This week in 60 seconds…
- Cambridge Analytica and algorithm changes aside, Facebook is set to hoover up over 84% of the predicted £3.3bn that will be spent on social media networks in the UK this year and overtake TV ad sales
- However impressive that statistic is, the media spotlight has been on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for a different reason this week – predominantly because of his war of words with Apple CEO Tim Cook
- In other platform rivalry news, Instagram and Snapchat will be happy to have the incredibly popular Giphy feature back after its racism-induced hiatus
- It’s just lucky that Giphy is an official built-in app on Instagram as the platform chokes off the API for unofficial developers to combat data scandals
- In more positive news, Snapchat is instigating group video calls that can hold 16 people on the platform. Just make sure you don’t all talk at once
A final thought…
If you work for a brand that engages with Snapchat’s key demographics, basically Gen Z, consider using the new 16-person video call feature to get closer to your audiences. Use a brand advocate as the admin and allow the lucky 15 winners of a competition to get a private masterclass with that influencer – whatever your industry may be.
Data Dose
Social media spend is rising dramatically year on year. It accounted for 16% of the global digital spend last year at $35.98 billion. That was an increase of $13 billion dollars in just two years and a consistent growth of $6 billion across half a decade. Given that the UK alone will be spending £3.3 billion this year, it looks like 2018 is going to be even bigger.
SHARE News
This week we joined our friends at The North Face for an evening of inspiration and exploration at the #SheMovesMountains launch, an initiative to fill the world with more relentless explorers, and inspire more of them. Read more about this incredible campaign here.