Be in the Know
- “Alexa, what’s the news for today?” The New York Times will be answering that question very soon. Listeners will be able to enable the Alexa skill and get a quick news briefing. The Daily Carnage skill coming soon!
- Twitter is shaking things up. In an attempt to remain ‘valuable and relevant,’ the 12-year old company is testing a new beta app to make conversations easier, combat harassment and much more.
The YouTube Dish
Question? What is the second largest second search engine?
Answer: YouTube
Over 1.8 billion users per month on YouTube. Wrap your head around that for a second.
You’d think with that many users, there’d be a lot of businesses utilizing YouTube for marketing purposes. False. Only 9% of businesses are using the tube for marketing. (You can dive deep into the stats here.)
The door is wide open! Here are a few tips to get You(on the)Tube.
-Develop an SEO strategy for YouTube specifically
Optimization is key if you want folks to watch your videos. Just like your website SEO strategy, YouTube is fairly similar. Research some keywords that actually get searched, but aren’t too competitive. Once you have some keywords, put them in your title and say them out loud in your videos.
-Increase viewer interaction
Unfortunately, keywords aren’t enough to put you on Casey Neistat’s level. The YouTube algorithm is a big fan of interaction (likes, shares, and comments). Don’t expect this to happen overnight. You gotta work at it people. Organize your videos into playlists and ask for comments and engagement in your videos.
-Be unique and stick to it
YouTube gives you plenty of space to customize your channel. Don’t overlook these features. Bright thumbnails with text on the left side are your new best friend. Keep them consistent though.
Alright, you got some videos to make. Get after it.
Animation for All
Now that you’re up and rolling on YouTube, you may want to throw in some animation to your videos. “But wait, I know nothing about animation.”
We got your back. Enter Vyond. Vyond lets you create videos with ease using their library of templates, sounds, props, and so much more.
What we like: it’s super easy to use. Seriously.
What we don’t like: it can get a little pricey depending on your output.
Inspo Guaranteed
What better way to plug your brand than have 2 people run 100 miles? That’s exactly what REI did. This short documentary features Brendan Leonard and his buddy Jayson Sime training and running 100 miles.
It’s so well done that you don’t even have to be into running to get hooked.
We figured it’d be a great way to kick off the work week. It’s longer than our typical watch feature, so you may have to bookmark it and watch at home or on your lunch break.
Ads from the Past
Ads from the PastThere’s so much to unpack in this ad.
-Circuit City: R.I.P
-1999 is vintage: That was 20 years ago! 😱
-Free Belt Holster: Step up your game Apple
-60 minutes of talk time: We’ve come a long way