ClickTapMedia

What Would Life be like Without the Internet?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 09:33:00 +0000

Brands celebrated 25 years of the World Wide Web this week on Twitter. On August 23 (Tuesday), it was 25 years since the day Sir Tim Berners-Lee launched the World Wide Web.

It's hard to imagine what life would be like today without the internet. We rely on it so much in our daily lives whether it's for online shopping, booking a holiday or simply communicating with friends.

Video giant YouTube has updated its TV app to make it easier to use and navigate around. It will display better organised categories to suit how people watch the videos in the comfort of their house.

When watching YouTube content on TV, users tend to browse content whereas on mobile and desktop, users are more likely to click through to a YouTube video from a link on social media. The new update will aim to see more video content consumed on TV thanks to the improved ease of use.

Twitter has introduced a new button for websites that will give visitors of the site the option to message a company or individual directly from there. This is in an attempt to encourage users not to tweet a company account but rather deal with any query or matter through direct message.

It's no secret that consumers often go to Twitter to complain and voice their dissatisfaction with a brand and the social network is keen to have this become a thing of the past with this new function.

Whatsapp is now allowing brands and users to communicate with each other on the platform. This messaging app has made it clear that the updated service won't allow brands to notify you with spam content, but instead provide informative or helpful information.

Instagram is now in Business!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 08:30:00 +0000

Instagram has finally started rolling out its Business Profiles after they have been eagerly awaited by users for some time now.

The new business tools will allow advertisers to differentiate themselves from ordinary profiles and offer a set of valuable new functions. These include a contact button along with a mobile analytics suite that will provide information about shoppers.

As well as this, there will be a tool named 'Promote' that will give brands the option to showcase content that is performing well at the top of users' news feeds.

Snapchat has launched a new 360 degree ad format to help promote Sony's upcoming horror film. Starting off as a standard ad, users are given the chance to then swipe up to see a 360 degree version of the ad. Initially, the ad will be displayed to US Snapchat users shortly followed by the UK and Australia.

Facebook has is looking to develop its successful Messenger app even more by clearly establishing the frequency and time frame brands can communicate with users via chat bot ads.

Standard messaging bots allow brands to send promotional content to users within 24 hours of the user communicating with the brand. Subscription bots include news as well as a tracking systems and are free from advertising and all promotional content.

Are you a brand who will be utilising the new Business Profiles? Let us know by tweeting us @ClickTapMedia!

Let the Ad Blocking Battle Begin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 09:34:00 +0000

Facebook is offering its users the option to include filters on their photos much like popular social network Snapchat.

Only available in Canada and Brazil at the moment, the filters can be used to add some fun to photos and turn faces into animations.

Facebook is also looking to introduce a new technology that would make it hard for its users to avoid seeing any marketing on the site. The social media giant wants to fight back against ad blockers as a large percentage of US internet users have an ad blocking software in place. AdBlock Plus however has apparently found a way around the proposed feature but only time will tell who will be victorious.

Snapchat is now displaying more ads than ever between Stories only two months after they were first introduced. The ads have been opened up to more brands to allow them to advertise their product or service to users of the platform. The ads can be skipped so they won't necessarily be watched for the full duration that was intended.

The Latest Instagram Update May Look Very Familiar

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Aug 2016 10:36:00 +0000

Instagram has caused a bit of controversy this week as it rolled out a new feature that saw the image sharing site offer a Snapchat Stories style option for its users.

Snapchat's popular feature that allows users to post a series of videos and images in sequence seems to have given Instagram some inspiration as an almost identical feature has been introduced to the social network.

Now when a user logs in they will see stories from people they follow at the top of their feed. The new update is an attempt to make it easier to capture and share moments each day to share with friends.

The stories that are uploaded to Instagram will disappear after 24 hours like Snapchat and is another function the popular platform can now add to its list to try and establish its dominance.

Facebook is planning on introducing mid-roll ads during live streams. Facebook has invested heavily in live streaming on the site and has been encouraging its users and public figures to take advantage of the services that are available.

A select number of publishers have been given the option to place an ad in their Facebook Live videos. The ads will appear 5 minuets into a live stream and can last up to 15 seconds.

The ads will be selected from campaigns that are already running on the site and media owners will have the option to turn off the ads if the subject within them is deemed insensitive.

Twitter has created a range of emoji specifically designed for the Rio Olympics. The majority of the emoji are made up of the competing countries flags with the addition of a few special ones such as #OpeningCeremony.

Moments will of course feature live updates of everything going on during the event whilst Periscope and Vine will have designated areas where viewers can watch content.

Twitter has also introduced a new ad format name 'Instant Unlock Card' as part of Conversational Ads that will allow users to have access to exclusive content when they respond to a call-to-action from a brand.

An example of the way the ads work is AMC promoting The Walking Dead by letting fans of the show have access to an exclusive trailer if they tweeted about the world premier.

Do you think Instagram was smart to introduce a stories function or should they have been more original? Let us know by tweeting us @ClickTapMedia!

This Week there was Proof of the Impact Social Media can have!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 11:54:00 +0000

Facebook is firmly situated at the top of the pack of social media platforms, but it has reported even greater success as its ad revenue has increased by 63% to $6.24 billion.

The social network giant has mobile ad revenue to thank for the accomplishment as it represented 84% of ad revenue. The number of daily active users has also increased to 1.13 billion on average.

Reddit will soon give brands the option to sponsor posts from users. The person behind the sponsored post would have had to give consent and will be selected based on how relevant it is to the brand. If a user agrees to be part of the new Promoted User Posts, they will be rewarded with a lifetime subscription to Reddit Gold.

This week there was proof of the power social media has as it was revealed that the phenomenon that was the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge helped make a huge scientific breakthrough. The ALS Association announced that the money raised from the viral challenge helped fund a gene breakthrough in the disease.

Image sharing site Instagram could potentially be trialing a new tool that would allow users to manage abuse and spam. A number of celebrities have been rumored to be involved including Taylor Swift. There is no confirmation or comment as of yet if this could potentially become an available tool in the future but it would definitely be valuable to a lot of high profile names.

A study has found that young adults in Britain aged 18-24 are watching 41% of video content on their laptop compared to 35% on their TV. However, TV is still the dominant medium to watch video content when looking at a wider audience base.

Twitter and Sky Sports have reached a deal that would see the social network show live Premier League coverage. Beginning at the start of the new season, the deal will see Twitter showcase exciting snippets of action from the games to football fans in UK and Ireland. As well as this, a post-match roundup will be supplied on Sky Football Twitter account.

Snapchat Appears to be the Social Media Platform that Keeps on Giving!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 09:37:00 +0000

According to the latest forecasts, mobile will soon become the main platform for viewing videos online as it jumps 39%. On average, people are spending almost 20 minutes a day viewing video content on their smartphone or tablet compared to 16 minuets on desktop and TV.

Snapchat has added Bitmoji to its offering allowing users to create a miniature version of themselves that they can then share with their friends. The customised emoji are versatile and can be used to add some fun to photos and videos that are taken in the app, but can also be sent in the chat function. In order to use it within the app, users will have to download Bitmoji and link it to their Snapchat account.

Snapchat has also added a new function that will allow users to draw their own filters. 'Face Paint Lens' lets fans of the much loved filters draw on their face to create a real time overlay on their snaps. Any Face Paint Lens a users has created will be remembered so they can use it again at no cost.

Facebook Messenger has reached a milestone as there are now one billion users sending messages on the app each month. This means Facebook Messenger is now in the same company as Whatsapp.

The social network giant is planning on celebrating the achievement by sending out a thank you to one billion users of the app with floating balloon animations.

Twitter is giving its users the option to apply for a verified account. As long as it is 'of public interest', this will allow users to establish themselves as valuable and significant. To be considered, users will have to complete an online form and explain why they think Twitter should verify their account.

It was All Systems Go for Pokemon Enthusiasts this Week

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 09:26:00 +0000

The big news from this week is of course Pokemon Go. It wasn't available in the UK until yesterday (Thursday 14th July), but many users wanted to be part of the action and managed to gain access to the app before the official launch.

The app allows users travel on a map using the GPS location data on their phone and catch Pokemon to train up and eventually battle. The app seems to have taken over everyone's lives this past week to the point where you can't walk five minuets without seeing someone playing it, and it has undoubtedly added value to Nintendo who part own the much loved franchise. Marketers can learn a lot from the success of the app and what to do and what not to do to create a buzz on this level.

Pinterest is planning on making a series of updates in an attempt to get more brands and agencies in the UK to use its services. The platform has placed itself as the search engine of choice that can track the entire customer journey from inspiration to purchase.

Pinterest want users to see that when they spend on the social network, it actually turns into something. It is bringing Cinematic Pins (video adverts) and Promoted Boards to the UK which it hopes will give advertisers more of an incentive to use the service and trial the ads.

New targeting options however, are the thing that will most likely get advertisers interested with customer lists, look-a-like targeting and keyword based buying opening up the possibilities of who they can reach.

Bloomberg Media has chosen Twitter as its live streaming partner. The media brand has agreed to live stream a select few of its TV programs on the popular social networking site to bring business and financial news to a larger audience.

Bloomberg West, What'd You Miss and With All Due Respect are all set to be part of the live streaming deal and will aid the expansion of Bloomberg's digital video strategy.

Snapchat is Increasing its Offering with Major Update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 13:09:00 +0000

Snapchat has introduced a range of functions that will allow users to save and search snaps and stories within the app.

With the introduction of the features, users can also organise and edit their images and videos within the app after they have been taken.

If a snap is edited and re-shared, it will appear with a frame to signify it is from the past. Users will also be able to search a snap or story by using keywords. As well as this, any snaps that users don't want anyone else to see can be PIN locked in a folder. Memories will be available in the coming months.

Facebook has increased its efforts to connect the world by launching an open source communication platform, OpenCellular. It aims to make entry into difficult places easier with the wireless system providing people with tools to build a ready made network.

The system won't be rolled out until later summer and will allow access to a variety a wireless network connections that are all capable of functioning in remote locations for an inexpensive cost.

Twitter Plays Copycat to Snapchat

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 09:53:00 +0000

Facebook has introduced Featured Events, allowing staff members to recommend events to users. The aim is to bring a more human element to spreading the word about local events. By improving suggestions that can be made to other users, relevant music, entertainment, sports events etc. will appear in users timelines.

Following the announcement that Microsoft has agreed to by LinkedIn, the professional networking site has rolled out programmatic ads. Advertisers will have the option to buy via an open auction or LinkedIn private auction.

Twitter is following in the footsteps of Snapchat and has unveiled stickers that can be added to photos. The new feature will be rolled out on the Android and iOS mobile app in the next couple of weeks and will allow anyone who uploads a photo to them add an emoji sticker.

What differentiates these stickers from Snapchat is the fact that they are searchable so when a user selects a sticker, they will be able to see how others have used that same sticker on an image they have uploaded.

Facebook has yet again made a change to the algorithm of its News Feed. Users will now see more post from family and friends and less from brands and publishers.

This change may cause engagements to decline for publishers as many people use social media as a way to keep up to date with the latest news and happenings.

Content Creators Rejoice!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 09:32:00 +0000

Snapchat is looking dip its toes in new water as it is set to launch a tech magazine titled 'Real Life'. The magazine is aimed at people who are looking for in depth essays, arguments and narratives on living with technology.

Surprisingly, the magazine will be online instead of on the app's Discover section. The magazine will launch on Monday 27th June and will publish a new piece of content every weekday.

Instagram has reached yet another big milestone as it now has half a billion users. 80% of those users aren't in the US and 300,000 of all users go onto the app everyday. Popular social network Snapchat compared to this has 150 million daily users.

Twitter has extended its videos and Vines to 140 seconds. Compared to the six seconds that were previously allowed for Vines, this is a big step up and will come as welcome news to content creators.

Facebook is planning on investing more than $50 million in media outlets and creators in an attempt to encourage them to take advantage of its live service and heavily populate the social network. Companies such as Mashable and CNN are among the brands that are part of the initiative.

The Emoji you're Using may be More Significant than you Think!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 15:32:00 +0000

The major news this week comes from tech giant Microsoft agreeing to buy professional networking site LinkedIn for $26.2 billion.

The LinkedIn brand will continue as normal with its current chief executive remaining in position and reporting to the chief executive of Microsoft. By the end of the year, the deal is expected to be finalised.

Twitter has invested a whopping $70 million in music streaming app SoundCloud. The deal aims to allow SoundCloud to continue focusing on providing value for its creators and listeners. The investment will be beneficial for both companies as it will offer a boost to Twitter's users and also help SoundCloud promote its subscription service.

Facebook has introduced a range of new features to help retailers connect ads with store visits. The first new feature is a map that will be included in mobile ads showing the user the advertiser's closest retail locations. By selecting a location, users will be able to find out the store's address, operating times, travel time, phone number and web address.

Also, Facebook is allowing advertisers to measure if their ads are bringing people to their stores in a new way. The feature 'Store Visits' means retailers can find out if those who have been served the Facebook ad have actually showed up in their stores by accessing location data when the function is activated.

An 'Offline Conversations API' has been introduced to help advertisers measure the effectiveness of their Facebook ad campaigns.

Based on a survey of 500 PR and marketing professionals, 82% were using influencers. These influencers include bloggers, social media influencers and sports personalities. YouTube, Twitter and Facebook were the most commonly used platforms for influencer campaigns.

Brands will soon be able to target Twitter users by emoji. In honour of World Emoji Day next month, Twitter is apparently going to introduce the new function that would allow a burger brand for example to target someone who had tweeted using the burger emoji.

110 billion emoji have been tweeted by users according to the social network and advertisers will look to capitalise on this and trial out the new feature.

The Facebook Updates Keep Coming!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:03:00 +0000

As mentioned in last week's digital round up, Snapchat has overtaken Twitter in daily users. Now it has emerged that Snapchat is on track to overtake both Twitter and Pinterest in overall US active users.

According to eMarketer, Snapchat's US user base will leap by 27% to 58.6 million. Twitter is projected to have a user base of 56.8 million by the end of the year, meaning it will be just below Snapchat but have a greater user base than Pinterest with 54.6 million US based active users. It is however unlikely that Snapchat will be able to catch up to Facebook Messenger.

Advertising in the UK is reportedly worth an impressive £18 billion in revenue to the media and entertainment industry. The combined revenue for the UK's top 100 media and entertainment companies is expected to pass £100 billion in the next 5 years.

Facebook has added yet another service to its resume as it is in the process of allowing video gaming fans to live stream their playing experience to their news feed.

The deal with World of Warcraft maker Blizzard Entertainment will see the social media platform take a big step into the gaming and eSports market. Until now, Amazon owned Twitch has been dominating live streaming for gamers.

After it being spoken about for some time, Facebook is now enabling its users to post videos as comments. The function can be used on desktop, iOS and Android devices, and will function within status updates and posts.

Snapchat Makes Updates and Overtakes Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 16:00:00 +0000

Social media is becoming more and more a part of our daily lives, and now it is more dominant than other media formats as a source for news.

A survey found that 62% of Americans rely more on social media for news than they do traditional media. No surprise that Facebook came out on top as the social media platform users turned to the most for news.

This week Instagram released its business profiles that allow businesses to track engagement levels and target certain audiences at specific times. It won't be until the end of the year that it will be rolled out globally with the US, Australia and New Zealand having first access to the new tools and business profiles.

Snapchat is in the process of a re-design for its Discovers area. The new design will allow publishers to display their content instead of their logo. The update could come as soon as next month and aims to keep the feature targeted at younger people up to date and fresh.

Snapchat has also passed Twitter in daily users with 150 million people using the video sharing service each day. The app is only four years old, but in that it has managed to rapidly increase its user base and the popularity of the app is only increasing day by day. Read up on Snapchat's success here.

On Wednesday (1st June) Google introduced DoubleClick Certified Marketing program in an effort to connect advertisers with digital marketing experts.

Participants of the program will be given access to listings for creative and media management services that will help with the creation of media rich ads.

It's All About Mobile

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 May 2016 11:55:00 +0000

As mentioned in last week's roundup, Twitter has confirmed it will no longer count links and media as part of the 140 character limit.

As well as this, it has also been announced that mentions will be excluded from the character count. The new update will mean that tweets that begin by mentioning someone will no longer be between the relevant users and will be able to be seen by all followers.

Facebook has remained the fastest growing media owner but still has a long way to go to rival Google. Mobile has undoubtedly played a pivotal part in the success of the social network with it increasing its offering and placing itself as the go to place for all content.

Google Maps has introduced local search ads that allow nearby businesses to showcase their products and services on desktop and mobile. Local businesses will also be able to purchase promoted pins that show up as their logo and aim to increase shop visits by users. Read our blog for the full story.

According to research by Yahoo, mobile provides the most emotionally engaging screen for marketers. The study of consumer screen engagement looked at how screens can be used to deliver emotive experiences when the viewer is most responsive to them.

Do you think that mobile plays a vital part in our everyday lives and how we communicate? Let us know by tweeting us @ClickTapMedia!

Google Cardboard has competition... from Queen guitarist Brian May

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 May 2016 09:54:00 +0000

The part-time rockstar, part-time astrophysicist has unveiled the Owl VR headset as a sturdy Cardboard alternative

Queen guitarist Brian May, one of the world's most famous musicians, has designed and launched his own virtual reality smartphone viewer called Owl VR. Yep, honestly.

The piece of kit costs £25, and is a flat-packed plastic frame that snaps into shape. A sticky magnetic cardboard holds smartphones of any size into shape with the optical lenses at the other end of the device.

Since Google Cardboard was launched back in the US in 2014, it has dominated the low-budget VR market due to its easy assembly and compatibility with the majority of smartphones, and officially launched in the UK earlier this year.

As more and more tech brands begin to look at virtual reality more seriously, May is looking to offer an alternative which looks considerably sturdier and user-friendly, albeit more expensive and bigger in size.

Speaking at the Owl VR launch event in London, the Bohemian Rhapsody guitarist said:

"The reason I created the Owl was to recreate Victorian stereoscopy. People get fatigued very quickly with other VR devices, they get frustrated that they can't reach their phone to get to their controls and they get sweaty with the eyepieces so I quickly realised that, in some ways, this was a better way of viewing virtual reality.

"The great thing is that any smartphone will work in Owl. Most devices on the market only accept certain types of smartphone, so this is unique."

Owl VR will be available this month from London Stereoscopic Company.

For the latest news on VR and tech, follow @ClickTapMedia and @MediaAG on Twitter!

Twitter Users could Finally be Granted Their Wish

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 May 2016 14:01:00 +0000

Social media marketers can rejoice as this week it was announced that Twitter is set to stop including links and images as part of the 140 character limit. The change could happen in as little as two weeks and will be a welcome change from the current restrictions.

Links and images take up roughly 23 characters each, so when a user composes a tweet that includes an image and a link, they are limited with the amount of actual content they can include.

Facebook is looking to further cement itself as number one for all things social and digital as it is trailling a music video product. Slideshow will allow users to share photos and videos accompanied with music provided by Warner Music Group.

Previously, only Facebook owned music was available to be used for the slide shows but this new music video product will greatly increase the choice of music on offer. A deal between Facebook and video service Vevo was said to be in the works but nothing has come of it so far.

Google has announced a new messaging app, Spaces, designed for YouTube and Google users to share links with their friends. The Google search function within the app removes the need to leave it when sharing things to their space and YouTube will also be built in.

Twitter is in the process of testing a Periscope button for Android. As of right now, only iOS users can live stream on Periscope through Twitter. Although the button will only send users to the Periscope app on Android, it is still a step in the right direction to make the integration between the apps more seamless.

Video is already dominating the vast majority of online content, but now Facebook is taking it a step further by working on a tool that will allow users to reply to comments on the social network with a video. A select number of users have been notified about the new feature and given the option to trial it.

Users will be able to select the camera icon to add a video as a comment. The videos won't auto play and will appear as videos in status updates do.

Instagram's New Logo Strongly Divides Opinion

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 May 2016 13:42:00 +0000

Image sharing social network Instagram has updated its logo to a more colourful, brighter one alongside a simpler user interface. The new logo has a colourful gradient style background with the familiar camera icon still present in white.

The new logo has divided opinion with many not loving the new design. Not only has the logo been updated, the look of the app as a whole has changed. It is all black and white with no colour apart from the images posted. In the blog announcement, Instagram said that the update 'reflects how vibrant and diverse storytelling has become.'

LinkedIn is in the process of introducing a new publishing feature much like Facebook's Instant Articles. The new publishing tool aims to boost loading times for articles. The professional social networking site is currently in talks with a number of publishers.

Periscope is looking to take live broadcasting to a whole new level as it announced drones can now broadcast live video. Drones will be able to live stream a video to Periscope by allowing users to control the broadcast via their smartphone.

New data has revealed that mobile now makes up half of all UK ecommerce purchases. Not surprisingly, the iPhone came out on top as the most used device that people make purchases on.

Facebook advertising sales could overtake Channel 4 and Sky in the UK. This would make Facebook the third biggest media owner based on ad sales in less than a couple of years.

Facebook is estimated to earn £1.4 billion from advertising in the UK next year compared to £1.15 billion this year. According to estimates, Google and ITV are the only other cooperation's that will be larger than Facebook in the UK.

Whatsapp has launched a desktop version of the messaging app using Windows and Mac operating systems. Whatsapp has already got a web version, but now users will be able to download the app to use on their PC.

Facebook has introduced its dynamic product ads to travel brands. The ads will now be available on Instagram and allow travel brands to promote themselves to shoppers browsing their products.

Are you a fan of Instagram's new look? Let us know at @ClickTapMedia!

10 Billion Video Views a Day and Counting...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 May 2016 11:43:00 +0000

Earlier this week Snapchat revealed that daily video views on the social network have reached 10 billion. Snapchat is rapidly becoming the 'in' platform for not only consumers to keep up with their favourite celebrities and friends, but also for brands to capitalise on the increase in popularity.

Because each video has a maximum length of 10 seconds, users typically upload a series of them to create a story meaning that per user, the number of video views can add up quickly.

Big news from SoundCloud as it announced it is to start selling advertising in the UK. The music streaming service introduced advertising in the US two years ago, but is now bringing advertising to the UK via Global's digital audience index, Dax.

Across SoundCloud's web and mobile properties, audio and interstitial ads will be sold. As well as ads, SoundCloud is also launching a subscription service called SoundCloud Go which would allow users to opt out of advertising

Instagram is in the process of piloting dedicated brand pages that come with a contact button for customers to use to get in contact with the company and answer any questions.

In a similar style to Facebook, the brand pages can be categorised by the type of business and will offer users reassurance by a verified tick that it is definitely the brands official page.

Facebook Further Proves Its Dominance

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 10:28:00 +0000

YouTube is aiming to get the most out of shortform video by introducing six-second unskippable ads. The new style of ads will launch in May and have already been tested by a couple of companies at the beginning of the year.

The ads will offer a different viewing experience to the previous thirty-second ads that were played before the vast majority of content shared on video site with users not being able to skip the ads like they used to.

Facebook is in the early stages of developing a stand alone camera app. The app would place the social media leader in direct competition with Snapchat who's popularity is continuing to grow at a rapid rate. Some features have already been decided and prototypes for the app are in progress.

The quarterly results for both Twitter and Facebook have been revealed this week. It's no secret that Twitter has been struggling to grow its user base for a while now, but the results have shown that monthly active users have increased by 3% from 305 million to 310 million.

However, revenue came in at the low end of the guidance range because marketers didn't increase their spend according to the earning release.

Facebook on the other hand reported a 52% increase in earnings reaching an impressive $5.4 billion. Mobile accounted for a large percentage of that profit at 82%. Facebook's monthly active users now total 1.65 billion.

Facebook is looking to further develop its Messenger service as branded chatbots could soon message users based on recent internet searches they have made. Sponsored messages are in the testing phase, and users will be able to decide whether they want to receive the messages or not.

Pinterest has launched its first ad campaign in the UK. The campaign includes OOH, digital and TV and aims to shine a light on the ideas and inspiration that consumers can get from Pins on Pinterest for everyday things.

Emoji may be More Valuable than you Think

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 10:58:00 +0000

UK advertising viewability is at its highest level in eighteen months with 54% of ads believed to be viewable. In Germany, the percentage of viewability is at 60% and even greater in France at 66%.

The reason behind the ads not being viewed, based on a sample, is that either they aren't loading quickly enough, or they are appearing below the fold.

Emoji have taken over in the past couple of years, but the influence they have is even greater than previously thought.

Research has shown people in Britain are 63% more likely to open emails if they contain emoji and 95% more likely when sarcasm is included. Other places around the world aren't as keen on emoji as the open rare for US consumers is significantly lower at 43%.

YouTube has taken a leap forward in the video streaming world by live streaming a 360 degree video in virtual reality along with 3D sound.

Music fans who couldn't make it to Coachella festival were able to experience the event as if they were there as spatial audio tricked viewers brains into thinking that they were actually experiencing the event live by using audio cues from different directions and distances.

All of the Big Social Networks have something to Offer in this week's Digital Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 11:20:00 +0000

Facebook has updated its advertising policy allowing branded content to be shared on the social network by verified Facebook pages. This is with the exception of live videos.

Prior to this change, publishers had to receive approval directly from Facebook as them running branded content themselves was against the rules.

Periscope is in the process of trialing live-stream doodles. This would allow users to annotate over broadcasts in real time. Different colours for the doodles will be available to highlight and annotate on the stream increasing the capabilities of the Twitter owned live streaming service.

Twitter Moments has integrated with SoundCloud allowing those with access to share entire playlists in a tweet that will play automatically when users on their mobile.

Of course the big news from this week comes in the form of #F82016. A lot of big announcements were made, one of which being Messenger chatbots. This would allow brands to interact with customers via an AI-powered representative. The advances Facebook is making are exciting for tech fans and there's no telling what the future holds, read up on all of Facebook's updates here.

Snapchat has introduced a feature that lets emoji move around in videos. Users will have the option to place an emoji on objects in the video and the emoji will move and rotate along with the item it has been placed on. For instance an emoji of a basketball can be put on an actual basketball in a video of someone playing.

UK digital ad spend reached a record £8.6 billion last year and unsurprisingly, ad spend on mobile devices made up the majority of the growth followed by video. Digital ad spend is up 16.4% on the previous year, the highest rate since 2008. This indicates that brands must be putting their trust in digital to get the results they desire.

Speak to Click Tap Media about any online advertising or digital campaign needs you have for your business.

Twitter and Facebook give their Messaging Features an Update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 11:29:00 +0000

Messaging app WhatsApp announced that it has now completed full encryption for users. When a message is sent, the only person who can read that message is the person or group chat you sent it to. This will keep users protected from hackers and cybercriminals.

Twitter has won big by securing a deal to stream Thursday night NFL games. Rivals who reportedly missed out on the deal include Amazon and Yahoo.

Thursday night football will be streamed to the 800 million plus registered and non-registered users worldwide. The deal will also include highlights and pre-game Periscope posts from the teams and their players.

The partnership could steer Twitter in the right direction in terms of widening its user base which is has been struggling to do for a while and place the social network in prime position as the go to place for live events.

In other Twitter news, users can now share a tweet to a direct message by using the new message button. This comes after the number of tweets that were shared privately grew by 200% in the second half of 2015.

Last year Twitter removed the 140 character limit from direct messages and has improved how easily brands can communicate to customer via direct message. It is debatable how necessary or useful this new button will be, however it is a step in the right direction for making communication on the platform more seamless.

Facebook has similarly stepped up its messaging game and introduced codes, usernames and links to Messenger. The idea behind all of these is to make it easier for users to find and communicate with friends and businesses.

As well as improving its messaging service, Facebook has upgraded its streaming service Facebook Live and launched a dedicated place where users can find streams in a big redesign. The hub will let viewers search videos whether they're live or not and also broadcast themselves.

Users will also be able to choose who they share their streams with via groups and events. This means that if someone has missed out on going to an event, they will still be able to see what's going on if they are invited to view the stream.

Pinterest has taken a big step forward by introducing promoted pins to the UK. Promoted pins allow retailers to pay to serve their pins to users increasing their visibility to relevant search results, categories and home feeds. Read more about the new promoted pins here.

How Pinteresting! Promoted Pins Arrive in the UK

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 11:29:00 +0000

After seeing success in the States, Pinterest has expanded its advertising offering to UK brands with the introduction of promoted pins.

Following in the footsteps of Facebook, Twitter and now Instagram, Pinterest has launched its own advertising offering for brands in the UK on its popular platform. For those unfamiliar, Pinterest in an increasingly popular social media platform which allows users to curate boards where they ‘pin’ images and website links, most commonly used to share recipes, inspiration on anything from interior design to clothing and make up, and endless tutorials. Last year alone saw the UK following grow by 50%, so it is no surprise that Pinterest is looking to monetise its community.

The first brands invited to use the new advertising feature include John Lewis (19,400 followers), Nestle (2,400 followers), Tesco (41,400 followers), Made.com (19,600 followers) and B&Q (7,300 followers). It makes sense that these brands would be the first to take up the opportunity considering that interior design and recipe ideas are typically the most popular pins on Pinterest.

Pinterest expects advertisers to be keen to try out the new advertising option, with co-founder and Chief Executive Ben Silbermann saying ‘Whatever that organic behaviour exists of people coming and trying to discover ideas of themselves, saving them and planning their future, we think there’s value for advertisers that comes right behind that’. And it is true, Pinterest is used by consumers as they actively look for inspiration, be it for new bedding, a gluten-free pizza base recipe, or how to up upcycle an old lamp – there is a clear purchase intent behind their research and it doesn’t make sense for brands to ignore channel proven to reach consumers at the beginning stages of their purchasing journey.

A Major Snapchat Update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 16:38:00 +0000

This week in our digital roundup, the big news comes from Snapchat. They've introduced some major changes to the app in their latest update.

They have introduced new live chat features including the ability to video call and to voice call. This feature extends past the previous setup which just saw video calling possible when both users were within the app.

Snapchat has also followed suit of some of the other social giants by introducing stickers, which can be used within chat. This introduces a new range of ways to communicate visually. Users can search through a range of stickers to match and to express their moods.

The other feature which will get all who work in social media interested is the fact that they have made the 'Stories' section now auto play. So once one story has finished, you will automatically be taken to the next inline. We think this is a genius move strategically for a company that is really trying to compete for the most video views. We can't wait to see how the figures pan out.

What do you think of the Snapchat update? Let us know on Twitter (@ClickTapMedia)

Milestones and Announcements Feature in this Week's Digital Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 14:41:00 +0000

The new iPhone was revealed this week at the Apple Event. The iPhone SE will be a smaller model (4 inches) than the most recent phones, and along with that will have a reasonably affordable price tag.

There are concerns over the effect this could have as advertisers have been getting used to having larger screens to work with. However, it is thought that the new iPhone SE specifications will more than accommodate for the creativity and innovation consumers are looking for in mobile advertising. Only time will tell what impact the direction Apple is heading in will have and how much brands will have to adapt.

In other big news, Twitter turned the big 10 this week. It's hard to think back to what things were like before Twitter as most of us now live our lives through the social media platform.

Twitter, originally named Twttr, has contributed massively to the increase in popularity of real-time marketing and social media activity. Things are constantly changing and this year will no doubt bring more changes, developments and improvements to the platform. Read more about Twitter's 10th birthday here.

Google has announced that Android Pay will launch in the UK in a couple of months. There isn't a launch date as of right now, but HSBC, Halifax and Nationwide are among the partners for the new app.

A new feature could be coming to Twitter that would let users customise their pictures in a similar style to Snapchat filters. Stickers will allow users to edit images and add overlays before they share them.

This follows Facebook making a similar announcement about adding more image editing functions to its site. The move could see Twitter be used by brands for interactive campaigns.