How is Snapchat’s Advertising Business Doing?

Mar 26, 2019 | networking

We lowered our Snapchat ad revenues forecast twice because of the company’s shift to selling ads programmatically, which eroded its ad prices. Since adopting automated selling, Snapchat’s CPMs fell below $10 and have stayed there, according to Digiday. Previously, Snapchat used a managed-service ad selling model, and back in 2015, it reportedly charged brands $750,000 per day to advertise on its platform.

“Self-serve programmatic buying has expanded Snapchat’s reach to more advertisers, especially small and medium-sized businesses that can invest in ads at lower bid prices. However, moving the vast majority of their ad inventory into this lower cost structure has tempered earlier growth estimates,” said Monica Peart, senior forecasting director at eMarketer.

Source: How is Snapchat’s Advertising Business Doing? – eMarketer Trends, Forecasts & Statistics

Facebook’s Video Player Isn’t Designed for You 

Mar 26, 2019 | networking, video

From the outside, it’s hard to know what, exactly, Facebook wants from its video platform. For years, the company told publishers that video was the future, even as it allegedly goosed statistics behind the scenes to make the format look more important than it was. In 2017, the social network rolled out a major update to its video player that added a kind of picture-in-picture mode to the News Feed, among other changes, in an effort to make “watching video on Facebook richer, more engaging and more flexible,” according to the company. Then last year, Mark Zuckerberg announced the company would de-prioritize video from brands in favor of content that “encourage[s] meaningful interactions.”

Source: Facebook’s Video Player Isn’t Designed for You – OneZero

Why Instagram Made Multi-Photo Posts More Annoying 

Mar 26, 2019 | networking

Multi-photo posts will now often start on the second image in a series. These “photo nudges,” as I call them, seem to occur when you scroll past an image without engaging with it. Instagram’s algorithm, growing smarter every day through the data users create, reinserts these series into your feed disguised as something new by “nudging” the second image forward. Whenever this happens, Instagram’s watching eye suddenly becomes a visible presence in my experience, and an annoying one at that.

Source: Why Instagram Made Multi-Photo Posts More Annoying – OneZero

Free Will in an Algorithmic World 

Mar 23, 2019 | algo, featured, trends

Consider these facts: 80 percent of viewing hours streamed on Netflix originate from automated recommendations. By some estimates, nearly 35 percent of sales at Amazon originate from automated recommendations. And the vast majority of matches on dating apps such as Tinder and OkCupid are initiated by algorithms. Given these numbers, many of us clearly do not have quite the freedom of choice we believe we do.

Source: Free Will in an Algorithmic World – OneZero

The Google Stadia Backlash Has Begun

Mar 23, 2019 | games & graphics

While people are still grappling with the technical ramifications of Google’s Stadia platform, gamers have begun asking deeper, more troubling questions. What do mods look like in a world of game streaming? What happens to game preservation? What happens if Google dwarfs gaming the same way it has with search, browsers and advertising? And most worryingly of all, what happens if Google decides to walk away from the industry later on?

Source: The Google Stadia Backlash Has Begun

Is it still possible to grow on Instagram in 2019? 

Mar 23, 2019 | featured, networking

If you just want the social recognition of having followers, just buy 20k followers for a couple of dollars and just post stories that no one will watch. It’ll impress your friends but it will have absolutely no impact on your business nor on your brand. You’ll feel like the popular one among your friends for a couple weeks before Instagram understands that you’re a cheater and deletes your account or seriously reduces your organic reach.

Source: Is it still possible to grow on Instagram in 2019? – Charles Tumiotto Jackson – Medium

The Omnichannel Race Tightens in the U.S. as Walmart, Instacart and Kroger are Closing the Gap on Amazon’s Digital Dominance

Mar 20, 2019 | trends

The race to master omnichannel retail within the U.S. grocery/consumer packaged goods space is on. With Walmart’s successful push toward online migration, the rapid rise of grocery delivery players like Instacart, complemented by Amazon’s foray into physical stores, the stage has been set for a battle royale—and it’s really anyone’s game to win.

Source: The Omnichannel Race Tightens in the U.S. as Walmart, Instacart and Kroger are Closing the Gap on Amazon’s Digital Dominance

Skip Rates: Why The First 30 Seconds Matter More Than Ever

Mar 18, 2019 | audio

Skip rates can make or break a song, a record or even an artist’s career. On a practical level, royalties don’t kick in until at least 30 seconds of a song have played. But in an era where data is driving A&R and marketing decisions as well as playlists driven by algorithms, exactly how long a listeners stays engaged with a song matters more than ever.

Source: Skip Rates: Why The First 30 Seconds Matter More Than Ever – hypebot