1. Update on Social Channels
What’s New / What’s Different
November, 2013

2. Facebook Tests Star Ratings VS. Simple “Like”
• Facebook is testing out star ratings on pages, out of a possible
five in total, going beyond a simple like
• Facebook has been collecting ratings for some time now, but
they will move these ratings to a more prominent spot at the
top of a Pages’ timeline, providing a preview in the News Feed
• This is only available via the desktop version of the site
• Facebook has turned on ratings for a small percentage of users
• Facebook is rolling out this system to make it easier for users to
discover the greatness in the brands and businesses around
them
• Could become a competitor of Yelp, Foursquare and Angie’s List
• May or may not be mandatory for businesses to adapt this
rating system on their pages
Link: http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/07/facebookpages-star-ratings/
• May or may not be able to escape the rating
Why This Matters to Your Clients:
• The number of likes a page has really just shows interest that users have in the brand, business, etc., yet it does not accurately
display how people feel about it. This new system will help brands and businesses understand how users really feel about them.
• This will put a big twist on brand and business Facebook pages, putting an emphasis on customer service and ensuring that the
customer is satisfied, rather than just a general page for information and engagement.
• When users rate a page, it will show up in news feeds. This will help users discover a business they may not have known, while
helping businesses raise awareness about their brand.
Contents are proprietary and confidential.

3. Facebook Introduces Autoplay for Videos
• Facebook began rolling out a new digital video feature that will
automatically play videos in the news feed when users scroll over the
video – this is limited to videos uploaded directly to the Facebook platform
•
This feature will also work for videos uploaded to Facebook from
Facebook owned sites, such as Instagram and Cinemagram
• All other videos, such as those linked/uploaded from YouTube and Vimeo,
will not play automatically and will continue to show up as a thumbnail,
linking them to a 3rd party site
• When scrolled over, the Facebook videos will expand and play
•
When collapsed from full-screen view, the videos will stream
directly in the feed and revert back to the original view
• Facebook is highlighting to brands that their platform is the best place to
upload creative content, and in Facebook’s favor, this will keep fans on the
site for a longer period of time
Link:
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/facebookplays-favorites-autoplay-video-feature-154020
• Sponsored and promoted videos will be a great source of revenue for
Facebook but also a big idea that brands will want to invest in to keep
their videos at the top of newsfeeds
Why This Matters to Your Clients:
• Brands are going to want to promote creative content on Facebook, as it will be a one stop shop for users
• If Facebook is where fans are watching videos, then it will be time to steer away from 3rd party platforms such as
YouTube
• Great during campaigns for promoted videos
Contents are proprietary and confidential.

4. Spoke Too Soon: Twitter’s New DM Option Pulled
• Last month Twitter announced that users could receive
a Direct Message from anyone, not just users' who they
follow
• This month, Twitter pulled this option for some users
• This does not mean that the feature has been removed
forever
• Twitter has stated that they were quietly testing the
feature and it was all experimentation
• According to Mashable, a possible reasoning for this
pull could be related to rumors that Twitter is
developing a standalone DM app
Link: http://mashable.com/2013/11/19/twitteranyone-dm-pulled/
Why This Matters to Your Clients:
•
•
The new feature made it easier to connect with fans, opening means of communication; however, now
brands will have to revert back to asking users to DM them in order to contact them privately
Important update for community managers
Contents are proprietary and confidential.

5. Twitter Launches Custom Timelines
• Twitter launched a new timeline, allowing users to customize and organize
their own timeline feed
• The custom timelines will display tweets in any order
• Twitter wants users to be able to cut down on the noise of a traditional feed
by allowing users to create their own list of tweets that are meaningful to
them
• All custom timelines are publicly accessible and available to embed on
websites
• The new timelines can only be created via TweetDeck
• This could change as the process rolls out
• For now, users will have to manually select the Twitter handles that they
want to add to their customized timeline
• Partners with API access can create timelines that automatically
update (based on parameters)
• Inspiration taken from Storify (3rd party service that allows users to organize
tweets)
Link:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/12/509616
6/twitter-launches-custom-timelines
Why This Matters to Your Clients:
•
•
•
For brands, this is a great opportunity to produce content that is “timeline worthy” for fans. You will want your brand to be within
the customized timelines of fans, as well as other brands.
Can add highly engaged fans to your customized feed so that you can make sure not to miss their updates, mentions and replies
to your brand
Great way to keep competitors at the top of your radar as well placing them within the brands feed
Contents are proprietary and confidential.

6. Twitter Advances Search Process with New Filters
• Twitter announced that it will be adding new search filters
to its mobile apps, available on Android and iOS
• Users will be able to filter for specific topics, such as
photos and videos
• Another filter includes searching exclusively through
followers
• Will not return tweets from strangers
• Users can alternate between top tweets and all
tweets at the top of the home screen
• Updates will also include a “Trending Timeline,” making
nearby events (to the user) and television shows trending
on the site
Link:
http://mashable.com/2013/11/19/twitteradds-search-filters/
• Will be visible to users when they click the “discover”
tab in the app
Why This Matters to Your Clients:
•
•
You want your brand to be a searchable topic – keep an active page, keep fans happy and keep your brand
easily searchable so that fans will want to go back to review your images/videos, as well as a trending topic
This is great for campaigns and real-time tweeting (especially during national events)
Contents are proprietary and confidential.

7. YouTube Updates Comments With Google+ Integration
• YouTube announced in September that they would be updating
their commenting system and they have finally done so,
integrating thread replies and a Google+ integration
• The top comments are a compilation of comments from users
within your Google+ circle, video creators and popular
personalities
• This keeps conversation current and organized
• Comments with high engagement will also be pushed to the top
• To simply see the most recent comments, users can choose
“Newest First”
• Spam and abuse can be reported
• Video creators have a set of tools that allows them to remove a
comment, report it or ban users from the channel
Link:
http://mashable.com/2013/11/07/youtubeimproves-comments-with-googleintegration/
Why This Matters to Your Clients:
•
•
•
Take advantage of these conversations – get a better sense of who is commenting on your videos and keep the
conversation active
Will have more engagement on both Google+ and YouTube, due to indirect cross-promotion and sharing
comments across both channels
It’s time to jump on the Google+ train! May have to get an account to receive comments, keep that in mind!
Contents are proprietary and confidential.

8. Instagram Rolls Out Sponsored Ads
• Instagram began rolling out sponsored ads on the site, starting with
an ad by fashion designer, Michael Kors
• The first batch of ad partners includes brands such as Burberry,
Lexus and Macys
• The ad did NOT appear in all user feeds, just a select few users were
chosen during the roll out process
• There is no specific time-table for when other brands will jump on
the advertisement bandwagon
• Many advertisers will try to make ads blend in with other images in
the feed; however, the distinction will lie in the “sponsored” label,
found in the top right corner of an ad
• Many users are upset by these advertisements in their feeds
• If a user goes specifically to the advertisers feed, the image will
appear as a traditional post, without the “sponsored” label
Link:
http://mashable.com/2013/11/01/ins
tagram-ads-first/
Why This Matters to Your Clients:
•
•
•
If your brand has an Instagram account, this is a great opportunity to sponsor an ad. Even if you’ve been
promoting tweets and Facebook posts, another medium to advertise on, will never hurt.
This is a great opportunity during campaigns
Watch out for backlash from users who are upset that ads will appear in their feeds
Contents are proprietary and confidential.

9. Pinterest Launches First API
• Pinterest is launching its first API, allowing third-party sites to embed
pins, making it easier to post content to the site
• The first partners are big brands and retailers including Walmart,
Zappos, Disney, Nestle, Random House and Hearst
• Pinterest will release documentations for multiple APIs in the
upcoming weeks and more features will be added over time. Current
APIs include:
• Top Pins API
• Domain Search
• Most Recent
• Related Pins
• Existing pins will become more useful to sites and brands by making it
easier for people to post directly to Pinterest from a third-party site
Link: http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/14/pinterestlaunches-its-first-apis-partners-with-zappos-walmartdisney-nestle-random-house-hearst-on-first-rollout/
• Pinterest will be able to better track the traffic between pins and the
sites/brands from which they have originated
Why This Matters to Your Clients:
•
•
This is really great for brands. Customers will be able to pin directly from the site, keeping them on the page
longer instead of having to leave the site, interrupt their shopping/browsing, and thus not returning to actually
pin the material.
Since Pinterest is building stronger links between pins and sites/brands in which they originate, brands can
better track the traffic to their sites, including the audience, activity, etc.
Contents are proprietary and confidential.

10. Questions?
Reach out to anyone on the Consumer team!
Contents are proprietary and confidential.