We Are Social Asia Tuesday Tuneup #180
The name says it all. Facebook has launched a “Lite” version of its social networking service, targeting users in emerging markets where user growth is expected to expand at a rapid pace. According to reports, India is set to be the largest Facebook user base in the world by 2017, so this is hardly a surprising move from Facebook, really.
In sum, Facebook Lite is a stripped-down version of the regular app while retaining all the original functions of the service. It is less than 500 KB in size, and works well on 2G, 3G and 4G networks.
Local communication apps, text are preferred modes of mobile communication in Japan, South Korea
That’s according to a report by Ericsson Consumer Lab, which surveyed 100,000 individuals in Japan, South Korea, India, UK and the US. The findings reveal some interesting insights. For instance in India, users spend nearly half of their time on smartphones on communication apps. In markets like Japan and South Korea, local communication apps are more popularly used as compared to those surveyed in the UK and US markets. Japanese and South Koreans also prefer text over voice calls. According to Ericsson, 1 in 4 Japanese smartphone users do not make traditional voice calls anymore.
Taiwanese chat messaging app Pal+ secure $1.3m in funds
Taiwan chat messaging app, Pal+ has received all of $1.3 million in fresh funds to expand its growing venture. The funds came from Asiasoft, a listed game publisher in Thailand.
Pal+ is a forum-based app which invites individuals with common interests to participate in online discussions. Users get to share and discuss a wide range of topics from entertainment to animation and games, and share them with friends instantly.
Facebook is testing a mobile lead-generation ad unit
Another day, another Facebook mobile ad unit. The social network is testing lead-generation-based mobile ads that will allow users to sign up for newsletters or complete forms with two taps, with fields being pre-filled with the information Facebook already has about the user. If they sufficiently help to reduce the hassle of filling out details, the ads could be a real success.
Jazz up your photos with Facebook’s new photo uploader
Facebook has introduced a new way to spruce up your photos by adding text, filters or stickers onto any of your photos. The functions may not exactly be revolutionary but Facebook is keen to stay on top of the game especially with the likes of Snapchat and Japanese messaging app, Line, already being early to the party. The new photo uploader is currently being tested but watch this space for when it is rolled out across iOS soon.
You can now use Facebook Messenger without having an account.
Not keen on using Facebook but want to stay connected with your friends? Do not worry – Facebook has this sorted. Starting in Canada, North and South America, users can sign up for the Messenger app without having a Facebook account. The change comes with a new “Not on Facebook?” button where people can then upload their phone contacts which will be matched with other Messenger users. The head of Messenger, David Marcus calls it ‘an augmented address book’ where a user will have all of their address book and the ability to search for everyone on Messenger.
Instagram revamps its ‘search and discover’ functions
From having a pretty basic ‘Explore’ function, Instagram has ramped it up a notch and introduced a whole new way of exploring and searching for photos. As well as a revamped explore feature, complete with trending tags, users can now search specific categories, location-based topics or even events in real time. The change brings Instagram into being at the forefront of real-time content alongside the likes of Twitter and Snapchat.
Snapchat gives advertisers the hard sell
Snapchat took a very temporary break from being cool last week and released a no-fun infomercial about Snapchat‘s ads. In a zero fuss, zero enjoyment video, Evan Spiegel explains how Snapchat’s full-screen ads slot between its content while Facebook and YouTube’s are either annoying pre-rolls or only fill part of the screen.
Bringing back the Mayor!
Location-sharing app, Swarm has brought back mayorship to the delight of… no-one, really. Since launching off the back of Foursquare, the app has slowly declined in the ranks and it seems the latest efforts may just be a bit too late.
Happy birthday to Reddit!
User-generated blog Reddit celebrated its 10th birthday this week. Since the website was set up 10 years ago there has been 190,227,552 posts, 36,136,190 user accounts and 1,715,454,785 comments… only 0.36% of which mention cats. Reddit is now so huge that its current active users would make up the 8th largest population in the world, just after Nigeria and larger than Russia, Japan, and Mexico.
Crocs goes creative
Summer is a big season for crocs and to really push sales, the brand has recently partnered with Twitter to create a new, interactive campaign. Consumers can pick a pair of crocs and an outfit of choice for a model to wear… whilst going down a waterslide. The content will live on a micro blogging site called Funway Runway and will be a ‘cross section of fashion, fun and footwear’.
Lilly Pulitzer collaborates with Snapchat
American brand, Lilly Pulitzer has collaborated with Snapchat in offering custom prints to add to customers own Snapchat photos. When a user enters a store they can automatically add a printed ‘geofilter’ to their photos. Jane Schoenborn-Paradis, vp of creative communications at Lilly Pulitzer commented on how (Snapshat) “is such a visual platform and allows us to share our prints and enforce what we’re known for in a fun way.”
Facebook shows its support for same-sex marriages
Have you noticed that your Facebook News Feed is looking a lot more colourful? After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is now a fundamental right,Facebook launched the new ‘Celebrate Pride’ tool where users can show their support of marriage equality by adding a rainbow filter over their profile photo.
It’s not just Facebook that’s shown support for the latest ruling in America. Lots of brands have leapt on the back of the same-sex marriage legalization and have demonstrated their support in a variety of ways:
This week, many of the We Are Social team have been enjoying the sunshine, the parties and of course, the amazing creative work on display at Cannes Lions.
And the week got even better on Tuesday, when we were delighted to hear that our work joined the impressive roster of agencies and brands highlighted as the world’s best at the festival, with four shortlisted entries in the Cyber categories from our London and Parisoffices.
Last night we received even more fantastic news.
Hello Play! for Hello Bank!, BNP Paribas’ mobile bank, picked up two Bronze Lions in Engagement Platform and Financial Services.
It’s a simple idea. It allows Hello Bank!’s customers and non-customers alike to fund music projects, helping support the future of the music they love.
It’s a perfect example of the work that has been gaining traction in Cannes – ideas that make a difference, that make the world just a little bit better. It’s also a great example of social thinking in practice, recognising that those who stream music will be passionate about helping sustain its future.
As our blog post about the campaign explains, to get involved, people can visit the Hello Play! platform and connect to their usual streaming service. Then, by listening to songs, users collect a virtual currency called Hello Coins, which they can redistribute to a choice of music projects. Hello Bank! then transforms the Hello Coins into real money to fund these projects.
It’s already created a lot of brand love for Hello Bank! and has been incredibly successful in terms of results, too, with 35 music projects fully funded so far, and even more to come.
We’re incredibly proud of this work, as well as our Cannes shortlisted campaigns for adidas, #allin or nothing and @brazuca, which have picked up huge global recognition over the last year.
We’re confident that these Lions will be the first of many for We Are Social.
comScore has produced an infographic which captures mobile audience behaviours across smartphones and tablets, showing how Brits are using their devices.
The research shows that mobile now accounts for 56% of all time spent on the Internet, compared to desktop’s 44%. A large proportion (81%) of time on mobile is spent using apps, with Google sites (91% reach), Facebook (86% reach) and BBC sites (77%) coming out on top.
In fact, social media use now accounts for just under a third (31%) of all time spent on mobile, significantly higher than entertainment and games, with 14% of time spent each.
