This Week in Social (Week of December 2)
This Week in Social is a weekly digest of some of the biggest stories in social media marketing news. These stories are the show notes for the Brave Ad World Podcast. Each story is discussed at a deeper level on the podcast.
Tumblr Launches Sponsored Trending Blog Ads (Read more at Mashable)
Tumblr launched its second mobile ad unit and fifth ad unit overall called Sponsored Trending Blog placements. The new units show up in the explore tab within the Tumblr app and are identified by a dollar symbol. The units allow advertisers to place their messages in a section that users turn to in order to see what content is gaining traction, much like how Twitter places ads within the trending topics section.
The Trending Blogs section was introduced in July within the ‘Explore’ tab. The ads will start with a soft launch with partners like Delta Air Lines and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Tumblr has been coy in sharing its ad revenue numbers, but David Karp told Forbes in the past that he hopes to bring in $100 million this year. While these ads won’t have much time to contribute to this year’s numbers, adding advertising in a section that people will likely turn to to kill some time is an excellent opportunity for the platform.
Tumblr has continued to be a successful platform even after the Yahoo acquisition, which many warned may have a negative impact on user engagement. Still, it’s ad offerings face challenges. First, it doesn’t offer anywhere near the level of targeting as other social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. And it also hasn’t done a great job in making the case for paid distribution of content on the platform compelling. Many brands can still get by with an organic approach.
Facebook Updates Newsfeed Algorithm to Benefit Publishers (Read more at AllFacebook)
Facebook has implemented a major change into its newsfeed algorithm to showcase more content from online publishers, and some publications are already seeing a major spike in referrals from Facebook over the past month.
Buzzfeed reported that referrals grew 69% between August and October, and The Huffington Post reports what it calls “huge growth.” Time has also seen a 208% increase over last year, and Bleacher Report increased 1,081%.
Part of the spike undoubtedly comes from Facebook but also from a better understanding on the part of publishers for what gets shared online. Not all sites are seeing the benefit, but Facebook has already confirmed plans to update its algorithm to showcase more “high-quality content.”
Facebook’s focus on high-quality content may be a bit of a reaction to Twitter, which tends to get a great deal of attention from publishers looking to distribute their content. Facebook has Graph Search, and it has hashtags. Now, Facebook wants to take another step to being your personal newspaper. Facebook will surely be watching how users respond to see if high-quality content is really what they’re looking for on the platform.
Apple Acquires Topsy (Read more at GIGAOM)
This week Apple acquired Topsy Labs, a research company focused on analyzing tweets. In fact, Topsy gained headlines earlier this year when it announced that it had indexed every tweet ever made to make them searchable.
Apple has not disclosed the reason behind the acquisition, but it has taken steps to integrate Twitter into its iOS software for iPhones and iPads. In addition, it has taken steps to be more social by offering Ping, an online social network to help users find music. Ping flopped, but Topsy could be used to move forward with another initiative, by for example analyzing tweets to see which apps are trending or TV Shows and Movies are being discussed to make recommendations to users. In addition, some have speculated that Topsy technology could be used to make Siri better at search.
Twitter Launching Retargeted Ads (Read more at TechCrunch)
Twitter announced a new ad retargeting feature that it calls Tailored Audiences. Like other retargeting services, Tailored Audiences allows brands to deliver ads to users based on previous web browsing behavior in the form of Sponsored Tweets within Twitter’s mobile app.
The offering allows advertisers to use existing data on users, such as browsing behavior and merge it with Twitter data to then serve ads within Twitter’s mobile app.
Twitter has chosen some ad tech firms like AdRoll to assist in the rollout of the news service, which is a different approach than Facebook’s, which does not include third parties.
This shift is an aggressive move on post-IPO Twitter’s part in the right direction toward greater monetization. Social platforms allowing marketers to take their existing data and integrating it with the platform means deeper engagement through more relevant messaging to consumers. That means better messaging, better conversions and more revenue for the social network.
Foursquare Adds Smart Recommendation Notifications (Read more at The Next Web)
Foursquare’s new app for iOS7 features an updated design and new push notifications that are intended to deliver helpful information based on nearby locations. That means you might be at a restaurant and find yourself receiving recommendations on what to order or what a special might be without the app being open. The app also features the standard feed of what friends are doing and recommending.
This is a make or break year for Foursquare, which sits at 40 million users who have generated 4.5 billion check-ins. Now, it’s under pressure to show its ability to monetize. This has included ads on the platform as well as selling its data for third parties to target ads on networks.
The new push notifications may be another step forward for Foursquare because they allow it to be a utility whether you have the app open or not. This makes Foursquare top-of-mind, which may increase usage and, by default, more ad impressions.
News Quick Hits
- Facebook introduced an “unfollow” option for users. Unfollow actually replaces the previous “Hide All” option, which allowed users to hide the updates from others on their News Feeds. So instead of unfriending, users can unfollow. (Read more at TechCrunch)
- New Jersey has joined the list of states making employers requesting the personal social media account passwords of employees and applicants illegal. Doing so comes with a penalty of $1,000 for the first event and $2,500 for subsequent violations. The law does not include business accounts or accessing users’ public information. (Read more at AllFacebook)
- Datasift, a social analytics company that has full access to Twitter’s firehose, received $42 million in additional funding this week, taking its total to more than $70 million. Datasift’s announcement was released just after news was released that Apple had acquired Topsy, another social analytics company. (Read more at Mashable)
- Twitter’s media site now has a new television section following a relaunch. The television page showcases social TV success stories, a media blog, best practices and user support. (Read more at LostRemote)
- Twitter has made a deal with Deutsche Telekom, owner of T-Mobile, that preload’s T-Mobile Android devices with a Twitter widget on the homescreen. Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Greece and Croatia will be the first to get the update. This gives Twitter more exposure and Deutche Telekom Twitter features ahead of others. (Read more at GIGAOM)
- Google has added a new feature that allows users to download copies of Gmail and Google Calendar data, meaning information can be backed up or easily transferred to another service. (Read more at The Next Web)
- Instagram has announced an event scheduled for December 12 in New York. Press will be in attendance along with Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom. People have speculated that the event will include the announcement of a messaging feature or even the ability to print and send photos to others. We’ll know more on December 12. (Read more at Mashable)