Mobile Immediate Future

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What’s in your bag? It better be a mini digicam… extra points if it’s a fun colour! Over the last year we can see that Gen Z have taken a liking to vintage digital cameras. Between our cult obsession with Mean Girls, low rise jeans and paparazzi style content, creating…

In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, B2B marketers are constantly on the lookout for innovative strategies to captivate their audience and drive meaningful engagement. One avenue gaining increasing attention is the use of YouTube Shorts—a feature that brings a dynamic twist to the conventional video content game. Let’s delve…

I’m sure we’ve all seen by now, Elon Musk’s rebrand of Twitter to “X” – I wanted to take this opportunity to have a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let’s start with… The Good. Is there? Taking such an iconic brand and changing it to something…

Well well well, what do we have here?! Looks like Twitter is making moves to allow verified organisations to post job openings in app! As shared by user Nima Owji; BREAKING: #Twitter is working on a…

Instagram is testing out the ability to generate AI custom stickers based on text prompts.

What is Instagrams new Quiet Mode and why do we need it?

Who knew pricing something for $8 could get so completely out of hand?

TikTok's latest trending audio has us obsessed

TikTok data shows that 70% of mobile gamers say the platform is a great way for developers to get their attention. Should all brands be paying attention? The short answer is yes. In case you missed it, TikTok released a guide earlier this month for marketers…

There really isn’t an idea that Meta won’t pounce on the moment something starts gaining traction. The next “cool” thing to take off is BeReal

We all love a good avatar, right? And TikTok is no exception. A few days ago, Matt Navarra tweeted a little sneak peek at some new TikTok features, with one being customisable avatars; ⚡️ New TikTok Features Thread1. TikTok is working on a…

Well, it was only a matter of time before LinkedIn joined in on the audio social bandwagon, and why not? With more businesses using LinkedIn for live streams and webinars (thanks pandemic), it only makes sense to have their version of Clubhouse. …

Okay, okay, we get it. It’s good to take inspiration from things that are working, but clearly, these things aren’t working for others as well as they are for TikTok. In this new instalment of “what else can we be INSPIRED from by TikTok” Instagram…

A few weeks ago we talked about the brand refresh, in which we touched on creative reasonings and processes. In this blog, I want us to delve a little deeper into designing with social media in mind. What it entails and how best to…

Yes, I absolutely did say that! And don’t worry farmers, this has nothing to do with you lot, I promise. After years of our photos and artwork being subjected to weird cropping, Twitter has FINALLY rolled out their new image display for mobile, and let me tell you,…

Clubhouse has given us all a little peek into some recent updates that will be happening to the app. These include the beginning of Android testing and higher quality audio. First off, when checking out someone’s page, you’ll now be able to see any upcoming…

As we all know and have seen, Twitter has been working on their Spaces tool and more specifically trying to improve their Spaces experience. Currently, the only way to join is to open the…

Last week we informed you that Facebook was looking to cash in on creating a rival product to the widely popular Clubhouse. While this is true, it seems that Instagram is still trying to catch up with other social networks and enable users to have more than two…

Are you like me? Do you enjoy, nay, LOVE, Halloween season? It is by far the most enjoyable season (don’t @ me, I *will* fight you!) I absolutely love seeing the amount of creativity that goes into costumes, make up and media. I mean, even coffee get’s…

You know the question – anyone working in an agency that specialises in social media has heard it before. Do you have a quick social media guide I can send through the company? Or Is there a one-sheet with all of the image sizes for each platform? You…

Much like Vine before it, TikTok exploded onto the social media landscape – with an estimated 500 million users across the globe today. Naturally, a slice of that pie is up for grabs and Facebook jumped in with Instagram Reels in August (though some were seeing a different,…

You read the title correctly, some Facebook users have been allowed the option to choose if they want to view Instagram stories on their Facebook feed. The Instagram Story spears on your Facebook Stories feed with the IG rainbow border to differentiate from Facebook’s own Stories.

New features galore this week – join us as we go through all the tools you’ll be playing with in coming months with our Social Snapshot: Instagram has replaced Nametag Codes with QR Codes to quickly connect users Back in 2018, Instagram launched what it called ‘Nametag…

Social media is ever-changing, and sometimes it can be hard to stay up to date! Stick with us as we take you through our weekly roundup of everything you need to know… Screen-share comes to mobile Messenger. After bringing the option to desktop earlier this year, Facebook has…

Tik Tok for business has just recently launched, providing a plethora of tools to help brands and marketers utilise the short-form video app for their ad campaigns. “TikTok For Business is where you can unleash your brand’s creative side.

We all must know that at some point Google will take a formula that’s been well received and try to emulate it, which is exactly what’s happening with Keen – Googles latest offering, “a place to grow and share your interests with loved ones, and…

A New App from Facebook? Venue – an app that brings people together to experience live events in an interactive way. What does this mean? According to Facebook – “Venue aims to give fans an interactive second screen experience, curated…

Facebook has been slowly rolling out a set of features that will help small and medium sized business that have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. These include a “Support Small Business” sticker for Instagram which not only allows users to share a business profile, but it…

We’ve all likely noticed the upswing in social media traffic – but we now we have hard statistics on the massive surge happening in recent months. A look at monthly traffic, Google’s new digital skills training sessions, Facebook’s redesign and more! Media habits are changing Across all…

Mark Zuckerberg has recently announced a whole new range of video tools across the Facebook app family. And without further ado, here is what’s coming; With video calls, Facebook will soon double the amount of group video calls from 4 to 8…

Since the advent of social media, never has there been a global pandemic that has required this large of a lockdown across the globe. The reasons for self-isolation are, by now, well-known – even if you don’t have symptoms of Covid-19, and are young/of good health, it…

Here we go, another “stories” mode on a different social media platform! This time, Twitter are testing the waters with something called “Fleets”, which they are assuring us is not totally like IG Stories; I know what you're thinking: “THIS SOUNDS…

Let’s face it, do ANY of us enjoy the current Facebook feed where we’re shown a glimpse of what our friends post and what Facebook thinks we might be interested in? Granted, the option to change to chronological order has always been there, however, Facebook has…

Over the years, Snapchat has redesigned its app many a time, but the last major update seemed to push a lot of users to abandon ship. And I can recall purposely not updating my phone to hold onto the old layout for as long as possible! Sad,…

The UK events industry is worth £42.3 billion – and it’s still growing. Gone are the days of cold calls, handshakes and flyers. Today’s event marketers are reaching you when you’re walking, talking, surfing or just casually browsing your favourite job listings site. When you…

In October 2019, Instagram launched a new @Creator account to provide tips and advice for Influencers, citing it as “THE place to learn more about what it takes to be a creator from the team at Instagram + the creators who inspire us every day”. Since its…

Who doesn’t love waking up on a Saturday, lazing about and watching morning cartoons? Yep, guilty! And apparently, Snapchat does too! They recently confirmed that Bitmoji TV will indeed be happening and launching to all its users making your custom avatars the stars of their full-motion cartoon series!…

It’s official, Byte has launched! What’s Byte? Well, remember Vine, the video-sharing app which specialised in a 6-second looping format? The one that Twitter bought and then shut down to cut costs because hosting video is costly? Thereby counting themselves out a tonne of cash which TikTok…

In an effort to make Instagram a more healthy and safe place online, they platform has been testing out hiding like counts on profiles, “the idea is to de-pressurize Instagram”, and make it a space that’s more focused on connections, conversations and community, especially for young people.

Instagram has started rolling out a new format for Stories called “Create Mode” which will make all of its tools easier to access and apply. The current highlight of this mode is the “On This Day” option, similar to Facebook’s ‘Memories’. The feature will show users…

Instagram (or more likely, Facebook) are developing a new app called Threads – a messaging app where you can automatically share your location, speed, and battery life, as well as the usual stuff like text, photos, and videos with your ‘close friends’ list. Users will be…

Welcome back, to another week of IF Social Snapshot! A wonderful roundup of social media news that we believe you should know. Stick with us and you’ll always be up to date with the latest happenings and newest updates on social! Facebook adds Instagram scheduling to Creator…

No matter how major or minuscule the update, here at immediate future, we just love to hear about them! And, we love to figure out how we can use the new features to develop our and our clients’ social strategies too. June certainly didn’t disappoint, Twitter especially, with…

Seasonality is a very important factor in the marketing world. Our behaviours online certainly change over the seasons. Only a couple of months from now hits the summer slowdown. Consumers are spending less and employees are holidaying more, and a lot of businesses fall into sloth-mode. But, you…

Dark mode has been around for a while now with a number of apps and operating systems offering it as an option. Some people generally just prefer the design while others suggest their battery lasts longer by using it. One thing that’s undeniable is that it’s just a…

Tinder is probably the first and most famous example of what we all know as ‘the swipe’. Mobile navigation today is all about the swipe, and now even YouTube is joining in. Their latest update will give users a way to navigate between videos.

Stories have been around for a fair amount of time now and many brands have joined the party. But some of them are thinking even bigger… Hopper, a flight-booking app, has gradually increased its spend on Instagram Stories since the platform enabled mobile app installs last…

The Messenger app for Facebook has been around for a long time, initially launched as Facebook Chat in 2008 and becoming a standalone app in 2011. New features have been added and updates made but a thorough consolidation of purpose and design has been long overdue. The…

A recent Facebook study using eye-tracking and device-tracking has found that TV viewers are also looking at their smartphones 31% of the time, most often at a social app. More than half of participants’ mobile time was devoted to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

It’s been 4 years since Facebook bought the messaging app WhatsApp for a whopping $22 billion, and so far the app has remained ad-free. However, that is about to change in 2019, as WhatsApp plans to roll out targeted ads to its more than a billion users.

LinkedIn’s latest feature update allows the sending of recorded audio messages from one member to another. Reducing the friction of communication in an online community like with any new tool, voice messages, can be used well or poorly. By providing its users with an option…

In this week’s Serious Social, we’re updating you on the Instagram changes and the latest on Facebook’s fallout! Shoppable posts. What can they do for you? Online retailers won’t want to miss this – you can tag and link products in your Instagram photos! This is really streamlining the…

At IF, we’re all about creating a meaningful connection between the Ad products of Social platforms and the marketing strategies of our clients. Ever since Snapchat went public, it’s been really interesting to see a delay in waiting for them to launch a decent, competitive Ad proposition. The evidence…

It’s 2017 and there are many wonderful things about the way the world is today versus where it was, even as recently as a few decades ago. And if you read The Better Angels of Our Nature, you start to feel really positive about mankind’s progress as…

The online consumption of Sports Online sports viewing has been growing significantly and as consumer attention gets scattered across multiple platforms and devices, it is interesting to understand what major marketing players are doing to follow suit. Trends A positive problem? Opportunities arise for advertisers as a need for engaging…

It’s been a while since I’ve written about the ad blocking war that is being fought between advertisers and consumers. Every time advertisers find a way to get behind ad blocking enemy lines, ad blocking companies tinker around with a little bit of code and instantly launch a counter attack.

Instagram is so close from becoming the ultimate marketing machine, there’s just one thing missing…web links. The social media platform has launched multiple updates over the last year and the latest takes a…

By now, you must have heard of Prisma, the app that lets you turn any picture into instant art. If you haven’t, here’s a few reasons why should find out: It was named best app in both the Apple and the Google play stores It’s time for you to either…

I think about the future of social media often. I wonder where it’s all going. The pace of technological change is beginning to outstrip our capacity to make sense of the world around us and it’s only going to accelerate further. Tech begets tech. The devices we create help us…

Social advertising is an effective way of driving traffic to your website but if your website is not mobile friendly then your brand could be losing out.According to research from Adobe, the UK is the largest driver of website traffic through social engagement and with nearly 80 percent of social…

The trouble with paid social is tracking the customer journey from click to brick. Facebook thinks it has the answer to this problem and is in the process of revamping its offers program. Core updates include: Bookmark: People can easily claim an offer on mobile or on desktop and it will…

I think I may be the only person getting excited about this, but in case you hadn’t heard, Periscope is now allowing users to doodle over their live streams. Officially it’s called “sketching” and is available to iOS users, after a pilot was launched just a month ago. The live…

Many of you might be surprised to read that the seemingly infinite hoard of Facebook users click the iconic “like” button more than 6 billion times a day, driving the relentless social machine that is rapidly absorbing the Internet. This, however, was not enough for Facebook’s chief product officer Chris…

Demographic data has always been key to any marketing or social strategy. After all, the most compelling campaigns were based on understanding what makes a target audience ‘tick’ – think of the Dove campaign for Real Beauty, the famous ALS Association’s Ice Bucket challenge…

Facebook has announced it will be partnering with Eutelsat, a French satellite internet operator, to transmit internet connections to offline parts of sub-Saharan Africa from late 2016. Although it now claims a mindblowing 1.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook has long been looking to emerging markets…

Social media levels the playing fields to building a brand in the modern age. The ability to be able to connect with the world at the click of a button means that with the right message/product/offering anyone can build a brand. As an individual, talented musician using YouTube to get…

With Instagram Ads slowly rolling out to engagement-hungry marketers, and Twitter adding advanced coverage of all events as well as upping their game on Windows 10 and iPad Twitter apps – where does that leave the ever-dominant Facebook? With the recent announcement…

We all know that more often than not mobile beats desktop when it comes to online traffic and social media usage. Browsing on the go, or second-screening, are topics discussed at length. However, what isn’t discussed in much detail is how on-the-go browsing and double screening is having an effect…

It’s no secret that Facebook has its eyes fixed firmly on the prize when it comes to being the internet’s biggest video platform. In April Facebook reported that it is getting 4 billion video views per day. Besides being extremely attractive for advertisers, numbers like that would…

So, you’re using Instagram to engage with your audience and share valuable content? Whilst this is a great use of the tool, there will be many customers who have not seen your marketing efforts and are not aware of your account. How can they be found amongst the millions of…

The oldest enemy of e-commerce has always been customer drop-off, losing potential customers during various points in your purchase funnel as they slip through the gaps in your carefully crafted user journey. It often left us feeling like Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Roadrunner. In-app commerce could be the…

In the past, blocking ads on mobile has not been an easy task. As little as 15% of adults in Great Britain use ad-blocking software on their phone, according to a July 2015 study from the Internet Advertising Bureau UK, conducted by YouGov. This is very small when compared to…

The emergency services are being called to modernise their communication strategy to fit in with the smartphone and tablet generation, as we have now become ‘Digital by Default’. The Institution of Engineering and Technology carried out a study that suggested introducing a system that uses texts and…

With more than 100 million daily users, and 71% of those falling into the 18-34 age bracket, many brands chasing younger demographics are now looking towards Snapchat as a way to engage with and market to their customers. Other than fear of the unknown,…

Searching for outfit inspiration on Pinterest? Like what you see? The new ‘Buy button’ will make it yours! Pinterest has announced some very exciting news that in a few short weeks, US consumers will be able to purchase directly from the platform through its ‘buyable’ Pin, without ever having to…

Facebook announced the lock-down of its Graph API, to demonstrate the efforts it’s making to protect users’ privacy, and the changes will take effect by 30th April. Wondering what on earth a Facebook’s Graph API is? The Graph API is the primary way to get data in and out of Facebook’s social graph, the…

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With Pepsi Max’s new “Genius” campaign officially kicking off this week, the timing of Aman Matharu, Digital Marketing Manager at PepsiCo’s, address at our most recent Social Speakeasy couldn’t have been better. Aman addressed an eager crowd of Social Speakeasy attendees on a balmy spring evening to share the secrets…

From 21st April mobile optimisation became mandatory, but we’ve all been doing this anyway right? Well, it appears now, and rightly so, we don’t have a choice as the almighty Google are now favouring mobile optimised and friendly websites over those that aren’t. What does this mean…

A potentially game-changing development from Facebook Ads means that any brand with multiple products to sell can now upload their entire catalogue into the platform, and the automated system will target specific products to those people most likely to buy them across the devices that they use most often. Sound…

The world’s most popular mobile messaging service, WhatsApp which launched back in 2009 and has now reached over 700 million active monthly users across the globe. WhatsApp’s co-founder Jan Koum made the announcement on his Facebook page. The company was acquired by Facebook for $19…

Mannequins turn hi-tech, revolutionising the window shopping experience, as a select number of retail outlets such as Hawes & Curtis’ in London, House of Fraser’s Aberdeen store and even our very own Bentalls in Kingston will be taking the lead in trialling the innovation. So what is it exactly? Using “beacon”…

Timehop The app service that sends you a reminder of your updates of this time last year, 2 years ago, 3 years and so on, is by no means a new app. However their more recent functionality changes have increased downloads and driven engagements, now enabling users…

OK! I am going to come out and and say it – I am very excited about yesterday’s launch of Google Glass in the UK. As a bit of a technology and social media geek, this is awesome news and I can’t wait to see the British public’s reaction to…

Social media initiatives are really beginning to take centre stage for European marketers as indicated in a recent Adobe survey of 350 professionals. As part of the Digital Roadblocks report, it was clear to see the emphasis European companies are putting on digital in areas such as personalisation of email,…

Print media is widely seen as a dying medium with the lack of targeting and personalisation seen in comparison to digital advertising. US print media has seen a spend dip from $35.8bn in 2011 to a projected $32.2bn in 2014, whereas…

Selfies dominate visual social media, with Piper Jaffrey recently announcing that Instagram, the selfie hub, has now surpassed Facebook and Twitter to be the top social network among teens we can see the 2013 selfie total of 35 million getting higher and higher! In…

Rumours are circulating the net of Twitter’s planned revamp and eventual elimination of the platform’s most prominent symbols, the #tag and @reply. With conjecture that testing is well underway, we take a look at what the change could spell for brands. Testing and updates to the functionality…

Before Destiny’s Child ‘Bootylicious’ starts playing in your head… stop! I’m referring to a different sort of Jelly – the question-and-answer app launched in 2014 by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone which has already become the 76th most downloaded app in the UK. What is Jelly? Jelly is a…

For all you ladies out there, it looks like we’re taking over social media, and smartphones are our weapon of choice – in a metaphorical sense of course! According to research conducted by PR agency Porter Novelli, also published by marketingmagazine.co.uk, women are dominating the social media…

Whether it’s the press, financial traders or marketers, everyone has had an opinion on the recent acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook. Did any of you see the unfortunate (funny) typo, by the BBC which turned the news story into Facebook acquires “massaging service”? Uh oh! Last week,…

I personally think, in this era, you should be able to apply for a job virtually, send your LinkedIn profile, and have a video as a CV. As long as it has the following elements, then why does it need to be a plain old Word doc? Unfortunately I am…

If, like most, you are struggling to find new music and can’t bring yourself to thumb through endless blogs, magazines, buy redundant CDs, download or ‘torrent’ illegally or can’t even fathom what those big black discs Dad used to play are called, then you may want to try out some…

2014 is the year of mobile. The same could be said in 2011, 2012 and 2013, as mobile has grown at an enormous rate and enjoyed a meteoric rise, with browsing and surfing online from devices a part of everyday life. But how will it fare in 2014? The simple…

If you’re thinking of entering your 2014 with, at the most, a vague idea of getting fit ranging from ‘moving around more’ to ‘smashing a whole triathlon’ and haven’t the slightest inclination on how to go about organising yourself, why not turn to the multitude of apps…

Videos are now becoming much more of a focus for brands within their digital strategy. And with good reason too! A study in 2012 found that social engagement in videos increased by 28% to 70% compared to 2011! It also showed that social media users are twice…

With the news last week that Facebook has more mobile users than PC, mobile has been thrust into the forefront of the social giants’ strategy. That’s why Facebook is developing a new smartphone application that will track the location of users. In a bid to capitalise on their 680 million…

The recent demise of even more well known High Street retailers such as HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster should serve as a strong reminder that the world has changed! 80% of shoppers were reported to have researched online before making a purchase this past Christmas and the average shopper…

In 2012, social media became a major source for breaking news. Before newspapers and other traditional methods of reporting had even heard of a story, everyday citizens were updating their Twitter and Facebook accounts to spread the word. Social media’s immediacy meant that it could always be…

As the year draws to a close and we all reflect on the vast and rapid developments that have occurred in social media in 2012, it is clear that one of the most prominent progressions has been the growing importance of smartphones to access social networking sites.