This Week in Social and Digital (Week of August 21)
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 and Snapchat See Growth in Teens While Facebook Falters
A new report from eMarketer estimates lower usage of Facebook among teens ages 12 to 17. In 2017, usage among that age group is expected to drop 3.4% to 14.5 million people, and growth among that group is expected to grow “more slowly than previously forecast.” 82% of 12 to 17 year-olds are on Facebook, but that number is expected to drop to 76% by 2021.
So where are the all the teens going?
The answer is Snapchat and Instagram, the latter being owned by Facebook. Snapchat is expected to overtake Instagram among 12-17 and 18-24 year old demographics, growing its share of social network users to 40.8% by 2021.
The report from eMarketer is certainly illuminating, and there are a few details worth looking into.
First, just because Facebook usage among 12-17 year-olds declines, it does not necessarily mean that those users will never join Facebook as they get older. They very well may, and Facebook may continue to see the growth it's had in the past, just solely coming from older demographics. That being said, this may be the beginning of Facebook aging out and users growing accustomed and used to other platforms.
In either situation, Facebook is prepared thanks to its portfolio of products.
The other detail is Snapchat. Snapchat’s had some disappointing news as of late, but this report cements Snapchat’s position as the platform for younger users. It is expected to have half of social network users by 2021, which is great news for Snapchat and its hopes on Wall Street.
Now, we see how these projections actually play out.
LinkedIn Launches Native Video
LinkedIn finally did it. It’s launching native video, which means videos will be able to be uploaded to the platform from mobile devices.
Videos will be autoplay without sound, and while not available yet, brands may be able to promote video posts in the future as well as execute live video. Basically, LinkedIn has seen what Facebook’s done with video and has decided that works for them as well.
The move is a marked shift for LinkedIn, which has required users to link out externally to sites like YouTube for sharing video. And until now, there certainly wasn’t a way to upload any video content that had been shot from a mobile device.
It’s surprising LinkedIn hasn’t been this enthusiastic about video until now given where the industry is going. But it’s better late than never, and video has potential for LinkedIn from a recruiting perspective, vendors sharing product overviews and so on. There’s nothing surprising with what LinkedIn is offering as it’s very similar to what’s available elsewhere, but what is different is its user base and how they use the platform. That creates new content and targeting opportunities for brands.
Facebook and Twitter Compete for Live College Football
Twitter and Facebook had back-to-back announcements this week that they’ll be live streaming college football.
Twitter is partnering with Stadium to carry a 24-hour stream that will include live college sporting events and coverage. Stadium joins Bloomberg as a content provider offering 24-hour live content on Twitter.
Twitter’s announcement came a day after Facebook’s, which included broadcasting 15 college football games through Stadium as well. Facebook’s games will be exclusive to the platform with efforts dedicated for the Facebook experience, while Twitter will be more of a 24-hour live content stream. There won’t be an overlap in content.
Live content remains a prime focus for social platforms as they look to draw audiences away from not only each other but TV as well. The platforms have a strong value proposition in that they offer experiences that are additive to the live stream. Being able to follow the conversation around a game and college football while watching it in one place is certainly going to be compelling for some users.
The move is part of a larger trend of content being medium agnostic, being able to live in multiple places with experiences designed to cater to the platform carrying the content.
News Quick Hits
- Medium is allowing more authors to place their content behind paywalls, and those authors will be paid based on the number of Claps, Medium’s version of Likes, their content receives. Subscribers can clap for content they appreciate, and Medium will divide up each subscriber's fee between the different articles they’ve read each month. The more claps a piece of content received, the greater proportion of that fee, the author receives. Medium is not currently taking a cut of the $5 per month subscriber fee.
- Google and Walmart are partnering to offer Walmart products on Google Express, Google’s online shopping service. This is meant to combat Amazon and is the first time Walmart has offered its products outside of its own properties. This also means Walmart products will be available through Google’s voice assistant Google Home. Google is planning to offer free delivering for customers who meet a purchase threshold.
- Facebook is placing publisher logos on content shared from their websites. Publishers first need to upload versions of their logos to an asset library, but once complete, users will see the CNN logo embedded with articles shared from CNN, for example. The goal is to make users more aware of the source of content they share on Facebook. This is part of an effort coming out of Facebook’s Journalism Project.
- Mark Zuckerberg has announced publishers will be able to sell subscriptions through Instant Articles. Publishers using Instant Articles will be able to have a paywall or have certain articles locked, depending on their preference. Users who tap through will be given the option to pay on the publisher’s website. All subscription fees will go to the publisher.
- Snapchat has notoriously not catered to influencers, but that may be changing. Official Stories, a feature similar to verified Instagram and Twitter accounts, is now being expanded from being exclusive to celebrities like Rihanna to influencers as well. Official Stories receive more visibility in search results, which helps to curb some of the criticisms from influencers that discoverability on Snapchat is just too much of a challenge. The move is an olive branch to influencers, but it may be too little too late.