Facebook Loyalty Survey and New Pinterest Ads

Loyalty survey reveals insights into travelers’ choices

Loyalty SurveyA recent Facebook loyalty survey of 14,700 adults in the U.S. uncovered fascinating details on brand loyalty. The survey looked at five verticals, but also included airlines and hotels. Overall, the loyalty survey found 77% of people saying they return to their favorite brands over and over. 37% said they make repeat purchases and are loyal to a brand while 40% indicated they make repeat purchases but are not loyal to a company.

The findings shed some light on loyalty when it comes to travel, including:

  • 23% of hotel brand loyalists value service and 21% value trust, while 31% of repeat purchasers value locations and 30% value price
  • 23% of hotel brand loyalists are Millennials and 30% are Boomers

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A Facebook Halloween and Twitter’s Q3

A very Facebook Halloween

Facebook HalloweenFacebook is getting spooky for Halloween – but Snapchat may be the only one who should be scared. Facebook is allowing users to use animated masks – similar to Snapchat’s animated filters – in Facebook Live. The company says a number of Halloween-themed animated masks are planned for the next few days. However – you can expect to see the animated filters becoming a permanent fixture on Facebook Live videos. The new addition is clear shot at Snapchat, which is famous for animated filters users can play with. Facebook-owned Instagram also recently added its own version of Snapchat Stories.

In addition to the Facebook Halloween masks, the company will also launch Halloween reactions. Look for pumpkins, ghosts, witches and candy corn where your usual buttons normally are and have some spooky fun. Read more

Facebook Groups Getting Ads, Pinterest Users Grow

Are Facebook Groups getting ads?

Facebook Groups

Credit: TechCrunch

For their next trick Facebook may be rolling out ads to Facebook Groups. People in some overseas countries have reportedly been seeing ads in their Groups – which could mark a new way to earn revenue for the social network.

Facebook confirmed that the ads will look just like the ads seen in News Feeds and utilize the same targeting utilized in other ad types on the site – but also include the ability to target based on Facebook Groups.

This new ad type could be a great way for Facebook to expand given that Facebook expects to hit maximum News Feed ad load in mid-2017. Read more

Facebook Secret Conversations, Marketplace

Secret Conversations quietly rolls out

Secret ConversationsBack in July, Facebook mentioned it was testing out end-to-end encryption for its Messenger app. This would allow users to select the option for  “Secret Conversations” and also give users the ability to select an expiration for the messages – similar to Snapchat. Facebook now appears to have rolled out that ability for all users over the past few weeks – but has been very quiet about not publicizing the move.

Right now, the option to add Secret Conversations should be appearing in the upper right of the app for users and must be selected, or opted-in, for every conversation. Back in July Facebook stressed that Messenger conversations were already secure – but many Messenger services don’t work with end-to-end encrption. The addition of Secret Conversations appears to fulfill two separate goals: chipping away at Snapchat’s user base while also providing more security to users looking to maintain more privacy.

Facebook Marketplace now open

marketplaceAnother new addition this week is the new Marketplace feature from Facebook. This new Craigslist-like feature allows you to look for people to sell goods to or find people selling items of interests in your area. The big difference between Marketplace and sites like Etsy or eBay is that no money is exchanged on Facebook.

Marketplace works by clicking on a tab at the bottom of your Newsfeed and view the listings in your area. From here, you’ll be able to filter and search by category, keyword and distance. Once you find something you’re interested in you can tap on the seller’s profile – which is their public Facebook profile – to check them out and make sure everything is legit. From here, you and the seller (or buyer) just need to come to an agreement on the transaction.

Facebook’s says its goal with Marketplace was to make the process as simple as possible while providing people with the information they need to feel secure about buying and selling online.

TripAdvisor Redesign and Instagram Low Light Button

TripAdvisor Redesign

TripAdvisor RedesignA TripAdvisor redesign puts bookings front and center on the home page. Released this week, visitors will be presented with the option to search for – and book – hotels, attractions, restaurants and flights.

The new design shifts the focus of the site away from the simple hotel reviews the site was once known for. The new TripAdvisor redesign looks to capitalize on the huge growth in bookings on the site. In fact, TripAdvisor reports a 150% increase in bookings year-over-year, underlying the importance for such a redesign.

Along with the redesign, a new strapline, “Know Better. Book Better. Go Better” lets site visitors know right away they can educate themselves and book through TripAdvisor for a better travel experience. Read more

Olympics Social Video Views, Cuban Commercial Flights

Olympics Draw Massive Views

Rio OlympicsThe 2016 Rio Olympics games drew serious video views but, unfortunately for NBC, those views were on Facebook. While NBC cited millennials as a reason for the 15% dip in ratings from the London 2012 games, 59% of the 285 million unique video viewers on Facebook came from people under the age of 35.

Social Times reports 139 million views also came from Facebook Live – giving credence to the accusation that NBC – and not millennials was to blame for a dip in network ratings. Many have noted that NBC made it exceptionally difficult to watch the games due to a poor streaming experience.

Indeed, more than 277 million people had more than 1.5 billion interactions with Olympic content on Facebook during the games. Snapchat also reported 50 million Olympic video views while Twitter indicated it saw more than 187 million Olympic-focused tweets.

Commercial Flights to Cuba Coming Soon?

Cuba announced this week it would be ready to begin receiving U.S. commercial flights as early as next week.

JetBlue will perform the inaugural flight August 31 after a more than half century of commercial flight cessation. This is the latest in a tourism boom for Cuba since a 2014 announcement that the U.S. and its Cold War enemy would normalize diplomatic ties. The first U.S. cruise ship to visit the island nation arrived earlier this year.

Pinterest Promoted Video and Snapchat vs Instagram

Pinterest Adds Promoted Video

Pinterest Promoted VideoPinterest Promoted Video ads are now available to advertisers on the social network. The announcement came earlier this week as Pinterest appears to look to take a cut of the massive number of video views on social media.

However, these ads are more than simple video view ads. Pinterest Promoted Video ads allow for clickable Pins to be integrated directly into the video. Wondering how that looks? Check out the video below.

Pinterest claims that early results indicated Promoted Video ads were four times more memorable than non-video ads. These types of ads an even be saved and watched later.

Instagram Not Slowing Snapchat Down

Credit: SensorTower

Credit: SensorTower

We recently wrote about Instagram Stories and how they may impact Snapchat Stories and even platform usage. While it’s still early, a report by SensorTower indicates that there hasn’t been a noticeable decline in Snapchat’s usage.

While Instagram Stories have only been out for two weeks a surge of people trying Instagram Stories over Snapchat does not appear to be happening. This may lead credence to the view that the two platforms will be able to co-exist without cutting too much into one another’s user base.

Facebook Ad Preferences and Algorithm Updates

Facebook Ad Preferences Hone Interests Facebook Ad Preferences

New Facebook ad preferences available to Facebook users may seem detrimental at first – but let us explain. Facebook is using pictures to help users determine the kinds of content they want to see ads from – including travel. This means a more relevant audience for our ads – even if that audience is a bit smaller than what it previously was.

Even better, when a user taps on a particular image they’ll be provided with additional sub-categories to help select the kinds of ads they want to see. This means users will be able to be presented with the kinds of content they want to engage and interact with.

Interestingly, Facebook is also reportedly blocking ad blockers. The preferences are available for many users now, but will be fully available by the end of the month.

Another Facebook Algorithm Update

Another week and another Facebook algorithm update. The social network’s new algorithm aims to make our newsfeeds provide us with more valuable information. Facebook is updating its Feed Quality Program, a database analyzing thousands of surveys with feedback on newsfeeds each day, to create a new ranking system to identify what people find more informative.

Naturally, what may be informative to one person may not be interesting at all to another. Because of that, Facebook is working to tailor each feed to each user to provide a better experience. Facebook predicts some pages may see a “small increase” in referrals and engagement while others may see a small decline. This is likely dependent on the kinds of content published. The new algorithm was announced Thursday and takes effect immediately.

 

Instagram Stories, Snapchat Olympic Filters

Instagram Throws Down Gauntlet, Introduces Instagram Stories

Instagram StoriesInstagram stepped things up quite a bit this week with the introduction of “Instagram Stories”, which allows users to catalogue and share a number of pictures or videos taken throughout the day to help avoid “overposting.”
Instagram Stories work similar to Snapchat Stories in that they will disappear after 24 hours and allow users to draw on and add fun images to your content.

Already, some outlets are claiming Instagram Stories are superior to Snapchat Stories, but it remains to be seen if the new tool will add a nail in Snapchat’s coffin – as it clearly is meant to do.

Snapchat Goes for the Gold

Snapchat Olympics FiltersSpeaking of Snapchat, the social network is getting into the spirit of the Olympics with special filters, lenses and stickers. The Rio Summer Olympics (which kick off today) are also getting a special NBC Olympics channel on its Discover section to help users keep up on all of the excitement no matter where they are.

Snapchat is even curating Live Stories from some countries (U.S. included) that will highlight some great moments from the games.

Another interesting (and very cool, in my opinion) function will include country-specific geofilters that will automatically display medal counts by country. Of course, if you aren’t in Rio you’ll only be able to look on from afar, but at least Snapchat is making it interesting for those in attendance for the games!

Instagram Business Pages Rollout, Facebook Business Pages Change

Instagram Business Pages Now Available

Instagram Business PagesThe big news this week involves those Instagram Business Pages we told you about a few months ago. Well, they’re here! Several TwoSix Digital clients noticed the option to switch over to the new page through their page settings – and they look great!

The new Business Pages provide more options to include information on your business including a phone number, address and email along with a “Contact” button.

Perhaps one of the most exciting additions to Instagram Business Profiles is the access to free analytics. Businesses and social media managers will now be able to access key information on posts and followers without the use of a third party app or website.

While it is not mandatory to switch over right now, it may only be a matter of time before accounts are forced over to used the new profile. Social Media Examiner has a great article on how to switch over and set up your Instagram Business Profile here.  Read more