was a must—both for businesses and affluent users of social media. But now there has finally reached a level of saturation in the marketplace. Smart businesses aren’t blindly following competitors onto platforms that don’t contain their target demographic or conform to the restrictions of their brand. Users with clout aren’t on a network because their friends are—they’re there for a focused purpose.

And this purpose can be fun. SnapChat, a photo/video messaging application that automatically deletes after a few seconds, is a perfect example of this. While light-years from the growth issues of Facebook, they’ve zeroed in on a fundamental craving for social sharing without responsibility and exploded their following.  It’s simple, focused and it works.

LinkedIn has been incredibly successful because of how necessary and focused its service is. It has added many widgets to improve connectivity and professional validity but also has done an excellent job listening to their audience when their additions rock the boat too hard.

Usability is clutch, and not losing focus on why your platform exists.

People feel guilty being somewhere without purpose. Without it we dwell on ourselves and call each other narcissists, when really people are and always have been narcissistic; they just don’t want to feel like they are. Purpose gives us that veil.

So where did Facebook go wrong? Who the hell knows, however, it’s notable to mention Facebook has gotten larger and not necessarily more relevant to our lives. Their purpose has remained stagnant while the culture has shifted. And adding more widgets onto its platform has not changed its purpose. In fact, it’s damaged its previous one. By adding so many functions to a platform, it has created an all consuming monster of information that is slow, spammy and above all, segments user purpose. And like any good marketer will tell you, too many choices cost you bottom line.

Engage, Engage, Engage: How to Build Facebook Clout

Everyone wants to use Facebook to build their company's influence, but how do you build a network of followers that are invested enough to interact with your company on a day-to-day basis? Traditional marketing would say sell, sell, sell but in an digital world where people have to choose to follow or like a company in order to be solicited by it, a company needs to have something more.

Direct potential followers. No one is going to stumble upon your Facebook page by themselves. Link websites, newsletters, emails and any digital material with the Like This feature or Facebook web address.

Produce engaging content. Think for your audience. What's in it for them? Know what's interesting and don't get caught up in what you or your company think is interesting. Incorporate callouts from your audience for advice, feedback or stories. Have personality, pay attention to peak posting hours and post multiple times a day.

Provide incentive. Promotions are excellent tools in building a following. Have a contest, survey or drawing from those who follow you. Offer to donate a dollar for every follower to a particular charity. While usually not sustainable to do consistently, fishing with a tangible incentive should be the hook that leads potential followers on a line of quality content.

Network online and off. Let the boundaries between online and off merge. If you hold events or do business with other companies, interact with them on Facebook. Like their page, write on their wall, cross-pollenate between audiences.

Stay consistent, post often and maintain a non-sales persona that allows third party posters to advocate on your behalf. In the end, the natural personality of your company will develop as well as a database of well-informed advocates.