‘GTA V’ Jacks The Internet

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When the trailer for Rockstar Games’ highly-anticipated GTA V hit the interwebs in July, users went berserk across social media. Now that the game has arrived, the Twitter sphere has gone into a full-scale meltdown, exploding with weird, almost awkward admiration and obsession for the game.

Since the game launched at midnight on Tuesday, what seems like countless GTA V photos and videos have been posted on social media, and especially Twitter. Some of the more memorable ones involved heaping doting affection on the game box. There are photos of people placing their newly acquired game on a car seat, with the seat belt on, before driving home to play it for the first time. Others gave it personality, like donning sunglasses on it or even deeming the inanimate object of affection as their “new girlfriends.”

Fans had time on their hands to tweet despite the many hours of game play ahead of them in what Rockstar is calling the most massive open sandbox of any GTA game. A poll by IGN.com asked gamers whether they would be taking a day off from work to play the game. Forty-six percent said they had booked Tuesday as holiday. Shockingly, nearly one in five said they would be calling into work sick.

Not everyone was impressed, however. There were many naysayer tweets and sarcastic reactions from PC gamers, who are waiting to hear when Rockstar is giving them a PC version. Some dwelled on the franchise’s reputation for controversial content, with one person tweeting, “I support the few game reviewers with the guts to discuss the rampant misogyny that permeates Grand Theft Auto V.”

Below are some of the best reactions – both positive and negative:

 

 

 

Samsung, Sony Dominate Video Ad Sharing

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While Apple and Microsoft are no doubt big draws when it comes to being audience favorites, their competitors at Samsung and Sony have the bigger draw when it comes to social media sharing of video advertising.

According to a report from Unruly, Apple has fallen behind in the social media battle to Samsung and Nokia. Samsung has taken an easy lead in the video ads battle with a whopping 50 percent of social media shares, while Nokia sits in second place with 17.4 percent. Meanwhile, Apple is trailing way behind, sitting at 9.4 percent.

As for the next-generation video game console battle, both Sony and Microsoft are bringing the heat with new technology. However, when it comes to ads, Sony is leading the charge with an estimated 90 percent of shares in advertisements, with a small boost to 91 when it comes to direct competition against Microsoft.

Said Unruly COO Sarah Wood, “Consumer tech has completely transformed over the past decade, in such a fast-moving environment, where innovation is key to grabbing consumers’ attention, brands need a fast-paced medium to market their products. Because social video can be emotionally powerful and at the same time also extremely informative about new products or features, it offers a massive opportunity for brands in the run-up to the holiday season.”

Source: RealSEO.com

‘GTA V’ Ramps Up Social Media Effort

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In an unprecedented effort to promote Grand Theft Auto V differently than most other game companies promote its products, Rockstar Games has launched a new social website called LifeInvader, which enables users to browse pages based upon businesses and characters featured in the game.

The site allows users to log in with their Social Club accounts – which they can sign up for free here, and “stalk” certain characters or businesses. There’s a benefit to doing so, as they can not only leave messages on character profiles, but also score in-game discounts, including a first tattoo for free and a major discount on a tank from a military supplier.

You can learn more about the site below, and shop around to see what businesses have to offer. Reach out and make a few friends – you just might meet new people for your crew in the process.

Grand Theft Auto V releases on September 17th for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Source: lifeinvader.com

Instagram Ads Planned For Next Year

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Instagram has really blossomed over the past year, with 50 million users signing on for its service in the last six months alone and 150 million total overall still actively using the online photo program. What’s next Selling ads, of course.

Instagram Director of Business Operations Emily White spoke to the Wall Street Journal, explaining that the company is ready to begin selling ads starting within the next year. It’s a move being initiated by Facebook to turn the revenue-free site into a moneymaker, with the help of ad revenue.

The ads are likely to utilize the Discover tab, where both the Popular and Search pages can be found – popular amongst users of the service.

White stated that companies would be able to promote their own content and advertise with keywords through certain parts of the site, but would not be able to link their own websites within the app – showing a slight hint of hesitation.

Source: TechCrunch

‘Zero Viral Impact’ From Facebook Hashtags

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Back in June, Facebook  introduced a hashtag system, much like the one that Twitter has utilized over the past few years, hoping that users would tag particular subjects in their Facebook posts. Unfortunately, according to a new report, this new system isn’t as well received as company execs were hoping.

Facebook analytics service EdgeRank Checker showed that Facebook hashtags don’t really have much of an effect on the page, with no extra exposure or viral reach whatsoever. In fact, the effect is quite opposite, where posts with hashtags get less exposure than ones without.

“The data shows that posts that didn’t include a hashtag performed better than posts with hashtags…posts with hashtags don’t increase viral reach,” said EdgeRank in a blog post.

We’ll see what changes Facebook makes to the system in the months ahead.

Source: CNET

Facebook Tests Trending Topics

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It’s been two months since Facebook began rolling out Twitter-like hashtags, and now the company is experimenting with new ways to make them effective for users and marketers.

The social network ramped up tests for its “trending” topic section last week in the News Feed of its website. The functionality, similar to rival Twitter’s “trends box”, showcases topics, including hashtags that are currently popular on the site.

A Facebook spokeswoman confirmed the test last Friday to Wall Street Journal,“We are running a small test of a unit on News Feed,” she said. “Right now it only available to a small percentage of US users and it is still in the early stages of development.”

The test marks Facebook’s next big step to becoming the dominant destination for live, real-time conversations online.

“It is a critical battleground: The company that becomes the top hub for chatter around news events and TV shows will have a key advantage in wooing advertisers — especially as brands consider spending more money on mobile and desktop ads instead of television ads,” said the Wall Street Journal.

For users on desktop browsers, trending topics are located on the upper-right corner in a user’s News Feed, a very prominent piece of real estate for advertisers on the site. And like Twitter, Facebook’s trending section will reflect popular hashtags and topics that are generating a lot of buzz. For example, Facebook’s algorithm would group all public posts and conversations mentioning #MLK and “Martin Luther,” under one topic in the trending section, such as “Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Facebook said it will disclose more details if it decides to release the feature more broadly.

Source: The Wall Street Journal 

A Win For Brands And Facebook Contests

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Contests and giveaways are big business on social media. Customers love them for the free stuff for seemingly little effort, and brands take advantage of the clear CTA’s to boost marketing efforts. But if you have a business page, you’re aware how Page-based promotions can often be a pain, usually requiring third-party apps like North Social and pages of official rules.

Recently, Facebook made it easier for businesses to manage contests and promotions from their Facebook page, eliminating the need to go through these third-party apps and making it less of a hassle to collect entries through posts.

Now brand pages can host contests and sweepstakes directly on Page Timelines as well as in apps. Probably most exciting, businesses are now permitted to use Comments, Likes, even Message entries as voting mechanisms. Although, the two things they may not do are encourage users to tag themselves in content they are not actually in, which Facebook says will “maintain the accuracy of Page content.” Users also cannot Share posts on their personal timeline or those of their friends.

Before, the social network’s terms prohibited brands from using any of the website’s inherent push activities as entry into a contest or promotion (i.e. ‘Like or Share this post to be in the running…’ type of actions). To follow site’s terms of service, businesses instead had to rely on apps to collect entries, which can be cumbersome, and to do it well, a time-suck. Not to mention users really don’t prefer entering personal information into foreign text fields.

Businesses are still responsible for the “lawful operation of [the] promotion,” which includes official rules, offer terms and eligibility requirements, compliance with applicable rules and regulations. Promotions must also include a complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant, and acknowledgement that the promotion isn’t endorsed by Facebook.

Phew. There is still a slight runaround, but the biggest takeaway here is that you can now give CTA’s on Facebook that are inherent to the actual platform – a change that should have been made long ago. Now, here’s to hoping this doesn’t mean constant annoying content encouraging lame “Like this, or Like that” posts.

What do you think of the changes? Let us know in the comments below! 

Source: Facebook 

How To Choose A Winning #Hashtag

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Twitter UK recently released an infographic illustrating the best practices for using the darling of Twitter, the hashtag. Some of the highlights in the flowchart include basic knowledge like how to best integrate the hashtag as part of an advertising campaign, but other tips delve deeper into making the hashtag topical in the news or employing ways to make sure your hashtag has lasting value.

Editorial manager of Twitter UK Gordon McMillan explained that often times brands don’t really need too put in too much creative effort, but better research saying, “If people are already using a hashtag, and having conversations, part of your work is already done. All your brand needs to do is ensure that when it joins that conversation it is valued.”

In fact, “One way to make sure it is memorable is through media integration. The best hashtags are tightly integrated with other marketing activity from TV advertising, to press ads and direct mail material,” says McMillan.

What are some of your tips for creating the best hashtag? Share in the comments below! 

 

 

 

Lexus Joins Affleck Batman Bashing

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It’s not unusual for brands to jump on the latest trend on Twitter in an effort to boost their marketing efforts. Sometimes it’s a touchdown (Oreo’s Super Bowl genius), and sometimes you know a social media manager is attempting to dig himself out of a very public ditch.

In what is being labeled a marketing fail, Lexus is the latest brand to make a real-time oops, essentially bashing one of their most famous customers.  Ever since word spread that Warner Brothers had picked Ben Affleck to star in the new Batman movie, the Twitter sphere has exploded with controversial hashtags, many of which range from #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck to #Batleck.

Lexus decided to chime in, “You can question the superhero. You can’t question the supercar. #Batfleck #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck.”

After Lexus took this dig at Affleck, several news sites picked up the tweet, while also pointing out that the celebrity has actually been known to drive a Lexus. Ouch.

Guess Bruce Wayne probably won’t be driving a Lexus in Batman vs. Superman now. The company has since removed the tweet in question.

Source: SFGate

Facebook Launches Photo Archive

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Facebook really wants businesses to advertise on its social network site. So much so, it recently launched a new initiative that’s going to help those businesses better prepare their Facebook presence.

The website has teamed up with Shutterstock in a deal that will allow free access to millions of images to be used in ads. These images will be available via the website’s ad creation tool.

“This is important especially for small businesses who may not have resources for sourcing quality images,” said the company through a blog post.

Businesses will be able to use multiple images in different ads to test which seem like the best fit, then place their buys afterwards when they’re sure of their choices. This update will also spread over to Android and iOS Pages Manager apps, where would-be advertisers can set up said images on their mobile devices, then manage their pages accordingly.

Source: Mashable