Facebook this week released a new report into the key digital marketing trends heading towards 2020. The ‘Blurring Boundaries’ report covers a range of topics, from gender to ageing to parenting. But there are a number of social media related points that are of particular interest to marketers – among them, how evolving technology has led to increased consumer expectations, and how Millennials desire purpose in their work.
The fight against fake news continues at Facey HQ! The social network has begun testing a new feature which shows users ‘Related Articles’ creative before they click on one to read. Previously, this feature only appeared after a user had read a story. The aim is to provide ‘easier access to additional perspectives and information,’ which could include articles from third-party fact-checkers.
Facebook has stated that eventually the majority of content on their platform will be video – and this week they edged closer to that goal with the introduction of video cover images. The new feature, which is currently being tested on certain pages, involves short-loop videos, similar to GIFs, which play without sound.
It was a good week for Twitter Inc. Shares soared on Wednesday after the microblogging platform reported better-than-expected user growth for Q1, which increased by 6% or 9 million year-over-year. That takes the total number of users to 328 million. As a result, Twitter shares rose 11% to $16.25 (£12.56).
Twitter caused a storm of controversy this week when it blocked the UK government from accessing data on potential terror threats. Previously, key streams of information were available to police and MI5 to identify plots, but now the social network has made moves to stop user data being used for ‘surveillance’ – something ministers fear will make the country less safe.
Twitter has made no secret of the fact that they are banking on video for their future… but so are YouTube and Facebook obviously. So in a bid to reinforce the opportunities of video on their platform, Twitter this week released a list of five key stats. Take a look for yourself here:
Visual
All advertisers on LinkedIn this week gained access to the platform’s new Matched Audiences program, which allows marketers to target users based on their web browsing and email addresses. It is the platform’s own version of the ad-targeting options offered by other social networks, which allow markets to target people using. The new feature will likely have a huge impact of B2B marketers, who will now be far more likely to hit their target audience.
Instagram has undertaken a number of bold moves this year – introducing a feed algorithm, opening up the platform to more advertisers, introducing the Snapchat-esque ‘Stories’ feature. But indeed, none of these risks have hurt the platform’s growth, with monthly active users hitting a huge 700 million this month – that’s up from 600 million in December. A huge result!
Pinterest is setting itself apart from other photo-heavy social media platforms by removing the ‘like’ button. The company says it has done this as users were becoming confused between Like and Save. However, they also released a statement saying that, unlike Facebook, Instagram, et al., they are aiming to promote ‘visual discovery’, rather than connecting users socially.
Loser
Eeeek. Would hate to be the guy who messed this one up! President Donald Trump took to Twitter to wish his wife Melania a happy 47th birthday on Wednesday. Unfortunately it backfired spectacularly, as eagle-eyed Twitter user quickly noticed that the American flag printed on the e-card only bears 39 stars…. The internet took Trump to town over it, as expected. Can someone check on the graphic designer please?
Winner
Samsung got savage on Twitter this week. And the punters loved it. It started with Samsung Mobile US asking their customers to ‘show us the first photo you took’ on the new Galaxy S8. Most people responded to the request in good nature. But there is always that one person who takes it a little too far. See how Samsung shut down this jokester with a single emoji… *mic drop*
Creative Spot
Hey Pepsi, pull up a chair and take note. Heineken displayed a stroke of timely brilliance this week with their new campaign, which is being billed as the antidote to Pepsi’s short-sighted take on our messy political reality. The beer brand’s ‘Worlds Apart’ experiment, sees pairs of people with strong opposing beliefs (e.g. a feminist and a ‘men’s-rights’ advocate) given a teamwork exercise. The result is powerful – take a look.
