This Week in Social (Weeks of October 27)
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.
Twitter Reports Q3 Earnings (Read more at The Wall Street Journal)
Twitter reported its third quarter earnings for 2014, and everyone was interested in how the platform performed with monthly active users, which reached 284 million (80% of which are mobile), 13 million more than its second quarter report. However, analysts expected 14 to 17 million new monthly active users. These results sent Twitter stock down more than 8%, but Twitter succeeded in other areas.
Revenues reached $361 million, higher than expected. In addition, Timeline views hit 181 billion, 14% more than this time last year, and advertising revenue per thousand timeline views increased 83% over last year.
Twitter is performing, but it's not performing where investors are most interested and that's in user numbers. Investors want to see Facebook-like user numbers. But that's not stopping Twitter from working to get more dollars out of the users it does have with a new video ad product, ad pricing model and a buy button getting off the ground.
That means Twitter will have to strike a careful balance of keeping its existing users happy while creating more accommodating experiences to introduce new users to the platform.
Tumblr Launches Auto-play Video Ads (Read more at AdAge)
Tumblr has launched autoplay video ads with eleven initial test partners, including Hulu, JCPenny and Universal Pictures. The ads display in user dashboards and are rolling out just as Tumblr introduced a new video player that supports Vines and Instagram videos.
In the ads, advertisers can have their videos play automatically on mute until someone turns sounds on, and videos loop continuously. Videos can "pop out" to play while users scroll through their dashboard feeds.
Last week, Marissa Mayer shared that Tumblr is expected to generate $100 million in revenue next year, and large video ad budgets are certainly one way to hit that number. But Tumblr is steering clear of making the videos pre-roll content and instead making the ads the actual content people want to watch and see, according to Lee Brown, global head of brand partnerships.
Ads will be paid for on a per-view basis and can be targeted based on gender, location and interests.
Facebook has proven video ads to be very successful and as Tumblr looks to bring in additional ad dollars, video seems to be a viable route. Especially because video uploads now double photo uploads on the platform, according to Tumblr. But it can also lean on Yahoo's footprint and extend their ads across Yahoo's network. Video seems to make a lot of sense for Tumblr.
Facebook Reports Q3 Earnings (Read more at AllFacebook and AdAge)
Facebook executives reported their Q3 earnings. Some of the key findings were:
- Mobile advertising continues to grow, making up about 66% of total ad revenue, up from $9% last year.
- Facebook revenue reached $3.2 billion this quarter, 59% higher than last year, making this Facebook's most successful quarter to date as far as revenue goes.
- Daily active users also hit 864 million with mobile daily active users hitting 703 million.
- Monthly active users hit 1.35 billion with mobile monthly active users reaching 1.12 billion, up from 1.07 billion last quarter.
What was most interesting on the call was Mark Zuckerberg's vision for the future, which he talked about through WhatsApp, which Facebook acquired for nearly $22 billion, and Oculus VR, which was acquired for $2 billion. Mark Zuckerberg wants to create products, which "don't get that interesting to turn into businesses until they have about one billion people using them," stated Zuckerberg. He also explained that an opportunity for growth involves bringing Internet to people in poorer countries.
Some investors did not take to Zuckerberg's vision, which was more about developing and less about profit. This sent stocks down 8.3% in after-hours trading.
Facebook is joining the ranks of companies like Google and Amazon, which have been able to use their massive size to take risks and experiment on new products. While Facebook improved where it needed to, some investors were skeptical about where Mark Zuckerberg, who has a 55% stake in the company, is focusing. His goal right now isn't profit.
Still, Facebook is succeeding, and if there was ever any question as to whether Facebook could shift to mobile, the answer is a resounding yes.
Plus, the social network could have an even bigger Q4 as it rolls out its Atlas advertising platform and Audience Network. And Facebook is well positioned with some investments like WhatsApp for a long future. Facebook is not just reliant on its core platform and is setting itself up for the future even though Wall Street may not see the immediate value in those investments just yet.
Reddit Launches Crowdfunding Platform (Read more at The New York Times and VentureBeat)
Reddit has launched Redditmade, its own crowdfunding platform, which is currently in open beta. Redditmade offers a potential revenue stream and a way for Reddit to tap into and add value for its passionate community of users.
Redditmade is similar to Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but instead of pledging a certain amount of money, users pledge to buy the product. It fundraising users a limit of 30 days to hit their crowdfunding goals or be removed. They can create campaigns associated with their Reddit groups or sub-reedits. But, unlike Kickstarter, Redditmade focuses on physical goods like t-shirts, shot glasses and stickers.
Successful campaigns are encouraged to donate extra funds to charities, causes or people. While other campaigns are specifically focused on crowdfunding for charitable groups. Reddit takes a small cut to go toward maintaining the service.
Reddit has an incredibly passionate user base divided into sub-communities focused on individual interests, and Redditmade allows those looking for funding direct access to those more niche communities and tap into their shared passions. Redditmade feels small and community built, which is perfect for its users, and the fact that its currently focused on causes helps to build that interest and feeling before other more profit-driven products make their way onto the platform. Reddit is smartly tapping into its community and the goodwill that is often inherent within that community.
LinkedIn Sponsored Content Drives Q3 Earnings (Read more at AdAge)
Q3 earnings reports continued with LinkedIn, which saw revenue up 45% over least year, hitting $568 million and beating expectations set at $557.5 million. 19% of this revenue came from ad sales, which were driven by sponsored updates.
Sponsored updates became available last year as a way for brands to reach users who do not follow them on LinkedIn. Th units have been incredibly successful, generating 31% of ad revenue in this quarter, making it the “fastest growing business in LinkedIn’s history,” according to CEO Jeff Weiner.
LinkedIn also saw members increase 28%, reaching 332 million. 47% of LinkedIn’s visitors were using mobile devices.
LinkedIn’s content focus is clearly working. The platform has done a good job creating reasons for brands to want to create content and then given them more reasons to want to promote that content, a similar approach to Facebook and Twitter.
We can expect LinkedIn advertising to continue to grow, especially with LinkedIn integrating Bizo, a tech company acquired by LinkedIn that will allow more effective targeting for advertisers. This is significant as LinkedIn has traditionally relied on Talent Solutions as its primary source of revenue. Now, it appears to be focusing much more on growing advertising.
News Quick Hits
- Twitter's business website has gotten an update to be more helpful to a variety of brands from those that are new to Twitter to those who are looking for more advanced tips. The site covers creating a presence, gaining followers, driving website clicks and conversions, increasing engagement, driving app installs and finding new leads. (Read more at AllTwitter)
- Twitpic isn't shutting down after all. Twitter has come to the rescue to acquire Twitpic's domain and photo archive, meaning all links will remain active, but it will no longer accept new photos or data. The acquisition follows an announcement from Twitpic that it would shut down in September following a trademark dispute with Twitter. (Read more at Mashable)
- Facebook has made improvements to mobile uploads for iOS and Android apps. Users can now choose the order in which photos will appear and add captions for individual photos. (Read more at AllFacebook)
- Instagram has launched auto-play ads with initial advertisers including Disney, Banana Republic and Lancome. Each unit is 15 seconds long. (Read more at Adweek)
- Pinterest has redesigned user profile pages, updating profile photos to be round instead of square. In addition, profile information is centered, and the follow button has been moved to the top right corner of the screen. (Read more at The Next Web)