The Instagram app by itself is supremely powerful. But did you know all the best apps to take your Instagram marketing to even greater heights? The trend of single-job, standalone apps has brought a huge amount of power into the hands of social media marketers, and we can’t wait to share our favorite picks with you today. Join us as we discuss how this trend has changed the game for social media, plus get your wishlist started with a number of the top apps for iOS and Android to help make ...
Jul 15, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 155
How are brands and businesses succeeding on Pinterest today? And how can you follow their playbooks to make waves yourself? We go deep on all things Pinterest marketing in this episode. Join us as we explain the latest strategies, best content tips, and newest distribution tactics to help you get results on Pinterest and drive more engagement and clicks. There are lots of people getting amazing results on Pinterest. We want you to be among them! - Dave & Heather-Mae Read th...
Jul 08, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 154
It can be hard to stay on top of the latest news for everything that’s coming to social media. We'd love to help you. This episode of The Science of Social Media takes a dive into Instagram marketing with a look at eight little-known features that you can try today. We want to ensure you get maximum exposure for your brand on Insta. These tips may be just the thing to help you stand out. Here's hoping! - Dave & Heather-Mae Read the Show Notes: https://buffer.com/resources/linkedin-profile-au...
Jul 01, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 153
Welcome to a special edition of the Buffer podcast. In this episode, the team from tentree will share exactly how they created and launched an Instagram campaign that generated more than 15.5 million likes on a single post, making it the fourth most-liked post in Instagram history. How did tentree write itself into the Instagram record books? What did the strategy behind the post look like? And aside from a bunch of likes, how did this post impact the company? In this episode, ...
Jun 26, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 153
When you think of chatbot marketing, what comes to mind? Opinions run the gamut from fear — “What’ll it be like to entrust my customer service to a computer?” — to humor — “Here comes the robot apocalypse!” But reality is that there are marketing teams and support teams and sales teams making serious progress with their chatbot strategies. We want to help you be one of those brands with a rockin' chatbot strategy. In this post, we'll go deep into the world of messenger bots to give you...
Jun 24, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 152
We wish for you to have the very best, most fulfilling career possible, doing work that you love. And one of the best routes to that dream job is having a dreamy LinkedIn profile ! We'll show you how. Today we’re giving you a checklist for a LinkedIn makeover . We’ll provide many different ways to optimize your LinkedIn profile and boost your presence - and the presence of your brand - so that you can shine. Whether you’re looking for your next great job, seeking to grow your thought leadership,...
Jun 17, 2019•16 min•Season 1Ep. 151
What role do social media stats and facts play in your day-to-day? As social media marketers , we do our best to be data-informed with the decisions we make for our social media strategy at Buffer. Social media stats make a difference. Plus, you never know when you'll need a good trivia tidbit to impress at a party. :P In this episode, we hope you'll find it all: both the necessary stats and facts to inform your social media decisions plus some social media numbers that will surprise and enterta...
Jun 10, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 150
If you’re serious about building a remarkable brand on social media , we believe that a core component of your strategy needs to be engagement . Engagement with fans. Engagement with your audience. And engagement with your customers. One of the primary components to engagement is customer support , working with your team to answer questions and serve customers on social. In today's episode, we’ll give you a toolbox filled to the brim with ideas, tips, and tools that you can put into practice tod...
Jun 03, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 149
What if you had a magic wand and could make any change you wanted on social media? Quite a question, right? Well, we dove into the many different what if scenarios -- both real and imagined -- that may shape social media in the months and years to come. We pulled up all the latest news and changes so that you’ll know what to expect next on social. And we also polled the Science of Social Media listeners to see what they’d change on social media if they had a magic wand. In today's ep...
May 28, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 148
A decade ago, the role of a social media manager might not have even existed. Today, however, almost every company is involved in social media one way or another. But what does it take to be a great social media manager? What are the skills to master in order to be effective in 2019? In this episode, we'll cover the primary skills that we employ for social media here at Buffer, plus a few skills we’ve noticed in social media managers around the web. A social media manager has a toolbox fil...
May 20, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 147
There are so many social networks to choose from today : Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest. Maybe YouTube? Maybe Reddit? We'd love to let you in on a secret one that's flying under the radar. Spotify! We’ve spent time digging into the rise of Spotify as a social media platform , used by today’s hottest brands. The results have been fascinating. We believe that Spotify is fast becoming a core platform for engaging with customers — through paid ads of course, but also through an or...
May 13, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 146
One of the most popular topics in social media marketing is how to get more followers. And not just any followers --- real followers, no bots. Brands want to grow their followers authentically by adding real people who love the brand and are looking to engage. This is no small task on social media in 2019! We've dug into the research on all the latest follower trends and how new brands are growing from zero to 10,000 followers and how established brands are going from 10,000, beyo...
May 06, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 145
Live video remains a core feature of the top social networks, so ... why isn’t anyone talking about it anymore? How should you be thinking about live video and your social media strategy in 2019? Today we’re examining the state of live video on social media. While the live video buzz may have cooled, there are still significant opportunities to use live video to your advantage. We hope to give you some fresh perspectives and ideas on what live video could look like for you and your brand.&...
Apr 29, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 144
A very special SSM Select episode from our archives! Instagram is one of the most important (if not the most important) for brands and businesses looking to succeed on social media in 2019. However, succeeding on Instagram is a whole different story. This week, we're discussing 6 proven Instagram marketing tactics that your bran can use today to grow followers and engagement in meaningful ways. Enjoy! From Brian & Hailley: It has been an honor to share our Mondays with you every ...
Apr 22, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary science that is concerned with the study of the structure and function of the nervous system. When applied to our professional lives, neuroscience can help us to unlock our greatest potential. Increasing your meaningful productivity can have a huge impact on your day-to-day work and can greatly influence your professional success over a long period of time. This week on the Science of Social Media we're examining the fascinating field of neuroscience and how i...
Apr 15, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 142
This week we’re taking a journey through time and uncovering some of the greatest, yet most unexpected marketing lessons from some of history’s most influential thinkers, philosophers, and leaders. You may not realize it now, but there is so much we can learn from leaders like Socrates and Oprah and Cleopatra. Much of what they would consider their mantra has a ton of implications on marketing today. In episode 141 of the Science of Social Media, Brian and Hailley break down concepts like the So...
Apr 08, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 141
A group of highly engaged fans can have a huge impact on your marketing efforts. Those fans are your brand champions and they're everywhere! One of the most powerful sources of authentic influence and brand advocacy is your very own customer and fan base. Yet many brands simply aren’t utilizing this untapped resource. We hope to change that today by providing you with a specific brand advocacy strategy. As marketers and brands are starting to feel the effects of evolving social media...
Apr 01, 2019•13 min•Season 1Ep. 140
A special episode from the SSM archives! This was one of the most popular episode from 2018 - voted on by our listeners! As a marketer, effective storytelling involves a deep understanding of human emotions, motivations, and psychology. Luckily for us, Pixar openly shares their knowledge for everyone to learn from! In this very special Science of Social Media Select Episode, Hailley and Brian break down 6 must-have rules for great storytelling and why stories are your brand's most important mark...
Mar 25, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 139
What you’re trying to do, when you tell a story, is to write about an event in your life that made you feel some particular way. And what you’re trying to do, when you tell a story, is to get the audience to have that same feeling. While we don't typically associate the art of copywriting with social media captions, the two are deeply intertwined. A really good caption informs us about the things we cannot immediately see and encourages us to look at an image or video more closely. From specific...
Mar 18, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 138
An incredible 500 million people actively use Instagram and Instagram Stories every day. But it's not just the sheer number of users that's impressive, Instagram is helping businesses grow in a big way. 80% of Instagram users follow a business, 72% of users have been influenced by Instagram to purchase a product, and 65% of the best performing posts contain products. With Instagram and Instagram Stories on a meteoric rise, we wanted to share 9 techniques that you can use to improve y...
Mar 11, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 137
Retargeting, also known as remarketing, is a powerful form of digital advertising in which audiences (potential customers) are targeted with specific ads based on their behavior online. In other words, retargeting campaigns turn internet "window shoppers" into real paying customers for your business. While we as marketers would love to live in a world in which a majority of online visitors became customers, the truth is the buying process is extremely complicated. In fact, roughly 98% of your we...
Mar 04, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 136
Does vertical video really make a difference in your social media results? This week we have some brand new research lined up for you. Over the last three months we teamed up with Animoto and spent more than $6,000 on dozens of experiments to find out how vertical video compares to square and landscape video in terms of engagement, views, clicks, and more. We were shocked by the results! We'll be sharing everything we learned from the study and how you can apply those learnings to your own socia...
Feb 25, 2019•16 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Ever wonder how some of the world's top brands approach Instagram marketing? You're in luck! This week we have a ton of great resources all tied up into one jam-packed episode. We spent the last few months interviewing marketers from leading brands like Nike, Square, Bustle, Blenders Eyewear (and more) to dig into their specific Instagram strategies. In episode 134, we cover everything from the customer experience to content to advertising to Instagram Stories and everything in-betwe...
Feb 19, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 134
Marketers are faced with an ever-growing list of responsibilities. From social media marketing to customer experience and advertising, it's a challenge to stay on top of everything. Luckily for us, there are a plethora of great social media tools on the market to help you succeed in your role and stay productive. This week we’re exploring the top 10 social media tools brands are using to succeed in 2019. Utilizing these tools in your daily workflows will help improve results across the board. Ab...
Feb 11, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 133
Instagram now has more than 1 billion monthly active users worldwide and 500 million+ people use Instagram Stories on a daily basis. But, did you know that Instagram now makes up 36% of Facebook’s ad revenue? A number that is expected to grow to $9 billion globally by 2020! Instagram advertising is a big deal for Facebook and an even greater opportunity for businesses. We’re exploring Shopping on Instagram and how some of today's most successful brands are using the features to sell their produc...
Feb 04, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 132
Buffer's annual State of Social report is here! This year we surveyed more than 1,800 marketers from businesses of all sizes (across a range of industries) to get their take on what the future of social media marketing looks like in 2019. The report is fully focused on providing you with the insights you need to fuel your strategy for the year ahead. We'll be covering the most important trends, channels, strategies and tactics that brands are using to thrive on social media! Read the Full ...
Jan 28, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 131
Great campaigns happen at the intersection of marketing and psychology - the sweet spot where your content and messaging connects with your audience on a deep, human level. Understanding the growing field of marketing psychology and the concepts behind cognitive biases can help persuade and influence audiences in powerful ways online. This week we’re exploring six powerful psychological biases and how they influence human behavior online. Read the Full Post: blog.bufferapp.com/marketing-psycholo...
Jan 21, 2019•13 min•Season 1Ep. 130
Looking to take your professional skills to the next level? Thinking about YouTube advertising as a new channel for your brand? Wondering about the best-practices for generating tons of Facebook engagement? In episode #129, Brian and Hailley discuss the most in-demand skills of 2019 (according to LinkedIn), why we’re bullish on YouTube advertising, a brand new guide on Facebook engagement, using Instagram's latest Close Friends feature for your brand, and much more!
Jan 14, 2019•13 min
Facebook marketing in 2019 isn’t dead. On the contrary, it’s far from it! Although we continue to see a rise in the usage and effectiveness of Stories content, traditional Facebook posts in the News Feed offer a powerful outlet for brands looking to generate engagement and traffic. Which is why we teamed up with BuzzSumo to analyze more than 777 million Facebook posts from 2018. Here's everything we learned about successful content in 2019 and how your brand can thrive on Facebook.
Jan 07, 2019•14 min
2019 is officially here! Gone are the days where generating audience engagement on social media was primarily a passive process. The always-online audiences of today want to be involved, interact, and co-create. The brands that are successful in delivering personalized experiences to their audiences are the brands that are going to thrive with social media in the coming year. Today we’re covering 5 data-backed social media trends you need to know to make 2019 your best year yet.
Jan 02, 2019•14 min
