Today is my last day at brass Media. It’s been a wonderful few years here, and I’ve learned so much. The best marketing skills I’ve learned are in content marketing and marketing automation, which have sparked my passion to learn even more. Content marketing felt like a natural fit after so many years of blogging, and learning about leveraging content for marketing is fascinating.
Update 11/24/15: After their failed attempt to require a subscription for analytics earlier this year, Iconosquare learned a lot. And they’re trying again: starting December 1, 2015, analytics will no longer be offered to free users. They look to be serious about it this time, so here’s a list of places you can still find Instagram stats for free.
AgoraPulse CEO Emeric Ernault wrote a blog post with five handy alternatives. The problem is that these alternatives also seem better suited to marketers or marketing teams, not casual power users like me. So I did a little work and found three viable Iconosquare alternatives for power users (with no marketing budgets).
Photo by Devin Simpson.
Last week, I had the pleasure of talking to about 300 sophomores at West Albany High School about how their use of social media would change after they left high school.
We use social media to communicate and stay in touch with friends and family, and to express ourselves online. But many high schoolers aren’t aware that after they leave high school, social media will take on a new facet. Universities and employers will begin using social media to investigate prospective students and hires to ensure they’ll represent the school or company well.
Happy 1394! Nowruz (نوروز), also known as Persian New Year, is the beginning of the Iranian calendar year. It’s also a religious holiday for the Baha’i and Zoroastrian faiths, both of which originated in Iran. Nowruz is the same day as the Spring Equinox and marks the beginning of 1394.
This year, I’m documenting my haft seen table to give you all a little history behind the celebration, which is a huge deal to Iranians, Kurds, Afghans, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and those in the Zoroastrian and Baha’i faiths. (more…)
UPDATE 8/17/15: Instagram’s newest update has removed this capability entirely, only allowing recognized locations (from Facebook). That means this post is essentially useless.
But helpful reader Zack mentions that you may still be able to add custom locations, but you’ll need to enter them in Facebook first. He pointed me to these links from Instagram: How do I create a new location? and Why can’t I add a custom location I’ve used in the past in a new post? Some good stuff that adds a little context. Thanks, Zack!
I’m sure you’ve seen grayed out location links before. A lot of fashion bloggers and brands use these to promote their websites or to instruct readers on how to enter contests and such. They’re pretty handy.
I’m going to show you how to do one so that you can promote your website, give instructions, or just let everyone know your frame of mind.
I’ve been flexing my content marketing muscle for a few years now at brass Media, and it’s one of my favorite parts of the job. Content marketing has so much strategy, planning, and creation that there’s always something different to do.
And because I’m enjoying the content marketing part of my job, I’m so excited to be interviewed about it! I spoke with B2B News Network about the recent survey by Provoke Insights that shows 34% of companies are having a hard time finding suitable content marketers:
What I love most about the holidays are the infused warmth emanating from friends, coworkers, and family: beautiful Hanukkah displays at the store, cozily decorated houses, and lots of extra goodies in the office break room.
One of my favorite holiday surprises is getting greeting cards! It’s such a beautiful way to let people know you’re thinking of them, and who doesn’t like getting mail (that isn’t a bill)? This has really inspired me to think about how I can get in on the action.
After the hubbub and subsequent disappointment about new platform Ello, I was definitely skeptical about whether This.cm would woo me. But it has: it’s full of great reads from people whose opinions I respect about issues I like reading about.
This. bills itself as “a place to find and share the web’s best stories, ideas and arguments. Each user can share just 1 link a day.” It was launched by Atlantic Media, helmed by Andrew Golis.
Blabbing about Instagram is definitely my favorite thing to do.
Yesterday, I repped brass Media while giving a presentation about using social media for business to North Salem High School’s Future Business Leaders of America student group. It was a lot of fun, and so exciting to see the next generation of those interested in business!
Photo by Devin Simpson for brass Media.
Instagram update 6.2.0 has brought us a cleaner look and an exciting capability: the power to change captions on your photos!
To change a caption on an old Instagram photo, go to that photo in your personal feed. Tap on the button with the ellipsis (the one with three periods), and select “Edit.”
Fatemeh Fakhraie 