Our weekly social media news roundup helps marketers to stay on top of every social platform’s latest updates, insights, campaigns and more.
YouTube Will Give Premium Subscribers Money To Spend On Super Charts
Android Police reported this week that YouTube Premium is testing a feature that might soon allow the users to spend two dollars to “spoil” their favorite creators.
Why it matters: Super Chat is a feature popular among creators because it provides a way for them to find sources of monetization away from traditional advertising, which means they are always encouraged to produce content and attract more viewers.
The details: The gifting feature description says, “YouTube Premium is giving you one free, two-dollar value Super Chat every calendar month until May 31, 2019. When you send a Super Chat, your message will stand out and the creator will earn a share. Your free Super Chat will refresh on the first day of every calendar month, but it won’t accumulate. This is a limited time offer in the United States that can change at any time.”
Ad Council Partners With Snapchat To Stop Bullying
Ad Council and Snapchat teamed up to prevent bullying with the new Lens challenge.
Why it matters: Bullying is a relatable problem to many of the young users on Snapchat and combined with the interactive lens experience, should bring a lot of engagement to the platform.
The details: This is Snapchat’s first-ever social impact Lens Challenge. It encourages Snapchat users to share a time when someone had a positive impact on their lives. The lens challenge was given a name, ‘Because of You’ and it aims to inspire the users to be more expressive and kind to others, which also reflects Snap’s core values of being kind, smart and creative.
LinkedIn’s Editor-At-Large Explains News On LinkedIn
LinkedIn editor-at-large, Jessi Hempel, appeared on the Recode Media with Peter Kafka podcast this week and discussed why LinkedIn chooses to produce original news.
Why it matters: Being one of the leading social media platforms for professionals, LinkedIn regularly delivers quality content, which adds value and makes the users come
The details: Hempel, who joined LinkedIn in 2019, bringing years of journalism experience from Businessweek, Fortune, and WIRED. “News has the ability to make professionals smarter and, more important, to get them talking to each other across boundaries and borders around who you know and who you don’t, around things that matter to them in their professional lives,” said Hempel. “My work hopefully helps the people on LinkedIn get smarter about their work.”
Snapchat’s Ad Products After Partner Summit
On Friday, Digiday shared some insights into Snapchat’s new pitch deck.
Why it matters: This information helps marketers to get a better idea about how to use their ad dollars on Snapchat.
The details: Digiday recently accessed a pitch deck from a U.S. ad agency. The deck provides some audience insights, such as Snap’s claiming to have 92 million in “monthly addressable reach” in the U.S. — as in users who actually see ads every month, and 34 percent of those users being in the 18 and 24 age group.
No Longer A Rumor: Facebook Is Working On An AI Voice Assistant For Portal And Oculus
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday that the social media company is in the process of developing a voice assistant.
Why it matters: This effort proves that Facebook is willing to continue working on its experimental technology. It doesn’t seem, however, that the company’s goal is to compete with Alexa and other voice assistants, but rather have it
The details: “We are working to develop voice and AI assistant technologies that may work across our family of AR/VR products including Portal, Oculus and future products,” a spokesperson said.
Swarovski’s New Influencer Campaign
The global jewelry company announced on Thursday the rollout of its annual #FollowTheLight influencer campaign,
Why it matters: The campaign celebrates inspirational women, including several female football stars, empowering one another, which is a great way to add value and emotional component to the marketing initiative.
The details: #FollowTheLight 2019 campaign launched in January and will feature both new ambassadors and ambassadors that have previously participated.
“Great British Bake Off” winner, Nadiya Hussain, will appear again as Swarovski #FollowTheLight ambassador. She will be joined by Giovanna Fletcher, a mother of three and a YouTube and Instagram influencer, who is a pioneer for celebrating female strength. Another two ambassadors participating are England football players Leah Williamson and Fran Kirby will promote team spirit and the importance of women supporting each other.
Reddit Updates Its NSFW Advertising Policy
This week, Reddit updated its ad policy and announced that adult-oriented product ads and services will no longer be permissible on Reddit. NSFW subreddits will also no longer be eligible for ads or targeting.
Why it matters: While the new policy is preventing certain companies from advertising their products, it creates a safer environment for younger users on the platform.
The details: Reddit will now reject and no longer run NSFW ads. NSFW subreddits will be removed from campaigns that may have been targeting them and these campaigns will stop tracking clicks or impressions on those subreddits. However, ads will continue to run on Safe for Work subreddits, if applicable.
However, “ads pertaining to products for the prevention of pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted infections, and erectile dysfunction are permissible, if they do not target minors and only focus on the clinical aspects of the product,” the company stated.
Study: An Impact Of Influencers And Video On Consumer Behavior
Olapic, a service that searches social media on behalf of brands for photos featuring their product, worked on a report on consumer behavior towards influencers and video.
Why it matters: Influencer campaigns and video on social media are two of the most successful trends in social media marketing, so it is important to know how they affect consumers’ decision making.
The details: The report hasn’t been publically disclosed yet, but per SocialMediaToday, here is what to take away:
- 64 percent of 16-22 year-olds follow influencers on social media
- 51 percent believe the content posted by other consumers is more authentic
- 37 percent of consumers trust images created by other consumers more than brand created images
- 48 percent of respondents have purchased a product after watching a brand video
- 52 percent of social media users have mentioned a brand in their feeds
- 34 percent have discovered a new brand based on a post published by an influencer
- 29 percent have purchased an item after seeing it on an influencer’s post
Pinterest Doesn’t Want To Be Compared To Social Media, But It Probably Should
According to Bloomberg, while Pinterest doesn’t want the investors to think about the platform as social media, rather a “visual discovery” platform,” it might benefit from being compared to other social platforms.
Why it matters: Pinterest is a one humongous “inspiration board” for interior design, vacations, fashion, special occasions and other ideas, giving it access to millions of people looking to buy stuff.
The details: Pinterest avoids the social media title, probably, because it sees itself as empowering creatives rather than a churn of conversation like Twitter and Facebook. “Social media at its best makes you feel socially validated, while Pinterest at best makes you feel creative and empowered to act,” Pinterest co-founder Ben Silbermann said.
But, comparisons to Facebook and Twitter could inevitably prove invaluable to Pinterest, as it highlights the platform’s direct line to shoppers.
LinkedIn “Job Search” App Will Be Deactivated
LinkedIn’s Job search app will be integrated into the main LinkedIn app in May.
Why it matters: A spokesperson told CNET in an email statement, “We’ve built a robust job seeking experience within the main LinkedIn app that we’re excited for our members to take advantage of.”
The details: A pop-up message on the app states, “This app will retire in May. Get all Jobs & Premium features in the LinkedIn app.” And according to the LinkedIn spokesperson, the users will now have access to even more insights and features than the Job Search app offered.
Twitter Shares Its “Healthier Twitter” Progress
In a blog post, published on Tuesday, Twitter shared its progress in shaping a healthier conversation on the platform.
Why it matters: Healthy environment on a social media platform brings more user engagement.
The details: According to Twitter’s progress report, the team reviews 38 percent of abusive content, instead of relying on reports from the users; the platform saw 16 percent fewer abuse reports after an interaction from an account the reporter doesn’t follow; during January-March 2019 period, 100,000 accounts were suspended for creating new accounts after a previous suspension; new in-app appeal process allows for 60 percent faster response to appeal requests; 3 times more abusive accounts were suspended within 24 hours after a report, compared to the same time in 2018; and finally, 2.5 times more private information was removed from the platform.
Twitter Tests Mute Button
Also, on Tuesday, Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey announced during a TED talk his plans to test mute button.
Why it matters: Mute button feature gives the users more control over the content they are exposed to on Twitter.
The details: If the feature is implemented, a person who initiates a conversation, as the original tweet’s author, will be able to hide any unwanted comments replying to the original tweet. Readers, on the other hand, will need to tap on the hidden tweet to reveal it.
Emarketer’s New Forecast On Native Ad Market
Emarketer predicts that native ads, driven by social feed ads, will account for almost two-thirds of display ad spend in 2019.
Why it matters: “Native formats have made significant inroads in channels like mobile apps, but there are still a lot of traditional display units being traded programmatically, especially on desktop and the mobile web,” said eMarketer principal analyst, Nicole Perrin. “Taking into account the fact that in-stream video is by definition nonnative, we don’t expect native to completely take over
The details: According to eMarketer, this year, native advertising will account for 62.7 percent of total US display ad spending, compared to 54.2 percent in 2017. The lion share of native ad spend will go to social network platforms, and Facebook will get most of it. In 2019, native advertising will account for 95.6 percent of social digital display ad spend. Per the forecast, US advertisers will spend $43.90 billion this year on native display ads, which is $8.66 billion more than was spent last year.
An Influencer Campaign Boosts US Polo Brand Recall
According to a case study by HelloSociety US Polo company was able to increase brand recall by 95 percent with its new influencer campaign.
Why it matters: HelloSociety’s survey on the campaign revealed that 88 percent of respondents felt more connected to the brand, when they saw influencer partnerships with US Polo.
The details: Tommy DiDario, Elly Brown, Brittany Fullwood
The survey found that 71 percent of participants intended to take one or more actions, after seeing an influencer partnership; 35 percent intended to visit the brand’s website; 35 percent wanted to make an immediate purchase and 56 percent wanted to buy in the future.
Snapchat Publishes A Report On The Evolution Of Video
On Monday, Snapchat shared a new study from The National Research Group (commissioned by Snap Inc.), focused on the evolution of video and mobile content trends.
Why it matters: According to the report,
The details: Here are some other important takeaways:
- Live TV viewership is diminishing, especially among younger viewers (ages 18-24)
- TV season length is on the decline with 41 percent drop in season length since 2003
- 6 of the 11 hours spent with media are devoted to video on any device
- US adults spend an average of 3.5 hours daily on mobile in 2018
- Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Gen Z and Millennials say they have increased
- the amount of mobile video they watch over the
- past year
- 92 percent of Millennials and Gen Zs said that watching
mobile video via an app is a welcome distraction for them; 89 percent said it helps them discover new interests; 88 percent said it leaves them feeling positive and uplifted; 83 percent said that it keeps them “in the know.”
Twttr Proves To Be Even More Popular Than Its “Father,” Twitter
Accordingto Sarah Haider, Twitter’s director of product management, the users who tried Twttr, prefer it to the Twitter app.
Why it matters:
The details: Twttr was launched recently with an intent to test new features that may or may not eventually transfer to the main app. What’s interesting, though, is that so far, beta testers seem to like Twttr more than Twitter.
Survey Reveals Consumers’ Behavior In Relation To Ads On Social
A digital marketing agency, Blue Fountain Media, conducted a survey to determine consumer behavior and opinions on paid social media ads.
Why it matters: The survey focused on consumers’ perceptions of brand authenticity in relation to paid social, and what role organic social plays in that perception; the role that paid social plays in their purchasing cycle; as well as overall consumer awareness of what’s paid versus organic content.
The details: According to the survey, the most paid ads are clicked on on Facebook (38 percent), followed by Instagram (37 percent), YouTube (14 percent), Twitter (5 percent), Pinterest (4 percent) and LinkedIn (2 percent).
Some of the other findings included 31 percent of respondents stating they enjoy video ads the most. Also, 69 percent want to visit a company’s website before buying a product they saw on social feed; 51 percent will purchase from a celebrity or influencer endorsed brand; 35 percent are suspect when a #Ad or #Sponsored Content tag appears in a post and view it as a fake endorsement; 75 percent say ads have taken over their feeds and 25 percent say their feeds are well balanced; and use of audio in an ad was reported the biggest turn off for 27 percent of the respondents.
TikTok Aggressively Recruits From Snap
Digiday reported on Monday that Bytedance, the owner of TikTok, has hired dozens of people from digital agencies and other social apps, most notably from Snap, to build TikTok’s sales and partnerships team.
Why it matters: This tactic makes sense, as TikTok and Snapchat are very similar: both specialize in the short-form vertical video content and both have younger audiences. Their ad products are also similar, with vertical video and augmented reality ads.
The details: TikTok and Snap are based in Los Angeles, approximately five miles away from each other, so they have access to pretty much the same pool of potential employees. According to LinkedIn, TikTok has already hired at least 14 people from Snap. And the former Snap employees told Digiday that several of their former colleagues who still work for the app had been approached.
Facebook To Ad Swipeable Hybrid Carousel
In its attempt to shift to Stories, Facebook might soon turn its
Why it matters: The fact that users don’t scroll down the “million-mile long” newsfeed anymore, affects Facebook’s ad business.
The details: Stories have proven to be more effective for ads because the swipeable carousel makes the users more prone to swipe through, and therefore brings more engagement for content or ad. Advertisers might benefit from the full-screen Stories ad format on Facebook, if the feature is introduced.
Gigi Hadid Is A New McDonald’s Influencer
According to Harper’s Bazaar, supermodel Gigi Hadid announced at Coachella last weekend that she is a McDonald’s influencer now.
Why it matters: Hadid is already successfully collaborating with such brands as Maybelline, Tommy Hilfiger, Fendi
The details: On Sunday, Hadid shared a photo on her Instagram, McDonald’s fries in hand, saying, “
Editor’s Note: Our weekly social media news post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, April 19. Have a news tip? We’re looking for changes to and news surrounding social media platforms as they relate to marketing. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.
