The Slice
Our blog, The Slice, delivers all the answers you need about social media, digital tools, branding, messaging, and more.
Storytime
If you use Facebook or Instagram or Snapchat, you may already know about Stories. Snapchat started this phenomenon and it changed the game. Essentially, Stories are photos and videos stitched together into a narrative, which you can watch on any of these apps as though you're tuned in to a TV channel featuring your friend, celebrity, or brand that you follow. You can watch these for 24 hours before they disappear.
Now (and social media managers everywhere are watching this news with popcorn in hand), Facebook has made a big move to clone this feature from Snapchat and Instagram onto your Newsfeed. Here's what it looks like:
Is It Worth It?
Raise your hand if anyone's ever asked you about ROI.
That lovely little acronym makes a lot of marketers unhappy. It means "return on investment," and in our case it measures the efficiency of the time and money that we spend on social media.
Was that social media training worth the cost? What is your business gaining from Instagram or Twitter? Why is your employee spending all that time posting on Facebook, anyway?
The Great Podcasting Adventure
So you've decided to make a podcast! We're sure that after reading last week's Slice you know that it will take time, work, equipment, and maybe a green tea with honey to prep those vocal cords.
But the whole long process is worth it when you open your favorite podcast app and see your show waiting for you, ready to be downloaded.
Podcasting 101
Do you listen to podcasts? Ever thought of starting your own? Welcome to this week’s Weekly Slice, brought to you by The Good Lemon (we hope you read that in Ira Glass’s soothing voice).
Podcasting is a great tactic to try for connecting with your audience, sharing content in an easy-to-find format that your listeners opt into receiving, and gaining confidence in your public speaking and interview skills.
(Insert inspirational quote here)
Stop us if you've read this subject line before:
"You can FINALLY build your dream life"
"Confront your fears and commit yourself to success!"
"Learn the secret to being a special snowflake in just 10 easy steps"
If you've ever encountered any websites, blogs, books, podcasts or emails about entrepreneurship and business-building, you've seen subject lines like these, with short paragraphs of carefully-formatted fluff underneath.
Is Your Salad Hilarious?
Stock images. Love them or hate them, but we're sure you've had to use them. At the very least you probably make fun of them.
As fun as some terrible stock images may be to laugh at, there is no shame in using a quality stock image for your brand. (We promise they exist!) They save time and are a practical solution when you have something specific in mind, and are even more practical if you don't have the budget to hire a photographer.