This Week in Social (Week of August 18)
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.
Facebook Ups Ad Frequency Caps (Read more at Digiday)
Facebook is now letting advertisers reach users more often with increased frequency caps.
Advertisers are now able to reach users with the same News Feed ad twice in a single day. Previously, advertisers were limited to one time per day with the same ad. In addition, advertisers can now reach users who have not liked their Pages twice in one day, an increase from a limit of once per day.
The total number of ads a user can see in one day is not increasing.
This change will only benefit advertisers who have something worthwhile to say. This means creating relevant messages users actually want to see or risk alienating them with unwanted content. Repeat ads can anger users, especially if they aren't relevant.
Facebook's betting on relevance because if ads start angering users more than they already do, Facebook will have a tough time rolling back on this change with advertisers.
The other concern for advertisers is that it may raise prices across the board for all advertisers as unclicked impressions double.
Snapchat Launching Content Service (Read more at The Wall Street Journal)
Snapchat is launching Snapchat Discovery in November. Snapchat Discovery will send users ads along with content from magazines, newspapers, TV networks and other content companies. All of the content will disappear just like regular snaps. Users will read or watch content by holding their fingers on the screen.
Snapchat has been light on details as it's still unclear whether or not Discovery will be part of the Snapchat app, launched as a separate download or executed in some other way. One thing that is clear, however, is that Daily Mail will be one of the first brands to use the feature.
Snapchat definitely has some hurdles to overcome with this option, but with sparse details, they may have them figured out. For example, holding your finger on a screen to read something is pretty cumbersome, and if you move your finger accidentally, the content may be gone forever. Again, this may not be a problem after all, so this will be something to watch for in November.
One thing is clear. Snapchat has the user base, so it is looking to experiment with paid revenue streams. It's started to lay the groundwork with Snapchat Stories. This may be the latest.
What Snapchat is doing may be a case study for how other platforms can focus on their advertising. Snapchat has found its 'hook,' and this approach allows it to stick to its ephemeral roots.
Expectations are high for Snapchat. Now, it's up to it to show that it can indeed generate revenue.
Vine Allows Users to Upload from Camera Roll (Read more at Venturebeat)
Vine released a major update to its app, and the biggest new feature is users can now import video from their phones. Previously, users were required to film content within the Vine app. Videos taken using a phone camera or downloaded to the phone are supported. In addition, users can pull in multiple clips if they would like to, but the compilation can be no longer than six seconds.
Beyond the ability to import video, Vine now offers a feature to duplicate a clip, mute the sound of a video, preview a clip, undo the last clip filmed and a Torch View option for creating content in low-light conditions.
The update is only available for iOS at this time with an Android update in the works.
There were certainly workarounds in the past for advertisers and Vine enthusiasts to upload videos to Vine, but now it is much easier and much more accessible for users and brands alike. Vine has already proven itself to be a creative platform, and Vine has upped the ante with this update. Not requiring workarounds means time can be spent focusing on the content. Vines can be more easily created in other apps and computers.
Of course, this comes with the tradeoff of Vine content possibly becoming higher-end. However, much of the content is already there. Now, it's just easier.
It also encourages more users to create content because they can re-use video they've shot with their cameras. Previously, if something was happening, users had to choose between making it a Vine or a regular video.
Uber Opens Up Software Platform (Read more at Bloomberg)
Uber has taken a significant step to increase usage and to achieve its ambition to be "as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone." It has opened up its software platform to several companies that have mobile apps, including Hyatt Hotels, OpenTable and even Starbucks. This allows those apps to integrate Uber, allowing users to for example, order a latte from Starbucks and call up a car to get to a meeting through Uber using the Starbucks app.
Uber is showing just how disruptive it has the potential to be. This opens up the service to a huge group of additional customers and cuts out traditional transportation services. It's doing so in a way that allows companies like United Airlines to deliver an additional service for their customers and app users. In fact, United is awarding 1,0000 frequent-flyer miles for Uber services booked within its app.
Instagram Launches Analytics Tools (Read more at TechCrunch)
Instagram, the Facebook-owned photo sharing service, has launched an analytics and content collaboration platform for previous and current advertisers. Up until this point, no tool has existed for advertisers to gain a real-time understanding for how their Instagram ad campaigns were performing.
The first of the tools is called Account Insights. This dashboard allows advertisers to track impressions, reach and engagement for organic, unpaid posts. Advertisers can also see stats on followers and insights based on their activity, such as the best time to post as well as their demographics.
The second tool is Ad Insights. This tool focuses on the same information as above but with a focus on paid posts. This also allows advertisers to see how much budget remains and how many impressions have been achieved.
The third and final tool is called Ad Staging. This tool allows advertisers to preview campaigns prior to submitting them to Instagram for final approval and sign off. Advertisers can upload photos, add captions and location info, see previews for the post and gather team feedback until it is finalized and submitted to Instagram. This tool allows uploads from desktop computers, meaning no one is required to upload from mobile devices.
While the tools have limited availability at the moment, Instagram will be expanding access later this year.
Instagram is certainly getting more sophisticated with its ad offering, and a dashboard that shows a clear, real-time look at performance is one more step to attracting the attention of advertisers.
This also paves the way for a self-serve ad offering in which advertisers who aren't working directly with an Instagram rep can create and submit content for approval to Instagram without working with someone directly.
Instagram's tools sound valuable, and marketers are clearly eager to try them out and create campaigns of their own.
News Quick Hits
- Twitter has launched its latest experiment that adds tweets favorited by people users follow to their timelines. Users are also seeing notifications when people they follow start following others. The test is clearly intended to encourage users to follow other individuals and display interesting content in their timelines. However, people have expressed frustration that Twitter is curating content that they didn't opt-in to receive. This is only a test and is limited to the mobile app at this point. (Read more at The Verge)
- Thanks to a test, some Facebook users are able to use stickers when posting comments. Stickers work in comments the same way they do through Messenger. (Read more at The Next Web)
- Twitter has announced that it will remove images or videos of deceased individuals when family members submit a request to privacy@twitter.com. Twitter has said that it will not meet every request but will "in certain circumstances." (Read more at The Next Web)
- Slideshare is removing Pro tiers and making all premium features free to all users. This includes access to analytics, profile customization and private uploads. Features will start rolling out in September. (Read more at TechCrunch)
- SoundCloud is launching a new program that includes advertising. Premier content creators can run their tracks with ads and share revenue for their tracks with SoundCloud. (Read more at The Next Web)