Channel roundup social media : September 2013
Essential intelligence on the latest developments from the world’s leading digital networks and channels, brought to you by Red Ant.
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SOCIAL
Facebook
Made to measure – Public Feed and Keyword Insight APIs
Facebook’s latest development should improve tracking and the measurement of effectiveness. The Public Feed API display gives a real-time feed of specific words within public updates, while the Keyword Insight API aggregates the number of posts within private and public updates that mention a specific term within a specific period of time (split by age, gender and location). Currently, they’re rolling these out to select brands in the USA.
G+
Gaining ground or gathering dust?
G+ has received mixed reviews in the past about the size of its user base compared with the number of people actively using it. So the results of a new report by GlobalWebIndex have been met with a degree of scepticism. They state that G+ has 318.4 million active users across 31 markets; however, it’s unclear how ‘active’ is defined and whether the figure conflates people who use their Google account to log in to their Gmail or upload photos to albums, which would naturally have a significant effect on the results.
The report also has some interesting things to say about the other social channels:
- Facebook has the highest penetration with 62% globally vs. 51% for Twitter and 44% for G+
- Facebook, Twitter and G+ on mobile are the channels seeing the most growth
- Across all channels, 292 million users followed a group or liked a branded page, with 111 million of those on smartphones and 67 million on tablets
- Gender-wise, Facebook has roughly a 50/50 split, but 66% of YouTube and G+ users are male
- In China, Facebook now has 21% penetration
- Pinterest and Tumblr are the fastest growing channels with 88% and 74% growth respectively
MOBILE, TABLET AND NEW TECH
iOS
iPhone 5S and 5C take the stage
Apple has finally launched its much-anticipated 5S and 5C iPhones. The 5S is the most expensive, and comes complete with built-in fingerprint technology which can be used to access the phone from the home screen as well as download content from Apple’s stores. In a new departure for the iPhone, the 5S comes in three different colours, including gold.
The 5C is the cheaper handset which Apple has been hinting at for a while now. A key feature is its plastic casing, which comes in a range of colours, and it has a slightly lower spec when it comes to processing capabilities and the camera.
The new iPhones will use iOS7, and will be available in stores over the next month or so.
CHINA UPDATE
Mobile
Xiaomi challenges iPhone
Xiaomi, Apple’s leading rival in China, has launched a 5-inch Mi3 handset, as a challenge to the new iPhone models. Xiaomi has gained a 5% share of the market since August 2011, which brings it level with Apple in China. The new phone is built for Android, has features more in line with Chinese consumer requirements and has a lower price point.
Paid ‘retweets’ under trial
Sina Weibo is testing a new paid ‘retweet’ feature for personal verified accounts. Each post has a ‘promotion’ link underneath it, named ‘Weibo Mission’. On clicking the link, influential accounts will then be displayed to allow users to retweet to them… for a price. This feature isn’t available to brands yet, but personalities, celebrities and industry leaders are using it to build awareness.
