X Immediate Future

Seven minutes to take back your WhatsApp messages

Let’s face it, at some point in our lives, we’ve all said something we’ve instantly regretted. In the days before social and messaging apps, the fallout might have been painful but the worst of it was usually over pretty quickly. In the mobile-first world we live in now, a regretful…

Updates galore from Insta with new stop-motion tool

I’m pretty sure there’s not a person reading this that hasn’t seen, used or created a GIF. They have become the bread and butter of internet culture and we are increasingly using them to communicate with our friends and even our work colleagues, exactly how we are feeling. There is…

How brands must work with influencers to stop breaking the ASA rules

Last week, Marnie Simpson was rapped firmly on the knuckles by the ASA for breaking CAP code rules and promoting brands without making clear she was paid to do so. There was coverage across OK!Magazine, BBC, Sky News, Daily Mail and so on. High…

800 million users and counting…

If you still haven’t considered including Instagram as part of your Paid Ad spend, I’m hoping by the time you’ve finished reading this, you’ll change your mind. From its launch in October 2010, Instagram has become one of the most popular Social media channels with 800 million active users.

Dark Posts, Meddling & Messenger Signal Change for Facebook

In the last few months, Facebook acknowledged that an organisation with ties to the Kremlin purchased $150,000 worth of Facebook advertising related to the election. These ads were seen by approximately 126 million people over a period of more than 2 years. A clever strategy was utilised…

Spectacles’ Spectacular flop

Just when we thought 2017 couldn’t get any worse for Snap, turns out Spectacles are a commercial flop. Snap’s first attempt at creating a hardware product failed to excite customers past their initial purchase. Despite the initial hype, the company has sold only 150,000 pairs to date, and less than…

Shoppable Posts on Social

Social commerce is growing and shows no signs of stopping. eCommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce enable purchases through social platforms, which drastically changes the customer experience and customer journey in a multitude of ways. It’s simpler, quicker and easier than ever for us to discover products and make purchases…

Serious Social 25/10/17

We’ve settled in nicely to our new format, and we’ve got two new guests to impart social wisdom to the world. Our CEO, Katy Howell is talking to our MD, Colin Jacobs about tourist industry tweaks and 2018 holidays. Yes, it is only October. Catrina Burns shares her…

PayPal & Facebook Messenger introduce peer-to-peer payments

Facebook and their updates are killing the social game at the moment; here are the details on Facebook’s latest push into the mobile commerce industry. Last year, PayPal’s initial partnership with Facebook messenger allowed customers to connect their accounts with Facebook and use PayPal to shop on messenger. This year,…

Twitter and LinkedIn are getting new video ad formats

With the near constant innovation we see from Facebook’s ad offering, it’s easy to forget that other social media platforms release new products from time-to-time. This week there have been two announcements that have got us excited, and they’re both about video. LinkedIn First up LinkedIn is FINALLY testing…

Watch out LinkedIn – Facebook is coming for you!

As someone who has spent the last few months frantically trying to find a job after returning from a 10-month teaching stint in China, I am always interested to discover new ways to get your CV out there in front of employers. Before landing my current job at IF, I…

Serious Social 17/10/2017

Keeping in line with keeping things fresh at IF, we’re giving 60 Second Social a shake-up. It’s now called Serious Social. Sometimes, there’s just too much news to fit into sixty seconds. The second tweak to our news format is that we’re going to be interviewing members of the…

A look back at a summer of travel on social

Summer holidays are a distant dream for most of us, now that we are headed towards the end of the year. All we’re left with are the pictures and memories on social media. Whilst we look fondly back on this summer, the Travel industry can use this post-holiday…

It’s #WorldValuesDay this week. We celebrate ours all year round. What are yours?

We’ve been broadcasting a lot of great news recently from IF, which puts us in a shining spotlight as an agency: a move to a stunning new office, nominations for awards, new business, visits by inspirational guests, but there’s a date in the calendar this week that gives us the…

Upload your Insta pics from your desktop with this sneaky little app

Alas! There’s a new app in town that lets you post photos to Instagram directly from your Mac or PC desktop. Meet Windowed! Created by Felix Sun, a photographer and computer engineer student, this open-source software is basically a stripped down mobile browser that tricks Instagram into thinking you’re using…

Now you can sing emoji….

Got a favourite emoji? Now you can listen to songs based on them, with a new music recommendation update on Facebook messenger. Sooo 2017! Facebook and Apple have joined forces to create an Apple Music bot that recommends specific songs or playlists based on one particular emoji. If you prefer…

60 Second Social 09/10/17

Last week we welcomed Paul Hewitt, playwright & creative strategist, to our office. In this week’s 60 Second Social he tells us the importance of the link between playwriting, storytelling, and social. Our greatest takeaway was, considering what celebrity or family member your brand would be, and…

Crimes Against Emoji

To celebrate the release of iOS 11’s all new emoji set we thought it was time for a refresher course on the use of emoji in social media, to prevent some of the more common crimes against emoji. With Apple announcing the release of everything from…

Bumble Bizz and its challenge to LinkedIn

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…

Swiping just got professional!

Over the last few years I have read numerous articles and statuses from women who have been ‘flirted’ with when using LinkedIn, a website that’s sole purpose is for professional use only. So, to see that Bumble, synonymous with dating, is now launching Bumble Bizz – the lines between dating…

When Solo Apps go Social

“Your eyes will go square!” – one of the many myths my parents preached in my youth. Eating crusts never made my hair go straight. Nor did eating carrots give me night vision (much to my disappointment!) Though they tried to talk us out of it, our eyes and minds…

Why the Stage is Set for Social Commerce

In the first few years of this decade, it seemed that social commerce would transform the way we shop online. Yet whereas buying via social channels may have gained traction among the popular Asian social platforms like WeChat and LINE, in the West the online shopping experience is still firmly…

Snapchat launches sponsored 3D World Lenses into the real world

I mean finally! Recent announcements of Snap’s major losses have had everyone asking the same question: why can’t they lure advertisers? Well, they might have just flipped the coin. Snapchat’s Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan took to the Advertising Week New York stage on Thursday to announce what we’ve all been (not so…

Twitter enables 280 character limit & so can you

On Tuesday Twitter joyfully announced the rollout of a shiny new 280 character limit in nearly all languages. (Sorry Japan, China & Korea). Although initially the wonders of double tweet space were only available to a select few (Sorry Ellen) the internet was quick to point out that adding a chrome…

Vanity metrics are bovine dung

Remarkably, the desire for vanity metrics is on the return. Why? Well, I’ve not got a tangible answer for you. Lazy marketers lacking robust experience? Increasing board pressure? Perhaps. Vanity metrics are the devil of Social Media. At immediate future, we’ve worked hard (for many years) educating clients, and industry,…

Google set to Stamp on Snapchat

After a Google bid for Snap Inc. last year was rejected, it seems that the company has been busy creating an alternative to Snapchat Discovery. It is reported to be called Stamp. A mash up between ‘St’ and ‘AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages). Right now, all we have is leaked news.

Twitter tests Twitter lite – but is it too late?

Developing countries don’t have the same access to Internet facilities as we have in the West. The high cost of data on mobile plans and poor infrastructures mean that it is harder for people living in developing countries to access social media networks. To remedy this, Facebook has…

Instagram is changing: how much does a 4th column really matter?

The majority of those reading this post will be human and as such we all know that for the most part, we don’t like change of any form, in any way, by any amount. Social media platforms know that humans are full of contradictions. We complain about…

Instagram pods – peas or war?

If you’re an Instagram junkie you’re probably already clued up on Instagram comment pods, however, if you’re clueless, here’s everything you need to know… Although they’ve been around for a short while already, I only became aware of the ‘Instagram comment pod’ concept recently. Most likely because I don’t have…

Facebook’s new snooze is the best thing to happen to your friendships

Are you being bombarded on Facebook with jealousy-inducing updates, all posted by that one friend we all have? Of course you don’t want to unfriend or permanently unfollow them because you do care, but if you see one more photo of them posing on a pristine…

An I.F interview with Nick Entwistle of One Minute Briefs

Hi Nick. I know you’ve got more hats than Mr Benn but thanks for taking the time to answer some questions on you, social, creativity and whatever else we throw at you. For those not in the know, Nick Entwistle is a creative polymath. Still shy of his 30th,…

Twitter tests secret tweetstorm feature

Twitter is testing a secret tweetstorm feature making it easier for users to publish content faster on mobile. It currently takes serious skills to chain a conversation of tweets together in a cohesive tweetstorm, ultimately exposing the flaw in Twitter’s user experience. Publishers are unable to unleash their storytelling skills…

Facebook launches Crisis Response Hub

Every now and then, it feels like the world is falling apart. Terror attacks, natural disasters, etc. all too often make the headlines. Social media plays a big role in breaking the news. Twitter, of course, but not only… In 2014, Facebook launched Safety Check which lets you in a…

Facebook Canvas comes to Instagram

Since its inception in August 2016, Instagram Stories has been a runaway success. It now boasts over 250 million users a day. Launching ads was always part of the road map for Stories…

UK now spends more time browsing on mobile than on desktop

According to eMarketers’ Time Spent with Media forecast, UK adults this year will spend 1 hour and 59 minutes a day browsing on their mobile devices. That’s one minute each day more than they spend browsing via their desktop or laptop computers. There’s a first! Emarketer expects the margin to widen, predicting…

School of life is never out for summer. How do you keep on learning?

School of life is never out for summer. No matter what job you do, there’s always room to learn more, especially if you’re a perma-switched on curiosity driven creative. Your employer could (and should) be looking to develop you in your role, either by team training or on an individual…

60 Second Social 11/09/17

We’re hiring! Katy Howell, our CEO talks about the qualities needed to be a social media professional. It’s a combination of skills that goes way beyond your online activities. Do you ask a lot of questions? Curious by nature? Courage to grab an opportunity, fail and learn? Switched…

LinkedIn? Hot property? Amazing what a few tweaks can do

It’s not personal, it’s just business. Actually, it’s a balance of both. The whole point of LinkedIn is to be a social network for business, yet, in the fifteen years since its inception, detractors have been chipping away at everything from its design, to UX and lack of products like…

Will Watch wear the crown?

When Facebook first announced Watch, there was scant enthusiasm for its offerings, and that didn’t change over the months as information about the first programmes available were released. Now the platform is being trialled to a select group of users in the US, we’ve been taking a closer…

Step-up, stand-out and succeed on Instagram

Yet, Instagram has over 700m active users (that is almost 6 x that of Snapchat) and 400m daily active users (It’s reported to be the second most engaged platform after Facebook). 75% of total Instagram users are outside the US and over 80% are connected to brands…

Facebook, Audience Network, and the fat finger problem

For those of us that do paid on social, this is a question that comes back very often: should we or should we not use audience network as an ad placement? In case you need a little reminder, ads you place on social media don’t only appear there- the networks…

WhatsApp isn’t just for your friends anymore…

When Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014 for £11.4bn, it understood one vital thing – we like talking to our friends. As technology has changed, so have our habits – we’re not picking up the phone to talk any more, we’re picking up the phone to text. This makes messaging platforms…

Why Facebook’s most important job is some long overdue housekeeping

Last year Facebook disabled the use of ad blocking software. This meant that the big question was whether Facebook was still a viable social network, bringing people closer together or a multi-million-dollar advertising platform. The answer may be a muddy mixture of both. Rather than being able to login and…

60 Second Social 23/08/17

We’re not decking the halls just yet, but as September looms the big focus will be on where you will spend your paid this Autumn and Winter for upcoming Christmas ad campaigns. It’s a key part of the ad mix, so, which platform will be unwrapping…

Who’s breaking news? YouTube!

Where do you go for your fill of breaking news? Now you can head straight to YouTube. This week the video-sharing site has launched a new feature; a horizontal scrollable carousel with the latest news stories from a variety sources including ABC & BBC news. The new feed is available…

Facebook launches in-stream-only video ad buys

Facebook steps up its game with another feature for video marketers. Advertisers can now buy video ads that will only be served when people are viewing a video. This should increase the chances of viewers watching your content! Shortly after Facebook revealed its video service, Watch, the company didn’t waste…

Big Changes To Facebook Marketplace

Facebook are testing out a number of big changes within Marketplace having recently expanded the product into 17 new countries in Europe launching in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, in the biggest expansion Marketplace has…

How to make the most of the new video tool on LinkedIn

Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram… You can’t really escape videos on social media! Up until now, LinkedIn was resisting the temptation, but not anymore. The professional network has also succumbed to the video’s charms! So, what does the platform offer in terms of video creation and how can you integrate it…

Why Google+ remains important

Back in 2010 rumours began to surface that the big G was working on a new social platform. I encourage you to remember what a carefree time 2010 was. Usain Bolt was world sportsman of the year. Barack Obama still had, mostly, black hair on his head. Sophie Dahl married…

Are Facebook Stories the print supplement of social networks?

Facebook seems really keen to make its Stories feature work. So keen in fact that I think it’s seen more functionality updates than any other part of Facebook for a long time – but why? The company is already making strides into younger audiences with Instagram, and many think that…

Is instagrammability the new advertising?

In our ‘blink-and-you’ve-missed-it’ digital world, social media is leading the way in which most of us receive information. Instagram’s influence continues to grow. The platform topped 700 million monthly active users earlier this year and Instagram Stories reached 250 million daily active users just over a month ago. As we’ve been…

How social media can drive brand loyalty

Ever heard the saying that quality is better than quantity? It hits the nail on the head when it comes to your social media community. There’s currently over 1 billion monthly active Facebook users ready to engage, endorse and buy your product. Leveraging the social media market is no longer…

Matchmaking on LinkedIn…I’m in!

Forget Tinder…now you can find your perfect match on LinkedIn, in a professional sense of course! LinkedIn is currently trialling a new service that identifies potential mentors with people who are looking for mentorship or guidance in a specific area, whether it be a new career path, or just general…

How Snapchat has gifted growth to Facebook

Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has enjoyed largely uncontested growth. User acquisition has been consistent, and subsequent monetisation has been compelling. Last month’s earnings call, revealing a $3.89bn quarterly profit, up 71% from last year, revealed success that wasn’t foreseen by City Analysts, or Facebook’s own leadership team –…

Facebook Messenger 2.1 – What has changed?

Some time ago, I wrote an article about Facebook launching Messenger 2.0 bringing group bots and a lot of cool updates to the platform. It is now returning with an updated 2.1 version that comes along with some updates that will please brands and marketers! For this new version,…

How the biggest brands use Instagram Stories

Time flies in social media, believe it or not it’s already time to wish Instagram Stories a happy first birthday. A whole year since the launch of Facebook’s first foray into Snapchat territory which inspired so very many knock-offs. We have recently asked if there is a place for so…

Facebook Stories gets two updates – and we’re still not convinced

If there was an update we didn’t really need on Facebook – it would be Facebook Stories. Like Instagram, the addition sits very obviously at the top of your mobile feed. Yet, nobody seems to actually be using it, and it remains permanently empty. (Seriously, apart from that one friend…

The meaning of Reddit in a Facebook dominated world

Earlier this week it was announced that Reddit, the social network that only a few of your outlier friends hang out on, had raised $200 million in new venture funding. That means that it is now valued at $1.8 billion according to CEO Steve Huffman. Now, that’s…

Is there a place in your life for so many Stories?

With news that WhatsApp Status has 250M daily users, and that Facebook is allowing users to share their Stories publicly, I’m beginning to wonder if there’s enough room in our busy lives for all of these Stories apps? And precisely which platform should I pick to share the intricacies of…

Will AI copywriting be the creative Terminator to wipe us writers out?

Will copywriters remain part of the digital furniture, or be chucked out? Copywriting obviously needs a degree of intelligence. Hell, maybe not even a university degree, but a sound knowledge & understanding of language, with an embedded personal style that’s flexible enough to adapt to business needs. As copywriters, we’re supposed…

Facebook Continues to Dominate. But Why?

A recent survey compiled by Statista showed that Facebook is still reigning supreme over the social media-sphere – with its monthly views sitting comfortably ahead of the competition. 706 million view’s worth of comfortable to be precise. And it’s not just Facebook. Whatsapp…

It’s time to get your Instagram Stories straight

It really is a constant battle between Instagram and Snapchat, but maybe, just maybe, it’s finally a little clearer which Stories your brand should stick with….for now! Firstly, Snapchat’s growth has slowed since Instagram Stories launched last August. There’s also been a 15 to 40% drop in the…

Instagram caters to the evolving needs of businesses

Here’s a great example of a social media channel listening to the needs of businesses today! Finally, we are able to see if our content works, measure the brand’s organic presence and optimise accordingly, all within the Instagram app. Since the introduction of business accounts last year, the new development…

What makes a good back to school campaign?

It’s time for the summer holidays here in the UK which means we are weeks away from the second most wonderful time of the year; back to school and you can almost hear the sound of retailers, advertisers and marketers up and down the country clicking launch on campaigns designed…

Lead generation through social. Keep your c-suite sweet.

Lead generation through social? The whole point is to drive revenue and hit that C-suite spot. Do it, measure it properly, and you can challenge with conviction at how effective it is, for those that are sceptical. There’s a divide of those that do, and those that don’t…

60 Second Social 24/07/17

With Facebook & Twitter’s Q2 results looming this week, we’re predicting the future! We expect healthy results for Facebook, who have talked the talk & walked the walk when it comes to their new product offering. On the other hand, Snapchat still lag behind as their main focus…

Facebook’s aims to build bridges with publishers by erecting paywalls

How do you take your news? Rolling in the morning on BBC? Heading straight to your favourite news site? In your hands with the ink leaving smudges? The days of exclusively consuming your news from the TV or a newspaper are dwindling for all age groups, no matter the preference.

The online consumption of Sports

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…

Is Tinder actually doing Stories?

I am not, nor have I ever been on Tinder – which is some kind of a miracle for a person my age. (Don’t worry though, I lost my Tinder-ginity playing around with my colleague’s profile, and now it’s a regular pub past-time. I think I’m very good at it.

It’s a Millennial world out there

Millennial’s always want more. If you think something is new and upcoming, millennials are already ten steps ahead. With this in mind, they are also avid users of social media. However, it’s much more complicated than we think to reach them and keep up with what they want. Not only…

Facebook bolsters custom audiences on Instagram

We’ve heard on the grapevine that Facebook is making some significant changes to its Custom Audience feature, a brilliant way to re-target users who’ve interacted with brands in some way. Although it’s only in testing at the moment, you could soon be able to create a custom audience based on…

Social Media Searches on Job Applicants –The Clampdown

‘All the world’s a social media platform…’ The internet has been called an unregulated Wild West, a digital playground, a threat to society, and more. Realistically, it’s taken 25 years to grow into something that we simply can’t live without. We live our lives on there, and it’s an extension…

How to Write Great Branded Content

There are a million and one blogs out there that talk about how to write great content, and while some have valid points, there’s one thing they tend to miss. Great content comes first and foremost, from passion. Great content can’t be made to fit an audience. It can’t come…

Why are brands slowly sinking into social mediocrity?

It’s time we talked about the mediocrity of social media. Brands that are filling the noisy, noisy, world of social with average content for the sake of being social. It’s been an issue that has been creeping up on us for some time, but it is reaching silly proportions now.

Are you social selling yourself short?

There’s a bit of head-scratching going on in marketing around social selling. You know, that way of using social media to leverage your prospects, build relationships (like the real world), improve and discover new sales. The confusion arises from trying to answer a simple question: Does your organisation have an…

Design your Insta feed with Later’s latest update

Are you one of those people that likes to pre-plan their Instagram feed and make sure it looks exactly the way you want it to? Then it’s your lucky day! If you curate your Insta feed, then you’ve most probably heard of Later; it’s a visual Instagram…

Build a chatbot that counts

Chatbots are gradually climbing the ladder of popularity, providing brands with huge potential. Wondering what chatbots can do? Brands have the opportunity to have millions of simultaneous one-on-one conversations with fans without damaging the user experience. The masters of storytelling, Disney, Universal and Lionsgate are all proof that content and…

60 Second Social 06/07/17

We’re behind the scenes at #FujitsuWorldTour. In this rendition of #60secondsocial we’re highlighting the importance of capturing great video content on social. We highlight that planning is extremely beneficial; storyboards are key. Similarly, the best audio and lighting you can get your hands on is of utmost importance.

Networking? Take it from no signal to five bars. Now we’re talking.

Networking? Take it from no signal to five bars. Now we’re talking. I’m very new to the networking scene, and it’s very daunting in principle, but like tackling anything new, you can prepare by doing research, research, research. I’ve collated some top tips to use at networking event– impeccable timing…

What Facebook has done in just 7 days

Facebook’s been busy trying to conquer everything and everyone it seems in the last 7 days taking on everyone from Netflix, Google and Internet service providers. As well as updating its core platform and back end metrics all in the aim to diversify and improve its product offering. Check…

60 second Social 03/07/2017

In this week’s #60secondsocial, and throughout this week, we’ll be giving you insight into how you can create world-class video content on social media. We highlight how there’s more to video creation than just a good camera – lighting and audio both have equally as big an impact…

Facebook’s war on spam

Facebook have made some great strides in their battle against fake news and now they are renewing their efforts in the war on spam too. The social giant announced updates to the news feed algorithm which should limit the reach of spammy content shared by profiles which frequently post large…

Instagram is testing “Favorites”

Instagram has noticed a strange phenomenon lately. People have started to create small, private accounts, so that they can share pictures with only a select cluster of friends rather than all their followers. In response, the platform (who’s smashing it lately, right?) has created a solution in the form of…

YouTube: King of the video castle?

We’ve always loved watching moving images. From the ancient zoetrope to retina-scorching 3D on a massive screen. The development of the moving image has been swift and rapid. One medium in particular looked to kill of cinema and rule the home roost. At one point, it looked like the ubiquity…

Facebook has revealed secrets about its TV ambitions

After months and months of speculation, our predictions in IF Towers have finally come true and Facebook has uncovered secrets about its TV ambitions. Earlier this year, when Facebook began testing in-stream video ads in non-Live broadcasts, and at the same time changed their newsfeed algorithm to benefit some longer…

Be more millennial – changes in the workplace

Millennials in the morning – It’s a new dawn I was lucky enough to recently attend a GA morning creative session They’re ‘a pioneer in education and career transformation, specialising in today’s most in-demand skills’. Perfect for somebody like me that’s worked in education, is a creative, works in…

60 Second Social 26/06/17

With more than 300 million monthly active users, this week Twitter has launched its biggest redesign in years, including round profile photos, live engagement updates, and speech bubbles instead of arrows. Additionally, it’s now much easier to operate on multiple platforms. Whilst we’re loving the…

Is Social Getting A Little Too Personal Now?

In a constant bid to compete, the social channels are constantly innovating, finding new ways to keep our eyes firmly glued to our screens. In many cases, this has meant a series of copycat announcements (*cough* Snapstagram). In others though, the developments mean more invasion into our personal lives, and…

How to fend off the adpocalypse

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.

Twitter gets a makeover in latest update

I guess it’s been a long time coming, but Twitter has had a bit of a facelift. Its latest update, rolling out to iOS, Android and web users, is mostly cosmetic and cuts out the clutter of the old interface. The redesign comes after Twitter’s struggle…

5 reasons to use Messenger bots

We’re talking about bots a lot, and that’s because we really really like them! But somehow, people don’t always get why they are so amazing…so, I thought we would take a minute to give you 5 reasons why you should be using chatbots on Facebook messenger J Facebook Messenger has…

Why you should use Emojis in Facebook Ads

Lost for words? Using emojis in your marketing campaigns has now become the secret ingredient to success. Yes, we are now seeing emojis daily in all social media activity, it’s the talk of the town! Yet, only a few brands have yet successfully included emojis in their Facebook marketing campaigns.

60 Second Social 19/06/17

This week we’ve got all the latest on Facebook and Snapchat’s new ad platform updates & features. Facebook’s new tools, value optimisation and value based lookalike audiences will optimise and add value to your ads. Snapchat have added a self-serve ad platform to their website, where you can…

00-Instagram is here – have you got the licence to post?

Nowadays, influencer marketing is playing a major role in brand marketing. It’s not a fad or a passing trend, it’s here to stay. From micro influencers, to stars with millions of followers, brands are investing a lot of money to place their products with the right people, and…

Snapchat Launches Self Service Ad Platform: Will you be joining the brand waggon?

Facebook did it, now Snapchat have made the financially lucrative choice to make their ads platform more accessible to small and medium enterprises. As the paid media specialist at immediate future, I have been waiting to sink my teeth into this new proposition since I wrote my first blog about…

The Art of The Takeover

Twitter, in partnership with MAGNA, recently announced the results of a scientific media trial examining the location of video ads within a social environment. This was called The Art of the Takeover: Optimizing What Consumers See First. The study was designed to test and formulate best practices for in-feed advertising, while at the…

Ensuring your event is a surefire social success

If you’ve gone to the effort of planning an online or even offline event, then you’re going to want the result to be a fantastic experience for everyone involved. It may seem obvious, but by breaking the planning into into pre-, during and post- event, you’ll be better able to…

Snap-to-store: can geofilters drive visits to store?

In April, Snapchat announced it was rolling out Snap-to store – a set of tools and analytics designed to help marketers track whether their Snap ads campaigns actually drove people to a specific location. Here is the diagram provided by Snapchat to explain how Snap-to-Store works: Snapchat has…

Dads on social? They’re well connected thanks to the Dad Network

Here at IF Towers there are some older dads in the mix. Yep, there’s traditional dad stuff like photos on desks, and dad jokes flying around, but as is our business, we’re living and breathing social. It’s not the sole preserve of the young. We invented it doncha know! So,…

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Seven minutes to take back your WhatsApp messages

Updates galore from Insta with new stop-motion tool

How brands must work with influencers to stop breaking the ASA rules

800 million users and counting…

Dark Posts, Meddling & Messenger Signal Change for Facebook

Spectacles’ Spectacular flop

Shoppable Posts on Social

Serious Social 25/10/17

PayPal & Facebook Messenger introduce peer-to-peer payments

Twitter and LinkedIn are getting new video ad formats

Watch out LinkedIn – Facebook is coming for you!

Serious Social 17/10/2017

A look back at a summer of travel on social

It’s #WorldValuesDay this week. We celebrate ours all year round. What are yours?

Upload your Insta pics from your desktop with this sneaky little app

Now you can sing emoji….

60 Second Social 09/10/17

Crimes Against Emoji

Bumble Bizz and its challenge to LinkedIn

Swiping just got professional!

When Solo Apps go Social

Why the Stage is Set for Social Commerce

Snapchat launches sponsored 3D World Lenses into the real world

Twitter enables 280 character limit & so can you

Vanity metrics are bovine dung

Google set to Stamp on Snapchat

Twitter tests Twitter lite – but is it too late?

Instagram is changing: how much does a 4th column really matter?

Instagram pods – peas or war?

Facebook’s new snooze is the best thing to happen to your friendships

An I.F interview with Nick Entwistle of One Minute Briefs

Twitter tests secret tweetstorm feature

Facebook launches Crisis Response Hub

Facebook Canvas comes to Instagram

UK now spends more time browsing on mobile than on desktop

School of life is never out for summer. How do you keep on learning?

60 Second Social 11/09/17

LinkedIn? Hot property? Amazing what a few tweaks can do

Will Watch wear the crown?

Step-up, stand-out and succeed on Instagram

Facebook, Audience Network, and the fat finger problem

WhatsApp isn’t just for your friends anymore…

Why Facebook’s most important job is some long overdue housekeeping

60 Second Social 23/08/17

Who’s breaking news? YouTube!

Facebook launches in-stream-only video ad buys

Big Changes To Facebook Marketplace

How to make the most of the new video tool on LinkedIn

Why Google+ remains important

Are Facebook Stories the print supplement of social networks?

Is instagrammability the new advertising?

How social media can drive brand loyalty

Matchmaking on LinkedIn…I’m in!

How Snapchat has gifted growth to Facebook

Facebook Messenger 2.1 – What has changed?

How the biggest brands use Instagram Stories

Facebook Stories gets two updates – and we’re still not convinced

The meaning of Reddit in a Facebook dominated world

Is there a place in your life for so many Stories?

Will AI copywriting be the creative Terminator to wipe us writers out?

Facebook Continues to Dominate. But Why?

It’s time to get your Instagram Stories straight

Instagram caters to the evolving needs of businesses

What makes a good back to school campaign?

Lead generation through social. Keep your c-suite sweet.

60 Second Social 24/07/17

Facebook’s aims to build bridges with publishers by erecting paywalls

The online consumption of Sports

Is Tinder actually doing Stories?

It’s a Millennial world out there

Facebook bolsters custom audiences on Instagram

Social Media Searches on Job Applicants –The Clampdown

How to Write Great Branded Content

Why are brands slowly sinking into social mediocrity?

Are you social selling yourself short?

Design your Insta feed with Later’s latest update

Build a chatbot that counts

60 Second Social 06/07/17

Networking? Take it from no signal to five bars. Now we’re talking.