This week's social roundup: Instagram lays groundwork for full-fledged e-commerce; Facebook rolls out customizable page layouts for businesses, and it places a bet on social gaming with its launch of Instant Games; all about why you should think twice about using emojis; Trump's little-known digital and data machine that might just have won him the election; how to measure social media churn; all about Generation Z's diverging views from Millennials'; and much more... 1. Fleshed out e-commerce capabilities in which users won't have to leave Instagram to make a purchase, however, appears to be 2-4 years away. Facebook rolls out new, customizable layout for Pages on desktop Changes have come yet again to Facebook business pages, and this time they include more customizable features and an easier way to see and share unique URLs for each of your page's tabs. Does your page already have these new capabilities? Although the games launched thus far don't feature ads or in-game payments, there's no doubt that the social titan will eventually find way to milk revenue from the new feature. Caution: Your emoji use might be exhausting your target market A recent YouGov survey found that brands just can't seem to get emojis right—from custom emoji keyboards to email subject lines. Some 58% of 18-34-year-olds said brands that use emojis are just "trying too hard." For now, though, Facebook says it's focus is not on bringing its service to the common Chinese population but on helping Chinese businesses expand to new markets outside the country by using Facebook's ad platform. By building a database of 220 million Americans with 4,000 to 5,000 data points about each citizen, and using Facebook's sophisticated advertising tools like Dark Posts, Audience-Targeting, and Custom Audiences form Customer Lists, the Trump campaign managed to secretly target Clinton supporters and slyly persuade them to stay home on Election Day. We'll wrap with the different world coming marketers' way, in the form of Generation Z Marketers have spent much time studying every aspect of Millennials to better understand, and thus sell, to them.
This week’s social roundup: Instagram lays groundwork for full-fledged e-commerce; Facebook rolls out customizable page layouts for businesses, and it places a bet on social gaming with its launch of Instant Games; all about why you should think twice about using emojis; Trump’s little-known digital and data machine that might just have won him the election; how to measure social media churn; all about Generation Z’s diverging views from Millennials’; and much more…
1. Prepare yourselves: Instagram sets up shop for full-fledged e-commerce
Last month, the Facebook-owned photo and video sharing network announced it would partner with 20 top retail brands to pilot shoppable posts, and now it appears Instagram is poised to invest even more heavily in e-commerce.
According to Fortune, Instagram has recruited 50 employees in New York to spearhead its e-commerce division.
Its current capabilities allow partner brands to share posts that highlight special price tag icons for up to five products, and then redirect users to their websites to complete checkout. Fleshed out e-commerce capabilities in which users won’t have to leave Instagram to make a purchase, however, appears to be 2-4 years away. But it’s never too early to prepare.
2. Facebook rolls out new, customizable layout for Pages on desktop
Changes have come yet again to Facebook business pages, and this time they include more customizable features and an easier way to see and share unique URLs for each of your page’s tabs.
A page’s middle section, which normally contains your company page’s videos, events, photos, notes, and posts, can now be customized according to your preferences. Within the Business Manager, you can also choose from a selection of templates based on type of business and what layout is best suited for your product or service.
Facebook appears to still be testing features with the new pages, as not all of these updates have been rolled out worldwide. Does your page already have these new capabilities?
Instant Games are here, and Facebook’s hoping they make you spend even more time on its platforms. Games were a big part of Facebook on desktop in 2008, but as users bid adieu to their computers in favor of their mobile devices, social gaming lost its mojo. Now, with lightning-fast loading times ranging from 3-10 seconds, and high-quality graphics and gameplay built right into Messenger and on News Feeds thanks to HTML5, Facebook is looking to make an addictive comeback.
A study from gaming network Gamee found that users play chat app games 34 times per day for a total of 21 minutes, suggesting that such a level of engagement, paired with the near frictionless and hassle-free gaming environment Facebook has developed, could result in big audiences.
Although the games launched thus far don’t feature ads or in-game payments, there’s no doubt that the social titan will eventually find way to milk revenue from the new feature.
4. Caution: Your emoji use might be exhausting your target market
A recent YouGov survey found that brands just can’t seem to get emojis right—from custom emoji keyboards to email subject lines. Some 58% of 18-34-year-olds said brands that use emojis are just “trying too hard.” Many young users see brands’ use of emojis as the co-opting of youth culture and as being embarrassing—something most brands probably want to steer clear of.
But the problems don’t stop there: 54% of those over the age of 50 said emojis don’t help people understand each other better, meaning brands that overuse, or misuse, emojis might not only be adding unnecessary noise but also alienating older users.
On the bright side, some studies show that…
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