Influence of online ads in I-want-to-know moments Intage, a leader in Japanese marketing research, identified key triggers that lead to web searches. Top triggers include conversations with personal contacts, posts on social media timelines and watching TV shows (wait, what?). TV shows actually contribute to 58.4% of web searches, surpassing online ads at 15.2%. This does not spell doom for bidding managers, who can control and target online ads in ways that personal or social interactions cannot.
Google also added that “people often turn to their smartphones for intent-driven research [and] mobile ads provide the best opportunity for marketers to reach consumers in their microments”. Hear ye!
Blue ticks for all Twitter users Previously, the Twitter blue tick was exclusively reserved for accounts that were deemed “official”. However, Twitter announced that more accounts may be verified if determined to be of public interest. Twitter’s Tina Bhatnagar said that the update should help “people find great, high-quality accounts to follow, for creators and influencers – no matter where they are in the world – to easily connect with a broader audience”.
Facebook continues to boost earnings and users in Q2 With another round of excellent results for Q2, Facebook announced a steady user growth of 3.63%, while adding 60 million new monthly users to reach the grand total of 1.71 billion.
Revenue growth was reported at 59% year on year…
Twitter growth limps on (just about) With the announcement of Twitter’s Q2 earnings (up 20% from last year), and slow user growth. Its 313 million monthly active users are up only 3% from last year and just 1% from last quarter, despite efforts made in the form of exclusive content deals around sporting events e.g. live-streams of Wimbledon.
Twitter launches new marketing push Having done some research which has shown that one of its main problems is that potential users are unsure of what it’s actually for. Outsiders see it as a social networking platform while Twitter themselves believe they are a news platform, they’ve even changed their iTunes and Google Play classification to ‘news’. In the hope of combating stalling user numbers, Twitter are embarking on a marketing push, including the below 45-second spot which hopefully makes things a bit clearer for everyone.
Twitter adds more sports to its livestream portfolio Hey! Twitter Twitter Twitter. Swing! Twitter Twitter Twitter. Twitter has announced new deals with both Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League. This will mean that they can livestream out-of-market games and additional content which even non-users will be able to access. Exciting news for footy fans as well; they’ve struck a deal with Sky which means they can showPremier League Football clips. A new nightly show called The Rally, which will showcase sports highlights ranging from college events to the Olympics, is also being produced.
What happens to Tumblr and Flickr now Verizon has bought Yahoo? Verizon has now announced that it has bought Yahoo for a reported $4.8 billion after buying AOL last year for around the same amount. People have been wondering what will now happen to Yahoo-owned Flickr and Tumblr. The short answer seems to be, not much in the immediate future. The deal with Verizon doesn’t go through until 2017 and Verizon has said that all the Yahoo brands will still continue to operate separately. With Tumblr, the hope is that a new team will be put in place to enable the platform to make some real money, after it has failed to keep up with newer money-making machines like Instagram and Snapchat. Flickr’s future is more uncertain under Verizon after its failure to innovate quickly enough in terms of mobile adaptation and with less perceived advertising potential than Tumblr. Fans of the photo sharing platform interview by The Guardian said they wouldn’t be surprised to see the service shuttered once the Yahoo deal is official.
Reddit allows brands to sponsor organic user posts In an attempt to become more profitable Reddit has announced it will be working with brands to hand select user posts which they feel fit with their messages and then promote. The example they’ve given is that Taco Bell may want to select a mad Taco Bell fan’s image of a human-sized Crunchwrap Supreme. This will then be displayed on different parts of the site and targeted to users that the brand wants to reach. Users will be asked for permission to use their posts and rewarded with a lifetime subscription to Reddit Gold.
Tiffany buys its first sponsored Snapchat lens Tiffany has made a splash in the sponsored lens world as Kylie Jenner used their first lens in a snap with Kim. The sponsored lens features the signature Tiffany blue and decorated Kylie’s eyes into matching blue hearts. Tiffany is the first luxury brand to have sponsored lens, which also draws a white heart with the text “Return to Tiffany Love” when you smile into the camera.
