We Are Social Asia Tuesday TuneUp #74
News
News
Wish.vn: Vietnam’s attempt at a Healthcare Social Network
Wish.vn is one of the few startups attempting to create a healthcare social network in Vietnam. TechInAsia reports that it aims to build a social aspect to help the health of its community. It is a combination of electronic health records, healthcare information, promotions connecting with partners, tools to help patients keep up their health and a social network that allows patients to rate health care. Wish.vn hopes to make money in advertising, bringing medical suppliers in touch with hospitals and annual fees from users such as consultations, emergency medical services and healthcare data. Currently, users are most attracted to the social network aspect where they share their health problems and gives pregnancy advice. With 20,000 users since its launch in December 2012, the startup already has its own iPhone app and is working on building a healthcare app store.
WeChat ventures in Social Gaming
As reported by TechInAsia, Tencent is in the process of building a mobile games open platform. It is positioned to increase engagement with mobile Internet users — both wireless QQ and Weixin/WeChat. Tencent claims that they are in the early stages of preparation, and have not released any screenshots or images of the games and they are working with related parties to enforce intellectual property protection on their game platforms.
As with the gaming elements of the rival chat apps and Apple Game Center, gamers need to sign in with a WeChat (or a Tencent QQ) username so that they can challenge buddies within the game. The leaked photos, as seen on iFanr, show three similarly named casual games: WePang, WeLink, and a parkour game called WeRunner. 40 million out of the 300 million users of WeChat are from outside of China and this number may continue to increase when these social games are released.
KakaoTalk launches digital content marketplace on Android
KakaoTalk, the Korean messaging app launches KakaoPage which is available in Android now. It is an open market where individuals can upload and sell their own content. An aspiring author can write and sell a novel in KakaoPage without having to seek out a publishing company. Likewise, any big publishing companies or record labels can also distribute their contents in the page.
Most of the digital content is text-based but KakaoPage also offers music and images. KakaoPage presents a good opportunity for everyone who aspires for their content to be shared since it is open to a greater variety of digital content.
Technology aids in Boston Marathon tragedy
The Boston Marathon bombing has left many around the world shocked and saddened, but technology once again proves its worth in helping the community to bring pieces together. According to Mashable, hundreds of Boston residents listed their phone numbers and email addresses online after a Boston.com call to action. Locals are offering shelter, food and comfort to Boston Marathon runners and spectators stranded this Monday afternoon.
The shared Google Drive document has moved and touched many across the world. Here’s the full document where you’ll see how amazingly the list goes on.
Aside from the Google Document, Google has also launched the Person Finder where anyone can add information about missing people or inquire about the people that they are looking for.
Facebook users ‘Like’ 40 Pages on average
Since 2009 Facebook users have gone from liking an average of 4.5 Pages to 40. As a result of this and brands increasing their use of social media, users’ News Feeds are now bombarded with roughly 1440 updates per month according to Socialbakers.
The number of ‘Pages Liked’ varies around the world, with the US currently leading the way with an average of 70 Pages. In the US, CPG brands that have the most likes are struggling to engage fans. Brands are now having to pay more attention to the type of content they share, the time they post and how often to post to determine what works best for their community.
66% of users tweet about brands from mobile devices
A study by Socialbakers that looked at Brand Engagement on Twitter revealed that a whopping 66% of user generated tweets that mention brands are sent from mobile devices. Twitter for iPhone is the most popular application with 44% of mobile users tweeting from it, compared to Android accounting for 20% and Blackberry users 11%.
UK adults are some of the most connected in Europe
Research from Forrester revealed that 75% of European adults go online at least once a month, and more than half of European adults own two or more internet enabled devices. Adults in the UK are the most connected, owning more devices than all other European Union Five countries, and roughly 83% accessing the internet at least once a month. France has been the slowest to adopt new technologies, with fewer individuals owning internet enabled devices, whereas Germany has the largest online population in Europe.
Britons spend an estimated 62 million hours a day on Facebook and Twitter
First Direct carried out a survey of 1,500 adults looking at social media habits. The results suggest that Britons spend an estimated 62 million hours a day on Facebook and Twitter, 34 million hours of which are spent on Facebook and the remaining 28 on Twitter. 30% of the UK’s Facebook users access the social media channel for at least one hour a day, and 13% for two. This is on par with the UK’s 26 million Twitter users, with 31% logging on for more than an hour a day, and 14% exceeding two hours. Unsurprisingly Facebook was named as the number one social media platform in the UK by 59% of those surveyed, compared to 9% choosing Twitter and 7% opting for LinkedIn.
Twitter may soon to be the most popular network for teens
Piper Jaffray’s 25th Semi-Annual teen research project has revealed that Twitter may soon be the most popular social network amongst teens. Twitter experienced a 3% increase in popularity whereas its rivals popularity dropped by 9%, a worrying figure for Facebook as teens are often used as an indication of future trends. Another social network that experienced growth is Instagram, increasing its popularity by 5%, whereas other social networks such as Google+, Tumblr and Pinterest have stayed much the same. The study also showed that 53% of female teens and 52% of male teens online purchases are impacted by social media.
Twitter doubles users in two years in the UK
Over the last two years the number of internet and social media users in the UK has increased rapidly, and Facebook is the front runner reaching 72% of users. The networks penetration levels have increased by 12% in the last 24 months indicating that there is still much room for growth.
However Twitter is the network that has seen the largest growth with its penetration levels more than doubling. The network is currently unsurprisingly most popular with the age group 18-24, but research also showed an increase in users within the 35-44 age group. The professional network LinkedIn is popular amongst an older age group, and in the last two years its UK user level has only increased by 2%, this could be attributed to the nature of the network.
UK social advertising spend rose 24% to £328 million in 2012
According to a new IAB report, UK digital ad spend rose by 12.5% to almost 5.5 billion last year. FMCG brands overtook finance as the biggest spender, accounting for almost 16% of all display ad spend, almost double their share back in the first half of 2009. Social media advertising rose by 24% to £328.4 million and in the past three years, social ad spend increased almost four-fold, an astonishing rise of 383%.
GM return to Facebook ads as MGM are having their best quarter yet
After almost a year, GM returns to Facebook advertising through a ‘mobile-only’ pilot campaign for Chevrolet. The automaker didn’t explain why it’s returning to Facebook ads now or why it waited so long. What’s clear is that GM is returning to Facebook ads despite not getting its way. Facebook has since introduced its ad exchange, FBX, and has shifted its focus from social ads to more traditional web-advertising models, such as re-targeting. MGM is one the main public supporters of this model. The Las Vegas-based company has a three-pronged approach—retargeting consumers via Facebook Exchange, pitching discounted Facebook Offers and employing the social giant’s custom-audience features. At the same time, the brand is buying page post ads in mobile News Feeds, Sponsored Stories and Facebook Marketplace promos.
Facebook adds third-party to its offering for advertisers
Facebook has partnered with third-party data providers which will allow US advertisers to be more specific when targeting users. The categories available through Power Editor and ad API partners will allow advertisers to create ad-targeting parameters, e.g. ”home owners who are retired, own a Ford pick-up truck, buy over-the-counter allergy relief medication and take cruises.” Facebook is allowing advertisers to use Power Editor to click and see how a segment was compiled to combat trust issues with the data.
Enhanced Facebook status updates to be rolled out in US
Last week Facebook announced improvements to how users compose status updates. The update will allow users to share what they’re doing and how they’re feeling in a more visual and structured way, applying the vision of Open Graph. And as Facebook have now made it easier for apps to include Open Graph actions, the users sharing processes across all areas of Facebook will be more in sync. In the new status updates users will be able to include emoticons to represent their feeling, tag pages, friends or locations or include photos or links. As it has been possible for companies to sponsor third-party Open Graph actions since 2012 it looks as though these new post types will also lend themselves well to sponsored stories.
Facebook updates: Home and Messenger Chat Heads are live
Last week Facebook launched Facebook Home for Android, and updated its standalone Messenger app. User opinions on the new Facebook Home were split, with 44% of individuals who reviewed the app on Google Play giving it just one star and 19.5% awarding it 5 stars. The mixed opinions were more a matter of preference as reviews clearly stated that the Home worked exactly as it said it would without hiccups. The Facebook’s Messenger app update includes chat heads functionality and has been very successful so far. When users are using other apps on Android phones the chat head icon pops up allowing you to engage in conversation immediately without leaving your current app and improving the user experience. The ability to sync SMS/MMS is great, eliminating the need for other third-party apps.
Facebook users around the world can now buy gifts for US friends
As of last week Facebook has granted access to people using Facebook in English outside of the US via its gift service. Facebook gifts has been growing slowly so the company will continue to expand the gifts offering and experiment with its design and functionality in order to increase growth.
Twitter to expand its offering to include music
It was rumoured that Twitter will expand its offering to include music following the recent acquisition of We Are Hunted, a music app which finds the most popular songs trending across the world. It’s become know that US celebrities have been given a preview of the new service and are now promoting it to their followers, so far Ryan Seacrest has tweeted “lovin the app…shows what artists are trending, also has up and coming artists.” We Are Hunted founder Stephen Phillips has also been tweeting, using playable tracks from Rdio and Soundcloud which implies the services may be part of the app.
Still beautiful. #NowPlaying @darkdarkdark – Tell Me ♪ soundcloud.com/melodic-record…
— Stephen Phillips (@huntedguy) March 21, 2013
Foursquare has launched version 6.0 for iPhone
Foursquare launched a new version of its app for iPhone, making the app a ‘discovery tool’. The apps will now suggest attractions as soon as the app is opened, giving the user more options of activities going on around them. The key features of the app are a prominant search box, a map which highlights friends check-ins and near-by interesting places, a feed of recommendations and friends information, and a new check-in button.
Foursquare data to be used in targeting ads on other platforms
Foursquare is said to be pitching a new ad product which is said to include data behind the 3.5 billion check-ins made on its platform and data it receives from the more than 40,000 developers that have integrated Foursquare’s location database in their apps, including Instagram. Eventually this ad product will give advertisers the ability to use Foursquare data to target ads more specifically via networks and ad exchanges across other platforms. The success of the ad offering is very much dependant on how valuable agencies, advertisers and brands view the data. Foursquare is under pressure to prove it can “generate enough revenue to justify a valuation that was once reported to be as high as $760 million” and this new ad offering will hopefully do just that.
Foursquare announced funding to help grow and expand the business
Just last week, straight after announcing its iOS update, Foursquare have announced they have raised a $41 million in debt financing to help grow the company and expand its business offering. With this injection of cash Foursquare plan to continue development of the app, as well as expanding its sales force. This increase in numbers will enable Foursquare to sell their ad product and credit card offers to more companies, allowing companies “like Samsung the opportunity to advertise their products when a user checks in at Best Buy.”
Application overload for Best Job in the World
The ‘Best Job in the World’ campaign launched by Tourism Australia received over 600,000 applications for six jobs from over 200 countries. Each job advertised will have received on average over 70,000 applications, and the applications had to be posted in video format on Facebook or on the Best Jobs website. This campaign is similar to one launched by Tourism Australia in 2009 which received 35,000 applicants. The campaign is “designed to target the international youth market”.
Live voting on Twitter and Instagram at the MTV Movie Awards’
MTV are making history again, this year they allowed movie fans to live vote for the Best Hero category using Instagram and Twitter photos and hashtags during the MTV Movie Award’s last night. MTV supported the activation on its Facebook page to give the community deeper access, and the Facebook Thank You cam captured winner’s backstage messages thanking fans for voting for them.
Jaguar gets digital for the launch of its two-seater F-Type
Jaguar F-TYPE digital campaign has launched and it’s aimed at a younger audience than ever before which has been dubbed the enlightened elite. The campaign will start with 12-minute short movie featuring Homeland star Damian Lewis at the Sundance Film and Music Festival taking place in London at the end of the April. The pre-launch social media phase was kicked-off in March by We Are Social London.
Nescafe tests Facebook friendships
It’s easy to fall out of touch with our Facebook friends. We rarely interact with the majority of them online, let alone in real life. Realising this, Nescafe are putting Facebook friendship to the test with their new campaign, ‘Really friends?’ Armaud, the campaign’s protagonist, turns up at the houses of his Facebook friends with two cups of Nescafe, in the hope that they might reconnect over a cup of coffee. It’s an interesting premise and the channel has notched up almost 55,000 views so far. If you’re interested – and fluent in French – check out the campaign’s Youtube channel.
Lynx makes the most of a tricky situation
Off the back of the popularity of UK’s Channel 4′s Dogging Tales show, Lynx found itself in an interesting situation. Within the opening minutes of the documentary, one of the interviewees divulged his love of the FMCG product to the 2.1 million viewers and how it was practically a ‘guarantee’ for a successful night’s dogging. Lynx were ready and poised to respond, posting within within seconds of the mention.
This went down well with the Twitter community and was followed up the next morning with another reactive tweet poking fun at the #DoggingTales storm.
The timeliness of the tweets was essential to balancing out the negative opinions with the positive, this all coincided with Lynx’s image as a fun, conversational brand in social spaces.
George Osborne parking scandal goes viral
iris London has been helping fans of Mini UK have a little chuckle at George Osborne’s expense this week. The UK’s Chancellor had decided his fast food needs were greater than obeying the rules of the road when he parked in a disabled parking bay outside McDonalds. iris London responded with a simple, but timely post on the Mini UK Facebook Page, that generated 485 Likes, 62 Shares, and 16 Comments, showing that reactive content can perform better than pre-planned.
Warburtons have launched its April Fools loaf
Following feedback from Facebook fans, bread-maker Warburtons has announced the launch of a limited edition loaf comprised of solely ‘crust ends.’ The loaf was originally intended as a April Fools Day joke but was so well received by baker’s social media community that Warburton’s put a batch into production and sent its biggest Facebook fans an ‘All Ends’ loaf.
Social soap-opera set takes to Twitter over TV
The idea of creating social media accounts for fictional TV and film characters is nothing new. But Seven Sisters, a london-based “social soap opera”, has decided to forego television altogether, playing out the entire narrative on social media. The shows writer’s say that the characters will be responding to one another and trending topics in real-time, as well as developing pre-written plotlines across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and short-form video. It’s an interesting premise, if they can pull it off, although they’ll have to get pretty creative with the content if they want to provide their ‘viewers’ with a truly immersive, entertaining experience. The show launches on April 25th, so keep an eye out!