Google’s Ingress Now Available For iOS

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Google announced early yesterday that Ingress, the company’s innovative augmented reality game developed by “in-house startup” Niantic Labs, has been launched on Apple’s iOS, having previously only been available for Android.

Ingress engages players from all over the globe by having them utilize their smartphones in order to complete missions that require them to travel between locations collecting a kind of virtual energy, “Exotic Matter” or XM. This energy is then used for “portals,” which are typically associated with public landmarks and locations such as museums, galleries, and monuments.

How it works is simple: when players first download the app they have the choice of associating with one of two factions: the controlling “Enlightened” or the anarchic “Resistance”. One believes the energy will benefit mankind, and the other believes the energy should be destroyed. After that, it’s basically up to the player to carry out their team’s missions or objectives.

Ingress was developed by the same team behind Google Earth, Maps and Street View. The team kept the game in beta for almost a year (starting in late 2012) until the game was fully released in December of last year. The free iOS version is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and is cross-platform play compatible with the Android version.

If you haven’t read our interview with Google’s Niantic Labs yet, check it out now.

Source: Polygon

 

Mercedes-Benz Is Utilizing Instagram To Reach Younger Audience

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Mercedes-Benz has decided to turn to social media again, this time to attract new millennial buyers to the new 2015 Mercedes GLA-Class. They have created a new vehicle in the luxury compact SUV segment with the GLA-Class, which is scheduled to hit lots this fall.

Mercedes is using Instagram, Twitter and Facebook in its #GLApacked campaign to attract a new, younger buyer to the brand. A similar campaign was launched last year with the CLA-Class, which was considered a success. Mercedes is expecting to see similar results with the GLA.

The luxury car company has solicited help from artists and athletes who will be loaned a GLA for a cross-country excursion. The participants are instructed to document their travels on Instagram starting June 9. First, however, they were asked to (artfully) arrange cargo on a GLA floormat, showing what they would pack into the all-new GLA for a dream road trip.

This isn’t the first time Mercedes has used Instagram like this. Last July through September, Mercedes Benz turned to Instagram to help launch a new lower-cost car model, the CLA. The “Take the Wheel” campaign from last year was nearly identical to #GLApacked: Mercedes loaned CLAs to popular Instagram users and had them post pictures of their journeys. Tapping into these influencers’ following was instrumental, as many of them had half a million or more Instagram followers.

“Take the Wheel” achieved its goal of reaching this demographic. The earlier campaign generated 87 million Instagram impressions and 2 million likes across the pages of the influencers involved and the @mbusa page.

Most importantly for Mercedes, however, is that young people bought CLAs. According to Mercedes’ digital marketing manager Mark Aikman CLA owners are “one of the youngest age groups in the history of the brand.” A majority of CLA buyers are Gen-X or Gen-Y, and for 75 percent of them, it was their first Mercedes.

This time Mercedes has a marketing option that it didn’t have with its CLA campaign – paid Instagram ads, an effort that wasn’t part of the new campaign at first. However, Facebook, Instagram’s parent company, enjoyed the CLA promotion so much last year that it approached Mercedes about joining the select group of brands advertising on Instagram. Aikman said Mercedes was eager to take them up on the offer.

The ads are targeted at males and females of a “millennial” age, Aikman said, and will run throughout July.“We’re definitely seeing some millennials buying, just a little later in life,” Aikman said.

Aikman said Millennials differ significantly from older car buyers in how they go about buying a car. Specifically, much of their consideration occurs online instead of on the lot.

“They’re walking into dealerships ready to buy more so than to kick the tires and determine which model might be right for them,” Aikman said.

Instagram is certainly an ideal platform for reaching millennials. More than half (51 percent) of 18- to 34-year-olds are on it, higher than Facebook (36.4 percent), Pinterest (41.3 percent), Tumblr (49.7 percent) and Twitter (40.7 percent), according to comScore. In addition, 58 percent of the Interbrand Top 100 have active accounts on Instagram.

Aikman stated, “We’ve realized that visual storytelling through Instagram and Facebook is a really powerful tool for the younger consumer.”

Source: Digiday

 

Comic Convention Creators Make Socialcon

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Wizard World Inc., the event organizer known best for their production of multiple Comic Conventions held every year across the country, is launching a new event called Socialcon. The two-day function is scheduled to debut at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago from August 23-24.

The focus of the event is to connect some of the biggest names in social media with their fans through meet-and-greets, live performances, Q&A panels, autograph sessions, and various photo-ops. Socialcon has already recruited a number of top social media stars including Nash Grier, Hayes Grier, Cameron Dallas, and Carter Reynolds (The Fam Tour), Tyler Ward and Lilly Singh (Superwoman), Josh Peck, Reggie Couz, Princess Lauren, Toby Randall, The Hillywoods, KingBach, Kingsley, DeStorm Power, Anthony Quintal (LohAnthony), DJandDrummer and more.

“We are excited to bring stars with a combined tens of millions of followers to one place so that thousands of fans with whom they have interacted can meet them up close and personal,” Wizard World CEO John Macaluso stated in a piece on wizardworlddigital.com. “Several have appeared at our Wizard World Comic Cons and have been huge hits, so creating Socialcon, a series of events highlighting the social media stars, is a natural addition.”

Though Socialcon Chicago will be taking place at the same time as Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con, it will be its own distinct event, with separate admission, programming, and show floor.

Source: Video Ink

 

Vines Come To Tumblr

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It looks like Tumblr and Vine are now best friends as the 6 second autoplaying video is now embeddable into Tumblr blogs. It’s as easy as using the URL of the Vine or the embed code. This streamlines what used to be a slightly more complex process where you could embed a tweet that contained the Vine you wanted to appear, or having to make a GIF out of the Vine — no more!

 

YouTube Bests TV In Survey

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A new report from Adroit Digital titled Online Video: Look Who’s Watching Now, surveyed 2,000 Americans over age 18 and saw some surprising video viewing habits. Of those surveyed, 68 percent said they are viewing content from YouTube while 51 percent said they watch traditional TV, showing a quickly widening gap between pay TV viewership and digital. Netflix is also ascending to meet traditional TV viewership levels– 49 percent of respondents get their fix through the online subscription service.

If these were statistics of millennial viewership habits, this wouldn’t be much of a surprise. However, the high numbers point to the conclusion that online video isn’t just appealing to the young anymore.

The survey also looked into ad consumption preferences to find that 68 percent of respondents said they would be more influenced by a short video as opposed to an ad that is text-based. In the 18-24 age range, that number went up to 72 percent.

This is all just more evidence that the digital video industry is booming. In Q1, Netflix reported a 23.2 percent increase from the same period last year with over 34 million subscribers and Hulu had risen 50 percent to 6 million subscribers.

 

WeChat Becomes An Ad Platform

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WeChat is usually known for being a great messaging tool, whether casually talking with friends or chatting it up within certain video games. However, now it’s about to become a whole new kind of beast, one that revolves around becoming an advertising platform.

Tencent, the publisher and operator behind the social channel, said it has launched a new service across China, where companies with verified WeChat accounts can pay fees to place ads on other companies’ pages that have more than 100,000 followers. As a result, the fees will be shared between Tencent and the companies that host the ads, proving beneficial for both parties. It’s worth noting that Tencent is the world’s largest game company, so it would be logical to expect that games are going to be an important subject for this new ad platform.

How would a chat channel be able to use advertising Well, it utilizes Facebook-like profile pages, which provide opportunity for photo-sharing and other features. Companies are able to set up said pages for free in order to build followers. As a result, advertisers can take part in placing ads on said pages, and Tencent can profit even further with its WeChat service.

The ads will not be distributed as obtrusive instant messages, but rather appear at the bottom of corporate pages that are browsed, targeting viewers based in specific markets, such as gender, age, location and personal interests. From there, Tencent’s back-end system would be able to match up the right advertisers for the right customers, depending on which ones are best suited for content.

Marketing opportunities through messaging apps aren’t really a big practice right now, due to their limitation. “Most people do not want brands to interfere on such intimate turf,” said Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson. “They prioritize interactions with family and friends and do not see the benefit of connecting with brands.”

It’ll be interesting to see how this practice plays out in the months ahead.

Source: Wall Street Journal

 

Keeping Up With Social Media: How the YouTubers Do It

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By Jessica Klein

As a YouTube creator, staying on top of social media is key. Outside of events like VidCon, it’s the way in which creators stay in contact with their fans. However, if you have upwards of 18 million subscribers, like Smosh, or even just a few thousand, that’s a lot of social media to stay on top of. So how do some of the biggest YouTube personalities do it

VideoInk got the chance to catch up with many of these creators at VidCon and gleaned some tips on how to handle a world of social media that most describe as “overwhelming.” Here’s what they said:

Acknowledge your limitations.

“You can’t be on Facebook and YouTube and Twitter and Instagram all at the same time,” said Ian Hecox of the famed comedy duo Smosh. Facing this reality is an important first step to adequately handling your social media presence as a YouTuber.

Get help.

Dane Boedigheimer, creator of “The Annoying Orange,” admitted to doing just that when it comes to interacting with his fans. “I surround myself with very great people that help me manage all of that,” he said. Though he “loves being a part of that and going through and reading comments,” he enlists aid, as well, because “we have pages for every single ‘Annoying Orange’ character and my stuff as well.” Between the Marshmallow, Pear, Grandpa Lemon, etc., that’s a lot of social media for just one guy.

Stay engaged.

Being one of those people who’s naturally very attuned to her internet presence will work in your favor. Jenn McCallister (better known as JennXPenn) described herself as such a person. “I’m addicted to my phone and social media, so I always try and keep everyone updated and tweeting and posting on Instagram,” she said.

Tweet back.

Anthony Quintal (known on YouTube as Lohanthony) always reciprocates on social media. “I’m always tweeting back, always following people back,” he described of his committed social media presence.

Respond to new videos’ comments immediately.

A common YouTube tactic for responding to comments means sitting tight for the first hour so after posting a new video. “When I put a video up I’m usually responding to comments for like the first hour or two,” creator Kingsley explained. Getting a look at viewers’ first reactions to a fresh video will give you immediate perspective on what you did right, wrong, better, or worse.

Open up.

Tyler Ward is by no means the first YouTube creator to note that the social media intimacy with fans can get a bit overwhelming, but he did confess to “letting them in so much more than I let some of my friends in.” Sharing yourself with your fans means so much that they’ll appreciate your openness even when you’re too busy to respond to everything they have to tweet at you.

Love your fans.

Genuinely caring for your fans will make your drive to thrive on social media somewhat effortless. As Colleen Ballinger of Miranda Sings noted, “The one thing that really keeps me in check is the fans, because if I’m not tweeting constantly they think I’m dead. Knowing that I want to keep them happy…that’s my one, big motivator to make sure I’m constantly on social media.”

Solicit fan feedback.

Social media is also a great way for you to gauge what your fans think of your work. For Sandi, the face of CutePolish, social media means getting a look at the nail creations she’s inspired in her audiences. “I’m always encouraging them to show me their recreations of nail art, always interacting with them online,” she explained.

Don’t be invisible.

Of course, neglecting to respond to your fans makes you less relatable and, frankly, less of a “real person” on the platform. As Kingsley put it, he tries his best to respond to comments so his fans “feel like they’re not writing to some invisible entity.”

Remember, one social media venue feeds another.

Since it’s all about networking and intertwining connections, it’s true that anything you do on one social media outlet can carry over to another. Said Smosh’s Hecox of social media platforms, “They all just sort of feed off each other. The Twitter helps the Facebook, the Facebook helps the YouTube…” Etc., etc…

Read (even if you can’t respond).

The ultimate conclusion here is that social media is tough to keep up with for YouTubers with significant fan bases. Thus, it’s simply unrealistic to respond to every comment and/or tweet. “Just do what you can,” encouraged Michelle Glavan, a comedic creator with almost 200,000 subscribers. “It’s very difficult to respond to everybody, but I try to at least read it all.” By doing this, you can stay in tune with what your fans think, love, and want without setting unrealistic goals for yourself when it comes to communications.

 

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.comfor the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox. 

Wendy’s Music Video All About The Pretzel Bun

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Wendy’s customers have shown such utter excitement and attachment to the restaurant’s legendary ‘Pretzel Burger’ that they have turned to Twitter and Wendy’s has taken advantage of the hubbub.

Wendy’s uses actual customer’s tweets as lyrics to an original pop song parody. Who would have known that a pretzel bun was such a big deal The music video proves that simply broadcasting their over-the-top customer reactions to the pretzel burger is a hilarious and promising move for their latest campaign.

Brands Fare Better On Instagram

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Instagram is fast catching up to Twitter in number of users in the U.S., and the social network appears to be doing much better for engagement than both Facebook and Twitter when it comes to brand posts.

A comparison of the same posts on Facebook and Instagram from Red Bull shows that the Instagram video vastly outperformed the other. The study surmises that the uncluttered feel of Instagram’s feed is what is propelling engagement on this channel.

SimplyMeasured found that only 71 percent of the Interbrand 100 are currently using Instagram and advise brands who are not yet on the platform to get there now. It is possible that brands may “ransack” the network and thus create a drop in engagement. When it comes to emerging platforms, it appears the earlier, the better.
Source: SimplyMeasured

Twitter Not Increasing TV Ratings?

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Some people believe that social media can play a huge part in attracting viewers for hit shows – but NBC isn’t so convinced.

Twitter believed that its social media set-up would be able to “deliver eyeballs to your shows,” but NBC Universal research chief Alan Wurtzel believes otherwise.

While Twitter and Facebook played a good part for the recently aired Winter Olympics as far as social-related chatter is concerned, it didn’t translate as well to viewership as the broadcaster was hoping.

Said Wurtzel, “Why wouldn’t I want to say to you, ‘We have a potent new way in which we can drive ratings ‘” He followed that “it just isn’t true. I am saying the emperor wears no clothes. It is what it is. These are the numbers.”

This is an interesting change in tempo, as NBC Universal was previously supportive of the partnership with Twitter, through a strategic partnership that would have tied the two together.

“We want to make the conversation on Twitter lead to consumption,” said Sam Schwartz at the time of the agreement.

However, there is still some solid support for some of NBC’s other programming, even if Wurtzel didn’t go into detail about it.

Source: Recode.net