We Are Social: Tuesday Tune-Up #229
Some see it as a long time coming, but Instagram announced late last week that it will be changing from the reverse chronological order to an algorithmic one sometime this year. Following in the footsteps of its parent company, Facebook, the decision was prompted by the insight that users are missing an average of 70% of content in their feeds.
Charlie Cottrell, Head of Editorial at We Are Social UK, said:
“The change will impact the way brands use Instagram for storytelling. If the platform stops organising content by time, then linear storytelling won’t work.”
If that sounds complicated, think of it this way – branded content will become less Downton Abbey, more Friends.
Still, our Instagram reps claimed this change will be slow to roll out and will have no immediate impact on clients at the moment. Either Australia is the last to know or further details of the update have yet to be released. Basically…stay tuned.
And on that note…Twitter’s algorithmic timeline is no longer optional
Just a month after the announcement that Tweets would be displayed according to relevancy instead of chronology, the platform finally turned this functionality on for all users by default. Originally launched an opt-in feature, now users must actively disable it in order to revert to the “old” Twitter (it is a decade old, after all…). As one passionate Tweeter put it, “you may take my chronological timeline, but you will never take my freedom, Twitter.” Real talk.
NAB rolls out the first promoted moment on Twitter
ICYMI, Twitter launched Moments earlier this month – a new feature that serves you all the images, videos, Tweets and conversations you need to grasp the day’s big events. NAB got behind the first promoted moment yesterday by celebrating the return of AFL. Through a curated selection of videos featuring the likes of Geelong Captain Joel Selwood and Melbourne women’s captain Daisy Pearce, the brand captured the hype around what is bound to be a cracking season while simultaneously celebrating NAB’s long-standing involvement with the AFL.
#FootysBack this week! Check out what these @AFL legends are looking forward to this season: https://t.co/UsJXTVYZa5
— NAB (@NAB) March 20, 2016
The explosive growth of Podcasting
If you know how to pronounce MailChimp (no, it’s not Mail…Cimp?) or how to create a professional website in minutes, it will come as no surprise that podcasting is the next big thing. The Infinite Dial Study by Edison Research found that podcast listening has grown 23% in the last year. That means 1 in 5 Americans have listened to a podcast in the last month. By comparison, the same number of US Adults are on Twitter… Listeners are consuming five episodes on average per week, with 64% listening happening on a smartphone or tablet. Nothing funny to say about this one…sorry, was busy listening to This American Life. ❤️ Ira Glass 4eva ❤️
House of Cards approves of Malcolm’s Methods.
Malcolm Turnbull announced yesterday that he would be recalling Parliament early to finally settle these pesky Industrial Relations Bills and threatened a double dissolution election on July 2 in the event (or non-event…) of no decision. The announcement drew a lot of criticism, but one political leader found the idea…inspiring. House of Cards’ infamous Frank Underwood took to Twitter to congratulate Turnbull on his political move:
.@TurnbullMalcolm I admire your methodology, Prime Minister. If you don’t like how the table is set, turn over the table.
— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) March 21, 2016
Snapchat reaches 8 billion daily views
Aside from Trump, I don’t think anything has created more buzz in the past year than Snapchat. The once-controversial “sexting app” recently hit 8 billion daily video views and solidified its superiority in the social space. This comes merely four months after it cracked the 6 billion milestone back in November – ironically the same month Facebook hit 8 billion. There are currently 100 million daily visitors to Snapchat spending an average of 30 minutes a day snapping, viewing and chatting with friends. Plus, an extra ten minutes a day recoiling in horror after experimenting with the face swap lens (that thing is seriously terrifying).
WASer Cat May with arguably the best/worst face swap of all time
Vogue struts right into your DMs
If there is a support community for people addicted to group chats, please send the details my way. My WhatsApp is pinned to my homescreen bottom bar and is full of group chats organising dinners, sending dog memes and seeking outfit approval. With that user behaviour in mind, Vogue has become the latest publisher to embrace direct messaging. The channel is basically just a ginormous group chat that sends the latest fashion news straight from the runway to your phone. When announcing the new WhatsApp account, Vogue told readers:
“Joining our group means we’ll message you as soon as the creative director of Dior is announced, or the Chanel catwalk pictures go live, or the Oscars’ dresses land on the site. No more scouring Twitter or relying on tabloids for your latest fashion fix.”
With messaging services touted as the next big thing in social, Vogue’s move into the platform will probably be the first of many. Unlike some of my friends, Vogue is making a concerted effort to only send the most relevant updates, restricting their contact to one or two posts a day, or sometimes not at all. As in fashion, less is more…