Twitter Goes After a Facebook Cash Cow
Twitter’s new Facebook-like profile pages are now available to all users
New Facebook Desktop Pages Layout Also Offers Page Admins More Customization
Twitter is adding notifications for the web to alert users when someone is engaging with their tweets. These notifications are fully interactive and will pop-up for replies, favorites, and retweets. Users can also change their settings to receive notifications for new followers and direct messages.
Twitter is adding app-install ads, which has been a significant source of revenue for Facebook. These ads appear on mobile phones to encourage users to install or use an app. Advertisers will be able to use one tool to run campaigns on both Twitter and MoPub, the mobile advertising network.
Twitter has finished rolling out the new look for web profile pages to all users. You can preview the new design and switch to it today or continue to use the old design for a limited time. Features of the new design include pinned posts at the top of the profile and a larger display of popular tweets.
In the coming months, Facebook will update ads appearing in the right-hand column so they will look more like the ones in the News Feed. These new ads will be bigger and there will also be fewer of them in this area. Early testing has shown up to three times more engagement with the new design.
Facebook is adding some new customization options for page administrators as they roll out the new layout for desktop pages. Tabs can be reordered and added or removed from the display. All sections other than the about section and contact section can be moved.
The explore tab on Instagram has been updated to now show top photos and videos liked by those you follow. Not only will it be tailored to each user but it will also display content that is trending globally. This may change things for those who previously relied on the explore page to grow their following.
Vine
Vine’s new direct messaging feature allows a video to be sent to anyone in a user’s address book. If a video is sent to multiple people at once, each conversation will remain separate. It’s important to note that the privacy settings for each recipient will determine if they will even receive the message.
Google+
Google+ brand pages with more than 1,000 followers will now be able to use +Post ads to promote their content by turning it into a display ad. Marketers will also be able to promote a Hangout on Air to a +Post ad as well as promote their most recent post on Google+ and only pay as users engage with the content.
