Tag Archives: SG news

MONDAY MORNING LEARNING – 20 JUNE 2022

YouTube Reports that 1.5 Billion Users Now Engage with YouTube Shorts Content Each Month

It’s remarkable to consider TikTok’s impact on the social media landscape and media consumption patterns in general – not just on TikTok, but also through the myriad short form video offers now available in other apps.

For example, YouTube today released new data on the growing popularity of YouTube Shorts, its own TikTok clone, which was created to blur the line between the two apps and prevent YouTube viewers from flocking to the trending site.

As per YouTube: “YouTube Shorts are now being watched by over 1.5 billion logged-in users every month.”

That is a huge amount, especially when you also consider that YouTube’s total monthly ‘logged in’ audience is 2 billion total users.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-reports-that-15-billion-users-now-engage-with-youtube-shorts-conte/625587/#:~:text=As%20per%20YouTube%3A,is%202%20billion%20total%20users

Instagram Tests Updated, TikTok-Like Full-Screen Format for its Main Feed

Instagram has updated its full-screen main feed test, which transforms Instagram posts — whether static photographs, videos, or Reels – into a full-height, TikTok-style swipeable flow of all types of IG content.

The navigation bar, description, and Instagram logo are placed on the content, making Instagram Reels and video clips full-screen. This new method would also hide the Stories bar, albeit, in the long run, Stories would most likely be integrated into this new presenting type.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-tests-updated-tiktok-like-full-screen-format-for-its-main-feed/625682/

YouTube Brings Shopping to Shorts With Glossier Challenge

Glossier was the first company to sell its products via YouTube Shorts. Glossier’s newest eyeliner, the No. 1 Pencil, is featured in YouTube’s first Shoppable Shorts Challenge.

Glossier is also collaborating with over 100 influencers to create short videos displaying the eyeliner on their own social media platforms. Each video will include the hashtag #WrittenInGlossier, which will direct viewers to Glossier.com to purchase the new product. The challenge kicked off on June 8 and will end on June 23. Because of the current blend of content and business, Glossier’s relationship with YouTube Shorts is noteworthy. More brands will be able to produce shoppable films that are optimised for mobile viewing as YouTube rolls out this functionality. They can also employ influencers and artists to promote their products, such as Glossier’s Shoppable Shorts Challenge, which gives viewers first access to the brand’s newest product.

YouTube is expanding into the short-form video arena, which is TikTok’s main strength, in order to regain growth.

Link: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/youtube-glossier-beauty-festival-makeup/625173/

A Cookieless Future Demands Contextual Commerce

Third-party cookies will be phased out by Google by the end of 2023, but contextual commerce does not require consumer data.

Contextual commerce simplifies the purchasing process and makes ordering simple, allowing customers to shop whenever and wherever they want. (It’s a case of buying in context.)

Contextual commerce should be simple to combine with content marketing initiatives, such as making videos or live broadcasts that link to items and services, allowing users to purchase while watching. For example, social media postings link to the products featured in them, allowing customers to shop while scrolling, and we tag products on Instagram posts wherever possible because IG doesn’t allow link clicks in the caption.

Anywhere that potential purchasers can view your goods should be linked to a purchase option, so they don’t have to go elsewhere to finish their buying. This is where our well-defined call to action urges customers to complete the checkout process.

In order to make ad measurement easier and comparable, Gartner recommends utilising structured content descriptions for advertising, which is the same fundamental piece of material that can be used to populate a section of a web page, in-product help, social media posts, and even chat interactions.

Links: 

Instagram Will Start Nudging Teens Away From the Content They Continuously Browse Through Notifications

After announcing a new project last year to “nudge” teen users away from hazardous content, Instagram has announced that the feature is now available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. 

If a teen’s spending too long on Instagram’s Explore page looking at posts with a particular theme, the platform will display a notification suggesting that they look at other types of posts instead.

Additionally, Instagram’s existing parental controls are also getting some changes. Parents will now be able to send invites to their children requesting access to parental supervision tools, which previously could only be done by teens. Parents can also get more control over how much time their kid spends on Instagram by seeing what types of posts or accounts their teen reports.

Link: https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/14/23167233/instagram-nudge-teens-harmful-content

CapitaLand Launches Its First 24-Hour Experiential Party in Decentraland, Presented by Dbs

CapitaLand is the first mall operator in Singapore to host a 24-hour immersive party in Decentraland from June 19 at 6 p.m. to June 20 at 5 p.m. (VIP session begins at 5 p.m.). Live music performances, brand exploration docks, the Capitaverse-exclusive Aura Wearable NFT, and virtual hunts for real-world rewards are all part of CapitaVerse’s four levels of interactive and immersive discovery stations.

Members of the DBS Attendees are invited to log in at 6 p.m. and build their avatars in order to receive exclusive complimentary Aura wearables (limited to 1,500) and quadruple their chances of winning a $50 eCapitaVoucher when they share their trendy avatars on Instagram.

Attendees can get their Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) NFT from the POAP dispenser in The Checkered Board Lab on Level 2. The POAP is a digital record of your experiences that will be kept in your MetaMask wallet. The POAP is stored in MetaMask, a free digital wallet that allows guests to flash their POAP at participating stores to receive special discounts for a month until July 20th.

Link: https://www.capitaland.com/international/en/about-capitaland/newsroom/news-releases/in[…]itaLand_launches_first_metaverse_party_in_Decentraland.html

MONDAY MORNING LEARNING – 14 March 2022

Instagram Launches Moderation Options for IG Live Streams

Similar to the YouTube live-streaming feature, Instagram has rolled out new moderator options for users and brands to assign moderators when they are going live.

This operates similarly to YouTube, where the streamer can assign a moderator to control comments, remove viewers, and turn off individual viewers’ remarks.

The primary difference is that while YouTube allows for several moderators, Instagram currently only allows for one.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-launches-new-moderator-option-for-ig-live-streams/620284/

Instagram Launches New Creator Lab to Help Creators Maximize their On-Platform Performance

Instagram’s looking to help creators get a better understanding of key posting best practices and processes through a new Creator Lab initiative, which has videos and insights from various successful creators on key elements.

The Creator Lab features sections on channel growth, monetization, and safety precautions, all hosted by well-known Instagram influencers. Each part offers a number of video segments that, while brief, include useful strategy and optimization information. There are several notes on how to grasp Instagram’s various algorithms, as well as solutions to some of the most often asked questions.

TikTok’s revenue methods aren’t as developed as Instagram or YouTube’s, which could be a flaw in the process, and more large producers may eventually migrate to the more established applications.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-launches-new-creator-lab-to-help-creators-maximize-their-on-platf/620212/

Pinterest Launches a Shop Feature ‘Your Shop’, As Well As Improvements for Pinterest Trends

‘Your Shop’ is a Pinterest feature that allows users to browse, shop, and buy items that are totally suited to their personal preferences. Pinterest users will have a personalised purchasing experience with brands and goods based on their activity and preferences.

With Pinterest’s ever-improving algorithms seeking to deliver ever-more appealing product matches for each user, it’ll ideally get more people tapping through on more products in-stream.

Shopify merchants will now be able to use a new straight in-app checkout option. This will make it much easier to get inspiration to purchase without having to leave the app. This will result in more impulse purchases and more shopping activity.

Another update is improvements for Pinterest Trends, which provides insights into the popularity of any topic in the app. US, Canada and the UK will see new features added to the Pinterest trends tool, including real-time search data, more trend types, more granular audience tools and personalized trend recommendations for your business. And later this year, we’ll launch the tool to additional countries all over the world.”

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/pinterest-unveils-a-range-of-shopping-and-advertising-updates-at-its-annual/619975/

Twitter Expands Their Test on the ‘Shops’ Feature

Twitter started testing its ‘Shop’ function last year, however, they only permitted 5 products at the time. Twitter Shops, a new shopping feature trial, will allow merchants to build a collection of up to 50 products to promote on their Twitter profiles starting today.

Twitter hopes that by doing so, users will be more likely to progress from discussing things on Twitter to actually clicking through to the merchant’s website and checking out.

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/09/twitter-expands-its-e-commerce-efforts-with-launch-of-twitter-shops/amp/

Sephora Press Day 2022 – Beautyverse

Every year at Sephora Press Day, the company would host events with the media and important opinion leaders to promote new products and launches in unique locations and themes. 

Sephora designed this year’s Press Day in the Metaverse with sections dedicated to different beauty categories, from hair to skincare, displaying different brands they’re launching online and in-store, following in the footsteps of other brands that have used the metaverse to organise virtual events. People can stroll across the Beautyverse to various rooms to explore various stations and converse with others in the same space.

You can see a preview of the walkthrough here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbCTG2_lv3n/?utm_medium=copy_link

Why the Photo Dump Trend Is Taking Over Instagram

Photo-dump refers to a carousel post, a minimal and raw looking collection of up to 10 slides that convey a story or mood. This has become increasingly popular since the lockdown when members of the community went to Instagram to discuss what they were up to at the time.

An unfiltered and unpolished appearance, in contrast to the visually beautiful photographs that the Instagram feed is known for. This authentic visual trend could help brands gain more attention and engagement with their target audiences.

Link: https://later.com/blog/Instagram-photo-dump-trend/

MONDAY MORNING LEARNING – 21 FEBRUARY 2022

Instagram Adds Stories Likes to Provide Insight on Viewer Engagement

You can ‘like’ any Story in your feed with Stories Likes. You’ll notice a new heart icon at the bottom of your Stories screen in the app, which when tapped will send the creator of that Story alike. Only the creator will be able to see them, and they will not be sent as a direct message.

This might be a new approach for Instagram to rate the Stories in your feed and highlight the ones that are most likely to be of interest. This can also be used to assess engagement.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-adds-stories-likes-to-provide-insight-on-viewer-engagement/618827/

Google Shares Privacy Sandbox Roadmap for Android and the Web

Replacing the FLoC proposal following the FLoC trials is The Privacy Sandbox, alleged to “preserve privacy while showing relevant content and ads”.  The goals of the Privacy Sandbox include:

  • Build new technology to keep your information private
  • Enable publishers and developers to keep online content free
  • Collaborate with the industry to build new internet privacy standards

Privacy Sandbox for the Web will phase out third-party cookies and limit covert tracking, also aligned with Google’s shift to the topics API, the alternative to cookie-based tracking. Key takeaways from the Topics API for marketers include

  • Focus on affinity and intent, rather than demographics
  • Higher focus on search data to determine interest
  • Change in nurture cycle as topics data is deleted every 3 weeks

This roadmap is said to be prepared in alignment with the W3C standards.

(W3C publishes documents that define Web technologies. These documents follow a process designed to promote consensus, fairness, public accountability, and quality. At the end of this process, W3C publishes Recommendations, which are considered Web standards.)

Link: https://privacysandbox.com/proposals/floc 

LinkedIn Adds New Elements to its ‘Services’ Listings to Help Freelancers Generate Business

LinkedIn has added two new aspects to its Services Pages, allowing freelancers and small businesses to list and be found for the services they provide on their LinkedIn profiles.

The additional aspects will provide you with more ways to give your services listings more legitimacy. For starters, LinkedIn will now allow users to link their LinkedIn Company Page to their Services listing. So, if your SMB or consultancy has a business page, you can now create a link between your Services display and that page.

Furthermore, LinkedIn will also allow members to include a media showcase on their services sites. The new options provide you with more methods to entice potential clients, and they could be extremely useful in advertising and presenting your expertise in new ways.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/linkedin-adds-new-elements-to-its-services-listings-to-help-freelancers-g/619082/

JP Morgan becomes the first bank to join the Metaverse 

JPM set up shop in Metaverse Decentraland in Metajuku mall where their lounge features a live tiger, spiral staircase and an illuminated portrait of CEO Jamie Dimon. They have a blockchain arm which they started only in 2020 and now a virtual office in the metaverse, joining the likes of Walmart, Disney, Nike and Warner Bros. 

They estimate the metaverse economy to be worth USD1 trillion dollars in yearly revenue and predict that there will be gig workers earning income just by providing services in the metaverse alone

Link: https://fortune.com/2022/02/16/jpmorgan-first-bank-join-metaverse/

Will virtual influencers be the next big thing in K-POP?

According to a researcher at Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation (KOBACO), COVID-19 has led people to look for a more entertaining digital experience.

Han Yoo Ah, a virtual influencer, just inked a contract with YG Entertainment, the same company that gave birth to Big Bang and 2NE1. Her first album is expected to be released at the end of February.

Speaking involves “natural acting motions,” which requires more advanced technology, according to the K-entertainment industry. It is also easier to programme virtual influencers to sing than it is to programme them to speak. 

If you’re interested in hearing how effectively these virtual influencers “sing,” Rozy, South Korea’s first virtual influencer, will release her first single “Who Am I” on February 22.

Link: https://www.google.com.sg/amp/s/m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.amp.asp%3fnewsIdx=323801

https://instagram.com/rozy.gram?utm_medium=copy_link

Instagram Shares New Overviews of the Key Ranking Factors for Feed Posts, Stories and Reels

As Instagram competes with TikTok, Reels has its own algorithm. The TikTok algorithm is finely tailored to user interests, and as you scroll around the app, it will swiftly adapt to show you more of what you’re interested in, similar to how Instagram’s Reels algorithm is expanding.

The focus elements have been re-ordered for Reels, so that your participation in the Reels stream took priority above information about the post and its author, as it does in the main feed.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-shares-new-overviews-of-the-key-ranking-factors-for-feed-posts-s/619076/ 

MONDAY MORNING LEARNING – 17 JANUARY 2022

Instagram Is the Platform of Focus for Marketers in 2022, According to New Research

TikTok is the app of the moment, though it is unlikely to be a good fit for all businesses, while Facebook has lost some of its shine, and Instagram continues to be quite popular.

Taking into account any platform bias, it appears that Instagram is the overall leader in marketing attention coming into the year — which is odd given the rise of TikTok, which seems like it should be a higher priority based on its usage and cultural effect.

However, as previously stated, TikTok promotions aren’t for everyone, and you can now reach a much larger audience on Instagram. You can also reach out to more demographic groupings on Facebook, which is still by far the most popular platform. 

Perhaps Facebook is no longer cool, or perhaps marketers are dissatisfied with the app’s deteriorating performance. In any case, if these predictions are true and Facebook becomes a lower priority, it may open up new opportunities to reach your target demographic in the app, as fewer advertisers focusing on it may mean less competition for attention, which will be something to watch throughout the year.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-the-platform-of-focus-for-marketers-in-2022-according-to-new-r/617161/

Instagram’s Testing a New Option Which Would Enable Users to Re-Arrange the Post Display on their Profile

In your profile settings, you’ll see a new ‘Edit Grid’ option that allows you to rearrange your profile gallery as you choose, regardless of when it was posted. 

This is mind-boggling for the users. If you have a previous post that is still relevant, you can move it to the top of the page to increase its visibility (but, of course, this is only for display view, it will not appear on the news feed).

In a similar manner, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri recently hinted at a potential ‘pinned post’ option for profiles, which would allow users to choose which posts they wish to display at the top of their grid.

Another aspect of this is rearranging your profile display, and with the growing emphasis on video, Instagram appears to be more open to experimenting with new concepts, as it eventually switches to totally new focus displays anyhow.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-testing-a-new-option-which-would-enable-users-to-re-arrange-the/616956/ 

Twitter’s Coming NFT Profile Display Option Moves to Next Stage of Testing

Over the last few months, NFTs have become a major fad, with Twitter serving as a hub for most of the discussion and for exhibiting your acquired art. Despite the hoopla, the sector nevertheless presents obstacles and worries.

Since November, Twitter has been working on an official integration procedure that will make it easier for NFT owners to display their ownership, with a back-end linkage to each NFT’s official information assuring that only the true owner of an image can display it in the new profile image format.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitters-coming-nft-profile-display-option-moves-to-next-stage-of-testing/617087/ 

Outcome-Driven Ad Experiences Model

Meta has announced updates to Ads Manager in order to streamline the ad campaign process. The number of ad objectives you can choose from has been reduced from 11 to 6.

They’re changing the goal selection experience when launching new campaigns in Ads Manager to better steer marketers to the best campaign setups. They’re transitioning to an outcome-driven ad experiences model (ODAX), in which advertisers can choose their desired business outcomes (e.g., Awareness, Traffic, Engagement, Leads, App Promotion, Sales), and the interface will direct them to the best campaign setup/creation paths to achieve those goals.

Link: https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2021/12/21/simplifying-campaign-objectives-outcome-driven-ad-experiences/ 

3 ways on how digital marketing would look like in the Metaverse

  • The use of virtual influencers: Influencers who are not human, but created using AI – https://analyticsindiamag.com/rozy-friends-meet-the-new-crop-of-ai-influencers/
  • Digital campfires to appeal to a younger audience and capture their attention: Digital campfires are “a more intimate oasis where smaller groups of people are delighted to assemble around shared interests,” including private messaging apps like Whatsapp, micro-communities like Facebook groups, and shared experiences like Fortnite or Twitch – https://hbr.org/2020/02/the-era-of-antisocial-social-media
  • Sensory marketing: Including the senses of touch, smell, and taste in addition to sight and hearing. Even now, when sensory marketing technology is expensive, we may begin by considering how we can use our advertisements to appeal to the three senses.

Love, Bonito unveils Tiger Bloom NFT in line with ‘Journeying with Women’ theme

Love, Bonito, jumping on the NFT bandwagon, announced the creation of its first NFT, “Tiger Bloom,” in collaboration with KrisonAutopilot, a visual artist. 

The NFT is a way for the brand to engage with its customers through the story behind the NFT, which embodies the brand’s theme and value of female empowerment. They’ve made the NFT collection unique, with only ten copies available for purchase. 

The earnings will be used to support CSR efforts, such as donating to Playeum, a non-profit that works to provide equal opportunity for children from low-income families, as well as extending the brand through its existing omnichannel markets.

Link: https://www.marketing-interactive.com/love,-bonito-unveils-tiger-bloom-nft-in-line-with-journeying-with-women-theme

MONDAY MORNING LEARNING – 03 JANUARY 2022

Instagram’s Chief Outlines the Key Areas of Focus for the App in 2022

Throughout 2021, we saw Instagram copy virtually everything that TikTok has to offer, and according to Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, you can anticipate even more of the same in 2022, as the platform focuses on its main areas of growth, including streamlining its video formats to enhance interaction.

1. Reels will remain the key focus – all video formats will be round Reels.

2. Instagram will be looking to make messaging a bigger focus in the app, which is now ‘the primary way that people connect online’, while it will also be looking to add more monetization tools for creators in the app.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-chief-outlines-the-key-areas-of-focus-for-the-app-in-2022/616571/ 

Tiktok Tests a New ‘re-post’ Option to Boost the Distribution of Clips

Tiktok is currently testing this feature with a small group of users, which allows them to re-share clips to their connections’ feeds under the ‘For you’ and ‘Following’ tabs without having to share the clip with each person individually, making it easier to distribute content.

On the other hand, making it easy to distribute messages could have the unintended consequence of spreading disinformation and hoaxes. At the moment, however, it is unclear whether this will become a standard feature.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-tests-new-re-post-option-to-boost-distribution-of-clips/616446/ 

Navigating the Metaverse With PFPs

It remains to be seen whether NFT-based profile pictures (PFPs) and avatars will scale up in the long run. PFPs, on the other hand, is gaining popularity among NFTs at the moment. Read more about PFPs here and on the top PFP artists here. Additionally, read more on the 2021 updates to the Metaverse here

Tiktok Now Has Live-stream Intros to Help With Engagement

This is a minor but potentially useful addition to your TikTok live-stream broadcasts. TikTok has added a new ‘LIVE intro’ option, according to user Jonah Manzano, which allows you to write a short written explanation to welcome new viewers as they come across your broadcast.

When this new LIVE Intro option is enabled, viewers will see a brief explainer when they join your stream.  That could be a simple method to greet viewers and explain what your broadcast is all about, as well as what you want them to do as viewers.

TikTok is steadily expanding its boundaries beyond short video snippets, and live-streaming is becoming a bigger part of it.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-adds-live-stream-intros-to-better-facilitate-engagement/616444/ 

MONDAY MORNING LEARNING – 25 OCTOBER 2021

Instagram Will Enable Users to Upload Photos and Videos via Desktop from This Week

Instagram announced that users can now post images and videos from the desktop, as of October 21. Other than images, videos of up to 1 minute will be supported. 

How to do it?

  • Click the new + icon in the top right corner to get started (next to the Messenger icon)
  • Follow the prompts to upload your photos or videos (drag and drop or “Select From Computer”)
  • Choose your size/format
  • Pick your filter and/or edit (tab at the top)
  • Add your caption/location, and more
  • Choose Share

You may add alt text to each image on the desktop version; if you’re uploading multiple images, this can help enhance SEO for the post by assisting the Instagram algorithm in determining what the image is about. While the main goal is to make your content accessible to users with visual impairments, it can also help to boost the chance of your post appearing on your target users’ Instagram accounts’ ‘Explore’ page. Even though Instagram analyses each post using image recognition, alt text guarantees that your content is seen by the right people.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-will-enable-users-to-upload-photos-and-videos-via-desktop-from-th/608527/ 

Instagram Adds New Data Analytics to Provide More Performance Insight for Marketers

Instagram’s looking to provide more data for marketers with an update to its Insights element for business and creator profiles. The new metrics being added to Instagram insights are:

  • Accounts engaged – This will show the total number of accounts that interacted with your content in a given time period
  • Engaged audience – This data will provide demographic insights into the users that are engaging with your content, whether they follow your profile or not, including top cities, top countries, top age ranges and gender
  • Reached Audience – Similar to Engaged Audience, this will provide demographic information about the people you’ve reached with your posts in a given time period, including top cities, top countries, top age ranges and gender

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-adds-new-data-analytics-to-provide-more-performance-insight-for-m/608509/

Facebook’s frequent update on policies and restrictions.

If the ad fails to perform the following, Facebook has begun to reject more ads that direct traffic to websites. 

  • There is no mention of any political figures giving a talk or a speech in the Ad.
  • The ad talks about social issues but has no disclaimer mentioned.
  • The partner is not tagged in partnered content.

How to tackle this rejection?

As of now, the solutions are vague, and brands that aren’t large spenders are frequently overlooked.

LinkedIn Publishes New ‘Inclusive Language’ Guide to Help Improve Brand Communications

Inclusion has become increasingly important in recent years. As we spend more time online, we are exposed to more content, and individuals are becoming more aware of what constitutes “politically acceptable” wording. As a result, it’s critical for content creators to be cautious about the language they choose.

Words like “blacklist,” “whitelist,” “salesman,” and “chairman” are typically avoided since they refer to a specific race or gender.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/linkedin-publishes-new-inclusive-language-guide-to-help-improve-brand-com/607965/