Last week, Facebook held its annual Facebook F8 conference in California, during which it showcased upcoming additions and updates for its various social platforms. Here’s the lowdown on the main new features announced for Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.

Facebook Redesign

The next version of Facebook, codenamed 'FB5', is the platform’s fifth redesign and will be the most significant change the social network has experienced in years. Groups will be the core focus with a new Groups tab making it easier for users to find and participate in them.

Facebook dating

In its bid to be the next go-to dating app, Facebook Dating is already active in five countries – Colombia, Thailand, Canada, Argentina, and Mexico – and will now be rolled out to 14 more; the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, and Suriname. But Facebook is also launching a new feature called 'Secret Crush', which will enable users to select up to nine of their Facebook friends who they would like to express romantic interest in.

New Events Tab

Facebook will be adding a new Events tab, which will show users more of what’s happening locally to them. It will include refined recommendations, local business listings and new tools to help organise outings with friends.

Messenger changes

Facebook is also making several changes to its Messenger app. Not only will there be a new option to limit your Messenger interactions to selected groups of close friends only but Facebook will be adding a new option enabling users to view Facebook video content within chat groups in Messenger. Meanwhile, for businesses, there will be new Messenger lead generation templates added to Ads Manager, making it even easier for companies to connect with potential customers.

Instagram ‘Shop from Creators’

The big F8 announcement for Instagram was 'Shop from Creators', a new option which will facilitate direct buying from specific users and their posts. This means users will be able

to shop inspiring looks without leaving Instagram; instead of taking a screenshot or asking for product details in comments or by direct message, you can simply tap to see exactly what your favourite creators are wearing and buy it on the spot.

Fundraising Options

Instagram's also adding an option for users to raise money and awareness for non-profit organisations via new donation stickers in Stories. This will enable people to mobilise their community around a cause they care about, with 100% of the money raised on Instagram going to the non-profit they’re supporting. The option will be made available to US users only for now, but more countries will follow.

Instagram Camera Improvements

Instagram is currently the fastest growing social media platform, so it makes sense for its owners to make the tools it offers as user-friendly as possible. At this year’s F8 conference, the company announced a new camera design, which will include 'Create Mode', giving users an easier way to share without a photo or video.

 To keep up to date with the latest news from the world of digital and social media marketing, keep an eye on the Air Social Digital Marketing Agency news page or check out our social media channels.

Collaborating with other leading businesses is one of the joys of what we do at Air Social and when that involves travelling to the snowy mountains of Switzerland, it’s even better.

Recently our Managing Director, Alex Vinall, and Senior Digital Manager, Oli Walpole, travelled to Zurich to be involved with RV Capital’s Emerging Manager and Investor Meeting – a corporate networking event run by asset management business RV Capital.

This high-profile event, held each January in the ski resort of Engelberg, attracts 200 clients and emerging fund managers, from across Europe for a weekend of networking and panel discussions.

Places at the weekend are in such high demand that there is a huge waiting list so, to reach those unable to get to the event, Air Social helped to stream the event via YouTube and had over 800 emerging fund managers tune in over the weekend. As well as filming the event and managing the live social media feeds, Alex and Oli were on hand to help co-ordinate the programme and learnt a lot in the process.

“It was fascinating to hear about the panel’s success within this particular field and to learn about what they look for when appointing new fund managers,” says Alex. “I have always believed in building long-lasting, relationships with my clients through openness and transparency and this is a major part of the philosophy of the investors involved in this event. For us to enable RV Capital to get this message across to a much wider audience than those at the event through the power of digital media was an absolute pleasure.”

Air Social is always jumping at exciting opportunities coming our way. If you’re interested in any of our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

Alex Vinall, Managing Director of local digital marketing agency Air Social, was invited to participate in an event held by the Mayor of London which marked the centenary of women’s suffrage in the UK.

The event, held today in Trafalgar Square, marked 100 years since the 1918 Representation of the People Act was passed. This was a landmark victory that gave the first women the right to vote in this country and was made possible by the dedicated campaigning of suffragists and suffragettes.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, unveiled an exhibition that featured images of the key women and men who propelled the suffrage movement forward. The 59 figures that were selected will be etched onto the plinth of the artist Gillian Wearing’s Millicent Fawcett statue, which will be unveiled in Parliament Square in April.

As a leading Surrey businesswoman, Alex was invited to represent women in the digital sector and to take a stand for women in the modern gender equality discussion. Her attendance at the Mayor’s event was timely as Air Social has recently formed a partnership with iamtheCODE, a global movement with local roots that is working to educate 1 million women and girls in computer coding by 2030. Alex flew the flag for this collaboration at today’s event and was able to provide an example of how the cause of women is being championed in today’s world.

Commenting on today’s event, Alex stated, 'It was a privilege to be able to attend the unveiling of this commemorative exhibition. It is a cause I am passionate about and, as a woman in business, I am personally aware of the challenges and barriers that still exist for women in the present day. I feel honoured that I was able to take part in celebrating the immense achievements of the brave women and men who advanced the female cause all those years ago.'

We are pleased to announce that Air Social is teaming up with iamtheCODE to help reach out, inspire and educate young women and girls in coding and other digital skills.

iamtheCODE is a global movement run by Surrey resident Mariéme Jamme. Mariéme has lived locally for the past 25 years and over the coming months is keen to provide iamtheCODE training in coding, robotics and technologies related to STEAMD (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, and Design) subjects to schools and women’s clubs across the county.

Mariéme believes that a new, bold vision on female education is imperative in order to create the world’s next digital leaders. She states, ‘the evidence shows that if we do not break down barriers and help move women and girls into the technology industry, we will be creating layers of citizenship and a digital divide in our society’.

iamtheCODE seeks to mobilise businesses, governments, investors and industry leaders from around the world, striving to achieve the goal of educating 1million women and girls in computer coding skills by 2030. iamtheCODE runs digital clubs, hackathons and mentorship programmes in many different countries, with the aim of using creativity, technology and coding in different subject areas to promote learning in an engaging and interactive way.
Air Social is a digital marketing agency based in the heart of Guildford, headed up by

Managing Director, Alex Vinall. 9 years ago Alex launched her own traditional PR agency which evolved along with the social media revolution to become Air Social Marketing Agency. The agency focusses on guaranteeing leads through digital media channels whilst also providing PR, web design, branding, video, content creation, SEO and direct email marketing services.

Alex has always had a passion for the local community, and is particularly familiar with the difficulties and barriers that many women face when returning to work after taking time out to start a family. ‘It’s a story that I hear all the time, educated women who have much to give an employer but who lack the skills to enter the extremely competitive and increasingly digital job market.

We want to not only reach out to these women but also engage with younger women and girls who might have been put-off subjects that have traditionally been male-dominated.’

IamtheCODE has already successfully run a number of digital and coding clubs in Guildford and is hoping to draw upon the support of Air Social to broaden the scope of education and have a greater impact in Surrey. The two organisations are already working together to set up coding clubs in local schools, with all equipment and lesson plans provided by iamtheCODE.

The collaboration between iamtheCODE and Air Social is shaping up to be an exciting one as plans are made to widen the scope of iamtheCODE in the local area. Mariéme comments, ‘I was keen to work with Alex and her agency as I know that she understands our cause and, as a respected local businesswoman, I know that she will add great value to the iamtheCODE movement and its influence both at home and abroad’.

If you would like to start up a coding club in your school, you can get in touch with Alex here

Coding equipment will be given to your school free of charge, and full training will be provided to parents and teachers who would like to run the club at their school.

Alex Vinall is the founder and managing director of Air Social Marketing and specialises in social media for business.

Alex lives in Guildford, the ‘capital’ of Surrey and is considered to be one of the South East’s leading experts in harnessing the power of social media for business, particularly lead generation through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Alex has worked with a number of companies both locally, nationally and globally on small and large-scale social media marketing campaigns and lead generation strategy.

Her company also delivers creative web design and development, marketing solutions, event marketing and PR for companies across Surrey and the South of England.

Alex works with clients in the following ways:

Social Media Agency: Alex founded Air Social Marketing because she realised that companies sometimes simply don’t have the resources to do social media the correct way or the know-how to design an award-winning lead generation campaign.  Instead of trying to become the expert, it’s usually faster and more effective to simply hire one.

Social Media Strategy Consultant: Alex works with companies by evaluating their current social media plans and creating comprehensive social media strategies that align corporate objectives with the potential for social business.

Social Media Trainer: Alex is often called upon to help educate internal sales and marketing teams on a wide variety of social media-related topics such as using social media to generate sales enquiries.

Social Media Speaker: Whether it’s a keynote speech, presentation for a professional association or a hands-on workshop for an internal audience, Alex is your woman.

Social Media Influencer: As a Facebook brand ambassador, Alex is an influencer in the world of social media and uses this to help businesses amplify their brand’s presence on social media.

In the year that has seen Donald Trump become president,  said goodbye to Ziggy Stardust and Severus Snape and, of course, seen families country-wide feud over Brexit, 2016 has been a year of mass upheaval. But how has the world of digital marketing changed?  Well, most obviously we have witnessed the continued rise of social media. In the US Presidential Election race we have seen how crucial social media can be; Trump attributes much of his success to his large social media presence, particularly on twitter. However, it’s not only been his social media presence but the presence of Twitter ‘bots’ that automatically tweeted pro-Trump propaganda and used hashtags to firstly infiltrate the Clinton support and then use the platform to smear her. Social media has been intrinsic to the success of many other unlikely campaigns; take the recent example of A-Level student Nick Jablonka’s fake John Lewis advert which went viral after social media users mistook it for the real thing.

The power of visual media platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest also continue to grow, where many consumers review and recommend products, and, with the continued popularity of audio and audio visual media such as podcasts and YouTube vlogs added into the mix, the power of word of mouth between consumers cannot be underestimated.

However, next year’s innovations look set to be on a whole new level.  It’s now commonplace to see advertisers using Snapchat, making it possible to ‘try on’ a new lipstick from your own home, or transport a person into the scenery of an upcoming blockbuster.  In 2017 experts predict this trend will develop into companies creating more specific apps to immerse the individual into their product. Nevertheless this is just a small dent in comparison to the impact virtual experience is going to make.

The dawn of virtual reality is upon us and there’s no wondering why people want to utilise it for their marketing strategies. A recent survey says that 90% of business owners now say they prefer personalised content rather than mass outreach. It’s becoming easier and easier to target advertising so to stand out content will need to be more unique, of higher quality, and as engagingly interactive as possible in 2017.

In the current digital landscape, engagement is everything, and marketers succeed when their audience not only consumes content but also enjoys and acts upon it, which is why interactive content will be so important going forwards. The facts back it up; static content generates conversions 36% of the time whereas interactive content generates conversions moderately or very well 70% of the time. So expect to be inundated with ground-breaking apps and virtual reality experiences and in the coming year.

But the innovation doesn’t stop there, not only will consumers be immersed within technology but they will be wearing it. After a slow start for wearable technology 70% of consumers now say they are ‘ready for wearable technology’, giving yet another platform for advertisers to take advantage of.

To summarise, marketing in the new year is only going to become more diverse; we predict that the tried and tested methods such as social media advertising will still has its place in digital, but new developments such as interactive content and virtual experience are going to enrich the digital marketing landscape. It’s up to marketers to embrace the changes and approach marketing in 2017 holistically.

Social Media is the heart of all marketing.  To understand how social media can impact your business with Air Social’s tried and tested social media lead generation expertise, contact alex@airsocial-build-com.stackstaging.com or come and meet the team at our Guildford office for a complimentary social media training session.

Social media experts, Air Social Marketing Agency attended the Boost Your Business Exhibition following a personal invitation from Facebook for Business.

Being experts in social media, Air Social were able to give insight to those who attended into the expanse of marketing tools Facebook and Instagram can offer.

The exhibition, held at Tobacco Docks in London was wholly for small and medium businesses looking for more of a grasp on social media, using specific targeting and being able to utilise their databases for more than the odd mailshot.

Air Social spent the day attending various seminars, using our expansive social media knowledge to engage with attendees, offering extensive support to those who required it by inviting them to our free social media surgeries, where we help companies to create bespoke social solutions for their brand.

The exhibition ran through the morning and into the afternoon, with a strong opening talk from Steve Hatch, Facebook’s regional director for the UK and Ireland. And an insightful talk on ‘The Evolution Of Communication’ from Olly Sewell, the SMB manager for Facebook across the UK and Ireland.

The exhibition also had a live Q&A with the Digital Marketing Manager at T.M.Lewin, Cormac Folan and other marketing professionals, giving their insight into social media marketing strategies and how Facebook advertising has revolutionised the way they reach their mass audience.

If you’re interested in learning more about utilising social media for business, make sure to attend one of our free social media surgeries.

Alternatively feel free to give us a call on 01483 789 434 to set-up a bespoke social media surgery for your business and online needs.

On the 28th of January 2016 TUCA attended The Guild of Professional Estate Agents annual awards ceremony with our client, Seymours Estate Agents.

Since joining Seymours in December 2015 TUCA have been working on innovative and eye catching marketing campaigns, including the successful ‘ducks in a row’ creative which was used throughout December and January.

On the night in question Seymours were awarded the gold award for the best Estate Agency in the south of England with members of the judging panel commenting on how impressed they were with the creative yet professional finish of Seymours social media work.