We Are Social: Tuesday Tune-up #79
News
News
1/3 of your Facebook friends see your posts
Research by Stanford University’s Michael S. Bernstein has shown that each Facebook update is seen by on average 1/3 of the poster’s friends. The study, which took into account the profiles of 220,000 Facebook users last June, also found that posts across the course of the month reached on average 61% of their friends. This high reach is something most users are unaware of, with most found to “consistently underestimate” the size of their audience.
Facebook’s News feed changes
As we reported last Friday, Facebook have announced a host of changes to their News feed. In the below video, we hear the Facebook team discussing the various differences users will see.
In essence, they have made two major changes. The first of these looks to provide a more visually immersive experience, with large images replacing what the network refer to as ‘clutter’ for everything from photo uploads to article previews and checkins. In fact, the inflated pictures and sleeker left side bar have led many to draw comparisons between the new format and the layout of Google+, a set of similarities highlighted in the following comparison:
It is in the second change that Facebook moves one step beyond its network rival. Rather than just one News feed, users will now have access to a number of different versions, allowing greater control over the stories they see. For example, you can switch from looking at a feed containing purely photos to the activity of all your friends, or the feed containing posts from the celebrities and news sources you ‘follow’.
The changes will post interesting challenges for marketers. First of all, the number and type of feeds will affect the way in which users receive branded content. Whilst the regular News feed will see brands compete with the same stories as they have do currently, the ‘Following’ feed will mean marketers are pitted directly against publishers, as well as celebrities with whom Facebook users have high affinity, increasing ever further the necessity of high-quality content. Moreover, there was no mention in the initial announcement of how adverts will appear in the new feeds. Whilst it is the norm for Facebook’s launches to focus on user experience over advertising and, regardless, there is no initial change expected, brands will be looking to monitor any expected long term changes and how these may affect social strategy.
Tumblr to introduce mobile advertising
In an attempt at monetisation, Tumblr is set to introduce advertising on its mobile app, much like it already has on desktop. In the first half of this year, companies will be able to promote posts via mobile as well as web. This comes at the same time as research from Garter on the increasing power of mobile advertising. This year expects to see $11.4 billion in worldwide mobile advertising revenue, up from $9.8 billion in 2012. By 2016, this could increase to $24.6 billion.
Red Bull introduce ‘Flow’
Red Bull are expanding both their social portfolio and association with the world of extreme sports by introducing Flow, a trick-sharing app designed for skateboarders and BMXers. Available for iPhone and Android, Flow allows users to either record in-app or upload pre-recorded content, which it then converts from individual clips to a seamless ‘flow’ of content.
Hospitals’ Facebook likes increase with quality
There is a link between a hospital’s quality and the number of Facebook likes it has, according to research by the American Journal of Medical Quality. Whilst social networks are not prevalent in the US healthcare sector – note that below 50% of the 82 New York-based locations tested even had a Facebook page – those that existed in the social sphere gained on average 93 likes with every percentage-point drop in the mortality rate. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between a hospital’s fan numbers and the positive reviews it receives, depicting the ever-growing nature of social recommendations in non-commercial spheres.
Media consumption habits in Australia
With tablets and internet-enabled TVs now appearing in 1 in 3 homes in Australia the gap between traditional media and digital is becoming ever less evident. According to Nielsen’s ‘Australian Connected Consumers’ report, 64% of online Australians use the internet during prime time and 74% of the population duel screen. Not only has tablet penetration taken off in the past 12 months, now at 31% of households, but access to internet enabled connected TVs has overtaken tablets to reach 33% of households.
Alongside this Australian’s spend on average 23 hours and 18 minutes online in an average week, which is up by almost an hour and half from the previous year. The study also discovered that the mobile is the first media consumption point of the day for Australian consumers.
This brings into question how deeply entrenched social engagement should be with wider brand marketing plans as it is an increasingly important touch point of our audiences every day life. Some brands already understand the need to integrate engagement through all touchpoints and I expect to see a lot more integrated campaigns utilising duelscreen and connected TVs in 2013.
Socialising Road Trips
Volkswagen have partnered with Google on their Art, Copy & Code Campaign and created, Volkswagen Smileage. Its a mobile app and an online service which aims to bring fun back to driving, rating your drive based on the amount of joy it will bring. A sunny drive on a Sunday afternoon from Sydney to Byron Bay will get more Smileage than a Monday morning rainy commute to work for instance. All of the data is collected by the app (and of course Google+) and aggregates it all into a beautiful interactive map. A lovely additional feature as well is a play on the age old game of Punch Buggy; in when you pass another car using the app you will get a virtual app punch. Pre register here for updates
Domino’s ‘game changer’ campaign backfires
Something game changing and BIG is coming our way. The build up was brilliant. Across all mediums Don Meij, Domino’s CEO, was at the forefront of this announcement and was promising big news. Free deliveries? Opening up restaurants? A whole new kind of revolutionary pizza? The intrigue was there but unfortunately the reveal, the introduction of a new topping and square bases, felt rather limp after such a impressive build up.
What happened next wouldn’t have surprised anyone at We Are Social, but maybe Domino’s were not expecting the social media backlash.
“I for one will Boycott your menu’s and never eat your pizzas again. Youve listened!!! Well listen to this good bye.” wrote one customer on the Domino’s Facebook page.
“This is not a game changer, What a waste of my time” wrote another irate fan, while other social media users complained very vocally that their comments were deleted by the brand.
Whether you agree that the reveal under valued the customer or not, we can all agree on one thing, it got Australia talking about Domino’s and has kept them top of mind for the past 48 hours. Whether that will have a positive outcome long term is still to be seen. This also brings up the case again that brands need to fully consider that social media allows your customers to talk back and make noise around your brand, be it positively or negatively. Therefore the consequence of any modern advertising initiative needs to be fully scoped out to ensure all the risks are considered. Next steps for Domino’s will be interesting to see how they can earn their customers respect again, and I believe that social is the perfect place to start.
Twitter Stats You Should Know
- 400 million: tweets per day
- 200 million: Monthly Active Users
- 6: median number of brands users follow
- 95% : public conversations about TV shows that happen on Twitter
- 80% : users on mobile in the UK and Japan
- 78% : how much more likely mobile users are to retweet a brand
- 53% : increase in purchase intent from users who saw a promoted tweet
- 12% : higher the click rate for brand tweets with price in whole dollars
- 17% : higher the click rate for tweets with a question mark
- 1-3% : engagement rates on Twitter ads
National Geographic Dipping Its Toe Into Social
To celebrate the 125th anniversary of National Geographic, the FOUND Tumblr has been launched to delve into the photo archives and bring to light in 2013.
According to the site, most of the photos have never been published and National Geographic hopes bringing the content to the public will help identify the origin and location of these frozen moments of time.
This approach is perfect for a company with a deeply rich history in emotive visual content, and will help invigorate the relationship between viewers and organisation all over again. Viewers are encouraged to share any information about an image by emailing National Geographic.
