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.

Pinterest and Oracle Partner to Measure Offline Sales (Read more at AdAge)

Pinterest and Oracle have formed a partnership aimed at determining how effective Promoted Pins are at driving offline sales. The partnership uses DataLogix to determine how a campaign performed in households exposed to a Pinterest campaign versus those not exposed. This would mark the first time Pinterest will be able to provide in-store measurement to advertisers.

Given the fact that 55% of Pinterest users go there to find or shop for products, the move makes sense.

This move comes out of Facebook’s advertising playbook. A partnership with Oracle that leverages its DataLogix technology is something Facebook did a couple years ago to help prove Facebook advertising’s ROI, so it’s no surprise Pinterest has taken the same approach. Pinterest is taking steps to prove its long-term viability for brands and investors. Showing offline ROI is part of the story it needs to tell, and a partnerhsip with Oracle is one way to tell it.

Blizzard Games to Tap Into Facebook Live’s API (Read more at Wall Street Journal)

Blizzard and Facebook have formed a partnership that allows Blizzard to integrate Facebook Live into its games. This means gamers playing World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone and other Blizzard titles will be able to stream gameplay to Facebook Live easily.

This is a pretty interesting move. Facebook’s made several partnerships for Facebook Live, but the competitive target has typically been Periscope and other channels where celebrities, public figures and live events are being talked about and shared. Now, it’s moving into gaming, territory where Twitch and to a lesser extent YouTube Gaming has established dominance.

Blizzard is just one initial partner, but if successful, one could easily see seamless live streaming of video games to Facebook carrying over to other titles.

Foursquare Bringing Back Check-in Rewards (Read more at Mashable)

Swarm, Foursquare’s check-in spinoff app, is getting Perks. Perks offer discounts and deals to users at restaurants and businesses when they check in.

The feature used to be part of Foursquare but was removed after Swarm branched off to become a separate app. Perks are intended to bring a new sense of excitement to the app and reward users for checking in and essentially advocating for a business or restaurant.

What separates Perks from the previous version, called Specials, is an improved experience that simplifies the redemption process. As a user checks-in, he or she will receive a notification that there is a Perk that can be redeemed. Users who opt to receive the Perk will be presented with a barcode that can be scanned at checkout.

Beyond Perks, Swarm is getting challenges. Challenges allow users to win prizes for completing goals like checking in to a certain number of parks or coffee shops.

Swarm was largely seen as something that would die off after Foursquare spun it off into something different, but it looks like it’s working to give it new life. Badges and mayorships came back last year after being removed during the spinoff, and now other features are being integrated to encourage check-ins, which Foursquare uses as a location data point for its tech that it’s been able to sell to other companies like Uber. This move may be less about improving Swarm and more about ensuring a free flow of data. Either way, users are getting a better and more rewarding experience.

Snapchat Redesigns Discover for Engagement and Repeat Visitation (Read more at AdWeek)

A much-rumored update to Snapchat Discover is now here, and it gives users new ways to interact with publisher content.

First and foremost, users can now subscribe to specific channels to ensure it gets more prominence when they open Discover. Subscribed publishers will always appear in a user’s stories at the top of Live Stories and in a “recent updates” section.

In addition, the way publishers are presented has changed. The icons of publisher logos are no more. Now, publishers are featured with square icons that have images and headlines, giving publishers the ability to tease content rather than just rely on their logos, which if you’re not familiar with the brand, you have little reason to engage with.

There are now around 20 publishers on Discover, including IGN, MTV, Vox Media, CNN and others. The goal for the move is to bring more engagement to Snapchat Discover and give publishers greater prominence. Discover’s had a lukewarm reception with some publishers claiming to get a lot of attention, while others wondering what the point of Snapchat Discover really is for them because it’s an investment in custom content built specifically for the platform.

The attractiveness for publishers is very much there, however, and with 150 million daily active users on Snapchat, it’s no wonder publishers are hoping this revamp to Discover brings more of them to that section. A big reason for that is because publishers are selling ads against their Snapchat Discover channels as part of a revenue-sharing program with Snapchat. And considering the fact that Discover is a big part of Snapchat’s revenue plans, it undoubtedly wants this to work as well.

News Quick Hits

Facebook is testing a feature that allows users to send notifications to specific friends of posts they might be interested in. The test currently allows users to notify up to ten friends at a time. (Read more at SocialTimes)
The tests continue with Facebook. It’s now testing a way for users to create status posts and then hide them from their timelines and only show them in News Feeds and search. They’re essentially dark posts for user profiles. The move makes status updates more fleeting versus living forever on you personal timeline. The updates become more ephemeral and less permanent. It’s not to the level of Snapchat, but it’s a start. Now, the ability to hide a post from your Timeline already existed. This test, if fully implemented, would just make that feature more front-and-center. (Read more at The Next Web)
Snapchat has acquired 3D photo app maker Seene. The technology lets users create 3D models using smartphone cameras, so one could assume Snapchat could implement the technology in future updates to lenses. (Read more at TechCrunch)
Twitter has a new offering for advertisers that involves them enlisting the help of 12,000 chosen-by-Twitter users to form a panel. The program is called Twitter Insiders, and it’s goal is to create an easy interface for advertisers to recruit and collect feedback from people. The goal is to make gathering insights and feedback form people easy, efficient and quick. Advertisers are given the option of both short and long-term projects that take four to six weeks to complete. Insiders are not paid but rewards like gift cards and electronics will be provided. (Read more at AdAge)
Instagram is now a share extension in iOS. The update allows users to instantly share videos and photos to Instagram without opening the app. (Read more at SocialTimes)
Apple has announced new benefits for publishers, including incentives for subscription based models as well as paid placement in its App Store search. The deal means that Apple’s cut from apps will fall 15% after a user has subscribed for a year. Currently, Apple gets a 30% cut of app revenue no matter how long someone subscribes. Paid search allows Apple to generate revenue while giving more prominence to paid apps. Advertisers will only pay if a user taps on the ad. (Read more at AdAge)
Facebook’s announcement of 360-degree photos last month is now a reality. Now, when you upload a panorama photo or a photo captured with a 360-degree app, the image will show as an interactive 360-degree image. (Read more at The Next Web)
Facebook users can now leave video responses in the comment sections of posts. The move follows an ongoing emphasis by Facebook on video. Currently, the option is limited to desktop, but an update to iOS and Android apps is coming. (Read more at Mashable)