We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #355
Confused? Yeh, me to. So let’s break this down. A Canvas ad is Facebook’s full-screen immersive ad-unit and Collection, enables brands to combine a video ad with four recommended products showcased underneath. Now, Facebook has combined these two formats so users can click one of the four products and then be taken into a Canvas to explore more. Facebook has also helpfully launched some new Canvas building templates that do exactly what the say on the tin: Get New Customers, Sell Products, Showcase Your Business.
WhatsApp gets visual with filters and photo albums
Three new features are hitting WhatsApp and two of them are visual. The first is filters. People can add up to five filters to their photos, in order to correct lighting or, ya know, make it look all arty like. Second is albums.
When users send four or more images, they’ll be grouped as an album in a tile format, which friends can click on to explore or, completely ignore if it involves babies or kitchen renovations in my particular case. The final update is that individual messages can be swiped to be replied to. This is handy if you’re in a mega passive aggressive bridesmaid WhatsApp chat and you want to pick out one pertinent question to reply to out of the total utter dross about paper lanterns – or whatever.
Snap acquires Placed to prove geofilters drive store visits
In an attempt to prove its literal worth, Snap has acquired Placed, a company which helps determine ROI from its ads which are trying to drive footfall in-store. Snap will be hoping this helps boost advertiser confidence after its share price fell more than 20 percent in its first earnings call this month.
Apple’s Business Chat attempts to lure customer service to iMessage
Apple is trying to make iMessage the new up and coming place for businesses to take their customer service. Welcome: “Business Chat”, which will be able to operate across iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. It’s predicted they’ll be a full roll out of this service in autumn when iOS 11 launches.
Facebook goes all out for pride month
Facebook is turning all colours of the rainbow for pride month by rolling out a variety of ways for you to show your support. You can change your profile picture, use a pride ‘reaction’, add filters and stickers to images and even write in rainbows on Instagram. The only thing missing is being able to vomit rainbows. Damn I miss that Snapchat filter.
UK Election shows importance of authenticity and youth targeting
It looks like the Labour party’s decision to focus on the younger generation through Instagram and Twitter during the 2017 UK general election paid off, as Conservative leader and Prime Minister Theresa May seems to have not quite crushed the saboteurs, so much as actually lifted them up on her shoulders. Andre van Loon, research and insight director here at We Are Social, says Labour’s “successful” campaign did so well with young voters as it prioritised brand advocacy and authenticity.
“By making Corbyn so prominent on social media, it created brand advocates from Grime stars to young people. Looking through earned conversations, there are generally a lot more younger people sharing pictures of Jeremy Corbyn on Instagram.
“If you look at his Instagram profile, there’s a few quirky posts, someone knitted a doll of him that he then holds up next to his face. He’s not afraid to poke fun at himself and that made Theresa May look robotic and like she didn’t have a sense of humour in comparison.”