This Week in Social (Week of September 1)
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.
Netflix Gives Users Greater Control for Facebook Sharing (Read more at AdAge)
Netflix has updated its Facebook sharing features by giving users more control over what viewing behavior is shared and with whom it is shared with. Previously, when users connected their Netflix accounts to Facebook, all of their viewing behavior was shared. The change is intended to encourage more people to link their Facebook and Netflix accounts. Currently, less than half of Neflix users in the U.S. have linked their accounts.
According to Netflix, it allows friends to recommend videos to one another, instead of just relying on algorithm-generated recommendations.
The update now allows users to recommend a show or movie after viewing when the credits start. Users can then recommend the video to a friend by typing a message and hitting send. Netflix will display the friends you interact with most as suggestions of people you might want to share with. Facebook friends' recommendations will display at the top of Netflix home screens and within Facebook Messages. Users can reply, ignore and even have a notification sent to the original recommender after they've watched the video.
Frictionless sharing has proven itself discomforting for many users. People don't want all of their activities shared even if it's with friends. Netflix is responding by giving users more control, and that's ultimately what people want for their data: control.
This should encourage some users to feel more comfortable. It makes them thought leaders among friends, encourages word of mouth for Netflix and gives Facebook more data on the viewing habits of its users.
Still, frictionless sharing that came from the rise of Spotify and other auto-sharing platforms will keep some users wary to link the two worlds together. This is a lesson all marketers should take into account when it comes to leveraging user data and encouraging them to share.
Hootsuite Acquires Brightkit (Read more at Venturebeat)
Hootsuite has acquired Brightkit, a standalone platform that allows advertisers to create and customize social campaigns, such as contests and sweepstakes across Facebook, Twitter, Vine and Instagram.
Brightkit currently offers thirteen types of programs that marketers can implement and then monitor. Marketers can also create lists for retargeting.
Brightkit will cease to exist and will instead be integrated into Hootsuite's new Campaigns feature. Campaigns will allow advertisers to create social campaigns through contests, sweepstakes and galleries.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Hootsuite's acquisition announcement was followed-up by news that the company just received $35 million in new financing.
Hootsuite is a social media platform powerhouse with 10 million users, 1,600 of which are paid enterprise customers. These customers include 744 of the Fortune 1000. This acquisition shows that Hootsuite clearly isn't satisfied with its current level of success and will continue to work to add enterprise and premium features in an effort to take on the likes of Salesforce and Oracle.
Hootsuite's biggest advantage may be its scalability, allowing some users to start with free accounts, move up to a Pro level for $9.99 per month and then expand to Enterprise level as their businesses grow.
News Quick Hits
- Twitter has updated its sign-up process to help new users get introduced tho the platform. The service now starts by asking users to identify their interests, such as photography, fashion or news. Twitter then displays sample tweets for recommended accounts to follow. Suggested accounts are auto-selected for new users to follow, but they can deselect those that are less relevant. (Read more at The Wall Street Journal)
- Digg has launched Digg Deeper, a new feature that will surface content and stories based on what the people a user follows on Twitter are sharing. The feature was previously available to a handful of users, but now it is open to everyone within the Digg Reader app. (Read more at Engadget)
- Twitpic will shut down after six years of service on September 25. According to Twitpic, "A few weeks ago Twitter contacted our legal demanding that we abandon our trademark application or risk losing access to their API. This came as a shock to us since Twitpic has been around since early 2008, and our trademark application has been in the USPTO since 2009. Unfortunately we do not have the resources to fend off a large company like Twitter…" Twitter contends that they made it clear Twitpic could continue operation under that name and that it is protecting its brand. (Read more at SocialTimes)
- In the coming weeks, Facebook's Privacy Checkup will roll out to users with a guided process for them to ensure they're sharing posts with the audience they believe they are are, they are aware of what apps have access to their profile information and they are aware of who can view key profile information such as Current City. (Read more at AllFacebook)
- Twitter has made some minor updates. They've switched their font from Gotham Narrow to Arial for Windows and Helvetica Neue for Macs. They've also added 'Tweet To' and 'Message' buttons on user profiles allowing you to click and open up a tweet box with the @username already filled in. The last change brings new color options in the Design section, giving user more choices for their theme colors. (Read more at AllTwitter)