We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #264

Mashup
nick.mulligan

Brands are getting more social engagement than ever
People are engaging with branded content more now than ever before. Analysis of over 100,000 brands by social analytics firm, Sharablee, found that engagement with branded content in the US rose 52% between Q1 2014 and Q1 2015. The study, which took into account Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, concluded that this increase owes more to the number of interactions per post than it does to the total volume of content.

Screen Shot 2015-06-22 at 2.42.01 PM

Social customer service is still below par
Research from Socialbakers that came out last week has found that four in five questions to US companies on Twitter go unanswered. Tut tut. Facebook fared better in that study, with 60% getting a response, but that was contradicted by a study from Locowise. The company found that 87% of Facebook posts on brand pages went unanswered. Even louder tut.

Social media professionals cite ROI measurement as biggest challenge
Measuring ROI remains the biggest issue for companies using social media for marketing, according to Simply Measured and TrustRadius. At every size of company surveyed (1-50 employees, 50-1,000, 1,000+), ROI measurement was the biggest challenge of executing social campaigns. We can totally help you with that, guys.

Screen Shot 2015-06-22 at 3.11.55 PM

Facebook to order News Feed by time spent on stories
Here’s a sentence I type a lot: Facebook is making changes to its News Feed. This time, it’s based on how long you spend reading a post compared to others. The more time you spend, the higher up similar stories will appear. Here’s the thinking, according to Facebook software engineer, Ansha Yu:

We’ve discovered that if people spend significantly more time on a particular story in News Feed than the majority of other stories they look at, this is a good sign that content was relevant to them

Facebook Moments looks to unearth phone photos
Facebook has released a new app, called ‘Moments’, for iOS and Android, which helps you organise the hundreds of photos you’ve left on your phone. Using face recognition technology, Moments scans your phone for any images that feature your friends and allows you to sync these to the relevant people with a couple of taps. Nobody’s tagged me in anything yet, but that’s totally cool. I’ve got loads of friends. It’s only a matter of time.

Screen Shot 2015-06-22 at 3.25.00 PM

Twitter now autoplays videos and GIFs
Autoplay video is an increasingly common phenomenon in social, so it’s no surprise that Twitter has got in on the act. Both GIFs and videos will now autoplay on the network – for the latter, you enable sound by clicking on the clip. It’s good news for brands, especially as the network has announced a 100% viewability rule for ads, meaning that you only pay for a video ad if it’s 100% in view of the user.

Autoplay_videos_on_Twitter

Twitter adds product pages and celebrity collections
Twitter is looking to get more shoppable and has added product pages to support its Buy button. Each one includes multiple tweets, product information and the button itself, as you can see in the below example. The network has enlisted the help of celebrities to promote the move, with ‘collections’ of product pages from the likes of Demi Lovato, LeBron James and the Captain of the USS Enterprise himself, William Shatner.

Screen Shot 2015-06-22 at 3.51.11 PM

Twitter ready for revamp with Project Lightning
Twitter has revealed its plans for the future to Buzzfeed, which involve complete renovation of the platform. ‘Project Lightning’, as it’s been named, is Twitter’s attempt at event-based curation. A revamped Twitter will feature a set of pages about current events, each of which will include instant-load photos and videos, curated by a dedicated editorial team. The content can then be embedded on pages across the web.

Wired has published a piece about what this might mean for Twitter, focussing on the platform’s key function: helping people find out what’s happening. The move could make the network more user-friendly and accessible, allowing it to better fulfil that purpose to a whole host of new users.

Snapchat tests branded geofilters
Snapchat is turning its geofilters into an ad unit. McDonald’s is the first brand to test the feature, paying the network to include a branded geofilter, which Snapchatters can add to images taken in any US McDonald’s outlet.

Pinterest updates search and adds verified users
Pinterest has updated its search feature, making it easier to locate individual users and boards. Pinners and boards are now shown separately from topics, while the new ‘verified users’ feature adds a red tick next to such accounts.

Screen Shot 2015-06-22 at 4.25.14 PM

LinkedIn tests Groups, LookUp and new messages
LinkedIn is testing three new features: Groups, LookUp and a messaging overhaul. The first two are apps; Groups will alert users when messages are posted to groups they belong to, LookUp will allow them to more easily find their coworkers. As for messaging, the network is looking to streamline messages for easier communication on all devices. It’s not yet clear when any of these features will become available, or indeed if all of them will.

Drumstick sponsors Periscope streams for Summer Solstice
Nestle’s Drumstick, an ice cream brand, ran the first ever sponsored Periscope streams, in line with the Summer Solstice. A number of influencers posted streams on their own channels, including the hashtag #ad, which were supported by promoted tweets from Drumstick.

Wendy’s livestreams on YouTube
Fast food chain, Wendy’s, ran a livestreaming YouTube event with online celebrities Rhett & Link, to promote its new summer drinks menu. The two were able to chat with fans in real time, a move that proved incredibly popular. In fact, it was possibly too popular – the site reportedly had issues, due to the number of people trying to use it.

Wimbledon to create content for Periscope and Snapchat
Wimbledon will be creating content for Periscope and Snapchat during this year’s championships, focussing on capturing ‘unique moments’. Spectators, however, will be discouraged from using Periscope at the event, due to the potential issues with using phones by the court, such as blocking others’ view and, of course, pulling viewers away from TV coverage.

Mountain Dew autopours on Twitter
Mountain Dew has become one of the first brands to take advantage of Twitter’s autoplay feature, posting a set of GIFs that automatically pour a drink into someone’s mouth. As they’re embedded here, they won’t autoplay – you’ll need to click on each one.