Back to Blog

Boost Your Blogs

Do you write blogs but feel they aren't visited as much as you would like?Perhaps you are considering adding a blog section into your business's website?Here are a few tips to get you started and set the scene:...

Augmented Reality + Marketing

Augmented reality is a relatively new phenomenon that is slowly seeping into marketing campaigns globally. What is augmented reality? You have Snapchat, right? Those filters you are having fun with are the simplest and most common form of augmented reality. Essentially a digital overlay over a real life image. Just recently, Ben & Jerry's broke new ground by using AR in Facebook as a clever way to release a new brand of ice cream. Users take a selfie, and the filter over...

Facebook Crisis Response

You may have seen this Facebook feature, perhaps during the Christchurch earthquake as shown below? Since then it has been changed from just location and safety check in, to in September being fully launched as the Crisis Response hub, not only for natural crisis but with increasing attacks.  ...

Facebook Polls Revamped!

Have you tried posting a Facebook poll recently? This month Facebook gave them an overhaul and no more will you just see tick boxes and a list of choices.  You now have the option to add either a photo or a GIF with each polling option. You can set a time limit from one day, one week, never or custom set a date range. The only thing is, that in this setting, you can only give two options to vote from and it gives you 25 characters to use in each option bar. Take note that any...

Legalities of Instagram Reposting

There are some legal considerations you should take time to think about when it comes to sharing content from other people on social media.And, with Instagram, there are additional considerations because the platform itself doesn’t support sharing content. So, before you start (or keep) regramming to Instagram, take a look below to protect yourself and your business.Disclaimer: Do not hold any of the information in this blog post as formal legal advice. If you have a concern or issue, please c...

Facebook Spaces

You've heard of 'virtual reality' haven't you? You know, the goofy headset shown in futuristic settings or being used by 'hard-core' gamers? Well, I'm here to break the news to you, Virtual Reality is not myth nor fable, VR is here and it's time to embrace it. One way you can do that is by reading further into 'Facebook Spaces' A demo was given by Facebook's, Mark Zuckerburg in early October as he was viewed as a cartoon version of him self, joined by others while he demonstr...

Pinterest from a business perspective

Pinterest is by its very nature a visual medium: everything on the site you post is an image. Images are the fastest and most direct form of communication we have. Pinterest is extraordinarily sticky: users spend more than an hour and a half on the site every month, sharing and resharing content. It’s a site that's very easy to get lost in, so retaining the user’s interest is key. Therefore the more varied and interesting your content is the better. Pinterest is a viral marketing machine: mo...

Pinterest Real Estate

Pinterest Real Estate!? What does that even mean? Pinterest images should be long and narrow to take up the maximum amount of visual space and get noticed! Look at your favourite pins and see what the images have in common so you can see what types of images are repinned and shared. Create images that are up to 735 pixels by 1102 pixels. This creates an engaging invitation to repin your pinned article....

Two-Person Instagram Live Feed

Going live on video can be very daunting, especially on your own, yet is an essential tool for businesses to show their authentic side and be 'in the moment'. So Instagram is coming to your rescue with the introduction of two-person Instagram Live Feed The live videos can be up to 60 minutes and the replay lasts for 24 hours. You can't keep it past the 24 hours. You can download the video immediately after you stop broadcasting (and before you share it), or you can take that video and repurpose ...

SnapChat AR Update

Ever wanted to walk alongside your cartoon-self riding a skateboard? How about watching yourself do yoga or drinking a cup of coffee? Sounds thrilling. We've seen a variety of fun Bitmoji additions to Snapchat such as user profile avatars, personalised stickers, and Snap Map, where users can see where their friends are at all times. Snapchat's dedicated Bitmoji AR team have now released their latest and greatest creation — animated AR Bitmojis. Simply press the screen while in Snapchat ...

Social Media Tips For Your Children

Social Media can expose children to inappropriate content, subject them to cyber bullying or make them targets of predators and stalkers. Children can put themselves and their families at risk. We have put together a list of things that you can do to help keep your children, your family, and yourself safe on Social Media. Engage in open discussionPromote open and calm discussion about your child's experiences on the Internet. If they fear they will be blamed or punished for their online mistakes...

The Ultimate Glossary of Social Media and Beyond!

# (Hashtag) - #DidYouKnow, This thing is called an octothorpe! It is used to link together content used on social media websites and applications, especially Twitter, to identify messages on a specific topic. AI, Version 1 - Artificial intelligence, or AI, refers to intelligence exhibited by machines. AI, Version 2 - Artificial Insemination . Being a rural social media agency, this is probably worth noting to avoid confusion when AI’ing down on the farm! Agritech ...

Reaching the Grand Final - David Kidd

I arrived back from Perth, Western Australia in April 2012 with a new career in farming ahead of me. The last time that I had been involved in ‘hands-on’ farming was roughly 6 years prior, when I spent the summer following my last year of university helping with a few odd jobs on my parent’s farm. Although I had come back to my ‘home town’, I no longer knew many people in the local area. My involvement in Young Farmers began with a long-standing desire to compete in the YF of the Year ...

#WNISM - Link Previews

Have you heard?...

What's New in Social Media | Week Fifty Two

Week 52! That's 52 individual articles on what's happening in social media - globally! What it also signifies is the beginning of the end. We have decided to restructure how we deliver the newest updates to you in way of shorter bite sized chunks on our Facebook page with some longer features still here on our blog! Let us know if there is anything YOU want to hear, know or learn about! Until then, lets kick off #52!...

What's New in Social Media | Week Fifty One

#FindOfTheWeek - I have JUST discovered this! Isn't it amazing what is readily available to help create images without the need to a professional graphic designer! Of course, my skills are not anywhere near professional but this is going to be a fantastic tool for me until I have a designer on tap ;)...

What's New in Social Media | Week Fifty

This week I stumbled upon a GIF on Instagram. WHAT!? It was a tiny short video that replayed at real time without the camcorder icon in the top right corner. That's why is threw me. So I did some research. The best explanation I can come up with is - Boomerang. Boomerang is a super simple app that doesn't currently have very many options at the moment, but its straightforwardness makes it easy to get hooked on using regularly. Just select the front or rear-facing camera, point you...

If farming was easy, everyone would do it

The lawyers, policy makers, vets, accountants, artists and movie makers, regulators and inspectors – in fact everyone that is NOT a farmer is able to do what they do – because of farmers. Those who choose not to grow their own food – in our developed society that is about 98% of people – can do so because they have delegated that responsibility to people who are better at it than they are. They have delegated the hunting and gathering to those who have fine tuned skills to turn sunshine ...

What's New in Social Media | Week Forty Nine

To be honest, the biggest user of Snapchat in my family is Miss Five when she takes some super close up selfies and send them to her Nana, Grandad, Her aunties, uncles and my friends (sorry guys)! Some people though do a really excellent job at utilising Snapchat in their business marketing - this is where it would be good to note that there have been some updates (read on below) recently so it may be time to be a little more careful around what you are sending to who!...

What's New in Social Media | Week Forty Eight

Collect leads, boost engagement and drive sales using landing pages, contests and forms. ShortStack helps you gather customer data from your own website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more.Put simply, ShortStack is a self-service platform that helps you build engaging campaigns for social, web and mobile. It is easy to collect data from your entire online audience. ShortStack also integrates the services you already use and puts your campaigns wherever your audience already vis...

Wellbeing is a personal thing

Wellbeing is a personal thing. I have a goal to run ten 100km ultramarathons. I know it will take countless hours of training and sacrifice but it does give me plenty of time to debate life and find solutions to problems on my mind. Beginning my 6 month training programme each year is painful. It takes a long time to get the body into running mode after cycling just to get to a point where I can realistically believe I can run another century. Why would anyone do this you ask – well it is good...

What's New in Social Media | Week Forty Seven

For those of you who have a business Facebook page, you may be wondering what this new look is and how it is different, and how it benefits you?...

Strong Rural Communities

Historically, New Zealand has been built on strong rural communities, and country living has occurred around a well-founded community hub.  Over the last 50 years, countless changes have seen dramatic depopulation of rural areas, a decrease in services provided, and a marked change in the makeup of people in our rural communities. Rural communities of the past were seen as synonymous with farming communities. The social networks worked to support farming families and events were often ...

Pitching in when the shaking stopped

The morning after the Kaikoura earthquake and with the daylight rendering up the raw destruction of farmland, NZ Young Farmer members sprang into action....

What's New in Social Media | Week Forty Six

Last year saw the launch of Workplace, Facebook's enterprise collaboration app and Slack rival. Now Facebook is looking to woo more big spenders with a free version of the app. Now instead, we have Workplace Premium which is the paid version that will have self-service, the administrative and admin tools. At this stage the mobile work space is still  dominated by Slack (with 1.5 million subscribers) - Also used here at Grass Roots Media. At last count Workplace had signe...