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The Latest Influencer Marketing News & Insights: Instagram Has 600 Million Users, Facebook Plans Original Content, Sony Wins With YouTubers, & More

This week on the Mediakix blog, we shared:

• An infographic on how much time people spend on social media in a lifetime
• Examples of holiday influencer marketing campaigns
• An examination of how video views on YouTube, Facebook, and more are counted
• The 5 Best Snapchat influencer marketing tactics

Today’s Friday roundup of influencer marketing news will dive into social platform live streaming capabilities, Sony’s influencer marketing campaign, and more:

Instagram And Snapchat Add Big Features

Instagram has transformed in 2016. The platform now has over 600 million total users, with over 100 million joining within the past six months (Reuters). Within the year, Instagram adopted Stories, implemented shoppable photo tags, and launched disappearing photos and videos. Just this week, Instagram made it possible for users to bookmark and save favorite posts for later viewing (TechCrunch)

The social app also brought live streaming to its platform, activated through its Stories feature (Engadget). The interface is similar to Facebook Live, however, Instagram’s live videos are ephemeral. The feature represents a mixture of the video formats on Facebook Live and Snapchat. After a user ends a live session, the live session can no longer be found on the platform.

Snapchat, on the other hand, is enhancing is communication capabilities through its Chat room. This week, Snapchat introduced Groups, which allows users to start group chats with up to 16 friends share conversation and media (TechCrunch). The Group feature also encourages users to jump into one-on-one conversations within the app.

Moreover, Snapchat is adding new creative tools to allow users to better edit and compose Snaps. Paintbrush allows filters to be applied to Snaps in Memories, and Scissors allows users to make stickers. Finally, Snapchat added a Shazam support feature that allows music playing within the app to be identified.

Related Post: Instagram Vs. Snapchat: Which Do Influencers Prefer?

Facebook Expands Capacities On All Fronts

Facebook saw many additions to its platform this week, one aimed directly at competitor Snapchat. Facebook Messenger’s new camera allows for a users to interact with fun elements, including a doodle tool, stickers, emojis, real-time asks and effects, as well as Prisma-like art filters (The Verge). What is cool about Facebook’s camera is that if Messenger recognizes the meaning of a text, the app can suggest filters with related art (TechCrunch).

Mark Zuckerberg also announced Facebook’s future plans to fund exclusive original video programs (Tubefilter). Though Facebook has previously paid content creators to share and stream on the platform, Facebook’s plan to delve into original programming represents a big step for the platform as a media company.

Lastly, Facebook is trekking deeper into live streaming with the introduction of live 360-degree videos (Tubefilter). Despite hype over Facebook’s live streaming capabilities, the platform is still facing criticism from marketers about its reporting accuracy on engagement. This week, Facebook was accused of miscalculating live video reactions as well as how often users like and share links (Digiday). While this may not necessarily stop marketers from advertising on Facebook, it is impacting the impression of the platform’s maturity.

Related Post: Why Brands Should Care About Facebook Live & Facebook Content Creators

Twitter Looking Forward To A Rebound

Even after Vine’s shutdown and among the continual newscycle around Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, Twitter is still alive. Brands are not entirely discounting Twitter as irrelevant since the platform is still a part of branded content and social media strategies (Digiday). Still, Twitter is struggling to attract media spend. Rather than spending on advertising, brands are using Twitter as a way to participate in live, trending discussion. Even more Twitter has been lagging behind in developing user experience and platform identity.

Nonetheless, Twitter is not unsalvageable. This platform is still adding features to its platform. This week, Twitter jumped into the live streaming game, announcing that users will be able to broadcast directly from mobile thanks to tighter integration with Periscope (TechCrunch). When a video is live, users can join in the same fashion as Periscope. Moreover, Twitter’s move to attract influencers may bring relevance back to the platform.

Related Post: Why Twitter Killed Off Vine

Influencer Marketing Campaigns With Sony And American Eagle

Sony is turning to social media influencers to create content on the PlayStation Giphy hub. The official PlayStation Giphy account will attempt to express the online language of the newest generation of players, and capture gaming moments (The Drum). Sony has invited famous gaming YouTubers such as Vikkstar123, TheBurntChip, and Reev to create shareable content.

American Eagle also leveraged social influencer power in its #WeAllCan Snapchat Spectacles campaign. The campaign used influencers such as Sukie Chung and Wong You Nam, and looked to delve into the passions of the millennial generations (The Drum). Working with influencers and Spectacles, American Eagle was able to create powerful content in the point of view of the Internet’s most trusted figures.

Related Post: How Brands Work With Influencers On Holiday Marketing Campaigns

Also See Our Posts On

How Many Years Do We Spend On Social Media In A Lifetime [Infographic]

Influencer Holiday Marketing Campaigns With Amazon, Armani, & More

How Social Media Platforms Count Video Views

New To Influencer Marketing? Download Our FREE 10-Step Guide Here

The post Influencer Marketing News: Instagram Hits 600M Users, Facebook Creates Original Content, & More appeared first on Mediakix | Influencer Marketing Agency.