If you’re not on Snapchat, now’s not the time to bother

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So I tried Snapchat.

It was a bit like that time I tried snails in a fancy French restaurant – a fiddly, awkward and wholly unpleasant experience that left me wondering how on earth so many people could be raving about it.

Now, I’m the first to admit I’m a bit of a social media addict. I’m on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. I have my grumbles with each platform (Twitter has become an echo chamber of abuse and Facebook Messenger’s app is becoming incredibly messy) but I’ve never experienced a social platform so hostile to actually being operated by the user.

http://lushdigital.com/blog/dont-bother-with-snapchat

Color Meaning and Symbolism: How To Use The Power of Color in Your Branding

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A brand’s logo and visual identity will comprise a number of visual cues, such as shapes, symbols, number, and words. But the number one visual component that people remember most is color. In fact, color increases brand recognition by up to 80%.

Color has the power to convey and communicate meanings and messages without words. Quick pop quiz: What color symbolizes the US Republican party? How about the Democrats? If you said red for Republicans and blue for Democrats you’re right. Each party is so strongly affiliated with its color that many politicians will wear a red tie or blue tie depending on which party they represent.

When it comes to branding, the power of color is both emotional and practical. On an emotional level, it can affect how consumers feel when they look at a brand, while on a practical level it can help a brand stand out in the crowd.

https://designschool.canva.com/blog/color-meanings-symbolism/

Instagram Takes The Lead In Wine Industry Advertising

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Wine Business Magazine:

For the first time in history we have been endowed with a technology that allows anyone in the world to have a conversation with you in real time, without requiring a phone number, an email address or some other form of directory service. All they need to know is who you are and thanks to the nature of your product, there are a lot of people who know who you are! Every single one of the bottles you produce every year is a marketing tool to intrigue people enough to want to get to know you and your story.

Read more.

Google’s right-side Adpocalypse: What really happened→

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If you listened to some people, you’d think the change to Google’s desktop SERPs was the end of the world and going to crush everyone in its path, especially small businesses. Well, now it’s nearly a month later, and the data are actually showing a very different story from the narrative — and by different story, I mean the same. Very little has changed. The sky hasn’t fallen.
Read More

Google Earth Pro is now free

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The previously-USD400 all-bells all-whistles version of Google Earth, Google Earth Pro, is free as of today. 

Over the last 10 years, businesses, scientists and hobbyists from all over the world have been using Google Earth Pro for everything from planning hikes to placing solar panels on rooftops. Google Earth Pro has all the easy-to-use features and detailed imagery of Google Earth, along with advanced tools that help you measure 3D buildings, print high-resolution images for presentations or reports, and record HD movies of your virtual flights around the world. 


Starting today, even more people will be able to access Google Earth Pro: we're making it available for free. To see what Earth Pro can do for you—or to just have fun flying around the world—grab a free key and download Earth Pro today. If you're an existing user, your key will continue to work with no changes required.

Enjoy!

Australian online wine sales overtake cellar door sales

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As reported in the latest Daily Wine News:

“Around one in five regular wine drinkers in Australia have bought wine online recently, making online sales more popular than direct purchases from the cellar door for the first time, according to a new report by Wine Intelligence.

Developments in consumer technology were influencing how people educated themselves about wine, with one in five wine drinkers searching for wine information on mobiles or tablets, according to the report.

The use of apps for wine information also saw a substantial increase, reaching 17 per cent of consumers, compared to two per cent in 2012.”
— Australia Internet and Social Media Report

Exciting - and unsurprising - news to those of us involved in online marketing! More details here:

http://www.winebiz.com.au/dwn/details.asp?ID=16052

-Kelly

McLaren Vale's biggest Gorgeous Festival ever

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It's been a busy past few weeks for us here at Chilli Chocolate, as we've been busy providing online marketing and event management services to one of the Fleurieu's most popular events, Gorgeous Festival in McLaren Vale.  I'll do a proper blog post soon, but I'll just leave this here...

“The numbers are in, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls; Gorgeous Festival 2014 was the most well-attended of all the Gorgeous Festivals to date by a ridiculous margin.”
— Kelly