Meg Siegel

Well, well, well, the Internet has been an interesting place lately. There are a lot of people with a lot of feelings who feel the need to post those feelings, which is great. In fact, this could actually be what saves Twitter! But we digress.

Snickers Super Bowl Live Commercial

In a pretty brave move by Snickers, they will be airing the first-ever live Super Bowl commercial. Livestreaming is great for digital, but how does it translate to TV? We’ll just need to find those American feeds to see it in action. OR you can tune into their 36-hour livestream from the set. They have all kinds of celebrity appearances in store for their livestream, so we’re curious to see what it’s all about. Pretty neat!

>Learn more

Ads in FB Messenger

They’re just about everywhere else online, so we’re not surprised to see ads starting to pop up in FB Messenger. The beta test launched in Australia and Thailand, and much like the Instagram ads beta, it’s very controlled by FB to ensure the best user experience possible. There are a lot of other group chat apps out there, so it’s in Facebook’s best interest to keep these ads as relevant as possible so people don’t jump ship. We’re curious to see what new targeting capabilities will be available with this placement.

>Learn more

Strength through unity

Shia LaBeouf has broken his image as “that guy from the Transformers movies” and is now becoming known for his totally out of the box performance art. His latest installation is an anti-Trump livestream He Will Not Divide Us that will allegedly be running as long as Trump is in office. People are encouraged to visit the camera which is in NYC outside of the Museum of the Moving Image. Since the inauguration of the camera, many, many, shenanigans have ensued, including celebrity sightings, vloggers, tons of press, and even LaBeouf getting arrested. This is not only a statement but a widely successful experiential marketing of LaBeouf's new image.

We’re constantly impressed with LaBeouf's digital chops. Last year, he embarked on a user generated road trip in collaboration with Vice called #TakeMeAnywhere. LaBeouf would tweet his location so people could pick him up and literally take him anywhere, all the while he documented his journeys and generated press pretty much every day for a year.

>Learn more

Brands Inactive on Snapchat

The stats are a bit misleading. Sure, there are a lot of brands on Snapchat, but 33% of them are actually dormant. Are they just squatting on their usernames until they have a proper strategy in place? Or did they start posting content only to find it wasn’t quite worth their while? We suspect that maybe brands aren’t doing well organically on Snapchat but it might still be worth the investment for those who have the budgets to pay for ads on Snapchat. It’s important to think of the nuances of creating content for Snapchat before launching into it full steam ahead. The format is vertical, the filters, stickers, and drawings are integral, and the content is ephemeral. You really need to think about what role Snapchat plays for your brand and how you’ll be efficient at creating content that is relevant to the platform.

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YouTube’s New Sharing Feature

YouTube loves Canada. No wonder though, we’re sharing videos at a rate that’s 15% higher than any other country. Woah. So naturally YouTube is going to pick Canada to launch their new sharing feature. How does it work? Good question! Basically it’s a(nother) group chat within YouTube. You can send videos to individuals or groups and then you can chat about them with your friends.

This is a bit scary for brands as YouTube is notorious for trolls and negative comments and so now users are able to have those conversations right on the platform and in private. So you may see this as a blessing or a curse. On one hand, the comments will be confined to the users in those small groups. And on the other hand, the brands won’t be able to see the conversations or be able to course correct if negative things are being said. We’ll be keeping a close eye on usage of this new feature!

>Learn more

Instagram Live Video For Everyone!

It’s finally happened, we can now all broadcast live video from our cellphones to anyone who follows us on Instagram! So far, we haven’t quite been glued enough to our phones to catch one right at the beginning, so if you’re going to broadcast live, make sure to buffer the beginning of your video with some filler and save the good stuff until you’ve reached your peak number of viewers!

>Learn more

Mozilla’s New Logo

Moz://a has been working on their new logo for the better part of a year and seeking community guidance along the way. You can read more about the process here. They landed on something that feels a bit early 2000s. Most people don’t even type in http:// anymore. What do you think of the new logo? And more importantly, what w:// the m://ennials think?

>Learn more

Netflix Is Doing Better Than Anyone Thought

I think we all knew that SVoD (subscription video on demand) is the best thing to happen to our binge-watching habits, but OMG Netflix stock is at it’s all-time highest. While Netflix used to be like the bargain basement of the local VHS shop, they have seriously stepped it up and have increased their subscriber base by a million more people than they expected. They’re investing in the future of television with some seriously high budget original content and it is paying off.

>Learn more

Hi friends!

ONE LAST TRENDS REPORT BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS! Ok sorry, we’re just a little bit excited. We’re going to keep this one light and fluffy to keep you in the holiday spirit and out of the dark web. We’ll save the real thinky stuff for January.

Instagram Bookmarking

Instagram now lets you save posts for later which initially sounds creepy considering how many people use the platform for lurking. But upon further reflection, the new feature is great for bookmarking recipes, products, or DIY inspiration that you might want to revisit later when you have more time. It could be a great CTA prompt for brands if their content warrants a bit more thought from the consumer.

> Learn more

Twitter Livestreaming

Twitter has made it even easier for you to livestream your family’s holiday dinner. You no longer need to stream live video through Periscope, you can do it when you’re deciding to post a status, photo, or video--just like on Facebook. Periscope will remain a standalone app before it probably goes the way of the late Vine.

> Learn more

Facebook Video Group Calling

If you miss your colleagues so much over the holidays that you absolutely must see their beautiful faces, then just ring them all up at once on Facebook’s new group video chat feature. It lets you call up to 50 people at once! Doesn’t sound like chaos at all!!

> Learn more

Facebook Adblock Option

The two types of ads that people tend to find the most distressing are ads related to alcohol and ads related to parenting. Facebook is releasing a feature to everyone that allows them to turn off FB ads surrounding these two topics. This is the first time that FB has allowed people to exclude something from their advertising preferences. They have said they’re launching with parenting/alcohol options but will be accepting feedback from users on other types of ads that might distress people.

> Learn more

Holiday Mobile Gaming

If you’re looking for a game to keep you busy during the holidays, then look no further! Super Mario Run has been making a lot of headlines. It’s a simple, one-handed game and is highly addictive. Check it out. And if Pokemon GO was your game a few months back, then get excited because there are big plans for a Holiday event in the game and rumors of many more 2nd generation Pokemon to be released in the wild any day now!

> Learn more

Holiday Streaming

Have you watched everything there is to watch on Netflix? You already marathoned OA and the break hasn’t even started yet? Perhaps something on Amazon Prime tickles your fancy. Their streaming service is now available in Canada for all your holiday binge watching needs.

> Learn more

Instagram Becomes Even MORE Like Snapchat

They’ve done it again! Introducing stickers, story saving, fancier text formatting, one-handed video mode (for ultimate selfie video power) and even a candy cane brush.

> Learn more

This week we’re recapping something important that we didn’t cover from a few weeks ago, along with several new updates from Facebook and Snapchat. Also, Pokémon GO has an update, but if you want to talk about that you can connect with Meg offline.

Instagram Story Tagging/URLs

This one came up before lg2 Trends were lg2 Trends, but it’s so interesting and relevant we just had to recap it. About a month ago, Instagram released the ability to tag users in your Instagram story and—even more interesting—add a clickable link if you’re a verified page. So now you can have a clickable link on your IG story, but not in your captions. We predict IG will make links in captions clickable soon, and will allow everyone to add links to their stories. Until then, if you have a verified account, think about using this in terms of driving to campaigns, contests, and content.

> Learn more

Snapchat Group Chat

Below is a screenshot of the pending updates that are coming to Snapchat. This is long overdue. Once you start to have lots of friends on Snapchat, it’s hard to group them and decide who to send which snaps to. The Shazam integration is also very useful. This item isn’t going to make a huge impact on brands right away, but as brands saw with Facebook Messenger, it makes it easier and easier for users to have private conversations. They used to crowdsource on their walls, but perhaps now they’re doing it privately with a trusted group of friends. The trick might be figuring out how to get brands involved directly in these conversations. But that’s going to take a few more updates.

> Learn more

Facebook Camera Effects

Since the last item was about Snapchat becoming more like Facebook, naturally the next item will be about Facebook becoming more like Snapchat. Facebook has launched Camera Effects which are essentially DIY photo filters that you can submit, which anyone can then use when taking a photo. In order to use them, you can either do it when creating a new profile picture, or when you’re using the camera within Facebook (à la Snapchat). It hasn’t launched yet, and there isn’t a whole lot of information available, but if your brand has any locations or events coming up, you might want to start planning a Facebook Filter Frame. (They had to differentiate from Snapchat somehow.)

> Learn more (watch the video on this link to really get a feel for this new feature)

> And more

NFL Relaxes Social Media Rules

The NFL had previously prohibited teams themselves to post during the game window as an attempt to increase engagement with the NFL masterbrand accounts. The result? People were mad! They want to have fun tweeting at their teams, and seeing the GIFs and creative content they had been so famous for. As a result, the NFL experienced massive backlash and realized that, “Hey, maybe it’s a good thing for our teams to be able to engage with their fans, to help build equity in the franchise as a whole!” Remember, brands: your influencers can be your biggest advocates, and influencers come in all shapes and sizes.

> Learn more

Instagram Comments Update

Instagram became even more like Facebook with their latest update. You’re now able to like individual comments, or even turn off comments entirely on specific posts. This makes things interesting for individuals, but even more interesting for brands who know they might not have a positive reaction to certain posts and can simply eliminate negative sentiment by turning comments off from the time of posting! There will have to be discussions about when this is appropriate, however, because we can only imagine the influx of negative comments on other platforms saying “brand x clearly doesn’t want to know what we think about this!” Use this new feature cautiously.

> Learn more

Amazon Go Store

There have been several apps, like Ritual, Favour, Just Eat, and Uber Eats, that sort of play the middleman between the shopping and the checkout experience, allowing you to shop from your phone and simply pick-up your lunch in store. It’s mostly been used by the food service industry, and has been less about being able to browse. Until now. The Amazon Go store allows you to swipe your app upon entering the store, browse and shop, then leave without having to visit a checkout. No need for pesky human interaction, and everything is done through your Amazon app! The store opened this week in Seattle.

Keep in mind, many other retailers have been working on a browse from home, pay on your phone, then pick-up in store model. The future of shopper experience is changing quickly. There have been more major changes in the past few months than we’ve seen over the past few years. It’s an interesting time of trying to make one of life’s less glamorous tasks more simple and streamlined. Now… if only they could solve all the other first world problems we have!

> Learn more

Google #KnowNearby

Fun fact: If you tweet google an emoji, it will now respond with nearby search results. Tweet it a donut, it will respond with a cute GIF, a pun, and local search results. Tweet it a pizza and you’ll find google results for all local pizza shops. This doesn’t seem like the most functional tool—considering how easy it is to google “donut shop” without having to go through Twitter—but more of a stunt to promote local search results and get some buzz around #KnowNearby. It’s also helping to make emojis part of everyday life, replacing words with little images. Cute!

> Learn more

We were expecting it to be a slow week for trends (due to things slowing down over US Thanksgiving) but we were pleasantly surprised by just how much has happened over the past week!

Netflix Offline Mode

When the first rumblings of this began spreading through our Toronto office, it was greeted with was massive applause. Not even kidding. There were audible cheers and celebration afoot—it was almost deserving of a bottle of veuve. This is a huge update for Netflix, and will likely deter people from downloading off torrent sites if they want something to watch on flights, or some other offline situation—rare as they are. What does this mean for clients? Well not much, but this is something everyone is probably excited to learn about!

> Learn more

Video Length

When the online video boom was in full force a few years back, it was common knowledge that the optimal length of a video was 60 seconds or less. The Internet has made our attention spans so short, that if we can’t convey our message in 60 seconds, then we shouldn’t even bother! Well, times have changed again. The top viewed video ads of 2014 and 2015 were all longer than a minute. In fact, the average length in 2014 was 3 minutes. People are open to more information, provided the content is compelling enough. If you want to learn more, we encourage you to take a look at this case study full of interesting facts and examples of putting this to the test! We also encourage you to consider length when you’re creating your next video campaign, and to remember that shorter isn’t necessarily better anymore.

> Learn more

> Video summary (4 min)

Games for FB Messenger

Perhaps it’s an attempt to draw a younger crowd back to FB Messenger and away from the newer youth-centric messaging apps. Or perhaps it’s an attempt to get the people who are currently using FB messenger to use it for longer. Either way, the launch of Instant Games on Messenger is an interesting one. We’ll likely see the ability to launch branded games appear shortly. With Chatbots and Instant Games, Facebook seems to be launching just as many new features on Messenger as they are on Instagram. If your brand is at all gamifiyable (new word!) then this might be a place to keep your eyes on.

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Reddit CEO Under Fire

One would think that the CEO of a company with such a savvy audience as Reddit, would know that altering comments to make himself look better wouldn’t go over very well. Last week, the CEO of Reddit, Steve Huggman, admitted that he had used his power to edit comments that criticized and insulted him. He admitted his mistake and apologized for it, but is still being pretty harshly trolled online. The lesson here? Be careful if you’re trying to erase/edit/alter something online. There’s usually a paper trail—and someone who will catch on! This goes for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram posts and the comments that go along with them. Always try to manage things without deleting or trying to sweep anything under the rug. Transparency is best!

This blog post is 100% totally and fully dedicated to one of the greatest men of all time (Joel) who definitely didn’t ask me to dedicate this to him and I am doing it out of the goodness of my own heart because he is so wicked cool. Trumpets, carrots, Moose, bikes, so many things that he likes that are great. He really is a stand up guy. Enjoy!

If you’re anything like me, you’ve had the best intentions of training all winter but you ended up doing more fun training than tough training. I’ve been spending lots of time at the climbing gym and doing Pilates at home. Lots of my co-Lantern Rouge team members have been riding through the winter, but I have not. Whoops!

Now that they’re starting to do some group rides, I’m a little hesitant to join in for fear of being ultra ultra extra super slow. But if there’s ever a good time to start riding with my pals, it’s now. Here’s why: 1. LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE SLOW RIGHT NOW Sure, some people have been training hard all winter. Others have not. I’m in the second camp, but I’m sure I’m not alone. I’m going to head out on my first group ride this weekend so I don’t fall too far behind with the people who also haven’t trained much this winter.

2. IT’S NOT LIKE I’VE BEEN DOING NOTHING While climbing and Pilates aren’t cycling, it’s not like I’ve been doing absolutely nothing at all. Last year at this time I hadn’t done any winter training, so I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was last year. That’s got to count for something! (Right?) 3. FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT Do the opposite of what I’m doing right now and just be confident. Show up. Ride your face off. Don’t complain. Suck it up, buttercup.

4. IT’S JUST FOR FUN

Hi friends!

We hope you had an amazing holiday and had some much-deserved time off to spend with your families—and reading about everything we outlined in our last trends email, of course.

Surprise Engagement

Engagement can come from the most unlikely places, just ask National Geographic. They’ve seen a HUGE surge in engagement and followers on their Instagram because hip hop duo/one-hit wonders Cypress Hill are seemingly obsessed with their feed. People are loving their comments on almost EVERY NatGeo photo and since you can now ‘like’ comments on IG, it’s resulting in a ton of engagement for NatGeo themselves. Surprise engagement is the best engagement. Even Snoop Dogg is entertained by it!

So keep this in mind when you think that liking a comment might not seem like the most powerful source of engagement on your brand’s Instagram account.

>Learn more

Instagram Launches Ads in Stories

It all makes sense now: Instagram didn’t just want to rip off Snapchat, they previously only had one avenue for posting ads. They have now doubled their amount of ad placements! Up next—probably—we’ll see promoted posts and accounts in the discover section.

> Learn more

Facebook Desktop Livestream

Gone are the days that you need a phone or tablet to create a livestream on Facebook. This opens up a world of higher production-quality live videos. The update only applies to Pages and not everyday users. There has also been an update to page role management that lets you assign “Live Contributors” in case you have a large team but only certain people are allowed to host livestreams.

> Learn more

Facebook’s Fix For Journalism

As we all know, Facebook has been criticized for allowing fake news stories to gain huge amounts of prominence, while failing to admit that they are, by default, a media company. They were highly scrutinized and even blamed for Trump winning the election. Today, Zucks announced how Facebook plans to mend the bridges they broke with, well, the entire journalism industry. It’s not entirely clear how the new products will roll out, but Facebook has said they will:

Work with journalists on new business models

Offer journo-friendly tools

Encourage everyone to read critically and fight fake news

Collaborate with content producers/media companies

Show previews of articles that are behind paywalls in messenger (resulting in potential paying customers)

Host news-oriented hackathons

Offer online training courses

Offer a trending news discovery product for journalists

These are just some of the things Facebook is doing for our news community. It seems like they are working on a LOT of stuff and taking the accusations pretty seriously. As for how people consume news on Facebook? Well, we’ll see if that changes.

> Learn more

Instagram is reportedly testing multiple account support. No more logging out and logging back in to switch users, it looks like we’ll be able to toggle back and forth like you’re able to do on Twitter and Facebook. This might not be big news for everyone, but this is HUGE for community managers, small business owners, and people who manage some ~*~fun accounts~*~. This minor inconvenience was always such a major mental roadblock when it comes to actually posting pictures. This will make it easier for people to post and engage with all of their communities in a timely manner.

Every year I take on a little bit more responsibility at my job. 

Every year I am required to focus a little bit more on tech and innovation. 

Every year I find FITC helps me to be more and more inspired to make cool things at work. 

And every year I revisit this video for advice from FITC's Aaron James Draplin. (it's very similar to the talk he gave at my first FITC back in 2013.) 

A couple of months ago I was promoted from Community Manager at BBDO/Proximity to Social Content Strategist and I indirectly attribute some of my success to Draplin's talk at FITC in 2013. He made such an impact and inspired me so much that I tried adopting his attitude and applying it to both my personal and professional life. 

There are many conferences in Toronto throughout the year that apply to my industry and to social media specifically, but FITC helps me think a little bit more out of the box. Working as a strategist at a digital agency has me looking at entire digital ecosystems and we're always pushing to be as innovative as possible and FITC always opens my eyes to possibilities I never thought could exist. 

FITC is something I look forward to year after year and the women's initiative opens the door for many of us.

So she decided to do something about it

20-something Toronto young professional, L. Palmer [name has been changed] hated waking up to do literally anything ever. So when she heard she might have to get up a tad earlier to do [insert activity here], she simply could not stand for it.

“I thought, if that happens, I will die,” Palmer told her friends. “I will quit everything!”

Instead of begging her mom/friends/boss/self to let her sleep later or taking ill-timed naps to compensate for her lack of sleep, she decided to do something heroic: Palmer quit her job, friend-dumped everyone and moved back in with her parents. Now she doesn’t have to die–and she can sleep in. It’s a win/win.