{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
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    "title" : "The Content Corner: GIF? Meme? Embeds? Oh, My! |Digital.gov",
    "description": "The Content Corner: GIF? Meme? Embeds? Oh, My!",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/04/25/gif-meme-embeds-oh-my/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"The Content Corner: GIF? Meme? Embeds? Oh, My!","summary" : "You probably have heard this before, or may even hear it all the time, “Content is King.” What that means is, that in today’s fast moving digital communications age, with social media as the driver—organizations (agencies) must have a content plan to stay relevant.","date" : "2016-04-25T11:48:11-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"kyle-s-richardson" : "Kyle S. Richardson"},"topics" : {
        
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2016-04-25-gif-meme-embeds-oh-my.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2016/04/2016-04-25-gif-meme-embeds-oh-my.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/04/2016-04-25-gif-meme-embeds-oh-my.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/04/2016-04-25-gif-meme-embeds-oh-my.md","slug" : "gif-meme-embeds-oh-my","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/04/25/gif-meme-embeds-oh-my/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eYou probably have heard this before, or may even hear it all the time, “Content is King.” What that means is, that in today’s fast moving digital communications age, with social media as the driver—organizations (agencies) must have a content plan to stay relevant.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSure, not every agency has the resources, or frankly is as interesting as NASA, with spectacular \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBJAR3-UvSQ\u0026amp;feature=youtu.be\"\u003e4K video of the Aurora Borealis\u003c/a\u003e as a show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-harmonic-launch-first-non-commercial-uhd-channel-in-north-america\"\u003etheir own non-commercial consumer ultra-high definition (UHD) channel\u003c/a\u003e. But each agency has a citizen-base to serve, to connect with and meet their needs—they just need to do it differently.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/04/600-x-336-NASA-Stunning-Aurora-Borealis-from-Space-in-Ultra-High-Definition-4K.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Aurora Borealis from Space in Ultra-High Definition (4K)\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eGive your audience, and your potential audience, what they want, and in many cases, what they need. As government communicators, some of us with less than interesting content for the average person, we need to \u003ca href=\"http://www.inc.com/matthew-swyers/5-steps-to-thinking-outside-of-the-box.html\"\u003ethink outside the box\u003c/a\u003e on ways to display the valuable data our agency has for the American’s who need it. Providing value should be our focus, and can be done by considering the context to our content. But you can’t do that until you understand what each piece of content is, and eventually which platform—social media-wise or other—to publish it on for maximum value.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou may already know what each one of the following content types are, but let me try and break them down as it’s always good to have a refresh. These content types might mean different things for different people—and I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments section (or send me a tweet \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SSgtKRich\"\u003e@SSgtKRich\u003c/a\u003e!)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"video\"\u003eVideo\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese days, it’s essential for any communications or marketing department to have access to high-quality videography skills, whether it be a videographer (or two) on staff or outsourced to a talented firm. With each social media platform vying to keep its loyal visitors, \u003ca href=\"http://blog.visual.ly/native-video/\"\u003eimplementing native video\u003c/a\u003e, that trend looks continue to grow. In fact, \u003ca href=\"http://syndacast.com/video-marketing-statistics-trends-2015\"\u003eone marketing firm predicted\u003c/a\u003e that in 2017, 74% of ALL Internet traffic will be video.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs I mentioned earlier in this post, not all of us have the spectacular footage that NASA has, but look to produce videos on topics important to those you serve.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"livestreaming-video\"\u003eLivestreaming Video\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a totally different monster. Livestreaming is dependent on so many factors outside the control of the producer, the largest being the connectivity bandwidth to push the message out.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast year, for the first time ever the \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/06/12/digitalgov-citizen-services-summit-reflections-from-our-livestream-host-and-full-recording-now-available/\"\u003eDigital Gov Citizens Summit was live streamed\u003c/a\u003e, including interviews before and after, for online viewers across the country. The US Navy has been \u003ca href=\"http://syndacast.com/video-marketing-statistics-trends-2015\"\u003elivestreaming its graduation ceremonies\u003c/a\u003e for a while now, with thousands of excited parents and family members ready to see their son or daughter take those memorable steps.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the livestream of your video, traffic will be flooding into your site, so consider \u003ca href=\"http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-improve-your-social-media-calls-to-action/\"\u003einserting calls-to-action for your agency services\u003c/a\u003e, while not going overboard. \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/04/14/trends-on-tuesday-10-tips-for-mobile-live-streaming/\"\u003eMore best practices for live streaming\u003c/a\u003e is available on Digital Gov.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"graphics\"\u003eGraphics\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot to be confused by infographics (below), graphics are a fun way to take some textual information and inform your audience about a certain topic or encourage them to take action. I really like what \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/dodigmedia/14483863137/in/album-72157645312232457/\"\u003eDoD Inspector General did with this graphic\u003c/a\u003e—it’s quick and to the point, and grabs attention for anyone who may casually pass by it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"infographics\"\u003eInfographics\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/11/600-x-450-Set-of-3D-infographic-elements-for-business-aqabiz-iStock-Thinkstock-477799640.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Set of 3D infographic elements\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003eaqabiz/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eOften used, rarely perfected. Infographics allow content creators to display a lot of statistics, data, processes and images in one graphic. Infographics are eye-catching, and can be used for almost any subject, to display it another way. When shared on your social media channels, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/06/10/how-agencies-pin-down-their-audiences/\"\u003esuch as Pinterest\u003c/a\u003e, infographics can also be good for bringing people to your site. We’re a visual generation, and it’s been proven that a person’s craving for any form of visually-strong information arises from the human brain’s penchant for the more visually-appealing graphic information rather than text.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom a simple infographic like \u003ca href=\"https://gsa-cmp-fileupload.s3.amazonaws.com/USA_Government_Branches_Infographic.png\"\u003eUSA.gov did\u003c/a\u003e, to a much more \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/new/budgetinfographic.png\"\u003ecomplex infographic like the Congressional Budget Office produced\u003c/a\u003e, infographics are meant to be informative in nature, and to teach the audience something.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"blogs\"\u003eBlogs\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy now, probably most of us know what a blog is—you hopefully have a blog on your website, which you regularly produce content in an easy readable, hopefully \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/plain-language-web-writing-tips/\"\u003eplain language format\u003c/a\u003e, for your audience to read. A blog can take many forms, it can be posted natively on your website, on a social networking page, etc. For example, recently at FirstNet we \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/03/17/firstnet-launches-tumblr-seeking-stories-of-public-safety-broadband-use/\"\u003elaunched a Tumblr account\u003c/a\u003e, which we use as an \u003ca href=\"http://firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog\"\u003eextension of our blog\u003c/a\u003e to tell real stories of our nation’s first responders.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Tyrus Manuel said in a \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/07/06/the-content-corner-creating-good-content-is-hard/\"\u003eprevious Content Corner post\u003c/a\u003e, “there is great benefit in allowing a subject matter expert (SME) to simply convey the knowledge that they have”—and a blog is a great platform to allow for that.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"animated-gifs\"\u003eAnimated GIFs\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/04/Obama-Karp-fist-bump-at-White-House-tumblr-chat-on-education-June-2014.gif\"\n    alt=\"President Barack Obama and David Karp, CEO and co-founder of Tumblr, fist bump at the White House for his Tumblr chat about issues surrounding college, education and student loans in June 2014.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eNot since recent memory, have animated GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) been mainstream on the Internet. \u003ca href=\"http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/gif-history-steve-wilhite-olia-lialina-interview/\"\u003eOriginally created in 1987\u003c/a\u003e, the aforementioned blogging platform Tumblr has brought GIFs back into fashion with a passion. These fun animations can add an interesting visual element to your content. The \u003ca href=\"http://usnatarchives.tumblr.com/\"\u003eNational Archives and Records Administration (NARA) does a great job with GIFs\u003c/a\u003e, animating their textual archived content to “make government records relevant,” according to experienced \u003ca href=\"http://todaysdocument.tumblr.com/tagged/gif\"\u003eGIF’er Darren A. Cole from the Office of Innovation at NARA\u003c/a\u003e. Said Darren, “A picture is worth a thousand words? Well a GIF is worth a million.” \u003ca href=\"http://find.digitalgov.gov/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93\u0026amp;affiliate=digitalgov\u0026amp;query=GIF\u0026amp;commit=Search\"\u003eMore on GIFs\u003c/a\u003e is available on DigitalGov.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"embedded-tweets-or-other-social-media-content-like-microsites\"\u003eEmbedded Tweets (or other social media content, like microsites)\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvent though it’s 2016, there still are some out there (especially in government) who can’t, or refuse to, access social media sites like Twitter. \u003ca href=\"https://dev.twitter.com/web/embedded-tweets\"\u003eEmbedding content\u003c/a\u003e onto your website changes that, providing a seamless viewing experience to social media channels and promoting your social media presence right on your website. The \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/02/11/microsites-keep-your-audience-updated-on-outbreaks/\"\u003eCDC takes microsites to another level\u003c/a\u003e, stating their goal to have all of their content collections available, allowing users to embed collections on their websites. #OpenData!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"memes\"\u003eMemes\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCPIt9lrohE\u0026amp;feature=youtu.be\"\u003eA term allegedly coined in 1976\u003c/a\u003e, catchy, fun, memorable—these are terms used to describe memes. It’s basically an image or GIF with text over it. Generally the most popular memes are comedic in nature, and can help you establish or put on display your agency’s personality. This can be dangerous territory for agency accounts. Some memes aren’t appropriate, some aren’t relevant, and sometimes it just makes the brand look quite outdated. As I said in a previous post, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/04/18/the-content-corner-branches-stick-to-the-vine/\"\u003estick to your agency’s message\u003c/a\u003e—try not to stray from your brand message or demographic for the sake of trends.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"podcasts\"\u003ePodcasts\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBelieve it or not, there can be great value in podcasting—both video and audio versions. Podcasts are said to be great for on-the-go professionals who want to learn while they commute or travel. Successful podcasters build ardent followings through their base of subscribers. Podcasts are typically hosted on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/digitalgov-podcast/id1042016789\"\u003eiTunes\u003c/a\u003e or through another podcasting website, like \u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/digitalgov\"\u003eSoundcloud\u003c/a\u003e, and can be filled with calls-to-action. A reminder, all DigitalGov podcasts are available on iTunes and Soundcloud.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"snap-vine-reddit-messages\"\u003eSnap, Vine, Reddit messages…\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo of course I couldn’t hit on every piece of content in this post, so here’s a catch-all—and I look forward to reading about other types of content you may use, in the comments section.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet me just briefly mention a snap. Recently trending hard, even in government circles, Snapchat is an image messaging application. Snaps can be edited to include filters and effects, text captions, and drawings. \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/04/01/why-we-launched-a-snapchat-account-and-how-well-measure-success/\"\u003eUSA.gov recently launched a Snapchat account\u003c/a\u003e, to “give the government more of a human face.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs you look to develop your content strategy, remember these words from Gary Vaynerchuk, renowned entrepreneur:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Every single tweet, every comment you leave, every post, every image you make becomes part of your brand. Period. Every time you post, you need to be laddering it back to your brand’s goals. Your core story needs to be consistent and your personality needs to be constant too. Doing this sets up a larger narrative, the broad context, for your content to succeed and have a clear message.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat other types of unique content do you think agencies should be leveraging?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou’ve just finished reading the latest article from our Monday column, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/content-strategy/\"\u003eThe Content Corner\u003c/a\u003e. This column focuses on helping solve the main content issues facing federal digital professionals, including producing enough content and making that content engaging.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}