This week in social media news, Pinterest launches an app on Shopify to help increase traffic to retailers, Tinder says it will soon launch a video feature, Facebook is testing an app called Discover to increase internet access for people worldwide and YouTube announces plans to live stream a virtual graduation ceremony with the Obamas.
Pinterest Launches Shopify App To Increase Traffic To Retailers
Pinterest announced today it’s launching the Pinterest app on Shopify, which gives merchants a fast way to upload catalogs to Pinterest and convert their products into shoppable Product Pins.
Why it matters: Earlier this week Pinterest reported increased usage during the pandemic, making it an opportune moment for retailers to get their products in front of Pinners. In addition, Pinterest says the number of users who have engaged with shoppable Product Pins has increased 44 percent year over year.
The details: The app links an individual store to Pinterest and offers merchants a variety of shopping features including tag installation, catalog ingestion, automatic daily updating of products and ads buying interface. The app will make it so Pinners can discover, save and buy directly from a retailer’s website as upon installation, the app lets the business add a tag on their website. A shop tab will also appear on the profiles of businesses that sign-up.
Shopify merchants in the US and Canada can install the tag starting today. In the coming weeks, Pinterest will roll out the app in countries where Pinterest ads are available including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
Facebook Tests Discover App To Increase Internet Accessibility
Facebook said it’s testing a mobile web and Android app in Peru called Discover, which provides people with limited low-bandwidth internet browsing using a daily balance of free data from participating mobile operators.
Why it matters: Backed by Facebook Connectivity, Discover builds on Facebook’s efforts with Free Basics, which enables people to access basic services without data charges, available in 55 countries. Facebook’s goal with Discover, it notes, is to increase access to health information during the crisis for users around the world.
The details: The way Discovery works is Facebook routes web traffic through the app’s proxy and temporarily decrypts it to remove high-bandwidth content that’s not supported. Discover doesn’t store people’s browsing history, according to Facebook. A Facebook account isn’t required to use Discover, which can be downloaded on 0.discoverapp.com or the Google Play Store. Facebook plans to roll out additional Discover trials in Thailand, the Philippines and Iraq in the coming weeks.
Tinder Will Add Video Dating In Q2
As part of its Q1 2020 earning report, Match said Tinder will introduce a video dating feature in Q2 after testing the waters with video in its Plenty of Fish app.
Why it matters: Tinder competitor Bumble has offered video for a year, and soon Facebook will launch virtual dating via Messenger for Facebook Dating users. Yet Match has been reluctant to add video to its apps, saying that video features had been tried over the years but never saw much adoption. As people are stuck at home, Match admits “users are being forced to use it.”
The details: The report shows Tinder only added 100,000 new subscribers by the end of Q1, reaching 6 million subscribers total. Though Tinder’s average revenue per user (ARPU) grew just two percent, its direct revenue grew by 31 percent year over year.
Pinterest Reports 32 Million More Users In Q1
Pinterest’s Q1 2020 report shows that the platform’s increased usage during lockdown has led to an added 32 million users since Q4, bringing its total monthly active users (MAU) to 367 million.
Why it matters: Pinterest’s MAU saw a 9.55 percent quarter-on-quarter growth rate, outpacing the same figure at Twitter (9.21 percent), Snapchat (5 percent), Facebook (4.20 percent) and LinkedIn (2.22 percent).
The details: Pinterest reports a 35 percent year over year increase in revenue, at $272 million. Like LinkedIn and Twitter, however, Pinterest says it saw a sharp drop in March due to changes in advertiser behavior. Pinterest notes that video, conversion optimization and shopping ad products drove its ad revenue growth for the quarter. Searches for how to educate and entertain kids, how to clean during quarantine, what food to put in the pantry and how to make masks, have increased significantly, says Pinterest.
YouTube Will Host Virtual Graduation Ceremony Featuring The Obamas
YouTube announced it’s hosting a virtual commencement live stream, “Dear Class of 2020,” premiering on its YouTube Originals channel on June 6.
Why it matters: The news comes after Facebook announced its plan to broadcast a virtual graduation, with a commencement address from Oprah Winfrey. By the looks of YouTube’s celebrity lineup, it looks as though the video platform is trying to one-up Facebook.
The details: YouTube’s virtual graduation event will feature commencement speakers President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, BTS, Lady Gaga, Secretary Robert M. Gates, Sundar Pichai, Condoleezza Rice and Malala Yousafzai. Kerry Washington, Alicia Keys and Zendaya are among the celebrities that will make special appearances.
YouTube’s New Option Would Let Publishers Sell Subscriptions Through Their Channels
YouTube is working on a tool for news publishers that lets them sell subscriptions to their owned and operated digital properties through their YouTube channels, as reported by Digiday.
Why it matters: While publishers receive a share of revenue from ads sold against their YouTube videos, news publishers have a more difficult time attracting ad spend given advertisers don’t want their ads appearing next to controversial topics. Publishers see this new subscription sales tool as having some potential and expect YouTube will share their subscriber names and emails with them.
The details: According to Digiday, the subscription sales tool would resemble YouTube’s channel memberships tool which it introduced in 2018. Using the new tool, people would pay for a subscription to access content that’s otherwise behind a paywall on a given publisher’s site or app. YouTube says it will begin testing the tool by the end of 2020.
Twitter Tests A Prompt That Gives Users Option To Revise Harmful Replies
Twitter is running a “limited experiment” on iOS that lets users self-edit their tweets before publishing.
Why it matters: The feature in testing is the latest effort from Twitter to curb harassment on the platform. In 2019, Instagram launched a similar test that would nudge users with a warning before posting potentially offensive comments; in December, Instagram said the results had been promising.
The details: Twitter’s anti-harassment feature would show a prompt that gives users the option to edit a reply before publishing it if it includes harmful language.
Twitter Reaches 166 Million Daily Active Users In Q1
Twitter’s Q1 earnings report revealed its revenue grew three percent year over year to $808 million and its monetizable daily active users (mDAU) saw 24 percent year-over-year growth.
Why it matters: As the pandemic became global, Twitter saw a dramatic increase in mDAU in March, but a 27 percent decline year-over-year in total ad revenue.
The details: Twitter’s mDAU grew from 152 million in Q4 2019 to 166 million in Q1 2020. Its average international mDAU reached 133 million compared to 121 million in the previous quarter. Twitter says its usage stabilized in late March. Twitter generated $682 million in ad revenue, with its total ad engagements increasing 25 percent. For the time being, Twitter’s goal is to help marketers reach their target audiences by improving the effectiveness of its ad offerings.
LinkedIn Launches New Job Interview Features Early
LinkedIn is testing a new video introduction feature and introducing an artificial intelligence-backed instant feedback tool that analyzes interviewees’ speech content and patterns.
Why it matters: LinkedIn acknowledges that the impact of novel coronavirus has made job searching now especially stressful. Its two new tools can help candidates stand out at a time when in-person interviews aren’t viable.
The details: With LinkedIn’s video introduction tool, hiring managers can request an introduction as part of the interview process; users can respond by either video or a written copy. In addition, LinkedIn’s AI feedback feature, part of its interview preparation tools, people can practice their answers to common interview questions and receive feedback on pacing, how many times they use filler words and sensitive phrases to avoid.
TikTok Is Testing New Call-To-Action Ads For Influencer Videos
TikTok is experimenting with a new ad format that links advertisers to its popular influencers to let those influencers include a call-to-action (CTA) button in their videos, according to Digiday.
Why it matters: The new ads build on TikTok’s efforts to grow its ad offerings and Creator Marketplace, which it launched in late 2019 to connect advertisers with publishers and creators. Additionally, the influencer CTA ads would capture some of the revenue advertisers pay for sponsored influencer posts.
The details: TikTok has rolled out the creator CTA ads to a small group of advertisers and agencies. Though the terms for revenue-sharing haven’t been set, TikTok has been discussing a 20/80 split in TikTok’s favor.
Editor’s Note: Check back daily. We’ll be updating this article through May 8, 2020.
