This Week in Social (Weeks of September 15 and September 22)
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.
YouTube Plans to Pay Creators (Read more at CNET)
With the competition for high-quality video content heating up, YouTube has announced that it will start paying its stars to continue to create content. It plans to "fund new content from some of our top creators, helping them not only fulfill their creative ambitions but also deliver new material to their millions of fans on YouTube."
This announcement comes at a time when platforms like Vimeo and Facebook are working to generate more high-quality video content on their own platforms by courting some prominent YouTube stars.
Everyone is interested in video. The landscape is clearly getting more competitive as advertisers look to invest more and more in online video.
The real beneficiaries here will be users who get even more content and the creators behind it all. Now, this investment is focused on creators who have already built a massive following on the site, so the average user will see no money. But YouTube is addressing what has been a growing issue.
YouTube has been criticized in the past for having revenue sharing terms that benefit it much more than the actual creators of content. This is clearly one way to keep them on the platform and to encourage others to create there as well.
Twitter Overhauls iOS Mobile Profiles (Read more at Mashable)
Twitter profiles on iOS devices have been given a facelift. Now, when users visit the profiles of others on an iPhone, profiles will more closely resemble profiles viewed on a desktop, with larger profile photos and a banner covering the width of the screen.
You will also notice that user bios and photos are given greater prominence. Users no longer need to swipe the screen to view the bio. And photos and favorites are accessible via a three-tab bar at the top of the profile. That information used to be buried at the bottom of the screen.
Twitter's move certainly brings its mobile experience more closely aligned with its desktop design, so it's no surprise that it's taken this step.
One of the platform's biggest challenges, however, is the use of third-party apps. Users who access Twitter through other applications are not able to see ads, which frustrates investors. Updates like this one and the ability to interact with notifications on the recently-released iOS 8, may make Twitter's native application more attractive to Twitter users who previously opted for third-party experiences.
Facebook Emphasizes Fresh Content in Latest Algorithm Update (Read more at AllFacebook)
Facebook has made another change to its Newsfeed Algorithm. This time it's addressing user frustrations around seeing posts that are a few days old.
The update provides greater priority to posts associated with items in Facebook's trending list. If someone posts something related to that, it will be more likely to be displayed. Facebook is also factoring in the rate in which others are liking or commenting on a post. The number of likes and comments will be important, but the rate at which those are being submitted will be another signal as to when and when not to emphasize a post in user Newsfeeds. Posts receiving a high degree of engagement now but with a slower rate later on may be deemed as being less timely.
Recency matters online, and this is one way for Facebook to compete more heavily with Twitter on being a feed for real-time information and perspective from friends. For brands, this will mean even more flexibility in content creation as they work to optimize their content for more visibility in user Newsfeeds.
Pinterest Announces New Ad Targeting Features (Read more at AdAge)
Pinterest has shared plans to allow advertisers to target Promoted Pins to customers who are already part of a brand's database, such as on its email list. In addition, new tools are going to be released that will allow advertisers to directly attribute Pinterest ads to purchases made on e-commerce sites.
This follows an update to Pinterest's privacy policy for its users, which allows them to opt-out of the new ad-targeting features.
We've seen database targeting and purchase attribution before from the likes of Facebook and even Twitter. The difference is how quickly Pinterest is moving. Promoted Pins are only months old and not even available to all advertisers just yet. Pinterest is gearing up for what will be a significant, full-featured rollout that looks to get a cut of online ad spending.
Facebook Prepares for Atlas Rollout (Read more at The Wall Street Journal)
According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook will be unveiling Atlas, a new ad platform with improved targeting and measurement for advertisers buying across the Web built on the Atlas Advertiser Suite acquired from Microsoft.
The new ad suite will offer features including, knowledge of which Facebook users have seen, interacted with and acted on ads on Facebook and other websites and apps. In addition, there's an automated ad-buying tool. It's essentially a single platform for advertisers and sellers to buy, sell, optimize and track online ads.
This is the latest move by Facebook in its rivalry with Google to attract ad dollars, and Facebook seems to have something that Google can't compete with just yet. Atlas links user ad behavior across the Web to their Facebook accounts without relying on cookies, which can be inaccurate.
Tools are getting more sophisticated, but advertisers continue to miss the mark when it comes to personalization and targeting. Hopefully, tools like this will make a difference.
News Quick Hits
- Facebook has made it easier for users to manage app permissions in a redesigned app settings page. The redesigned page makes it easier for users to see any and all apps, websites and Facebook plugins connected to their Facebook accounts. Users can also control what personal information friends' app usage can gather. (Read more at Inside Facebook)
- Flipboard is testing full-screen video ads with 10 brands, including Gucci, Chrysler, Jack Daniel's and others. The ads appear as people swipe through Flipboard content. Ads will need to be clicked in order to play. Although, Flipboard has not ruled out autoplay. The ads are initially going to be sold by Flipboard's sales team on a cost-per-impresison basis. However, Flipboard plans to enable publishers who share to the platform to sell ads themselves in the future. (Read more at AdAge)
- Twitter's Tailored Audiences targeting has gotten an upgrade. Now, advertisers can see details of all audiences in one place, change them or delete them. They can also get notifications on the status of different audiences. They can create lists based on mobile phone numbers and mobile advertising IDs, allowing them to create different audiences for those with an app installed and those who do not. Advertisers can also create segments of their audiences to exclude from targeting. (Read more at AdWeek)
- Facebook has added new tools to App Insights. Developers can now categorize people using a feature into "label cohorts." This allows developers to more easily execute A/B tests. Cohorts can be created by developers, or they can use a preset option from Facebook, including 'action-based' cohorts that divide people who have taken a certain action from those who have not and 'time-based' cohorts to divide a groups based on when they downloaded an app. The update also includes information on how much time users spend with an app and what kind of actions they take after downloading an app. The analytics are available for apps that use the Facebook SDK. (Read more at Inside Facebook)
- Facebook has launched Facebook Media, a resource for media outlets to gather tips, success stories and information on how to drive engagement on the platform. (Read more at Inside Facebook)
- Facebook is testing more granular targeting for advertisers using the 'Boost Post' feature. If the feature is rolled out, advertisers will be able to use Lookalike Audience targeting options when boosting posts. (Read more at Inside Facebook)
- Twitpic has been acquired after announcing that it would shut down earlier this month under what it said was pressure from Twitter regarding its trademark. It looks like Twitpic will live on for now. (Read more at Venturebeat)
- Twitter-owned MoPub has publicly announced a partnership with Juice Mobile. The two companies have been working together for mobile ad campaign buying and deployment. Juice Mobile brings mobile ad inventory with the guarantee of results, real-time bidding for mobile ad inventory and beacon technology. This is a rare combination. Juice Mobile will integrate with the MoPub exchange, and help Twitter as mobile continues to grow in importance for users. (Read more at Venturebeat)
- Twitter is testing a new Card that will allow businesses, publishers and users to run polls within tweets. (Read more at The Next Web)
- Amazon users who link their Twitter accounts can now use the #AmazonWishList hashtag with tweets featuring products to have those items added to their Amazon Wish Lists. (Read more at TechCrunch)
- Hootsuite closed a $60 million funding round and acquired Zeetl, a social telephony company that will allow it to add voice technology to its platform. (Read more at AllFacebook)
- Hyperlapse has gotten an update that allows users to create time-lapse videos using their front-facing cameras. Users will not be able to switch cameras in the middle of recording. (Read more at The Next Web)