Just under a year ago, YouTube Product Manager Zach Lupei announced the introduction of Bumper ads. These six-second videos are ads designed to be more suitable among smartphone and similar small-screen video watchers. The idea is as online videos get shorter, shouldn't advertisements too? But what can you as a business or advertiser do with seconds? The answer is a lot.

If smartphones have turned virtually everybody into a photographer, then it's probably equally true that Facebook has transformed virtually everybody into a marketer or self-promoter.
In this climate, you have to ramp it up, especially if you're a business owner who depends on Facebook ads to generate business. Take what you already know and respect about the appeal of photos and apply the expert polish of professionals to give your ads maximum “pulling power.”

If you start your day wondering what's trending on YouTube, then you know you never quite know what you're going to find. It could be a video of a toddler taking his first euphoric steps. It could be footage of a tornado whipping through the plains.

No matter what's trending on YouTube, you may have gotten the idea by now that YouTube trends toward a younger audience – and you're right. Now YouTube is taking a big gamble on its faithful following by unrolling TV service in the next few months.

YouTube has long hinted at this foray and industry experts have long been anticipating it. But everyone seems to be wondering: will millennials really ante up for online programming?

It is 2017 and the time for a strong social media strategy is here. And if you aren't already on social media, it's high time to log in and sign up for a website, Facebook, Twitter, and more. That's because the Internet and its many online communities is where a significant portion of your customers (and potential customers) are. And don't you want to be where your customers are? But crafting the right conversations takes some strategic planning. Consider the following statistics and how they can be applied to best shape your social media strategy this year:

It's no secret that Google is constantly making changes to its algorithms. While their mission is to make the service more streamlined, intuitive and overall appealing to users, these changes undeniably make it more challenging for marketers and SEO experts to ensure their websites make the top of the ranks. Google now processes over 2 trillion searches every year and marketers that want to benefit from those searches need to adapt their strategy in order to achieve their SEO goals.

Every generation is distinguished by certain qualities and if you’re trying to market a product or service to those who belong to Generation X via YouTube, you’re fortunate in the sense that they’re among the simplest of all to pinpoint.

Such simplicity belies their birth year, which extends roughly from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s and early 1980s. In terms of group size, "Gen Xers,” as they are known, are dwarfed by the Baby Boomers who preceded them and the millennials who followed them.

They are known as “emojis,” and the prefix accurately denotes that they supply a full range of emotion – from happiness to the universal hello: the waving hand.

In response to an increase in the number of searches conducted from mobile devices, Google has announced it is shifting to a mobile-first initiative. As Google prioritizes to the popularity of mobile devices, online marketers must follow suit. Marketing campaigns and websites must either adapt so they’re mobile friendly, or else be prepared to be bypassed.

As this year comes to a close, we're looking toward the future in anticipation of all the exciting things this new year will bring us. At the same time, we're reflecting back on all of the things years-gone-by have brought us.

So now you know for certain: Facebook is more than twice as popular as any other social media site.