This week, Twitter gets hit with a drop in sales and earnings per share, Snapchat introduces a developer tool that lets brands and publishers share web content and LinkedIn reports strong revenue growth.
Twitter Q3 Earnings Show Drop In Sales And Earnings Per Share
According to TechCrunch, ad tech glitches caused Twitter to miss big on revenues and earnings per share (EPS).
Why it matters: Analysts predicted Twitter’s EPS to come in at 20 cents per share, which is far greater than what Q3 earnings show.
The details: Revenues for Q3 reached $824 million and EPS $0.05. Twitter attributed the drop to revenue product issues, bugs in its Mobile Application Promotion (MAP) product which impacted the ability to target ads and issues with its ad tech personalization. The platform’s monetizable daily active users, however, increased from 124 million a year prior to 145 million.
Snapchat Introduces Creative Kit For Sharing Web Content To App
The developer tool lets brands and publishers share web content.
Why it matters: Integrations with third-party apps give marketers a chance to reach a broader audience and boost web traffic outside the app.
The details: The “Creative Kit for Web” lets brands add a “Share to Snapchat” button to a mobile or desktop site and the resulting shared snaps will feature a branded sticker or GIF as well as a link to drive traffic to related content on a site. While using Snapchat, visitors to those sites will be able to scan a snap code with a smartphone camera to share then a link with friends and followers.
LinkedIn FY20 Q1 Earnings See Increased Revenue And Sessions
Microsoft reported earnings for its first fiscal quarter of 2020 including LinkedIn highlights.
Why it matters: The platform has been delivering solid double-digit growth over the last several quarters and chances are the trend will continue with its latest introduction of real-life networking events.
The details: LinkedIn revenue grew 25 percent and sessions increased 22 percent year-over-year as engagement reached record levels. Marketing solutions continued to be the platform’s fastest-growing segment, up 44 percent YOY.
Snapchat’s Latest Performance Updates Show Increases In Users And Revenue
Snapchat revealed that its audience grew by seven million from Q2 to Q3.
Why it matters: An increased average revenue per user (ARPU) reflects that Snapchat’s business efforts are improving and that its capitalizing on its ability to maintain audience interest. Still, the platform’s “Rest of the World” users are not as profitable as those in other markets, reflecting Snapchat’s need to incur more technical costs to support those users.
The details: The update notes that Snapchat is being used by 210 million people every day, up from 203 million in the previous quarter. The increase is in part attributed to the “Rest of the World” category with Snapchat’s re-designed Android app which has gained traction in India.
Snapchat also improved profitability with a 50 percent year-on-year increase to $446 million. Its overall ARPU also increased by 33 percent to $2.12. Total daily time spent watching the platform’s “Discover” content has increased 40 percent year-over-year.
Instagram Removes All Augmented Reality Filters That Promote Cosmetic Surgery
BBC reports that the move comes amid concerns that cosmetics surgery filters on the platform’s stories harm people’s mental health.
Why it matters: The move to ban cosmetic surgery filters is in line with its overall effort to promote wellbeing and recent anti-bullying “Restrict” feature.
The details: Story filters that make users look like they’ve had fillers, lip injections or a facelift will be banned. The decision comes after the app announced in August that users would be able to create their own custom face filters on stories. The result was many popular filters that mimicked the effects of extreme cosmetic surgery.
Instagram Adds Option To Categorize IGTV Videos
According to Social Media Today, Instagram’s new ‘Series’ option will enable creators to segment videos into dedicated collections.
Why it matters: The feature is influenced by Snapchat’s original shows and docuseries which have been gaining momentum through repeat viewership.
The details: Instagram will allow creators to group their IGTV videos and also notify viewers when there are new episodes via an on-screen tab that viewers can tap. The IGTV ‘Series’ option will help influencers better brand their content and encourage return viewers.
YouTube Adds Virtual ‘Beauty Try-On’ In Beta To Masthead And Trueview Discovery Ads
Google’s artificial reality (AR) feature, Beauty Try-On—which lets viewers virtually try on makeup using their front-facing smartphone cameras while following along with YouTube creators’ tutorials—is now available to brands globally.
Why it matters: YouTube’s AR beauty experience will allow advertisers an opportunity to showcase their brands in an engaging way via YouTube’s home feed across devices.
The details: Google first made “Beauty Try-On” available through an alpha with Google’s in-house branded content platform, FameBit. Now consumers will be able to browse, virtually try on makeup and shop the products directly via the mobile Masthead (via the YouTube homepage)and Trueview discovery ads while watching a tutorial. NARS has reached over 20 million people to date in the US, UK, Canada and Australia with the feature.
Instagram Testing Feature That Would Cluster Accounts To Make Them Manageable
According to Engadget, an app sleuther has learned that Instagram is testing a feature that would group followers into categories to make them easier to manage.
Why it matters: This would help followers focus their feed on people who they care about and in turn lure them back to the platform even when follow lists become cluttered.
The details: The feature would let users see followers they “least interacted with” and “most shown in feed” to help users determine who to unfollow.
Facebook Marketers Increase Video Media Budgets In Q3
Mobile Marketer reported that per a study from Nanigans, Facebook advertisers boosted their video budgets 24 percent in Q3 from a year prior, the third consecutive quarter that video spend more than doubled image adspend.
Why it matters: The rise in video budgets indicates marketers’ efforts in engaging users with more emotionally compelling content, an important strategy for direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that are equipped to fulfill direct orders and app marketers looking to drive downloads.
The details: In addition to overall video budgets increasing, cost-per-click (CPC) rates for video ads rose 31 percent during the period while click-through rates (CTR) for video decreased 28 percent. Still, the rise in video spending shows that marketers saw a positive return from video ads. Facebook advertisers also spent more on dynamic ads, 98 percent in Q3 from a year earlier.
Editor’s Note: Our weekly social media news post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, October 25. 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.
