Google introduces a news stream personalized to your interests and Google searches
Google has just rolled out its latest take on the news feed for its mobile app. They have designed a personalized stream of articles and videos based on our choices, searches, and past behavior online. In December 2016 Google launched an update to its app which included two sections:
'A feed that keeps you current on your interests like sports, news, and entertainment, and a section for your upcoming personal info, like flights, appointments and more.'
Google's news feed combines the most important news stories of the day with topics you’ve previously searched. What makes this feed different is you don't need to 'friend' anyone, like posts or scroll through endless pictures of babies and ridiculous memes. Instead, Google is allowing you to discover, explore and stay connected to what matters to you.
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6 Social Media updates from the past week
Spotlight story: Facebook Messenger Ads
Facebook has announced that ads will be pushed out on their messenger platform. According to Facebook's chief financial officer, Dave Wehner, the company was about to hit the limit of how many ads it can get into users news feeds. This move to open Messenger for advertising means there is greater capacity for Facebook to serve more ads to more users.
Facebook began testing this feature last year with brands in Australia and Thailand, before fully expanding it globally. According to Techcrunch, later this month, a small percentage of users will start seeing ads in the Messenger app’s home tab. These ads will appear between the threads in your inbox, not in your conversations. By clicking the ad you will be taken to the company’s website or their Messenger chatbot. Find out more about Facebooks new Messenger Ads in our…
Facebook will start pushing more adverts out to users due to running out of space in news feeds
Facebook has announced that ads will be pushed out on their messenger platform. Meaning Facebook will be pushing out more ads to its users. Messenger ads have been rolled out because Facebook's chief financial officer, Dave Wehner, admitted that the company was about to hit the limit of how many ads it can get into users' News Feed.
Facebook began testing this feature last year with brands in Australia and Thailand, before fully expanding it to businesses globally. According to Techcrunch, later this month, a small percentage of users will start seeing ads in the Messenger app’s home tab. These ads will appear between the threads in your inbox, not in your conversations. By clicking the ad you will be taken to the company’s website or their Messenger chatbot.
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How to harness the power of vertical video
Remember the emergent days of online video? Those primitive, pixelated clips were laughable at best.
Social media is one of the biggest catalysts changing the video landscape, especially when it comes to creating new outlets for content distribution. With faster internet and smarter phones redefining how video content is consumed, millions of films that were created for the big screen have been repurposed for streaming on handheld devices.
Like Hollywood films, today’s digital video ads still have lights, a camera, and some action, but the stage is now your smartphone, and the audience is everyone. Interactive content on Facebook helps people and brands engage with their fans, Snapchat filters make sharing videos more fun, and newcomer app Periscope allows people to share a glimpse into their world.
In short, social media has completely upended the way we view and create videos — and one major factor…
5 awesome examples of how brands have integrated emojis into their marketing campaigns
Happy World Emoji Day!
Whether it’s a customer service reply or a marketing campaign, brands all over the world are using emojis every day. Emojis present an opportunity to connect with consumers in a fun, informal and creative way. For many, emojis express more than words and over the years we have seen more emojis used by some of the most well-known brands.
How do you feel about using emojis? According to a recent survey, 59% of people aged 18-34 say companies are trying too hard when using emojis in ad or marketing campaigns. It was also found that 53% of young people think mixing emojis with text helps people better understand each other.
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Here…
Semantic Web, Knowledge Graphs, Social Media and Memes
As a PhD student, I’m keen to discover the latest academic research, which often happens at conferences. Although my main area of research is within marketing, my specialist area is social media. This year I stumbled over the ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social Media.
In case, like me, you didn’t know, the ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) is a major international organisation focused on ‘Advancing Computing as a Science & Profession’. Their members include Vint Cerf, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and many of the computing great and good. They hold 170 conferences a year and have 37 Special Interest Groups, including Hypertext and Social Media.
Academic research source: ACM Digital Library
They also have a Digital Library that contains a wealth of significant academic articles about fake news, analysing Twitter data, bots and big data, privacy and artificial intelligence, as well as every aspect of applied…
Everything you need to know about what has happened in social media this week
Spotlight Story: New LinkedIn Features
LinkedIn has been working on making their platform more user-friendly and looking to keep up with other popular social media networks by introducing some exciting new features:
You will now be able to find out when you first connected to a person.
Ever wondered how your being discovered on LinkedIn? Use LinkedIn's Search Appearances, to see how many people found you in search, as well their companies and job titles.
Personalize your profile by reordering the experience section of your LinkedIn profile, as well as your volunteer and education sections. Just hover on the right of the position and drag to up or down.
Comment with images on any post or discussion you are taking part in, giving you richer, more expressive ways to have conversations.
Expanded profiles are…
Evolution of the TV watching experience
Not only did social networks change the way we stay in touch with friends, read the news and interact with brands, but also the way we watch TV. These days, our TV watching experience is no longer limited to the span of your living room coach – you can stay on the line friends and fellow fans and share your excitement about a new episode of a favorite show or a sports event without leaving the room. So it’s not surprising that content producers want to see us more and more involved and following them online, as it gives them a wealth of opportunities to keep us hooked and pitch commercial offers at just the right time. All that is required besides a television is an Internet-enabled phone, tablet or laptop – in other words, a second screen that extends and enhances the content that…
The hyper-local tactics that can boost your brand nationally
Hyperlocal marketing has emerged as a key driver of consumer engagement. The State of Hyperlocal 2017 report indicates that marketers are investing heavily in social media, data, and analytics on their local campaigns. In fact, these areas represent the top spending categories across hyperlocal investments.
As consumers demand evermore personalized content and experiences, it makes sense for brands to invest in local tactics. The more customized their offers and messaging are, the more likely they are to establish long-standing relationships with their customers.
But in the rush to perfect hyperlocal strategies, companies must also attend to their national branding. Not only is a national strategy essential for raising brand awareness, but it’s also crucial for competing with e-commerce startups.
Are Ecommerce Startups a Threat?
Many ecommerce entrepreneurs establish their shops with an eye to competing with major retailers. They’ve seen the big names achieve success, and they…
Facebook digital transformation journey is 'only 1% finished'
I recently had the opportunity to visit Facebook’s Dublin HQ for a deep-dive immersion session. The objective was to up-skill everyone in the latest thinking and best practice in digital and mobile marketing from a Facebook/ Instagram perspective and over two days we covered a range of topics, from the rise of mobile video to the evolution of communication.
All of the presentations provided some really interesting and valuable insights, however it was the opening presentation that covered Facebook’s culture of innovation that really struck a chord.
At first I assumed this would comprise mainly of corporate propaganda, a list of reasons why Facebook is the #1 channel for marketers and ultimately an unassailable force for social good. Whilst there were inevitably elements of this there were also some interesting insights into a company that is a living and breathing example of digital transformation at…
