It is starting to become a standard from all social media platforms to be a consolidation of other competing platforms. Before, each social media platform had its use. Now, each social media platform is inhibited if it cannot function like, or better, than other platforms.

Snapchat was famous for capturing in-the-moment, unsavable photographs. Recently, they launched "Memories" in which automatically saves the photos for you. This was a step-up for Snapchat to integrate a camera roll. This encourages users to use Snapchat over a regular, built-in camera.

Facebook is competing against Twitter for being the go-to top news platform. Not only is Facebook trying to compete with Twitter, they are going after Snapchat too. Facebook is testing disappearing messages, like Snapchat. This could be beneficial because embracing popular features of competitors could make your application more appealing. Eventually, all social media platforms will have the same functionality as each other, which one will dominate?

Social media platforms will all have:

• Create content that will make users want to share 
  
• Create and share live video content
  
• Target individuals with the latest news based on their location
  

Is your business ready to embrace what these platforms have to offer?

1. Facebook
   Facebook Marketplace is a community marketplace where individuals can sell their products via Facebook. This could be a great opportunity for small businesses and entrepreneurs to connect with users instantly.
   Facebook Live is a great opportunity for individuals to embrace a live platform to a wide audience. This allows users to feel connected with the individual broadcasting, along with the business.
   Facebook Reactions give users the ability to comment on other users activity. Whether that means you may not specifically "like" something, but want to share another reaction such as "love" or "dislike". This encourages user engagement.
   Facebook Search Engine is becoming Google's biggest competitor. Businesses might want to invest in advertising dollars in Facebook due to Facebook becoming the leader of top news and stories.
   

What is the vital to focus on is quick-win areas. This means emphasizing on campaigns that will yield results quickly. Let's be realistic, you are not going to be the top search result over night. Rank your keywords towards local terms and long-tail phrases. Step 1 is to optimize titles! Titles impact search rankings directly, and descriptions do not. Make sure to take the time to optimize titles in order to decrease click through rates and appeal to the searcher in which will draw them to the page. The landing page is key for the searcher in order to convert. Review your current rankings. Focus on phrases that rank low on the first page or high on the second; these will be the terms that will be easiest to get clicks to conversions. It is important not to just list of keywords, which is considered to be keyword stuffing and is not recommended to do. Rather then going for the biggest phrases and failing, you should focus on the keywords that are less competition and will be easier to win over. You can bid on bigger terms in 2017, but for now, try and fry the small fish. After quick optimizing is all said and done, you can consider paid advertising. This can give you the quick boost your business needs before the holidays!

There are a lot of mixed feelings about the election, but one thing is for sure: there are many marketing lessons that can be learned from the presidential race.

The important thing about targeting your audience knowing who your audience is. You don't want to spend high advertising dollars where people are simply not interested. You wouldn't catch Trump spending millions of dollars in advertising in Washington, or Clinton doing the same in Alabama. You need to make sure your audience is refined to ensure you are marketing to the right people. You can do this by geo-targeting based off of certain demographics, such as age, location, gender, interests, ect. Essentially anything that defines your audience and connects them with your business is advised to use when targeting to potential customers.

Social media can be just as much hurtful as it can be beneficial. If you do not know how to utilize social media, it could harm your image if you do not use social media correctly. Trump and Clinton have both negatively effected their image due to posts on social media... learn from their mistakes! It is important to connect with your audience through multi-channels, by posting engaging content that your users will enjoy reading. Having a constant voice when posting will help build brand image, and make it more comfortable for users to engage with businesses. Social media is incredibly vital for businesses to use, as long as you are using it efficiently.

Keep your message simple and easy to compute. If it is too difficult, users will be confused and your message will not be translated. In order to succeed, keep it plain and simple! What made Trump so appealing was his catch phrase "Make America Great Again". It helps him stand out from the crowd, and your business needs to do the same!

"You've got mail!" Especially for the election, email messages are a huge part of marketing strategy. The main focus is to create engaging subject lines that will entice the user to click and open it. Focus on what interests your users, and capitalize on that.

When you find your niche, stick with it! Trying to please everyone is never going to happen... So you might as well gain a genuine audience that is loyal! This will seperate you from your competitors, and relate with users or give someone something to talk about..