We Are Social's Monday Mashup #80
Google+: massive growth
A month after it launched and a nice milestone reached for Google+, especially when compared to Facebook and Twitter’s early growth as illustrated by the graph below:
It’s worth remembering though that Facebook and Twitter were startups when they launched – conversely, Google is one of the biggest corporations in the world, with a large installed base of users. Comscore has some interesting research about how the geography and demographics of that 20 million break down, with other new analysis suggesting the male domination of Google+ is being eroded.
Importantly, the service is developing, with its iPhone app now live, the option to bring in address books from other services, and a ‘celebrity acquisition plan’ designed to entice more users.
Google+ has also acquired a social group startup called Fridge, hired staff from Scoopler to work on the project, and continued to push out updates about their plans for businesses within the service. They have ended up back-tracking on their offer to let brands test the service, but to be fair to them, they’ve been completely transparent, with regular updates about what’s going on.
This is extraordinary stuff from a service so young, and is markedly different to what went on when Wave launched. It’s made research tools like Brandwatch take notice, and has people publishing independent videos espousing the quality of the service, and it really is to be applauded.
Facebook ad prices rise massively
According to research from TBG, the cost-per-click on Facebook ads has risen 74% year-on-year, although this figure is only 55% in the UK. This follows research from Efficient Frontier suggesting the cost of ads had risen 22% quarter-on-quarter, and is useful in giving the wider picture. Tellingly, with the use of Facebook ads increasing 1900% year-on-year, there’s some happy Facebook execs out there.
Facebook Page administrators can now invite friends to like Pages
Facebook made a subtle tweak to the service this week, which may make small pages go more viral: when Page admins invite friends to like a page, they now receive a notification.
Facebook are clearly trying to drive more traffic to Pages – the latest version of the Facebook for Android app lets users post to, search for, and tag Pages, thereby giving them greater exposure.
Twitter drives four times as much traffic as you think
An interesting bit of research which suggests that analytics programmes fail to measure how much traffic Twitter actually generates – and it’s bringing in four times as many clicks as those services are registering…
Twitter poised to complete new round of funding
Kara Swisher reported last week that Twitter is about to bring in loads more funding:
In a move reminiscent of one done by Facebook in 2009, Twitter is close to completing an $800 million funding deal that will include a second part in which around $400 million of the total will be used to cash out current investors and also employees. According to several sources close to the situation, the complex transaction could be completed within two weeks.
LinkedIn launches Apply with LinkedIn button
LinkedIn launched its Apply with LinkedIn button yesterday, which allows users to pull the data from their profile to apply for jobs. The button acts like a Facebook ‘like’ button, where with just one click users can submit their resume.
Foursquare plans to diversify revenue streams
According to NMA, Foursquare plans to boost its income by charging SMEs and brands to use the platform.
Bieber joins Instagram, the masses follow
Justin Bieber joing Instagram this week and made an instant impact on the service – accruing 4,800 followers in one day, while posting just one photo.
Amex’s link-like-love product
Amex’s new social commerce product asks users to authorise it to pull their data from Facebook, and then gives out offers based on what the users ‘likes’ are on Facebook. The big question is will users surrender their data for offers – because if they can, Amex can obviously pitch this product to brands on the basis that it will generate them more fans.
Milk campaign goes off because of social media
A Californian campaign intended to address PMS went badly wrong, after social media users accused the campaign of sexism. It’s notable because this was a campaign from a well-renowned agency, whose Got Milk campaign from the 90s is still famous today. It shows once again just how powerful a social media backlash is. It’s a shame, as the ad agency were hoping to milk some success from the campaign.
Which UK retailers are doing best in social?
The latest results are in, and Topshop still has both the most Facebook fans and most Twitter followers of any UK retailer; but ASOS’ rapid growth (twice that of Topshop) means this position is, in the medium term, very much under threat. The reason for this is ASOS’ commitment to social commerce – which is why I fully expect to see more of these retailers selling directly through Facebook in the very near future; Uniqlo set up shop in the last week, and more will inevitably follow.
Whisky brand uses Google+ for tasting
Glaswegian whisky brand Whyte and Mackay plans to use the Hangouts feature of Google+ to conduct an interactive whisky tasting. The idea is to send whisky fans samples, and then talk them through them in the Hangout.
Shelter Scotland’s Foursquare special
The homeless charity Shelter is running a special in Scotland – check in on Foursquare at one of their stores, and users can get a real, limited edition pin.
First-ever music video from Instagram
British band The Vaccines are trying to inject some success, by making their latest video from photos submitted by fans on Instagram. The idea is to create an animated video which captures the best festival experience.
Microsoft’s #fail
Microsoft was at the centre of a Twitter storm this morning, for a tweet encouraging users to buy Amy Winehouse’s music through its Zune360 service. Oh dear. Back to the (black) drawing board for Microsoft.
Hugo Chávez running Venezuela via Twitter
Ailing Venezuelan’s leader Hugo Chávez has been in hospital while undergoing cancer treatment – but that hasn’t stopped him running the country from his hospital bed, by approving a series of policies through his Twitter account. How very social(ist).
Twitter injunction backfires for Cairn Energy
Cairn Energy tried to stop activists tweeting about a protest by taking out an injunction – but all this did was rile Twitter users, with the resulting by-product that rather than a few tweets being posted, hundreds of users broke the injunction.
We Are Influential
The Brand Republic list of the top 200 most influential bloggers for July, was released last week – and we came in, once again, in second place. It must be the puns…