#sometimes a piece of media will give you a tidbit of information or a theme that fits in so beautifully with what you already have

[ichorblossoms]

i gotta find smthin new to hyperfixate on so i can figure out what happens next in ttw

[shepherds-of-haven]

What would the ROs be like for a day at the zoo?

Blade: happy to go at a sedate pace, more interested in seeing the predators and birds of prey (and probably evaluating their usefulness in hunting or battle). Refuses to wear a hat all day and gets sunburned </3

Trouble: he picks one animal and is obscenely hyped to see it throughout the entire trip. But the animal changes every time. So like today it's the polar bear "because a polar bear could fuck your shit up so easily, it's insane", but last time it was the majesty of the silverback gorilla that was so undeniable and he just had to see it, and once he did it was just *excited noises* YOOOO IT'S THE GORILLA!!!!!!!! He buys like gorilla merch because he's so amped and is like the #1 gorilla fanboy that day, then promptly forgets about it next time and focuses on an entirely different animal like the gorilla never existed 😂

Tallys: kind of awkward to go with her to a zoo because she's always hyper-conscious and critical of the state of their habitats and how sad it is that they're in the zoo to begin with, so that makes you hyper-conscious of it, too! 😅 But she's very knowledgeable about conservation efforts and which programs are accredited and the best to go to! She really likes seeing the more obscure animals like the pangolin or the okapi!

Shery: she's most excited to see the conventionally "cute" animals like the giant pandas, red pandas, koalas, and etc.! She has her cute little sunhat and a fanny pack and packed eco-friendly snacks! The petting zoo is her favorite part, with the soft sheep and placid deer, even though the goats make her a little nervous!

Riel: he's more interested in reading the placards and informational signs about the animals than watching the animals themselves 😂😂😂 he moves at an extremely slow pace, taking his time, but immediately leaves a habitat if there are screaming children anywhere near it. he enjoys the calmer viewing experience of the marine creatures in their tanks as they drift around! he hates it when he gets to an exhibit and it's either empty or the animal is hiding somewhere 😅he's not used to being denied what he's expecting to see!

Chase: he treats it like a date and is more interested in doing cute date stuff like taking photos in the themed photo booths and buying his date cotton candy to share or a cute animal-themed hat or something like that! he garners a lot of attention for doing magic tricks for the primates and accidentally winds up as a minor celebrity on social media somehow

Red: he has all sorts of educational little tidbits and pieces of trivia about all of the animals and is very talkative and animated throughout the whole day. He's that guy who stops zookeepers to ask them random questions about how many tons of food so-and-so eats a day and how do they arrange veterinary visits for etc.! His favorite habitat is the elephants, but he likes all of the animals! He likes to do a challenge to see who can snap the best picture of an animal by the end of the day, sort of like a Pokemon Snap challenge! Loser has to buy the winner ice cream!

Ayla: she's slightly dramatic and loud throughout the day, like if she wanders past the flamingo exhibit she'll be like "oh my god they smell DISGUSTING 😫💩" or if there's a particularly grotesque-looking rodent she'll yell "EW GROSS"!!!! Overall she acts unimpressed and critical of the animals, but she's actually have a grand time and that's her way of engaging and having fun!

Halek: he's just chilling, he's got his hat and shades on and he's just wandering around, eating popcorn and checking out the animals with the same indifferent gaze as they give to him. the only time he breaks this glaze of detached interest is when he gets to the primates like the mandrills and chimpanzees; something about their social dynamics and intelligence blows his mind and he's like "they're one step away from being just like us... 🤯"

Briony: she's super excited and chatty and has a whole list of favorites she HAS to see for her to view the day as complete; she plans out a whole itinerary so she can see every single exhibit in a specific order to be as efficient and thorough as possible! she seems incapable of seeing an animal without blurting, "Oh my god, [s]he looks exactly like [popular movie animal]!" Ex: lions -> "simba??" snake -> "it looks like that snake that Harry Potter let out of its tank in the first movie!" *tries to speak in Parseltongue at it* rabbit -> "thumper? 🥺" her favorites include the otters, the snow leopard, the fennec fox, and more!

Lavinet: she's taking a LOT of pictures throughout the day, but the majority of the pictures are either selfies or pictures of her posing with the animals, sometimes in ridiculous ways! she's looking very fashionable (possibly too fashionable for an outing at the zoo) and so she'll look at you like you're crazy if you suggest going into the pigs' pen at the petting zoo or something like that. she's most interested in the colorful and exotic birds of the zoo, though she gets a little nervous going into the aviary when she knows there could be an "accident" on her Chanel purse!

[ncmagroup]

Social media has changed a lot over the last five years — and truth be told, that’s the understatement of the century.

New platforms have come into the mix. Veteran platforms continue to evolve their algorithms, rules, and layouts. There are constantly new things to learn about how to use social media to get the highest coveted asset of all in this space — attention.

One thing that never seems to change about social media marketing is the need for something eye-catching. Marketers have argued over whether one-liners beat several paragraphs. We’ve talked about the importance of hashtags.

But what also doesn’t change, despite the constant ebb and flow of social updates, is the need for the content to compel a fan or follower to stop, look and react.

What makes something compelling on social media?

Social media is a noisy place. Your content is shoved between moving objects (videos) and GIFs (the hottest trend in commenting these days). To capture the attention of the person who’s often mindlessly scrolling through the newsfeed, you need something just as catchy.

Does that mean your job is to pump out content that’s just as “loud?” Far from it.

To get someone to stop and engage with your business on social media, you need to create compelling content that promises something in exchange for the person’s time. Once YOU know the key takeaway (I can’t decide that for you), then you can get to work creating images, videos and more that beg to be engaged with.

And when you’re ready to do that, I have 10 tools that you can use to put your message together in a beautiful-looking post that’ll stop a scroller in his or her tracks. Let’s take a peek.

Canva

I’m kick-starting this list with a tool that’s relatively well-known but often not maximized to its full potential.

Canva is the go-to tool for non-designers because it’s so easy to use. Yes, you can create some fun social media graphics using its templates, but there’s more to it. You can also design advertisements, infographics, brochures and more. Those pieces can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, which means you can get more out of every type of marketing collateral you design — even what’s meant for offline.

SlideShare

LinkedIn owns SlideShare, so it’s a natural platform to include on this list because it automatically syncs with one of the largest social media networks used today.

On SlideShare, you can upload your presentations, so they don’t gather digital dust sitting on your computer after you’ve given them. Sharing them with your audience is easy. Simply press a button, and you can distribute them to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

You can also embed your SlideShare presentation on your website using IFrame or WordPress shortcodes (depending on what you use to house your website).

SlideSnack

Take your presentation uploads a step further and add your voice overlay to them with SlideSnack.

With this presentation-sharing tool, you can upload past presentations, put your voice to them, and then share them on Facebook or YouTube. You can also embed them on most websites, including those that use WordPress, Blogger, Weebly and more.

PowToon

Video is the holy grail of social media marketing because it incorporates both visual movement and audio interest. If you have a stellar idea for a video, turn your concept into a reality with PowToon.

You don’t have to be a video master to use PowToon. This platform offers several templates to choose from that you can customize and brand according to your business. Then, all you do is plug and play your content and share.

With your video in place, you can use it to promote your business on YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and just about any social network.

Magisto

Magisto is another video editor that makes it easy to put together professional-looking and -sounding videos, regardless of your skill level. Once you have your videos uploaded and a theme selected, you can drag and drop scenes and add your logo, captions, music, and narration.

The free version is limited but still quite robust. With the commercial version, you get several more features, including the ability to custom-brand your video and use commercially licensed music.

Typeform

What’s an easy way to get engagement? Ask a question. But sometimes, just asking a single question isn’t enough to get a healthy response from your audience. That’s where Typeform comes into play.

Typeform is an easy-to-use quiz builder that lets you ask your audience questions. Use the drag-and-drop builder to put together a variety of styles of questions, including multiple choice, image-based, yes or no answers, short or long text answers and more.

Once you have your quiz created, share the link on any social network to encourage participation in a unique way. You can also embed Typeforms on your website.

Playbuzz

Perhaps you want to have a little fun with your audience. Interactive quizzes with results you can instantly share are hotcakes on social media these days. Your company can create one, too, using Playbuzz.

Playbuzz lets you put together a series of tests or questions for your audience. Once the respondent is done answering them, they’ll either get their end result (10 out of 10 correct!) or find out a fun fact about themselves (for example, which character you’re most like on a TV show).

It’s a simple way to engage your followers and make your brand fun. These are also great types of content because they encourage your followers’ friends to engage with your brand, too.

Piktochart

Piktochart lets you take survey results, stats and other tidbits of knowledge and turn them into an eye-catching (and scroll-stopping) infographic.

This type of social media content often scares many non-designers because it feels so rich, and thus hard to create. Piktochart simplifies the process by offering you over 600 templates to choose from.

With your template in place, you can add your own text, fonts, colors, and logo. When it’s done, you can share it quickly with built-in social media options. It’s fast and easy.

Visme

Visme is another tool that lets you put information together in a beautiful way. This platform offers several options for how that information is displayed, including in presentations, infographics, reports, wireframes and more.

  Once created, you can share your content on your website, from a URL or on social media.

Podbean

Podcasting is a huge trend these days, but if you’re new to the world of audio content, production can be a roadblock. Podbean changes that by giving you an easy way to create professional podcasts in minutes without high-tech software or equipment.

Once created, you can publish your podcasts to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more. Or you can upload and promote your podcasts with a Podbean paid plan.

Which tools will you use?

At one point, a lack of technological knowledge was a good excuse for not offering stellar social media content. These tools change that.

Once you have your content format in mind — images, videos, quizzes, infographics or audio — choose the tool that best matches your goals and get to work.

  Go to our website:   www.ncmalliance.com

10 tools for creating compelling content for social media Social media has changed a lot over the last five years — and truth be told, that’s the understatement of the century.