Facebook recently reported its fourth quarter earnings for last year, and they’re huge. According to a Facebook community update, it’s managed to rack up 1.59 billion users on a monthly basis, half of which (800 million) utilize its Messenger chat system. In addition, 400 million visit Instagram on a monthly basis, and 900 million utilize the WhatsApp feature.
This is adding up to big bucks, with $5.841 billion in reported revenue for the period, at $.79 earnings per share. These are both increases from the 1.55 billion users and $4.5 billion from the previous quarter.
However, one area where Facebook is really taking off is with video. The company reported that an estimated 100 million hours of video are watched by users monthly – which is a huge statistic, even with the competition that comes from YouTube and Vimeo. That comes out to around 500 million people watching Facebook video on a daily basis.
The company has been working on its video front for some time, something co-founder Mark Zuckerberg proudly touted during the business call. “We’re also exploring ways to give people a dedicated place on Facebook for when they just want to watch videos,” he explained.
The more video that is consumed on the site, the more room there is for the company’s video advertising model, although the company didn’t report specifics when it came to how many earnings came from that.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was also quick to talk about how budgets were starting to shift more in the direction of video. “In terms of replacing TV, we certainly don’t think we’re going to replace any one medium,” she explained. “We do think that eyeballs are shifting, not just from TV but from a lot of other formats, to mobile. And we are positioned very well to not just participate but to lead that shift.”
Sandberg also described how the 2015 holiday season was a “defining moment for mobile marketing,” that was demonstrated by the power of Facebook’s platform. ComScorereported that total US consumer spending on mobile in November and December was up 59 percent year over year. Additionally, more marketers turned to mobile than ever before to reach a global audience.
“Working with their agencies Empower Media Team from Dentsu Aegis Network, Ayzenberg Group, and twofifteenmccann, they understood that people watch video differently in mobile news feed than on TV, so they created videos to capture audience attention in the first 3 seconds, even without sound. They drove over 380 million impressions and 49 million video views in key markets and increased purchase intent by 10 points in the US.”
Bloomberg broke down the numbers in its own report, indicating that, while Facebook is successful, growth may be hard to consider moving forward. “How many companies with $18 billion in yearly sales can increase revenue by more than 50 percent? None. No other company has done that recently,” the report stated.
Still, there’s more room for advertising and other features to grow, and it appears audiences will be sticking around for it. Bloomberg also discusses the gains in revenue that Facebook earns from each user. There was a point where the numbers peaked back in Q4 2013, before dropping back down, but they’re on the rise as ad sales increase across both Facebook and Instagram, backed largely by the social platform’s video features
Regardless of whether or not it’s about to go over the peak again, Facebook is still doing something right in terms of social reach, a modest advertising plan and its booming video content.
Despite some hesitation at first, Snapchat has become an immense success for both brands and users alike. But to what extent are people actually using it? Nearly 9,000 Snaps are shared by users every second, while around 54 percent of the userbase take advantage of the app on a daily basis, according to stats from Newscred originally published on Social Times.
Marketers are already planning big things for Snapchat in time for Super Bowl coverage, with 30 percent reporting that they intend to use the platform for marketing campaigns surrounding the big game.
When it comes to engagement, however, not all users are taking advantage of intended features by marketers, as 23 percent state that they don’t engage in live stories on the app; 54 percent never look at content on the Discover page and 42 percent don’t use branded filters to any extent with their snaps. Also, 32 percent state that they use it around two to five times a week.
And while ads may look like a big draw for the service, that isn’t always the case. The report shows that 87 percent never buy things they see in Snapchat ads, while 11 percent only “rarely” buy. Only 2 percent “sometimes” make purchases.
As for celebrities, they aren’t as big a draw either, with 64 percent of those surveyed stating they don’t follow any celebrities on Snapchat, while 34 percent only follow “a few.”
The big features for the app appears to be sharing of personal content, and marketers may still be trying to find a way to to effectively tap into that.
The Davos World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is taking place this weekend in Switzerland, where people from all over the world gather to discuss technologies, and what kind of impact they have on the world, as well as what agenda and collaborative activities can help shape it in a creative manner.
While the full rundown of events, speakers and other panels can be found on the official page here, here’s a brief overview with some notes that may be of interest to marketers and companies:
The Internet of Things is here
Davos estimates that by 2020 50 billion devices will be connected with one another. A report from the McKinsey Institute also suggests that by 2025 the potential economic impact of having “sensors and actuators connected by networks to computing systems” could reach a whopping $11 trillion yearly.
The chart below shows just what kind of growth we’re in for. Right now, the numbers may not look very high, but there are nearly five billion devices currently connected – and it will grow over five times in just a few years time.
That said, there are challenges to consider, as some companies are still looking to tap the true potential of IoT. However, in the end, the general idea is that such devices will provide a better understanding of how the world works, and can strengthen through innovations.
The digital transformation of industries
With this particular panel, there were several subjects on the agenda, including defining digital transformation, making the right investment decisions and designing a digital culture.
The Forum’s Fulvia Montresor, head of technology pioneers, had plenty to say on the matter,pointing out seven different technologies that could change the way some companies look at business. “From intelligent robots and self-driving cars to gene editing and 3D printing, dramatic technological change is happening at lightning speed all around us.”
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is being driven by a staggering range of new technologies that are blurring the boundaries between people, the internet and the physical world. It’s a convergence of the digital, physical and biological spheres.
It’s a transformation in the way we live, work and relate to one another in the coming years, affecting entire industries and economies, and even challenging our notion of what it means to be human.”
Innovation is coming at a rapid pace, according to panel member Marc Benioff, and that’s something companies can take advantage of as far as technology is concerned. He also notedthe following: “Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, clean energy, genetic engineering and other fields have the potential to profoundly reshape manufacturing, agriculture, medicine and more. Business leaders everywhere are trying to keep up with this immense wave of digital transformation.”
Other factors that were discussed during the panel include introducing innovations through business technology, creating possibilities for new customers (with minimal effort, in some cases) and even trust, as Benioff noted. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution starts with one very important point: trust. You are about to define a new level of trust between yourself and your employees, yourself and your customers, yourself, your shareholders, and yourself and your partners. This is a cultural revolution for organizations that are not built on trust.
“This is an opportunity for all of us – to get to the future first, but when you get there, make sure that you show up with the right values. Because the value of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is different to the values of the Third.”
In this panel, several speakers took part in discussing the evolution of artificial intelligence, as well as potential implications in terms of its effect on industry and society.
While a full recap of the piece wasn’t posted, the discussion does cover a lot of ground on the discussion of A.I., between Professors Andrew Moore and Stuart Russel, with one interesting point made. “So if AI, as seems to be happening, can amplify our intelligence, can provide tools that make us, in effect, much more intelligent than we have been, then we could be talking about a golden age for humanity.”
However, the panel also noted that, due to advancements in robotic technology, human jobs could be lost in the shuffle, with up to five million across 15 major economies expected by 2020. “Without urgent and targeted action today to manage the near-term transition and build a workforce with future-proof skills,” the report warns, “governments will have to cope with ever-growing unemployment and inequality, and businesses with a shrinking consumer base.”
That said, employment is expected to pick up in some industries, with business leaders believing it will “derive disproportionately from smaller, generally high-skilled job families that will be unable to absorb job losses coming from other parts of the labor market.”
The growth illusion
With this panel, the discussion of whether banks have managed to break the link between financial markets and the real economy is discussed.
The differences between banks across both United States and Europe has led to some shake-ups in financial markets, and some people have taken note of that. Said Raghuram Rajan, governor of India’s central bank, “With many central banks with their foots firmly pressed on the accelerator, the variety of new aggressive monetary policies, it’s not clear that we’ve really benefitted tremendously.
“To some extent, we may have reduced the room for other policies or reduced the incentives for other policies. We’re not quite sure what the fundamental value of any asset is.”
He continued, “And I would suspect that this is probably what is going on today, that as there is some anticipation that central banks will start reducing the accommodation, asset prices are trying to find the appropriate level.”
Axel Weber, chairman of Swiss bank UBS, also pointed out, “If the U.S. were to stay the course, the dollar would continue to rise and I think that would recouple the economies. So at some point you’re going to see the impact of current policies starting to migrate.”
A new platform for the digital economy
For this session, the discussion revolved around the emergence of digital platforms, and how they could benefit people in various categories, including new entrepreneurial opportunities and impact on employment and work.
Some aspects of this market are already expected to grow tremendously over the next few years. The “sharing economy” for instance, will reach $335 billion by 2025, which can be a huge market for those that can tap its potential.
The 21st century dream
Finally, in this particular panel, performer Will.i.am and others took part in a discussion about how the dreams of the 20th century were fading, although new ideas are forming in this century that are inspiring young generations across the globe.
The World Economic Forum posted a previous piece discussing this, stating a number of examples of just how this “dream” has changed over the years. “In an odd way, we seem content with the idea that ‘disruption’ is the ‘norm’,” says the article. “Like Joseph K., Kafka’s pitiable protagonist in The Trial, we accept a world we are powerless to control. Herein lays the real challenge. It is not the proverbial fight between man and machine, recounted myriad times since the Luddite era. It is the struggle against cynicism and apathy, the toxic by-products of trust that have been squandered in the crises of our decade. It is the struggle against a societal and technological discourse that stifles our ability to write our own version of the future, making us passive subjects in a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – the top watchwords of our days.”
However, during the panel itself, Will.i.am broke down a specific example of how he came from a small upbringing and managed to create something defining for himself.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of the many sessions taking place at the Annual Meeting.More can be found here.
Mobile messaging apps continue to be popular, with an estimated 1.4 billion people worldwide expected to use one this year. By 2018, the number of consumers using mobile messaging apps will rise to two billion, thanks to better access to mobile Internet, and cheaper rates than SMS, MMS and voice call services. That’s why an eMarketer report shows that it’s about to see a major revenue boost.
The report, titled “Mobile Messaging Apps: Global User Forecast, Leaderboard and Outlook on Monetization,” estimates that by year’s end, 75 percent of smartphone users will have some form of over-the-top (OTT) mobile messaging app for use once per month.
The chart breaks down the numbers behind mobile phone messaging app users and worldwide penetration with devices over the next few years. It’s easy to see that a growth is in place, starting with 1.07 billion app users in 2014, and quickly picking up to 1.40 this year. That number will show a significant rise, increasing to 2.19 billion by 2019, making messaging apps one of the more popular methods of communication.
Out of those users, 51.7 percent account for the numbers in 2014, but that number will slowly rise to 68.2 percent by 2019. Meanwhile, the change numbers seem to show a bit of decline, but with a growth in audience, messaging apps will continue to show effectiveness.
A side report from Juniper Research conducted in July shows that instant messages will see a tremendous spike, with more than 94 trillion sent worldwide this year. This includes all formats, however, including messaging apps, social media and MMS/SMS. Email continues to be the dominant format for communication for the time being, but instant messaging could easily take over as soon as next year, if estimates from the research firm stay on course.
Companies like Line will benefit the most from the boost in mobile messaging, with revenues expected to increase from $1.4 billion this year to $3.8 billion in 2020. It will also see a rise in users, going from 238 million for this year to 417 million. Revenues, per MAU, will also show a pick-me-up, going from $5.90 for this year to $9.10.
Others on the rise are KakaoTalk, which will see an estimated $250 million increase over the next five years, and WeChat, which is expecting an increase from $1.2 billion this year to $5.8 billion. Facebook Messenger, which currently has no reported revenue, will increase to $4.2 billion, as well as a $3.00 revenue per MAU and double the monthly active users (from 700 million to 1.4 billion).
Both WeChat and Line have benefited greatly from utilizing digital content sales in its apps, including game-related content such as sticker and emoji packs. This creates opportunity through “branded stickers” for users.
eMarketer concluded that while digital content and advertising will continue to be big revenue makers for these apps, creating a shopping hub for commerce and services, is an effective option. WeChat currently uses that business model, and is benefiting nicely.
When it comes to the popularity of messaging with mobile devices, and the potential for advertisers and partners to find programs that reach out to the millions that use them, the message is quite clear.
It could be said that there’s a big difference between giving something or someone a “like” and calling them a “favorite,” especially Twitter, which feels that it’s compelling enough of a difference to make a change.
The company has decided to follow a path similar to that of rival social network Facebook by replacing its traditional “favorite” button with a heart, indicating more of a “like,” according to AdWeek.
Twitter announced the change-up earlier this morning in a tweet, indicating that “You can say a lot with a heart. Introducing a new way to show how you feel on Twitter.”
This isn’t the first time that a popular social network has mimicked another, as Facebook did the same in early 2014 with its Trending section (similar to Twitter), along with Place Tips, which could be compared in some ways to Snapchat’s Live Stories.
After testing the feature, Twitter’s product manager Akarsham Kumar indicated that “we found that people loved it,” noting that the icon/like button has become quite popular on the company’s Periscope livestreaming app, where hearts practically pour in with each like that the broadcast gets. “We’re delighted to bring them to Twitter and Vine, making them the common language for our global community.”
The Twitter community’s reaction to the change has been mixed. The following tweets show both favoritism and “dislike” for the new design.
at least twitter is doing bold stuff, not afraid to upset whiny core users. that’s what worked for Facebook
The Verge also had something to say on the matter, indicating that “stars and hearts are not synonymous. To star something is to measure its quality. To heart something is to emote it. These are lessons learned long ago in grade school: gold stars were reserved for a 100 percent on a math test or when Mario defeated Macho Grubba, hearts were doled out like Valentines by a horny Periscope user. To change the icon would change the very meaning of a favorite tweet,” said the article.
The image below, also from The Verge, points out the subtle differences that can come between favoring a tweet and “liking” a tweet, especially given the subtext of the tweet itself.
Twitter investor Chris Sacca defended the idea of replacing favorites with hearts just last month, saying, “A very high bar is set by using the word ‘Favorite’ on Twitter. Favorite is a superlative. It implies a ranking. In the early days of Twitter many of us interpreted the word literally and only keep a few Tweets in our favorites that were truly, well, our favorites. Today, many of my friends and I use the star as a ‘Like’ button equivalent or even a simple acknowledgement that we saw a Tweet. Whereas other people use favorites as bookmarks. However, the majority of users are baffled by favorites and they don’t end up using the star much, if at all.”
The question still remains if the change will be in Twitter’s favor for the long run, but things are looking positive. Results from an April 2015 SwiftKey Emoji Report discuss the effectiveness that a simple emoji icon can have, which speaks to the “heart” that Twitter is using to indicate liking something.
It’s a large report, but here are some general findings that could be back Twitter’s change:
In terms of emojis that are used the most, hearts came up third on the list, right behind happy and sad faces. That indicates that it’s heavily used, particularly on sites that support the emoji, including Instagram and Facebook. As a result, it’s easy to see why Twitter would adopt it in favor of stars, which is number 26 on the list.
When it comes to emoji categories as a percentage of overall usage, hearts are used 12.5 percent, which is far greater than the use of other emoji, such as monkeys, party and romance. Happy faces make up a majority with around 45 percent, with sad faces coming in second with 14.33 percent.
Worldwide, more positivity is being accepted on social media than negativity, particularly with messages revolving around emoji like the hearts utilize. Overall, statistics show that they are 70 percent positive.
French speakers use heart emoji quite extensively, four times more than the average emoji user. That makes the heart symbol accepted more worldwide than, say, stars.
The full report, which breaks down more extensive emoji usage, can be found here.
Additionally, there’s evidence that indicates that emoji use is on the rise across both social networks and mobile communication. That being the case, Twitter users will likely learn to love the heart.
These days, most advertising campaigns for games take the video route, with commercials, live broadcasts and other video content that ties in with a forthcoming project. However, with Halo 5: Guardians, Microsoft has taken a unique turn with its Hunt the Truth podcast series, which provides some rich back story that ties in with the world of Master Chief, as well as various components within the Halo series.
Hunt the Truth has already gone through one successful season, and the second has just launched, bringing with it a number of talented actors, including Mark Hamill and more. We managed to catch up with the series’ creative director, Noah Eichen, to get an idea of what we can expect this season, as well as what newcomers can expect from Hunt the Truth.
First off, what inspired you to create an audio-based series for the game, rather than taking the usual video format that most companies prefer
The format of the series was really born out of the creative ask. At the time, we were tasked with coming up with a campaign to socially support the Halo 5: Guardians TV commercials that were going to air in March. As we ideated around the themes of those commercials, we were struck by the idea of a journalist investigating the questions raised by the commercials about the Master Chief. The idea of audio storytelling in the NPR style was just the perfect fit conceptually and from a production perspective fit our budget and timeline constraints.
For those who are unfamiliar with Halo: Hunt the Truth, how would you best describe its place in the Halo universe
Hunt the Truth takes place in the fiction of Halo. It s an in-lore story produced by a character named Benjamin Giraud, a journalist hired by the government to write a story about the Master Chief. Ben is faced with unearthing the truth or toeing the company line as inconsistencies in the story emerge. The second season takes that construct and flips it on its head. But both seasons exist in the fiction of Halo, in the lead up to the events of Halo 5: Guardians.
You seem to attract a lot of top-notch talent for Hunt the Truth, and season two is no exception, with Mark Hamill and others coming on board. How did they manage to get involved
The caliber of talent that we were able to bring into the series has been amazing. I think great actors love great characters and writing that they can sink their teeth into, and I think this show is an actor s dream. It certainly doesn t hurt that it s also for Halo. But because of the format, the show lives and dies on the writing and the performance. Along with the teams at 343 and Xbox, Andrew Volpe, Ian Tornay, and I poured ourselves into crafting the most realistic and dramatically rich story and characters possible and I think actors and fans alike can feel that.
Hunt the Truth has a very big following within the Halo universe. Do you feel that will grow with Halo 5: Guardians set to release next month
Hunt the Truth has a big following within the Halo universe because there are a lot of people who love Halo. 343 Industries and Xbox have done an amazing job of building out the world around their games with novels, comics, and television. I think audio is just going to be another way that they tell stories in that universe now. Because of our approach with telling a relatable story, from a civilian perspective, Hunt the Truth has worked extraordinarily well in bringing new people into the lore of the franchise and build hype in the lead up to release of the game.
Where exactly will season 2 of Hunt the Truth tie in with the forthcoming Guardians
Thematically, we tie in to the story. There s some cross over with the timeline and events but I can t get into specifics. When you re creating stories like this you want them to support each other, but I think it s important that the stories live on their own so no one is missing out if they don t listen to Hunt the Truth.
Do you think more game development teams would be wise to take the podcast-based route for tying in to a video game s universe Or do you feel that video has its advantages as well
If you re a developer making a story based video game, and you want fans to invest into your game s universe emotionally, then I think it s crucial to tell great stories around your game. In my career, I ve almost exclusively created video but I m platform agnostic; whether it s video, audio, a novel, comic book, etc. There are numerous benefits to each. You ve got to tell a compelling story first and foremost.
Finally, would you like to see Hunt the Truth expand into new seasons down the road I m pretty sure there are more tales to tell within the Halo universe…
There are countless stories to tell in the Halo Universe, and HTT has become an exciting and vibrant way to bring some of those to life. We look forward to working with 343 and Xbox in the future to further support the franchise.
Halo 5: Guardians will release on October 27th for Xbox One. Meanwhile, Season Two of Hunt the Truth just started, and can be found here.
We’ve talked quite a bit in the past about Instagram’s new mobile advertising initiatives, but it also seems to be doing pretty well in the gaming department, despite the high costs that comes with them.
This report from Pocket Gamer indicates that various companies, including AppsFlyer and Apsalar, have joined in regarding analytic support for the site, alongside Kenshoo, which has indicated that some advertising numbers for games have arisen from the site, based on “a selection of games spanning the Social Casino, RPG, Strategy, Sports and Match 3 genres.”
These include a 2.32 average click-through rate (CTR), a $4.17 average cost per install (CPI), a $.36 average cost-per-click (CPC) and a $6.22 average cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM).
These are some interesting differences from numbers provided by Nanigans for gaming advertising on Facebook through the first quarter of 2015, which include a 0.65 percent average CTR, and $.80 CPC and a $5.17 CPM.
When it comes to visiting the site for mobile purposes, Chartboost provided these recent numbers, in terms of cost-per-install for the U.S.:
iOS Average: $2.23
iPad Average: $2.59
iPhone Average: $2.04
Amazon average: $1.78
As a result, Instagram has a larger number of users when it comes to click-through rates in general, although it could be costly to some publishers that aren’t expecting that kind of windfall in terms of popularity. Still, this is more good news for the Facebook-owned photo/video site, indicating that its advertising model is coming across better than expected.
Companies with larger budgets based on their mobile releases may find this to be music to their ears, as it’ll mean bigger business in the long run even if that means a bit of up-front costs getting into it.
Expect the advertising initiative and Instagram’s growing list of partners to continue well into the end of 2015, as well as 2016 and beyond.
Pinterest has been around for five years and it’s been obvious the site has attracted a lot of attention and users. Until now, though, the company has been shy about announcing user numbers, pointing people to third-party firms like comScore rather than announcing user numbers directly. Now, Pinterest is changing its tune, according to Quartz: “Today (Sept. 17), Pinterest announced that 100 million people use the service each month, with the number of users, or pinners, doubling in the last 18 months. International users, which also doubled in the last year, now make up 45 percent of its user base.”
That’s a rapid rate of growth when you look back at earlier estimates from third-parties like eMarketer, which earlier this year estimated that Pinterest had 47.1 million monthly users in the US, while comScore reported 75.8 million users in total.
The attraction of marketers to Pinterest is simply the 100 million users — it’s what those users are there for. Pinterest represents what people are interested in in the future, and particularly things they want to purchase. Pinterest has teamed up with fashion retailer Topshop to create a color palette tool based on saved pins. As VentureBeat reports,”Pinterest could further enhance its advertising efforts with promoted pins and its ads API by using user data derived from these third-party sites.” Ads on Pinterest blend seamlessly with the content — it’s more like native advertising than the way ads appear on other social media.
Since Pinterest added “buy” buttons to its mobile app in June, it’s clearly beginning to capitalize on its potential power as a shopping platform. A report in 2014 from Shopify showed (above) just how good Pinterest is at influencing purchases — Pinterest beat out Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube when it came to user spend. Marketers should definitely be looking more closely at Pinterest for a variety of reasons.
Somehow everyday life looks infinitely better through the right Instagram lens. These Instagram parents know how to show off their brood, whether it’s selecting the right brand of juice, outfitting them in style, and finding the right scenic outpost to take it all in.
The platform that has built its userbase on the ephemerality of its content has debuted today a new monetization stream with its very first in-app purchase: the ability to Replay Snaps. While the Replay feature has been around for some time, users have been limited to just one Replay per day.
“We introduced Replay in Additional Services almost two years ago, and we’ve used it to relive those amazing moments (or the ones we weren’t paying attention to . . . ) just one more time before they disappear. We’ve provided one Replay per Snapchatter per day, sometimes frustrating the millions of Snapchatters who receive many daily Snaps deserving of a Replay,” said Snapchat in a blog post.
No longer will Snapchat frustrate its users. It will give them what they want. For a price.
“Today, U.S. Snapchatters can purchase extra Replays, starting at three for $0.99. You can use a Replay on any Snap you receive, but you can only Replay any Snap once. They’re a little pricey — but time is money! ;)”
At the same time, Snapchat has also unveiled a new way to Selfie in a move to keep users happy. With Lenses, users can distort their own faces with animated lenses. To power this, Snapchat has acquired Looksery, a startup that specializes in facial recognition tomfoolery.
That said, there are challenges to consider, as some companies are still looking to tap the true potential of IoT. However, in the end, the general idea is that such devices will provide a better understanding of how the world works, and can strengthen through innovations.
