6 of the Best Messaging Apps for Different Scenarios

Anyone remember AIM -- previously known as AOL Instant Messenger?

I do. I remember downloading it to get through hours of a high school computer science class. I remember insisting to my parents that, no, it wasn’t a distraction from my homework -- even though, you know, of course it was. And, I remember when it pretty much stood alone in the world of instant messaging technology.

Those days are gone. Now, we have a plethora of instant messaging options -- at your computer or on your phone. And with more people using mobile as the primary method of getting online, it makes sense that there’s a growing number of instant messaging apps. 

But are any of these apps better than the others? As it turns out, that depends on the scenario -- like if you’re traveling overseas, trying to communicate at cruising altitude, or just want to send a text message without a cellular connection. We found some of the best messaging apps for a variety of scenarios, and make our recommendations below.

6 of the Best Messaging Apps for Different Scenarios

1) WhatsApp

When to Use It: While Traveling Abroad

Free | iOS | Android | Windows

HubSpot currently has offices in five cities. Much of the time, our employees travel between offices, especially when we all come together for INBOUND in Boston. And during those events, we have to communicate with each other, usually via mobile. But there’s a problem -- sending SMS messages while abroad often results in a hefty roaming charge, and international dialing from mobile devices can be complex if you don’t have a specific wireless plan that allows it.

That’s why WhatsApp is such a popular app among our traveling colleagues. It works particularly well for folks without international data or dialing plans, since it’s free to use over WiFi.

WhatsApp is most popular for its text messaging capabilities, but includes features that allow users to place voice calls and send photos over a wireless connection, avoiding mobile international calling fees. But be careful -- if you become disconnected from WiFi and haven’t disabled your device’s data roaming option, you could be charged by your wireless carrier for using the app over a cellular connection.

Source: Microsoft Store

2) Hangouts

When to Use It: When You Already Use Google Voice

Free | iOS | Android

Hangouts, made by Google, tends to be a better option for people who already use its suite of products for, say, business. Its biggest differentiator from Allo is its ability to make calls -- it works well if you have an established phone number with Google Voice, and want to use that to make calls or send SMS messages. But you don’t need to have previously connected with someone specifically via Google to reach them -- you can use the app to reach the contacts who are already stored in your phone. Plus, it also has a video call interface.

For example, when I owned a small business in New York, I used Google Voice to set up a phone number for it -- one that had a local area code, unlike my mobile phone. Having the Hangouts App on my mobile device allowed me to make and receive calls using my business number, even when I wasn’t at my desk. That way, clients could reach me at any time, using one single phone number.

Many people are understandably confused about the differences between Hangouts and Google’s new messaging app, Allo. With the latter, contacts can still receive SMS messages from you via the app -- but not from a recognizable number. We’ll explain below.

Source: iTunes Store

3) Allo

When to Use It:

• When You Want an Assistant With Your Messaging App

• When You Want to Avoid SMS Fees

Free | iOS | Android

Although they’re both made by Google, there are a few differences between Allo and Hangouts. First, Allo doesn’t (yet) have voice call capabilities -- it’s strictly used for text messaging. Plus, it only works on one device at a time, as the New York Times explains.

That said, it does offer some of the same benefits as many other mobile messaging apps, in that it doesn’t require a cellular connection and is free to use over WiFi. And like Hangouts, you don’t need to have previously connected with someone specifically via Google to reach them -- you can use the app to reach the contacts who are already stored in your phone. Plus, for any of those contacts who have Allo installed, the message will arrive via the app, helping them to avoid any SMS fees.

Allo’s biggest attribute is its integration with Google Assistant. Take this conversation about recipes -- having the assistant included with the messaging app makes something like planning dinner that much more seamless.

4) Zello

When to Use It: When You Need Walkie-Talkie Capabilities, Without the Clunky Hardware

Free -- Pricing options for different types of usage | iOS | Android | Windows

During something like a major event, managers and planners might have to get a hold of each other immediately -- which, as crazy as it sounds, means that sending a text message might take too long. In situations like these, emergencies require the immediacy of something like a walkie-talkie, but without the clunky hardware.

That’s why apps like Zello are so helpful. They allow you to page someone immediately, like you would via radio communication, but don’t require any special equipment. Instead, you can download it right to your mobile device, and communicate with colleagues on there -- no phone calls or SMS messaging necessary.

Source: Zello

5) Messages

When to Use It: When You Have an iOS Device and No Cellular Connection

Free | Included With iOS Devices

We’ve written before about inattentional blindness, which is essentially the psychological term for not seeing what’s right in front of us, so to speak. That’s why we couldn’t leave Messages -- previously known as iMessage -- off of the list. For anyone with an iOS device, it’s right there, and often provides an easy way to communicate without a cellular connection.

Take a long flight, for example. Some airlines now offer WiFi connections that allow in-flight messaging across a variety of mobile operating systems. But for those that only permit old-fashioned WiFi, having access to Messages is one advantage of using the iOS -- you can still send text messages across a variety of devices, but only to other iOS users. To reach that portion of your contacts, at least, you don’t have to download a separate messaging app.

Another nice thing about Messages is its availability on MacBook devices, which allows users to send text messages to contacts via desktop -- including those who don’t use iOS, as long as your phone has a cellular connection. And because that’s powered by cloud technology, it should mean that those messages are synced across all iOS devices with the same Apple ID being used to send the messages -- MacBook, iPhone, and iPad, for example.

Source: Apple

6) Facebook Messenger

When to Use It: When You're Missing a Facebook Friend's Phone Number

Free | iOS | Android | Windows

Messaging apps that integrate with your contacts are great. But what happens when you need to reach someone who isn’t stored in your phone, but to whom you’re connected elsewhere, like Facebook?

That’s why the messenger app is so helpful. I’ve lost count of the number of times I befriended someone on Facebook -- socially or professionally - but we failed to exchange numbers. What happens if we want to make plans, or exchange other contact information, like email addresses? Enter Facebook Messenger.

It’s yet another app that works without a cellular connection, too. So if SMS simply isn’t an option, Messenger provides another way to instantly connect with your network. Plus, it offers voice and video call technology.

Taking a break from social media? No problem. You can use your phone number to set up Messenger -- which also syncs the app with your phone’s contacts -- and you can deactivate your Facebook profile, but still use Messenger to communicate with friends.

Source: Facebook

Get the Message

Back in those days of AIM, it would have been had to believe that, eventually, it would be this easy to reach someone. For the most part, all you really need is a smartphone and a WiFi connection -- with any of these largely free apps, you can use those two things to connect with the people you want to reach.

And the technology will only continue to progress. As AI continues to work its way into the zeitgeist and bots are taking on more responsibilities, this type of communication might come with even fewer technical requirements -- and effort.

What are your favorite messaging apps? Let us know in the comments.

 

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5 Overlooked Metrics Your Agency Needs to Measure for a Profitable 2017

Running a business takes everything you have. Entrepreneurs pour their creativity, passion, effort, savings -- their everything -- into their work. And five years after they start, half of them are out of business. A decade later, two-thirds have called it quits.

But why?

For marketing firms, I believe it comes down to a lack of diligent measurement. Sure, measuring and tracking may not be the sexiest part of running an agency, but it's the only way to ensure you're not throwing money away.

Commit to tracking these five things in 2017, and you'll have your most profitable year yet.

5 Metrics Your Agency Should Measure in 2017

1) Adjusted Gross Income per Full-Time Equivalent Employee

Determining your number of full-time equivalent employees (FTE) is a convenient way to measure labor. To do this, denominate employees into 40-hour-a-week units. A full-time employee is equal to one FTE. A 20-hour-a-week employee is 0.5 FTE.

Your target should be $150,000 of adjusted gross income (AGI) for every FTE. That amount should cover salaries, benefits, and overhead while leaving enough profit to reinvest in the business or offer bonuses to high-achieving team members.

Years ago, the target AGI for each FTE was $100,000. Inflation accounts for some of the increase, but marketing agencies are also hiring expensive people to fill positions on growing digital teams.

In short, the world has changed. It's gotten more expensive.

Many marketing agencies haven't adjusted their billing rates to keep up -- and that's a big problem. If you're only earning $100,000 per FTE, your agency likely isn't very profitable. Those thin margins carry extra risk when an unexpected tax bill comes due, equipment breaks down, or you need a retention bonus for a key team member.

2) Over/Under

No, I'm not talking about the score in tonight’s basketball game. I’m talking about how often you are over or under budget.

When agencies complain to me about how hard they work and how little they make -- which is often -- I always go straight to their over/under. How often do you go over budget? What are you writing off? How often are you under budget? By how much?

After they answer these questions and start tracking the numbers, they're usually horrified by what they find.

Companies are willing to write off thousands of dollars' worth of time on jobs in which they overservice their clients. Those are hours that could be spent on other clients, finding new business, or marketing your services.

The solution to this problem is often a process change. Typically, the problem is that budget estimates are too low. My advice is to add an additional 50 percent to any job estimate. Initial estimates always assume a perfect world where everything goes according to plan. How often does that happen in reality? Adding 50 percent to perfect-world estimates usually brings them firmly into the real world.

3) Profitability by Client

Agencies always keep track of their overall profitability, but seldom do they get as specific as how much profit they earn from each client. That number can hide some ugly truths.

Most marketing shops have a mix of clients. Some are easy to work with and contribute handsomely to the bottom line. Others are difficult. Some might actually be costing you money. You won’t know until you start tracking.

Once you have the numbers, decide what the minimum is you're willing to accept. For some agencies, it might only be a 3 percent profit margin. Others might want 20 percent. It's up to you. I personally only want clients that have at least a 10 percent profit margin.

If you see that you have clients that aren't bringing in the profits you'd like, figure out why and what can be done to fix it. Sometimes, the problem is simply that you're not charging enough. If that's the case, raise your rates. If you lose the client, so be it.

Other times the problem might be subtler. It might require a conversation about how to streamline work processes and avoid delays. Insist on a solution. They'll either cooperate and become a good client, which is great, or you'll lose them. Again, so be it.

Losing unprofitable accounts is not a bad thing. Yes, your cash flow will take a hit. Don’t be trapped by that. Accumulating clients that provide cash flow but not profit will eventually choke your business.

4) Minimum Client Engagement

Clients come in all sizes. Some are going to be too big for your agency to handle well, and others will be too small to be worthwhile. Some will hit the sweet spot. But you won't know the difference unless you track two things for each client: how many hours you bill and your adjusted gross income.

Once you track your gross billing and AGI for each client, establish a minimum amount they need to provide of each for you to retain them. The threshold will be obvious once you look at your data paired with the profitability percentages.

You're going to see some clients that have few hours billed, bring in little income, and generate low profitability. These clients are too small. Some clients will be too big. Your team will spend a lot of time on these clients, but the time will be eaten up by written-off hours for redone work and overdue deliverables. This client likely won't be happy, and the account won't be profitable.

So how do you know what your sweet spot is? Usually, it's when the client is big enough to generate income and small enough to service effectively and keep satisfied. And it will have a healthy profit margin to prove it.

The goal then is to move all your clients to the sweet spot. If they won't move, let them go. Armed with your new knowledge, you'll be poised to find perfect-fit clients.

5) Timesheets

This last item ties all the previous four together. Everyone hates timesheets, and there are some consultants who say they aren't necessary. I couldn't disagree more.

Timesheets are central to running a data-driven, profitable agency. Indispensable. Everyone needs to do them. Even you. Your employees are your biggest expense and your biggest asset. If you don't trace it, how are you going to know whether you’re managing it well?

Moreover, you can't track the other metrics without time sheets. If you don't know the hours worked, you can't calculate FTE or AGI per FTE. If you don’t know how many hours you put into a project, you can't know whether you were over or under your bid. If you don't track time spent per client, you can't know profitability per client or income or billable hours, which leaves you guessing what your minimums should be. You're left running everything with a hunch and a guess.

Measure Your Way to Success in 2017

If you track all five of these metrics, you'll be able to leave guesswork behind. You’ll be able to act decisively to improve your job estimates and profitability. You'll know which clients to move resources to and which clients to jettison. You'll also recognize new clients that are good fits and worth pursuing and ones that are bad fits.

You'll make informed, strategic decisions. You'll run your agency like you've always wanted to.

Happy tracking.

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How to Keep Up With Social Media News & Trends

If you're a social media marketer, two things are almost certain: You spend a lot of time on your mobile phone, and you spend even more time teaching your friends and colleagues how to use the latest apps and features because you're at the forefront of it all.

Social media is constantly evolving. For example, Snapchat's parent company, Snap Inc., unveiled nine huge new features in 2016 alone. This makes marketers beg the question: How do I keep track of everything that's changing -- and still have time to do my job?

We feel your pain, and we're here to help. We've rounded up our tips and tricks for keeping up with social media news that we use every day here at HubSpot. And once you have a system down, keep track of what you're sharing on social media this month with these tools for managing your social media calendar.

10 Tips for Keeping Up With Social Media News & Trends

1) Create a stream on Twitter with popular hashtags.

The best place to find out the most recent news about social is -- you guessed it -- on social media. Start by creating a stream on Twitter with popular social media hashtags. You can use terms like #socialmedia, #smchat, or #inboundmarketing -- if you need more ideas, check out Hashtags.org. Avoid searching for a term that's too general (like #marketing) because you'll quickly see a swarm of tweets flooding into your stream.

HubSpot customers can create a stream using HubSpot Social Inbox. First, start by typing your hashtag into the search box at the top of the screen.

Then, check out your results. You will see a list of people and tweets matching your search term.

If you like the sampling of results that you see, you can create a stream with that hashtag.

If you're not a HubSpot customer, you can save searches directly on Twitter in a very similar manner. First, search for the term you're interested in using the search bar in the top-right corner of the Twitter homepage:

Then, when you reach the results page of your Twitter search, tap the gear icon and select "Save this search."

Then, the next time you head to the Twitter search bar, your saved search will appear for you to easily click and start reading:

2) Make a Twitter list of influencers in the industry.

The beauty of social media is that the experts often hang out there, too. Whenever there is a new announcement or update in the social media world, you'll find influencers discussing it on Twitter.

Use the hashtags that you gathered in the previous example and pick out some of the most active people tweeting on them. Make a Twitter list based on your findings and spend some time each day running through the list to see what they have to say. And don't be shy to ask them questions yourself. After all, that's what social media is all about.

If you want some help getting started, here's a list of social media experts and influencers that we admire at HubSpot. It's a public list, so you can follow it, too.

A Twitter List by HubSpot

3) Set up Google Alerts on terms and influencers.

Now that you have a list of influencers and hashtags that you can follow on social media, you can set up a Google Alert for some of them. That way, you'll get regular updates when they post content or are interviewed about social media.

Pick your top three favorite influencers or topics and set up Google Alerts for them. This will help you stay up to date on any breaking news in the industry. We recommend getting these alerts once a day so your inbox isn't completely clogged.

All you have to do is type in your search term, select your frequency, and you are ready to go.

You can also choose to do this for certain social media terms or trends. The specificity of your search term will determine how many alerts you receive. For example, the term "social media" is written about every day, but "social media trends in North America" will generate more targeted alerts.

4) See what's trending on Instagram's Explore tab.

Instagram's Explore tab lets users search for terms and hashtags to see what content people are sharing on the platform that day. It also serves users with related searches to see what else people are talking about. You could search for terms like "social media" or #socialmediamarketing to see what's going on:

5) Join Groups on LinkedIn.

Discussions on LinkedIn about social media for business are extremely lively. Whether there's an update to Facebook, a new social network that's making traction, or a new theory on the future of social media, you are sure to find it in LinkedIn groups. Even better, you will meet a lot of other social media enthusiasts with whom you can network and ask questions.

Here are a few we recommend checking out:

• Social Media Marketing
• Social Media Marketing Strategies for Business Professionals
• Innovative Marketing, PR, Sales & Social Media Innovators Innovation Network by Gerald Haman
• Social Media Today
• Digital Marketing: Social Media, Search, Mobile & more

6) Subscribe to social media blogs.

As bloggers ourselves, we're going to suggest that you subscribe to a few blogs that post content about social media so you don't miss anything. If there's a new feature or trend, it will definitely be written about in detail on these blogs.

However, more important than subscribing to these blogs is making sure you set aside time each week to read through your content. Block off as much time as you need to go through the content -- that could be anywhere from 15 minutes a day or 15 minutes a week.

Here are a few blogs to get you started that cover social media:

• HubSpot Blogs
• Social Media Examiner
• Social Media Today
• Simply Measured
• Social Media Explorer
• BuzzSumo
• Buffer
• Bitly
• Adweek's SocialTimes

7) Attend a conference, virtually or in-person.

Take the time to go to a social media conference. This will be a great opportunity to hear from social media experts in the industry and be able to ask the burning questions you may have. You will get the most up-to-date advice about running a social media campaign and what you should know when using social media.

However, it isn't realistic for all of us to pack up and go to every single conference that talks about social media. If you are unable to attend the conference in person, you should follow along via -- you guessed it -- social media. Every conference or event will have a corresponding hashtag that you can follow during the conference on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Social media posts are often quotes from speakers at the event, so you'll still get access to the content being shared.

For example, each year, INBOUND covers top social media trends, among a variety of other topics. The following stream shows people who are tweeting about INBOUND 2016 using the hashtag #INBOUND16.

8) Listen to podcasts.

An easy way to learn about what's changed in the social media space is to listen to the news on social media marketing podcasts. Podcasts vary in length and provide lots of valuable information from social media experts and influencers in the form of interviews, case studies, and rundowns of the latest news. You can listen to episodes during your commute, at home, or just when you need a break from your computer screen.

We rounded up some of our favorite podcast episodes to learn about what's new with social media, including:

• Marketing Smarts: How 'Dolphin Tale' Brought 800,000 Visitors a Year to Clearwater Marine Aquarium
• The Growth Show: Episode 100: Guy Kawasaki's Unconventional Advice on Growth
• Hashtagged: Focusing on Creating Content and Community Versus Being an Influencer with Dan Joyce

9) Set up an IFTTT.

IFTTT ("If this, then that") sets up connections between apps and services you already use for content discovery and sharing. When you set up an IFTTT with a Recipe, you can save time by automatically having social media news and updates served up to you according to your content consumption preferences. Here are a few we recommend setting up to keep track of social media news:

10) Set up a news aggregator on Feedly.

There are various free news aggregation RSS feeds that you can customize and subscribe to to centralize news from a variety of different sources all on one page. I use Feedly, and after subscribing to different marketing and technology publications, I set Feedly as my homepage. That way, I have to glance at the big headlines before starting work each morning.

You can easily search for topics and names of publications to add to your Feedly to keep your knowledge as current as possible.

What's Trending?

Try out some of our suggestions and let us know if they help you keep track of the latest social media news. We've made some predictions about how social media will evolve in the future, so keep an eye out for more news and trends -- they're right around the corner.

What are your strategies for keeping up with social media news and updates? Share with us in the comments below.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in July 2014 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

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9 YouTube Marketing Predictions for 2017 From the Pros

Are you wondering how marketing on YouTube will change in 2017? As the importance of video continues to grow, many marketers are watching to see if YouTube will keep pace in 2017. To find out where YouTube may be heading in the coming year, we reached out to social media pros to get their thoughts. [...]

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Are You an Intelligent Marketer? [Infographic]

Marketing is no longer the art form it once was. Today, the companies working relentlessly to master digital marketing are responsible for gathering, analyzing, and applying the data they produce to raise their game. All the while, laggards in the number-crunching revolution are vulnerable to losing to brands that value marketing analytics and make it an essential part of the way they operate.

While the practice of collecting and mining data to inform marketing strategy is now baked into many business strategies, there’s still immense room for improvement in turning intelligence into actionable insights.

In my work with Alexa -- whose tools focus on optimizing SEO and PPC strategy -- I dug deeper into five digital marketing analytics areas, interviewing experts in SEO, conversion rate optimization, PPC, social media marketing, and email marketing. And I've organized those findings into one helpful guide: How the Pros Turn Marketing Analytics into Effective Marketing Strategies.

If you're looking for a sneak preview, check out the infographic below. This graphic covers fascinating data regarding the application of marketing intelligence and insights around the trials and tribulations companies encounter as they evolve their data-driven initiatives. 

Take a look and consider where your company stands. Have you managed to use marketing intelligence to improve your ROI and accelerate your success?

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Why Your Agency Should Drop Everything and Schedule a Hack Day

Picture this: for one day a year, everyone at your agency puts a hold on all client-related projects, clears their calendars, and gathers for a full-day brainstorm session.

For one day, the only thing that matters is creating something new from absolutely nothing.

That's the philosophy behind holding an annual agency hack day (or "hackathon"): A chance to push your team to their creative limits, consider previously overlooked points of view, and delve deeply into experimental projects you wouldn't have otherwise been able to seriously pursue.

Although a day without billable hours might sound like a dystopian nightmare to some agency folks, the benefits of holding a hack day far outweigh the potential negative consequences of losing a normal day of work. Setting aside a day to devote all your agency's resources towards a single goal can produce real, innovative solutions you can translate into successful client campaigns.

Take Brooklyn-based digital agency Big Spaceship, for example. For their 2016 hack day, they tasked their team to "make weird things that are shareable" -- and ended up with some pretty creative results. Two of the hack day projects ended up going viral: a platform where you could vote for your favorite memes of the 2016 election cycle, and "a Twitter-powered, emoji-fueled fighting game in which top celebs battle to the death."

Even if the ideas that emerge from your hack day aren't worth taking to the bank, the day you dedicate to intense collaboration is still a great opportunity for your entire team to reconnect, step outside your usual roles, and return to your regular projects with a refreshed sense of purpose. Hack days enable team members from all levels and disciplines join forces and get exposed to new points of view -- and that's never a bad thing.

A (Very) Brief History of Hack Days

Hack days -- or hackathons as they're frequently called in the tech world -- have become a ubiquitous and indispensable part of many companies' cultures. Although they've likely existed in some form since humans started collaborating, the term "hackathon" and "hack day" first started popping up in Silicon Valley in the late 1990s. At the time, hackathons were primarily a way for software developers to solve complex problems and devise new technologies in a short period of time.

The formula has always been pretty simple: a group of developers gather -- sometimes for a full week, and sometimes for just a few hours -- with a single objective in mind. They break into teams, solve the presented problem within the given time constraints, and meet back up to share their work.

In the mid 2000s, venture capitalists and tech incubators started seeing value in holding hackathons to uncover fresh ideas and startups worth funding. Hackathons went from being glorified all-nighters and low-key social events to international competitions with massive prizes.

In 2017, hackathons aren't just for tech companies. Groups from a wide variety of industries have found exciting new ideas using the hack day model. From biologists to fashion designers, people are discovering there's clear value in taking time out of your regular grind to get involved with a experimental project.

How to Run an Agency Hack Day

1) Plan your hack day far in advance.

One of the biggest management (and even employee) objectives to holding a hack day is likely to be: "We just don't have the time!"

It's a valid concern. If you work at an agency, you probably already feel like you're squeezing every usable hour out of your days as it is. The idea of setting aside your ongoing client projects for a full day can seem horrifying -- especially if it's sprung on you out of the blue.

Notify your team -- and your clients -- that you're holding a hack day far in advance. This gives your team the chance to schedule their long term projects with the hack day date in mind, and lets your clients know that you'll be unavailable for a day. 

2) Give your team a creative brief.

When your hack day finally rolls around, jumpstart the proceedings with a theme or a creative brief to give your team a starting place. The brief doesn't have to be something you'd typically work on for a client. In fact, try to think of something a little outside of your team's usual scope to encourage some innovative, outside-the-box thinking. 

3) Break your team into groups.

Break your agency's team into small, competing groups (or pairs, if you're a smaller agency). You should strive to make the teams as diverse as possible, grouping team members from different departments and ranks within the company to ensure there's a healthy mix of experience levels, viewpoints, and areas of expertise.

Remember: hack days aren't just for your creative team. Including employees from other areas of your agency can inject some fresh perspectives into the creative process and yeild some surprising results. 

4) Set time constraints.

Once you have your employees broken up into groups, it's time for the competition to begin. One of the reasons hack days are so successful at producing creative solutions is because of the strict time constraints, which require participants to create start-to-finish projects. This helps people break out from the usual limits of perfectionism, forcing them to take an unusual idea and just fully commit to it.

Jim Cuene, president of digital innovation agency GoKart Labs, says setting a tight hack day deadline, "creates experience diversity and gives you a chance to think outside your daily domain." Participants end up running with ideas they would have usually dismissed, leading to some unexpected projects.

5) Regroup and present.

At the end of your hack day, it's time to regroup and share your results with the entire team. Give each group the chance to present their work, discuss how they arrived at their final product, and field questions from other employees. 

Many agencies pick a hack day winner, either by letting everyone vote for their favorite project, or by letting an impartial panel of judges crown a winner. 

6) Share the results of your hack day.

Sharing the results of your agency's hack day publically can be a powerful prospecting and recruiting tool. It's a great opportunity to highlight your agency's culture, creative process, and capacity for developing innovative work on a strict timeline. 

Consider penning a blog post about your agency's hack day, explaining the initial prompt and the projects each team ended up creating. New York-based agency Kettle has a website dedicated to showing off their annual hack days (aptly dubbed Kettle Royale), and Big Spaceship shared the results of their most recent hack day on this blog post. 

7) Consider running a hack day for a real client project.

Once your team has gotten the hang of running a hack day with a fictional brief, you can try the process out with a real client project. Clients will love that your team is taking a unique, dedicated approach to their account, and it gives your agency the chance to add extra brain power to a big account without permanantly placing your whole team on a single project. 

You can even invite your client to come watch or participate in the hack day proceedings. Digital agency Kettle ran a hack day to brainstorm app concepts for Mad Libs, and invited the client to sit in on the action. Including clients is a great way to strengthen their relationship with your agency -- and show off what your team is capable of acheiving in just a single day. 

Would you ever consider running a hack day at your agency? Let us know in the comments.

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How to Create 360-Degree Video: The Ultimate Guide

There's something to be said for a truly remarkable experience. Whether it's a great party, the trip of a lifetime, or a particularly hilarious comedy show, having lived through it makes us want to talk about it.

We share these experiences. We tell our friends about them, post the pictures and videos we've captured on social media, and -- when they're really good -- try to relive them. It seems that we're starting to prefer living those experiences over having material possessions. No wonder that 360° video is becoming so popular -- it virtually creates those experiences for us, right from the comfort of our online devices. 

But 360° video -- which could be described as a form of virtual reality that creates immersive visual content without additional hardware other than a screen -- isn't as easy as buying a new camera and uploading your video online. Like any other visual content, it has to be created and shared strategically. Not sure where to begin? We've got you covered with these five steps.

How to Create 360° Video: The Ultimate Guide

1) Have a good reason to shoot it.

“When you share a 360° video, you're asking the viewer to take a larger role in experiencing it,” says Matthew Watkins, HubSpot’s senior video editor and animator. “The content has to support that.”

For that reason, he says, there are very few situations when creating video in 360° is actually “necessary.” But there are occasions when it’s useful -- for example, if you’re trying to create an enhanced, but virtual experience of a certain setting. 

That could be why many of the most popular 360° videos pertain to travel or unique experiences -- see below. Those are the types of situations that are enhanced by this particular video format.

Watkins also encourages potential 360° video creators to understand how much of an undertaking it can be. When I asked if I could borrow his GoPro to tinker around, for example, he warned me, “Getting it set up, shooting, and actually looking at the footage will run you most of the day.” So when you film a 360° video, plan it like you would any other full-day project, and consider building in extra time, depending on how much footage you film.

2) Pick your content.

When we spoke with Michael Rucker of OmniVirt, the makers of 360° video content delivery technology, he cautioned against creating something “lazy.”

“People just stick a 360° camera in the middle of the room and hit 'record.' That actually detracts from the viewer's attention,” he explained. Instead, he says, he finds the best content that allows the user to look anywhere or everywhere, "but there's something specific that grabs my attention.”

Take this video of a cooking competition, for example. We're able to view everything and see what every chef in the kitchen is doing, but our eyes are drawn to the chef that's currently speaking.

It's videos like these that Rucker says give the user a “sense of autonomy” -- one that provides an immersive experience, but still puts the viewer in control. He challenges brands to ask, “What are those experiences?”

But he also notes that “the sky doesn’t have to be the limit” when creating these experiences -- they can still be somewhat simple in concept, and B2B marketers can also use them to their advantage. Local car dealerships are one example, and Rucker says they can create content in many of the same ways that big-name automotive brands do.

"What’s it really like to sit inside of that used Toyota?” he asks. That content simulates a test drive experience for users, without making them leave the house -- much like local realtors, for example, can create immersive 360° virtual tours of property listings that the viewer can control.

In other words, the real value of this kind of content is to give the user a sense of what it’s like to use your product or service. So when you set out to create your 360° video, figure out what that experience looks like -- and remember, don’t be “lazy” about it.

3) Get the right camera.

When selecting a camera, there are a few items to consider, like what you want to use the video for, and where you want to share it.

“It also comes down to budget and comfort level,” says Watkins, noting that beginners might want to start with something like a RICOH, which is a single unit and only has two sensors -- the behind-the-lens technology that captures the image -- producing lower-resolution results than something more advanced.

Rucker agrees. He tends to recommend cameras like the RICOH that serve as an “out-of-the-box solution” and don’t require a supplementary rig, which is essentially any additional hardware that supports the camera.

While there are times when that additional hardware can generate more robust image quality, Rucker says the additional hardware doesn’t usually come with a great ROI -- “mainly because the 360° technology will only yield an experience as engaging as the story being told,” he explains. “So the more accessible and versatile the recording device, the better chance that a good story can be captured.”

But for the sake of perspective, Watkins recommends looking at the quality of two different videos -- first, this one, shot with RICOH THETA S:

And this one, shot with a GoPro Omni™ -- which uses six different sensors (which are actually comprised of six synced GoPro Hero 4s):

But in addition to maximum resolution -- 5376 x 2688 for the RICOH, versus 7940 x 3970 for the Omni™ -- there’s a major difference in price point. The higher-quality option comes with a hefty price tag, at $4,999.99 for the Omni™, as opposed to $269.95 - $349.50 for different THETA models.

Remember how we said you should have a good reason for creating 360° video in the first place? Make sure you also evaluate how much you want to spend on a higher resolution.

Meanwhile, different sites like YouTube and Facebook have their own recommendations for the best cameras to use -- reviewing those lists might be helpful if you plan to share on a specific platform.

4) Stitch the footage to create a single video.

Once you record your video footage, the adventures with hardware aren’t quite over yet. You’ll need a lot of power, due to the higher resolution of most 360° video files, which tends to require a higher RAM.

The complexity of stitching depends on how many different scenes you want to include in the final video. And that depends on what you’re filming -- some content, like elephants in the wild, only require setting up the camera in one place and letting it run continuously.

Compare that to the GoPro Omni™ example from above, which stitched together several scenes and was likely a bit more complicated to edit.

As for editing software, many camera manufacturers also have their own proprietary software, “so typically, you're buying a workflow when you buy a camera,” says Watkins. Otherwise, here are some recommendations:

1. Rucker suggests Adobe Premiere Pro -- $239.88 per year | Monthly payment plans available | Available for Mac or Windows | View supported file formats
2. Kolor Autopano Video -- $319.89 | $640.84 for Pro | Available for Mac or Windows | Works with mp4, mov, and pano input file formats
3. VideoStitch Studio -- $295 | Available for Mac or Windows | Works with mov, mkv, avi, mp4, wmv, mpg, mpeg, mp2, m4v, 3gp, ogv, ogg

5) Select where the video will be published.

Social Media

More social media outlets are supporting 360° video -- like Facebook, YouTube, and Google’s Cardboard technology -- making them a top choice for where this content is shared. These platforms make it fairly easy for marketers to publish their 360° videos, but choosing where to share it still requires some strategy.

First, it’s important to know where your target audience spends its time online -- that way, you’ll be sharing the content on the networks most likely to be viewed by your personas. And in addition to social media, find out what kind of device your audience is using, since “the most fun way to view these 360° videos is on a phone or tablet,” according to Watkins.

Rucker adds that you might want to have this usage data in mind before you create the content. “Make it right for the platform,” he echoes.

Device

That advice is corroborated by data collected by VRLab Partner Fernando Tarnogol, who explored the average length of time spent watching individual 360° videos, according to device and operating system. Over half of the viewers were using mobile, confirming Watkins’ hypothesis that the experience is better consumed there. On top of that, 48% of them were using Android devices -- which could be explained by the fact that, according to Watkins, 360° video isn't supported on Apple mobile outside of the app where it's hosted.

In order to view it on iOS devices, he explains, “You must use the YouTube app on an iPhone, or the Facebook app, if it’s uploaded there.”

That could be why so many marketers are unsure of how 360° video can be used outside of social media, Rucker says, which is when OmniVirt’s technology becomes helpful -- it allows 360° video to be distributed across the web. Have a look:

Source: OmniVirt

As with all content strategy, data is your friend. Pay attention to where and how your audience is consuming 360° video, and create the experience for them while they're already there.

The Big Picture

When it comes to creating and distributing 360° video, there are three basic pillars:

1. Don’t be lazy.
2. Create content that allows users to experience your product or service.
3. Be strategic about where you share it. Make sure it’s reaching the right audience, in a place where it can be optimally consumed.

But don’t be too strict when it comes to that second pillar. You can do more than just create the experience of a test drive or an apartment tour -- in the case of the latter, for example, 360° video can also be used to help potential renters or buyers explore the neighborhood. While the content should be relevant, it doesn’t have to be linear. If you’re not having any fun creating it, your audience probably won't have much fun consuming it.

So while the sky doesn’t have to be the limit, it most certainly can be. With the right amount of strategy and selective technology, you’ll be on your way to creating 360° videos that are attention-grabbing, sharable, and -- with enough practice -- remarkable.

 

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