This Week in Social and Digital (Week of August 7)
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.
Instagram Testing Live Video Collaboration
Instagram is currently testing Instagram Live with friends. This will allow users who are live streaming to invite friends to join the broadcast.
The feature works by tapping an icon in the bottom corner of the screen when broadcasting. From there a list of users who are currently watching displays, and the broadcaster can select someone to join them. After that user accepts, the screen splits into two and the users get to interact for all to see.
The move is a novel step in live streaming, and the big impact this could have on Instagram is for influencers. Influencers could start broadcasting and invite other influencers to join them, growing exposure for both participating in the live stream.
Those influencers could take it one step further and invite their fans to interact with them live, or they could even bring brands on as part of paid sponsorships to create a level of interactivity and engagement not previously available on the platform. Instagram has been drawing influencers away from Snapchat, and this could be another reason for them to look to the Facebook-owned platform.
Pinterest Adds Third Party Verification to Video
Pinterest has been slow to get into video, but it’s moving quickly to catch up. It recently signed deals with Moat and Nielsen to implement third-party metrics verification for videos run on Pinterest.
Third-party verification has been an issue on Facebook and other platforms where advertisers are looking for a trusted third party to verify their campaigns. “…we wanted video to have third-party measurement from the get-go,” stated a product lead at Pinterest. Moat will be used to measure viewabilty, and Nielsen will make sure ads are delivered to the correct audience demographic.
Pinterest is working to catch up to other platforms that advertisers have come to rely on for video. If Pinterest is going to carve away any dollars from those platforms, it needs to prove its value, and third-party verification is one way to do that.
Facebook Launches Video Tab
Facebook’s long-awaited video tab is here, and it is called Watch. It’s a new area on computers, mobile devices and TV apps that houses exclusive content from partners ranging from NASA and Hearst to Quartz and Mashable.
The feature includes Watchlists for users to keep track of what they’d like to view, and Facebook will algorithmically recommend videos it thinks you’ll enjoy based on viewing patterns and what friends are viewing.
The move is a big bet for Facebook, which is looking to create another place to attract user attention and open up more ad inventory. It’s also reminiscent of Snapchat Discover, which also features exclusive content but is shorter in nature.
Still, Facebook aims to have a professional level of quality to some of its most premier content, so expect it to exist somewhere between what users expect from YouTube and what they expect from television. Whether or not that’s something people are looking for remains to be seen, but Facebook’s invested heavily in shows and talent to get this off the ground.
Snapchat’s Quarterly Earnings Not Encouraging
Snap Inc. held its quarterly earnings report, and it showed that pressure from Facebook is holding it back. Snap failed to meet Wall Street expectations on a number of fronts, increasing daily users by 7 million to 173 million and quarterly revenue by $32 million up to $182 million.
The hope was to see some signs that Snap was able to hold its own in ad revenue and daily users. This news sent stocks down even more, and they were already well below Snap’s value at IPO.
That being said, Snap tried to paint a rosier picture by emphasizing the fact that it was able to grow its earnings per user from 90 cents to $1.05, but as Wall Street has been wanting to see from Twitter, user numbers waned.
It’s easy to be bearish on Snapchat right now, but Facebook struggled out of the gate after it went public. Now, it’s doing quite well, so it’s impossible to judge Snap based on these initial numbers. Still, it’s clear pressure from Facebook has taken a toll, and that’s going to be something Snapchat has to deal with. Wall Street wants user numbers, which will be a challenge for Snap moving forward.
News Quick Hits
- “Fat fingers” have plagued mobile advertising for some time. Now, Facebook’s taking a stand by not charging advertisers on the Facebook Audience Network for the unintended clicks. Users who click and then go back within two seconds will not count. Facebook’s also implementing requirements that make accidental clicks less likely, such as requiring a user to hold on a unit longer before registering a click.
- YouTube is allowing users to share videos and chat with friends all within the YouTube mobile app. From the share button, users can select recipients. Once shared, a chat is initiated under a new “Shared” tab. This is part of a concerted effort to make YouTube more of a social experience.
- Disney has increased its investment in BAMTech, a live video streaming company in anticipation of an ESPN online video service that is expected to launch in 2018. The intention is to share content that would not be available over its TV networks. This is an important shift as ESPN is one of the primary drivers for current TV subscribers maintaining their subscriptions. In addition, Disney announced plans to launch its own video streaming service, so it is pulling its content from Netflix once its partnership with them ends in late 2019. It’s currently certain the Disney streaming service will include Disney and Pixar films, but it is unclear if it will carry Marvel or Star Wars movies.
- Google has been reaching out to publishers warning them to remove “highly annoying, misleading or harmful” ads. Google’s warning should be a wake-up call as it's announced plans to block “annoying” ads through Chrome early next year. Google is encouraging publishers to review its Ad Experience Report, which will allow them to test their websites.
- Foursquare has released Swarm 5.0, which now emphasizes personal data collection over connecting with friends. The goal is to make it easier for users to leverage the platform to identify where they’ve been. The app now features a map at the very beginning of the app highlighting where users have been and stats based on check-ins, places and categories of places. Users can still look into friends via a “Friend Feed” to see what they’ve been up to, but that’s not the focus.