Facebook tests new sidebar ad format with horizontal image above body copy
Facebook is testing a new format for marketplace ads in the right
hand column of its desktop site. The new design gives ads an image that
stretches across width of the ad and body copy that runs beneath it.
The layout is reminiscent of some of the social network’s new mobile ad formats, such as that for mobile app install ads, which also includes a banner above text. For now, this ad design is only appearing on permanent link pages for posts, not on News Feed, Timeline or other pages.
A spokesperson for the social network said in a statement:
The layout is reminiscent of some of the social network’s new mobile ad formats, such as that for mobile app install ads, which also includes a banner above text. For now, this ad design is only appearing on permanent link pages for posts, not on News Feed, Timeline or other pages.
A spokesperson for the social network said in a statement:
“We are running a small test in the U.S. where some people might see ads in the right-hand column that feature larger images. We have seen that people respond favorably to larger images — both from people and pages — in News Feed, and as such we are testing this out on the right–hand side.”(more…)
Instagram brings image feed to the web
Instagram
has launched its image feed to the web, allowing users to scroll
through users’ photos on their web browsers, the Facebook-owned company
announced on its blog.Users no longer have to use dedicated mobile apps to browse through the content their friends and connections share. The desktop feed lets users like and comment on images, but does not support uploading pictures on desktop. The feed is also optimized for mobile device users that may not already have a dedicated native app.
(more…)
Facebook tries new tactics to get users to invite friends to events
Facebook
is testing different ways to encourage users to share events with their
friends, including suggested invites and prompts to post about the
event.“Events are more fun with your friends,” says a dialog that appears after users click the “join” button to RSVP. In this dialog, some users are seeing an option to invite specific friends, whereas others get a share module to post the event to their Timeline and friends’ News Feeds. These features could lead more users to engage with Facebook Events and discover things to do.
(more…)
Spredfast raises $18M, Sprinklr secures $15M for social marketing software
Two social marketing platform companies announced new funding today. Spredfast has raised $18 million in a venture capital round led by OpenView Venture Partners, and Sprinklr has raised $15 million in series B funding from Intel Capital and Battery Ventures.
Spredfast
offers social media management software for the enterprise, including
tools for publishing, monitoring, engagement and reporting across
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and more. It allows teams to create
a workflow and permissions model for different projects, maintain a
centralized content calendar and share assets in a content library. The
company has badges for apps and pages in Facebook’s Preferred Marketing
Developer Program.
In the past year, Spredfast has signed on AT&T, Caterpillar, Rackspace and Starbucks, and expanded relationships with AAA, T. Rowe Price, Whole Foods Market and Warner Brothers. The company reports 400 percent revenue growth and a doubling in employee headcount in 2012.
This is the third venture capital round for the Austin-based company. This latest round was led by OpenView Venture Partners, with additional investment from existing investors Austin Ventures and InterWest Partners. Spredfast has now raised a total of $31.6 million since 2010, according to Crunchbase.
Sprinklr
is another PMD with apps and pages badges. Its platform allows
marketers and other stakeholders to collaborate across a number of
channels. It offers governance tools to help brands manage different
divisions of their business, keeping them organized and compliant but
also free to manage day-to-day interactions with their audience and
customers.
Sprinklr says it works with more than 200 household brands, including 1-800-Flowers, Intel, Dell, Virgin America, Cisco Systems, Samsung, Hearst, Newell Rubbermaid, Sears and Toys “R” Us. The company also reports 400 percent year over year growth.
Battery Ventures was also behind the New York company’s $5 million venture round last year.
Spredfast
offers social media management software for the enterprise, including
tools for publishing, monitoring, engagement and reporting across
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and more. It allows teams to create
a workflow and permissions model for different projects, maintain a
centralized content calendar and share assets in a content library. The
company has badges for apps and pages in Facebook’s Preferred Marketing
Developer Program.In the past year, Spredfast has signed on AT&T, Caterpillar, Rackspace and Starbucks, and expanded relationships with AAA, T. Rowe Price, Whole Foods Market and Warner Brothers. The company reports 400 percent revenue growth and a doubling in employee headcount in 2012.
This is the third venture capital round for the Austin-based company. This latest round was led by OpenView Venture Partners, with additional investment from existing investors Austin Ventures and InterWest Partners. Spredfast has now raised a total of $31.6 million since 2010, according to Crunchbase.
Sprinklr
is another PMD with apps and pages badges. Its platform allows
marketers and other stakeholders to collaborate across a number of
channels. It offers governance tools to help brands manage different
divisions of their business, keeping them organized and compliant but
also free to manage day-to-day interactions with their audience and
customers.Sprinklr says it works with more than 200 household brands, including 1-800-Flowers, Intel, Dell, Virgin America, Cisco Systems, Samsung, Hearst, Newell Rubbermaid, Sears and Toys “R” Us. The company also reports 400 percent year over year growth.
Battery Ventures was also behind the New York company’s $5 million venture round last year.
Facebook ‘Lookalike Audiences’ help advertisers reach users similar to current customers, others in their database
Facebook is testing a new feature called “Lookalike Audiences” that helps advertisers target users similar to those in their Custom Audience databases,
a spokesperson from the company tells us. Advertisers in the beta have
seen lower costs per action than with traditional targeting options.Lookalike Audiences can be created after an advertiser has uploaded a list of first-party data, such as customer email addresses, phone numbers or user IDs to make a Custom Audience. Facebook’s algorithms analyze the Custom Audience and produce another audience segment that is likely to have a similar customer profile. The advertiser can then create any Facebook ad type and target it to the Lookalike Audience. No personally identifiable information is shared back with advertisers and Lookalike Audiences can only be used within Facebook, not exported for email marketing or other ad targeting.
The feature is in limited beta from the Power Editor tool in the U.S. Lookalike Audiences cannot yet be created through the main self-serve ad dashboard or the Ads API. Advertisers can optimize for reach, which will return Lookalike Audiences that are larger but a bit less precise, or optimize for similarity, which will return audiences that are smaller but more similar to the advertiser’s existing Custom Audience. Lookalike Audiences can be combined with other interest or demographic targeting options, so an advertiser could limit its ads to a similar audience that lives in Ohio, or a similar audience who is not already a fan of the advertiser’s page, for example.
(more…)
Facebook prompts users to Like pages associated with domains their friends share
Some Facebook users are seeing prompts in News Feed to Like pages related to the URLs their friends share, according to Lost Press Marketing.For example, if a user Likes a post from a friend who shared a link to the New York Times, Facebook might prompt the user to Like the New York Times page directly from the post. Facebook is testing language like “Want to see more from [this publisher]?” and “Keep up with [this publisher].”
The feature seems aimed at getting users to discover more relevant content in their feeds, while also building connections that will improve ad targeting, Graph Search and other personalized aspects of Facebook. Publishers could benefit from the free promotion, though they might not be able to track which Likes are coming from the new prompt.
(more…)
Facebook to implement AdChoices icon on FBX ads to improve transparency
Facebook
has agreed to display an industry-standard icon on its ads that are
targeted using third-party data about users’ Internet browsing history,
according to AdAge.The blue AdChoices icon, seen right, will be visible when users mouse over an ad that has been served through the Facebook Exchange, the social network’s real-time bidding platform that can serve ads based on third-party cookies instead of Facebook’s own data.
The AdChoices program was created by the Digital Advertising Alliance. The icon is meant to provide transparency and give users ways to opt out of online behavioral advertising. Currently, when users see an FBX ad, they can click “About This Ad” to be taken to the website of the demand side platform that served the ad. The DSP will give users information about how their information was collected and used, as well as the option to opt out of remarketing ads. Moving forward, Facebook will offer the same functionality but include the AdChoices icon to better adhere to industry standards.
(more…)
This week’s headlines from across Inside Network
A roundup of all the news Inside Network brought you between Jan. 28 and Feb. 1.
Inside Mobile Apps
Tracking the convergence of mobile apps, social platforms and virtual goods.Monday, Jan. 28
- Backspaces sets its sights on dissatisfied Instagram users
- Puzzle & Dragons reaches 7 million downloads, GungHo now more valuable than Zynga
- CloID aims to simplify contact management
- App Annie takes an-depth look at the mobile app economy in Japan
- Temple Run 2, What’s the Word, and Ghostbusters on this week’s top free apps charts
- Fiksu: Holidays boost app downloads and mobile marketing costs
- OpenTable acquires FoodSpotting for $10 million cash
- Mixpanel launches Revenue Analytics, tracks any and all revenue data for app developers
- Gameloft Q4 2012 revenues up 23% year-over-year to €57.7M, fiscal year revenues up 27% year-over-year to €208.3M
- Vine could be the next big thing in social video sharing
- Banana Kong, Sleep Cycle, Super Hexagon and more on this week’s top paid app charts
- WebEx co-founder launches Moxtra app to organize your multimedia, foster collaboration
- No more waiting at the bar with iDon’tQ
- The Inside Network Job Board: Spil games, Hitachi, Twitter and more
- App Annie: Google Play revenue doubles quarter-over-quarter, revenue growth led by Japan and South Korea
- EA generates $79M in revenue on mobile in Q3 2013, up 20 percent quarter-over-quarter
- What’s the Word, ForeFlight, and Fantasica on this week’s top grossing apps charts
- No-frills rich editing on the go with Texts
- Temple Run 2 runs to 50 million downloads in two weeks, shatters previous record
- New hires in mobile apps: Wooga, Akamon and DeNA
- Facebook mobile app install ads used by 20 percent of the top 100 grossing iOS apps
- Millennial Media: Android platform accounts for 64% of games impressions, 12 percent higher than the ad network’s platform average for Android
- Exclusive: W3i partners with HasOffers, accurately track which ad networks drove app installs with MobileAppTracking
- Schedule it with friends in TheTudu
- Mobile apps news roundup: Apple, Gameloft, Twitter and more
- Distimo analyzes the impact of price changes on download volumes, revenue
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