TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT

Are you using videos on Facebook? New data shows you should because engagement doubles over plain text updates. Facebook is still the reigning social media site, but Pinterest just announced that it now generates 100 million unique user visits each month. Pinterest may not be for you, but 100 million of anything demands you consider the option. And if you’re using a free version ofAVG anti-virus software, the company is warning that it can sell browsing history (without your personal identification) starting next month.

And that is what you need to know for this week without the hype.

News You Should Know

Facebook Post Types Examined and Video Wins
Facebook Post Types Examined and Video Wins

Links & images make up the majority of Facebook’s content, but VIDEOS (not video links, but uploaded videos) receive 23% more engagements that images and more than double those of plain status messages.

AVG Privacy Policy Changed So Your Browing Data Can Be Sold

You may want to consider moving to paid anti-virus software after AVG announced that it will start selling “aggregate” browsing information for its free product.

Pinterest Announces 100 Million Monthly Active User Accounts

Pinterest reached a big milestone with their announcement of 100 million active accounts each month. The site continues growing as more people find unique uses for what is essentially a social bookmarking site. Does your organization have a Pinterest strategy, and if not, would creating one also create profit?

Ad of the Week

Nike Recreated the Toga Party From Animal House With Famous Univ of Oregon Alums
Nike Recreated the Toga Party From Animal House With Famous Univ of Oregon Alums

You only need to have liked the movie Animal House to appreciate this. You may reognize 1 or 2, but you’ll get credits Animal House-style after the commercial runs.

TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT

New data from Pew Research shows Pinterest and Instagram traffic doubling and blowing past Twitter and LinkedIn. The Washington Post, which has lots of web traffic too, is now triggering ad popups to people who use ad blocking software. And always ready to jump on a trend, Google is increasing the amount of health-related information in its search result pages. That means health-related sites may soon see a dip.

And that is what you need to know for this week without the hype.

News You Should Know

Pinterest and Instagram Usage Doubles
Pinterest and Instagram Usage Doubles

Both social networks are now getting more than LinkedIn or Twitter. 2015-2016 Social strategy: pick one, start learning it and begin building credibility for your org there.

Washington Post Begins Showing Pop-Ups to AdBlock Users
Washington Post Begins Showing Pop-Ups to AdBlock Users

The Washington Post is showing pop-ups overlayed on top of articles to users who have an ad blocker enabled and are actively blocking ads. Unless your brand is as strong as the Post’s, don’t try this on your site. (P.S. YouTube is testing this too…)

Google Announces More Health Information In Search
Google Announces More Health Information In Search

Google’s increase in health conditions shown directly to users means sites that receive traffic about health conditions might see their trafffic decrease. Google will now feature 900 diseases and health conditions in the search results.

Ad of the Week

Bank of America's Marketing Morons Torment Billy Idol in Hilarious Ads From Christopher Guest
Bank of America’s Marketing Morons Torment Billy Idol in Hilarious Ads From Christopher Guest

Bank of America and director Christopher Guest teamed up for a hilarious sequence of TV ads mocking the ad industry as only Guest could. Half of them feature Billy Idol. Did you ever expect Mr. White Wedding would work for a giant bank? Me either.

TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT

If your organization advertises using AdWords, you can now target Gmail with an ad that expands when the viewer clicks the screen.

In reputation news, Yelp is now posting a harsh note about 100 different moving companies when its network reportedly pressured customers for good reviews (they actually gave them discounts…) And the FTC, which is far more powerful than Yelp, cracked down on testimonials that were not disclosed as paid testimonials.

This is the third time we’ve mentioned this in 29 issues. You must stop if your organization is using paid endorsements that are not marked as paid. If you’re the one caught, you face harsh penalties, If your agency is doing it, fire your agency. Most people remember the brand names that got caught, not the agency’s name.

And that is what you need to know for this week without the hype.

News You Should Know

Inside AdWords: Native Gmail ads arrive in AdWords for all advertisers
Inside AdWords: Native Gmail ads arrive in AdWords for all advertisers

Big change Ad targets Gmail in “collapsed” mode & only expands when someone clicks to expand it.

Yelp Penalizes 100+ Movers Alliance Business Listings After Group Charged With Misleading Customers
Yelp Penalizes 100+ Movers Alliance Business Listings After Group Charged With Misleading Customers

Yelp has its own issues, but still influences some consumer behavior. A cautionary tale about trying too hard to manipulate those ratings.

FTC Settles With Gaming Network Accused Of Failing To Disclose Paid Endorsements

US agency fires another warning shot against lack of social media disclosures by settling complaint that gamers were paid up to $30,000 to upload video endorsements of the Microsoft Xbox One console.