We Are Social’s Tuesday Tune-Up #117
News
News
Facebook’s unfollow button to replace ‘hide all’
According to Mashable, Facebook will soon allow users to “unfollow” friends whose comments and updates they want to remove from their News Feed, according to a Facebook spokesperson. The new Unfollow button, first reported by TechCrunch, will work in the same way that users were able to “hide all” from friends in the past. Users will be able to block content they don’t wish to see from their friends without going so far as defriending anyone.”The goal of this change is to help people curate their News Feed and see more of the content that they care about,” a Facebook spokesperson wrote.
Yahoo Japan creates bizarre interactive page for Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga continues her streak of unusual social projects for her newest album “ARTPOP”. Gaga has collaborated with manufacturers in Japan to create GAGADOLL, a humanoid silicon doll (you heard that right) that looks just like the singer. Yahoo Japan teamed up with Gaga and the doll makers to create an interactive portal that lets you scroll down an image of the doll and click through icons and links on its all-white outfit. The page contains links to Yahoo Japan sites, a Lady Gaga Japan tweet, news about Gaga and her Universal Music Japan page.
When users scroll down to the doll’s high heels, they can follow icons to Lady Gaga’s Japanese Facebook and Twitter pages. The interactive page will stay up until December 8. See if you can spot the difference in this photo, which Gaga shared on Twitter
The GAGADOLL site reads only in Japanese but E! reports that the doll will play multiple tracks from “ARTPOP.” Watch how the doll came to life, below.
Instagram posting an ad a day
Instagram is now seeing roughly one advertised post per day, with big brands involved, from General Electric and Levi’s to Lexus and Ben & Jerry’s. According to Nitrogram, sentiment seems to be changing, too: since the first ever post by Michael Kors, when the positive/negative split was around 50%, the fashion brand has posted three more advertised posts. The positive sentiment on these has been at 73%, 89% and 64% respectively. We’ve produced our own blog post on the highs and lows of Instagram advertising – the Ben & Jerry’s example below was one of the most successful.
Twitter update age screening for alcohol brands
Twitter has improved its age screening for alcohol brands, to ensure that they are not followed by anyone under the legal drinking age. In a blog post on the subject, they outline the new, streamlined user journey: when requesting to follow a relevant brand, users will be asked to enter their date of birth. If you’re above legal drinking age in your country, you’ll be allowed to follow. If not, you won’t. Pretty straightforward.
One Direction release Kik campaign
Boy band One Direction have released a campaign on mobile messaging app, Kik. To celebrate the launch of their new album, fans can gain access to exclusive content, along with the ability to connect with other fans. The move shows a strong understanding of the youth market; we should expect to see big brands follow with campaigns on the likes of WhatsApp, WeChat and Line.
Budweiser’s Twitter-powered jumper machine
Budweiser has released its Christmas campaign, with a Twitter-powered knitting machine named Knitbot. It’s fitted with a chip that responds to mentions of #jumpers4des, with more mentions meaning (you guessed it) more jumpers. Once Knitbot’s finished its festive task, fans can pop to the Budweiser Facebook page for the chance to win a piece of its handiwork.
Ford’s tweeting car
To launch its Kuga Titanium X, Ford has parked a tweeting car outside Stockholm Central Station in Sweden. It’s fitted with sensors, which capture the goings-on of people around it, then allow the car to tweet an interpretation of their activity. That’s right, the world is now one step closer to Knight Rider.
Toyota posting Instagram videos in Facebook ads
Toyota is using Facebook ads to push Instagram videos, one of which can be seen below. They’re not quite the video ads people are waiting for on the network, but it’s still an interesting use of page post link ads, which display videos including the one below:
We Are Social create car modification app for Kia
It’s been a big week for car brands, with the Sydney Kia team producing a ‘car modification app’ for Kia aimed at 18-30 year old males. The system allows them to become street car designers, with the necessary tools to design their own Koup and share it with their friends. There are even challenges involved, with prizes including a brand new Kia Koup Turbo.
Beats Pills and We Are Social
Beats by Dre are promoting their speakers, known as ‘Beats Pills’, with a campaign ranging through social and above the line advertising, aimed at reacting to the latest cultural events and placing the brand at the cutting edge of youth conversation. This includes the likes of advertising in the Metro’s gossip pages, interviewing celebrities (as in the video below) and a stream of reactive posts for social media, created and managed by We Are Social UK.
Heinz Tomato Ketchup’s Facebook Stocking Fillers
We Are Social UK has produced a Facebook campaign for Heinz Tomato Ketchup, titled ‘Stocking Fillers’. The campaign runs from the 1st to the 13th December, offering fans the opportunity to win Heinz branded products.
Where’s your Kleenex when you need it?
Kleenex is producing an integrated campaign around the times when you most need a tissue, with social media managed by We Are Social. Including radio, in-store and outdoor advertising, as well as social, the move looks to create a new look and feel for the brand, along with a distinctive tone of voice.
