The week in social: Facebook Ads, Trek Emojis, and Pokemon Spending

When is the best time to post on Facebook?

Don’t trust anyone who doesn’t answer that question with, “it depends”. Despite the number of simple articles and infographics available, optimal posting times depend on region, content, audience and a plethora of other factors. The answer is, there is no simple answer. Analysis of a year’s worth of data doesn’t point toward a conclusive, simple recommendation. Rather, the result highlights the importance of real-time monitoring and ongoing data-driven analysis of your social editorial efforts.

Read more at TechCrunch

Facebook and Ad Blocking

Why do people use ad blockers? If you’ve read anything on the subject over the last few years, you likely have a few answers to that question. Recent Facebook moves indicate that the social giant is considering why consumers turn to ad blockers, and working to provide a means to find the middle ground between consumers and publishers. Roy Rosenfeld provides a good theory into how Facebook is solving the problem of ad blocking by addressing the root cause.

Read more at TechCrunch

Facebook CPM up 65%

The global cost per 1000 impressions is up to $6.55 on Facebook, with an average CTR of 1.29%. Earlier this summer, Facebook altered their feed algorithm to emphasize friend content, and diminish brand content. The drop in available ad space means advertisers with cash to spend will have an easier time finding their way back into their audience’s content feed. We can expect more of the same as Facebook tries to balance charging a premium advertising rate, while holding on the the users that are abandoning it for other platforms.

Facebook Star Trek emojis

Emoji me up, Scotty? I’m a doctor, not an emoji? To boldly emoji, where no emoji has emoji’d before? If you’ve ever interacted with Star Trek or sci fi content on Facebook, chances are you were provided multiple new interface options on Facebook that celebrated 50 years since the launch of the iconic sci fi series. Our favorite: completely redesigned reaction emojis that true Trek fans will have no problem interpreting. But, why is Geordi sad?

Read more at TechCrunch

Pokemon fastest to $500M

Clash of Clans? Never heard of them. Candy Crush? It was just a phase. Pokemon Go already holds the record for most downloads in the first week, the fastest to reach 50 million installs in Google Play. This week, another milestone is set as App Annie reports that Pokemon Go reached $500 million dollars in consumer spend in just over 60 days. How does that work out in fun math? If the app had a 5 day, 50 hour work week, it earned $1,176,470 per hour. What’s the next record? Many question how long the app can keep up its level of interest, and if it can unseat the current all-time champ, Words with Friends.

Twitter adding messenger features

Read-receipts, web-link previews, typing alerts when the other person is responding… these have become expected features of any messaging app. Twitter brought these features into the Direct Message feature to keep themselves in the game of personal communications. The rollout will like help keep Twitter relevant as iOS 10 adds advanced messaging, alongside the continuing growth of WhatsApp & Facebook Messenger.

Read more at TechCrunch

Apps take half of all digital time

According to Business Insider, the U.S. has reached the half way mark between mobile and desktop. 50% of time online is being spent on smartphone apps, up from 46% in 2015. Other stats: 70% of U.S. citizens own a smartphone, most having their smartphone always within reach. Many users use their phone first thing in the morning, and the last thing at night. Faster mobile speeds and larger screens are enabling users to perform tasks they would previously go to their laptops for. All the more reason to remember: if it doesn’t work on mobile, it doesn’t work.

Instagram cuts the map

Focusing on “other priorities”, like migrating features from other apps into their own platform, Instagram is cutting the Photo Map feature. Instagram cites that the map is not often used, and it is interesting to see the platform continue to lessen the importance of location. Consider that when the app started, a user could only tag a location by being there. Later, users were allowed to tag any location they could look up. Will location remain of any importance at all? Perhaps the UI space will be taken up by filter/content options only available in a geo-defined space? We’ll have to see what Facebook decides.

Facebook focusing content from friends?

Facebook was well on its way to becoming a personalized newspaper populated with promoted articles leading to click-bait stories that nobody really wanted to read. As mentioned above, the company has worked hard at changing the perception of their content, as well as changing the means by which it arrives on your page. A sharp-eyed blogger at Mashable spotted a new feature being tested called “What friends talking about”, which seems to highlight topics that your friends are posting. The feature appears to be a test for the moment, and we’ll see if it sees the mainstream light of day.