Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bonded Bitesize – Bringing you your midweek roundup of the latest in digital and media. Stay connected with recent updates from Disney, Meta, Apple, TikTok & many more!
New report shows significant decline in teens using the platform
According to a study carried out at Pew Research Centre, only 32% of teens (aged 13-17) use Facebook at all, a significant drop from the 71% of teens who stated they used the platform in Pew’s equivalent 2015 study. The 2022 report shared that 59% of teens use Snapchat, 62% use Instagram (both having grown since 2015 to now overtake Facebook) and 67% of teens use TikTok. The highest ranking, Youtube, is used by 95% of the demographic. Facebook's decreasing figures likely come as no surprise as teens associate the platform with their parents and older users and do not find it provides value amongst its competition.
Our takeaway… Not all social media platforms boast the same reach to different target audiences. To maximise the value of your social media campaigns, consider who you want to communicate with, and the channels that they use the most.
AI update will help improve quality of featured snippets in search results
Google’s new AI model ‘Multi-task Unified Model’ will help its search rank system check the quality of the featured snippets it displays in bold text at the top of results pages. These snippets are algorithmically populated, meaning they are not always as reliable as they may seem - the new AI model will work to cross reference the information presented with a range of reliable sources to test its quality and helpfulness.Alongside this, the new AI model will help to identify flaws in flawed search queries - such as questions where there are no answers. The company claims this update is reducing false premise results by 40%.
LinkedIn is rolling out a templates feature, enabling users to design their text posts to make them stand out in feeds
LinkedIn have created a template for text posts, allowing users to turn text into customisable images - with a range of colour, background and font choices for users to play around with. This is another update that helps content creators easily create and share visual content on the platform, having also announced plans to allow users to add links on top of media, as well as swipeable multi-media carousels.
Apple is reported to be exploring new ways to add ads to its first-party apps like Maps, News, Stocks, Podcasts
Apple is rumoured to be expanding ads beyond its app store, potentially pushing ad space within pre-installed first-party apps such as Apple Maps, News, Podcasts, Apple TV etc. Last year Apple launched ATT (Apple Tracking Transparency), a controversial feature that gave users the choice to decide whether apps could track them across other applications and websites - having detrimental effects on the revenues of companies like Snap inc. and Meta. Having claimed ATT was launched to protect user privacy, this push of Apple ads shows how this move has allowed Apple to carve out more of the ad market revenue for itself.
TikTok have rolled out an in-app text-to-image generator that produces relevant images to be used in the background of video content
TikTok’s new ‘AI greenscreen’ effect allows users to create AI generated images to use as backgrounds in their videos. The text-to-image generator requires users to type a prompt, then displaying an abstract image derived from the prompt. Text-to-image generators are becoming increasingly popular at the moment, with the popularity of OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 and Google’s Imagen. Compared to these AI generators, TikTok’s ‘AI greenscreen’ is quite basic, producing abstract imagery rather than photorealistic imagery - especially when prompts include nudity or violent wording. Whether it’s the future of illustration, or just a passing trend - try it out for yourself.
Snapchats premium service has over 1 million subscribers and new features
Snapchat has revealed its paid subscription plan, Snapchat+, now has over 1 million users across the world. Having only launched in June, the premium tier is reported to have earned the company over $5m within its first 30 days. Snapchat+ is launching a series of new features including prioritising subscribers replies over non-paid users replies to ‘Snap Stars’ (well-known creators & celebrities) as well as visual features such as custom emoji sign offs, custom icons and exclusive bitmoji backgrounds.
Youtube reported to launch a channel store for selection of streaming services
According to The Wall Street Journal, Youtube is planning to launch an on-site channel store for streaming services, and is in talks with several entertainment companies about participating. Acting as a middleman between streamer and subscriber, the channel store will enable users to subscribe to separate streaming services via the app and taking a percentage of the subscription fee. Sources say the channel store has been in the works for 18 months, and is likely to be rolled out in Autumn.
Singaporean startup helps merchants sell via WhatsApp
Meta has invested in Take App, a startup company that lets merchants sell their products through Meta-owned WhatsApp. Founded by a former Facebook engineering manager, the app was designed to bridge the gap for small-business owners in Southeast Asia - allowing users with little technical knowledge to set up a simple website that allows them to take online orders, make payments and manage and track orders. With a central focus on restaurants, the company also works with bakeries, grocers, beauty salons and more - allowing these companies to retain their customer base by sending newsletters with offers and updates.
Meta has partnered with DoorDash to test delivery of Facebook Marketplace items
DoorDash Drive, the company's business-to-business service, provides drivers to merchants through their own website or app. Partnering with Meta, the company is in early stages of testing a service that will enable DoorDash drivers to deliver items from Facebook Marketplace to customers. Being tested in several US cities, DoorDash claims this new initiative brings it one step closer towards their ultimate goal of delivering anything from anywhere.
Netflix build Action movie ‘Gray Man’ Metaverse Experience in Decentraland
Netflix has partnered with Decentraland, a 3D virtual world, allowing users to live out a scene from the new action movie ‘Gray Man’. The month-long experiment seeks to promote the new spy thriller, whilst looking for new ways to engage audiences. Coined the ‘Metaverse mission’, 2000 users were reported to have gone through the maze in the first week it went live. Featuring the voice of main protagonist Ryan Gosling, music from the film and signature looks of three of the films secret agents. Other big brands such as Coke, Nike, Samsung and even designer fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana have all hosted metaverse experiences on the platform.
Meta introduces new way to schedule Facebook reels via Creator Studio
Meta has integrated a new feature into its Creator Studio that gives content creators another way to schedule Facebook reels. Originally users could only schedule reel content in the app itself, but this new integration means users can now easily schedule posts in desktop browsers too via the Creator Studio. There are rumours that Meta is also working on both post and reel scheduling for Instagram too, though it is not yet known when these features will be released.
Our takeaway… Scheduling content in advance is a great way of getting ahead on your marketing campaign, so this is a great new feature to take advantage of.
Disney has overtaken Netflix on subscriber count, with 221M compared to Netflix’s 220M. Disney is also increasing prices for subscribers.
End of quarter results show that Disney has overtaken Netflix on subscriber count (this was counting Hulu and ESPN+ viewers). Having launched in 2017, Disney's streaming service is growing market share at a time where Netflix is struggling to retain viewers. Having beat Netflix on subscriber count, Disney has announced it is increasing its prices in December, with users wanting to watch without commercials having to pay 38% more. Users that want to keep paying the same total will now receive ad-breaks.
Our takeaway… more viewers + more ad space = great marketing opportunities
New feature helps businesses ensure diversity when recruiting, alerting pages when their gender representation is unbalanced
LinkedIn’s new features help businesses elevate their diversity strategies, helping recruiters source new employees more inclusively. Diversity nudges will alert business pages when job applications do not have equal gender representation, and candidate names and photos can now be hidden to reduce unconscious hiring bias. These new features, based on customer feedback as well as a shift towards organisations to prioritising DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion).
Microsoft Bing is updating search results to include annotations of any active coupon codes for websites
Microsoft Bing has launched a new feature that displays any available coupon codes for websites in their search engine results page, helping shoppers stay informed and save money. These annotations nested within the search results provide coupon codes that can be copied and pasted when on the websites checkout. Alongside this feature, Bing are also adding ethical choice labels and price stability annotations to more search engine results pages too.
Our Takeaway… We think this is a great idea, and a way to bring potential customers to your website over competitors. Who isn’t pulled in by the premise of money off?
Love Island star Tasha Ghouri signs first ever non-fast fashion brand deal to come from the show
Love Island star, and finalist, Tasha Ghouri is the first of the latest cast to sign a big fashion brand deal after coming off the show. Chosen by Ebay as their first ever ‘Pre-Loved Ambassador’, Tasha’s partnership with the secondhand e-commerce platform will see her promoting a responsible and conscious way of shopping. Ebay shocked many viewers when it decided to sponsor this year's Love Island, leading to greater brand awareness in younger audiences.
