Weekly Roundup: LinkedIn’s “Lookup”, Facebook GIF Ads, and Periscope Success
Last week the interwebs got all wrapped up in ugly scandals from people who should have never been celebrities. But that Ashley Madison hack also reminded us that privacy is hard to come by and companies can be sued. In more interesting and relevant news, Pew released their study on mobile and social usage. Snapchat wasn’t even mentioned.
In other news:
– LinkedIn keeps making new apps
– Instagram killed your photo map – no matter how they keep trying to tell you differently
– Facebook allows for animated gifs in ads – don’t get too distracted
– Periscope reached the 10MM user mark
Chat soon!
Introducing LinkedIn “Lookup” App
Ever meet somebody from another office, forget her name and then want to find her because she has a particular skill set or contact you need? LinkedIn has a solution in the new app called Lookup. Basically, you log in with your business email address and it easily lets you search through other people on LinkedIn who also work at your company. More from Linkedin’s blog.
Snapchat
Snapchat only made $3 Million bucks last year, but does that matter?
Gawker obtained financials showing that Snapchat had revenues of just $3 million last year – posting a net loss of $128 million. A lot of media immediately expressed shock that Snapchat could be valued at $15-16 Billion. But does that matter? Every day 100 million people open the app – that’s a lot of real estate for advertisers to pay to reach them.
It’s worth remembering that Facebook and others faced the same issue. A Slate headline from 2007 “$1 Billion for Facebook? LOL!” (Facebook is now worth $260 billion.)
Meanwhile, Snapchat continues to make hires and develop it’s ad platform that is really only in it’s infancy. Source: vox
The All New Search and Explore: See the World As It Happens
With more than 70 million photos being uploaded each day, Instagram has two new updates to enhance search capabilities and find exactly who and what you’re looking for. First is the reimagined Explore feature. You will be able to see what hashtags and events are trending in real-time around the globe. The second update improves the Places Search bar and you can explore just about any location on earth. Read More
And they got rid of your photo map when you weren’t paying attention. Privacy concerns?
YouTube
How This Agency’s Completely Blank 4-Minute YouTube Video Got 100,000 Views
Advertising agency Solve experimented to see if they could make the most uncreative video go viral. No title, images, sounds, or description were added to the video. The video received: 100,000 views with an investment of $1,400 (1.4 cents/view). 46% of viewers watched more than 30 seconds. However, there were 0 likes, comments, and shares. What does this mean? Creative effectiveness is hard to measure but it may be time to stop glorifying views. Adweek
After Years Of Restraint, Facebook Tries Allowing GIFs In Ads And Page Posts
Facebook refused to fill its site with flashy animated banner ads for a decade. Zuckerberg thought these interrupted the user experience, and could stunt growth. But after reaching near ubiquity and acclimating users to video ads, Facebook is relaxing its standards and starting to allow businesses to post GIFs as ads and Page posts. Facebook plans to “evaluate whether it drives a great experience for people before rolling it out to more Pages.”
So basically, if users hate them and they don’t perform well, Facebook will scrap them. But if the eye-grabbing ads and Page posts drive business without annoying the hell out of people, all companies might soon get the option to animate your News Feed. – TechCrunch
BuzzFeed
NBCUniversal Chases a Younger Audience with BuzzFeed Deal
NBCUniversal dropped a $200 million-dollar equity investment on BuzzFeed’s cash pile in order to better reach millennials. This investment will lead to NBCUniversal and BuzzFeed collaborations such as: television shows, movies, Olympic coverage, and other joint partnerships with ad agencies and brands. Source: LA Times
Instagram and Pinterest Both Doubled Users Over the Last 3 Years
Pinterest is steadily increasing their online presence. 31% of all adults who go online now use Pinterest, versus just 15% three years ago. Facebook continues to be the most used platform but only saw 5% growth in the last three years. Source: Mashable
Periscope
5 Ways Brands Are Using Periscope
Twitter’s live-stream video app reports 10 million followers in just 6 months. Brands such as Nissan, Target, Taco Bell, JC Penny, and Benefit are using Periscope to connect with consumers. They are using the live-streaming capabilities for Sneak-peeks, Product Announcements, Celebrity Takeovers, Live Q&As, and Inside Looks Into Brand Culture. Read on.
Compiled by our West Region strategists including Melanie Taylor, Cameron Joye, Toby Phillips, Laura Graham,Austin DeArman, Lindsey Mills, Kate Acker, and Lauren Wesche.
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