The week in social media news hand-curated by your friends at Fandom Marketing. Facebook Messenger reached half a billion users and Instagram made it possible for users to edit their captions after they post a photo. Hear Mark Zuckerberg’s reasoning behind forcing users to download a separate messenger app and learn about Bill Cosby’s massive social media fail.
Twitter Tries to Make it Easier to Tweet, Looks More Like Facebook
November 5, 2014
Another day, another tweak to the Twitter service intended to bring more users into the conversation. This time it’s the “what’s happening?” box familiar to all users of Twitter.com. Previously located on the left hand side, between your profile box and the list of trends, this box — the main method of tweeting on Twitter.com — has moved to the top of your timeline.
Full story on Mashable
Facebook: Half a Billion People Now Use Messenger
November 10, 2014
A few months after Facebook irked and confused its users by forcing them to download its Messenger feature as a separate app, Mark Zuckerberg has an impressive metric to tag onto the service: Messenger now has 500 million monthly active users.
Full story on Forbes
No Horizontal Space: Why the Internet is Spawning Vertical Marketplaces
November 10, 2014
Horizontal markets make a lot of sense in the physical world. The online world has its own horizontal giants. By exploiting the inherent weaknesses of horizontal leaders and intently focusing on a single product or good, companies can deliver a vastly improved customer experience, presenting an opportunity for vertical competitors to gain traction.
Full story on Forbes
As Social Media Matures, Branded Communities Will Make a Comeback in 2015
November 10, 2014
Are you ready for social media in 2015? On Monday, Forrester published Predictions 2015: Social Media Grows Up. This report details their four key predictions for the coming year in social media — and lists the nine things every marketing leader should do to get the most from social media next year.
Full story on Forrester
Instagram Now Lets You Fix Photo Captions After the Fact
November 10, 2014
Instagram is usually associated with photography, but true ‘grammers know that half of what makes a great Instagram is the caption attached to it. But if you’re hastily trying to post that perfectly composed and filtered picture of your shoes, it’s very easy to commit an egregious typo in the act. With an update available Monday, Instagram now lets you edit your captions after the fact, so you can fix your typos and add in those emoji without giving up all of that social engagement you earned when the picture went up.
Full story on The Verge
Bill Cosby’s Massive Social Media Fail
November 10, 2014
Just as with #Imametsfanbecause back in September, yet another social media campaign backfired spectacularly today. Bill Cosby posteda photo of himself on Twitter Monday afternoon inviting the Internet to meme him. The entire thing was eventually deleted when fans used the web tool to highlight past accusations against Cosby.
Full story on New York Post
Why Facebook Forced Users to Download a Separate Messenger App
November 11, 2014
To promote transparency within the company, chief executive and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg participated in Facebook’s first ever town hall question-and-answer session recently. During the session, Zuckerberg explained that they forced users to download a separate Messenger app because they really believe that it is a better experience and that messaging is becoming increasingly important.
Full story on Forbes
Introducing Say Thanks
November 12, 2014
On Wednesday, Facebook introduced Say Thanks, an experience that lets you create personalized video cards for your friends on Facebook. Share a Say Thanks video with a close friend, your significant other, a relative, a coworker, an old friend – or anyone else in your life who you’d like to celebrate. There is no limit to how many personalized videos you can create and share.
Full story on Facebook Newsroom
Publishers Sell Sponsored Content Made for Instagram, Snapchat
November 13, 2014
Wired magazine has tapped a male-female duo famous on Instagram for their alluring photography to anchor an ad campaign for apparel and accessories brand Victorinox. The ads are appearing on Instagram, in Wired and on Wired’s website.
Full story on Ad Age
Most WeChat Users Shun Brand Accounts
November 13, 2014
Instant messaging services are big in China. No news there—as of May 2014, 65% of internet users in the country used WeChat, the No. 2 service in reach after QQ, according to research from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). Overall, nearly nine in 10 internet users in the country reported using some kind of instant messaging service. But the accounts followed on WeChat, one of the most popular messaging apps, don’t tend to be brands.
Full story on eMarketer
Global Video Ad Shares, by Social Platform
November 13, 2014
Almost 6 in 10 (59.4% of) video ad shares occur on Facebook, with that figure slightly higher for the US (61.2%), reports Unruly in a new study. Beyond Facebook, Twitter picks up the next-highest share of shares (excuse the pun), at 13.8%, followed by Google+ (9.3% globally, but just 6.6% in the US).
Full story on MarketingCharts
Global Updates: Improving Facebook Ads and Introducing New Controls
November 13, 2014
Earlier this year Facebook announced two improvements to Facebook ads: enhancements to interest-based advertising based on the apps and sites people use; and a new tool called ad preferences that lets people take actions to see better, more relevant ads. Soon we’re bringing these improvements to additional countries.
Full story on Facebook for Business
Facebook Tries to Explain Its Privacy Settings but Advertising Still Rules
November 13, 2014
A year after Facebook last changed its privacy policies, the company is proposing another round of changes to its rules. But as with previous moves by the company on privacy, there is an unstated business goal: to sell more advertising based on the vast quantities of personal data that the social network has on its 1.35 billion users, both from their activities on Facebook and increasingly, their wanderings on the web and inside other mobile applications.
Full story on Bits
What We’re Watching
This isn’t a social media video, it’s the most exciting conversation in social media this week. Unless you’ve been under a rock, you heard that the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully landed a probe on a moving comet on Wednesday. Let’s take a moment away from the trolls, celebrity memes and political shenanigans to have a “yay science!” moment. Follow the conversation on Twitter at #cometlanding.
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