Not all social insights matter to every brand, nor can they replace talking directly with your audience. Seeing how data matches up in reality is key. So how do you determine which insights offer your brand the biggest return? Let’s explore that: Take it to the people Social and sentiment data is…

Tumblr followed July’s introduction of ads across users’ blogs with an announcement Thursday that it will add affiliate links. The new feature was announced in a question-and-answer-style post : In a couple of weeks, we’re going to start adding something called “affiliate codes” to links on Tumblr…

Facebook and Instagram maintained their presence in Rio de Janeiro and announced several features for the 2016 Paralympic Games , which began Wednesday night. Users can add temporary profile picture frames to support their countries’ teams, available here . A video explaining the Games is available…

At Apple ‘s event in San Francisco Wednesday, Ian Spalter , head of design at Instagram, previewed an update coming to the photo- and video-sharing application later this year. With this update, when users activate the Instagram Stories camera on the new iPhone 7 Plus , they will see a zoom slider…

Facebook introduced two new features to aid advertisers seeking to target new countries. The social network said in a Facebook for Business post that its lookalike audiences tool now contains a new feature that enables brands to target users in new countries with similar characteristics to users in…

Facebook announced three updates to its stand-alone Moments application: joinable moments, favorites and full-resolution photo storage. The social network introduced Moments in June 2015 , and the app was propelled by Facebook’s announcement last December that it was eliminating photo syncing and…

Iconic television show and eventual film franchise Star Trek is celebrating its 50th anniversary Thursday, and Facebook marked the occasion with a custom set of Reactions and a temporary profile picture frame . Lindsey Shepard , the social network’s marketing lead for Messenger , said in a blog post…

It’s no secret that women rule the world of social media— especially the famous ones —so why do marketers pretend that their social content need only appeal to men to succeed? While women are generally more active than men on social media, the split is even more defined on Instagram (the…

Niantic announced at Apple ‘s press event in San Francisco Wednesday that it is bringing Pokemon Go to Apple Watch . Pokemon Go allows users to capture Pokemon by exploring the real world around them. With Pokemon Go on Apple Watch, users will be able to record any walks they take while playing…

Anthem vice president of communications Kristin Binns became the latest to try her hand at leading communications at Twitter, joining the social network as senior director of communications. Kurt Wagner of Re/code reported on the hire, and Binns confirmed the news in responding to a tweet from chief…

When it comes to your email marketing, you likely spend a great deal of time tweaking your message and analyzing how to improve your open and click-through rates. According to joint research by IBM and eConsultancy , fully 90% of marketers agree that personalized, relevant communications with their…

Social commerce is on the cusp of going mainstream. Social sites are investing in infrastructure and systems, and users seem primed to take advantage of more shopping opportunities on social. An infographic from e-commerce solutions provider Sumo Heavy explores the evolution of social commerce and…

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games may be history, but Twitter hasn’t packed up and left Rio de Janeiro yet: The 2016 Paralympic Games begin Wednesday. Twitter launched a series of hashtag-triggered emojis for the Games, and they are available in seven languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, French,…

At Apple ‘s press conference in San Francisco Wednesday, Nintendo announced Super Mario Run, a level-based action platforming game coming first to iOS. Nintendo said it is continuing its partnership with DeNA for the launch of the game. In each level of Super Mario Run, Mario will run across the…

The National Football League ’s 2016 season kicks off with Thursday night’s Super Bowl 50 rematch, Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos, and Twitter is ready for some football. Twitter announced that hashtag-triggered emojis are now available for all 32 NFL teams. The full list follows: Arizona…

Blogging is an essential part of my business, and I can tell you firsthand how difficult it can be. Believe me. I’ve been doing it for more than 10 years. Everyone recommends a blog to gain traffic , but launching a blog the right way and consistently creating content on there is difficult. Here’s…

Take a look at 2016’s most influential brands on Facebook, according to Mavrck : Starbucks, Coca-Cola, MTV and Samsung Mobile top the charts, followed by brands like KFC, Nike and Target. What do these companies have in common? They’re all business-to-consumer. These days, it’s rare to find a…

Four Thirty Three Inc. , also known as 4:33 Creative Lab , announced the release of Monster Super League on iOS and Android. The monster collection and battling game challenges players to save the world of Latecia from the forces of chaos. In Monster Super League, players join the Astromon League…

Instagram released an update for its iOS application, which adds a “low-light button” to its Instagram Stories feature. The button allows users to take better photos and videos in low-light conditions. With this update, when the Instagram Stories camera is active, a new moon button will appear when…

Pinterest is a visual social network, so the former head of image search at Google would seem to be an ideal fit as its new head of engineering. Li Fan is indeed Pinterest’s new head of engineering, the company announced Tuesday, saying that she will lead its engineering team, which is responsible…

EA Mobile released the latest update for The Sims FreePlay on mobile. The update brings a new Doctor profession, hospital and Downtown area to the game. With this update, players can send their Sims to the new Downtown area in Sim Town by visiting the new train station. Users will need to complete…

Instagram isn’t just the home of a body positivity movement or a network for sharing food porn–it’s a place where people share their latest adventures. Whether it’s far-flung destinations or the history of their local neighborhood, people love to share their favorite places on Instagram. AreaVibes ,…

Digital market intelligence company SimilarWeb revealed the 10 fastest-growing Android games in the U.S. in August. SimilarWeb determined the top 10 games by looking at both the percentage of installs on all Android devices and average daily use time in the U.S. SimilarWeb found that Pop! Slots –…

Spotify revealed the most-streamed songs on its platform for summer 2016, with Drake ‘s One Dance coming in first place globally. Spotify determined the top songs of summer 2016 by looking at the most-listened-to songs on its platform between June 1 and Aug. 31. Globally, Drake’s One Dance was…

Facebook appears to be testing a new module in its mobile News Feed , What Friends Are Talking About. Damon Beres of Mashable shared the screenshot below, from Facebook’s flagship Android application, noting that it bundles a handful of posts from friends into a unit roughly the size of one image…

eMarketer released its first ad revenue projections for Snapchat, calling for $366.69 million in 2016 and a leap to $935.46 million in 2017. The market research company said in a release that it built its revenue model for Snapchat by combining its proprietary consumer adoption estimates, trends at…

You may already be aware of the fact that Facebook owns Instagram . The fact that the world’s largest social media platform is Instagram’s parent company has caused some marketers to view them as a single entity. While it’s certainly true that you can target Instagram users from within Facebook’s…

Sponsored content proves to be a useful tool for brands looking to engage followers by integrating their products into the flow of daily content from social media influencers . Recent talks about stricter enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission ’s guidelines–which require influencers to identify…

Whether it is pinning a desired wedding dress or ideas for decorating a new home, Pinterest is the destination where people plan their futures. It’s also an ideal channel to reach female consumers, although the platform’s audience of men is rising rapidly, as well. On Pinterest, users only search…

Companies are understandably excited to tell the world when they push new features. New developments can take months and they are the hope for more users, greater engagement, and achieving milestones towards success. So how do teams communicate these big announcements to their users? A blog post, an…

Are you looking for a new mobile game to play this weekend? There are plenty of new games for you to try, including Marvel Tsum Tsum from mixi , NHN PlayArt and XFLAG . The line-drawing puzzle game asks players to complete stages by making matches with characters from the Marvel universe. Next,…

By on Sep. 2, 2016 - 1:00 PM Let’s face it: Most Facebook users just don’t understand the privacy options available to them, despite numerous initiatives by the social network to address this issue. Vound Software and Intella prepared the infographic below to help clear up some of the mysteries and…

Social networking is pretty marvelous, but it isn’t the end-all-be-all for making business connections. There are actually times when you’d do better to look elsewhere. This might sound like blasphemy in this social-media-driven age, but beyond Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are online platforms…

From retail purchases to application downloads, reviews have proven highly influential in the consumer decision-making process. While negative reviews can send a potential customer running, more than 90 percent of the top 100 apps in app stores have five-star ratings . An infographic from mobile…

Animoca Brands announced the release of He-Man Tappers of Grayskull on iOS and Android. The clicker or idle game challenges players to help He-Man and the Masters of the Universe defeat Skeletor and his minions. In He-Man Tappers of Grayskull, players can quickly tap to make He-Man attack enemies.…

You’ve rolled out a lot of marketing tactics to boost traffic for your website. After copious amounts of content production, sharing, social engagement, and even paid ads, you feel like you can finally celebrate because your site is now pulling in tens of thousands of unique visits every month with…

Social media has changed how people communicate and consume media . For better or for worse, digital media enables people far and wide to discuss whatever they want, whenever they want. But which topics surface most often, and what are people most interested in discussing on social? A study from…

Twitter introduced another way for its users to monetize video content , extending its Amplify program to live videos and highlights on Periscope . The social network announced in a blog post that live video broadcasts and highlights on Periscope can now be monetized, and it detailed the initial…

Bandai Namco Entertainment America announced the release of Pac-Man Pop on iOS and Android. The bubble shooter allows users to help Pac-Man complete stages by defeating ghosts, collecting fruit and more. In each level of Pac-Man Pop, players are challenged to complete a different objective before…

The next step in Facebook’s video push occurred Thursday with the launch of Instant Video for Messenger . Instant Video allows Messenger users to add live, real-time video to conversations, and the social network provided instructions for using the feature in a Newsroom post : Here’s how it works:…