Snapchat, Tinder, Facebook — Oh My!

Boy, oh boy — this has been some week in digital marketing. You didn’t hear about the latest Facebook feature or LinkedIn’s mimicking platform to strangely resemble another? This week was filled with new features, campaigns and strategies. Because we’re all short on time, here are my top highlights:
Snapchat
Snapchat has been in the news for a number of reasons. Do you own stock in Snapchat? Well… Snapchat has had a “weird” trend. It’s unpredictable and throws curveballs. What’s going on with their strategy? Just take a look at Morgan Stanley’s target stock price for the company and you’ll see the concern.

Snapchat doesn’t have a clear direction, but that doesn’t necessarily put its marketing game on the backburner. In latest news, Business Insider reports on Snapchat’s discounts now being offered to entice small businesses to use its platform for advertising. Everyone seems to be entering the startup business now, including agencies that are marketing to a booming target audience. But will this work for Snapchat or is this a move of desperation?
Core media outlets are partnering up with Snapchat in hopes of luring a millennial target audience. By recognizing the need for quick updates at the tips of their fingers, CNN is debuting a daily news show called “The Update.” It will include highlights from the 6 o’clock news with potential updates for breaking news.
Similarly, NBC decided to partner with the platform after failing to meet expectations. NBC News’ Snapchat show, “Stay Tuned,” launched in mid-July and has attracted more than 30M viewers. The project still has its kinks and a new graphics package and logo are expected to debut. Snapchat’s second quarter didn’t fair well either, reporting less than impressive average revenue per user at $1.05.
Tinder
Discover Financial Services unveiled a new marketing campaign on Tinder to bring financial awareness to millennials. Among the three types of content that will be featured, Discover plans on including a “Do’s and Dont’s” poll with free access to your FICO score. But Discover isn’t the first company to team up with Tinder. Delta did the same back in June with a global display featured on a wall in Brooklyn, inspiring travelers to take selfies to share on Tinder’s platform.
Facebook is continuing to make updates to keep up with the times. Launching today, Facebook’s iOS and Android apps will now have a 360-degree photo and video feature. You’ll be able to tag friends, and share and feature them as a cover image on your profile. If your app hasn’t included the “360 Photo” option at the top of your feed yet, stay tuned. Everyone should have access to it today.

Sprout Social, a popular social media management, analytics, and advocacy solutions platform, has teamed up with Facebook after listening to the needs of marketers. Chat bots are the latest trends and if you haven’t already jumped on that bandwagon, you’re not too far behind. Sprout Social has developed a Bot Build for Facebook Messenger. Marketers will now be able to create branded chat bots without being at the mercy of developers.
Although the platform markets to professionals, LinkedIn has added two new features this week in its latest updates. You can now upload videos on their website, or iOS/Android app. The logic behind the feature makes sense. For example, LinkedIn can now showcase projects in progress or product demonstrations, helping boost your professional image.
Unfortunately, the other feature has not been as well received. LinkedIn now includes a status feature to show whether a contact is active now or available on mobile. For some, LinkedIn has been a quiet solitude of connecting with others without the ability of being continually tracked. Only time will tell whether this feature will become a permanent fixture on its platform.



