Hey, this is Chia from Brand24 and welcome back to the #SocialRecap! This
week we are looking at key trends from record-breaking online sales during
Black Friday, pointing out a really important detail in Instagram's new "Close
Friends" filter and covering some big feature updates from YouTube, Facebook
and more. So, now, let's Recap! According to data from "Croud", Black Friday and Cyber
Monday saw a record number of online sales this year along with a 41%
increase in web sessions and 59% more conversions, so while Black Friday drew the
highest number of sales overall, Cyber Monday was the preferred day for
spending among shoppers in the US. Digital agency "Croud" analyzed results
for Black Friday and Cyber Monday across their clients to identify really
important trends that played a key role in this year's record number of online
sales. So, first of all, "early access" messaging was really popular, especially
across remarketing and current customers in paid social media channels. This shows
that shoppers need just a little more time to prepare for Black Friday and
they appreciate when you can let them know what kind of deals will be
available just a little in advance. "Countdown" ads also worked really well
in paid ads for a lot of retailers, increasing click-through rates to more
than 50%, while building anticipation among shoppers. But the top performer
across the majority of all retailers was Google's new "Smart Shopping
Campaigns" which automatically adjust to optimize your campaigns based on the
goals you define. And, of course, "merchant promotions" that directly showcase a
special offer like free delivery or a really big discount also drove a high
click-through rate. Now, I know we talked about Instagram last time, but they just
keep coming out with new features - and there's an important detail that you
just don't want to overlook with this one. So, you may have noticed a little
green circle around some of the stories in your feed. This is the new "Close
Friends" feature and it lets you control who gets to see your stories on
Instagram. So, if you see a story with a green circle around it, this just means
that you have been added to somebody's list of "Close Friends" and that is why
you're able to view their Story. Although this is supposed to limit who can view
the Stories that you post, if there are things that you really don't want
certain people to see - like maybe your boss or
some of your colleagues - it's important to remember that the "Close Friends"
feature is not foolproof. Unlike Snapchat, which notifies you when your
post has been saved or that a screenshot was taken, Instagram Stories currently
does not have any notifications in place in case someone in your "Close Friends"
list decides to save your Story with a screenshot. And while we're on the topic
of Instagram, here's an interesting business development: in addition to the
usual amenities, IBIS hotels in Switzerland have actually started
offering Instagram "social media sitters". Now, the idea is that if you're a really active
Instagrammer, then you're constantly on the lookout for the most impressive-
looking views or foodie spots, especially when you're traveling. This
can be pretty stressful and ,really, just kind of a pain in a butt when you're
supposed to be on vacation. So, enter the Instagram "sitter", which lets hotel
guests sign up to have a local Instagram influencer post to your account during your
stay, so you can go out and have an Insta-free vacation while your "social media
sitter" posts Gram-worthy images of local hotspots under your name - for your
followers. It's a pretty interesting idea to say the least, and with so many
Instagramers just trying to become the next big influencer now, it may even end
up being a really useful service borne out of demand. And after a year of
testing with a small control group, YouTube is finally rolling out YouTube
stories for Creators with over 10,000 subscribers. With YouTube videos becoming
increasingly polished, YouTube stories is set to be a way for Creators to share a
more casual vlog-type or behind-the-scenes clips.
Unlike Snapchat and Instagram, YouTube Stories are available for 7 days with
viewers able to comment on and react directly to the Story. As of right now,
Stories have their own tab on the Channels page with a spot on the
Subscription tab coming soon. However, even non-
subscribers may see your YouTube Stories pop up on their home page, or in the
"what's next" section. And now, since Watch Parties were first introduced to
Facebook Groups in January, there have already been over 12 million Watch
Parties, and because watching videos together in a group encourages people to
interact with each other as they watch, they tend to generate up to 8X
more comments than other non-live videos in Groups. So, that is really good
engagement, and that's why it should come as no surprise that Watch Parties are
being expanded to Facebook Pages and Profiles across the world, and getting a
few new features to boot. This includes threaded comments, advance scheduling,
and even giving hosts the ability to go live and comment out loud while the
videos are playing. And that is it for episode 24 of the #SocialRecap. If you
want to hear more about key developments in social media and how they'll
affect your social strategies, subscribe to the #SocialRecap on YouTube. And just
in case you prefer, we also have an audio version on Soundcloud, plus a readable
version on the blog. Just scroll down to see the video description for the links.
Thanks for catching up with us and I'll see you next time. Bye!