We Are Social Asia Tuesday Tuneup #140
News
News
LinkedIn considers tweaking its censorship policy in China
When it expanded into China this year, LinkedIn adopted the country’s censorship rules. As a result, when a user in China shares a post that is deemed to be in conflict with these rules, the post is blocked not only in China but globally as well. LinkedIn is said to be reconsidering this, so that content that is censored in China can still be viewed by its users worldwide.
Chat App Kakao has launched a mobile payments system
Makers of Korea’s top chat app Kakao Talk has launched Kakao Pay, a mobile payments solution that’s integrated with its chat app. Kakao Pay lets users virtually store up to 20 credit or debit cards. This service, currently available in Korea on Android phones, will be made available for iOS users in November this year. This could provide a glimpse into how Facebook’s speculated mobile payments service could work.
Social is increasingly important for marketers
The CMO Survey was released last week. The survey of 351 ‘marketing leaders’ shows social is becoming ever more important to brands; it now makes up 9.4% of marketing budgets, expected to rise to 21.4% within five years.
However, as you can see below, ROI is still proving tricky. Particularly sad is the big blue section, made up of the 45% who can’t show the impact of all the fantastic work they’re doing. Expect to see increases in budgets for measuring ROI.
How cost efficient is social advertising?
Very! Wonderful news. Q2 analysis by Neustar has found that social ads outperformed ad networks, portals and exchanges for cost efficiency. Look at the graph, the graph says it all:
How social network ads affect buying decisions
So social ads are cost-effective, but which platform is king? Analysis by AoI Platforms of data from 500m clicks has found that YouTube is the best social network for introducing customers to new products, with Facebook coming in second. YouTube manages to perform well throughout the buying decision process, unlike Twitter, which is pretty much only useful during the middle phase.
Over 50% of people have a mobile phone
Half of the world now owns a mobile phone. At the time that we published our article on the subject, there were 7.258bn global citizens (though a few more have probably arrived in the last week), compared with 3.630bn unique mobile users.
Facebook video views at 1bn a day
Facebook video views grew by 50% month-on-month between May and July and, since June, there have been 1bn every single day. Fidji Simo, Project Management Director of Video at Facebook, wrote:
Video is one of the most engaging and immersive ways to tell your story. Whether capturing breaking news, a baby’s first steps, or rising to a friend’s challenge for charity, it is a remarkable storytelling medium.
He doesn’t say what percentage are ice bucket challenges. We may soon know, though, as videos from public users and pages are set to display a view count in the near future.
‘Privacy Checkup’ debuts on Facebook
Facebook has rolled out ‘Privacy Checkup’, which it has been testing since March. Each user who logs in will see an option to edit their settings, guided by a cartoon dinosaur. (A tyrannosaur? Our taxonomy skills have left us wanting.) Here’s how it all works:
Facebook’s Privacy Checkup from Facebook on Vimeo.
Twitter adds a buy button for mobile commerce
Get set to start purchasing through Twitter – the network has just added a ‘buy now’ button for iPhone and Android. It’s chosen 25 beta partners, which include two brands (Burberry and Home Depot), but are largely made up of celebrities. Musicians are an important part of the partnership, and celebs will be able to act as paid influencers for brands. You can find out about how it works in the below video:
Samsung launches #thatsucks campaign
Samsung has been walking the ‘fail’ tightrope with its latest vacuum cleaner campaign, dubbed #thatsucks. It has received a couple of negative responses, but in large part shows that it’s possible to take risks in social and succeed.
@SamsungUK 130 days without a working phone and being told I have to send it away for the 7th time #ThatSucks
— Matt Drew (@Mdrewey) August 29, 2014
When your pet decides that #OrangeIsTheNewBlack #ThatSucks https://t.co/TjPVG9jwOB
— Samsung UK (@SamsungUK) July 21, 2014
adidas crowdsources NYFW show
adidas put on the world’s first crowdsourced fashion show during New York Fashion Week. Dubbed #NEORunway, almost every element of the show was chosen by fans – from hair and makeup to music, outfits and even set design.
Starwood looking to LinkedIn with $30m campaign
Hotel chain, Starwood, is putting LinkedIn at the centre of its latest campaign, worth $30m. It is looking to promote its ‘Starwood Preferred Guest’ loyalty programme in the business market, making LinkedIn a good fit, though it will also increase the volume of its content on Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.
EA creates social media sitcom
EA is pushing the launch of the Sims 4 with a sitcom that takes place on social media. Four different characters, each with a personal Twitter account, will act out the story over two weeks. It’s based on ‘Gone With The Wind’, so they’ve taken a punt and are calling it ‘Gone With The Sims’.
Snuggle Bear gets social
Snuggle is bringing its mascot, the Snuggle Bear, into the 21st century. He’ll be debuting on various social channels for his 30th birthday, as part of an editorial-led campaign across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Now, you’ve been very good and finished your whole mashup, so here’s a picture of the cuddly chap. Don’t say we don’t treat you.
