I don’t know about you, but I love the part of a new year when life returns to normal, or the insanity that we all normal anyway, and we can just put our heads down and get back to work. Here are the things that caught my attention this last week, and I’m thinking they might be of interest to you, too. Let’s go….
Facebook Steers Publishers to Long Form Video. Facebook is in the business of making money. That includes serving up ads in content. The social media giant’s move to steer publishers to long form content makes perfect sense. The company can’t serve up ads in random Facebook Live posts of social media superstars. But it can serve up ads in long form content produced by publishers.
I’ve always seen it as two parallel strategies from Facebook: encourage regular users to consume video by making it possible to stream easily from a mobile device and court high quality media producers to publish on Facebook.
The objective of both strategies is to keep users on Facebook’s platform longer—this includes consuming video content. Regular people streaming to family and friends gets them used to Facebook being a media network, paving the way for other professional content which will keep people on the site even longer. Look for Apple to join the party soon, as well. I bet we see testing of a paid subscription service in the not too distant future.
Facebook Steers Publishers To Long-Form Video https://t.co/MhsKtDCRL4
— Kent Lewis (@kentjlewis) January 18, 2017
Twitter’s ‘Buy’ button is officially dead. Have you ever bought anything on Twitter using the ‘buy’ button? Me neither. This feature was introduced in 2014 by Facebook, Pinterest, Google, and Twitter when the idea of allowing consumers to buy directly from their favorite social network was hot. But as expected, many technical issues challenged the social sites, from integrating payments to implementing inventory systems. Convincing consumers to buy in proved to be a huge hurdle. What I think really hurt Twitter was the apparent lack of trust and security. As for The Facebook, I don’t know about you, but I buy things I see on there all the time. What about you? Via emarketer
Instagram Stories is Likely to Become a Powerful Marketing Tool. If you are an active Instagram user, it is most likely you’re seeing the stories posted by friends or brands you follow. Similar to Snapchat, the stories disappear after 24 hours. There are now over 100 million daily Instagram stories users. Advertisers will soon be able to promote their products using Instagram Stories, and Jim Squires, Director of Product Marketing, said the site will soon be testing video ads in stories. The plan is to conduct a two to three-week test period before offering it to all of the site’s 500,000 active advertisers. The big question is this: Will users watch and engage with the ads? I love Instagram, but I hate brands and advertising on Instagram (speaking strictly as a consumer)—but this might well work. What do you think? Oh, and if you’ve not yet following my smart friend, Ann Tran, start. She’s awesome.
#Instagram Stories Is Likely to Become a Powerful Marketing Tool https://t.co/5d5H52KXCg #SocialMedia
— Ann Tran (@AnnTran_) January 18, 2017
Speaking of Snapchat, the social platform has also launched a new feature which is quite likely a game-changer for its users, as well as brands. It’s quite frustrating when you can’t easily search for friends or discover interesting content—universal search changes that. This feature could turn out to be an effective revenue possibility for Snap Inc. With universal search, Snapchat can potentially let brands pay for sponsored placements on top of search results or suggestions in the search interface. This is only available in the Android version of the app, but will soon roll out to iOS users.
Snapchat launches universal search to simplify navigation https://t.co/1zdUzmYrSB
— Bryan Kramer (@bryankramer) January 17, 2017
If you’re interested in learning how to navigate the new search bar, check out the video below.
For Netflix, original content is the new black. I rarely watch TV, but I watch a lot of Netflix. Long a front runner in the original content space, it’s no surprise that the company continues to forge ahead in that regard. In the first quarter alone the company is planning to release dozens of new shows. This was announced as the company reported significant revenue growth of 41% and an additional seven million users.
This is a great move for Netflix as an increasing number of consumers shifting from traditional TV to digital video. Via eMarketer
I often wonder how long a person can survive without their smartphone. Think about it. When you wake up, what’s the first thing you reach for? From our appointments to our to-do lists, everything is stored on our phones. Here’s a look at the many ways we rely on our mobile phones, and how texting (SMS) has helped foster that reliance. Interesting share worth checking out from my friend Ann Handley.
A Day With Your Smartphone [Infographic] https://t.co/tdjrt5XMLU pic.twitter.com/GW0YMhxFWK
— Ann Handley (@MarketingProfs) January 18, 2017
Working Together in Perfect Harmony: Digital Advertising and Content. If you are producing content on a regular basis and don’t see traffic and engagement on your site and/or with your content, it can be frustrating. You may even feel like giving up. We know full well how much time, effort, and energy is spent developing corporate blog content, and we feel your pain. However, there’s a lot of competition for eyeballs these days, and for best results, you need to consider combining a paid advertising budget and your content marketing efforts. My dear friend, Marsha Collier, who also happens to one of the smartest marketers I know, shares this article from Top Rank that offers you a step-by-step guide to help you get started.
Working Together in Perfect Harmony ✔ Digital #Advertising & Content #Marketing via @TopRank https://t.co/a3Bl9kGvAt
— Marsha Collier (@MarshaCollier) January 17, 2017
Photo Credit: rulke Flickr via Compfight cc
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