The week in social: Google insertions, Instagram ads, & the SnapBat

Google enables brand & celeb social insertion in search results

Run a search for just about any U.S. political candidate and you’ll see it. A carousel, lingering just above the fold, presenting timely positions and responses on the latest issues direct from the candidate set. Google has been open about the feature during the campaign season, but now the same carousel has been spotted from local businesses and brands. Though Google is calling this “a test with no name”, it’s a strong sign that Google is searching for new strategies to regain social relevance.

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Baseball lines up Snapchat

Major League Baseball has had a simple social posting policy for its teams for several years: Don’t. This year, MLB is opening the floodgate by giving 30 teams their own Snapchat IDs. All teams will be encouraged to post before, during and after the regular season. The multi-year deal is exclusive to Snapchat, giving MLB access to a younger fan set, and giving Snapchat premiere content to amp up ad buys. Also, ladies and gentlemen, the SnapBat.

Forrester reveals best social listening platforms in Q1

NetBase, Sprinklr, Brandwatch and Synthesio were named leaders in enterprise social listening platforms by Forrester for Q1 2016. All four companies were singled out for their core social listening capabilities. They were then lifted above the competition for their social relationship management features. The combination of the leading listening and engagement tools paired with analysis that informs achieving business objectives will stay forefront in every serious brand’s strategy for the coming year.

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Facebook reaction emojis getting a slow start

YouGov conducted a survey among 1,000 American Facebook users on their feelings on the new reaction emojis. Roughly 2/3 of the respondents approved of the additions, while the other 1/3rd of the survey population disapproved or had not made up their minds. More interestingly, 43% of those surveyed reported that they would prefer a polar like/dislike option instead of the new reaction options recently introduced.

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Advertisers can’t target FB reactions, yet

No sooner did Facebook enable reactions (love, haha, sad, angry, wow) to provide more nuanced responses to content, than brands cried out for ad-targeting based on user interaction with content categories. A brand might want to target an audience that regularly expresses love for family photos, or anger about political stories. The value of reaching this more segmented consumer profile based on their quantified reactions is yet to be determined. Until it can assign that value, it appears Facebook will keep the function under lock and key.

Tinder, now for matchmakers

For those in need of another reason to use Tinder without using Tinder, please welcome Matchmaker Mode. The dating app is testing the ability for some users to suggest profiles they find to their friends. Now, your BFF Yente can provide you with the matches she thinks best for you (ok, he’s 62). The feature isn’t being reported as widely distributed yet, but it’s an interesting exploration to see if the app can grow beyond the “local hookup” reputation it currently enjoys.

Red more on Go Tinder

How do consumers feel about online advertising?

Near the dawn of the internet, advertisers were the first to figure out the most aggressive means to gain views on content. The next day, users cried out for a way to get rid of the ads that were interrupting their experience. From browser cookie security, to disabling pop-ups, to the proliferation of ad-blocking software, the measured arms race has advanced steadily. Lesser advertisers have stolen the term, “disruption” and used it in place of, “thoughtless obstruction”. In seeking a solution for a better balance, a recent survey points toward not only being a more responsible advertiser, but taking a better understanding of your audience to market.

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Facebook has 3 Million active advertisers

In a report released this week, the social giant reports that there are over 50 million business pages. 2.5 billion comments are posted on business pages each year and there are 43 billion connections between people and businesses. As a platform for eliminating the friction of communication between brand and consumer, FB remains on top for business seeking to connect to new audiences.

Advertising on Instagram

Two notable reports on the impact of Instagram advertising surfaced this week. Kenshoo reports that brands who have been dying to promote content came to market, increasing ad platform spending by 155% and raising ad-clicks by 280% on the social channel. Meanwhile, Locowise released a report indicating the organic engagements on the platform have dwindled by 66% over the last ten months due to ad saturation. Both points of view are backed up by solid metrics, but they reveal the need for Facebook and Instagram to find the sweet spot for blending organic and sponsored content.

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Netflix: Now Hiring Grammasters

If you dream of making $2,000 per week traveling to undisclosed locations and posting content – your opportunity is here! The bad news, the job is only two weeks long, and the application process may be mildly competitive. Netflix is providing social enthusiasts the opportunity to travel set-side during production of yet unrevealed series in Europe and the Middle East. Though not the first application-over-social campaign, this type of activation is an interesting play between Influencer and UGC strategies.

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