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Monday Morning Learning – 16 August 2021
TikTok Launches ‘Creative Solutions’ Guide to Building Effective TikTok Campaigns
With TikTok gaining more and more popularity, more brands and marketers are looking into how they can maximise the app’s tools and functions to boost their content’s reach and discovery. Unlike how Instagram and Facebook works, in terms of reaching out to the community, incorporating organic trends and even re-purposing ad campaigns or even creating professional-looking ads might not equate to more views and reach.
Thus, TikTok has put together a creative guide for brands based on case studies of effective organic videos that have done well on the app. TikTok explains creatives should be tailored to the platform’s unique characteristics. This guide provides useful notes and tips for effective and noteworthy best practices to make the most of the app for creators.
Instagram Adds New Features to Help Protect Users from Bullying and Abuse
Current features:
- penalties
- personal accounts to switch off DMs from people they don’t follow
New features:
- “Limits” option
- temporarily limit unwanted messages & comments from selected groups
- groups recommended based on detected activity
- display stronger warning message such as deletion of account
- automated detection based on certain terms & phrases in comment field
- hidden words feature for DMs
- automatically filter DMs based on potentially offensive terms, phrases or emojis
- re-routed to Hidden folder
Instagram Adds New ‘Audio’ Tab to its Search Options to Boost Reels Engagement
What
Instagram has added the capacity to search for audio specifically within the search tab in the app.
How it Works
Now when you search on Instagram, you’ll be able to switch across to a new ‘Audio’ tab, which will highlight the various tracks available for use within the app.
Tap on any track and you’ll see a TikTok-like display of the Reels that have utilized samples of that song.
You can then save the audio for your own usage, while also getting a full overview of relevant trends and clips for inspiration.
This makes it easier to tap into trends based on music clips, with a focus on Reels creation based on the same.
Why?
Instagram is likely looking to increase Reels usage, in an effort to fend off rising competition from TikTok, it makes sense for it to align with usage trends, and facilitate related discovery as best it can.
As Tiktok continues to grow its user base and influence among the younger audiences, it is likely that Instagram is going to continue to add similar tools to slow down IG to TikTok user migrations, which eats into their audience bases.
Reddit Tests New TikTok-Like Video Feed as it Looks to Expand its Video Options
Reddit will be adding a video feed option to their forums after their previous acquisition of the company called Dubmash.
This was due to the popularity and rise of short video content.
As they do not have their own camera function for users to upload videos, they allow them to upload their video content from other platforms like TikTok, IG, YouTube and others.
A key takeaway would be Reddit is a popular platform for social and tech related topics. The new video feed will enable users to view videos of similar categories of videos they have previously watched or threads they have commented on. This will be a great tool for new tech tools to be discovered on Reddit.
Instagram Verification
IG has rolled out a verification form to facilitate the application of account verification. Where previously the submission form was ambiguous, this new form clearly defines what needs to be uploaded, and has additional fields support to ensure documents and links are uploaded properly.
You can find this by going to Account -> Request Verification
Do note that for applications which are unsuccessful, you need to wait for up to 30 days from the date of application, before a resubmission can be done.
Facebook Shares New Insights into the Key Elements of Effective Video Content
Video effectiveness on Facebook is determined by 2 main factors – executional elements such as ads, duration etc as well as the creative element which includes copy quality and design. These elements are at 20 and 70% respectively
7 best practices
- Frame for mobile (the article recommended 4:5 for FB and square for IG but we SHOULD GO FOR 1080 x 1350 px for IG!!!!!!!)
- Made for sound off – but we should go for sound on for most of the time!
- Showcase the product or service (main subject of the ad)
- Have a single message focus – avoid squeezing multiple messages in one creative
- Showcase unique brand – due to FB algorithm, not everything will be showed
- Get to the point – make sure the key message is in the front.
- Use movements or fast edit in introduction – aim to include some fast paced movement at the start and avoid having a still introduction.
Highly recommended
- Say it it in less – succinct in messaging
- Flip the traditional storytelling arc
- Spark interest with twists and surprises
- Visual interest. Bright colours and close up
Monday Morning Learning – 4th February 2020
Half-life of Content Across Platforms
The half-life of a content piece is the time it takes for it to reach 50% of its overall expected engagement.
Twitter: 20 minutes
Twitter utilizes short-form content, simple “tweets” and small comments to relay information across users. So content spreads the fastest on this platform.
Facebook: 5 hours
While Facebook has over 2 billion active users daily, it has a large number of ways information can be relayed. For eg. pictures, videos, written content, stories, comments, shares, etc. Also, due to the traffic on Facebook, it takes a relatively long time for content to reach its half-life.
Instagram: 20 hours
Instagram is a lot slower in relaying content amongst its users. While its algorithm tries to boost pictures at all times, its main focus remains to be visually compelling and most of its user interface is filled with space-consuming pictures that increase the average half-life of any content shared on the platform.
LinkedIn: 24 hours
LinkedIn is for professionals, for the most part, and there isn’t a lot of traffic on the platform, so content pieces should have a low half-life. But on the other hand, LinkedIn is mostly used for job searching, profiling and lead generation. It doesn’t focus on boosting content on the feed but rather boosting companies on its job portal.
YouTube: 20 days
In the case of YouTube, such a long half-life is because of two reasons: 1. The high volume of traffic and 2. Even higher volume of videos. With a market as saturated as YouTube, videos are bound to take their time to reach their half-life.
Pinterest: 4 months
Pinterest is a huge platform cataloging millions of creatives and pictures, but the lack of social experience has only gotten it low traffic and a high bounce rate.
Blog post: 2 yrs
The only way blogs get traction organically is through SEO. But for any blog post, there may be 50 other blogs with the same keyword that may have the same content strength or may exist on a domain far older and stronger. SEO is a long-term strategy game that only gets better through testing, experience, and patience.
Ref: https://twitter.com/anutopiaa/status/1222314236791197696
Shopper Marketing Trends for 2020
- Know everything there is to know about your target audience.
- Invest wisely and appropriately in the right channels.
- Optimization (content and SEO) across platforms is key.
- Create a seamless shopping experience.
- Showcase on shoppable social sites.
- Leverage user-generated content.
- Utilize new age technology like chatbots.
- Connect with customers on a personal note.
Twitter Rolls Out Conversation Threads on iOS
Twitter is bringing a new ‘threaded’ conversation update to its iOS app, which more clearly defines replies from people you know on any given tweet.
Ref: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitter-rolls-out-conversation-threads-on-ios/571529/
Instagram is Testing Emoji Reactions for Direct Messages
As with Twitter’s recently launched DM reactions tools, given the availability of similar response functionality on other messaging platforms, it makes sense for Instagram to move in-step, tapping into habitual messaging behavior in order to facilitate more engagement. It’s worth noting that Instagram also already has a ‘quick reactions’ emoji response process for Stories.
Ref: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-testing-emoji-reactions-for-direct-messages/571460/
Instagram Officially Begins Testing of DMs in its Desktop Version
After being spotted in testing months ago, Instagram is now officially launching a test of direct message access in its desktop version and is going to slowly roll out to the public.
Instagram is Adding a New Way to Find and Share Stories that Mention Your Profile
Instagram has added a new Stories @ mention option, which highlights any Stories that mention your profile, and enables you to easily re-share them into your own Stories stream.
Google is Working on Chatbots Which Can Engage in a More Genuine, Human Conversation
Google has built a new chatbot model called Meena, which is trained on a 2.6 billion parameter end-to-end neural conversational model and can conduct conversations that are more sensible and specific than existing bots.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore Renews KRDS Singapore For Digital Creative and Social Content
Wildlife Reserves Singapore has recently extended its partnership with KRDS Singapore for the third year since 2017 to grow its presence on Facebook and Instagram.
KRDS Singapore is now its agency of record, managing social media needs across its 4 parks, Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari, and Jurong Bird Park. KRDS Singapore has won the business after a pitch process that started in March 2019.
On top of creating educational and awareness-driven content about animals, KRDS Singapore will also be responsible for consultation, conceptualising and executing campaigns throughout the period of appointment.
The goal for this renewal is to further engage with both locals and visitors with innovative and immersive content, and drive them further down the conversion funnel with detailed analytics.
Muhd Hidayat, Account Director at KRDS, said:
“We are excited to continue on this remarkable journey with Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which started off 3 years ago. The team at Wildlife Reserves Singapore encourages innovation and we are confident that our digital expertise combined with progressive strategies will take it to greater heights.”
Neo Garden Renews Social Media Contract With KRDS Singapore
Singapore’s leading caterer, Neo Garden Catering has been serving up delicious food since its inception in the early 90s. It has become one of the trusted names in catering for their ability to offer high-quality food to both large crowds & small gatherings. Neo Garden Catering has partnered with KRDS Singapore for another year to grow their presence on Facebook and Instagram.
2018’s goal was to promote Neo Garden Catering as the one-stop caterer that truly empowers its customers with the experience of a personalised unique celebration for every occasion. One of the biggest highlights of 2018 was Neo Garden Catering’s Chinese New Year Game Microsite that ran for a period of 20 days. The microsite was designed to provide individuals to have his or her fortune read ahead of the Lunar New Year. Fans could then go on to redeem gift vouchers and a chance to participate in the Grand Lucky Draw (Grand Prize of $888). Over 1,500 people had their fortune read and 800 vouchers were out!
The goal for this renewal is to enable fans to create new memories and celebrate important milestones, with Neo Garden Catering playing an integral role towards these celebrations.
The content on social will focus strongly on micro-moments – moments when users celebrate and drive conversations.
The agency will also be developing an Instagram-focused content strategy and explore different types of Instagram Stories and interactive formats to weave an engaging brand story.
Amantha Koh, Assistant Marketing Manager at Neo Garden Catering, said:
“Working with KRDS Singapore has been a great experience and rebranding of our Facebook has been a success. The team has also been very up to date with the latest trends and often updating us on their new features, innovation and ideas. We are looking forward to working with KRDS again.
Muhd Hidayat, Account Director at KRDS, said:
“It gives us immense pleasure to partner with the No.1 caterer in Singapore once again and be a part of their journey. We look forward to bringing our comprehensive digital knowledge to help Neo Garden Catering build a strong community on social and to establish the brand as the go-to caterer for any events and occasions.”
Amadeus – Business Traveler Journey : A nifty travel booking solution for Companies in the Middle East & Africa region
- Amadeus is a leading technology company in the travel industry. As part of their extensive portfolio of IT solutions for travel players, they launched a business travel solution tailored and perfected for the Middle East and Africa region.
- Changing how the world travels, is Amadeus mission statement. So offering an online booking tool for companies to manage business travel, including the specifics of our region made perfect sense.
- The solution is called Amadeus Online Corporate Traveller. It is basically an online travel booking portal dedicated to business travels. It is accessible on desktop and mobile, that acts as an online self-booking tool) and also offers an expense management module.
Delphine Delebarre, Amadeus Marketing Manager for Middle East and Africa:
“We were looking for a digital marketing agency to build an impactful campaign to raise awareness about our corporate travel online solution and encourage our target audience (corporations in the Middle East) to request a free demo. When I met KRDS, I liked their humble but professional approach and the fact they already had expertise with other travel players. Our collaboration was seamless, fully transparent and based on regular communication. They are professionals and we really benefited from their expertise.”
KRDS Middle East and Amadeus join hands for an interactive online activation tailor-made for the Middle East and Africa region to make business travel booking niftier. Amadeus is a leading technology company that is a powerhouse for making travel simpler. It is a key player in the technology sector. Amadeus help connect over 1.6 billion people a year to local travel providers in over 190 countries.
So when Amadeus launched Amadeus Online Corporate Traveller, they worked in collaboration with KRDS Middle East to promote the tool across the Middle East and Africa.
The campaign was meant to create an appetite, a sense of awareness and not just to create leads, which ultimately ended up happening thanks to a tool that acts as a holistic approach upheld by a Facebook & LinkedIn campaign to manage and redefine business travel in the region, and showcase added values of Amadeus Online Corporate Traveller for businesses, such as control business travel costs, facilitated multi level approval process, and quick implementation as per companies travel policies.
KRDS, conceptualized a tailor-made content approach and an ad strategy staying in line with Amadeus needs, hence a globalized content video came to light from KRDS to seek as well as enable awareness for the right target audience. Apart from the global video, 4 other shorter videos were produced by KRDS for a specific target segment and the approach was to create a unique experience. The Self-Booking system (Amadeus Online Corporate Traveller) was not only for the business travelers across the region but also suited for the Procurement and IT departments.
Below is a message from the General Manager of KRDS Middle East, Mr. Leonard Guillermin-Hazan who shares his thoughts on the campaign that ran for 1 month under his supervision:
“Amadeus has been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to travel technology. We’re pleased to have joined with such a name like Amadeus to uphold one of their newest tools. We at KRDS trust our social media capability and mobile-first approach will benefit the company reach many new consumers and lead to more business conversions.”
Have a look at how Amadeus Online Corporate Traveller works.
KRDS Singapore was adjudged Mobile Agency of the Year as well as Specialist Agency of the Year
When we started KRDS Singapore towards the end of 2012, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The odds in the small city state have always been stacked against the new entrant. Infant mortality rate of most independent agencies is a mere 2 years. More than 75% of the independent agencies we considered competition have all evaporated. That’s what a micro-economic market can do to a newcomer.
We were willing to take the risk though, because we knew we had a rare attribute – Rapid Iteration. ‘Never giving up’ came easy to us, but iterating every aspect of the agency swiftly and steadfastly wasn’t an easy task. It meant sleepless nights, stressful close calls and hard risky decisions.
Thankfully, the effort paid off. Week before last, KRDS Singapore was adjudged Mobile Agency of the Year as well as Specialist Agency of the Year by a panel of senior client-side marketers assembled by Marketing Magazine (this year the panel included marketing leaders from brands such as Swarovski, Grab, Johnson & Johnson, HSBC, Levi Strauss & Co and more.
This exceptional honour has truly humbled us.
We were able to get here, thanks to the most amazing team. Period.
More than anything, this award is the dedication of each and every member of KRDS in the last 4 years. Thank you for the crazy after hours. Thank you for the madness. Thank you for the challenges. Thank you for persevering. Thank you for making a mark.
Honestly though, none of this would’ve been possible without our true partners in crime, our clients. We love that you challenge us. We are glad you allow us to make an ever lasting mark. We are grateful you are there with us every step of the way.
Thank you.
Preetham Venkky, Director @ KRDS Singapore
KRDS India featured in Insights Success
Social Media has become more prevalent among older and younger generations and gradually undermines the conventionallyimposing voices of Digital Networking. With the striking features like cost effectiveness, instant response, flexibility, KRDS has made a strong influence in the world of Social media.
Founded in Paris in 2008 and co-founded by four French Men, KRDS became Facebook’s Preferred Marketing Development partner in 2010 (the first non- American company and the Oldest in Asia) and established their Development Headquarter in Chennai India. The company instigated its manouvers as a Software Development Company which built applications on Facebook as a platform.
A Pioneer Leader Behind KRDS
A creative thinker who can provide out of the box solutions, beyond the constraints of any horizon, a fantastic human being and thoroughly professional. Mr. Senthil Anand is the General Manager of KRDS India Agency who heads the India operations for the company. Carrying more than ten years of experience in digital media, Mr. Senthil is playing a crucial role in managing the business and delivering across major cities of India. He holds a Masters Degree in Psychology and has interests of understanding online behavior of people and use that knowledge to advise and form exceptional and immersive experiences and campaigns with social media. Also he leads with the responsibility for Technology Consulting, Sales, Profitability and surfacing a prodigious company culture.
KRDS facilitates brands across the globe to propagate their Social and Digital Strategy right and align them to light business objectives.Alongwith the Mr. Senthil as a front-runner, Mr. PreethamVenkky (director of KRDS Singapore), has renovated a real Software Development company to a Digital (Social Media) Agency over the past five years.
Working as a backbone protagonist with Mr. Senthil, Mr. Achal Deoda heads Strategy Consulting and Business Operations in Mumbai and Delhi. He directs right with the Tier I brands in these two fascinating markets and assists them to outline and manoeuver their digital and social marketing activities.
Creative Journey with Innovative Ideas
KRDS is a Social and Digital Agency that benefits brands and acclimates the Digital Platform in the right way to meet Business Objectives. While KRDS initiated its Journey, Social Media Marketing was in its incipient stages, and there were not several speciality agencies in the market. By emphasising completely on Facebook Marketing, KRDS was able to work with many top brands.
As per amends form Facebook, its restrictions, KRDS had to revolutionise from a pure technology firm to a communication agency to grab the market fame. KRDS apprehended that there were few agencies in the market who had the communication and technology acumen and swiftly filled that fissure.
The exceptional ‘technology oriented’ campaigns that KRDS conveyed, made other brands take notice and partner with them. The agency partners with other agencies in equipping, technology solutions for campaigns whenever they compete in a new market. With campaigns as allusions, KRDS deliberately cross sells its other services to cultivate the account. Presently, KRDS functions out of Paris , India, Singapore, Shanghai, Dubai and Hong Kong.
Services with Outstanding Class
KRDS believes in empowerment. Every employee knows the bigger picture of whatever they get to work on, and that makes all the difference. The crew of around 200, though split across continents, share their proficiencies with each other as a consistent practice and help in nurturing the bar each time they outperform a previous record. KRDS classifies their exceptional services into three major categories.
Communication
By redefining the way brands communicate in the digital platforms KRDS aims to establish the desired perception with the Target Audience. Communication Strategy on the different (relevant) social platforms, Tone of voice, Choice of Media, and Key Messaging, are the different aspects of communication that KRDS deals with, for the brands they serve.
KRDS defines the Digital Ecosystem for each brand on how every digital element will help in achieving the overall business objective. They believe in grooming / nurturing an efficient community on SocialMedia platforms to have a sound longterm digital plan.
Experience
From long term assets like a Website or Mobile App to any shortterm touch point destinations, any digital interface for the brand is the first Digital Experience of the Brand for the user. With a world-class development team based out of India, KRDS has developed many award winning websites and campaigns in the recent past.
The website for Meiji is a classic example of the type of experience KRDS creates. The website is built in such a way that it changes its interface based on time of day and suggests relevant products that can be consumed at that point in time. There are many games that are in-built in the website that elevates the product’s uniqueness.
They also have developeda mobile application for BMW. With a clear strategy and organisation, this app serves as a very important tool for all Sales Representatives of BMW to stay informed and competitive.
Being a technology company by core, KRDS has created many unique experiences. An award winning Light Powered Mobile App / Website for Titan was one of the finest campaigns executed by KRDS. To promote a “Light powered watch” for Titan, KRDS made an experience that functioned only on exposure to bright light.
KRDS believes in empowerment. Every employee knows the bigger picture of whatever they get to work on, and that makes all the difference. The crew of around 200, though split across continents, share their proficiencies with each other as a consistent practice and help in nurturing the bar each time they outperform a previous record. KRDS classifies their exceptional services into three major categories.
Promotion
“Targeted advertising”with precision, is what KRDS does best. Apart from managing ad campaigns, the agency also gives meaningful insights and takes corrective action for their dedicated customer.With an enthusiastic Media Team, KRDS helps brands in forecasting their Ad Budgets on the right platforms in a strategic way, along with a content strategy. Across the globe,they have this edge of being a communication and technology expert along with the technical know hows of media management.
Most of the new business acquisition happens via references of existing clients and inbound leads.KRDS usually ride on ‘technology trends’ and have confidence in inbound marketing.
According to KRDS, “Facebook Messenger Chatbots” is the latest trend of 2017. Facebook Chatbots are automated / structured responses with Artificial Intelligence that can support brands to interact with users over Facebook Messenger. The API’s for this first became public inAugust 2016, and KRDS was adroit in unveiling a separate agency called “ohMyBot” that specializes only in Strategizing and Developing Chatbots for Agencies.
KRDS is one of the leading organisations in the country and the first to create a Chatbot in the entertainment industryfor the promotion of the movie “M.S Dhoni – The Untold Story” and since then has delivered many other entertainment related Chatbots for the promotion of movies like Kaabil, Jolly LLB and Khaidi No150.With the good visibility spawned by these BOTS, KRDS got a great recognition in the Industry and across the globe and are still receiving numerous incoming leads for Chatbot Development.
Future Limelight
KRDS is a unique mixture of Creativity and Technology. The bunch of fervent digital marketers who furnish the best all the time. In 2016, KRDS India was the official partners for the International Day of Yoga, for the Ministry of Ayush and managed all Social Campaigns effectively. The website for the IDY 2016 also gathered good traffic and engagement across the globe.
Digital and Social media marketing gives instant gratification and learning. KRDS has done over 2500 campaigns across the globe and learns out of each campaign. Envisioning a campaign for a brand and seeing it perform is the proudest moment for everyone at KRDS.
KRDS believes 2017 will be the year of Chatbots. They constantly explore upcoming technology and grow up to be the creative agency with the latest technology advancement to keep up with the pace in the coming years.
KRDS Signs Fourth Growth Hacking Project with OMRON
OMRON Healthcare, a pioneer in providing clinically validated medical equipment created an innovative content platform called ‘My Health’ early last year providing users detailed insights on health and wellness.
OMRON wanted to expand their user base and performance of the platform. They roped in Social & Mobile Agency KRDS Singapore to initiate and implement a growth hacking strategy on their content platform.
Growth hacking refers to data driven decisions and detailed analysis of metrics to achieve rapid growth and effectiveness in achieving business linked KPIs. KRDS Singapore has already begun growth hacking with a deep analysis of data on the platform. The project has been a success so far with the user base and engagement increasing as a result of this constant improvisation.
KRDS Singapore has also been tasked with distributing the content via content syndication and search engine optimization for the brand.
Commenting on the win, Preetham Venkky – Director at KRDS Singapore said:
“We are quite excited to work on this retainer for a reputable healthcare pioneer like OMRON. Growth hacking as a concept goes beyond the traditional forms of distribution and relies on data-driven approach by identifying actionable insights. We are pleased to note the rapid performance and growth of the platform as a result of these data driven decisions. We look forward to our continual growth efforts for OMRON’s content platform in the coming months.”
This marks KRDS Singapore’s fourth successful growth hacking project since the beginning of the offering in 2016.
Top 5 Messenger Bot Updates and its Impact on Bot Strategy
On 1st July, Facebook rolled out several new updates for the Messenger Bot. Here is a review of the top 5 new features and how it can impact your Bot strategy.
Dynamic Buttons for Quick Replies
To introduce a more direct conversation with users, ten dynamic buttons can now be accessed from the bot that are related to the most recent messages in the conversation. Instead of sourcing button selections from previous conversations, the dynamic buttons help set the conversation flow and only displays the selected user responses on the bot. This makes the chat look cleaner and provides a more human like interaction.
A New Menu Interface
In the earlier bot version, menu buttons on the bot were accessed by providing specific text commands such as ‘On Sale’ or ‘Go Shopping’. However, with the latest update we see an introduction of an icon placed on the message composer that enables users to choose from different options. This eliminates the earlier problem of starting the conversation process all over again if you were to select a second option. This saves time from the user’s point of view and makes the interaction more efficient.
The Inclusion of GIFs, Audio, Video and Files
Another important update is the inclusion of GIFS, Audio, Video and Files. You can now send a variety of content using the Messenger Bot. This opens the door for businesses to provide complex information to the user without being redirected to another channel to view the content. Airline companies for example can make use of this update to send the user’s tickets directly on the Messenger chat. Businesses can also provide a more human like interaction by the use of GIF’s and videos that can be played directly on the Messenger.
Account Linking
Perhaps the most important update of them all is one that changes the dynamics of the Messenger Bot with its ability to sync customer accounts with messenger. Users can log in to their customer accounts on the brand’s website directly through Messenger to make payments or browse order information. This is an important update that encourages more businesses to consider the idea of investing in a Bot for Messenger owing to its ease of use for customers.
Ratings and Reviews
Users can now rate Messenger Bots and provide feedback on their experience directly on Messenger. This is an interesting new feature that will help set a new expectation for businesses to push for a better strategy and acquire higher ratings as compared to their competitors.
The new update also brings a potentially unpleasant feature for businesses in the form of an option to mute a Bot conversation similar to how they may mute their friends on Facebook. This provides a challenging opportunity for businesses to opt for a sound strategy that provides a favourable conversation experience to ensure the Bot is not silenced by the user.
Contact us for more insights on #bot Marketing at: [email protected]
(Image source: Facebook)
