07 Dec Tumblr Ads, Facebook Algo Changes (Again) and Apple Buys Topsy | Social You Should Know
Tumblr Working on Ads with Mixed Results
Brands love Tumblr for the rich community, and Yahoo is looking to up its monetization strategy to earn back its purchase price. Tumblr announced this week that brands can now buy their way into the “What’s Trending” section of its mobile product, which is highly coveted real estate indeed. At the same time, the overall ad product is being called “not ready for prime time.” Major complaints from brands include: the lack of targeting and that most of the ads appear in the user’s dashboard. With other social networks requiring more investment (see below), Tumblr isn’t too high on many brands’ lists.
Facebook Continues to Update Algorithm
Facebook has updated its News Feed algorithm yet again with an update that seems like it may further punish some brands and torture users with that obnoxious story bumping. At the same time, Facebook is trying to share more news content, which will make publishers happy. What’s less clear is the line between quality brand content and fluffy brand content and how well the algorithm will differentiate. However, Facebook is boldly telling brands now that they should pony up for ads if they want reach. This is a mistake for several reasons, but I’ll dwell on that another time.
Apple Buys Twitter Search Engine Topsy for $200 Million
Apple, a brand famous for ignoring both social media and consumer focus groups, made a curious purchase of the Twitter search engine Topsy this week. As I explain in this MacNewsWorld article, I believe they want Topsy to serve up better recommendations in its music and app stores. I do not believe that they want it to mine consumer insights from Twitter for product development. That’s just not the Apple way.
A small aside, keep an out for the possibility of messaging on Instagram launching soon.
