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Calm and We Read Too developer says coding lives up to Steve Jobs’s vision
The developer behind the iOS app We Read Too says that, for her, coding has really lived up to Steve Jobs’s vision of “being at the intersection of technology and liberal arts.”
Kaya Thomas was interviewed by Apple about her app highlighting children’s books by Black authors or featuring Black characters …
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9to5Mac Daily: February 11, 2021 – Apple Glasses, iOS 14.5 Apple Maps features
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Sponsored by Crypto Pro: Bitcoin/cryptocurrency tracking app for iPhone, iPad, Mac & Apple Watch.
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Be Mine: A Brief History of Valentine’s Day Marketing
When I was in grade school, Valentine’s Day was one of my favorite holidays. There were cards. There was the possibility that your crush actually liked you back. And, there was the chocolate — so much chocolate.
Little did I know that the roots of this holiday bore little-to-no resemblance to my childhood experience of it. We were never taught that Valentine’s Day actually originated with an arguably gruesome ancient festival, where there was no chocolate or exchange of cute, red-and-pink cards.
But love it or hate it, those are the types of things we associate with the holiday today. After all, there’s a reason roughly 114 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year — it’s what’s become expected of us.
So how the heck did we get from an ancient Roman festival to a holiday that compels many of us to spend no less than $147 on celebrating it? That story, it turns out, is thousands of years old — but we’ll try to condense it.
How Valentine’s Day Began and Evolved
Ancient Rome
The roots of Valentine’s Day are cited by some sources to lie in the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia, largely because it took place annually on February 15 — the day after what is today the observed date of Valentine’s Day — and involved some very primitive forms of courtship and matchmaking. But it was also ancient Rome that saw the famous execution of a St. Valentine on February 14, around 278 A.D. According to legend, he wrote a letter on the night before his execution to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended, and signed it, “From Your Valentine.”
Over two centuries later, Pope Gelasius ordered that Lupercalia be replaced with the February 14 observation of St. Valentine’s Day. That set the tone, some believe, for the day’s forthcoming tradition of exchanging “love messages,” perhaps in remembrance of St. Valentine’s farewell letter.
The Romans are also credited with constructing the idea of Cupid — a god of love often depicted with arrows that, as the legend goes, inflict love upon those who are hit by them. The Roman version of Cupid was adapted from Eros, a god of passion and fertility in Greek mythology. It seems that no one is quite sure when cupid became associated with Valentine’s Day, but the fact that both have origins in ancient Roman culture suggests that there may have been some very early overlap between the two.
Shakespeare (and Chaucer) in Love
When NPR’s Arnie Seipel set out to explore the history of Valentine’s Day, he found that it first became romanticized by classic authors like William Shakespeare in the late 16th century, and Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1300s.
Chaucer
Dartmouth English professor Peter Travis cites Chaucer’s epic poem The Parliament of Fowls, which was one of the first literary references to St. Valentine’s Day, or “Seynt Valentynes day,” as Chaucer spelled it. One such mention is made, Travis explains, alongside the line, “Now welcom somer, with thy sonne sonne, That hast this wintres weders over-shake.” In other words, when we celebrate love in the coldest depths of winter — in February, for instance — it’s so heartwarming that it makes summer feel less far away.
Shakespeare
Some literary historians credit Shakespeare for the permeation of love into popular culture with his composition of “Sonnet 18” — said to be written between 1593-1601 — a.k.a., “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” It’s unclear when or how this particular work became associated with Valentine’s Day, but like Chaucer, Shakespeare compares love to the seasons.
“While summer days may fade and fall into” colder months, writes Shakespeare analyst Lee Jamieson, “his love is eternal.”
Of course, Saint Valentine’s day is alluded to outright in Hamlet — written between 1599-1601 — when the character Ophelia recites a song about a young lady’s experience with the holiday, which includes lyrics like, “Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day,” and, “To be your Valentine.”
The 17th Century and Beyond
By the 1700s, it’s said that Valentine’s Day made its way from Europe to the United States, which aligns with the establishment of the North American colonies between 1607-1770. It became traditional, according to HISTORY.com, “for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes.” That was more common in England, however, where the Industrial Revolution began earlier and eventually included the production of “fancy valentines [that] were extremely expensive to import.“
It’s said that one American woman, Esther Howland, was so intrigued when she received her first English valentine greeting in 1847, that she became infatuated with the idea of manufacturing them in the U.S. She was an early entrepreneur, and instinctively believed that there could be an American market for these formal, English-style greetings. After procuring materials like high-quality paper and lace from her father, a stationer, she created what many credit as the earliest American Valentine’s Day greeting cards.
Today, Howland is still honored with the nickname “Mother of the American Valentine,” with many citing her work as the start of a multi-million-dollar industry. But it didn’t happen overnight — let’s take a look at how her work paved the way.
A Brief Timeline of Valentine’s Day Marketing
1714
Charles II of Sweden begins communicating with flowers, by assigning a different message to each type. This tradition allegedly assigned love and romance to the red rose, setting the stage for this flower to be exchanged during the later, commercialized era of Valentine’s Day. However, it remains unclear if a specific brand is responsible for first marketing flowers as part of Valentine’s Day gift-giving.
1822
In England, where Valentine’s Day had by now already been celebrated with the exchange of gifts and cards for many years, the Cadbury chocolate company sells the first heart-shaped box of chocolates.
1849
In Massachusetts, Howland produces a dozen sample Valentine’s Day cards and sends them off with her brother to distribute during a sales trip for their father’s company — S.A. Howland & Sons — hoping to earn $200. Instead, he returns with 25X that amount, indicating a much higher-than-expected demand.
Here’s an example of a card Howland created around this time.
1850
The first print advertisement for Howland’s cards appears in the Worcester Spy.
1866
Conversation candies are developed, when Daniel Chase — brother of New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) founder Oliver Chase — uses vegetable dye to print words onto confections.
1870
Howland incorporates her booming card business as the New England Valentine Company, operating out of her home via an assembly line that was largely comprised of her friends.
1879
The New England Valentine Company moves operations from Howland’s home to a Main Street factory in Worcester, Massachusetts. That same year, the company publishes the Valentine Verse Book, which contained 131 “verses” that people could cut out and paste inside of cards that came without a greeting — or those with a greeting that the buyer didn’t like.
1880 – 1881
Howland sells the New England Valentine Company to the George C. Whitney Company.
1888
Whitney has acquired at least 10 competitors, including Berlin and Jones, which had become New York City’s “largest manufacturer of Valentines.” Ten years later, the company moves to large-scale headquarters on Worcester’s Union Street.
1894
The Hershey Chocolate Company is founded, bringing what was previously “a European luxury product” to the U.S.
1902
Conversation candies become heart-shaped.
1906
American Greetings is founded, eventually becoming one of Whitney’s chief competitors.
1907
The Hershey Chocolate Company introduces its Hershey Kisses candy product. Interestingly enough, the product was allegedly named Kisses because whenever a piece of chocolate was dropped on the conveyer belt at the Hershey factory, it sounded like a kiss.
1910
That January, a massive fire destroys much of Whitney’s headquarters. However, most of the Valentine’s Day products had already been shipped for the season, having little impact on that particular holiday.
That same year, Hallmark is founded. Meanwhile, 1910 also saw the creation of Florists’ Telegraph Delivery — today known as FTD — which pioneered the remote ordering and delivery of flowers, providing a way to send them to far-away loved ones.
1913
Hallmark produces its first Valentine’s Day card.
1948
The De Beers diamond company launches its “A Diamond is Forever” campaign, sending the message that gifting high-end jewelry can be used as an expression of love.
1985
In the ’80s companies like Hallmark began launching more Valentine’s Day related commercials. In 1985, one commercial, which dubs Hallmark as “The Valentine’s Store” shows off all of the cards and heart-shaped products you can buy for your loved one in their locations.
1986
As if Kisses weren’t romantic enough based on their name, Hershey’s enforced them as a Valentine’s Day staple with one slight design tweak. The company began packaging Kisses candies in pink and red foil specifically for Valentine’s Day.
2004
As marketers continued to embrace new media, we saw an influx of high-quality and insanely high-budgeted commercials mark the holiday from the ’80s until now. One of the most iconic and beautifully shot commercials was a mini-romance drama, called “Le Film,” promoting Chanel No. 5 perfume.
In the ad, a man falls in love and runs away with a starlet, played by Nicole Kidman. In the end, she returns back to her life of fame. As she walks down the red carpet, he notes all the things he’ll remember about her, including the smell of her Chanel No. 5 perfume.
2005
Valentine’s Day begins to go digital. On February 14, 2005, YouTube — which originated as an online dating site — makes its debut. Co-founder Steve Chen still credits its invention as the brainchild of “three guys on Valentine’s Day that had nothing to do.”
2013
Ride sharing company Uber rolls out “Romance On Demand,” allowing users to send flowers on Valentine’s Day via the app. This initiative would continue to progress, with on-demand skywriting becoming available the following year.
2016
Well aren’t you accurate today, @netflix #HappyValentinesDay pic.twitter.com/pUK05gQ8Rs
— Tiffany Bukowski (@TheTiffy)
February 14, 2016
NetBase, a social media analytics platform, releases a Valentine’s Day Sentiment Analysis, measuring how people engage with and discuss the holiday on social media. In total, it measured nine million mentions of Valentine’s Day, with the vast majority of them mentioning a specific brand — Netflix. The top hashtag was #happyvalentinesday.
2017
In the earlier years of the Google Doodle, Google used Valentine’s Day to spread awareness of a rare species. In 2017, a series of Google Doodles shown in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day highlighted the stories of pangolins, the only mammal species with scales, as they give each other Valentine’s Day gifts or serenade their mates. Here’s one example:
While, at this point, Google didn’t need to market themselves with Doodles, this shows an early example of a brand that used its platform to creatively market another cause on the holiday.
2018 to Present Day
In recent years, Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns have gone completely digital, with a particularly strong presence on social media. With these new opportunities, smaller companies that don’t have Hallmark’s budget can easily spread awareness of their own brands during the holiday. Here’s one example of an Instagram post which highlighted a fine Italian restaurant ahead of Valentine’s Day:
While these real dog’s mimicking Lady and the Tramp grabbed attention, especially from the animal lovers on Instagram, this post’s caption encourages audiences to interact with the brand.
What Marketers Can Learn from Valentine’s Day Marketing
Like so many other holidays, Valentine’s Day has experienced a transition into pop culture that has shaped the way it’s perceived, discussed, and celebrated. Sure, it’s often accused of being nothing more than a money-making marketing holiday. But next time you hear someone label Valentine’s Day as a “Hallmark holiday,” you’ll have a wealth of historical information to respond with.
From our hearts to yours, Happy Valentine’s Day. We’ll be keeping an eye on its continued evolution.
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published in February 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness and freshness.
Review: Anker PowerWave charges your iPhone 12 and AirPods with 2-in-1 MagSafe compatible mount
One of the key new features with the iPhone 12 lineup was MagSafe technology. When it was introduced initially, I was somewhat underwhelmed by it. As time has gone on and more accessories have been released, it’s become one of my favorite aspects of the iPhone 12 mini, though. I recently purchased the Anker PowerWave to use at my desk, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite iPhone accessories in recent years. If you want to use your iPhone 12 as a webcam, read on to see how the PowerWave will help with that.
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Apple Music free trial extended to six months for students
The Apple Music free trial for students is normally the same three months as anyone else, before you’re offered the option of a half-price subscription with Apple TV+ thrown in as a sweetener. But Apple is currently doubling the free period to six months for higher education students in selected countries.
The exact qualifying requirements vary a little by country …
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Spike Email adds Outlook-style mentions, canned responses, and a new document scanner
Spike Email has released a new update to their desktop application that adds some extremely beneficial features. The new features are Outlook-style mentions, canned email responses, and a new iOS document scanner.
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Fraudulent Website Warning gets privacy boost in iOS 14.5
Apple’s Fraudulent Website Warning is designed to alert you when you’re about to visit a website that is known to host malware, or that is believed to be a phishing site. Previously, that check consulted a database hosted on a Google server, but as of iOS 14.5 it instead uses an Apple proxy to better protect user privacy.
That adds an extra layer of privacy to the protection Apple was already employing …
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Whiteboarding: What It Is & How to Use It In Your Meetings
Do you remember those old school projectors they used to have in school? Whenever the projector was pulled out in class, I knew I was going to have fun. Teachers would allow us to go up and write on the projector, and it just felt more collaborative.
That’s kind of what whiteboarding is like in business. As marketers, you probably have a lot of brainstorming sessions where you’re laying out landing pages, writing copy, and creating a strategy for a campaign.
And brainstorming sessions and whiteboarding go together like peanut butter and jelly.
In this post, we’ll dive into whiteboarding and learn how you can use this process to improve your brainstorming sessions.
Whiteboarding Session
While whiteboarding sessions are great, it’s easy to lose control over a brainstorming session. To conduct a successful whiteboard session, we’ve gathered a few tips.
Whiteboarding Techniques
1. Be creative.
One of the best parts of a whiteboarding session is that it allows your team to be creative. People can share documents, put up sticky notes as reminders, and share their ideas with the team. When you’re in person, it’s fun to let all your team members use the whiteboard, so everyone has a chance to write down notes and share their thoughts.
2. Stay focused.
With any brainstorming session, it’s easy to lose track of what the goal is. To stay focused, we suggest writing out your goal at the top of your whiteboard, so everyone can see and knows what they’re supposed to be doing. When ideas that are off-topic are brought up, write them down in a section on the side for ideas to follow up on.
3. Encourage meaningful conversation.
Brainstorming sessions also allow teams to have meaningful conversations about different ideas. No idea is too small, and everyone should feel confident speaking their mind. The whole point of a whiteboarding session is to engage and collaborate with members of your team. It’s supposed to be interactive. These sessions also help people feel heard and like their ideas are being taken into consideration.
4. Keep the board organized.
When you’re running a whiteboard session, it’s important to keep the board organized. Even though it’s brainstorming, your ideas should be labeled in sections, so everyone knows what idea pertains to what topics. This is also where you can add a side section just for “off-topic” ideas. You’ll still want to write those down, even if it doesn’t have to do with the topic at hand, so you can come back to it later and keep the meeting focused.
Now that we know what whiteboarding is and how to be successful when you’re running a meeting, let’s review some remote whiteboarding tools to help you be successful in a virtual brainstorming session.
Remote Whiteboarding
As we’ve discussed above, whiteboarding can be done remotely as well. This doesn’t need to be an in-person activity. In fact, remote whiteboarding meetings can be just as effective because everyone can use the whiteboard at once, and have full visibility of it at the same time.
Below, let’s review some whiteboarding tools to use in your video conferencing meetings.
Remote Whiteboarding Tools
1. Zoom
A great thing about Zoom is that a whiteboarding tool is built into the video conferencing software. If you use Zoom for your remote meetings, then you don’t need to look any further for a whiteboard tool.
To access the Zoom whiteboard, click the Share Screen button, and then click Whiteboard. One of the features we like about this tool is that other participants can annotate and participate in writing on the whiteboard (if allowed). It’s also nice because you can turn that feature off if you want as well.
2. Microsoft Whiteboard
If you aren’t using Zoom, or would rather use another whiteboard tool, Microsoft has an excellent option. With this tool, all team members can edit and comment directly on the screen in real-time.
The whiteboard is also infinite, meaning you can draw, type, or add sticky notes as much as you need. You can also save your whiteboards, so you can continue using the tool as much as you want, while also going back to old sessions.
3. Conceptboard
Conceptboard is another remote whiteboarding tool you can use during your meetings. With this tool, you can see live cursors, and everyone can collaborate at once.
Additionally, this tool has video conferencing capabilities, so you can talk to your team while you’re brainstorming.
4. Limnu
Limnu is an online whiteboard tool that’s realism is the biggest seller. It feels like a real whiteboard, but it has the features of online whiteboarding such as collaboration. Anyone can edit in real-time, but you can also limit permissions if need be. Additionally, there’s a chat box function which is helpful for those who don’t have editing permissions to give their point of view.
Whiteboarding is a great way to collaborate and brainstorm with your team. And the best part is, you don’t need to be in-person to have collaborative meetings. With remote whiteboarding tools, you can hold a brainstorming session just as easily.
YouTube site picture-in-picture mode working again w/ all browsers in iOS 14.5 beta
YouTube users on iPhone or iPad can again access picture-in-picture mode on all browsers when visiting the video-sharing mobile site when running the recent iOS 14.5 beta.
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9to5Mac Watch Time Podcast: Week 1
This week on Watch Time join 9to5Mac’s Zac Hall for his first week of run coaching with Tempo developer Rahul Matta.
9to5Mac Watch Time is a podcast series hosted by Zac Hall. In this series, we talk to real people about how Apple Watch is affecting their lives. Subscribe now to catch up with each episode and automatically hear new episodes as soon as they’re released every two weeks: 🟣 Apple Podcasts | 🟠 Overcast | 🟢 Spotify
Sponsored by Pillow: Pillow is an all-in-one sleep tracking solution to help you get a better night’s sleep. Download it from the App Store today.
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Apple TV+ acquires movie rights to ‘Dolly’ starring Florence Pugh
Apple reportedly acquired the rights to the movie “Dolly” after a “bidding war,” as revealed by Deadline. The Cupertino-based company disputed the film with four major studios and will now offer it to Apple TV+ subscribers.
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Google apps on iOS are showing sign-in warnings amid lack of updates
Google hasn’t updated the vast majority of its iOS services since December. Those apps are now throwing up “This app is out of date” messages when attempting a Google sign-in.
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Facebook rumored to be working on Clubhouse competitor, Twitter expands Spaces beta
Clubhouse is getting a lot of attention recently as the new audio chat social network is getting more users every day. In response to this, Facebook is rumored to be working on a competitor to Clubhouse, while Twitter Spaces is expanding its beta program in an attempt to slow Clubhouse’s growth.
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How to clean your dirty AirPods and charging case
AirPods have been a huge hit for Apple for a few different reasons. Among them are convenience, seamless integration with the company’s devices, and a great charging case. However, with a great product comes a lot of use, which in this case means build up of dirt, gunk, and earwax. Follow along for how to clean AirPods and the charging case.
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9 Valentine’s Day Marketing Campaigns We Love
Love, flowers, chocolate, bla bla bla …
Where are the marketing results?!
Okay, probably not what your Valentine’s date cares about. But if you’re a marketer, you might be interested in merging the most lovey-dovey of days with your marketing. But how?
Well, these companies have figured out some creative ways to leverage the warm and fuzzies (or unadulterated rage and crushing loneliness … whatever) that Valentine’s Day instills in people.
If you don’t have a marketing campaign planned for the 14th, maybe some of these will inspire you to get in on some last-minute Valentine’s Day action.
9 Effective Valentine’s Day Marketing Campaigns
1. Crook & Marker’s “OnlyCans” Website
In 2020, many online threads and message boards were discussing the controversial website “OnlyFans.” This platform invites users to purchase videos or images from people or influencers with profiles on the site.
Fast-forward to 2021, Crook & Marker is embracing the OnlyFans controversy with relatively PG marketing content.
The cheeky holiday campaign, which aims to earn donations for Muddy Paws Rescue, began with the brand launching a co-branded website called OnlyCans.dog.
When visiting the “OnlyCans” website, you instantly see videos and images of shirtless men holding cute puppies. You can also browse the profiles or each man-puppy duo.
From each profile page, you can then pick and share a pre-recorded video message or photo of them with a friend or loved one.
For every visitor who shares a video or photo message, Crook and Marker pledges to donate $1. Aside from the funny profiles, videos, photo messages from shirtless men, the site also features subtle ads for Crook and Marker products — as seen in the GIF above.
This is a great example of a co-marketing campaign that leverages edginess and current trends to create a campaign that catches your eye and makes you laugh. Although Crook and Marker are only subtly mentioned on the website, users know that they created it and that the campaign is for a good cause.
While this campaign isn’t specifically about marketing a brand, it’s fun and unique — which might enable shoppers to remember Crook & Marker next time they’re looking for a Spiked Seltzer product.
2. Ranch Dressing’s Customized Bottle
Nothing says Valentine’s Day like giving someone a bottle of — Ranch Dressing?
In 2021, while flower companies and B2C brands were highlighting the romantic gifts partners could give to each other, Hidden Valley took a funny approach to this strategy by offering audiences customized Valentine’s Day-themed bottles of Ranch salad dressing.
While this seems like an odd gift to some, Hidden Valley knows that they have fans out there that just love to cover everything they eat with Ranch dressing. To those audiences, this gift is funny, personalized, and potentially useful.
“I can’t wait to order some for my Valentine. And this totally isn’t just me,” Cirillo, who brought the campaign to our attention, admits.
3. Deliveroo’s “Third-Wheel Kevin”
Many people have identified as a “third-wheel,” or the only single person hanging out with one or more couples. And, many of these people know how awkward or uncomfortable couple’s holidays, like Valentine’s Day, can be.
That’s why Deliveroo’s 2020 Valentine’s Day ad told the story of a third-wheel named Kevin, rather than a romantic couples’ narrative.
The commercial, which is filmed to look like a documentary, follows the life of Kevin — an incredibly single man who’s always surrounded by couples. As the ad goes on, it tackles the strange, awkward, and completely untrue thoughts that single people might wrongly think about themselves.
The narrator, who’s seen throughout the commercial, explains, “Being a single doesn’t just effect Kevin when he’s at home. Many life-affirming activities are impossible alone. — It can be tiring being this lonely. He’s just a hollow shell.”
As the narrator dramatically describes the slight inconveniences of being single in a comedic and light-hearted way, Kevin’s seen playing boring single-person sports and posing in a two-person photo stand. As Kevin is seen doing these daily-life activities alone, the narrator and his partner are also shown playing team sports together and enjoying each other’s company
After the narrator is done explaining how boring the single life is, he adds, “Deliveroo can help you give the third-wheel in your life some love.”
If you’re single person, the commercial is pretty hilarious because it reminds you of all the strange, over-dramatic comments less-single people make. Meanwhile, if you aren’t single, you reflect on the times you were single and thought about the same awkward thoughts.
Because audiences might relate or laugh at the sarcasm of this ad, it might be more memorable to them. Because of this, they might think of Deliveroo next time they’re ordering a Valentine’s Day meal for themselves or “third-wheeeling” friends.
4. Twitter’s Offline Campaign
Believe it or not, one of Twitter’s great Valentine’s Day campaigns was actually not launched online.
In 2020, Twitter launched billboard ads around Valentine’s Day that only showed users’ incredibly sarcastic tweets about love and dating.
For example, in the image below, one tweet reads “Yo, I’m really awkward. Good luck to whoever is about to date me,” while another reads, “My husband said we had too much cheese in the fridge, so now I need to find a new husband.”
In this funny campaign, Twitter highlights the tweets of real users that have leveraged the platform to share their thoughts around Valentine’s Day. While other companies are zoned in on promoting ideal images of love and relationships, Twitter promotes relatable content from its actual users.
“The campaign not only feels authentic, but it reminds you that Twitter is a place to share your thoughts freely without judgement — even if they aren’t always pretty,” says Pam Bump, HubSpot Blog Audience Growth Manager.
5. 1-800 Flowers’ Cupid Commercial
In 2019, 1-800 Flowers launched a commercial where Cupid shared his grievances of how the bouquet company put him out of a job.
In the ad, which features a shirtless Cupid in his costume sitting in front of phones that are no longer ringing, Cupid yells “Ever since 1-800 Flowers, I’ve been out of a job!” He adds, “People no longer need Cupid to express their love. Now all they need is 1-800 Flowers.”
As Cupid continues to complain about 1-800 Flowers’ quality bouquet products, the video shows screenshots of the brand’s website and all the pretty flowers it has to offer.
Because you’re thrown into the scene of seeing Cupid as an angry, disgruntled grown man, the ad instantly grabs your attention. Then, as Cupid complains about how his competition is one-upping him, he also highlights how 1-800 Flowers is also better than competitors that also sell romantic products because they provide quick and painless scheduled delivery.
This ad is a great example of how a brand can playfully leverage their competition, and tell a fictional story, that highlights what makes their product different.
6. Frankie & Benny’s “Lady & the Tramp” Instagram Post
In 2019, the Italian restaurant chain Frankie & Benny’s referenced romantic scenes from notable films like “Lady and the Tramp.”
In a cute Instagram post, two real dogs are seen on a classy date at Frankie & Benny’s holding the same strand of pasta in their mouths. This mimics a class scene from Lady and the Tramp where two dogs kiss after accidentally eating the same strand of pasta.
The carousel post then highlights actual photos from iconic movies like, “When Harry Met Sally.” In the post’s caption, it encourages Instagram audiences to guess which movies are being referenced.
While the real dog’s mimicking Lady and the Tramp grabbed attention, especially from the animal lovers on Instagram, this post’s caption and other photos encourages audiences to interact with the brand by guessing which movies are being referenced.
This is both a fun way to boost brand awareness, and leverage the holiday to gain engagement on social media.
7. Panera’s Engagement Offer
In 2018, Panera tweeted that customers who got engaged in one of their restaurants on Valentine’s Day could win free wedding catering from the chain.
The tweet included a short and simple video which announced the promotion and showed two Panera employees cheering, as if they were witnessing a proposal.
Love is in the air. This Valentine’s Day, get engaged at a Panera and we might cater your wedding, for free. #PaneraProposalSweeps https://t.co/mpL5VbjSOd pic.twitter.com/VPRzu0QLNd
— Panera Bread (@panerabread)
February 9, 2018
This is a quick and sweet way to leverage the holiday and social media to gain foot traffic into a physical business. Although Panera is a giant corporation, this campaign strategy is so simple that smaller businesses could create something similar with a tweet, short video, and offer that drives foot traffic.
8. Facebook Messenger Heart Feature
Just before Valentine’s Day in 2018, Facebook Messenger’s Twitter announced that if you shared that you were “In a Relationship” with a friend you were messaging, celebratory hearts would rain down in your Messenger thread with that person.
It’s not official until it’s #FacebookOfficial. Update your relationship status on Facebook and shower bae with ❤️❤️❤️on Messenger. Also customize your chat emoji, color and more! pic.twitter.com/P6oy35fHmp
— Messenger (@messenger)
February 13, 2018
Although a small business probably can’t add a major feature to their product just because of a holiday, this is a good example of how you can theme something related to your product, such as your website, around a holiday temporarily.
Another thing that’s interesting about this campaign is that Facebook is using a competing social platform, Twitter, to announce this new feature. This slightly undermines Twitter, which also allows direct messaging but with less interactive features.
9. “Adults Meal” – Burger King
While Burger King’s “Adults Meal” campaign is one of the oldest on this list, it’s still a classic that marketers talk about today.
Burger King has always been no stranger to poking fun at its biggest competitor, McDonalds. This was no different on Valentine’s Day 2017 when they offered an “Adult Meal” alternative with a similar box shape to McDonalds’ kids’ meal.
In the ad for the meal, Burger King explains that Kids’ Meals are for kids. But, on the night of Valentine’s Day, Burger King customers can buy an adult meal with an “adult toy.”
This campaign is pretty cheeky. However, it’s edgy mission and subtle comments about its competitor’s product make it memorable and funny.
Honorable Mention: Match.com’s “Match Made in Hell” campaign.
Technically, this campaign wasn’t created for Valentine’s Day specifically. But, many of our marketers thought it had all the perfect elements of a great Valentine’s Day campaign. Because of this, we wouldn’t be surprised if it sees a lot of circulation in February.
In the commercial, directed by actor Ryan Reynolds, Satan sits in Hell using Match’s app when he sees he’s matched with a woman named 2020. When he meets up with her on Earth, he nervously says “Hi 2-0-2-0.” She replies, “Please, call me 2020” — pronouncing it like the year.
As the commercial continues, 2020’s character appears to be the epitome of everything that happened in 2020.
For example, which launched in December, shows Satan and 2020 causing mischief, stealing toilet paper from store shelves, having a picnic inn empty stadiums, and ultimately posing for a selfie in front of a dumpster fire.
The couple frolics to the familiar sounds of Taylor Swift’s hit song, “Love Story.” which also sparks a sense of rom-com nostalgia for millennials.
On the same day of this ad’s release, Match and Reynolds also shared another commercial showing the pair explaining how they met in couple’s counseling.
In this video, Satan explains how he found 2020 on Match:
“I started by using the Match custom search filter. I filtered out joy, happiness, toilet paper, and reason,” Satan says in the video below:
Although this didn’t launch in February, it was a very clever newsjacking example that many of our marketers say they enjoyed when they were asked to share their favorite Valentine’s campaigns.
While 2020 was a difficult year for many, Match and Reynolds identified a tasteful way to create content that audiences could relate to. At the same time, they still told an epic, hilarious love story with a pleasant, entertaining tone. Although they discussed a truly terrible year, they did so in a way that felt like escapism for the viewer.
Valentine’s Day Campaign Takeaways
As you create and launch Valentine’s Day campaigns, take note of these strategies many of the brands above used:
- Grab your audience’s attention: Like with any holiday, marketers around the globe are churning out content around it. To compete with this overly saturated Valentine’s Day ad landscape, you’ll need to grab and keep your viewer’s attention with entertaining elements or valuable information.
- Be relatable: Around this time of year, many people are inundated with high-budget Valentine’s Day ads that offer them no useful information or value. Even if you want to tell a mushy romance-fueled love story with your content, make sure it still feels relatable or authentic. To do this, you can leverage tactics like telling a story your audience will relate to, or leveraging user-generated content from your followers — like Twitter has.
- Test out different platforms: While some companies on this list took to Instagram, others embraced physical campaign strategies like special products or billboard use.
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published in Feb. 2013, but was updated for comprehensiveness on January 30, 2020.
TikTok sale to US company on pause as Biden admin looks at more ‘comprehensive approach’
Last summer and fall, the Trump administration was pushing TikTok hard on selling all or part of its business to US companies. But that faded as the deadline was extended twice, then lapsed. Now that Biden has taken office, the efforts to make TikTok sell will remain on pause as his administration looks toward a more “comprehensive approach” to data security.
The post TikTok sale to US company on pause as Biden admin looks at more ‘comprehensive approach’ appeared first on 9to5Mac.
Apple Car: Bloomberg report rounds up multiple possible assembly and production partners
A new report from Bloomberg today outlines several potential manufacturing partners that Apple could work with for Apple Car production. The report walks through multiple possibilities and speculates on why Apple might pick each company.
The post Apple Car: Bloomberg report rounds up multiple possible assembly and production partners appeared first on 9to5Mac.
20 Ways To Get More Views on YouTube
YouTube, launched in 2005, the second most visited website in the world. It’s available in 100+ countries, features videos in 80 different languages, and its users watch over a billion hours of content daily.
Many businesses take advantage of the large number of users and daily viewership to advertise for their business. In fact, YouTube is the second most popular channel for businesses sharing video content.
However, despite the sheer amount of hours watched every day, it can be challenging to hold up on YouTube. Creators sometimes struggle to get their channel off the ground, resorting to paying for YouTube views to generate engagement. The platform’s algorithm has become better at detecting bots, and, as you can guess, fake engagement doesn’t do much in the way of meeting your business goals.
Although it will take time, it is possible to generate views (for free) and grow your channel on YouTube. In this post, we’ll go over how to get more views on YouTube and how to continue growing your channel after reaching your first 1000 views.
How To Get More Views on YouTube For Free
Getting views on YouTube takes time and effort. But, if done right, it pays off (Forbes estimates that you can make anywhere from $3-$5 per 1000 views). Below, we’ll go over a few ways to get more views on your YouTube account.
1. Be mindful of SEO and organic search results.
YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world, only topped by Google. To get more views on YouTube, follow the same SEO tactics you use to surface your content in organic Google search queries.
Since Google owns the platform, YouTube has similar algorithms for displaying the most relevant content. The video below goes into detail, but the tips that follow highlight the best steps you can take to obtain more views.
2. Use keyword-rich descriptions.
Your viewers initially see the first 100 characters of your video descriptions (example below), so you should aim to use keywords in snippets that provide the most relevant explanations to your viewers.
But using your keywords doesn’t mean an excuse to be dull. Get creative with your descriptions and aim to stand out. After all, the goal is to entice users to view your videos over your competitors.
Your first 100 characters should also entice users to click ‘Show more’ to learn more about what you have to say.
3. Use business-relevant tags.
YouTube’s algorithm determines 70% of what people watch on the platform. Using relevant tags for your business is key to surfacing your content in search results and obtaining more views.
Opt to use a combination of long-tail and short-tail keywords that truly relate to your video, listing the most important keywords first. Be mindful of keyword stuffing, as it is against YouTube policy and doesn’t help you generate more views.
4. Create unique, enticing titles.
Video titles are what people read first when browsing search results. So, aim to create compelling, unique video titles that clearly describe your video’s content and make people curious and interested in learning more. For SEO results, you can include your most relevant keyword in your video title.
Be mindful of clickbait, though, when creating your titles. It can be a valuable tool for getting users to click on your videos (see this article from a HubSpotter who was effectively clickbaited), but it can also backfire.
You don’t want to say your videos will be about one thing and have interested users find that you don’t touch on it at all. Ensure that your titles align with your content.
5. Use creative, relevant thumbnails.
Just as titles are the first exposure to your video content, thumbnails are the first images. Creating thumbnail previews that are exciting but relevant to your content is an excellent strategy for driving views. High-quality, engaging thumbnails can attract users in organic search results.
Your thumbnails can be screencaps from your videos or even text-based titles. Here’s an example of a thumbnail from popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee. He’s effectively created a thumbnail that depicts the content of the video: reactions to upcoming Apple product rumors.
6. Use closed captions and transcripts.
Subtitles and closed captions are another way to optimize your video SEO, as they highlight additional keywords and phrases for the algorithms to detect when indexing your videos.
Most importantly, closed captions and video transcripts make your YouTube account more accessible. If you solely rely on audio and visuals, you’re probably going to lose a large portion of your audience that’s unable to interact with your content in that form. When you create content that is accessible, all audiences can enjoy what you have to offer.
You should also opt for using closed captions instead of subtitles, as closed captions include dialogue and additional sound descriptions for actions like laughter or closing a door. Here are some resources that can help with understanding web accessibility and how to align your content with accessibility standards:
- Bureau of Internet Accessibility – Closed Captioning Guide
- Accessible Media Inc. YouTube Accessibility guide
- Google Accessibility Resource Database for Developers and Publishers
7. Encourage subscribers
While organic search results can be great, the algorithms won’t always surface your videos. Encouraging viewers to subscribe to your channel is another way to ensure that people can see your videos.
This means that when you post, your videos will show up in their subscriptions tab (shown below).
In addition to encouraging subscribers, ask users to turn on post notifications to get notified when you post a video.
Notifications can be a valuable tool for generating excitement. Users may feel they want to stop what they’re doing to watch your videos so they can actively participate in conversations about your content.
8. Repurpose your existing quality content.
Content repurposing is re-using existing content and presenting it in a new format to prolong its shelf life. Repurposing could mean creating a video from a high-performing how-to blog post (the bonus here is that YouTube users love how-to videos) or posting recording sessions from a popular podcast episode.
You’re repurposing helpful content and sharing it with a new audience in a format you know they enjoy.
9. Create a unique introductory hook for your videos.
It’s a unique tip, but it’s worth considering as many popular creators use this strategy.
Mr. Beast is a famous YouTube persona with almost 52 million subscribers. Each one of his videos begins with a clip of an exciting moment that doesn’t usually play out until at least halfway through the video.
Users must keep watching to see the moment unfold. Here’s an example:
10. Create a playlist.
If you create content clustered around a relevant, related topic, create playlists to encourage video views. The image below shows the playlists on the HubSpot YouTube account, where videos are organized by topic.
Playlists default to autoplay, so users can watch an entire playlist without taking action themselves.
Playlists and autoplay allow your users to view subject-relevant content that they may not have found themselves. This gives them a well-rounded experience and increases your video views.
11. Lead users to other videos in end screens.
End screens are the final 15-20 seconds of your video, sometimes called credits, used to recommend additional content on your channel as cards. Below is an example from the HubSpot YouTube account.
Your end screens can feature cards for single videos or entire playlists, a subscribe button, links to your associated websites, or secondary channels your business has (we’ll touch on this below.) It’s important to note that end screens should recommend relevant content.
12. Enable embedding.
Almost anything can be embedded these days, including YouTube videos. If you’ve created a YouTube strategy, you’ve likely identified your target audience on the platform. They’ll probably give you the most views, but enabling embedding can help you introduce yourself to additional viewers that may not have known your content would be relevant to them.
Here’s an example of a YouTube video embedded in a blog post.
You can embed your videos in your content, like blogs and email newsletters, but it’s also a valuable way to expose your content to new audiences.
Other people can embed your content within their own pages and share your expertise with their audiences. These views still count towards your overall view count, even if they’re not on YouTube.
13. Promote videos on other platforms.
YouTube probably isn’t your only social media profile, and you should use this to your advantage. Share new video announcements on your Instagram Stories, share links and clips on Twitter and Facebook, and share them in your blog posts and emails.
You’ll expose new audiences to your content, and, as mentioned above, views on other platforms count towards your YouTube view count.
14. Leverage current trends.
Leveraging YouTube trends is a valuable tool for obtaining more video views. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should create content that is exactly in line with a current, trending meme on YouTube, but you should pay attention to what types of videos get lots of views.
For example, Mediakix released a list in 2019 of the most popular types of videos. Among them are how-to and Q&A videos.
Suppose you’re a business hoping to utilize one of these trends. You could create a how-to video demonstrating how to use your product or service and a Q&A video where you troubleshoot consumer inquiries. You’re creating content that users want to see that provides value to them to generate more views.
15. Focus on creating relevant content.
Leveraging trends is important for generating views, but you shouldn’t abandon your topic type to get views.
A YouTube channel filled with unrelated content can generate views but won’t be seen as a source of authority. Your content would be scattered, users might write you off, and algorithms won’t know your niche. So, the two tips come together to leverage current trends to create content that aligns with your existing strategy.
Also, relevant content outweighs video quality. YouTube found that, when deciding what to watch, content relating to a user’s passions is 1.6x more important than the video’s quality (like visuals and camera quality), and 3x more important than whether it features well-known actors.
This means that the most valuable content you can create isn’t expensive and high budget — it’s content that’s in line with your audience’s needs. When you understand what they want, it’ll be easier to earn views.
16. Collaborate with similar accounts.
One of the exciting aspects of YouTube is its community. There are people creating all different types of content, from gaming videos to exercise classes. You’ll likely find people who make content like yours, and collaborating with them is a valuable tool for generating more views.
Collaborations usually involve creating two separate videos, one for your channel and another for the collaborators’ channel. When they’re posted, you’ll gain exposure to their audience group and them from yours.
If you’ve collaborated with a topic-relevant channel, new viewers will likely already be interested in your content and may even subscribe to your channel. It’s also a valuable way to create more content, and more content always inspires more views.
17. Post at the right time.
There is a right time to post on YouTube. The best times to post on YouTube are Thursday or Friday afternoons between 12:00 and 3:00 PM, and on Saturdays between 9:00 and 11:00 AM.
You can certainly leverage these numbers and obtain views, but it’s also essential to create a posting schedule that aligns with your existing viewership.
You can get this information from YouTube’s native analytics tool or your preferred service. If you’re a HubSpot user, you can connect your YouTube account to Marketing Hub and generate custom reports.
Posting at the right time translates into views, because your subscribers are more likely to watch during a time that they’re free versus when they’re at work.
18. Use a multi-channel approach.
If you’re a large business, consider creating multiple YouTube channels for different purposes. For example, HubSpot has five separate YouTube channels (shown below) tailored to different audience groups.
Multiple channels ensures that content is accessible to different viewers, and it generates more views.
This isn’t just a HubSpot thing — Interbrands says that the top 100 brands on YouTube have an average of 2.4 channels.
19. Optimize for mobile viewers.
More than 70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices, so create content that these audiences can enjoy.
Optimizing for mobile viewers means creating videos that can adapt to different mobile device aspect ratios, video titles and thumbnails that don’t get distorted on smaller devices, and recommend videos in end-screen cards.
20. Remember to be patient.
As marketers, we all want virality and immediate success for the content we create. While you may sometimes get lucky, generating more YouTube views takes time and patience.
There’s not much concrete advice to give with this tip, but understand that if you’ve leveraged the tips on this list, you’ll likely gain more views to begin growing your channel.
Next, we’ll go over how to keep growing your channel after reaching your first 1000 views on YouTube.
How To Reach 1000 Views on YouTube and Keep Growing Your Channel
Although it certainly would be nice, there is no equation to help you generate your first 1000 views on YouTube. Some people gain instant success, while others struggle to reach even 100 views after making hundreds of videos. In fact, 88.4% of YouTube videos generate fewer than 1000 views.
This may be discouraging to hear, especially since you can only begin to monetize your videos on YouTube after having more than 4,000 public watch hours. Many creators, including Zac Snyder, have attempted to figure out the perfect formula.
Snyder highlighted his mathematical approach in a Medium article recommended that a good start could be to make 300 videos a year at 10 minutes a piece. However, this strategy may not work for all creators.
There are ways to generate more views sooner rather than later. First, you should use and reference the tips mentioned above when creating your videos. There are also four additional tips to consider to continue growing your YouTube channel after reaching 1000 views.
1. Increase your upload frequency.
If it’s taken you a long time to reach 1000 views, it may make you nervous to risk your viewership by doing anything differently. However, it’s easier to generate more views with more videos than to generate more views from one or two standalone videos.
Pay attention to your channel analytics, understand when you generate the most views, and increase your upload frequency to match your engagement metrics.
Once you’ve developed a schedule, identify time frames in which you’ll reassess your strategy. For example, maybe you’ll aim to upload three times per week until you reach 10k views, and then you’ll analyze your metrics and switch to uploading twice a week.
2. Keep introductions and opening credits short and to the point.
Attention spans are short, so any unnecessary content in your videos can cost you viewers. Once you’ve reached 1000 views and generated an audience, you don’t want to lose them.
Use analytics to understand their behavior and adjust accordingly. If viewers seem to stop watching after a certain amount of time, consider shortening your introductions so viewers get to the core of the content faster and feel more inclined to finish the video.
3. Optimize for ‘Suggested Video’ views.
Suggested videos show up in the sidebar of a desktop YouTube screen, as shown below in the red outline.
The algorithm recommends videos based on tags, so choose industry-relevant tags that your competitors are also using. When they match, you have a significant chance of showing up in suggested videos for the same tags.
YouTube also doesn’t discriminate by subscriber count, so even if you don’t have as many subscribers as your competitors, it’s still possible to be suggested after their videos.
4. Engage with subscribers in the ‘Community’ tab.
The Community tab is built for YouTube creators hoping to interact with their audience outside of their video comments. You can create polls, feature images, and generate hype for upcoming videos.
Post snippets to get subscribers excited about what’s to come, and they’ll likely be looking out for your video and ready to watch when it goes live.
If you’re interested in learning more in-depth strategies for growing your channel, check out this HubSpot Academy YouTube Course featured resource. You’ll learn how to build your brand, develop an audience, and gain insight from YouTube influencers on creating a successful channel.
Create Content That Inspires Subscribers and Encourages Views
You’re creating YouTube videos because you know you can provide value to your audience.
Remember, it may be frustrating if results aren’t immediately significant. But if you optimize your videos and channel for SEO, create consistent, relevant content, and engage with your audience, you’ll not only reach 1000 views but own a channel that just keeps on growing.
