We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #287
Facebook gets mixed signals from teens
It’s common knowledge that teenagers are the gatekeepers of what’s cool and what isn’t. The latest victim to be escorted off the cool table may or may not surprise you. According to a new study by Forrester, 65% of U.S. online users between the ages of 12-17 consider Facebook to be ‘cool’. While it’s not a street cred disaster, it does mean that Facebook is significantly lagging behind cool-kids on the block, YouTube (80%), Snapchat (79%) and Instagram (78%).
Although teens may deem other social platforms to be cooler, Forrester found that Facebook usage is still high with over 60 percent of respondents using Facebook the most and more than one-third using it “all the time”. Talk about sending mixed signals!
Marketers to increase social media usage
Marketers are using and investing in social media more, and will continue to do so, according to eMarketer. A recent report revealed that whilst Facebook and Twitter will remain as the preferred social networks used by US companies over the next couple of years, Instagram is expected to gain significant traction due to its improved advertising capabilities.
Facebook introduces livestreaming
Not one to be left behind by the likes of Periscope and Meerkat, Facebook has entered the world of livestreaming. Its new feature allows users to share their experiences with the people that they care about in real-time – whether you’re sharing your baby’s first steps or cooking your Weight Watchers microwave meals. Facebook’s livestreaming feature is built directly within its app and once streams are completed the video is published onto the user’s profile. Whilst it is currently only being rolled-out to a lucky few, there are plans expand to all users in the future.
Facebook allows users to add photo collages
The days where you would debate which photo to upload to Facebook are a thing of the past; now the platform is allowing users to group photos that were taken together into a moving collage so your friends and family can really experience what you’ve been up to. It’s probably the next best thing to actually inviting them along!
Customers chat using Messenger
Facebook is helping out by making it easier for businesses to interact with their customers by integrating a Messenger plug-in on company websites. Similar to the chat feature some websites implement, Facebook’s business messenger allows customers to communicate directly from their chat interface. Of course, you could email or go directly to the business Facebook page but people are more inclined to visit a company webpage and email doesn’t provide the same immediacy.
Buy your concert tickets on Facebook
If bringing livestreaming, collages and business messenger wasn’t enough, you can now purchase concert tickets from the comfort of your Facebook profile. Using a simple ‘Buy Tickets’ button, users will be directed to an in-app shopping interface within the Facebook app. For now it’s limited to the San Francisco Bay area, which is down to logistics whilst they flesh out the feature. No word on when it’ll expand to other regions, but in the meantime I’ll be hitting the refresh button until I get Justin Bieber tickets. #belieber.
LinkedIn gets a revamp
LinkedIn has revamped its mobile app, with a new and improved ‘Home’ feed, so you can see bespoke content that’s relevant for your industry, function and skills. Users can also hide individual posts or unfollow users, allowing them to create a customisable feed. The ‘Messages’ tab, where you can search for people, jobs and groups, is now a whopping 300 percent faster – so much so that users can receive results before they finish typing. Scary. Joff Redfern, VP of product at LinkedIn said:
We know time is scarce, so we made it as easy as possible for you to connect to your professional network and stay informed about the conversations and content most relevant to you.
Snapchat supports World AIDS Day
Earlier this month, Snapchat joined the fight against AIDS by introducing a new suite of filters. Teaming up with (RED), a nonprofit organisation fighting to eradicate HIV and AIDS as well as The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, the campaign donated $3 to the charity whenever one of the designated (RED) filters was used. The campaign ran on World AIDS day with a hope to generate monetary support and increase awareness around the virus. With $3 providing ten days of life-saving AIDS medication, it sounds like a worthy cause to take a selfie.
Twitter releases new emojis for COP21
In the lead up to the United Nations COP21 climate change summit in Paris, Twitter created a new range of emojis. Jumping on the back of the high-profile event, Twitter’s new emojis — which include an Eiffel Tower embedded in a green leaf, a regular Eiffel Tower icon, and a heart-shaped earth — could be generated using #COP21, #GOCOP21, #ActionDay and #ClimateChange hashtags.
Disney/Pixar launches ads on Whisper
Disney/Pixar recently launched a five-day marketing campaign on anonymous messaging app Whisper for the movie The Good Dinosaur. Instead of using blatant ads (which are generally not well received on a messaging platforms), the studio’s campaign looked like regular, sharable Whisper content. Disney/Pixar targeted users searching for keywords like “friendship” and “adventures,” so that typing one of these keywords into Whisper pulled up a branded post with a still from the movie and the film’s hashtag. The company also encouraged its fans to get creative, by asking them to share a drawing of one of the characters from the film through Whisper’s Popular channel.
Beats by Dre gets Snapchat sponsored lens
Beats by Dre is the first consumer product brand to run a Sponsored Lens campaign on Snapchat, which launched for Black Friday. Instead of the vomiting rainbows that we all know and love, the Beats lens allows users to add cartoon headphones over users’ ears, floating bubbles out of their heads and streaming light out of their mouths. It also has a theme tune – the Drake song, “Big Rings”.
Aldo taps influencers for Instagram campaign
Shoe and Accessory brand Aldo is looking for inspiration outside of the fashion world for its latest Instagram campaign. #INSPIREDxALDO features influencers from the worlds of food, flowers and even gift-wrapping showing off their skills while stylishly decked in Aldo footwear. Aldo will also be investing in Facebook to promote the campaign, as well crafting Pinterest boards with pins for each influencer’s favourite product picks.
John Lewis sends John Lewis a telescope
Each December we are greeted by a jolly man whose warm spirit could melt even Scrooge’s heart. No, not Santa, John Lewis; the extremely patient chap who owns the Twitter handle @JohnLewis. This year, Lewis, from USA, was bombarded with tweets following ‘The Man on The Moon’ Christmas ad. So, in true Christmas fashion, John Lewis the retailer (keep up!) decided to thank him by sending him his very own telescope, so the computer science lecturer can watch the night sky himself. tl;dr? John Lewis sent John Lewis a telescope.
Sincere thanks to @johnlewisretail who sent me a beautiful telescope as a thank you for redirecting wayward tweets. https://t.co/QCylvnkEoN
— John Lewis (@johnlewis) December 1, 2015