Social media changes so much in a week that it can be hard to keep up. Check back every Friday for our roundup of stories we think you should know about in our Social Media Snap.
TGIF! Here’s to the end of the work week and the beginning of another gorgeous weekend. Before you go, take a look at the social media stories that caught our eye this week.
We’re about to reach a landmark that I’m excited to announce: for the first time ever, in 2013 Americans will watch more media content on their laptops, tablets and phones than their televisions. Even more amazing is that Americans have jumped from spending an average of just 24 minutes a day watching media on their phones to an average of two hours and 22 minutes today. With the shift to on-demand mobile content, I can only hope the cable giants start offering a-la-cart services next.
In another sign of the times, Facebook announced it will soon feature TV-style ads for $2.5 million a pop. This effort follows the social media industry’s growing attempts to capture advertising dollars that would traditionally go to television networks. In the world of the second screen, it doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Ad-phobes, rest assured: Zuckerburg says the advertisements will only appear once every 20 minutes.
Yahoo has done a lot of moving and shaking this week. In addition to moving its headquarters to the Chronicle Building in San Fran, it also acquired social browser Rockmelt for an estimated $60-$70 million. Word is the new purchase will help Yahoo as it embraces mobile, a key focus of CEO Marissa Meyer.
Facebook announced a new feature this week that allows users to embed Facebook public posts on websites. They’ve only rolled the feature out to select media outlets but it will be open to the public soon. This will allow you to easily bring Facebook content onto your website without paying for the work of a web developer. A bonus that I love: website visitors can interact with the post the same as they would on Facebook through likes, comments and shares right on your homepage.
LinkedIn has jumped on the sponsored story bandwagon. Following behind Facebook and Twitter, the professional networking site will now allow brands to pay for stories to land in front of their target audiences. Early reports say this feature is better for users of LinkedIn than those of Facebook and Twitter, mainly because of its ability to hyper-target based on industry interests.
Apolgies to the men out there, but I have to go here: social media has even made a difference in the way feminine hygiene companies market their products. Tampon delivery service HelloFlo posted a video this week about two girls who got their periods before camp on YouTube. It received an astounding 2.5 million views and shut down HelloFlo’s website. It might be hard to take “Camp Gyno” and “the Red Badge of Courage” seriously but the tactic’s results can’t be ignored.
Until next time,
Kelly