Looks like 2018 will be the first year to hit $100 billion in Digital advertising spend
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what you’re doing with your university degree, this may reassure you you’re using it wisely. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s latest half-yearly report, digital ad spend revenue was up 23% in the first half of 2018 to a whopping $49.5 billion. The numbers guys are saying that if growth continues at this pace, it puts 2018 on course to “see its first-ever $100 billion year”. Now there’s one to share with your parents and sceptical old university professors. What a time to be alive (and working in digital marketing!).
Instagram introduces a wealth of new shopping features
And with increased ad dollars comes increased ad options! Black Friday is just around the corner, and Instagram has made it even easier for brands and consumers to spend loads of money on the platform – as if we needed any help. There are heaps of new shopping features, which include a collections feature that lets you save links to sought-after products in a dedicated “shopping” section, shoppable product tags for video posts and a redesigned “shop” section for business profiles. JUST TAKE ALL MY MONEY.
Facebook changes its algorithm to demote “borderline content”
Mum always told me that bullies are only encouraged if you engage with them. Our old friend Facebook is going to be bringing down bullies and other content nearing the policy line by demoting them in the newsfeed. It allows the company to hide what it doesn’t want on the network without making too much noise about their stance – the ultimate playground hero.
Feel bad about yourself with Instagram’s “Your Activity” feature
Fancy being reminded of how much workout time your thumbs are getting on Instagram? You can now… Instagram has launched the “Your Activity” feature joining a host of tech companies helping us embark upon a digital detox. You can use it to set daily time limits for your platform use and temporarily mute push notifications. The feature can be found inside the hamburger icon (which disappointingly looks nothing like a hamburger) on the upper right corner of your profile page. Let’s just say I wish my Fitbit looked as overused as my Instagram…
Snapchat launches Friendship Profiles
Remember having your bestie listed as your “other half” in Bebo? Well, Snapchat is giving us those nostalgic feels in its latest move to promote close friendships. Welcome ‘Friendship Profiles’. The profiles capture all the shared media you’ve exchanged with friends and groups in a single place and are visible only to you and your friend. In a classic pre-Christmas cash-grabbing move, it’s also flogging some merchandise based on Snap avatars – Bitmoji Merch will take avatars from you and your friends and stick them on shirts, mugs, shower curtains, and phone cases. You know what’s on my Christmas list.
YouTube shows ad-supported Hollywood movies
YouTube and chill, anyone? Probably not, if you only have 100 movies to choose from and mood-killing ads to endure throughout. The newest ad-supported feature to hit the platform will bring classics like Legally Blonde, Rocky and The TerminatorFOR FREE! In return for this nostalgic treasure trove, all you’ll need to do is view a few harmless ads. You’ll have around 100 movies to choose from, and personally I’m thinking Legally Blonde is a go. See ya soon, Harvard!
Coca-Cola wipes its social media to help spread kindness
Last week, Coca-Cola went back to basics and cleansed its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels of all content to “create a more unified voice and point of view for the accounts.” It’s as if they went through a savage breakup and removed all evidence of the past, but the movement is actually in line with World Kindness Day. You’ll find the new and refreshed Instagram account bursting at the seams with positivity and togetherness. I like the revamp – makes me feel less tragic for deleting all the photos of my exes.
Will the real John Lewis please stand up?
In an amazing marketing feat, the British retailing giant got possibly the greatest Christmas deal of all time – two for the price of one on adverts! While they released a typical holiday-esque ad, it’s not the one stealing the spotlight. A crowd-sourced and very unofficial ad featuring random pleb John Lewis – a good humoured American that comically responds to thousands of misdirected tweets over the Christmas period – is making waves around the internet. In fact, the OG John Lewis (the store) isn’t behind the ad at all – it’s overachieving Tweeters who have outdone themselves by sorting the “influencer” with his very own Christmas spot, which describes his festive plight year after year. Whilst John Lewis & Elton John made me weep with sadness, @JohnLewis & Twitter are bringing me tears of joy. Well played, Twitter, well played.
