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.

Omnicom Strkes Ad Deal with Instagram (Read more at AdAge)

AdAge has reportd that Instagram stuck a year-long, $100 million commitment partnership with advertising holding company, Omnicom. Omnicom-owned agencies include BBDO, DDB, TBW/Chiat/Day, OMD and others. These agencies will invest a combined $100 million in Instagram ads on behalf of their clients, and they likely won't be the only ones. Publicis Group's Starcom MediaVest is also in talks with Instagram.

Instagram gets investment. Advertisers will receive Instagram's commitment that their ads will remain in user feeds for "an extended period of time" even if users log out. Instagram will still hold a high standard on quality control and will limit the number of ads on the platform.
This is great news for Instagram, which only recently introduced advertising. Although, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a large commitment for Omnicom, considering the large media budgets they're investing on behalf of clients. However, it allows Instagram to introduce more ads, prove itself as an ad platform and develop what it feels is relevant to its users. Instagram will be able to test, see what works, see what doesn't and more fully expand its ad offering.

Facebook Launches Brand Page Redesign (Read more at Inside Facebook)

Facebook announced an update to brand Pages that is now being rolled out. The update comes only a few days after Facebook launched a redesign for user News Feeds.

One update behind the scenes is the full rollout of the Pages to Watch, which allows Facebook admins to track performance of other brand Pages. These Pages may be competitors, adjacent products or any other Page that relates to the Page the admin is in charge of. This feature has been available to select Pages since July. In addition, Facebook has updated the navigation at the top of the Page to make it easier to monitor Page Insights, settings and ads.

The other changes are consumer facing. First all Page posts now appear in a right-hand column, and brand information, such as business hours, URLs, photos, videos and maps are located in a left-hand column, instead of below the Facebook cover photo. This layout is consistent with user personal profiles. Facebook has said the purpose of the change is to make it easier for users to find the information they need and are looking for.

One change that will be critical for marketers is that custom tabs will be available through a 'more' drop down button below the cover photo and on the left-hand bar but below Page Info.This means tabs will not be given as much prominence as they did before being featured below the cover photo.

This latest move shows that Facebook wants its experience to be more consistent across the platform from profiles to mobile. But it also shows the declining influence of Facebook tabs. They've been given less and less prominence over time. Now, they're buried beneath a 'more' button and below 'Page Info' on the left-hand sidebar. In a way, this is a signal for marketers to focus on getting into user News Feeds. That's where the true value of the platform lies. Tabs will still play a role, but they will need to be supported with CTAs and present clear value to users.

Facebook Video Ads are Here (Read more at Business Insider)

Video ads on Facebook have been the subject of rumor for two years, and the social network is finally unrolling auto-play video ads on mobile and desktop News Feeds in late April or early May.

After a series of tests, the final version of the ads are 15 seconds in length that auto-play but without sound. Facebook touts the ads as a way for advertisers to reach large audiences and deliver "high-quality sight, sound and motion." If users scroll past the ads, they will stop playing, but if they tap the ads, they will expand into full-screen view with sound. Uses will see no more than three video ads per day, and ads will be pre-downloaded when users are on Wi-Fi, so they do not use up bandwidth over cell networks and consume user data.

As for cost, the ads come in between $1 million and $2.5 million per day, according to Business Insider. The ads will be purchased based on GRPs.

Facebook has been working on these ads for a very long time and for good reason. It runs the risk of alienating users. Facebook wil keep a tight reign on ad quality to do what it can to keep users happy. The ads will be reviewed by a company that tests consumer feedback on TV commercials, Ace Metrix, before showing up on Facebook.

Facebook offers the ability to deliver highly targeted ads to users and provide deeper analytics on ad engagement than ads for TV.

News Quick Hits

Facebook is bringing back its annual f8 developer conference after taking a break for three years. The next f8 will be April 30 in San Francisco. Facebook is expected to host 1,500 developers and is expected to focus on how mobile developers can get more out of Facebook. (Read more at VentureBeat)
According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon is in talks with record labels to launch a music streaming service for Amazon Prime customers. The service would compete with iTunes Radio, Spotify and others. (Read more at The Wall Street Journal)
Instagram launched an update for Android users that makes the app load faster and decreases the amount of space it takes up on devices. (Read more at AllFacebook)
Updates to Twitter.com and official Twitter apps have renamed the Connect tab to Notifications. The purpose of the tab to provide updates on when others have followed you, retweeted or favorited your tweets remains the same. (Read more at AllTwitter)