Video posts on Facebook perform better and YouTube launched a new app for kids. What else did you miss this past week?
YouTube for kids is launching on February 23
- USA Today says that YouTube plans to launch a new app called YouTube kids on February 23.
- It was reported as early as March last year, but Google confirmed it was working on such an app in December.
- The app, which will be free, will run on Android devices only at launch.
- The app will be separate to the main YouTube service and features a homescreen with eight options made up of choices from kids TV shows and other popular recommendations.
- Kids can search for videos by typing a normal search or using their voice, which the company anticipates will be popular as many young children can’t type.
Video Posts Have the Greatest Facebook Reach
- A recent study conducted by Socialbakers found video posts now reach the most viewers, whereas photo posts—once the darling of the social media network—are the worst-performing posts on brand pages.
- Video posts had an organic reach of 8.71%, which means nearly nine out of 100 fans saw the posts. By comparison, posts with links had an organic reach of 5.29%, text posts had 5.77% reach, and photos brought up the rear with only 3.73% organic reach.
- Facebook gets 3 billion video views each day.
- The study also reported that by the end of 2014, nearly 17% of page posts were promoted. In 2013, only 9% of page posts were promoted
Snapchat Valuation Pegged At $19B, Media Brands Invest In Service
- Snapchat is reportedly raising another $500 million at a valuation approaching $19 billion.
- If the reports are accurate, Snapchat would not be the first tech start-up valued in the $20 billion range. Last year, Facebook happily dropped about $22 billion on messaging service WhatsApp.
- Still, recognizing Snapchat as an established platform, media companies and brands have been increasingly willing to invest in the service.
- Drawn to its young users, AT&T is developing a scripted entertainment series specially for Snapchat.
- From CNN to ESPN, Snapchat also recently corralled a crowd of top media brands to participate in its new Discover service.
Wayin Launches Real-Time Social Search Engine
- Wayin’s new search and engagement engine will allow marketers to conduct in-depth searches of specific terms across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
- The results are broken down even further based on location, gender or time period.
- The tool will also allow marketers to determine the sentiment and broader context of the content, and conversations around it.
Facebook Met Users’ Expectations More Than Other Social Networks
- Facebook was the social network that best met customers’ expectations in the new Brand Keys 2015 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, while Facebook-owned WhatsApp topped the list of messaging applications.
- Leaders in other categories included Pandora for online music, Netflix for online video streaming and Google for search.
Facebook Indicating When Friends Have Used Same Hashtag?
- Facebook appears to be testing a feature that alerts users who include hashtags when their friends have used the same hashtags.
Twitter Finally Lets You Share Team Accounts Without Sharing Passwords
- Like a number of Twitter’s power-user-focused features, the new Team tool is built into TweetDeck as opposed to the more standard Twitter client.
- The feature is rolling out on the web/Chrome/Windows versions, leaving the Mac app out in the cold for now.
Foursquare Eliminates Barriers To Mobile App
- Reducing barriers to entry, Foursquare no longer requires new users to sign up for an account before accessing its mobile application.
- The move comes as the company tries to regain its footing after deciding to divide itself into two distinct apps, last year.
Despite skepticism, Twitter delivers for brands
- The world’s most notable brands are deriving more value from Twitter. They’re posting more often, their follower-counts are up, and their per-tweet engagement has almost doubled over the past year, according to a new report from social media analytics company Simply Measured.
- Engagement with tweets from brands increased 85% in the last three months of 2014 from the same period a year earlier, the report found.
- Brands were also more active on Twitter than the previous year. The percentage of brands tweeting at least once a day was 95%, up three percentage points, and the volume of tweets published increased 11%. Across the 100 brands, follower-counts jumped 38%.
- Tweets with photos, meanwhile, accounted for 57% of all engagements on Twitter, far higher than tweets with links, text or video.
