Out with the Old, in with the New: Instagram Introduces New Logo

Recently, Instagram released a new logo and most of the Internet freaked out. The Facebook-owned photo-sharing app removed its universal tan-and-brown camera logo for a vibrant design with a white camera outline inside. Instagram’s other apps – layout, Hyperlapse and Boomerang – also have similar redesigns.

It seems like “insta-lovers” aren’t big on change, some users had some pretty strong reactions to the new look.

The big question is why the change? Instagram said the change reflects the developments the company has made since its launch in October 2010. According to Ian Splater who is head of design for Instagram, “The instagram logo and design was beginning to feel, well…not reflective of the community, and frankly we thought we could make it better,” he writes in a post on Medium.

It is obvious that the new app was inspired by the previous app icon. They also made improvements to how the instagram app looks on the inside as well. The design is supposed to make the app feel simpler. The design allows there to be more focus on the photos and videos users post without changing how you navigate the app. Although this is the most noticeable change to this app, it is also implementing updates that will have a more significant impact on marketers.

The Instagram community has progressed over the past five years from a place to share filtered photos too much more.  Instagram’s fresh new look reflects how diverse and lively your story telling has become.

Written by Carly Wiegand of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Say What?! Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm Decreases to 2%

Is Facebook on it's way to become a thing of the past when it comes to promotion for small businesses and nonprofit organizations? 

Recently announced, Facebook has once again changed their algorithm to a mere 2%, which means that only 2% of the people liking a page will receive news and updates from that page. Just 2 years ago it was at 16%. I don’t know about you but when I “like” a page, I expect it to show up on my timeline! 

Facebook has been active for over a decade as a means of sharing and promoting and connecting and now this $212 Billion company is asking for business (both big and small), and non profit organizations to pay to boost their posts!

Facebook has completely taken this out of the hands of the consumer and made it virtually impossible for small businesses and nonprofits to reach all their clientele that they spend a lot of time building up, for what? So that 2% of the people can see it? That is unless of course you “boost” your post and pay to have a higher percentage of people see what you're sharing as a company.

So the question remains.. How does Facebook expect small businesses or start up companies or nonprofits to reach their fan base if they are preventing it? Facebook doesn’t even give the user an option to allow us to see all the pages that we like regardless of the algorithm! Sure there is the page interest list on the sidebar on the newsfeed page, but it sure doesn't look like any of those pages have been showing up, at least in my feed!

All-in-all this new 2% algorithm, defeats the whole purpose of having a Facebook page... that is, in my opinion. It just doesn't seem fair to alienate and aggravate active businesses on Facebook that have already worked so hard to get fans, and then tell them fans won't be seeing their content. Exceptions should be made to the algorithm because not every Facebook page is alike. If this 2% algorithm stays, “Find us on Facebook” will become obsolete.

The last time I checked, I clicked “like” on a company's page for a reason. This just doesn't seem like an ethical business tactic on Facebook's end. What are your thoughts? Sound off in the comments section below!

Written by Victoria Ripepi from Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Top 3 Social Media Trends Coming in 2014!

It is no surprise that businesses are taking full advantage of the marketing benefits that social media has to offer. Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc., businesses are seeing an amazing increase of traffic and revenue with the help of these platforms. Experts have put together the top fifteen social media trends coming to us in 2014 and I’d like to focus in on the big three that I found the most interesting and educational for myself here as a social media intern at Rebecca Adele PR & Events!

First, I’d like to explain how absolutely ecstatic I am that businesses are finally realizing the gains of social media. 93% plan to either maintain or increase their social media budget for 2014. Instead of looking at social media as a group effort, many will start to employ actual in-house media specialists to maintain customer engagement, increase brand awareness and keep track of the traffic that social media is bringing to the table. For me, I could not be happier. Of course I enjoy the social benefits of my own personal media sites, but that has really increased my passion and education for utilizing social media tools for marketing and branding. Here at Rebecca Adele, I have learned proper social media techniques that I will carry on into the business world once I graduate!

My first day on the job, Becki made a point to make sure that we display a proper image with every single media post we create. Why is this necessary? Well, experts found that in 2013, text-based posts got 50% less interaction than those with images. When you provide your potential customers with an image from the very beginning, you are displaying exactly what they can expect from your site and appealing to their aesthetics. Instagram, in it’s efforts to compete with the newest app SnapChat, has created Instagram direct. With this new feature, businesses can send direct images and contest entries to the customers who choose to follow them.

The third point I think will be a HUGE social media trend is Pinterest. In 2013, every pin on Pinterest had an 80% re-pin rate. For social media, that is insane! Sites have seen a 15% traffic coming in from Pinterest and has seen a $100 increase per sale.

With 2014 officially on it's way I'm excited to see where this year's trends take us! Stay tuned!

Written by Maggie Burke of Rebecca Adele PR & Events