Vine vs Instagram: Which app is the best for video and marketing?

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The introduction of video sharing to Instagram has blown the micro-video sharing market right open, dealing a hefty blow to Twitter's Vine. If you're a marketer with limited time and budget, which of the two apps should you go for?  Below, I compare the main differences between Vine and Instagram in a number of key areas.

Recording time

Vine: Maximum record time of six seconds, minimum time of about two seconds.

Instagram: Maximum record time of 15 seconds, minimum record time of three seconds.

Video editing

Vine: No editing features; once you've started to record, it's an all or nothing take.

Instagram: Each snippet of video recorded within the 15-second limit is given its own separate section on a video bar. Users can delete the previous video snippets in sequence, but can't pick and choose from them all.

Video thumbnails

Vine: Video thumbnail is the first frame of the clip.

Instagram: Users can choose a Cover Frame to show off their video in the best light in video feeds and search results.

Video filters

Vine: No video filters available. If users want to employ filters and lighting effects, they must create them themselves.

Instagram: The app is renowned for its filters, and the video feature adds over a dozen for users to utilise.

Focusing

Vine: Cannot manually re-focus during filming. Tapping the screen as if to focus causes the app to record.

Instagram: The app's separate record button leaves the screen free for you to tap to focus your depth of field between shots.

Image Stabilisation

Vine: No image stabilisation function; users can utilise tripods and dollies to generate smooth recording.

Instagram: The app features the Cinema mode, which - as best as it can - turns wobbly footage into something a lot more stable.

Social sharing

Vine: Allows instant video sharing to Twitter and Facebook.

Instagram: Allows instant video sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Email, Tumblr, Foursquare, and to a Photo Map.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Macarthy is the author of the #1 Amazon Web Marketing Bestseller, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips, available for Kindle and in paperback.

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

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YouTube Subscribe Button PSD Photoshop | July 2013, New Design

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A couple of weeks back, YouTube changed the design of the 'Subscribe' button on its website for the second time in a matter of months. First it was yellow, then a mixture of red and grey, and now we're onto a bold red design. 

I like to include a clickable 'Subscribe' button at the end of my YouTube tutorials to encourage viewers to keep up to date with my content, and if you're the same, you'll be wanting a big, fat Subscribe button of your own to add into your video at the editing stage (coupled with a spotlight annotation once uploaded to make it clickable). YouTube doesn't make an official one available, so here is one that I have created that I hope will make a good substitute. 

 

  Click here to download the .psd file, or right-click and Save the image about for the PNG. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Macarthy is the author of the #1 Amazon Web Marketing Bestseller, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips, available for Kindle and in paperback.

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
http://www.facebook.com/500socialmediatips/
https://pinterest.com/andrewmacarthy/
http://www.twitter.com/500socialmedia
http://www.youtube.com/500socialmediatips

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4 Ways Snapchat is A Great Marketing Tool For Brands and Businesses

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Snapchat's growth over the past two years has been incredible, and with over 200 million photos and videos shared by its users every day, it is fast gaining the attention of brands and marketers who want a piece of its young and engaged audience. 

I'll save the particular methods of promotion using Snapchat for another time, but in this blog you'll learn four ways in which the make up of the app means that it is a great marketing tool for brands and businesses. 

1. The scarcity and exclusivity of its messages

Once a Snapchat users receives and opens an image or video, they have a maximum of 10 seconds to view it before it disappears and they can not access it again. For brands, this provides a sense of scarcity that posting to other social networks like Facebook or Instagram cannot provide. 

For brands who want to offer vouchers or promotions through Snapchat, the app provides a means by which the offer can be limited only to its followers, with no chance of it going viral as it'll disappear shortly after opening. That theory might sound counter-productive at first, but the feeling a consumer gets when they feel part of something small and exclusive is hugely powerful in terms of garnering brand loyalty.

The image above shows a promotion by New York-based 16 Handles, which exemplifies this approach.

2. The unexpectedness and surprise in its messages

The disposable nature of Snapchat's messages is loved and accepted by the app's millions of users, and brands can use this to their advantage. Many Snapchat viewers see receiving a message as a present. There's no way of knowing what it contains until a user opens it, and this element of surprise can be harnessed by marketers to provide all manner of messages and promotions.

3. The purity of its messages

Unlike Instagram with its carefully orchestrated photos and filters, Snapchat photos - because they have to be consumed so quickly - encourage a purity of message that its rivals cannot. This frees brands from the habit of overthinking or micro-managing the message they want to construct, and sets them free to provide content that is off the cuff, "real", and that will resonate with their audience. The example above is a photo sent by Taco Bell to its followers on Snapchat to promote its Beefy Crunchy Burrito - simple but effective.

4. The brevity of its messages

Being that Snapchat messages only exist for a matter of seconds, there is little room for pride or embarrassment from the sender. While it is clear to see how this would relate to individuals (particularly in the prevalence of "adult" messages being sent between users!), it also has significance for brands, who can move on from misjudged or poor-performing content in no time at all. In comparison, if you posted a status update on Facebook, it lingers there for a lifetime in comparison to Snapchat. And if that content was poorly received, there is plenty of time for your audience to communicate their dissatisfaction.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Macarthy is the author of the #1 Amazon Web Marketing Bestseller, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips, available for Kindle and in paperback.

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
http://www.facebook.com/500socialmediatips/
https://pinterest.com/500socialmedia/
http://www.twitter.com/500socialmedia
http://www.youtube.com/500socialmediatips

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How to Convert A Blog Post to PDF for Slideshare | Slideshare Conversion Marketing

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One of the coolest functions of Slideshare is that, if you upload a PDF document to your account, it will automatically convert the file into a presentation that can be read, shared, and embedded elsewhere by anyone on the site. A good way to utilise this feature is to convert your blog posts into PDF files and then upload them to Slideshare for extra exposure. The process is really easy and only takes a couple of minutes to complete. Here's how: 

1. Convert your blog into a PDF

To convert your blog post into a PDF, I recommend the tool over at www.printfriendly.com. Once there, paste your blog post's URL into the bar at the top of the site and click "Print Preview." Alternatively - and this is the way I do it - install the PrintFriendly browser extension and simply click it when you're on the page of the blog post that you want to convert. I prefer the latter method as sometimes the former does not pull in the blog's images.

2. Delete unwanted text

Once PrintFriendly has grabbed your blog post, hover over the different paragraphs of text and any images, and they will highlight yellow with a "Click to delete" message. Remove any unnecessary elements that will clog up your eventual Slideshare presentation. In my case, I remove the blog title at the top (reason for this coming up) and blurb about me from the bottom of the post. When you're done, click the "PDF" button.

3. Download your PDF

PrintFriendly will spend a few seconds generating your PDF. When it's done, choose the A4 Page Size option and click the button to download it ready for uploading to Slideshare.

4. Upload your PDF to Slideshare

Sign into Slideshare, click the Upload button and choose the PDF you just created. Slideshare will grab the file and convert it into a presentation for the site. Nice! 

5. Optimize the title, description, category, and tags

Visit your Slideshare uploads and click on the presentation you have just created to edit its settings, which by default won't be great at all. I simply copy and paste the title and tags from my blog post, and lift the "stock" description from my YouTube channel (which includes a call to action to buy my book, links to my social profiles, and a more blurb about the presentation) and paste it all in. Don't forget to choose the correct category, then save the changes.

6. You're done! ... But a tip about image use and thumbnails! 

Here's an example of how your presentations will display in Slideshare search results. As you can see the thumbnail that appears is the image that appeared at the top of my blog post.  If the top of your blog post is just text, then your thumbnail on Slideshare will be as well, which won't make it too visually appealing. I know it won't be possible for everyone, but if you are going to convert blog posts for Slideshare, having an image at the top of your blog post - even if temporarily while you convert to PDF - can make a huge difference.

The final result! 

Here it is, my blog post converted into a Slideshare presentation and embedded using the code provided. Users can click the arrows to view each page, and zoom in to read the text easier with the magnification tools, or by going full screen.

Of course, a text-heavy blog post is never going to replace a presentation built from the ground up and optimised for Slideshare, but as far as convenience and the extra exposure to millions of Slideshare users goes, it is well worth doing. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Macarthy is the author of the #1 Amazon Web Marketing Bestseller, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips, available for Kindle and in paperback.

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
http://www.facebook.com/500socialmediatips/
https://pinterest.com/500socialmedia/
http://www.twitter.com/500socialmedia
http://www.youtube.com/500socialmediatips

How to Share Instagram Photos to A Facebook Page | Post Instagram Images to Facebook Page

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The introduction of hashtags on Facebook have made the effect of sharing Instagram images onto social media even mor powerful. If you want to set your Instagram app account up to share photos right to your Facebook Page - not your personal timeline - here are some simple instructions:

1. Open up the Instagram app and visit your profile page 

2. Click on the cog icon at the top of your profile page 

3. Click on the "Share Settings" option

4. Click on "Facebook"

5. Click on "Share Photos to" ...

6. Choose your Facebook Page from the "Choose A Page" list

And that's it! Now, when you share a photo from Instagram to Facebook, it'll go straight to the Facebook Page you chose. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Macarthy is the author of the #1 Amazon Web Marketing Bestseller, 500 Social Media Marketing Tips, available for Kindle and in paperback.

Buy 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007L50HE6
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007L50HE6

Follow Me:
http://www.facebook.com/500socialmediatips/
https://pinterest.com/500socialmedia/
http://www.twitter.com/500socialmedia

http://www.youtube.com/500socialmediatips

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