What do Mark Zuckerberg, Heineken, and Apple have in common?
They all recently made it onto DigitalMarketer’s reading list. 
As the Social Media Manager at DigitalMarketer, I spend a lot of time reading blogs from industry experts and wicked smart folks—along with networking, distributing our content, and making sure we’re putting our best foot forward across our social channels.
When I come upon posts that are all-around well done AND would be a great fit for our audience, I share them with the DigitalMarketer team and on our various social channels…
Today, you’re in luck because I’ve compiled a collection of content we’re currently loving, so you don’t have to go looking for it.
Some of these blogs are content heavy and one of them doesn’t have any words at all! But each one has a very important purpose to continue your growth in the digital marketing world.
(RELATED: The Beginner’s Guide to Digital Marketing)
Read on to learn the trends, strategies, and industry updates DigitalMarketer is keeping an eye on so you can stay on the cutting edge.
(NOTE: For more, follow us on Twitter (@digitalmktr) and look out for #IndustryUpdates for real-time news about online platforms!)
May 2017
From fake news to graphic design to how to cover a larger than life event, let’s dive right in.
What a 125-Year-Old Brand Taught Us About Standing Out on Social Media
I’m not gonna lie – I went through quite a few jobs right out of college. I knew social media was MY THING, but every time I was hired to execute… I fell so incredibly flat. Blaming content that was “boring” or “too technical” was the only way I could justify failing.
Then I read this article and realized… I was SO INCREDIBLY WRONG.
GE is the perfect example of finding ways to make content on social channels interesting no matter what the subject is. This blog post goes through a plethora of successful campaigns and post ideas run by the GE marketing team.
If GE can make centrifugal pump impellers or energy neutral wastewater treatment interesting to a social media manager, you can probably find an angle too.
See how GE found their angle here.
Recommended For
Social media professionals.
Main Takeaway
Creativity is key.
No topic is boring if you truly think about how your product influences the consumer’s life. If you don’t feel passionate about the subject, find people who are and generate content around their needs.
5 Books Mark Zuckerberg Wants You to Read Right Now
I’m not sharing this with you because I love the books Zuckerberg reads. I’m sharing this with you because the style and presentation of the information are the EPITOME of a viral post.
First of all… HOLY VIDEO!
How much fun is it to consume things that could be read in a quick video form?!
This article could have gone through summaries and meanings of the books but, instead, Facebook delivered minimal content with maximum quality.
This is something we should all be doing to keep our content fresh and consumable.
Additionally, this is a staple piece of content. Every business owner should regularly share what they’re learning and where they’re getting new ideas from.
In fact, our CEO, Ryan Deiss, does this. (He’s pretty much the next Zuckerberg if you ask me!)
Read the whole article here.
Recommended For
Content marketers, videographers.
Main Takeaway
Always look for new ways to present tired content. If you have blog posts that attract no readers, maybe you need to think of a new way to deliver the information.
At SXSW, It’s All Topo Chico
This article is close to my heart.
Not only am I an obsessive Topo Chico drinker, but I am a proud Austinite with a passion for our biggest music/tech/film festival, South by Southwest. 
AdAge totally killed this SXSW review by explaining the essence of the festival as “Topo Chico.” The author turned this brand into an adjective to emphasize the epic, otherwise inexplicable, experience.
For example… “It’s ‘Topo Chico’ when someone older than 22 can wear Snap’s Spectacles in public, if only for the week.”
The creativity makes this a must read. It’s a great example of how to keep your audience engaged in content that is being covered by multiple sources.
Learn what it means to be “Topo Chico” here.
Recommended For
Copywriters.
Main Takeaway
When you’re writing about a topic that is widely covered, find a unique angle and run with it.
Facebook Takes Back the Spotlight from Snapchat, For Now
Recently, Facebook’s F8, their annual roll out of everything they’ve been working on and future plans, took place. While I could just attach the entire presentation, I figured I would do you a favor and give you the best recap I could find – and it happens to come from one of the best agencies in Austin: T3!
In short, Facebook still seems to be taking Snapchat’s mojo. Augmented reality is coming, and it’s coming quickly, starting with our phone cameras – just like Snapchat!
But the best part has to be this new idea of tagging things where you are.
Basically, if you go to a restaurant and you have the best sandwich of your life, all you have to do is tag it with a review. Then, if someone you’re friends with on Facebook goes to that same sandwich shop, they’ll get a notification on their phone of your review.
How cool is that?!
The F8 conference also focused on the new chatbots in Messenger and how businesses can begin to have more 1:1 or 1:few conversations via Messenger rather than broadcasting to every follower.
DigitalMarketer has taken a deep dive into this concept and we’ve come up with some pretty good strategies that you may be interested in – check them out:
- Facebook Messenger Ads: How to Use Them in Your Business
- Facebook’s Comment-to-Messenger Feature: Everything You Need to Know
For more info on Facebook’s F8 conference and their plan for AR, Messenger bots, and Virtual Reality, read the full blog here.
Recommended For
Technology early adopters, social media gurus, paid traffic managers.
Main Takeaway
Facebook has big plans to further develop augmented reality, Messenger marketing, and virtual reality in the next 10 years. F8 is one of the best conferences to keep up with, so you can know more about next year’s trending topics!
Heineken’s New Ad Gets Totally Political, and It’s Surprisingly Great
Did anyone else witness the disaster that was Pepsi’s protest commercial starring Kendall Jenner? If you haven’t, I’m sorry to have to share this with you – but you must watch this video for context.
So, what did Heineken do?
They got real…
…and they absolutely killed it.
You see, as marketers, there is ONE THING that no bot or augmented reality or virtual reality can take from us – human sentiment.
When you can capture what your audience is actually going through, instead of pretending that we live in some sparkly world run by a house full of Kardashians – that is where the magic happens.
Heineken saw the real problems we face every day and asked two opposing sides to talk about it over a beer – that’s it.
And it worked.
Because that is what people actually want to do to solve their problems.
We don’t want to have to be in the streets “fighting the man” to get understanding from society. We just want to drink a beer and talk about the reality of our lives and connect with those around us.
Watch Heineken’s full video here, and read what UpWorthy has to say about it here.
Recommended For
Advertisers, consumer marketers, creatives.
Main Takeaway
If you want a piece to touch your audience on a human level, you have to create a message that people can actually connect with. Giving a Pepsi to a police officer doesn’t save the world, but sharing a beer and having an open conversation just might make the difference.
Now let’s talk about some industry updates that has the DigitalMarketer team buzzing…
Save Instagram Live Videos to Your Phone
Instagram Stories won’t let Snapchat have anything cool anymore. They raised the competition and are ready to completely own the market.
Find out more about the update here.
Recommended For
Social media managers.
Main Takeaway
Instagram Stories might be worth more of your time than Snapchat. Everything is now exactly the same, PLUS there is more usable data behind it.
LinkedIn + Microsoft = <3
LinkedIn is about to get way more legit, thanks to Microsoft.
Finally, useful data that has deep value will be added to their analytics.
Social Media Managers rejoice!
See what’s next for LinkedIn and how Microsoft will play a part here.
Recommended For
Social Media Managers, customer care/sales teams using LinkedIn for lead generation.
Main Takeaway
LinkedIn is about to be a main source of measurable social success, once Microsoft implements new tracking and data options.
(RELATED: [LinkedIn SEO] 5 Simple Steps to Outrank Your Competition on LinkedIn)
No Annotations on Youtube
YouTube annotations have never been mobile friendly.
You know, those boxes with a call-to-action (CTA) that pop-up while you watch your favorite videos? Like these…
You could only click the link on desktop versions.
So, they’re completely doing away with them and have something much more mobile friendly coming our way.
Find out what this means for your YouTube videos here.
Recommended For
Videographers, content marketers.
Main Takeaway
Now you’ll actually be able to click the advertisements when watching YouTube videos on mobile.
Apple Clips
Apple is rolling out its own personal photo sharing service.
It’s like Snapchat but through your phone. There is no release date yet – but we are definitely keeping our eye on this one!
Learn more about Apple’s Clips here.
Recommended For
Early adopters, anyone unreasonably obsessed with Apple (that’s me!).
Main Takeaway
Everyone is looking to make their own version of SnapChat – here’s Apple’s.
Be sure to check back for next month’s installment and for more digital marketing trends and strategies, follow us on Twitter (@digitalmktr) and look out for #IndustryUpdates for real-time news about online platforms!
