Introducing: Gather & Give
How do people always get those perfect pictures for Instagram? Why are some Snapchat stories so much better than others? What is Facebook Live even about? As a social business consultancy, it’s our job to know how to do these things, and we do our best to help others make the most of their time on […]
The #SFSummit Rewind: TSL heads to Austin
A couple weeks ago, we attended the Spredfast Summit, marking the third-consecutive year that we’ve made the trip to Austin, Texas. In recent years, the conference has become a Mecca for some of the brightest minds in social media, featuring keynotes from some of the most engaging presences in the digital space. Who: The smartest […]
Social Media Trends: Q3 2016
Keeping up with all the changes and updates that happen every week is hard work. Social media moves fast, really fast, but that’s what we’re here for. Every 3 months, we pull all of the best and most important updates from across all of your favorite platforms. The following is a birds-eye view of the […]
Social Media Trends Report: Q2 2016
We’ve sorted through the latest and greatest social media trends and platform updates to produce a new Social Media Trends Report. The deck describes the major social media updates from Q2 2016 and what they mean for your business. [slideshare id=64030041&doc=tsl2016q2trendreport-160714152514] What’s Trending on Social Media This Year? Livestreaming From Chewbacca Mom to political protests, livestreaming is […]
The Social Lights Celebrates 5 Years in Business
The Social Lights, LLC is an independent social media marketing agency headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. Over the past 5 years, they’ve grown from a two-woman shop to a team of 12 and counting. “Since this time last year, revenue growth is up 51.3%. We’ve grown to 12 employees (4x last year) and moved into a […]
Looking Back // Looking Forward – State of Social Media 2016
As 2015 comes to a close, we reflect on the past 12 months and set our sights on what to expect from our favorite social platforms in 2016. 1. Instagram is Changing Instagram turned 5 this year and (finally) freed us of the confines of ‘square-only’ format. While rumors circulate that Instagram, like Facebook, will soon be […]
Minnesota Retailers Association Event Recap
We were invited to speak at The Minnesota Retailers Association‘s Crushin’ It With Customers Event at Boulay, joining with Nina Hale, Inc. and Blue Earth Interactive. The subject: Digital Strategy for the 2015 holiday season. Here’s a few of our favorite takeaways – in tweet form, of course! Google Search Insights "Near me" @Google searches […]
Top Takeaways from Spredfast Summit 2015
We just got back from a jam-packed #SFsummit in Austin, TX, and we’re pleased to share some of our top takeaways with y’all. The ‘Smart Social’ theme had us at hello, and the excitement grew from there. Here’s a sampling of the many lightbulb moments we had at Spredfast Summit 2015: “Social isn’t special. It’s just […]
The Social Lights Sponsors Twin Cities Startup Week
We’ve got a sweet spot for startups (especially Minnesota-based ventures)! Not that long ago, we were pitching ‘The Social Lights’ in business plan competitions and giving the ol’ elevator pitch to everyone within earshot. So when an opportunity to sponsor Twin Cities Startup Week arose, we jumped at the opportunity. Showcasing the best from the Startup […]
Social Media: 4 Factors to Focus on in 2015
In 2014, we saw video apps take off (mobile video impressions grew 350%), new networks like Yik Yak and ello emerge, and a movement toward high quality images and “Images for Information” instead of plain text or standard images. We also saw some epic social media wins and fails. Winners included NASA, the ALS Foundation, […]