Colure Media: A Mobile App Marketing Agency in New York

The cost of an instant society

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is changing society’s expectations of reward and activity. This modification is leading to the creation of an “instant society” – an environment where both reward and access to any information is instantaneous and free.

This new paradigm runs in the face of the human experience, established throughout our history.

AI is experienced through virtual reality video games and wearable technology; it interacts gathering information in real time with Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa. But how do companies and brands deliver content to an instant society? And more importantly…is this “new,” mentality collectively beneficial to that society?

With being able to gather information in an instant, marketers now have to race the clock to get information out to its intended audience. With most consumers having an attention span of about eight seconds, marketers must create content that is straight to the point and memorable. Technology, however, is on their side as well due to consumers keeping up with new technological trends, always reachable 24/7.

This content can be shown on any platform and even compatible with the wearable technology. Content is being created with the consumer in mind and the fact that we prefer to instant access to information and content.

App development, on the other hand, is becoming a second hand to artificial intelligence. Through Amazon’s Alexa, you are now able to pair multiple devices and control things such as lighting and temperature in your own home.

An “instant society” is not necessarily a bad change. According to Brad Smith of politico.eu, “By 2038, a personal digital assistant will be trained to anticipate our needs, help manage our schedule, prepare us for meetings, assist as we plan our social lives, reply to and route communications, and drive our cars. Beyond our personal lives, AI will enable humans to make breakthrough advances in areas like healthcare, agriculture, education, and transportation. We’re already seeing this begin in impressive ways”.

Artificial intelligence is making changes to the medical and health field, as well as technology. Although an instant society seems detrimental to the workforce by taking away jobs, it also creates jobs and opportunities in a different way. App development and the output of content for marketers are being developed in ways that apply to the change of an instant society, as well as the consumer’s needs.

Wearable technology might be a good fit for your company

By admin @ColureMedia
February 7, 2018
Advertising,Product Development,Technology

Wearable technology isn’t a new concept but is becoming a larger trend in everyday life. In fact, wearable technology is becoming the new gateway for big data by collecting user information in a more natural way.

Products such as FitBits, Apple Watches, and even wearable rings are becoming fashion trends, yet most users don’t realize how much data is being collected. Wearable technology not only presents us with potential risks but also potential rewards as well.

In industries such as health and wellness, entertainment, and outdoor sports, wearable technology becomes a helping hand. It can be your GPS, track your heart rate, monitor your sleep and even keep track of your activity.

Rewards include sending personalized data to the user that can analyze their health and fitness and can even fill in the gaps in patient records. Yet, wearable technology can also present the risk of too much data becoming accessible to companies and the device manufacturers.

As the devices are used more and more, big data will be able to gather more specific information regarding a person derived from wearable data such as the time, duration, and proximity of an activity to other tracked individuals. Combined with demographic information, it can provide crucial and detailed context to each individual interaction.

Data gathered impacts how businesses market their products and how companies recruit talent and motivate their employees.

Wearable technology gathers a new class of sensitive data about people: not only who they are, what they do, and who they know, but also how healthy they are, what movements they make, and how well they feel. With growth and changes occurring in the technology of the devices, security and privacy must grow as well.

While companies innovate independently, there is not a lot of information addressing your data security. Users must be aware of the potential dangers when engaged in wearable technology just as they would with normal devices such as tablets, computers and mobile devices.

Top 4 Tech Shows in NYC for 2018

New York City is a massive hub for the technology and marketing industries. The Big Apple is the natural gathering spot for some of the biggest tech industry shows and conferences. 2018 is bound to be another exciting year for the digital advertising industry. Here are the shows you don’t want to miss this year:

Top 4 Tech Shows in NYC for 2018:

Industry Preview — January 17-18. Two days focused on what to expect in the next 12 months in marketing technology. Industry Preview prepares digital marketing professionals for marketing technology in 2018. Located at the Grand Hyatt at 109 E. 42^nd St.
Digital Strategy Innovation Summit —February 27-28. This conference focuses on digital marketing strategies features senior executives from companies ahead of the curve in technology and marketing. Attendees will learn about optimizing digital platforms for businesses and using digital strategies to build trust with consumers. You’ll find yourself surrounded by the sights and sounds of the city at the New York Marriot Marquis.
Social Media Week — April 24-27. You won’t want to miss this week chock full of education and networking. Social Media Week celebrates its 10^th annual conference and will cover everything from content marketing to data and analytics. Get up to date on the latest social media trends and learn to use them to benefit your business. To mark the occasion, organizers Crowdcentric Media, are launching a new global edition of the conference at The Sheraton Hotel.
New York Business Expo & Conference — Coming November 2018. This annual business conference is the only one-day event of its kind geared toward small businesses. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with other small business owners and gain in-depth training and knowledge. Education and teaching will focus on sales, marketing, financing, social media strategies, and businesses startup and growth.

Whether you’re looking for an overview of the top digital marketing trends or an in-depth education on SEO, New York City is the place to find it. These top conferences offer an excellent way to learn from the best in the industry and connect with our professionals in marketing and technology.

An online presence is critical to your business

In the digital age, consumers are more likely to do business with a company if the organization has an online presence. Surprisingly, some companies still try to exist without an online presence.

A company’s web presence is their collective “digital footprint.” This bulk of media provides an insight into a company’s offerings. That information is often spread between a homepage and a focused use of social media. How and what you place online will help to define both your company and your audience.

Your market presence can make it easier to build relationships when customers see you are a valid player in the marketplace. It’s easier to showcase your product or service to your audience.

“Having interaction with your online connections is extraordinarily important and it adds a deeper layer to the relationship that you will be established through your online presence. The more you interact with people, the more they will start to trust you and to find you to be credible and knowledgeable.” – Compukol

Here are three simple steps to increase your online presence:

Make sure that you have a modern looking website that makes a great first impression. It needs to have appealing graphics, be easy to navigate, and should instantly make visitors feel welcome from the first moment they land on your homepage.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an essential component of any online marketing strategy.
It’s important that you have a strong social media profile because this is what your prospective clients are going to be checking out first.

There are many advantages to having a web presence:

You’ll reach a greater audience and increase your customer base.
This provides a manageable and affordable way to market your brand.
You can connect with your consumers by posting useful and engaging content on social media.
Improve your customer service by developing an interactive relationship.

An online presence is seen as critical in today’s marketplace. It provides direct interaction with your clients.

Colure Media is a New York based advertising and marketing agency. We can help your corporation gain exposure and increase revenue. If you are interested in exploring various marketing possibilities for your corporation, Contact us now.

How to create an advertising budget

Advertising budgets consist of the money that a company is willing to set aside to execute their marketing goals. A company must weigh the trade-off between spending additional advertising dollars with the amount of revenue that the dollars will bring in.

The price to advertise your company can become expensive. There are four methods used for setting an advertising budget:

Fixed Percentage of Sales– Start with last year’s total gross sales or average sales for the past few years, then set a specific percentage of that figure for advertising. Most businesses set aside between 2% and 5% of annual revenues for advertising.

Comparable to the Competition– Adopt the industry average for ad budgets for your company. Many trade associations and industry publications can provide the average amount or percentage companies spend on advertising.

Objectives and Task-Based– Begin by setting specific marketing objectives and deciding on the tasks required to meet those objectives. (Example: Increase out-of-state clients by 5% using online promotions.) Then determine your budget by estimating the costs of carrying out those tasks. If you can’t afford to fund all your ideas, rank them and focus on the top few.

The Maximum Amount– A lot of fast-growing businesses put their faith in this strategy, which advocates setting aside just enough money to sustain the business, then spending the rest on advertising.

Yet, the biggest decision to make in regards to your advertising plan is to decide on going in-house (working within your own company) or going external and working with an advertising agency.

Advertising internally simply means creating the material within your own company, rather than paying commission to an outside agency. An external agency is independent of the client and can provide an outside point of view. There are advantages and disadvantages of both advertising options that range from banking and experience prospect to time and economic prospects.

Consistent and different elements affect small businesses and huge companies in the same way. Both will ultimately weigh the pros and cons, and decide collectively on how they want to deal with their advertising. Both types of companies need to have ideas of what they want, what they can afford and what will have a better outcome for their businesses.

The essential elements of an advertising budget are simple. You need to have, and develop, a budget, know your audience and how to best market to them, and look at the overall message. By having an effective and creative message that reaches your desired audience, you are more likely to expand your customers and reach out to more people.

Cybersecurity is your responsiblity

By admin @ColureMedia
October 25, 2017
Cyber-security,Internet Usage,Technology

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security. This annual campaign raises awareness on the importance of cybersecurity.

In today’s online age, the number of threats to businesses and their customers increases every day. Almost daily, more information about cyber attacks makes its way into headlines. These attacks range from sensitive information such as credit cards stolen from companies to claims of movies being stolen from production companies such as Disney.

Small businesses are key targets

Yet, big business is not the only target. About 43 percent of cyber attacks target small business, and 60 percent of these small companies go out of business within six months of a cyber attack. So why is cybersecurity important?

“The increasing prevalence of cybersecurity attacks on both individuals and businesses emphasizes the need for IT security professionals who specialize in cybersecurity.” Attacks are categorized into three general categories:

Cyber security attacks that target hardware and software, such as malware
Financial crimes, such as online fraud and phishing schemes
Abuse, also known as “sexploitation”

“The threat of data leakage via unmanaged devices is serious,’ says Eduard Meelhuysen, head of EMEA at Bitglass. ‘But having a culture of restricting staff access can actually make an organization more vulnerable, not less.” Companies are attacked due to employees misusing company systems far more regularly that one would expect.

Creating a safe environment

Creating a security culture within a company is all about training and awareness. Hackers constantly find new ways to access information, which is why constant awareness of threats is so important. Individuals face the same effect of cyber attacks and may receive less training on how to protect themselves from cyber attacks.

Cyber security procedures should be treated just as important as health and safety procedures have been.

For companies, training can consist of the following:

Have a universal security policy
Start with basics- learn the difference between each type of attack and how to avoid these situations
Make training relevant – training needs to be specific to your organization

For individuals, the following measures will help keep personal data safe:

Don’t give out personal information over the phone or via email unless you’re positively sure of whom you’re giving it to
Keep your operating system, browser, and anti-virus software updated
Create complex passwords that would be hard to guess
Never click on links sent via email even if you’re sure they’re legitimate-the safest practice is to go to the company’s website

It’s important to be aware of the risks and threats you might face in cyberspace, but that you also take steps to protect yourself and your data.

Business transparency

Business transparency is the practice of making all company information available to the public. This can include anything from data to revenue to future plans, but the bottom line is that it’s available to everyone — customers, business partners, and employees. While transparency isn’t a new concept in marketing, its popularity continues to increase. In 2014, 68% of consumers said that business transparency was important to them. Just two years later, that number had jumped by 26%. Business transparency is becoming more of a priority for consumers, meaning businesses are starting to take a long look at shifting over to a transparent business model.

If you choose to offer more transparency to your customers, it might start off with the feeling that you’re airing your undergarments to the public. However, transparency has the potential to work miracles. In fact, a whopping 94% of consumers say that company transparency affects their likelihood of buying a product. Truth is, consumers are tired of being treated as “targets.” Business transparency shows your customers that you value them as humans and not as dollar signs.

One of the most well-known successes of a company utilizing transparency is McDonald’s Canada’s ongoing campaign, “Our Food. Your Questions.” The campaign aimed to debunk rumors regarding the quality and production of their food. The company has answered over 42,000 questions and increased customer trust by 46% since its launch.

Buffer went even further. Company transparency is such a core part of their values that they’ve even received some backlash. The company makes all of their information, from salaries to code to emails, open to the public. The result? An increase in revenue by one million in less than a year.

Other than the initial shock of baring it all for your customers, transparency marketing is one of the easiest ways to turn first-time customers into long-time returners, especially for small businesses. It builds the reputation of your company at no extra cost or manpower. Making company practices accessible and visible to customers develops brand loyalty and distinguishes you from the masses. Consumers today are slow to trust, so making information available to them from the get-go establishes rapport and assures them of your authenticity.

Integrity in marketing

Marketing integrity is not just a virtue; it is a driver of choice. The main role of a marketing agency is to find ways to increase brand loyalty and customer sales for any given company, but a false advertisement could lead to a loss for the company.

In today’s society where fake news is everywhere, customers will stick with companies based on integrity and loyalty. Unless it is a last resort, no client will stick with a company that has lied to him or her. Yet, numerous companies have been known to be misleading in their marketing efforts.

In 2006, more than 75% of Opinion Research respondents said they preferred to buy from a company that operates ethically, even if they have to pay more. Yet how can an agency use expert writers to promote itself or provide clients with integrity? By taking a step back and analyzing their practice with these simple steps, a company can raise their loyalty and sales:

Prepare ahead by informing yourself, your staff, and your clients of the importance of integrity in marketing.
Look for evidence that integrity is important to a writer before you hire them, and emphasize that it’s important to you as well.
Give the writer only facts you can prove.
When reviewing a writer’s work, make sure that everything they say is true. A good writer will know how to phrase truth creatively, so the message is interesting as well.
When you find a good writer, commend them and keep going back to them with future assignments.

In his book, John Blumberg acknowledges that a great leader will take risks in not knowing and will be grounded with a core set of values, “we don’t go running away from our values, we go drifting away. And one day we wake-up in a place we never meant to be drifting in a direction we would never have chosen.”

The greatest loss of a company is the missed marketing of an unleashed set of core values. Customers base their choices on a guaranteed product. The false advertisement could lead to problems such as government agencies that have reportedly fined the pharmaceutical industry in excess of $3 billion in the past few years because of allegedly misleading marketing and sales practices.

According to the adage, “A leading medical-device company admitted not long ago to failing to inform doctors about a potentially fatal flaw in their aggressively marketed heart defibrillators. The company’s stock price plummeted and the firm was eventually sold and rebranded”.

This could cause potential harm to the consumer but will cause more harm for the company. Integrity marketing is based on values that companies should abide by, yet not all feel that morals matter with business.

Real-Time Marketing and your audience

By admin @ColureMedia
September 13, 2017
Advertising,Marketing

With technology changing daily, consumers’ need for immediacy has become an expectation. Communicating with your clients through social media isn’t just a leg up, it’s a necessity to keeping your company ahead of the game. Although real-time marketing has been around for a few years, its appeal kicked into top gear during 2016 with multiple social media companies introducing real-time sharing to their sites. These new features offer businesses a cheap and distinctive way to communicate with customers and deliver content of value.

What is real-time marketing?

Real-time marketing is a strategy that focuses on adapting content to fit with current events or timely topics. Before the recent influx of live video features, real-time marketing showed itself mostly through memes or Instagram photos. Now, you’ll see it more regularly through Facebook Live webinars or Instagram stories.

Why use real-time marketing?

Real-time marketing ultimately allows you to humanize your brand. It creates an organic feel to communicating with your clientele. Customers are seeing your brand advertised on the same medium that they see pictures of their niece or videos of an old friend on vacation. This unique aspect of real-time marketing creates an authenticity that you won’t get elsewhere.

How does real-time marketing work?

Real-time marketing primarily works through social media. It allows your company to respond to events or topics related to your product immediately. Although this doesn’t mean that it needs to be a lengthy blog post. Something as simple as sharing a photo can offer an authentic contribution to the conversation that creates a bond between the company and its customer. For example, when the power went out during the 2013 Superbowl, Oreo responded with a Twitter post: “Power out? No problem.” The attached image was just one oreo, spotlighted, with the tagline “You can still dunk in the dark.” The clever post received over 15,000 retweets.

Within the last year, Facebook and Instagram both introduced real-time sharing features, and more and more companies are taking advantage of this platform. In addition to helping build relationships with customers, using real-time marketing creates a sense of urgency, encouraging consumers to act immediately. Many major brands have benefited from this strategy. Marc Jacobs, for example, introduced its 2017 fashion line via live video streaming. Fortunately, you don’t need high-tech equipment or an endless budget to utilize this strategy. Social media alone can help you use real-time marketing to build company-client relationships and provide unique, diverse content.

Colure Media is a New York based advertising and marketing agency. We can help your corporation gain exposure and increase revenue. If you are interested in exploring various social media possibilities for your corporation, Contact us now.

Virtual Reality: Life within a Screen

By admin @ColureMedia
September 6, 2017
Business Basics,Product Development,Technology

Virtual reality (VR) is a new, exciting technology to be explored. Only a few years ago, it seemed to be something straight out of science fiction; its roots can be traced into film history of the 1950s. The ‘Sensorama’, invented in 1956, presented short films in specially outfitted movie theaters with corresponding sounds and smells. Its creator, Morton Heilig, used this early VR technology to further immerse the viewer into a storyline.

Though no vocabulary existed for the technology until 30 years after this cinematic appeal to the senses, today Heilig is recognized as the “father of virtual reality”.

Modern virtual reality is experienced by its user through a wearable screen. It encodes head, eye, and motion tracking and conveys them onto an LCD display. This makes it possible to transform 2D images into 3D environments. By manipulating the senses, the user accepts the “reality” presented to them.

With no separation between your sight and the ‘world’ in front of you, virtual reality allows for a deeper submersion than does augmented reality.

The VR boom in the late 1980s was too short-lived to make real strides. Silicon Valley’s VPL invested heavily in the new technology only to declare bankruptcy a few years later. After the market failure of several VR systems in the 90s, interest in its development was lost until very recently.

In the last decade, virtual reality has been sought after by innovators as being the latest in computing technology. According to Palmer Luckey, it is the “final platform”.

Luckey founded Oculus VR, which sold to Facebook for $2.3 billion in 2014. As an authority in the industry, he has a definite understanding of the limitless applications of VR.

As its original backers hoped, VR is already advancing the fields of education, science, exploration and career training. It has also been implemented in treatments for lazy eye and PTSD. VPL’s original founder, Jaron Lanier has made the modest comment that virtual reality is merely the “next logical step” in human innovation.

Following Facebook’s purchase of Oculus VR, Mark Zuckerberg took to his personal page to write: “Our mission is to make the world more open and connected…we can start focusing on what platforms will come next.” Zuckerberg added that “Virtual reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the internet was also once a dream…The future is coming and we have a chance to build it together.”

How much time do we spend on mobile devices?

By admin @ColureMedia
August 28, 2017
Marketing

Society is addicted to the use of their mobile devices. Developers and advertisers need to understand these behaviors to compete in the marketplace.

A recent study has shown that the average person spends 90 minutes a day on their phone. When added up, it amounts to 23 days a year. U.S. adults spend 20 minutes daily in apps, while only spending 11 minutes per day via mobile websites. Nearly 80 percent of social media time is spent on mobile devices.

Time is money.

According to emarketer, five trends will influence the amount of time spent on mobile devices:

Efforts to make the mobile web faster and slicker
Messaging apps evolving into platforms
Retailers investing heavily in mobile advertising
The rise of mobile video viewing
Upgrades to smartphone operating systems

There are now nearly more mobile phone subscriptions (seven billion), than people in the world. Those who have access to the Internet, access it with more than one device.By the end of 2010, mobile data had grown twice as much as voice data. From the beginning of 2014 to the beginning of 2015 mobile data usage grew 55 percent.

Consumers now own an average of five devices. The time that consumers spent on those devices grew slowly over the course of 2016.

Not all the time spent online is distributed equally across platforms, apps, and websites.

Companies have to compete for a single consumer’s attention across an average of five devices. The result is that publishers, brands, and business must accept that apps need to be designed for cross-device usage to get the attention they desire.

Contact Colure’s Project Managers to discuss your visions for successful software development and marketing to move your project forward.

The importance of clean data

By admin @ColureMedia
August 2, 2017
Technology

Data plays a critical part in marketing your brand. It provides insight into your target audience and helps to focus your advertising efforts. Your campaigns can only be as beneficial as your data is accurate.

It’s vital to make sure you’re collecting data in a way that’s precise and useful to your business. Just a few simple changes can make your data collection more serviceable.

Data collection concerns:

Don’t ask for too much information. Users are wary of giving out information that they feel is unnecessary or invasive. To avoid this, give succinct explanations of how the data will be used.
Avoid using outdated technology. Information forms that look outdated can appear untrustworthy to users. Whatever form you use to collect data should still be consistent with the rest of your site. It should appear simple and professional.
Be sure your form fields are efficient. Form fields that require specific formatting, like phone numbers or drop-down menus that don’t offer enough options can cause frustration for users and inaccuracies. For example, users who can’t find their occupation as an option in a drop-down menu are likely to choose another occupation that doesn’t accurately represent them.
Validate your data. Although data validation can seem monotonous at first, it’s extremely important. If a user accidentally submits the wrong information, it could lead to complications down the road or an inability to provide quality customer service.
Not giving enough incentive for providing information. LinkedIn is a spectacular example of offering a valuable exchange for information. As users add more information to their profile, they can look for jobs that better fit their experience or connect with other users that are closer to their industry.

The common theme throughout each of these concerns is the act of not looking at the big picture. For example, offering a drop-down menu might mean less work for you, but it also means less accurate data. Be sure that your form facilitates your function.

Thoughtfully formatted documents communicate trustworthiness and professionalism. When making changes to the way you collect data, it’s important to think about the larger scheme of things. What changes will be more beneficial to your organization further down the road? How can you make it easier for a user to provide information? In the end, it’s accuracy that’s going to provide you with the best results.

Artificial intelligence (AI), your sales, and customer dollars

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the use of computer systems that perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages. Artificial intelligence allows big data sets to be analyzed, segmented and filtered while also gaining the meaning behind them.

AI maximizes data and customer targeting. Most digital campaigns implement data in a broad way. They will identify users who fit a profile and send a mass campaign their way. This type of marketing will target a vast amount of people who may no longer interact with that profile or no longer identify with that profile.

If a retail chain wants to promote their newest pair of basketball shoes, they may target their entire sports audience. Yet, not all of these customers are basketball affiliated. By marketing this product to the all-sports sect, the business would be wasting its time marketing to customers who aren’t interested in the product.

The use of artificial intelligence is able to target specific users. By examining who engaged with the basketball shoe ad, artificial intelligence is able to predict who will engage with similar campaign ads.

In order to keep up with the increased efficiency of the digital age, artificial marketing is necessary to keep digital marketing consistently relevant. The use of artificial intelligence allows marketers to spend their time more wisely by managing campaigns rather than worrying about crunching numbers into data. As digital marketing continues to expand so will artificial intelligence.

Examine your User Experience (UX)

A user experience is “the totality of the experience of a user when visiting a website”.

In recent years, improving the user experience (UX) has been prioritized by many companies. Shop Direct CEO Alex Baldock has said that when it comes to retail, “relevance wins”. A personalized online experience holds an appeal that is impossible to replicate in a physical store.

Recommendations or specific content based on details like previous purchases pique audience interest. This increases the likelihood of future visits and higher revenue. It adds a human element to the online experience.

Improvements in UX are intuitive. For example, an online retailer will learn to stop recommending winter coats to a customer if they begin to browse swimsuits. This kind of reactive change based on consumer behavior has been implemented by Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, LinkedIn, and nearly every other major online presence.

According to Invesp, retailers that utilize customer information to cultivate an individualized experience see a 56% boost in repeat sales. When done discretely, customers appreciate the increased ease of use that this provides.

Yet, 71% of companies do not use this technology. This is a missed opportunity for wider consumer appeal. In this crowded market, appealing to one’s audience over the competition is extremely important. Failing to adapt to new technology can lead to obsolescence.

The data harvested by mobile apps only heighten a company’s ability to tailor a personalized UX. Location-based advertising and push notifications allow for more opportunities to attract customers. Discovering when and how a customer interacts with your content help you to learn how to market to them. Targeted content helps your brand in becoming relevant to any user.

What consumers want most from a company’s online faction is ease of use. Flashy graphics and interactive content can be nice, but do nothing to simplify the experience. Your site or app only needs to succeed in selling itself. Working to create a user-oriented experience should be your main focus.

Accelerated Mobile Pages

It’s been a year since Google introduced the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project — a collaborative initiative that substantially decreases the loading time for mobile web pages. The project focuses on minimizing the code for static content (content that doesn’t change based on user behavior) to make pages load almost instantaneously. A regular mobile page takes seven seconds on average to load, but AMP pages take less than half a second. As consumer audiences’ attention spans get shorter and shorter, the ability to deliver content immediately is a precious tool to gain loyalty.

It’s no secret that faster loading content is appealing to consumers. The desire for instant gratification is a key characteristic of young consumers that comes with the rapid growth of technology. But AMP provides just as much to content publishers as it does to mobile device users. When companies join the AMP project, it gives them the ability to guarantee fast content to their users, creating a reliability that will continue to build trust over time. Consumers come back to the brands they trust, and if they know your company gives immediate accessibility to your content, they’re likely to return.

More than that, AMP pages are prioritized by search engines. Between two identical pages — one that uses HTML and one that uses the slimmed-down AMP HTML — the AMP version will rank higher up in the search engine results.

This stripped version of HTML shows itself in a few different ways. First, it prioritizes content that needs to be loaded first so that users can begin reading content immediately. For example, the text is going to load before images appear. And to make it even faster, images won’t actually load until the user scrolls to their location on the page. AMP also loads the layout of the page in advance to keep the page from loading more content — and making the page jump around — as the user is trying to engage with the content. Lastly, AMP only allows asynchronous JavaScript to run on its pages instead of waiting for everything to load at once.

Organizations worldwide are realizing the significance of the AMP project. Earlier this month it was announced that AMP was being adopted by Yahoo Japan and two other Chinese search engines as well. Publishers that have already been using AMP for a while have reported that AMP pages get more on-site time, higher user engagement, and better monetization. Growing support for the project suggests that this young initiative won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Top NYC Tech Conferences in 2017

By admin @ColureMedia
January 5, 2017
Celebrating New York City,Events,Professional Development

New York City is a massive hub for the technology and marketing industries. As home to so many successful companies, the Big Apple is the natural gathering spot for some of the biggest tech industry shows and conferences. 2017 is bound to be another dynamic year for the digital advertising industry. Here are the shows you may want to visit this year:

Top 5 Tech Shows in NYC for 2017:

Industry Preview — January 18-19. Industry Preview prepares digital marketing professionals for marketing technology in 2017. Senior executives from companies including Google and Facebook offer insight into upcoming changes and how to use their platforms to benefit your business through online marketing strategies.

Social Media Week — February 27-March 3. You won’t want to miss this week chock full of education and networking. Social Media Week will cover everything from content marketing to data and analytics. Get up to date on the latest social media trends and learn to use them to benefit your business. Industry leaders will share strategies to use technology and digital marketing to grow your company.

Digital Strategy Innovation Summit — March 21-22. This conference focusing on digital marketing strategies features senior executives from companies ahead of the curve in technology and marketing. Attendees will learn about optimizing digital platforms for businesses and using digital strategies to build trust with consumers.

Search Marketing Expo /SMX – East — October 24-26. This digital marketing conference will dig deep into Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing strategies. Sessions vary from introductory lessons for those new to SEO to advanced discussions for those familiar with the lingo. This conference will teach you all you need to know about how to use SEM to benefit your business.

New York Business Expo & Conference — November 10. This annual business conference is geared toward small businesses. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with other small business owners and gain in-depth training and knowledge. Education and teaching will focus on sales, marketing, financing, social media strategies, and businesses startup and growth. This event designed for small and mid-size businesses will offer the perfect strategies to jump start your business in 2017.

Live streaming video

By admin @ColureMedia
December 8, 2016
Communication,Mobile App Development & Marketing,Technology

One of the fasting growing video sharing innovations is through the live streaming of real events. Live streaming is the new kid on the block giving viewers the opportunity to see videos over the internet in real-time, and the chance to engage with brands in an authentic and transparent way. It is becoming evident that people want live content in real-time, but is live streaming a sustainable business practice that is here to stay?

Video marketing is now most beneficial way to promote your services on the web and live streaming is just a better way for brands to develop more interactive marketing campaigns. It is less expensive than traditional video marketing. All you need is a mobile phone and someone interesting enough to captivate an audience. It will be interesting to see if the cost effectiveness allows live streaming to usurp traditional video marketing, similar to the way reality TV began to overtake traditional studio-produced shows. People want to know what’s going on with their favorite people and brands. They don’t want a choreographed routine. They want something that is transparent.

Businesses are learning to expand their reach with live streaming. Companies are shelling out large amounts of dough to launch campaigns through live streaming. The titans of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, & YouTube have all been investing in efforts to enhance their streaming platforms, but other companies are starting to join in and grab a slice of the pie. Target sponsored the first-ever live streaming of a music video, which garnered over 25 million views during the commercial break at the Grammys. This turned out to be a massive success.

While live-streaming indeed provides certain advantages to communications, it still presents several risks. Not all projects will pan out. People are used to watching content when they have the chance, but live streaming places the viewer in the hands of the streamer. Gathering feedback is often an extra step that is often not engaged to measure the effectiveness of a streamed event. Live streaming is proving to be attractive; it should be part of our mobile lexicon for some time.

Virtual Reality meets your world

The future is now. The once faint dream of experiencing life in an altered dimension is now within the grasp of our fingertips with Virtual Reality (VR) technology. 2016 appears to be the year virtual reality devices are set to take off, with an expected surge of devices ready to hit the mainstream. The technology is familiar, having been around for decades, but now the integration of the technology with gaming, social, and mobile platforms has the technology heating up. Companies like Samsung, Sony, Google, and Oculus are vying for market share with their renditions of virtual-reality enabling devices.

At the forefront of the technology sits the Oculus Rift, the headset that started this new wave of deceives diving into alternate dimensions. The high-tech headset plugs right into your computer’s DVI and USB ports. The Rift tracks your head movements projecting 3-Dimensional imagery onto its screens at a 2160 x 1200 resolution. Then there’s the HTC Vive, which has a chance to usurp the Rift, with its 70 sensors that offer full range head tracking, minus the motion sickness. You might need to install motion sensors around your house, but it’s worth considering.

The options are plentiful. There is the PlayStation VR, the Razor OSVR, & the Microsoft Hololens just to name a few, but the most interesting VR device may turn out to be the Google’s interpretation, known as the Google Cardboard. Yes, the VR headset is called the Google Cardboard because it is made out of cardboard. A bold idea, but it is a true testament to the wonders of the smartphone with the mobile device having the ability to tap into the VR market. Apparently, your smartphone is all you need if you desire that out-of-body experience. All of the necessary gyroscopic sensors and positioning systems to track your head movements are already in your smartphone.

The virtual reality market is diverse, competitive, and pricey. While some devices may appear to have an advantage, there’s no telling how decisive that advantage may be. What you can expect is stiff competition. These high-powered devices will have a bevy of options when it comes to games. Developers will be working overtime to create games that maximize the experience of the VR devices. You can expect to be visually impressed with better camera options, and you can expect unlimited potential to use the device beyond the confines of your living room. With the technology ready to be release you have to sit back and ask yourselves this question. Will this just be a trend or will virtual reality be a mainstay & pioneer of a new breed of technology for generations to come?

Lingoji – Culturally Based Emojis

Get ready to express yourself with Lingoji – the revolutionary new emoji app dedicated to worldwide, cultural diversity. We’re bringing a shared cultural context to the digital world. Lingoji has opened an entirely new way to communicate to those close to you.

Lingoji’s point of distinction is the engagement of local artists. The development team is integrating artists from cultures all across the globe. Here, they create culturally authentic art, specific to each country and culture. Lingoji is the first of its kind. The app provides a wide array of emoji sets, each custom-tailored to a single country and culture. Users can easily choose the artwork set that best expresses the thoughts and feelings of themselves, their friends, and their families.

Emojis have firmly established themselves in the footprint of digital communication. From quickly expressing brief feelings, to being used to form larger, more complex thoughts, emojis now saturate our media. Historically, emojis have represented a single, broad point of view.

Why settle for a form of communication that can’t adequately express your culture? There are differences between cultures regarding how an emoji may be interpreted.

Lingoji combines lingo and emojis to create culturally-specific, sticker-sized icons. These can be used to convey humor, context, tone, or even complex expressions and emotions. Available for just $1.99, each of these emojis sets can be easily accessed from the keyboard of a mobile device.

Lingoji’s development team has created accurate, culturally-based images that contain both traditional and current idioms. Lingoji currently supports a total of four Caribbean countries: Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. From there, Lingoji will be expanding steadily into other nations. Currently, teams are currently developing artwork from the Philippines!

Lingoji gives users the opportunity to get relevant images on their phones with ease. Rather than getting a large number of emojis to choose from all at once, users can select a tailored, customized emoji set to express specific ideas and emotions.

These culture-based emoji catalogs provide a common language between individuals in distinct cultures and regions, thereby making it easier for them to communicate with their community. Widespread usage of these emojis will eventually highlight a variety of cultures around the world that are not currently represented.

As a Caribbean native, Lingoji’s co-founder Patrice Gervais developed a love of other cultures while working in New York for Colure Media. Patrice and his co-founders David-Georges Renaud, and Gerald Brun have all worked to create a highly unique tool. This visual story-telling palette is designed for our diverse, modern cultures.

First developed and popularized in Japan, emojis have designed to be fairly universal. Traditionally, this limits emojis to fairly general usage, which may not include niche cultures. Foods, animals, and expressions that exist in many cultures are often excluded from the emoji keyboard.

Lingoji is currently available at both the Google Play and Apple iTunes stores. For questions or feedback, the Lingoji team can be reached through their email address at lingojiapps@gmail.com.

Yomo – An Epic Tile Adventure Gaming App

By admin @ColureMedia
September 26, 2016
Games

We would like to introduce you to a new, amazing game for everyone!

Yomo is a seemingly simple, mobile game of eye-hand coordination. You crush multi-colored tiles to advance to the next level. It’s your responsibility to correct a great injustice. Yomo Island is the hiding place where the evil rhino Guko has taken your friends hostage. It’s your job to rescue them.

Yomo was recently highlighted on MarketWatch.com. It’s spreading everywhere, catching on with diverse sets of game players. From light gamers to heavy action fighters, this eye-hand coordination game is frustrating players all over the place.

The only advantages you have on your side are your wits and patience. Unfortunately, time is your greatest enemy. The further you move forward, the greater your challenges become. To rescue the hostages, you must face a series of increasingly difficult tasks. Your friends’ survival is in your hands. Yomo is an adventure that will test every gamer’s concentration.

This game is designed to engage a player for short bursts over a longer amount of time. Play it while you wait for a bus, download your new operating system, or if you simply have to take a few moments away from those pesky quarterly sales numbers. Yomo focuses on your ability to coordinate different functions of your brain. A team of researchers from the University of Toronto found that playing action video games help to develop sensorimotor skills or eye-hand coordination.

Your adventure, a trek across Yomo Island, is not an all-encompassing exploration of virtual reality. It’s simply described as a pleasant jaunt into an alternate reality for just a few minutes.

The beauty of this game is that it engages and frustrates the player as they tackle small quests. Each adventure builds upon the previous task. Somewhere along the journey, you might discover treasures to aid you in your tasks. How and if you use these gifts may determine if you and your friends make it off the island.

Experience challenging gameplay and gorgeous scenery as you search for your friends. As you battle your way across Yomo Island, you’ll discover challenges on beaches, forests, deserts, mountains, and more. You’ll find yourself clawing your way across the island in search of Guko and his prisoners. This task is a growing battle of both time and concentration.

Independent game developer Wanyomo Limited crafted Yomo out of desire a to create an interactive environment that would task the players and bring them along on a whimsical journey. The story of Yomo Island was crafted to attract players and challenge their wits. On this adventure, skills need to be developed to reach increasingly challenging goals. Here, players can refine eye-hand coordination abilities and enjoy a sense of adventure.

Yomo is an excellent way to explore a new adventure, refine your game-playing skills, and simply kill time when you have a few extra moments. The key to this entire adventure is to simply have fun. Kick back and enjoy a few moments of frustration. It’s not as easy as it looks! Who will be victorious – you or Guko?

Yomo is available for download at both iTunes and the Google Play Store.

Advertising and the Olympic Games

The 2016 Olympic Games are upon us. This year, Rio de Janeiro plays host to the world’s finest athletes. They have converged upon Brazil to discover who is the best-of-the-best. While this venue remains the largest stage for national pride, corporations have established a long history using these games to highlight their dominance in the advertising marketplace.

The history of these games date back as far as 776 BC, but the first modern Olympics were held in 1896 AD, appropriately in Athens, Greece. There, we saw the Olympic Games generating revenue through advertising for the first time.

Traditionally, the rules surrounding the relationship between athletes and advertisers were quite tight. During the Rio Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has provided more breathing room for advertisers. As a result of the negative feedback from athletes, regarding the advertising restrictions during the 2012 London Olympic Games, the IOC revised the restrictions contained in IOC Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter.

According to Rule 40, “except as permitted by the IOC Executive Board, no competitor, coach, trainer, or official who participates in the Olympic Games may allow his person, name, picture, or sports performances to be used for advertising purposes during the Olympic Games”. The rule was established to prevent over-commercialization, protect official Olympic sponsors, and focus on the athletes performances, not ads. Under Rule 40, only official sponsors had complete ownership of advertising during the Games. In addition, athletes were banned from tweeting or publicly mentioning their unofficial sponsors.”

The Rule 40 revision still bars athletes from posting about their sponsors but allows unofficial sponsors to feature their sponsored athletes in ad campaigns during the Games. However, the ads cannot mention Olympic terminology. These terms include Olympics, Rio, summer, medal, victory, gold/silver/bronze, and performance.

Yet to qualify for these changes, U.S. athletes and unofficial sponsors had to submit waivers to the United States Olympic Committee by January 2016. In addition, the ads must have been in-market by March 27, 2016; for unofficial sponsors, this can be a problem. In order to stay relevant to the Games, those campaigns had to start in March and keep circulating until August. That can get extremely costly for brands, especially for small businesses.

Big corporations, like McDonald’s, Samsung, and Visa are all Rio official sponsors. These official sponsorships can cost as much as $200 million. This limited list of big brand sponsorships hold contracts with a select, few Olympians. The restrictions imposed by Rule 40 may do damage to the lesser-known athletes who don’t have as much recognition as other competitors.

During the Olympics, athletes tend to be at their earnings peak. Without being able to fully leverage their Olympian status, athletes cannot financially capitalize upon their global publicity. The Rule 40 change has allowed athletes and sponsors to think creatively on how to market themselves in ways that comply with the restrictions.

Under Armour, an unofficial sponsor, sponsors 250 Olympic athletes. The brand created a widely circulated ad with Michael Phelps that has been airing throughout the Olympics. The ad revolves around Phelps swimming to a song with the lyrics “the last goodbye”. The ad alludes to Phelps last Olympics while promoting the Under Armour brand. With Phelps’ Olympic prominence, it doesn’t matter that the ad is not an Olympic sponsored ad. The ad exudes Olympic undertones.

Although official sponsorships can use the Olympic ring logo and terminology, if an ad has a prominent Olympian people will think of the Olympics. Now that unofficial sponsors can now run ads with Olympians during the Olympic Games, the value of official sponsors may be devalued. With everyone on a more evenly leveled playing field, each marketing campaign fiercely competes to capture the consumers’ attention.

Selecting a mobile application’s programming format: native, HTML5, or a hybrid

By admin @ColureMedia
June 22, 2016
Mobile App Development & Marketing,Technology

Businesses who are seeking to create the best mobile application must choose which programming environment they will use. Should they peruse a mobile platform’s native language, HTML5, or a hybrid of the two environments? Your selection of a format will be dependent upon several factors including development costs, your project objectives, and the preferences of your customer. Many companies have found that the investment of time to define your objectives will pay off later in the development cycle.

Software developers have debated each type’s efficiency over the years. Each form creates a different product. Here is short look at the differences between these three formats:

Native apps take advantage of built-in functions, such as GPS or the camera. These apps can utilize features of the smartphone’s operating system to provide an enhanced user experience. Double tapping, pinching, or other touch gestures can serve purposes in the function of your app.
HTML5 apps come with the advantage of universally applicable code; these apps use standard web technologies and can operate seamlessly on many devices. Web language is also widely known and learned considerably easier than that of specific operating systems. These factors lead to HTML5 apps ability to be quickly developed, tested, edited, and retested. The development of HTML5 over HTML4 also allows for apps to look and feel more like native apps more than ever before.
Hybrid apps allow a developer to take the format of an HTML5 application and wrap it inside of native environment, crafted for a given platform.

While HTML5 apps may be easier to create and implement into multiple devices, there is a critical cost-benefit ratio in the app performance. When 79% of people won’t try an app again if it fails more than twice, you must decide if the ease in creating HTML5 apps is worth the potential losses. HTML5 and hybrid apps can’t keep up with native apps in this arena.

TheLadders, a job recruiting company, first selected HTML5 with their web app before switching to a native format. They found that the concept of “write once, run everywhere” wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Testing and retesting the app in different screen sizes and devices proved to be a challenge. These short-term changes led to the app only being released for iOS and receiving little success. The company then decided to rewrite the app natively. The developer team mastered native coding much faster than they thought. The result was a much smoother, faster, and modern-looking app.

Having a native app can give you an edge over the competitor. Domino’s and Delta Airlines have both used native apps to give increased convenience to their customers. The result is beating out competing companies who may have outdated or slower apps.

If you don’t believe that your company’s app performance is very important or necessary, an HMTL5 or hybrid app may be a fine choice. A company looking to create a truly pleasing app may consider a native format. The investment in time and money will pay off with better app performance and increased customer satisfaction.

Contact Colure’s development team to discuss which format may be best for your company’s objectives and your customer’s UX.

Projected advertising revenue trends for 2016 – TV vs. Digital

By admin @ColureMedia
March 9, 2016
Advertising,Digital Advertising,Marketing,Mobile App Marketing

As new types of mobile devices are introduced, digital advertising and mobile app marketing are projected top television advertising trends and revenue in 2016. Previous advertising trends are becoming mundane as new kinds of technology are introduced to the public. Smart watches and virtual reality goggles have made their way into the mainstream. Users of all demographics are excited about them. Shifting mediums equate to shifting advertising markets.

The way in which information is delivered will be a driving force for the future of digital advertising. Device users are devouring both the flexibility and the speed at which information is provided. The choice of format and flexibility is driving users to change their buying habits.

Millennials

Millennials, also know as Gen Y’s, will shift advertising trends more towards digital than television. Prior generations had to park themselves in front of the tube to get their fair share of publicity. Millennials are taking those mobile ads everywhere, in every format. Marketers need to move their ads to where their audiences are going. Millennials like to be involved in a brand and a product. Advertising agencies can use this type of behavior to their advantage. “Millennials want their agencies to stand for something more than pushing products on consumers.”

Predictions

Forecasting trends and predictions are showing digital advertising surpassing television advertising. “Digital media will continue its meteoric rise. Digital ad spending will grow 17.2 percent this year, to nearly $160 billion, and 13.5 percent in 2016, and is expected to overtake TV as the biggest advertising category by the end of 2017,” according to Sydney Ember of the New York Times. One reason for this is how often an individual uses their mobile device. Advertising companies have taken full advantage of habits of consumers by engaging them where they spend most of their attention.

New Mobile Devices

Smart watches and virtual reality goggles are two of the new mobile devices to make their debut in the market recently. For something as small as a smart watch, advertising companies have taken advantage of it. “Smart watches advertisers grab consumers’ attention immediately, no matter what they are doing.” Even though it is a small space, advertising companies have utilized the space to their benefit. They have the ability to keep their brand/image fresh in the consumers’ mind by being able to consistently display ads on the smart watch. Companies will have to discover the users’ boundaries, learning to not overly advertise and annoy a consumer. Even though the medium is ready and available, doesn’t mean it should be overused. Be engaging, but not bothersome.

A new mobile “toy” debuting this year is the “virtual reality goggles.” These goggles attach to most smartphones and allow for a virtual world to be seen through the goggles. What is expected to rise out of the virtual reality world is a new evolution of video ads. Even though video ads are not new, many still think of them as time-consuming and irrelevant. However, Google is incorporating video-based advertisements in their SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), rather than just pictures and text. By doing this, consumers are more susceptible to accepting video ads. Eventually, those ads will be second nature to users, not perceived as the annoyance they may be viewed as today.

2016 is proving to be a very exciting year for digital advertising. Millennials have set the stage for mobile advertising and will continue to do so for years to come. They want to be involved in the ‘life-cycle’ of a brand. Millennials want to be engaging with companies. This generation will lead the direction of new trends in digital advertising. As new mobile devices introduced, they will become a gateway to how mobile advertising will surpass television advertising. We will just have to wait and see how virtual reality and smart watch advertising will affect the future.

Infographic by MDG Advertising

Top Tech Conferences in New York City during 2016

By admin @ColureMedia
February 17, 2016
Events,Marketing

As the forum for culture and innovation, New York City is the destination for all technology enthusiasts and professionals alike. Every year this bustling city hosts some of the country’s best tech and digital conferences. 2016 is definitely not an exception. If your interests span content marketing to all things digital, we have narrowed the endless list of conferences down to five diverse and spectacular tech shows you surely do not want to miss.

Five outstanding tech conferences in NYC for 2016:

Digimarcon: East – May 12-13

Held at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan, Digimarcon is the conference for digital marketers. With discussion topics spanning Content Strategy, Mobile Marketing, Targeting & Optimization, and so much more, Digimarcon is the tech show for attendees who want to develop better digital and overall business strategies.

Advertising Week – September 26-30

Spanning four days with over 95,000 attendees, Advertising Week is designed for Marketing and Advertising professionals with seminars and workshops drawing from all media industries – including technology, start-up, and agency communities. The gathering is an immersive experience in venues covering four city blocks, including The Times Center, NASDAQ, and Thomson Reuters. Featured speakers range from Warby Parker CEO, Neil Blumenthal, to Hip Hop artist Big Sean.

Ad:Tech New York – November 2-3

Headlined as the “event for modern marketing and media”, Ad:Tech is aimed towards a wide range of attendees. Located at The Javits Center, the conference gathers talent from the marketing, technology, and media communities. It brings them together to provide opportunities to share ideas and build strong relationships in the industry.

New York Business Expo and Conference – November 10

As the LARGEST business conference on the Northeast, the New York Business Expo and Conference is the perfect show for small to mid-size businesses looking to expand their networks. Sessions include essential topics such as Sales & Marketing, Social Media, Entrepreneurship, and more. The conference is located at The Javits Center in Manhattan.

Fast Company Innovation Festival – November 9-13

If you are looking for more than just tech talk and want an overall incredible gathering, Fast Company Innovation Festival is where you want to be. Over the span of three days all over New York City, the festival showcases the best innovations in business, design, entertainment, and technology. Innovation Festival was designed with creativity as its focus and features speakers in fields such as Music, Media, and of course, Technology.

Located right in New York City, these events are excellent opportunities to build a bigger network for your business and open many doors. There are always opportunities out there – you just have to go grab them! When you make it to the Big Apple, be sure to explore our home town, one of the greatest cities on earth! Happy 2016 everyone!

Top 5 Mobile Apps of 2015

2015 has been a year of record-breaking, innovative, and truly impeccable mobile apps for both iOS and Android users alike. Where would we be without our beloved apps? While there are countless mobile applications that have emerged in 2015, here are a few that have been exemplary in their design, performance, and popularity over the past year.

From entertainment to everyday tools, the following list of apps represents a diverse selection of must-have apps for your everyday mobile use.

Clash of Clans (iOS/Android) – 2015 was the year Clash of Clans rose to stardom. The highly addictive game has gained a cult following and broke revenue records – making it the top-grossing gaming app of all time.

Snapchat (iOS/Android) – 2015 has been claimed as the ‘Year of Snapchat’, the past year has witnessed the rapid growth and success of the mobile-only social app.

Mint (iOS/Android) – Mint is a finance and budget manager for the modern man. It’s clean and sleek design makes managing your spendings surprisingly easy – and fun. 2015 witnessed a large usage of this app in various demographics.

Hopper (iOS/Android) – A must-have mobile app for the frequent traveler, Hopper helps you predict the best times to fly and maximize your savings on flights. Named among the Best of 2015 in the Apple Store.

Paper (iOS) – An extension of your typical Notes application, Paper takes note taking on your mobile phone to the next level with tasks such as lists, charts, and sketches.

The collection of these mobile apps will surely keep you in the loop, highly organized and prepared for the upcoming New Year. However, the past year could not be defined without discussing one of the advertising industry’s greatest threats – ad-blocking. With businesses scrambling to find new ways to promote their products online, this influential app has given them a run for their money:

AdBlock Plus (iOS/Android) – Browse your Internet free from pop-ups and on-site advertisements.

As 2016 begins, we are excited to see the release of even more innovative and excellent mobile apps that will surely influence our mobile usage. Happy New Year!

To many, video is the king of content.

By admin @ColureMedia
August 26, 2015
Communication,Digital Advertising,Marketing,Social Media

Chris Trimble, writer for The Guardian asked, “If it were five years in the future, would you be reading this article or would you be watching it?” Good question. Today, video is being selected by users as the preferable format of content on social media. “In 2015, video is predicted to dominate as the social media content format of choice.” In August 2014, Facebook surpassed YouTube in the number of video views via desktop according to ComScore. It’s important to note that YouTube still has more views on mobile apps and across all devices. As of September 2014, Facebook attracted a billion video views per day, a roughly 30-fold increase since July.

Video content is critical to anyone building a business or brand, big or small. Video has the ability to entertain and inform in a short amount of time. Currently video usage, “more than half of companies are already making use of video”. According to a Neilsen Neilson study, not only will 70% of brand marketers increase their usage of social media, but 64% of individuals indicated that video content will dominate mobile advertising strategies in the future.

As the information overload continues to pile on, the use of video will continue to play a vital role in relaying more information in a short amount of time. On many platforms, video is already a necessary format of content. Today we have the likes of Youtube, SnapChat, and Vine. All of these platforms depend upon video to deliver their services to their customers.

Most individuals use the internet to interact, consume or create information. How we choose to use the tools available to us will be critical to our success as storytellers.

The problem with information density

The volume of data accessed daily on the internet is absolutely staggering. It boggles the mind to grasp that so much of our lives are connected to our keyboards. At some point, the sheer volume of data becomes unmanageable and negates the true value of the content.

Users reach a moment where they can no longer meaningfully examine the available volumes of data. By the sheer size of a search query result, the search engines overwhelm users’ resources. Figuring how to effectively evaluate over 28,000,000 cat videos can be a problem. This is the problem of information density. This is where we live, accessing only snippets of the entire volume of data available to our questions.

Take a moment to examine how ‘we’ use a single minute of our lives on the internet.

Although technology’s advancement helps in many ways, it also brings challenges. Anyone with a camera or a computer can be a journalist. However, we must find a way out of the information density on the web.

Over time, readers establish relationships with certain sites. The key is to have a functional relationship between your site and the user. Give them a source of internet content they trust. If the reader has built a relationship and connection with a journalist or channel, they will certainly consult that source for his content. How they spend their day surfing the net will be determined by your quality of content.

The way to stand out from the crowd of information is to be credible, research and document your facts, and to provide the content that your customers want to consume. With billions of other options only a keystroke away, be sure that you understand the needs of the consumer.

Colure Media is a Advertising and marketing company in New York. We can increase targeting to reach your audience and brand awareness through marketing and advertising. If you are interested, then contact us now.

THREE NYC TECH CONFERENCES TO ATTEND IN 2015

By admin @ColureMedia
March 2, 2015
Branding & Creative,Education,Professional Development,Technology

New York City hosts some of the most incredible high-tech trade shows each year. 2015 is no different! If communications and media are your trade, we have the inside track. Here are a few trade shows in New York City custom-fit for advertising and multimedia professionals:

Three outstanding tech shows in NYC for 2015:

New York Business Expo and Conference – October 27. This exposition creates a platform for business owners and industry insiders to come together and network. It will be taking place at the Javits Center. The conference is intended to be a place where ideas are shared, connections are made and relationships are built. All organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to startups should attend, in order to experience the networking opportunities and business education from accomplished professionals.
Ad:tech New York – November 4-5. This is an integrated conference that unites the marketing, technology and media communities. They explore opportunities and address key problems in the related industries. This convention will be held on at the Javits Center. It provides industry professionals with a sneak peek at both new technologies and new directions that industries are moving toward. Ad:tech provides a place to connect, learn and integrate different industries with prominent technologies.
Content & Communication World – November 11 and 12. This conference is designed for those interested in media, entertainment and communications technologies. CCW’s 2015 conference will take place at the Javits Convention Center. Topics discussed at CCW include problems and solutions with content management and creation, as well as new and revolutionary technologies in the market. With big-name sponsors like Sony, Cisco and Canon amongst others, it’s no secret that CCW is a great trade show to attend if your interest lies in media, entertainment and communications technology.

Trade shows are excellent places for small businesses, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts to grow professionally. Discover the power of networking and form relationships that will assist in the growth of your company. Seek what interests you – most likely there’s a trade show or conference that caters to your interests. Stimulate your mind and your resume. Come to the Big Apple and take a bite of out of the latest tech shows on earth!

Successful Content Marketing Campaigns

By admin @ColureMedia
February 9, 2015
Branding & Creative,Digital Advertising,Traditional Advertising

Content marketing is the technique for creating and sharing free content to provide the consumer with an additional level of product interaction. It is meant to attract new customers and to encourage current customers into developing a loyal, repeat business. But, it should be more than a portion of a company or product. It should be used as a tool to engage your audience.

Four successful content marketing campaigns:

Birchbox – a monthly subscription service that provides an array of carefully selected beauty samples to customers. They use content marketing to enhance the online shopping experience for their customers. Birchbox features articles about personal grooming, fitness, and popular beauty products to engage its customers. This has been the key to Birchbox’s success, allowing Birchbox to create an interactive experience for customers as if they were in a store.
Red Bull – the energy drink maker uses its content marketing to blend in with the community that enjoys its products. Red Bull specifically chooses to be associated with extreme sports through their advertising. They provide featured videos, films and photos of extreme sports and stunts to associate high energy with the essence of its community.
MasterCard – the financial institution uses their content marketing to create a hassle-free, convenient way for costumers to enjoy MasterCard’s features. On the MasterCard website, MasterCard offers features such as a saving calculator and debt FAQs to assist customers with their finances. To minimize inconvenience for it’s customers, helpful videos and ATM locators are located in its “Priceless Pointers” section on its website.
Kraft – the international food conglomerate, mastered the use of content long before it was a popular marketing technique. Kraft’s website features recipes, tips, ideas, and videos to assist customers with their products. They understand the power of connecting with their customers. Kraft has created a forum where customers can go beyond simply sharing their recipes. Customers experience those products on a most basic human level – while breaking bread. Kraft expanded its brand from simply selling their products to forming an online community that has become ingrained in the lives of its consumers.

A company’s content marketing has to be relevant to the company’s mission, products, and services. It should allow customers to consistently learn and engage with a brand. As content marketing continues to grow, it proves to be more of a long-lasting relationship than a trend. Content marketing will continue to be a necessity for companies to grow and actively engage their customers.

Contact Colure’s team to discuss marketing strategies for your business. See how a focused approach on your project can dramatically modify your performance in the marketplace.

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