We Are Social Midweek Mashup #80
WeChat v5.0 Update is now in iOS
WeChat, the famous messaging app from China, has rolled out its new version for iOS. WeChat v5.0 has social gaming, mobile payments and a proper sticker store. As reported by TechinAsia, the mobile payment and social gaming integration have been anticipated for months but for now, are just useful for China users of the app.
The new version allows to download loads of animated stickers from Sticker Shop, save favourite content clippings from chats or Moments and can easily add friends with its new Hold Together function.
About 70 million out of nearly 400 million registered WeChat users around the world are outside of China. WeChat is now the most used smartphone app in the world.
WeChat and Line: next destination for social marketing
Although Facebook has 339 million monthly active users across Asia, it is no longer the only destination for brands to actively engage their consumers. In the pursuit to reach the higher-income shoppers in Asia, WeChat and Line, are the next go-to for companies, especially luxury brands, for social marketing.
The latest report by L2 Think Tank details that WeChat and Line are the fastest growing social networks in the world and are now competing in social marketing. WeChat’s mobile userbase is up 500 percent while Line’s is up 900 percent:
Currently, 19.8 percent of the luxury brands across beauty, fashion, retail and high-class hotels have official accounts on WeChat, 2.8 percent are on KakaoTalk and 2 percent are on Line.
Based on this research, the best performing brands on WeChat are Coach and Clarins, while Clinique and Uniqlo are reaching Line’s Japanese and Southeast Asian user-base:
Indian Messaging App Gupshup Now With 9 Local Languages
As reported in TechinAsia, to expand its reach among non-English and non-Hindi speaking mobile users in India, locally-made mobile messaging app Gupshup will now have 9 local languages such as Hindi (national language), Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. Initially the app supported only the English language but looking at the industry now, localisation of the platform is indeed turning to be the edge of Gupshup against the rise of other mobile chat apps. Moreover, GupShup has also introduced regional keyboard features to facilitate local language users. Gupshup claims to have about 65 million users and works in Android, iPhone, Blackberry and Nokia S40 series phones.
Time spent on digital media set to surpass TV, mobile to overtake desktop
According to eMarketer research, 2013 will see the average US adult spend more time on digital media than watching TV. Digital media, which includes being online on a laptop or desktop, or using non-voice mobile features, will account for 5h:9m of the average US adult’s day in 2013, up from 4h:31m in 2012. TV, meanwhile, is taking up an ever smaller share, decreasing from 4h:38m in 2012 to 4h:31m in 2013. Interestingly, non-voice mobile (2h:21m) is expected to account for more time than online laptop and desktop activity (2h:19m) in 2013.
Mobile accounts for more social sharing than desktop
Content is more likely to be shared on mobile than desktop. In fact, research by ShareThis (a social sharing platform) has found that mobile users were almost twice as likely to click on a piece of content and then share it than laptop and desktop users.
Facebook’s reach comparable to TV in some sectors
An examination of four separate TV networks has shown that, among 25-34 year olds, there are certain times that Facebook can outdo television for reach. During the day, Facebook actually managed to outdo every single network examined, as shown in the graph below. Naturally, TV has a higher reach during prime time, though it’s worth noting that, at this point, the reach of Facebook increased in every single case – the social network, evidently, is a prime source for reaching those already watching television.
Facebook’s Android App gets ‘Home’ style cover feed
Facebook has updated its Android app to include a cover feed, shown below, much like that included in its ‘Home’ platform. Users will not need to download Home to access this feature. In other news, Facebook Home itself has just been released for HTC One, the Nexus 4 and Samsung Galaxy S4.
Facebook introduces embedded posts
Facebook has introduced an ‘embedded posts’ function, allowing a set of online publications to feature posts on their own sites. It’s currently available to CNN, Huffington Post, Bleacher Report, PEOPLE and Mashable, though plans exist to release code for any site to include the functionality. The posts will contain various features well known from Facebook, including the ability to ‘like’ a page, ‘follow’ a journalist or click on a hashtag to reveal related content, all within buttons on the embedded posts.
New Twitter measures introduced to stem abuse
In light of the highly-publicised protests against abuse on Twitter, the social network has released new protective measures: rules for users have been updated and the in-tweet ‘report’ button, available on iPhone, will be added to Android and Twitter.com. Twitter’s UK general manager, Tony Wang, has taken to the platform to personally apologise to victims of abuse, plus released the following statement:
It comes down to this: people deserve to feel safe on Twitter. We have updated the Twitter Rules to clarify that we do not tolerate abusive behaviour. We want people to feel safe on Twitter, and we want the Twitter Rules to send a clear message to anyone who thought that such behaviour was, or could ever be, acceptable. We are committed to making Twitter a safe place for our users. We are adding additional staff to the teams that handle abuse reports and are exploring new ways of using technology to improve everyone’s experience on Twitter. We’re here, and we’re listening to you.
YouTube ‘Top Fans’
YouTube has created a ‘Top Fans’ feature, making it easier for creators to keep in touch with their most influential and most engaged fans. Announced last week, ‘Top Fans’ will feature a dashboard for creators, a feed of Top Fans’ activity and the ability to post content exclusively to ‘Top Fans’. Plus, if a creator syncs their Google+ and YouTube accounts, creating a circle for their Top Fans, they will be able to access demographic information about them.
LinkedIn expand Influencer feature with likes, comments and mentions
A little while back, LinkedIn introduced an ‘Influencer’ feature, curating content from top industry leaders, including Bill Gates and Richard Branson. They’ve now expanded this, allowing users to ‘like’, comment on or mention people in these posts.
New LinkedIn Company Page Analytics
LinkedIn also added new Company Page Analytics last week. Company Page admins can now see which of their posts produced the greatest engagement, filter that engagement by type and time period and access more detailed demographic data than before. More information is contained in the below video, released by the network.
Are Foursquare selling user data?
AdAge has reported that Foursquare has partnered with ad-tech company, Turn, allowing them access to user data, so that advertisers can then retarget Foursquare users on other websites across the internet, based on their check-in data. Both companies have declined to comment on the move, which looks to be aimed at increasing Foursquare’s ad revenue.
Pinterest introduce Price Drop Alerts
Pinterest has taken a further venture into the e-commerce world with theintroduction of Price Drop Alerts. Now, when items that they have pinned are reduced in price, users will receive automatically ”aggregated and summarized emails” containing information like the folllowing:
Snapchat used by almost 20% of US iPhone owners
Figures published by Onavo have revealed that, in June 2013, image-sharing appSnapchat was used by 18.6% of all US iPhone users, rendering it the 9th most used iPhone app of all. While this still leaves it far behind a number of other social apps, including Facebook with 72.5%, Instagram with 31.6% and Twitter with 26.7%, it suggests significant growth for the app, which now has over 5 million daily active users.
Armani reach out to influencers for Instagram video campaign
Since the launch of Instagram video, a number of brands have experimented with posting short clips to the network. Fashion retailer Armani have now gone one step further, outreaching to fashion influencers, some with upwards of 1 million followers, to create original content.
Mini UK is celebrating the user-generated content it receives from fans by actively encouraging submissions to be used as part of their next above-the-line ads. The campaign, which features a Tumblr hub accessible via Mini’s Facebook page and website, asks fans to submit content via various social channels with the hashtag #mininotnormal and has already seen Mini cakes and a full-sized Mini sandcastle. “Is it full-sized or Mini?”, we hear you cry. “That isn’t funny”, we respond.
O2 allows customers to access data via Twitter
UK mobile provider O2 is set to allow its Twitter followers to ask for certain information, including their remaining minutes, text and data, by tweeting with specific hashtags. According to Feilim Machle, O2′s sales and service director, the move comes as part of an increasing trust in social media, given their ability to respond to fans during a network outage and increasing communication by customers through social channels.
EDF Energy’s #SingWithZingy campaign for Brighton Pride
EDF Energy this weekend pushed their ad character, Zingy, in a campaign during Brighton Pride. Zingy appeared on posters and coasters in 100 bars, cafes and music venues, where people were encouraged to tweet a photo with him. Any photo submitted with a singing pose and the hashtag #SingWithZingy was entered for the chance to win a grand prize of tickets to the Icons in the Park Brighton Pride party.