Snap shares surge as lockdown spurs use
Social media app Snapchat saw unexpected growth in the January and February, defying coronavirus gloom to report revenue and daily active users significantly above Wall Street’s expectations.
Facebook gets a seventh reaction emoji: New ‘Care’ icon shows support during pandemic
Facebook is rolling out a new ‘care emoji’ as part of a number of new initiatives to help its users communicate during the COVID-19 crisis.
Burger King ‘plant-based’ Whopper social media ads banned by ASA
Burger King has been forced to stop showing adverts for its new Rebel Whopper burger after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) deemed them misleading.
Only 5% of Brits want brands to ‘pause advertising altogether’ during Coronavirus pandemic
Almost half (42%) of UK consumers want ads to make them feel more informed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but only 5% of Brits would like brands to pause their advertising altogether, according to new research.
Virtual concerts and games: Most consumers ‘crave live streams of postponed events during national lockdown’
With the Tokyo Olympic games now postpones until 2021 due the Coronaviruus lockdown, interest in live streaming events increases, with three quarters of consumers now craving live streams of varying events, including music performances and sporting events, according to new research.
Pinterest takes on Twitter with ‘Today’ tab
Pinterest has fast-tracked the launch of it’s Today tab, a new source of daily inspiration with curated topics and trending Pins and help fight against misinformation.
How the Coronavirus has (and has not) affected marketing spending
eMarketer has cut its outlook for global ad spending, after decreasing its ad spending forecast in China by more than 6%.
Traditional advertising ‘remains more effective than social influencer strategies’ in driving online conversions
Despite the rising popularity of influencer marketing as a sales channel by retailers and brands – with spend on influencer marketing growing 83% year-on-year in 2019, according to new research.
Hootsuite provides free access for non-profits and small businesses
Hootsuite announced today that it will provide free access to its Professional Plan to nonprofit organizations and small businesses most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
Spurse launches social reward platform
Spurse, a new platform letting users to share cashback rewards on social media, has gone live.
Instagram takes on YouTube with IGTV ads
Instagram has revealed plans to sell advertisements in IGTV, its home for longer videos, a bid to compete with YouTube for a larger share of the booming market for online video.
Teads upgrades social ad tech with ‘Inread’
Global media platform Teads has launched inRead Social, a new product enabling advertisers to extend social media campaign creatives to Teads’ platform of premium publishers.
Half of WhatsApp usage used for work (despite breaking rules)
Over two-fifths (41%) of UK workers admit to using WhatsApp for work purposes despite it being against WhatsApp’s legal terms of service to use it in ways that involve any non-personal use.
TikTok ramps up parental controls as popularity soars with teens
TikTok is introducing new safety features letting parents link their account to their child’s and control the content they see.
Fashion and beauty retail trends: Reviews, discounts and photos most likely to drive online purchases
Customers of leading direct-to-consumer brands in sectors such as fashion and beauty say reviews (76%), discounts (70%) and photos (61%) are among the top factors that make it easier for them to make purchase decisions according to new research.
Facebook rules influencer memes ‘are not political ads’
Facebook is to allow paid political messages that sidestep ads loophole, as the upcoming US presidiental election this year puts more scrutiny on digital ad campaigns.
Ofcom’s powers expanded to regulate harmful social media content
UK broadcast media watchdog Ofcom is being given new powers to enforce a legal ‘duty of care’ over social media, the government has announced.
Tencent-backed challenger bank N26 to close all UK accounts ‘due to Brexit’
German-based digital bank N26, which is backed by Tencent and Facebook and PayPal investor Peter Theil, is to close 200,000 UK current accounts in April ‘due to Brexit’ – despite launching two years after the EU referendum.
Instagram ‘now attracts a larger audience than Facebook among top brands’
Among top 50 brand profiles, Instagram has a larger audience and nearly 20X more interactions than Facebook, according to Socialbakers’ new Q4 2019 Trends Report.
Oscars 2020: Who got the most social media buzz in the UK?
This year’s Oscars saw history made, as South Korean film Parasite became the first non-English film to win Best Picture. New data looks at the films, stars and issues that got social media buzz this year.