We Are Social’s Tuesday Tune-Up #119
News
News
#HipsterSanta approves Sydney’s new Central Park shopping centre
#HipsterSanta has been introduced as a PR initiative to drive awareness and encourage sales at Sydney’s new Central Park shopping centre. While the campaign is supported by traditional OOH media, it is socially lead through Twitter & Instagram channels created by #HipsterSanta himself. Shoppers are encouraged to get involved on Instagram & Twitter by posting tagged photos for the opportunity to win store vouchers.
Holler uses shock value to raise funds for charity
The rules of disruption were changed in Holler’s latest “shocking” activation to raise Christmas money for charity. Flipping the advertising model on its head, Holler let the audience become the disrupters by crowdsourcing electric shocks which were administered to several of their team members. The entire endeavour was streamed live and Holler donated $1 to The Factory for each shock that was sent. Participants were encouraged to socially share the activation to raise awareness. In only 4 hours the team was able to reach their goal of $5,500 – that’s 1,375 shocks per hour. Let’s hope they’ve recovered.
Disrupted Xmas – A live, Interactive, Installation by Holler from James Théophane Jnr on Vimeo.
Facebook introduces autoplay for videos
After testing the system for a while, Facebook has begun to introduce autoplay videos for mobile and desktop. Earlier in the week, most users on iPhone and Android received the system, which works as follows: as you scroll past a video, a preview begins to play without sound. If you don’t want to watch it, just scroll past. If you do, you can click for the full viewing experience, including audio. Later in the week, desktop users began to notice the same feature, which Facebook will be continuing to roll out to more and more users.
Facebook release tool for gauging sales
Facebook has launched a new tool for advertisers, allowing them to track users who saw a promoted post and ascertain which of these then went on to make a purchase either online or in a physical store. Retailers can offer Facebook the information they have on customers, including email addresses and phone numbers, and find out which of these have seen a promoted post.
Instagram introduces direct messages
Instagram has added the ability for users to send direct messages. A user can send photos or videos to anyone who follows them, with the two then able to converse underneath the message. If you don’t follow someone, you’ll get a notification to a ‘pending requests’ centre. Instagram announced the changes in a blog post, which included the below video.
Brands have already started using the system, too. Fashion brand Gap sent direct messages to the first 15 people to reply to a message; from these, winners were selected to receive a denim tablet case.
Hyatt Hotels have been sending messages to their fans, too, wishing them a Merry Christmas.
Twitter users can send images in direct messages
Twitter has introduced a few updates to its apps for iPhone and Android, including the ability to send images in direct messages. Messages are also easier to access through a tab at the bottom of the screen, while users can swipe to switch between the ‘Home’, ‘Discover’ and ‘Activity’ sections of the app. For Android only, there is now a star button next to the ‘Follow’ tab, allowing users to receive notifications for whomever they choose, whether it be a celebrity or one of their friends.
Twitter adds ‘Broad Match’ to keyword targeting
A few months ago, Twitter introduced keyword targeting, allowing advertisers to target an audience based on specific words in their tweets, or those with which they engage. Now, the network has added ‘Broad Match’, allowing them to automatically include related terms in the search. Those related words can include synonyms and alternative spellings, as shown in the below image.
Twitter tests ‘Nearby’ screen
Twitter is experimenting with a ‘Nearby’ feature, which would allow users to see tweets from everyone in their vicinity. The below image shows how the ‘Nearby’ screen would work: it’s essentially a map, with a blue icon for the user’s location, below which there’s a timeline of nearby tweets. The locations of these tweets will be shown on the map above.
Twitter reverses ‘block’ button change
Twitter has reversed the changes it made to the ‘block’ button very shortly after their introduction. The new system, which allowed users to RT, follow or reply to those who had blocked them, was met with widespread public disapproval, which Twitter rapidly took on board.
Google+ to serve social ads across the web
Google+ has introduced a new type of ad, called a +Post ad, which will allow brands to promote G+ updates across the ‘Google Display Network’. The ads, which will comprise the ability to +1, comment or share, should serve to greatly extend the reach of branded content on the network, as well as of the network itself.
Live streaming on YouTube
YouTube has announced the ability to live stream, which will be available to verified accounts that are in ‘good standing’. Video manager will contain a button from which account holders can begin a live stream, as well as the ability to launch a Google+ Hangout directly from YouTube.
Kik reaches 100 million registered users
Messaging app Kik has reached 100 million registered users, and is reportedly adding 250,000 every day. The success comes partly due through its anonymity – users go by a username rather than providing their phone number – as well as ‘Kik Cards’, which are basically mobile web applications.
Dunkin’ Donuts hold Google+ Hangout
Dunkin’ Donuts has continued its social media experimentation by hosting its first ever Google+ Hangout. In it, the brand’s executive chef, Stan Frankenthaler, will reveal the winner of a $1,000 prize for a photo submission contest. The campaign, which was itself hosted via social media, asked fans to submit a photo of a recipe to either Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.
Andy Murray gets SPOTY congrats from adidas
British tennis ace, Andy Murray, yesterday capped off a successful year by winning the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award. Playing on his reputation for blandness, adidas posted the below tweet about their star’s achievement; to date, it’s received over 13,000 retweets.
Congratulations @andy_murray! #allinformurray pic.twitter.com/3WT0F9pYhD
— adidas UK (@adidasUK) December 15, 2013
Samsung makes mistake in trying to hush YouTuber
A good rule for electronics manufacturers is not to make products that set on fire. A good rule for anyone who’s heard of social media is not to try and silence someone who’s making a complaint online. Last week, Samsung did both of those things. When YouTube user Ghostlyrich complained about his phone in a video after being asked for ‘proof’ that it was broken, Samsung issued a list of demands he’d need to abide by in order to get his phone replaced. These were to:
delete his YouTube video, promise not to upload similar material, officially absolve the company of all liability, waive his right to bring a lawsuit or other legal complaint, and never make the terms of this agreement public. A witness would also have to sign the form.
Instead of doing so, he decided to make another video, which went viral. The lesson: when people have a legitimate complaint about your product, deal with them fairly.