New “Tracking Specs” Allow Facebook Advertisers To Track Specs Without Optimising Them

Facebook has introduced tracking specs on the ads API, a new tool which allows Facebook Advertisers to track specs without having to optimise them as well.

Before, only conversion specs were available to advertisers on the ads API. Conversion specs allow advertisers to detail and track their ads, but also automatically optimises ads for actions such as page likes and click-throughs based on the engagement they receive and the ads settings.
By using Optimized CPM, advertisers ensure that Facebook automatically targets users who are more likely to engage with their ads in the way defined in the conversion specs. However, advertisers wanted to be able to track their ads without having to optimise them.

According to the description on the Facebook developers pages:

Tracking specs allow you to track what actions are taken by users interacting with your ad. Tracking specs will only track, it will not optimize for that action nor does it charge based on that action. Please see conversion spec to learn how to create ads that optimize for a specific action.

Now, both conversion specs and tracking specs are available to advertisers using Facebook’s ads API. “Advertisers can define conversion specs to optimize for, then use tracking specs to measure results”, suggests Inside Facebook. Like conversion specs, tracking specs can be used to measure the effect of any Facebook ad type.

What do you think of the new tracking specs?

Facebook Finally Adds 'Reply' Option to Comments

Facebook announced on Monday it is rolling out a new feature so users can reply directly to comments left on their page. Finally.
Followings months of testing, the social network aims to make navigating through conversation threads easier with the new Replies feature. This means that, instead of having to leave a response to a friend's comment way after new ones have been added, you will be able to address each individual comment. Responses will be posted under the original comment too. 

The site is also prioritizing comments based on engagement — the most active and popular ones will surface to the top of your posts. This will be especially helpful for pages with thousands of followers.

"You and your readers will have the ability to reply directly to comments left on your Page content and start conversation threads, which will make it easier for you to interact directly with individual readers and keep relevant conversations connected," said Vadim Lavrusik, Facebook's journalism program manager, in an official blog post. "Also, the most active and engaging conversations among your readers will be surfaced at the top of your posts ensuring that people who visit your Page will see the best conversations."

For now, threaded replies will be automatically applied to profiles with more than 10,000 followers and opt in for brand Pages until July 10, 2013. To opt in, visit the Replies option through the Page admin panel.

"At launch, this feature will only be available on desktop and we plan to make it available in the Graph API and mobile in the future," Lavrusik added.

Mashable composite, Images via iStockphoto, crossroadscreative, and logo courtesy of Facebook

YouTube Now Has One Billion Monthly Users

We all know YouTube is the biggest video sharing site around, but how big is it, exactly, when compared to sites such as Facebook or Twitter? Here's a hint: YouTube has just hit one billion monthly unique users.
For comparison, Facebook hit that milestone in October 2012. It took the social network eight years to reach one billion active users — almost the exact amount of time as YouTube, which was founded in February 2005. Twitter, which has been around since March 2006, has more than 200 million monthly active users.

The YouTube team gives us a few more comparisons for good measure: "Nearly one out of every two people on the Internet visits YouTube. Our monthly viewership is the equivalent of roughly ten Super Bowl audiences. If YouTube were a country, we’d be the third largest in the world after China and India," says YouTube on its official blog.

YouTube also gives a more detailed insight on what's powering this growth in another blog post about Generation C and mobile devices. According to YouTube, Generation C (or Gen C) is a generation that has grown up consuming content "where and when they want". They watch YouTube on all screens; they constantly switch between devices, they're deeply engaged with online video and they thrive on community. Finally, they're curators — they care about finding content that's important to them.

Gen C, which YouTube considers to be its core audience, now watch just as much YouTube content on smartphones as they do on PCs, and 67% of Gen C watch YouTube on two devices or more, compared to 53% of the general population.

With the rise of smartphones, which have become the dominant force in the mobile phone industry in the last couple of years and show no signs of slowing down, YouTube needn't worry about maintaining this growth for at least another couple of years.

Image credit: YouTube

Pinterest’s New Look Is Rolling Out To All Users

Pinterest’s redesigned look, which went through a short testing period in January, is being rolled out to all users over the next few weeks.

At the beginning of 2013, Pinterest asked a few users to test an updated version of the social pinboard site. Pinterest took the testers’ feedback into account and made a few more tweaks to the site. Earlier today, Pinterest announced that the update was being released to everyone, informing users on the Pinterest blog that they would see an invite to the new look soon.

Enlarged pins have been improved, with more information surrounding a pin after it has been clicked. Surrounding a chosen pin are pins from the same board, pins from the same website and pins from other people who also pinned the enlarged pin. Pins from the latter group are laid out exactly as the would be on the home page, as well as on individual boards. Pins from the same board are also laid out in a similar fashion, but only as images – without repins, likes or comments.


Mobile users won’t be able to see the pins from people who also pinned the enlarged pin just yet, but Pinterest say that the feature will be introduced to Android and iOS users soon.

Pinterest has made significant changes to the foundation that the website is built upon, making it easier to update and simpler to use. Pinterest didn’t want users to have “to learn anything new”, so they’ve made “some subtle but useful changes”. For example, pins are bigger so that there is more to see.

Also, Pinterest “responded to some feedback from pinners who told [Pinterest that] they hated losing their place while browsing. Now, when you scroll through pins and click on something that interests you, the back button lands you right back where you were no matter how far you’ve gone.”

What do you think of Pinterest’s new look?

Twitter Will Release Music Discovery App This Month

Twitter is planning to release a standalone music app for iOS called Twitter Music as soon as the end of this month, according to CNET.

CNET reports that Twitter Music will help users discover artists and will stream music in the app through Soundcloud. The app itself is reportedly powered by technology from We Are Hunted, a San Francisco based startup that processes feedback for songs on social media among other places, and which CNET says Twitter quietly acquired last year.

The app is said to have four sections, including a 'Suggestions' tab for recommended music, a 'Popular' tab for trending tracks and a '#NowPlaying' tab that shows songs being tweeted by people you follow on the social network or in the app. Importantly, users aren't required to have a Twitter account in order to use Twitter Music, which might help the social networking company broaden its user base.

If true, this move would put Twitter into an increasingly competitive space. Facebook is rolling out a new subfeed solely for sharing music and Tumblr recently added a music category to its explore page. Big companies like Apple and Google are also said to be looking into launching music streaming services.

Twitter did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Mashable composite. Image courtesy iStockphoto, mstay

Photo Sharing Networks

Facebook and Twitter may gain you exposure and help grow your list with email marketing but there are new networks worth checking out. One of the advantages of these networks is they have targeted audiences, and because they are new-comers to the scene they are gaining popularity.

Some of the big names are already engaging with these niche social media sites and communicating directly with their target audience. Pinterest - Lets you build boards and pin pictures to them. A very simple idea but one that is growing fast. These can then be liked, re-pinned and commented upon.

You can follow and be followed in a similar way to other social media networks. If your business has products, photographs can be pinned to your boards which in turn will be liked and re-pinned. Connect with your customers by responding and re-pinning content. All items pinned link back to the originating source, your website. Your personality can be expressed with a board of the things you like on the web:

• your style;
• what or who motivates you;
• your likes and ambitions.

I find it a very positive network, very refreshing! The site has 10.4 million registered users and 12 million unique visits monthly. 97% of the site's Facebook 'likes' are female as are most of the sites users. ( http://www.business2community.com for Stats )

Instagram - With around 10 million active users (Sept 2011), Instagram was launched in 2010 in Apple's app store. By August 2011 users had uploaded 150 million photos.By April 2012 they have reached 30 million users.

As the mobile market develops the ability to share, follow and comment on photographs with your iPhone, has seen Instagram become a fast growing share network.
Several of the large brands are using the site to communicate with their customers, sharing photos that represent their brand and inform followers of other aspects of their business. For example, Burberry's stream has shots from behind-the-scenes at a fashion shoot, showing customers and followers interesting aspects of their brand.

Since the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook the new version of the App took advantage of the benefits of Facebook's Open Graph. You can now post your Instagram Likes directly to your Facebook account, all in one place. And if you manage a Facebook Page - you can post to your Page without leaving the App.
Personalise your stream with photos that you like, that express your personality and branding. Communicating in this way makes your business more approachable, more human.
Other photo sharing sites Flickr and Fotolog can be used in the same way to communicate with your customers. The internet is rapidly becoming a visually colourful shared world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7537932

Tumblr Expecting To Be Profitable In 2013 After Introducing Mobile Advertising

The Vice President of Tumblr, Derek Gottfried, has announced that the popular microblogging site is expecting to make its first annual profit this year, after extending its web advertising model to mobile devices.

Tumblr currently hosts almost 100 million different blogs, both professional and personal, and registers around 15 billion impressions every month, according to statistics corporation Quantcast. Although currently not as popular as its web equivalent, Tumblr’s mobile app is closing the gap, having quadrupled its membership in the last six months.

Gottfried, who has previously expressed his disdain for traditional web advertising, has implemented a different advertising system on Tumblr: companies can pay Tumblr to promote their blogs and blog posts to wider audiences, but it is up to them to make the content original and interesting. The better the content, the more likely it will be that other Tumblr users repost adverts on their own blog or heart it (similar to a Facebook “Like”): the more users interact with the advertising, the wider it will spread.

Advertisers are not able to purchase ad space or use keywords on Tumblr, but the promoted blog post system, which costs just under “just under six figures” a pop according to Tumblr’s head of sales Lee Brown, can be very successful – success which is measured in the number of reposts and hearts posts receive. Brown also emphasised the uniqueness of Tumblr’s ad model:

We’re not bringing them a template or format to complete, we’re giving them a canvas. That takes a lot of time and a lot of thought […] Marketers have become accustomed to buying scale as opposed to earning it. We’re not really selling ads, we’re promoting their content.

Companies are advised to advertise on Tumblr subtly, creating content that will spread through the site organically. Coca Cola’s “Happiness Is” Tumblr blog, for example, which features images and gifs similar to those most popular on the site, has promoted Coca Cola without the need for blatant branding.

The advertising model has been so successful and lucrative on the web that it is now being introduced to mobile devices, a move which Brown expects will lead to profits. Tumblr has already tested mobile advertising behind closed doors, tests which thus far have been successful, and is now opening the service up to companies who want to use it.

Have you seen any advertising on Tumblr? Did you like it?

Facebook Tests New Timeline And ‘Like Page’ Button, Announces News Feed Redesign

Facebook has begun testing a new profile page design in New Zealand, with a smaller toolbar beneath the cover photo and an off-centre Timeline. A new ‘Like Page’ button is also being tested.

The toolbar now consists of text boxes rather than iframes, with some of the original tabs moved elsewhere on the page: the About, Friends, Photos and More tabs remain, joined by a Timeline navigation button, but Maps has been recategorised into the Places section and Followers is now in the More tab.

There are Message, Call and options buttons, the latter denoted by the cog emblem, at the bottom corner of the cover photo, as well as an add friend box, which becomes ticked when activated.

A few other sections of the timeline page have been rearranged: the comments section has been moved from left to right, with the activity section beneath, and the About box has been enlarged, with defined sections for job, education, birthplace and location information.

There is also a new three-by-three photos box of friends on the left of the page as opposed to the original two-by-four rectangle. Notes, Likes and Apps are beneath the Friends box and the Places section.

This is the third redesign to be tested in a matter of months, with the off-centre timeline introduced in October and then adjusted a few months later. The previous timeline redesign was also originally tested in New Zealand.

The Redesign also includes an updated link post when articles are shared on Facebook. A new ‘Like Page’ button has been added to the bottom right of links to articles and other offsite content posted on Facebook, allowing friends of the sharer to like the Facebook page of the article’s source.

The new ‘Like Page’ button, if introduced to Facebook users worldwide, will certainly help to drive traffic to company Facebook pages. Its inoffensive yet omnipresent placement, appearing, as it does, in the corner of a friend’s recommendation, will make it an invaluable tool for businesses on Facebook.

In related news, Facebook has sent out invitations to a press event on March 7th, where the company will unveil a News Feed redesign.

The News Feed hasn’t been updated significantly since September 2011, so the announcement has many in the social media marketing world excited.

For a slideshow of screenshots of the Timeline redesign go to Mashable.

What do you think of the new Timeline? Are you looking forward to the News Feed redesign?