This week in social media news, Reddit (finally) decides to translate its massive popularity into site revenue and Instagram tests a question feature.
In other news, Snapchat brings AR to theme parks, Facebook competes for soccer streams, Twitter hosts tennis and Facebook abandons recent app purchases. Also, Pinterest shares trends for July, Facebook makes changes to its Marketing API and WhatsApp gives more control to Group Admins.
Reddit Offers New Advertising Packages
One of the most popular places on the internet is courting advertisers. According to a 28-page presentation obtained by CNBC, Reddit is offering various advertising packages including “top post takeovers” for 24 hours and another that gives brands a prominent place on the sidebar. The presentation includes case studies from brands including Duracell, Toyota, Coca-Cola and JetBlue.
As of May, Reddit was number six in the world in terms of traffic, according to Alexa. The 13-year-old birthplace of memes and debate has become a bustling hub of discussion for internet users of various age groups and interests, so Reddit’s move toward more aggressive advertising is a natural next step.
Instagram Tests Open-Ended Questions
In a move to make Instagram Stories more interactive, the company is testing the ability to ask open-ended questions. The feature was spotted last week in the app’s code and now users in Spain and Indonesia have been spotted asking questions on their Stories, according to TechCrunch. Instagram users posting Stories can already ask poll questions with pre-determined choices. The ability to ask open-ended questions of followers will allow creators to encourage conversation around ideas.
Snapchat Makes First AR Deal With Six Flags
Visitors to Disney and Universal Studios theme parks can already give themselves Mickey or Minnie Mouse ears, add geofilters or watch Minions run amok, and now Snapchat has penned its first ever deal with Six Flags, too. Beginning Monday, visitors to 11 Six Flags parks are able to turn themselves into Superman or watch him save the day in augmented reality. This is the first time Snapchat will run AR experiences in all three major parks.
Facebook Shutters Hello, tbh and Moves
Facebook is cleaning house on a slew of apps it has acquired or launched in the last few years, citing low usage. In the coming weeks, Facebook will depreciate Hello, an Android app in Brazil, US and Nigeria that combines information from Facebook and contact information from a user’s device. In addition, the company will abandon Moves, a fitness app purchased in 2014 and tbh, an app for high school students acquired just last year. Data from these three apps will be deleted within the next 90 days.
Wimbledon Returns To Twitter For Third Year
Tennis fans on social media can tune in to Twitter again this year, where the Wimbledon Championships are being livestreamed through June 15. Twitter has introduced three custom hashtag emoji for #Wimbledon, #TakeOnHistory and #TheQueue to promote conversation around the event. For the third year in a row, live commentary and interviews will be streamed from The Wimbledon Channel.
Facebook Eyes Premier League TV Rights
Speaking of sport, Facebook is currently negotiating the rights to broadcast the English Premier League in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, a source told Bloomberg. While the price of securing rights in Premier League’s native UK may be too rich, securing a three-year deal in smaller countries could help Facebook attract more users in the APAC region. The same source indicated that an official announcement will be made in the coming weeks.
Pinterest To Marketers: Seasonal Pins Performs Better
What can marketers take away from the fact that saves of “micro sunglasses” Pins are up 1,305 percent year-over-year? Or that women are saving “spiral hair ties” 2,198 percent more, too? For one thing, summer is definitely in the air. More importantly, though, advertisers on Pinterest need to consider that Pins about seasonal topics can drive 10 times higher aided awareness than those that aren’t as timely.
“No matter the month, it’s always helpful to tie your Pins to seasonal moments,” writes Talia Parnass, head of content marketing at Pinterest. “Try to work a summer angle into your Pin this July: think about beach scenes, outdoor entertaining and other popular activities for the warmer months.”
Parnass also advises showing your product or service in context so that users can visualize it in their own lives. In general, lifestyle images and Pins that provide context perform better than Pins that show products on their own.
Facebook Outlines New API Restrictions
Beginning on Monday, Facebook has introduced new restrictions on its API to protect user information. Marketing API now requires an app review before developers can use it, and the process has been reduced from three tiers to two.
“These changes will continue to enable developers to create social experiences while protecting people’s information,” explained Ime Archibong, Facebook’s vice president of product partnerships.
Other changes include the depreciation of Graph API Explorer App, Profile Expression Kit and inside Media Solutions the following will be depreciated soon: Topic Search, Topic Insights and Topic Feed and Public Figure APIs.
WhatsApp Admins Granted More Control
WhatsApp Groups designed for announcements and important information as opposed to casual conversations (non profit groups, teachers, etc.) may find messages from its members distracting from pressing matters. To address this problem, new controls have been added to let Admins control the flow of messages. Admins can now change their settings so that only Admins can send messages to a group.
This change is the latest in a series of changes WhatsApp has made to Groups that include protection so users can’t be repeatedly added to groups they’ve left, the ability to catch up on missed mentions after time away and additional Admin controls.
Editor’s Note: Our weekly social media news post is updated daily. This installment will be updated until Friday, July 6. Have a news tip? We’re looking for changes to and news surrounding social media platforms as they relate to marketing. Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.
