We Are Social’s Tuesday Tweakup #16
Young people prefer smartphones for social
According to research presented in eMarketer last week, the smartphone is the device of choice for 18-34 year olds in social. When a sample of regular UK social media users were asked about which device they used for the bulk of their social activity, 54% of 18-34 year olds chose their smartphone, compared with 29% of 35-54 year olds and just 4% of those over 55. In that oldest demographic, computers were overwhelmingly the most popular device, accounting for 86% of answers.
Facebook reaches value of $100bn
Facebook last week reached an overall value of over $100bn, as fears about its ability to sell ads for mobile devices are beginning to disappear. Shares, which were trading at $17.73 back in September, have increased in value by 55% this year, at one point last week reaching $41.94, the highest since Facebook’s initial $16bn IPO. The network is now approaching the $45-per-share mark, an all-time high that matches a record it set at the time of its trading debut.
31% of the top 100 brands are on Tumblr
Out of Interbrand’s top 100 global brands, 31 have a presence on Tumblr, according to research by Simply Measured published last week. This leaves the network well behind the likes of Facebook (98%) and Twitter (97%), as well as Google+ (75%) and Pinterest (74%). From the below graph, you can see the change in brand presences between May and August of this year; ultimately, there has been very little difference on every network tested, the maximum difference being Pinterest’s dip of 3%.
Facebook introduces shared photo albums
Facebook has introduced a new feature, designed to make photos more collaborative: shared albums. Now, when a user creates a photo album, they can add up to fifty ‘contributors’, who can in turn add up to 200 photos each. Privacy settings are fairly straightforward for these, too, with only three possible settings: public, friends of contributors or contributors only. As yet, the feature is only available on desktop, but there are plans to extend it, posssibly allowing mobile functionality or an increase in the number of pictures that can be uploaded.
Facebook release embedded posts to everybody
In an act of generosity of which Robin Hood himself would be proud, Facebook has rolled out its embedded post feature to all and sundry. Tested last month with CNN, Huffington Post, Bleacher Report, PEOPLE and Mashable, it’s now possible for anyone to embed posts.
Facebook to shift ‘Gifts’ offering to cards and digital
Facebook is planning to shift its ‘Gifts’ feature, removing physical offerings and concentrating on digital gifts/gift cards. The network claims that 80% of gifts are already of such a type, anyway, and this all forms part of a larger plan, according to Lee Linden, who supervises the feature:
We’re really making the decision based on user feedback. The physical stuff is interesting for sure, but our goal is to build stuff that’s really great for the majority of people who are using it. Physical gifts do require more work to maintain, and if fewer than 20 percent of users are taking advantage of it — the purpose of this redesign is to double down on what people want.
Updates to images for Facebook pages
Facebook has announced three changes to images for page admins in the last week, starting with a partnership with stock image site Shutterstock. This means that millions of Shutterstock’s images, which normally come at a price, will be available free-of-charge for use in Facebook ads. Secondly, page admins can take these images, or others, and simultaneously create multiple adverts using different images, through a new image uploader. Finally, the iOS and Android Facebook apps have been updated to allow the posting of multiple photos in a single update, as shown below.
Twitter announces ‘related headlines’
Twitter has announced a feature called ‘related headlines’, meaning that a tweet will link to news stories in which it was embedded. From a tweet’s permalink page, users will now be able to see headlines from the stories that embedded the tweet, in the hope that these will help provide better context around what exactly it means.
Vine hits forty million users
Twitter-owned Vine has hit 40 million users, way up from the 13 million it had in early June. However, they are currently refusing to announce active user figures, making it very difficult to tell how much the service is actually being used.
Sky allows recording through Facebook directly
UK television provider Sky has released an app for Facebook. This has a number of nifty features, including the ability to share information on programmes with friends and discovering Sky shows based on your friends’ topics of conversation. However, the most groundbreaking thing about the app is that it allows users to record directly through Facebook.
Twitter team up with USTA and Heineken
In promotion of this week’s US Open tennis tournament, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) has teamed up with Twitter and Heineken to produce a set of promotional videos. Heineken will feature in a pre-roll for every video, posted through Twitter’s Amplify platform, and in a banner ad on every video. The move sees a further way in which Twitter is trying to ramp up its video connections, after partnering with major broadcasters and sports channels.
Instagram video in sports journalism
Tom Dienhart, a journalist for the Big Ten Network, has been posting videos to his Instagram page, as part of his reporting on American football. It’s an interesting idea for a sports journalist and it will be interesting to see if it gets picked up more widely.
Red Bull releases second-ever Instagram video
Two months after launching its Instagram account, Red Bull has launched only its second video – an extreme sports clip of base jumper Valery Rozov. It’s the first video since a launch post two months ago and, within a matter of hours, had received 23,000 likes and over 300 comments.
Airbnb set to make first full-length film purely from Vine
Last week, Airbnb announced plans to create a full-length film made up purely of fans’ Vine videos. The work will be made up of clips sent in by their Twitter followers, who will receive instructions from the brand on what to film.
Help us create the first film made entirely of Vines. Filming starts tomorrow! http://t.co/TykT55YOUy #AirbnbHV https://t.co/VFeCFoK12l
— Airbnb (@Airbnb) August 21, 2013
John Lewis launch #WhatMattersMost film competition on Vine
In line with their recent animated TV ad, UK department store John Lewis has launched a Vine competition for budding filmmakers to create a six-second film on Vine, inspired by the stop-motion style in the advert. Entries can be uploaded via the website and tracked on Twitter using #WhatMattersMost.
Asda posting social media fan messages on in-store packaging
In an attempt to make its food range more “emotional”, UK supermarket Asda will start to include Facebook and Twitter posts from customers on the packaging for its ‘Chosen By You’ range. They have invited customers to contribute their thoughts using the hashtag #ChosenByMe; these will then be curated on the brand’s website and a select few chosen to be included on in-store packaging.
Paddy Power celebrates 1 million Facebook with bet from space
Paddy Power, the UK betting company with the largest social media presence in the industry, has launched a competition to celebrate reaching 1 million fans on Facebook. After fans have entered, a computer attached to a balloon will be raised up to 100,000 feet, at which point it will place an accumulator on the weekend’s British Premier League matches on behalf of one lucky winner. If the bet comes in, it could be worth up to £1 million.
Audi launches 3d microsite from user-generated content
Audi is launching a 3d microsite made up of user-generated content from its social media communities. Fans across Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Instagram who share a reason that they love the brand, using the hashtag #onemillionreasons, will be included as a spherical particle in the microsite as part of a model of the Audi R8. Fans that contribute to the model will also be given the opportunity to win an Audi R8 driving experience.
Dacia reveal a campaign around football conversations
For three weeks, car manufacturer Dacia will run a campaign tweeting about the transfer window for top flight English football, plus using the hashtag #youdothemaths to promote the low cost of the car. Based on the ‘value for money’ connection, the move looks to attract as many football fans as possible to show an interest the brand’s products.
Burrito Martinez deletes 92,000 Twitter followers for Nike campaign
Burrito Martinez, superstar for Argentinian football club Boca Juniors, has deleted all 92,000 of his Twitter followers and starting again from scratch. The idea is that he must regain each follower, playing each game as if it were his first. The stunt, a part of Nike’s ‘Baptism’ campaign, seems to be paying off – he has already regained over 40,000 followers.
8Hotels offers free rooms to Instagram influencers
Australian hotel operator, 8Hotels has recently opened its eighth hotel in Sydney, named ‘The 1888 Hotel’. As 1888 is also the year that camera company Kodak launched, the hotel has chosen a photographic theme for the interior design. Its design features include Instagram images taken by guests – any guest with more than 10,000 followers can stay for free. Each month, the hotel will also offer a monthly competition to win a free night for the best Instagram picture.