Instagram Ads 

Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is going to start selling advertising spots.  This is the company's first attempt to start making revenue.  Users of Instagram will start to see ads popping up, even if the business is not one that they follow.  At the moment the ads are only going to appear on the mobile version of Instagram, since this is where Facebook made 41% of their ad revenue in the second quarter.  Claims have been made that the ads are going to feel as natural as any other picture on Instagram, with the option for users to hide ads they don't like and give feedback. 

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Twitter

Twitter recently released their IPO documents, revealing some interesting facts about the state of their revenue.  Or their lack thereof.  Basically, the documents said that Twitter hasn't made any money.  In fact, they've lost money.  And there's no guarantee that they're going to make any money in the future either.  Twitter has accumulated a deficit of $418.6 million, while last year they only made $316 million.  Why, then, has Twitter fallen so rapidly when it's one of the most popular social media sites?  It's all a matter of the number of acquisitions they've been bringing in, such as expanding their own offices and acquiring other companies, such as the social TV service Bluefin. 

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Social Media at Work

Did you know that 3 out of 10 people use Facebook at work?  For some that may seem like a surprisingly high number, for others it may sound low.  But that's not all.  Workers everyday are logging onto different social media sites while they're clocked in, checking out websites like Youtube, Twitter, Pinterest, and more.  This is an interesting study not just for workers to look at, but also owners and managers of a business.  If what this study reveals is true, then how far down has productivity gone for certain businesses.  Would it be more effective for businesses to block different social media websites while in the office? 

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Campaigns

An article was recently published dealing with successful social media campaigns.  The article gives examples and shows the success of different brands to bring together new strategies for businesses to utilize when it comes to social media.  According to Zoe Fox, author of the article, creating a great social media campaign is about perfect timing, relevant messaging, and the right audience.  So what are the three brands that accomplished this?  They may not be ones you expected: Human Rights Campaign, which had over 10 million impressions on its new logo; Nike, which received 125,000 re-tweets on its new ad; and the movie Prometheus, which received more than 3 million impressions during its campaign. 

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Banning Social Media

CNN just published an article today that listed the five reasons why offices shouldn't ban social media.  This goes against many different company policies--could it really be worth it to let workers spend time on social media sites as they're working?  One of the reasons is that it's self-defeating.  Many people now have different smart devices, and would be able to log on to social media in different ways.  Without starting some sort of totalitarian regime in the office, it's impossible to keep workers off of social media.  Another reason is that multitasking is beneficial.  It's argued that while someone may be sending a tweet while also writing up a press release, their mind is still able to focus enough on the work task.  Do you agree with these reasons?

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That's all for this week.  As soon as Monday rolls around there will be plenty more stories going around on the social media scene.  To stay updated follow us on Twitter @BlueArcherPGH, or contact a Blue Archer professional.

Michelle Hawley

Digital Content Writer

@BlueArcherPGH