On top of creating a special emoji for #ChineseNewYear, Twitter has partnered with @EChinaNews to send users their annual fortune reading based on one’s zodiac sign. To do so, simply send a tweet with your birth year followed by #CNYfortune.
Fake picture wins photography contest held by Nikon
Nikon’s latest photo contest post on Facebook has garnered a lot of attention, but not for the right reasons. What seemed to be a photo taken at a serendipitous moment by Chay Yu Wei of a plane in mid-flight turned out to be a bad photoshop job. The photography community instantly took to Nikon’s page to expose the fake image through simple levels adjustment on a photo editing app.
One thing led to another and countless user submissions popped up in that same post.
Facebook steam rolls through Q4 Facebook has revealed its Q4 2015 earnings to be a massive $5.841 billion in revenue as well as hitting 1.59 billion users, up from 1.55 billion users and $4.5 billion in revenue in Q3. It is said that this is down to its clever monetisation of developing countries, higher levels of user engagement with video and the introduction of Instant Articles, meaning people are spending longer inside the app and gorging on advertising. Monthly active users continue to grow steadily as well, showing that market saturation is still not complete.
Instagram showing more ads than ever before Have you noticed that the amount of ads you’re being shown on Instagram has increased? They’re quite easy to spot as they’re usually about as subtle as an old-school spy, sitting in a cafe, reading a newspaper with eye holes punched out. New figures have revealed that ads impressions have increased 13 times over between August 2015 and December 2015, so don’t worry, you’re not alone with your sponsored post-heavy news feed.
Facebook’s new Like button options are on their way After testing some options last year, it seems the days of just having one option of ‘Liking’ a status are numbered. Facebook has announced that “in the next few weeks” users in the US will be able to express new ‘Reactions’ including love, haha, wow, sad, and angry. Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer, has explained the platform’s controversial decision, which has drawn comparisons drawn to Coca-Cola altering its secret recipe – why change something that you know works? I just wish they’d have included a ‘BORING!’ button for me to use in response to a ‘friend’s’ recent bathroom alterations…
Facebook adds organic audience optimisation tool In order to help publishers increase their reach and engagement levels, Facebook has added a tool which lets them target posts to audiences who will appreciate them(and hopefully therefore engage with them) the most. After the post has been published, the administrator will also be able to see how well content has performed against each target, whether that’s interest, demographic or geography.
Facebook takes its ad network to the mobile web Facebook is taking over the internet! Yawn, old news. This time it’s expanding its ‘Audience Network’ – the tool that allows it to understand its users and serve up relevant ads – from just third-party apps to the mobile web. The move will allow the 2.5 million existing Facebook advertisers to “reach more of the people they care about on mobile devices” by using Audience Network’s people-based targeting and ad formats.
Facebook allows all U.S. iPhoners to live stream Watch out world, after a slow roll-out, all U.S. iOS users can now live stream and Facebook becomes a real competitor for Periscope. The main differences between the two are that Periscope streams are only available for 24 hours but it notifies all your contacts when you’re streaming, whereas Facebook only tells your closest friends and streams are available permanently. This news comes just as Periscope has announced an exciting new GoPro partnership, allowing Periscope users to broadcast live directly from their GoPro camera. And Meerkat? Meerkat who!
Snapchat trials longer video ads for brands A new ad format has been seen running on Snapchat which allows users to swipe up for longer versions of video ads. Previously, most ads have been capped at 10 seconds but brands like Paramount and Universal Pictures have recently shown full length trailers on the platform.
Stars strip down for Calvin Klein Instagram campaign What do you do in your Calvins? If you parade around semi naked and post the results on Instagram, you’re in good company. Justin Bieber and Kendall Jennercaused a stir on the platform last week when they did just this to launch Calvin Klein’s latest campaign, #mycalvins. More stars such as Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$ and FKA Twigs also feature, showing how you can also be slightly more productive when wearing your underwear.
A photo posted by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Jan 26, 2016 at 3:21pm PST
Nissan introduces card game for the car ‘Altimatums’ Nissan has launched a game to play in your car – and no, it’s not Eye Spy. ‘Altimatums’, which promotes the 2016 Nissan Altima, is based on the popular card game Cards of Humanity but with a social twist. The brand has been distributing decks of 100 cards to drivers through its social media channels, and each card contains a challenge to drivers to “encourage spontaneity”. Altimatums is part of Nissan’s broader social campaign, #SoNotMeh, which celebrates Altima drivers and their extraordinary everyday experiences by highlighting interesting and inspiring content across its social channels.
UK brands test Twitter’s Promoted Moments Tesco, Sky and Xbox are among the first brands to use Twitter’s ‘Promoted Moments’ tool in the UK since it launched in last year. Moments display “the very best of Twitter through images, videos, and conversations” – and by paying for presence, brands can tell more in depth stories to the Twitter community. Tesco was first out of the starting blocks with its #FeelGoodCookbook, a collection of recipes and tips for those who enjoy eating breakfast, lunch or dinner, or even all three. Claire Hoey, Marketing Manager at Tesco, said:
Simple food ideas and recipe inspiration form the core of our Twitter content — and our #FeelGoodCookbook Promoted Moment gives us the opportunity to tell this story in an even more visual and impactful way.
Burberry celebrates Chinese New Year with WeChat gift To celebrate Chinese New Year, Burberry has created an unwrapping experience on WeChat where users can swipe, tap and shake their phones to reveal digital scarves, trench coats and totes. Friends and family can also send each other traditional red envelopes with the chance of winning a physical one for themselves.
Burgers fight it out on Twitter Following the launch of their new value meals, Wendy’s and Burger King started beefing on Twitter last week and the crowds went wild for it.
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