This Week in Social (June 8 - June 28)
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.
Apple Takes Multimedia Approach at WWDC (Read more at The Verge)
Tim Cook and company took the stage at this year’s WWDC, Apple’s annual event to update developers on what they can expect from the companies operating systems as well as announce new products. Apple didn’t disappoint.
Among the biggest announcements was the launch of Apple’s music streaming service to compete with Spotify, Pandora and Rdio. The service is called Apple Music, and it will roll out on June 30 with a $9.99 per month price tag. The platform offers music streaming, a radio-station option with DJs and a music-focused social network.
The social network is called Connect, and it will allow artists to share photos, videos and songs, similar to a social profile. It was also interesting to see that Apple is rolling out a 24/7 radio station with real DJs and radio shows. Apple rolled out its music service in a big way, and it is clearly aiming to do things differently than streaming competitors.
Apple didn’t forget to talk about Apple Pay, either. The latest addition is loyalty programs from retailers like Kohl’s and restaurants like Dunkin’ Donuts integrating their loyalty programs into the payment service. The mobile card-reading service, Square, will also start accepting payments through Apple Pay.
Mobile payments are heating up with Google Wallet announcing Android Pay, a service very similar to Apple Pay, so we’re sure to see a back-and-forth between these two players.
Finally, Apple brought us a Flipboard-like newsreader called Apple News. Apple News will include custom articles from publishers like BuzzFeed, The New York Times and ESPN. Users will be able to customize which publishers they receive content from as well as what topics they want to hear about.
News is another very hot space with Apple competing heavily here with Facebook, Snapchat and other news readers. Facebook and Snapchat are courting publishers to create content exclusively for their platforms. It almost seems that publishers are competing less and the platforms that host their content are competing more.
Twitter Streamlines Conversations (Read more at the Twitter Blog)
Twitter is taking steps to improve conversations around individual tweets. Now, when a user opens up a tweet’s page, the best posts will be highlighted at the top, instead of a feed of all replies received.
Twitter will choose which tweets to highlight by evaluating whether or not the original Twitter account has responded. Users will also see that conversations beneath a tweet are being grouped together to make following them easier. Once a user clicks on a tweet, the conversation expands to show all replies.
Twitter’s value really comes from its open nature, but this can mean a barrage of tweets and replies that are difficult to filter through. This should make that easier for tweet originators to follow the conversation they’ve sparked as well as onlookers who are just listening.
Twitter Allows for Targeting by App Installs (Read more at MediaPost)
App advertisers now have a new targeting option through Twitter ads. They can now target users based on the categories of apps they currently have installed. This data can be paired with other targeting methods like keyword, location and language.
Advertisers will be given data on app categories within their promotion dashboards.
App install ads have proven to be very successful units across the board from Facebook to Twitter. It makes sense to target users based on types of ads they’ve already shown an affinity for. If a user simply uses his phone to play games, a productivity app developer probably doesn’t want to target that individual.
This effort should make ads more relevant and improve overall ad performance.
Twitter Removing Character Limit from Direct Messages (Read more at AdAge)
Next month users will be able to send Direct Messages to each other without the 140-character limit. Direct Messages is a feature that allows users to send private messages between each other or a smaller group.
This means nothing for public tweets. Those will still be limited to 140 characters.
Twitter appears to be making a move here to compete more effectively with mobile messaging services. The 140-character limit made the platform less attractive for quick one-to-one interactions. Removing that limitation should help.
For brands looking to solve customer service issues, this opens up additional opportunities to provide more detail and assistance in private interactions with customers.
Facebook News Feed Algorithm Factors in Time Spent (Read more at The Guardian)
Facebook has introduced another factor into its News Feed Algorithm. The change will primarily affect publishers as Facebook will factor in how much time people spent viewing stories shared in their News Feeds.
The goal is to add in a factor related to current events that users want to read but not interact with by liking or commenting.
According to Facebook, “We’ve discoverd that if people spend significantly more time on a particular story in News Feed than the majority of other stories they look at, this is a sign that content was relevant to them."
Facebook’s update makes a lot of sense. It’s hard to justify liking or commenting on some content, either because of the content itself or because you don’t want to invite a debate.
This is just one factor of many, so this won’t be the be all, end all, but content that keeps users’ attention will see better performance on Facebook than content that does not.
Twitter Launching Autoplay Videos (Read more at the Twitter Blog)
Twitter has taken the lead of Facebook by launching autoplay videos. Up until this point, Twitter required users to tap to watch videos. Videos, GIFs and Vines will play automatically, but when users tap to expand them, sound will be activated. Users can choose to revert back to tap-to-play in their settings.
These autoplay videos come with benefits for advertisers. Advertisers who choose to promote their video content will only be charged for users who watch at least three seconds of their videos, meaning Twitter is promising 100% viewability.
This move has been expected for some time. Twitter had to do it. Facebook is seeing great success from autoplay video, despite the outcry when they first launched.
Twitter also presents a valuable advertising opportunity with 100% viewability and only charging for viewers who watch for three or more seconds. This will mean ensuring the upfront of videos is clear and does a good job of delivering the message.
Pinterest Launches Verified Accounts and Improved Search (Read more at The Pinterest Blog)
Pinterest has launched a few interesting updates, following its announcement of Buyable Pins a couple weeks ago. Now, accounts of celebrities and public figures will be verified, similar to Twitter and Facebook.
The social bookmaking platform also improved search. When a user starts typing, results will start to display with the most relevant matches with the update. So Pinterest will provide results for what it thinks you might be looking for. Once users click ‘Search,’ they’ll have the options to filter by boards, Pinners, Pins or their own Pins.
Search is so tied into what Pinterest is. It’s essentially a curated search engine, so emphasizing search and making it easier to get to what you’re looking for makes a lot of sense. This helps Pinterest on both mobile and desktop and potentially helps make things like Buyable Pins more useful and effective.
Twitter Working on Project Lightning Event Curation Feature (Read more at BuzzFeed)
According to BuzzFeed, Twitter has been working on an event-based browsing experience called Project Lightning. Project Lightning is designed to make it easier for new users to dive into tweets curated around a certain topic, such as an event or news story.
When Project Lightning launches in a few months, users will notice an icon in the center of their home row on Twitter. Once they tap, they’ll be taken to a list of events and stories they can dive into. From there, Twitter will take them to a curated experience of stories, tweets and content related to the event.
Project Lightning sounds like a smart move by Twitter. It would appeal to users and non-users alike. Users would be able to follow an event and join a conversation without committing to following anyone. Non-users would have a destination fueled by Twitter that they can visit without needing an account.
Instagram Updates Search and Explore (Read more at The New York Times)
Instagram is working to become the more visual version of Twitter. The photo sharing platform updated its Explore page this week to highlight photos, hashtags and places that are trending in real-time. Instagram will feature curated collections of visuals around themes like “Glimmering Islands” and “Extreme Athletes."
Instagram also improved its search functionality to make finding places much easier. According to Instagram, users will be able to search for photos from “just about any location on earth."
This is a significant move by Instagram because it takes it into new territory. It wants to see if it can become the visual equivalent to Twitter when it comes to real-time events. It also creates a point of differentiation for Instagram from other visual platforms like Snapchat that have been growing their audiences quickly over recent months.
Twitter Curates Shopping (Read more at The Twitter Blog)
Twitter is in the process of testing a shopping destination with a feature called pages and collections. The pages and collections will curate content related to tweets displayed in their feeds.
This content on pages will include places and products with accompanying videos, images and descriptions. From there, users will be able to view prices and make purchases all within Twitter.
Collections, on the other hand, will be content curated by brands and influencers. These collections will allow customers and fans follow the products and services endorsed by a particular brand. Twitter is already testing these collections with @GameOfThrones and @TheEllenShow.
Twitter has been making a lot of updates lately, and this one appears to be the latest in an effort to generate revenue and garner advertisers’ attention. Twitter has a captive audience. It’s not the size of Facebook’s, but it is active. This is one way Twitter can mobilize that audience in a way that’s attractive to advertisers. Whether or not users play along remains to be seen.
Facebook Messenger No Longer Requires Facebook to Use (Read more at TechCrunch)
Facebook Messenger continues to separate itself from Facebook. It will now no longer require a Facebook account to use. Users can sign up using their names and phone numbers. All a user needs to do is select “Not On Facebook” when signing up.
Facebook Messenger is showing that it is more Messenger than it is Facebook. It allows users to send money to each other, is getting its own apps and allows other features like video calling. Messenger’s move shows that it is clearly its own platform, and it understands that there are potential users who don’t want to be part of Facebook.
This is Messenger’s next step in becoming the primary way people connect instantly, even trying to beat out SMS.
News Quick Hits
- Facebook has cut off Graph API access to multiple Microsoft products, including Outlook.com, Windows 8 People apps, calendar apps for Windows 8 and several others. (Read more at SocialTimes)
- Facebook is now giving free beacons to retailers to help give its Place Tips platform more of a foothold. Place Tips show Facebook users photos and posts related to a retailer while they’re in a store. The feature just came out of testing in New York and is available to all U.S. businesses. To get a free beacon, Facebook has an application process. (Read more at Recode)
- Instagram Web profiles have gotten a facelift that emphasizes a cleaner, flatter design. The images featured are much larger, and users can easily scroll through them with a mobile-inspired infinite scroll experience. (Read more at The Next Web)
- Ello will finally be launching its own iOS app. The social network positioned as the anti-Facebook gained a great deal of attention last summer, but the hype has faded. Now, Ello has launched its first mobile app on June 18. (Read more at Venturebeat)
- Twitter has launched an update that allows users to shoot and share landscape videos. Previously, videos had to be square. (Read more at The Next Web)
- Facebook Messenger has gotten its first game, Doodle Draw Game. The game is inspired by Pictionary and is free to install. Messenger joins other apps like Line and Kakao in offering games through its messaging service. (Read more at Venturebeat)
- Dick Costolo has stepped down as CEO of Twitter. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will take the helm temporarily while the company searches for a replacement. Dorsey is also CEO of Square, and he will continue his duties there. (Read more at SocialTimes)
- Facebook Creative Labs has released its latest standalone mobile app. This app is called Moments, and it will allow friends who attend the same event to share and organize their photos. Facebook cited weddings as an example. (Read more at Facebook Newsroom)
- YouTube has announced the launch of YouTube Gaming, a website dedicated to video game content that will compete directly with Amazon-owned Twitch. The site features a hub for each game, which will contain videos related to the game, including live streams and reviews. (Read more at the Official YouTube Blog)
- Facebook’s facial recognition technology has improved to the point where it can recognize people based on body shape, hair and clothes. It doesn’t need to see people’s faces. Facebook will likely use the tool to automatically alert users when photos of them are uploaded. (Read more at Digiday)
- Facebook has shared an interactive ad unit it hopes to launch in the future. The ad unit creates a self-contained web experience that users can visit all within Facebook. The units offer deep interactive experiences, powered by video. Facebook previewed the unit at Cannes. (Read more at Digiday)
- Facebook’s Instant Articles are set to start publishing. Nine launch partners, including The New York Times, The Atlantic and others will soon start publishing content that will be hosted on Facebook. (Read more at The Wall Street Journal)
- Facebook is testing mobile ads that lead to online forms. The forms are then auto-populated with information from users’ Facebook profiles, such as names and email addresses. The ad unit will be most valuable for direct-response advertisers should it be taken out of testing and launched as an official product. (Read more at AdAge)
- Periscope is now making replays of streams available online for 24 hours. Previously, replays were only available through Periscope’s iOS and Android apps. (Read more at The Verge)
- Snapchat has introduced its latest ad unit. The unit is dubbed 3V. It features vertical video ad units that play full-screen, are activated by the user and always play with sound. (Read more at Snapchat)