By Evan Kropp

Digital strategy encompasses all the essential facets of digital or online marketing, from social media campaigns and content marketing to search engine optimization and data analytics. To develop strong digital strategy skills is to prepare for success in a connected world where aligning marketing campaigns with business goals is more important than ever.

It’s a challenging field, but a rewarding one. From designing a political campaign to creating social media buzz about a new product, experts in digital strategy help businesses stay competitive, reach audiences, and drive growth. 

There are proven paths to careers in digital strategy for professionals who earn a master’s degree. With digital platforms increasingly shaping consumer behavior, demand for experts who can develop and execute a comprehensive digital strategy is growing. Careers in this field include marketing, communications, media, consulting, and more.

What Is Digital Strategy?

Digital strategy is a comprehensive marketing approach that leverages digital technologies and focuses on enhancing customer experiences, streamlining operations, and gaining a competitive edge. It integrates digital tools and platforms for marketing, sales, customer service, and product development. 

A well-crafted digital strategy aligns technology with overarching business goals, ensuring that digital investments contribute meaningfully to organizational success. Key components of a digital strategy include setting clear objectives, understanding target audiences, selecting appropriate digital channels, and establishing metrics for success. 

Digital strategy professionals continuously evaluate and adapt to keep pace with the latest technology innovations and customer needs. This ensures they oversee the creation of digital experiences that resonate with customers and drive sustainable growth.

Potential Careers in Digital Strategy

Digital strategy is less a career field than a collection of skills and knowledge that people can apply to many jobs to help them do better, particularly in digital marketing and communication. A degree in digital strategy can boost performance in various careers. Potential career paths include:

• Digital Strategist. Designs and oversees integrated digital campaigns that align with business goals, analyzing performance and optimizing strategies.
• Content Strategist. Plans, creates, and manages digital content to enhance user experience and support brand messaging across channels.
• SEO/SEM Specialist. Optimizes website content and structure to improve search engine rankings and manages paid search advertising campaigns.
• Social Media Manager. Develops social media strategies, creates content, engages audiences, and monitors analytics to build brand presence.
• Digital Marketing Manager. Leads marketing efforts across digital platforms, coordinating email, web, social media, and mobile campaigns.
• UX Strategist. Aligns user experience design with strategic business objectives to improve customer satisfaction and engagement.
• Analytics or Marketing Data Analyst. Interprets web and campaign data to guide marketing strategy and demonstrate return on investment.
• Brand Strategist. Crafts and refines a company’s digital identity, ensuring consistency across platforms and touchpoints.

All these roles are essential to helping organizations compete and grow in a digital-first world.

The Outlook of Careers in Digital Strategy

The career outlook for digital strategy-related roles is solid, with several positions experiencing faster-than-average growth. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the demand for advertising, promotions, and marketing managers is projected to grow 8% from 2023 to 2033, outpacing the average for all occupations. Maintaining and expanding an organization’s market share through effective marketing campaigns drives this growth.

Market research analysts, who play a crucial role in understanding consumer behavior and informing digital strategies, are also projected to experience an 8% growth in employment, according to the BLS.

These trends indicate a strong demand for professionals skilled in digital strategy in digital marketing, web development, and data analysis. As businesses prioritize their digital presence, opportunities in this field are expected to remain plentiful.

The Master’s in Digital Strategy From the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

The online Master of Arts in Mass Communication with a concentration in Digital Strategy from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications offers a comprehensive 36-credit curriculum designed to equip students with advanced skills in digital marketing, lead generation, and user experience optimization.

The program is one of seven concentrations offered through the online MA in Mass Communication program. Other concentrations include Digital Journalism, Global Strategic Communication, Public Interest Communication, Public Relations, Social Media, and Web Design.

The Digital Strategy program curriculum includes copywriting for digital messaging, inbound marketing strategies, social media advertising, and search and display advertising. The program culminates in a capstone project, allowing students to apply their knowledge to real-world digital strategy challenges. Delivered entirely online, the program provides flexibility for working professionals and can be completed in under two years.

The post What Can You Do With a Master’s Degree in Digital Strategy? appeared first on UF CJC Online Master's.

The ability to market a company’s service or products online has been vital for many years. However, with today’s consumers’ buying habits shifting online, a well-defined digital marketing strategy is no longer optional. A well-laid digital marketing plan is a fundamental step organizations must take to reach consumers and craft a positive customer experience.

This situation makes earning a master’s degree in communications valuable to organizations in every industry, government agencies, and nonprofits. Business leaders need to reach customers where they are, which increasingly means online.

A Fundamental Shift in Consumer Behavior

Nothing illustrates the significance of digital marketing quite like recent statistics on consumer behavior. Worldwide online retail sales are expected to reach $8.1 trillion by 2026, according to research cited by Forbes. “Quickly departing are the days when shoppers would trek to the local mall to spend the day pursuing various shops,” Forbes reports. “Nowadays, the first touchpoint a customer has with a business typically occurs online, especially if the company has a presence on social media.”

Forbes also reported that almost 21% of retail sales worldwide in 2023 took place online, a number expected to reach 24% by 2026. In the United States, 16.4% of retail sales occur online, which is only expected to rise in the coming years.

Another data point that shows the importance of digital marketing is the demand for marketers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects an 8% increase in management positions in advertising and marketing in the coming years. Many of these positions require a graduate degree.

Building a Better Customer Experience

An excellent digital marketing strategy focuses on creating a smooth customer journey across all digital touchpoints. This means a user-friendly website, a seamless buying process, and helpful content that addresses the customer’s needs. Frustrating experiences like slow loading times or confusing navigation can quickly turn customers away.

Digital marketing allows a business to personalize the customer experience. By understanding the target audience and their online behavior, digital marketers can tailor content, recommendations, and promotions to their interests. This level of personalization fosters a stronger connection between the consumer and the brand.

This isn’t something isolated to a website or social media channel. Customers expect consistency across all channels, whether social media, a website, or an email. A digital marketing strategy ensures consistent messaging and brand identity across all platforms, creating a unified customer experience.

Digital marketers focus on more than just making sales. They work to build relationships with potential and existing customers and offer expertise in nurturing leads, addressing customer concerns, and fostering brand loyalty.

Why a Digital Marketing Strategy Is So Important

A robust digital strategy is a roadmap guiding marketing efforts toward achieving specific business goals. Its importance stems from several key factors.

Reaching a wider audience

The internet offers unparalleled reach, allowing businesses to connect with a larger audience than traditional marketing methods. A digital strategy helps identify and target the right audience segments, maximizing the impact of marketing efforts.

Cost-effectiveness

Compared to traditional media, digital marketing channels typically offer greater cost-efficiency. A well-defined strategy allows for targeted campaigns, minimizing wasted resources and maximizing return on investment.

Measurability and adaptability

Digital marketing campaigns offer unparalleled measurability through analytics tools. This allows marketers to track real-time performance, assess what’s working and what’s not, and adapt their strategies based on data-driven insights.

Building customer relationships

The digital landscape fosters two-way communication, allowing businesses to build stronger customer relationships. A digital strategy can guide engagement through social media, email marketing, and other channels, nurturing brand loyalty and advocacy.

Key Elements of a Smart Digital Marketing Plan

1. Establish Clear Goals

The foundation of any strategy lies in clearly defined goals. Managers must decide on specific objectives for the plan, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, driving sales, or improving customer engagement.

2. Understand the Audience

Digital marketers need a deep understanding of their audience, often achieved by developing detailed buyer personas. These personas outline the ideal customer’s demographics, needs, and online behavior, allowing marketers to tailor messaging and select the most effective channels to reach them.

3. Analyze Competitors

Successful digital marketers also conduct a thorough analysis of competitors, identifying their strengths, weaknesses, and digital marketing strategies. This insight helps in building a strategy that differentiates them in the market.

4. Select the Right Channels

A digital marketing plan requires choosing the channels that best reach the target audience. This includes creating engaging content, optimizing web content for search engines, leveraging the power of social media, and continuously improving results by measuring and analyzing outcomes.

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Master’s in Digital Strategy

For those motivated to excel in the emerging field of digital strategy in marketing, the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) offers an online Master of Arts in Communications with a concentration in digital strategy. The unique UFCJC program gives graduates the skills and knowledge needed to master the essential elements of digital marketing, including lead generation and management, engagement, and conversions.

Students in the program learn to engage potential leads with purposeful messaging that sparks curiosity, drives action, and establishes a brand identity that forges genuine connections and fosters loyalty. They master using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools and learn to create an efficient and effective user experience for websites.

They also benefit from a worldwide network of professional connections that comes with becoming a Florida Gator. They’ll graduate with all the skills and support they need to embark on a successful career in digital strategy in marketing.

The post What Is a Digital Strategy in Marketing and Why Is It Critical to Customer Experience? appeared first on UF CJC Online Master's.

Jan. 20, 2021

In this modern era, digital advertising is one of the most effective ways to launch, grow, and scale any business online. But just because you run an ad on Facebook or Google doesn’t mean that it will automatically drive your business to success. It’s a little more complicated than that.

The key to a successful digital advertising campaign is understanding the people you want to target with it. You need to know how they go from being completely unaware of a brand to actively recommending it to their network of friends and family.

Knowing these things gives you an insight into how to conduct your advertising in a way that will drive results, conversions, and sales. And the best way to do this is to map out your customer’s value journey.

The customer journey is a step-by-step process that draws prospects in and converts them into loyal customers. It provides invaluable information that allows you to customize your digital marketing efforts for every stage of your customer’s journey into buying your products. This enables you to lead your prospects and customers, making sure that they move seamlessly and swiftly through each stage and convert.

In this article, we will discuss how following the customer journey can help you build effective digital advertising campaigns!

Follow the Customer Journey for Effective Digital Marketing

Aware Stage

The first stage in the customer journey is to let people know who you are, what you do, and what you have to offer. Creating awareness is very important because if people don’t know you exist, they can’t buy from you. Simple as that!

Here are some of the different ways that your target audience could become aware of your company:

• A pregnant woman sees a Facebook Ad for a new maternity clothing brand on Facebook
• A gym rat searches Google for the nearest gym in the area
• A student who is about to go to college watches a YouTube video of an influencer talking about the essentials that a freshman student should have

There are many ways to get your brand in front of your potential customers. But it’s important to find out which platforms your target audience is spending most of their time online. Is it on YouTube? Instagram? Facebook? Knowing the best platforms to reach out to your target audience allows you to capture more leads.

Here are the different ways you can build brand awareness:

• Paid Ads (Search or Social Media)
• Social Media Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Influencer Marketing
• Content Marketing

Interest Stage

At this stage, people are getting interested in what you have to offer! Your goal is to get people to interact with your brand and get them to consume content that encourages them to like your brand. To do this, it’s best to invest in publishing high-quality content your target audience can relate to. Remember, you don’t want to pressure them into making a purchase or anything more.

Here are some other ways on how you can get your audience to interact with your brand:

• Hold a contest on Instagram to encourage engagement from your audience
• Create a YouTube video about what goes on behind the scenes when sourcing or making your products
• Create sharable content that your target audience can relate to
• Educate your audience on the pros and cons of your products or services through infographics or video content
• Use social media to show your audience how you live your values, like supporting a worthy cause
• Reply to comments on your blog posts and use a chatbot to cater to inquiries immediately

Constant interaction helps build and strengthen your relationship with your prospects and customers. It also encourages customer loyalty, which is essential to expand your customer base.

Consideration Stage

By this stage, your prospects already know who you are and have interacted with your brand to some degree. They’re now ready to speak with a salesperson. So, your next objective is to take the relationship to the next level and get your target audience to take action.

Today, people are constantly flooded with information from many different companies. Just because they read one blog from you or watched a video on your channel, doesn’t mean they’ll buy from you or even remember you.

To get people to consider working with you, you need to offer something they can’t refuse. It can be free content, exclusive discounts, free products, or whatever it may be. Other businesses’ tactics is that they create a valuable offer in exchange for enlisting in their newsletter.

Here’s an example:

Somewhere in your blog post (where it’s appropriate and relevant), insert a call-to-action that says “Subscribe to Get a Free Sample of Our Best Selling Product.”

Conversion Stage

A lot of businesses skip the first three stages and immediately jump into selling their products or services to people. It usually ends up in disappointment because of the following reasons:

1. Lack of awareness: When people are not familiar with a brand, they often hesitate into buying their products or services
2. Lack of understanding: Your target audience should be able to understand the benefits of your products or services to convince them to buy your products
3. Lack of perceived value: It’s important to create a perceived value that can be associate solely with your brand to convince people why they should purchase your products or services

But when you follow the steps in order, you’ll see that people are more likely to buy from you.

Here are some examples that real businesses use to convert prospects:

• HubSpot offers free courses that users can access once they fill out a form
• Bed Bath & Beyond offers a 20% discount to first-time subscribers
• Trello offers a free version of its tool to capture leads and drive free users to go premium over time

Post-Purchase Stage

The post-purchase stage is all about turning your customer into loyal customers. The customer journey allows you to create a unique and personalized experience for your audience at every step of their journey into buying your products.

When you get this right, people will keep coming back for the experience that comes along when buying your products or services. This can encourage them to make more purchases – and bigger purchases – over time.

You can run social media ads to remind your customers about you and to keep in touch with them. You can also use email marketing to send them exclusive discounts during their birthdays or holidays. Customer retention is the key to growing your customer base. Your goal in this stage is to keep your customers happy and to develop a relationship with them that will encourage them to remain loyal to your brand.

The post 5 Ways the Customer Journey Can Help You Build Effective Digital Advertising Campaigns appeared first on UF CJC Online Master's.

October 1, 2020

As many nonprofit fundraisers have come to realize, social media is becoming more important when asking for a gift. For most donors, visiting your Facebook or other social platforms is the first step in considering whether or not to donate to your organization. It’s crucial to set your organization up for success with a well-crafted social media presence. 

To several organizations, simply having an account on social media is a benchmark for success. However, maintaining a consistent posting schedule, sharing engaging content and providing value to your online following can open your organization to more giving opportunities. 

When creating social media posts on behalf of your organization, keep in mind it’s okay if you aren’t a social media guru! Allow your passion for your nonprofit to shine through in your posts. Just in case you’re still unsure of taking over your organization’s social media, here are a few general best practices to follow that will create an authentic online following that’s willing to reach into their wallets.

Keep your Followers Engaged

The organization’s mission is what attracts individuals to follow your accounts, but it’s your content that keeps them there. Creating engaging content to share on your social channels is vital to your organization’s social media presence. 

• • Hold creative contests for your followers. Invite your followers to enter a contest through liking, commenting or captioning a post to win swag. Not only are you keeping your followers engaged, but their activity on your content is being shared with their network and possibly increasing your following. 

• Include visuals with every post. To help your message stand out to followers, include an engaging picture, video or graphic with every post. Several platforms, such as Canva, offer free and easy to use graphic design software that will take your content to the next level. 
• Respond to your fans. It’s common for followers and fans of your organization to comment and share your content. Rather than leaving them hanging, respond! Even a simple “Thank you for your support!” shows your followers that they matter and that you recognize their engagement. 

Be Transparent and True to Your Mission

Social media exists to provide your fans with behind the scenes insight into your nonprofit that they might not typically see. Use your social platforms as an opportunity to showcase the secret sauce of your organization. Highlight staff members, volunteers and board members. Provide value in following your social media that will set your organization apart as a leader in your subsector.

Don’t Be Afraid to Have Some Fun!

Use your social media as a reflection of your organization’s personality. Use funny hashtags, participate in internet challenges and make your organization stand out! In 2017, zoos across the nation partook in a #CuteAnimalTweetOff by sharing their most adorable animals on their social media. The hashtag quickly went viral on Twitter, bringing tons of publicity to participating zoos. 

I got here as fast as I could… #cuteanimaltweetoff pic.twitter.com/wPWHHoPaS1

— Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens (@LAZoo) January 25, 2017

Connect Data to Organizational Goals

One final social media best practice for those in the nonprofit sector is to connect data to your organization’s goals. Take note of any increase in followers, likes, comments or shares and see if there is any correlation to an increase in gifts. Keep track of how long an individual follows your organization before donating. These types of insights can demonstrate what is working well for your nonprofit when it comes to social media and what content seems to fall short. A great way to begin accessing your social media analytics is through Facebook Audience Insights. This analytics platform is built into Facebook and allows page admins to see reach, engagement, likes, page views, actions on page and more. 

Though social media can be daunting to many, it’s a great tool to gain an online following for your organization. It can be easy to get caught up in the number of likes and followers, but I can assure you, as long as you provide value, keep your followers engaged and track your progress, your organization will gain loyal followers willing to financially help your organization when they can.

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August 27, 2020

By now you’ve likely heard of the social media app taking the world by storm – TikTok. Even with the uncertain future of the app in mind, TikTok has highlighted the power of earned media, a type of media published by an outside third party about a specific brand or product.

The app’s “For You Page” offers curated content specific to each user’s interests, previously liked videos, accounts followed and more. Because users frequently see content from creators they aren’t following, the platform gives anyone the chance to go viral. For users who use the platform to share their favorite products and recent purchases, the fact that they aren’t being compensated to promote the product gives them a level of authenticity many influencers lack. 

Since companies aren’t paying for this content or creating it themselves, it falls into the category of earned media. As one of the most trusted and hardest to obtain types of media, earned media is leading to the rise and fall of many brands on TikTok. From skincare to LED light strips, earned media generated on TikTok are causing products to sell out across the nation. 

One example of this phenomenon is how one user’s video spurred the sale of 52,000 units of The Ordinary’s AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution. In late January, TikTok user @kaelynwhitee posted a video documenting her skin transformation from using the weekly peel serum. Kaelyn’s video includes before and after pictures of her skin demonstrating how much the product helped with acne and scarring. 

Product Review on Sephora

To date, Kae’s video has amassed over 637,000 likes and one million views. According to InStyle, a representative for the beauty brand attributed Kae’s TikTok to the sale of 52,000 units of the serum in two weeks. 

As shown by Kae’s viral video, earned media doesn’t have to come directly from news outlets to make an impact on your brand. In fact, earned media can be even more powerful when coming from someone similar to yourself. According to HubSpot Research, 57% of individuals in the U.S. trust their friends and family most when they discover a new product or company. 

For brands looking to increase their earned media, it’s important to acknowledge the role of social media. Regardless of which social networking platform, users frequently build a sense of trust with one another when it comes to which brands to buy from, explaining the rise in influencer marketing. Outside of maintaining an active social media presence, there are a few best practices to follow for increased earned media opportunities. 

Create an Experience Worth Sharing

During every stage of the marketing funnel, customers are observing your brand and making unconscious notes about their experience. Enhance their experience from start to finish with engaging targeted ads, social media content worth sharing and a product worth purchasing over the rest. Consumers notice everything from messaging to packaging, so give them a meaningful experience worthy of sharing on social media.  

Build Relationships with your Customers

Social media was built on the preface of building relationships with users across the globe. For companies looking to make an impression on their consumers, it’s crucial to engage with them on social media. Show your customers that you care about them by replying to comments, answering direct messages and asking for their input on your brand and products. Doing so demonstrates your commitment to their experience and gives them a positive impression of your organization that they are more willing to share with others. 

Though earned media is seemingly out of your brand’s control, it is entirely possible to position yourself for more earned media opportunities. TikTok serves as a reminder for communications professionals to look outside of influencer marketing and take a step towards creating an experience that everyone will want to promote, not just those being paid to do so.

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We’re in a transformative era for the marketing world, where the old paradigms of TV and radio advertising are rapidly giving way to the digital domain. Today, with just an internet connection, anyone can launch a marketing career or start an entrepreneurial journey, armed with the right mentorship and an insatiable appetite for knowledge. The shift has been monumental, with digital advertising expenditures on platforms like Facebook, Google, and Instagram overtaking traditional advertising for the first time in recent years. This change heralds a booming opportunity for careers in digital marketing. Drawing on my decade of experience, I’m excited to share key lessons from the forefront of this digital revolution.

Who the heck am I? I am Nate Mendenhall, Director of Digital Strategy and Business Development at THAT Agency in West Palm Beach, Florida. As a full-service digital marketing firm, THAT Agency specializes in helping brands drive business with social media marketing, search engine marketing, email marketing, inbound marketing, and web design. I have been fortunate enough to work with brands of all sizes, ranging from small startups to Fortune 50 corporations. I have had a lot of wins (and losses) along the way, but here are my five best tips for a successful career in digital marketing.

1. Start NOW

As I mentioned before, anyone with internet access has the potential to start learning how to build a business using digital marketing. Whether you are a freshman in college or working on your master’s degree, you have equal opportunity to start learning the tools used to promote a brand through digital marketing. There are a lot of places you can get started. Here are a few FREE resources:

• Google Analytics 4 – This is a great training series on how to analyze digital marketing performance using Google’s measurement tools.
• HubSpot Inbound Certification – This is a comprehensive class on how different marketing channels interact with one another to work together synergistically.
• HubSpot Social Media Certification – This is a social media-specific certification offered by one of the industry’s leading marketing and sales software providers.
• Meta Blueprint – Straight from the social media giant itself, these training classes will teach you how to market on Facebook and Instagram as well as how to run ads on both platforms.

The more you can learn before applying for professional digital marketing jobs, the better. You will not only have a head start over your competition in the job market, but also be able to ask for a higher starting salary!

2. Never Stop Learning

The most challenging aspect of digital marketing is that it is always evolving. Technology and strategy change rapidly, so the learning never stops. Even after you finish different certification courses, you will notice not all your questions have been answered. In fact, despite a decade of experience, there are still aspects to digital marketing that I continue to research. The more well-rounded you are as a marketer, the more effective you will be. Get your hands on every digital marketing blog, webinar, and podcast you can!

3. Ask A LOT of Questions

When you get your first job in digital marketing, you will feel the need to prove your value immediately. This is normal. However, it is also dangerous because you don’t have the experience to back up your ideas… yet. Asking questions is the best way to learn and gain context about a situation. Listen intently, and don’t be afraid to seek clarification. We almost always need more information than what is presented initially. It is also not a bad idea to take a lot of notes. I recommend platforms like Evernote for organizing your thoughts and questions, and for creating a searchable hub of professional knowledge you have gained.

4. Shift Your Perspective

When developing your career in digital marketing, you will want to look at the world a little differently. Look at everything through the lens of a marketer. I mean, everything! When you are watching TV and see a commercial, or when you are browsing Instagram and see an ad, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is this advertiser trying to target?
• Is this a memorable message? Why or why not?
• Would I react positively to this message? Why or why not?

Giving yourself this mini pop quiz when you see digital marketing messages will help you develop a more analytical mindset. 99% of people who consume advertising never think twice about it. Be the 1% who deliberately pays attention, so you can learn faster!

5. Test Everything

You never know what will work (or not work) until you test it. Early in your career, allow yourself to test different tactics and be willing to embrace being wrong. You WILL make mistakes, you WILL have campaigns that flop, and you WILL have times you feel like a rock star because your tactic worked. Testing things like colors, images, calls to action, text, and even different font types will help you dial in on what strategies drive the best results. Never be too proud to test!

Charting Your Path to Success in Digital Marketing with UFCJC

The journey towards a successful career in digital marketing is both exciting and challenging, offering endless opportunities for growth and innovation. As the landscape continues to evolve, staying ahead requires continuous learning and adaptability. The University of Florida’s Online Master’s in Digital Strategy program provides a comprehensive platform for those eager to dive deeper into the intricacies of digital marketing and emerge as leaders in this dynamic field. By embracing the principles discussed in this article and engaging with advanced educational resources like UF’s program, you’re setting the stage for a rewarding and impactful career in digital marketing. Explore the program today and take the first step towards mastering the digital strategy that will define the future of marketing.

The post 5 Tips for a Successful Career in Digital Marketing appeared first on UF CJC Online Master's.

Have you ever flipped through your Instagram story feed and noticed a story that looks exceptional? You ask yourself “how did that person do that?” It turns out you don’t have to be a social media master to craft next-level Instagram stories; there are free apps that can help you improve your Insta Story game.

Instagram stories have become increasingly popular with social media users. Many say that they have become just as popular as Snapchat stories but for a different reason. The appeal of using the story option on Instagram is the creative leeway it gives its users. There is so much you can do with your Instagram stories including the ability to decorate your post with digital drawing tools or thousands of GIFS. You can do a lot to make your Instagram stories stand out on the app itself, but there is even more that you can do for your Instagram story posts using external applications. Whether you are looking to step up your personal Instagram or aiming to get more impressions for a company/brand, check out the following apps that I use when crafting Instagram stories.

StoryArt – templates galore!

StoryArt is an app that offers several templates that you can customize with your own photos and then put on your Insta Stories. Once you insert your photos into the template, you can also write captions on it using the app. There are several font/color/size options available.

The app is free to download; however, some templates are locked and need to be purchased through the app. Templates give your story posts a unique, clean look that will be sure to catch the attention of your story viewers.

StoryArt is only available in the iTunes App store.

PicsArt – cool stickers, unique edits, collages – oh my!

PicsArt is a useful app that offers a wide variety of picture editing tools and an endless collection of stickers. The most important feature of this tool is the ‘Insta story size’ option which allows you to use a crop tool to adjust it to the correct Instagram story size. Do this by selecting the photo>tools>crop>story.

Although Instagram offers thousands of GIFs to decorate your Insta Story posts, adding these elements to your posts can sometimes reduce the quality of the image. Stickers do not reduce image quality, however, Instagram does not have a wide selection of stickers to choose from. Most of the PicsArt stickers are free, but some require that you upgrade to PicsArt Gold.

PicsArt also has overlays that you can add to your pictures. I find myself using the eraser tool often to elevate my posts. Typically, I will put an overlay or stickers on the picture before using the eraser tool to clear up the main focus of the image. This gives your photos unique backgrounds and an overall eye-catching look. For the picture below, I used a watercolor overlay and placed the fall leaves sticker around the photo. Then, I erased the effects from the main focus of the photo, which is the coffee.

PicsArt also has a collage creator, which is perfect for mood boards, birthday shout-outs, or even multiple photos in one story post. What I like about this app’s collage creator is that users can create a freestyle collage that gives the option to cut out images and place them freely just like when I used to cut out fashion magazines and paste collages together. It also gives you access to stickers and text to add to your collage. Always remember to change the size of what you are creating to cater to the Instagram story format. In any PicsArt collage mode you use background>ratio>story.

PicsArt is available in both the iTunes App store and Google Play store.

Spark Post – make your Insta stories come to life!

Spark Post is an app created by Adobe that offers unique editing features I have yet to find in any other app.

Impress your Instagram followers by incorporating graphic design into your Instagram Story posts. Spark Post lets you animate the captions on your stories using effects. They can fade in, slide in and change size. You can also edit the caption using glows, shadows, various fonts and colors via a built-in color palette creator. The app also allows you to apply effects to a photo to zoom, pan, grey, focus, color and fill. As always, make sure you are selecting the correct sizing to fit the Instagram story.

Spark Post is available in both the iTunes App store and Google Play store.

Canva – make your own awesome story templates!

Canva is an app that gives users a lot of creative leeway in designing content for social media. To use this app for your Instagram stories, choose a template from the Instagram Story section or start with a blank Instagram Story-sized page. Once you have chosen a template, there are millions of backgrounds, fonts and graphics to choose from to customize an Instagram story template. Use Canva to create a unique, eye-catching look for your viewers.

Canva is great to use when creating flyers and promotional content that is sized perfectly for your Instagram stories. Below is a student spotlight I created for UF CJC Online’s Instagram story using this app.

Canva is available in both the iTunes App store and Google Play store.

You are ready!

I know you will find these apps as helpful and useful as I do! All the apps I mentioned above are free to download and easy to use. My last tip to experiment with these apps: try to utilize more than one for a single story post. For example, use StoryArt for the template, save your creation and open it in PicsArt to add stickers. You’ll be surprised at the endless creativity available at your fingertips!

Also, keep in mind that these apps aren’t just for your Insta Story posts. Feel free to use these apps to make eye-catching edits for your other social media or your Instagram feed.

If you enjoyed this blog post, be on the lookout for more of my posts about tools, tricks and tips for social media.

Follow @ufcjconline on Instagram to see these techniques in action!

UF CJC Online offers a graduate certificate and a master’s degree specializing in social media. For more information, check out onlinemasters.jou.ufl.edu/social-media/.

Find Nicole Cruz on Instagram

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By Angel Burns

Yes, you have heard of it, but do you use it? Do you use it for business? Besides making pretty collections of pictures, how can you market your brand with it?
Pinterest is one of the main social media platforms today, but less familiar to most than Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and SnapChat. Still it is the 6th most popular according to DreamGrow (November, 2017), and an expected growing platform as 2018 Social Media Marketing Trends show its increase as personalized content.
Because it is a lesser-used platform, Pinterest could be your green pasture to till for fresh leads.
Let’s look at what it is, how it works, and finally, how it can work for your business interests.
First comes appreciating its appeal, reviewing its capabilities, then comes the strategy.

Did you know?

Deciding to market on Pinterest means considering its demographics. According to Pinterest stats (Omnicore, 2018):
• over 30% of all U.S. social media users are Pinterest users
• 81% of users are FEMALE (although 40% of new signups are male)
• 67% users are under 40
• MILLENNIALS use Pinterest as much as Instagram
• Pinterest generates over 5% of all website referral traffic
• 80% of users access it from mobile devices
• 2/3 of all pins represent brands and products
• 93% of active pinners use it for purchase planning
• 87% have bought something because of Pinterest!

Just take a moment to let those numbers sink in. This is a huge captive market!

Another important Omnicore statistic shows that most users have healthy incomes: half earn over $50K per year, and 10% make over $125 per year. This may qualify your target market too.
If this gets your urge to sell going, let’s understand how the platform works.

The basics:

Pinterest began in March 2010 and is headquartered in San Francisco. It charming history by cofounders Ben Silbermann, Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra has turned them into billionaires.
Pinterest is a scrapbooking platform that allows users to clip, or “pin,” found images to a collection, or “board,” for later review. The boards can be shared publicly or with followers, and each image can also direct viewers to websites, for more information or purchase.
Available as a mobile app as well as a desktop application, the first step is to create a profile for business.
Pinning can begin by browsing Pinterest by subject or simply exploring, clicking on images to add to your own boards. These can be named and groups according to topic, and hidden for privacy. From there they can be shared.
Brands will want to create their own pins to populate their boards, and test engagement by subtopic and image.
The biggest draw to using Pinterest, particularly for product sales, is with BUYABLE PINS. With this feature, viewers can not only save favorite pins but swipe up to see an item’s price and drop it into a shopping cart right from the platform!
Note that sellers must get approved by Pinterest to have buyable pins, and then it takes about a week for their board to activate. You must have a Pinterest business account to be considered, but good news: these are FREE and offer analytics.

Here’s how to set this all up:

• Business accounts: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7552-pinterest-business-guide.html
• Buyable pins: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/how-setup-buyable-pins-sell-products-direct-pinterest

Also, sellers can advertise these pins with featured paid ads known as Promoted Pins, to get more viewing. Expand reach, without annoying potential customers with distracting intrusive ads. Choosing pins to promote should involve some strategic considerations.

Now, sellers can connect with influencers to create campaigns using Promoted Pins:

Consider the three types of Promoted Pin Campaigns: Traffic, Engagement and Awareness.

Since most customers access Pinterest on mobile devices in addition to computers, they can use Apple Pay or a credit card to complete the transaction. The best part is that sellers don’t lose a cut of the sale to Pinterest: they get to keep the whole amount! Zounds! I mean, $$$$!

Brand examples:

There are brand success stories to emulate.

These are favorites that may be familiar: Six consumer brands with picture-perfect Pinterest strategies

It’s always good to see how other successfully gain followers and create engagement. Check out some top Influencer boards to learn from. Notice how compelling imagery is used to share links and consistency creates expert curator status upon the best pinners.

Not all are static product shots. There are advice tips, quotes, how-tos, detailed and behind-the-scenes angles of events; anything to serve as inspiration. Consider ideas that SELL.

Links shared can be to blog posts, to websites to build email marketing lists, or best of all, e-commerce shops for processing sales directly.

Strategy:

Source: https://goo.gl/images/pXiDik

Anna Bennett is a Pinterest Marketing Expert, chosen by Pinterest itself as an Elite Business coach. Using Pinterest to rank number one on Google, she offers marketing and coaching services (https://www.whiteglovesocialmedia.com/pinterest-marketing-for-business/), plus is the author of the Pinterest Marketing for Business Master Course and How to Become a Pinterest Account Manager. She lives by the motto: “Those on the top of the mountain did not fall there.”

Here’s Bennett’s illustrious advice:

“It is very important to realize that Pinterest is not a social media website like Facebook, it is a search engine like Google. People go on Pinterest to plan, look for solutions or look for things to buy.

Therefore, it is vital to identify who your target audience is and what their needs & problems are. Ask yourself “am I creating content that connects with my target audience by helping them achieve their goals or solve one or more of their most pressing problems?’”

So, she is saying to become customer outcome-focused, so your pins will be relevant. Also, since Pinterest is a search engine, keywords are vital to being found.

Here’s an in-depth article on keywording: Pinterest Search – 11 Smart Places to Use Keywords for Better SEO

Keep in mind places Pinterest utilizes keywords: username, profile/business name (the one customers are most familiar with) and About section. Choosing the correct category is important too.

New features to integrate:

Bennett explains the Pinterest LENS:

“The visual lens is a camera located on the right side of the Pinterest Search bar on your mobile device. When you take a picture using the visual lens Pinterest will then show you other ideas inspired by the picture you took. Visual searches on their (Pinterest) platform have increased 74% year-over-year.”

Imagine…with so many using their mobile phone as a camera, it is becoming a primary search tool and a better one, for showing not just products, but ideas how to use them. *HINT, HINT!

Bennett continues with a caution:
“A second thing, according to Pinterest is that the advertising is going to be less and less about keywords or interests to target. Instead, it’ll be about using visual signals behind the scenes to create more useful, relevant and results-driven advertising.”

Anna forecasts this as, “very powerful for verticals like home decor and fashion.”

Leveraging Pinterest for best engagement and brand awareness:

The first step is having quality pins that people want to save and share.

• Canva is a FREE software tool, that helps with content-creation. It available as an app on iTunes, making professional looking pins with stock images, graphics, templates and free icons with a drag-and-drop method that lets you use your own images too.(Now you won’t need to hire a graphic designer!)

Engagement depends on frequent consistent posts, and luckily there are scheduling tools to help with that. The top ones are:

• Tailwind
• ViralTag
• Hootsuite
• Buffer
• Boardbooster This one creates secret boards that no one can see or access, but your collected pins on one board can then be individually scheduled to a public board. It’s free for the first 100 scheduled pins and then either plans start at $5/month to schedule 500. You can loop pins to re-pin old ones to the same board, while automatically deleting lesser performing ones. Especially helpful is testing for broken links and duplicates, to improve pin quality.

With so many tools to automate the process, and a burgeoning market interest, Pinterest could be the next big thing for marketing your brand. Pin and profit!

Source: https://goo.gl/images/QePnoY

About the Author: Angel Burns is a photographic artist and film producer, from Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. degree in Advertising & Public Relations, and is pursuing a Master of Arts in Mass Communication at the University of Florida. In her free time, she can be found cheering for her two performing daughters, or roaming the globe.

Other recommended readings:

Pin Your Way To Success: How Pinterest Is Changing The Game For Marketers

Why You Need To Know Your Audience

The post How to Use Pinterest in 2018… for Profit! appeared first on UF CJC Online Master's.

A New Generation

We hear a lot about millennials. They’re described as selfish, entitled, cynical, self-absorbed, and mooching off their parents. But if you look at the research, it shows something very different. This is a passionate group of people who are determined to change the world and aren’t motivated by the almighty dollar. Instead, they’re driven by being part of value-driven, purposeful companies in which they can drive change.

This message is driven home by Dr. Christie Smith of Deloitte, who shared her research on millennials at the Arthur W. Page Society Spring Seminar. According to Dr. Smith, millennials are the most educated, diverse generation in most countries. They want flexibility in the workplace; to have a life and be successful.

So, what’s going on with this shift in generations?

Today baby boomers and Gen Xers comprise the 75 percent of our workforce. In four years, we’ll see a dramatic shift. Millennials will comprise 50 percent of our organizations, boomers will go down to 22 percent and Generation Xers 20 percent.

So what does this mean? It means millennials have the power to shift culture. They don’t feel the need to stay with an organization that doesn’t live by its stated values. They don’t want to be stuck with a certain skill type, but rather have multiple experiences without respect to job title.

What does the culture of organizations today need to look like?

Dr. Smith predicts we’ll see a work environment that shifts from a hierarchical structure to one that increases collaboration between generations.

The global strategic communication program prepares graduates for the modern workplace with courses including Foundations of Intercultural Communications, International Issues and Crisis Management and the Professional Capstone.

Workplace Changes are Imminent

First needs to be a dramatic shift in technology. Millennials leave companies who don’t invest in technology that generates ideas (read: data and analytics) to accelerate business outcomes.

A second culture shift is skill alignment. Too many millennials work below the level they’re capable of. They serve as PowerPoint junkies or coffee stewards when they might have a good idea but nobody asks.

Third is innovation. Millennials are attracted to a company where they believe they can make a contribution. Millennials say leadership blocks them from being innovative. These old school leaders believe since millennials don’t have experience, they can’t contribute. .

Fourth is the issue of work/life integration. Millennials want to fit work into their lives, and they believe that technology can help accomplish that goal. For this reason, the GSC program curriculum places a strong emphasis on technology and digital concepts. The outcome-based, project-based model we need in today’s companies is emphasized in the GSC Capstone.

Millennials Demand More

Millennials are a generation who demand more. This has a significant impact on the way society looks at diversity and inclusion, but also in the way society looks at the workplace. Research shows these changes increase revenue and shareholder value and provide millennials, Gen Xers and boomers a way to collaborate and interact in a way that has greater impact.

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