To celebrate Halloween, Niantic released the first in-game event in popular mobile game Pokemon Go and, according to data from application store optimization company Sensor Tower , the event was a success. The event gave users an increased chance of finding “spooky” Pokemon, and it also gave users…

Businesses on Twitter can now take advantage of two new features for the social network’s direct messages: quick replies and welcome messages. Product manager Ian Cairns introduced the new features Tuesday in a blog post , saying that they begin rolling out Tuesday. According to Cairns, welcome…

The Nov. 8 deadline is looming, and the polls are tight. As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump come head-to-head, the reality is, no one really knows what will happen. This might not be evident from your Facebook News Feed . It’s no secret that in this polarized world, our perceptions are colored by…

Ready for your next sales promotion? For some ecommerce teams, it’s a time-consuming task deciding which items to markdown and how to publicize a sales event. However, sales promotions play an integral role in attracting customers. A survey found that up to 50% of consumers make a purchase only with…

Facebook Monday released a bundle of resources for business influencers , highlighted by its Business Influencer Guide . The Facebook for Business Influencers page includes information on using Facebook as a leadership platform, Facebook Live , Facebook Mentions , notes , 360-degree videos and other…

Twitch creator Justin Kan launched a video question-and-answer application called Whale . The app allows users to send questions to influencers and experts and receive video responses. Users can sign up for Whale using a Twitter account, and they can flag categories they’re interested in, such as…

Pinterest introduced three new types of Promoted Pins for advertisers: one-tap Pins, video Pins and app pins. The social network also announced that the availability of Promoted Pins was extended to the U.K., with other markets to be added “very soon.” Promoted Pins had previously been available…

Following the reveal of its VIP Program in September, Periscope announced that it changed the requirements users must meet before being eligible for the program. The Periscope VIP Program gives eligible broadcasters access to a variety of benefits, including badges on their Periscope profiles and…

After doing its part to get voters to register and endorse their candidates of choice , Facebook introduced a feature to give voters all of the information on what they will be voting on. The social network’s vote planner presents an outline of candidates and ballot initiatives that will appear on…

Rarely do people read content from beginning to end. Maybe it’s because of our “microwave,” instant gratification culture. Maybe it’s because millions of other articles are vying for people’s attention. Or maybe it’s because reading from screens takes about 25% longer than reading from paper.…

If you’re a social media manager, you may see the world of search-engine optimization as arcane Google trickery mixed with quasi-technical babblings . Allow me to show you how to make Google and the various folks who do SEO your buddies. First, Google what you think you should be ranking on. I did a…

There may be a lot of unanswered questions you have about some the big-picture questions with your website. Perhaps you’re asking: Do demo requests or signups lead to more paying customers? Does that product video lead to more signups? Does the self-service onboarding plan lead to more customers?…

Mobile and social game company Zynga announced the release of Words With Giphy , a new feature within its Words With Friends multiplayer word game that integrates Giphy’s full search API to allow users to search Giphy’s entire database of GIFs after playing or checking words. With this feature,…

Mobile is the ecommerce frontier. There is virtually no arguing that everything is moving toward mobile dominance. Early in 2015, Google announced that mobile searches surpassed computer searches . Doesn’t it seem strange, then, that mobile conversions still lag so far behind? Monetate ‘s Ecommerce…

If you’re looking for a new mobile game to play, there are lots of new options available for you to try. Here’s a look at some of the mobile games that were released this week. Gear.Club (Free on iOS ) – This racing game from Eden Games allows users to collect, upgrade and customize multiple…

You hear the term viral all the time. I’m regularly reading Internet content that has “gone viral” or watching the latest viral video post. I research virality, and I read articles about content virality. Virality is a big deal. If you think about it, viral content is what shapes our culture. The…

A little more than one year ago, Twitter announced a new feature: Moments . At that time, the new feature was to be curated by a team at Twitter, as well as some big-name partners such as Entertainment Weekly , Fox News , NASA and BuzzFeed . Then, a little over two months ago, Twitter opened up the…

Facebook revealed two updates that will allow users to celebrate Halloween on its platform. First, Facebook revealed it is bringing masks to Facebook Live , and the selection of masks will include Halloween options. Specifically, Facebook said masks will roll out “over the next few days” to iOS…

Will anyone actually click my ad and buy my product? It’s a terrifying question, but an important one. Turns out that everyone (including you) wants to get more conversions from a Twitter ad campaign. You spent countless hours writing lead magnets, creating landing pages and sales pages, and then…

Holiday shopping has become a long tail affair for consumers and businesses alike. With the influence of Black Friday spreading into earlier weeks and months, marketers are starting their campaigns sooner and sooner. During this creep, it’s possible that marketers may be forgetting about the true…

LinkedIn recently announced that it was entering the professional development market . Surprisingly, this news barely caused a ripple. Will Sept. 22, 2016, go down in history as a key milestone in the digital transformation of the professional development market? Only the future will tell. The…

Twitter released its Q3 2016 financial results Thursday, and it also announced it will reduce its workforce by approximately nine percent. For the third quarter of fiscal year 2016, Twitter saw revenue of $616 million, which is an increase of eight percent year-over-year. Advertising revenue for the…

Users with verified Facebook profiles can now share branded content on Facebook, as Facebook announced it updated its Branded Content Policy to include verified profiles. Facebook previously announced changes to its Branded Content Policy in April 2016 , which allowed verified Facebook pages to…

It’s not even November yet and here we are, already talking about holiday shopping trends. Too soon? Not at all. The truth is, the more foresight you can have to prepare for what will be the biggest shopping season, the more you can adapt to customers’ habits and be ready to adjust to meet their…

It’s important to pay close attention to the tactics employed by industry leaders; they provide general insights for your strategy. Within social media marketing, the industry leaders to pay attention to are the big brands that are attracting massive fan bases. A report from social media analytics…

Social gifting app Whilo (short for “What I Love”) officially launched on iOS. The app allows users to create gift registries and wish lists that can be shared with friends and family. With Whilo, users can create multiple gift registries and wish lists based on different events or themes. That is,…

YouTube announced its End Screens feature is now available to all creators. The feature allows creators to add thumbnail overlays to the ends of their videos to encourage viewers to take specific actions. Creators can add these thumbnail overlays to the last 5-20 seconds of their videos. Thumbnails…

Overall, spend growth on paid search dipped in Q3 to 14 percent year-over-year, down from 15 percent growth seen the previous quarter, according to Merkle’s Q3 Digital Marketing Report, issued this week. Merkle says the slowdown was expected when comparing to the period last year when Google…

To mark the start of the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians, Twitter and Major League Baseball introduced new featured stickers in a World Series category. Introducing: #WorldSeries Twitter Stickers. Add ‘em to your photos all World Series long.…

When I write content, I’m usually not that funny. My written jokes don’t go over too well, so I stick with solid, meaty stuff that helps my readers solve problems and achieve marketing goals. But I know humor is important. Some of you reading this article are funny people. You have a knack for…

It was approximately one decade ago when Facebook started its meteoric rise and phased MySpace out of the national conversation. Back then, the process took years, but now, it seems like there’s a hot new social media platform every few months. You’re not alone if you feel like every time your…

Paid search is often the biggest driver of new customers . Largely because people are typing in exactly what they’re looking for. But. These aren’t necessarily the most profitable customers you’ve got. Especially not in the beginning. Your repeat ones are. ‘Retention’ is often associated with…

Coinciding with the start of the 2016 NBA season on Tuesday, Oct. 25, Twitter and the National Basketball Association launched hashtag-triggered emoji for all 30 NBA teams. When a user includes one of these hashtags in a tweet, the team’s corresponding emoji will automatically appear next to the…

Businesses today have more ways than ever to connect with their customers. Traditional methods like radio and television are still effective, but now, they can reach out to potential customers in their own homes through channels including social media, email, video and SMS messaging. And if you can…

Twitter’s MoPub mobile ad exchange announced the general availability of its rewarded video solution. MoPub originally introduced support for rewarded video ads in Sept. 2015 , and at launch, publishers could use MoPub to manage their rewarded video ads from Unity Ads, AdColony, Vungle and…

It may be a good thing that Election Day is just two weeks away, as a new study discovered just how fed up social media users are with political content. Pew Research Center Tuesday released its newest report, The Political Environment on Social Media , and its findings included: 37 percent of the…

Here’s a fun fact: In any given web session, your audience is more likely to have a heart attack than click on your banner ad . Okay, so maybe that’s not so much a fun fact as it is a scary fact, but either way the fact is that most display ads have truly awful clickthrough rates. The question is,…

As we approach another holiday shopping season , marketers everywhere are gearing up for their annual social media marketing strategy. Given the growth and evolution of social media–and in particular, the accelerating role of social influencers in driving brand perception and purchasing…

LifeLock announced the release of Identity, a mobile app designed to help users manage their online accounts. Specifically, the Identity app can help users change the credit card information and addresses associated with their accounts at “more than 50 popular online services and counting,” such as…

To celebrate the release of Lady Gaga ‘s latest album, Joanne, Twitter introduced new featured stickers in a Joanne category. Mobile users can add these stickers to their photos by adding photos to tweets and tapping the smiling face to access the stickers menu. From there, users can choose from…