The Week In Social: stars and hearts, Adele's content management, and what's in a view?

Twitter kills Favorites, adds Likes

The Star is dead, long live the Heart. Twitter and Vine have shifted their engagement option into a more universal symbol of approval. In raw numbers, “favorites” on Twitter are often out-shined by “likes” on channels like Facebook and Instagram, and the change may represent a desire for Twitter to be more competitive. As product manager Akarshan Kumar reports “you might like a lot of things, but not everything can be your favorite“.

Facebook swaps Maybe for Interested

Along with a set of alternate “like” options for interacting with posts, Facebook is changing the event response “maybe” over to “interested”. The implied subtext of the previous response read as noncommittal at best, and passively judgemental at worst. With the changeover to “Interested”, invitees can can stymie event planners with a far more positive sentiment.

Adele not allowed to send her own Tweets

In an insight to how the super elite handle content editorial, Adele revealed that her management does not allow her to Tweet directly. The singer reported on the Graham Norton show that too many incidents of drink + posts resulted in an executive decision that her Tweets be vetted and signed off. Fans of Adele’s new video will also note that her handlers have apparently downgraded her to a flip phone. The horror.

Apps sharing data with third-parties

Certainly, you’ve wondered who gets to see what you’re doing when using apps on your mobile device. A recent report from JOTS indicates that apps share potentially sensitive information (names, email addresses, location) with an average of 3 third party domains, while the worst offenders share with as many as 17 third party domains. In lighter news, the most common sites that are shared to are Google, Facebook and Yahoo.

Twitter campaign for Force Awakens fan

Twitter is a proven force of nature when it comes to social activism. In a recent mass community campaign, #ForceforDaniel was created as a plea to allow terminally ill super-fan Daniel Fleetwood to see the new film prior to its release in December. Reports say that Fleetwood received a private screening of the unedited film in his home, following supporting tweets from cast members, and a phone call from J.J. Abrams.

Facebook reports 8 Billion video views

If watching a video for three seconds counts as a view, then Facebook racked up 8 billion video views per day last month. For the quick stats, that means that 500 million users watched 16 videos per day. Figures such as this naturally garner skepticism, and popular opinion attributes the numbers to Facebook’s default auto-play setting for videos. Since Facebook is pushing aggressively into the video content market while charging premium rates for video ads, brands and agencies alike should watch these reported numbers carefully.

Snapchat generating 6 Billion views per day

The figure represents a 300% increase since May of this year. While Facebook (above) qualifies a view at 3 seconds, Snapchat counts a view at anything seen in a few milliseconds. The report helps support the success and relevance of Snapchat’s recent improvements including Stories, and provides a greener picture for advertisers as more and more brands adopt the channel as part of their marketing strategies.

Facebook improving localized marketing

You have a quirky chain of coffee shops across the city, but your targeted social campaign isn’t getting the traction you want near the stores that need the most help. Facebook is coming to the rescue, with an improved set of Locations tools that enable you to target campaigns based on store addresses. Want to go one step further? You can customize the campaign copy based on the user’s proximity e.g., “The best Joe in town is at Rise & Grind on 14th st.”

What brands should know about Influencers

Influencer Marketing has been a hot topic this week. We’ve known for a long time that consumers trust word of mouth more than any other form of communication. Brands, thus, have taken influencers very seriously as a part of their marketing strategies. As Influencers further develop as a venue for campaigns, smarter brands and agencies will know the difference between an authentic influencer and bloggers hoping to cash in on their audience numbers.

Facebook Messenger is not trying to do everything, really

Facebook suffered backlash when the channel dropped Instant Messaging from its primary mobile app and forced users to move to Messenger. Despite complaints, Messenger has risen to the second-most downloaded app on iOS. Facebook has continually opened up the platform to developers, and is fostering frictionless transactions like payments and connections to companies. Despite this, FB’s global director of platform says the goal is not to have one app that does everything.