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Facebook takes its fight against fake news to UK newspapers

If you’re partial to acquiring your news in a print format, you may have noticed something a little different about your newspaper this morning. That’s because from yesterday (Monday 8th May) Facebook will be rolling out ads in several of the UK’s top newspapers, including The Times, The Guardian and Daily Telegraph, to give readers tips on spotting fake news.

Facebook has already removed thousands of fake news stories from its site and plans to hire 3000 more employees to review content going forward.

However, this campaign marks Facebook’s first big move towards combating the rapid growth of fake news, after experiencing growing pressure from high profile individuals and organisations, including MPs, to deal with the ever increasing issue.

While fake news certainly isn’t a new phenomenon, propaganda has been a tool used throughout the ages to influence and control, fresh fears have been raised of late about its growing visibility and impact on key geo-political events. After speculation that fake news on Facebook may have interfered with the EU Referendum and likely influenced the US Presidential Election result, there has been an overwhelming outcry for social networking sites to do more. And with the UK General Election only a month away and France’s Presidential race just concluded, Facebook’s latest campaign seems timely.

Some of the tips you might see published in your newspaper include:

  1. Be sceptical of headlines
  2. Look closely at the web address
  3. Investigate the source
  4. Watch for unusual formatting
  5. Consider the images used
  6. Inspect the date the story was published
  7. Check the evidence
  8. Look at other reports
  9. Is the story a joke?
  10. Blatant lies

This latest move by Facebook in the UK follows on from similar campaigns in German and French newspapers and will no doubt extend to other countries across the globe in due course. Will Facebook be able to eradicate propaganda as a result of its endeavours? Certainly not. Will it be able to pacify the powers that be that it is taking reasonable measures to help combat it? Facebook will be hoping so!

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Facebook celebrates its 12th birthday, but will brands be celebrating in the future?

Facebook celebrates its 12th birthday, but will brands be celebrating in the future?

Last Thursday marked Facebook’s 12th birthday, and they were kind enough to let us users be a part of it with their ‘Friends Day’ video experience! The special occasion enabled users all around the world to view a personalised video experience at the top of their news feed, which included photos that were marked as ‘special moments’.

The ‘Friends Day’ videos were pre-populated, but users were able to customise and switch the photos being used to create the video, with their customised version being posted on their Timelines shortly after.

Despite a marked decrease in number of under 18s using the platform regularly, there are still many more birthdays to come for Facebook, thanks to the 1 billion users actively using the platform each month, but how many of these are actually brands? Below are just a few examples of how the big boys are using Facebook in its 12th year:

Nike

Nike is arguably one of the biggest brands out there and their Facebook page plays a key role in their overall marketing approach. The page is a balance of new products, science and charitable initiatives, but one way they differentiate themselves is using different pages for each of their product lines. From snowboarding to golf, Nike has a page for all interests. Do you?

Microsoft

When marketing a technology product, it can be challenging not to get too ‘techy’ and alienating your audience. Microsoft’s Facebook marketing is a great example of avoiding falling into this trap.

Their latest campaign was based around the hashtag #5to9, which was designed to focus specifically on a user’s time outside of the office. They also subverted typical workplace acronyms like PTO and ETA, converting them into non-workplace phrases, indicating that their products can be used at home, as well as in the office. Microsoft’s use of social media platforms like Facebook, is in marked contrast to Apple whose use of social media marketing is very limited.

Cadbury’s

As Cadbury’s Dairy Milk approached their 1 millionth like on Facebook, they decided to celebrate with an innovative campaign – the thumbs up! Cadbury’s built a giant thumbs up out of 1 million pieces of chocolate and allowed fans to participate and engage with the campaign through their Facebook page.

Cadbury’s are still devising quirky campaigns on Facebook now, with their festive #cadvent Christmas campaign last year a great success at generating consumer engagement.

With all of these brand giants embracing Facebook marketing, what does this mean for us marketers of smaller businesses?

Facebook is still developing new ideas for brands to showcase their products; their new Carousel ads, first introduced back in 2014, are a key example. Since then, advertisers have seen carousel ad links drive 30-50% greater consumer spend as a result of the social network. This, along with the rapid rise of video on Facebook, all points to the social media giant continuing to play a central role in many marketers’ social media strategies in 2016 and beyond.

What are your thoughts about Facebook marketing for SMEs?

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#MarketingTitbits – Innovative Entrepreneurs, British Brands, Facebook Emojis

innovation-british-emojis1. 10 traits of the most innovative entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship fits perfectly with innovation – producing new ideas, providing better solutions and pioneering new products. The most successful entrepreneurs aren’t just the hardest working, but the most innovative too.

If entrepreneurs aren’t flexing their innovative muscles, then success and breakthroughs are difficult to achieve. Innovation is becoming more and more important to brands as markets are becoming more demanding. To this end, Entrepreneur have put together 10 ways to be more innovative, to help get you innovating.

If you want to learn how to be more innovative, click here.

2. 32 classically ‘British’ brands that aren’t actually British

British brands are recognised all over the world for their authenticity and quality; however, these days many are now not owned by British firms or individuals. Many think that Harrods is a quintessentially British brand, but previous owner, the enigmatic Egyptian Mohamed Al Fayed sold it to Qatar Holdings, who currently own it.

HP is the most British brand around, and has been for quite some time. It has been the most popular sauce in the Houses of Parliament; nevertheless it is now owned by Americans – purchased by Heinz in 2005.

To see the 32 iconic ‘British’ brands – no longer british-owned, click here.

3. What Facebook’s new emojis mean for marketers

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last through years, the chances are you will have used an Emoji or two to compliment a post or message. Finally bowing to pressure to introduce a ‘dislike’ function, Facebook have turned to the Emoji to satisfy a demand amongst Facebook users to convey more than a ‘thumbs up’ in response to a Facebook post. The new feature on the platform will enable users to reply to a post with one of 5 emojis: Love, Yay, Wow, Sad and Angry.

The new emoticons provide brands with a real opportunity to encourage their users to reply with a feeling or emotion, rather than just a like, comment or share. Facebook are always looking for ways to improve their user’s experience, and this new feature will be ranked as a major update to the platform.

Click here for more information.

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#MarketingTitbits – Facebook’s Dislike Button, Marketing Campaigns, Google’s Q2 Report

dislike-lightbulb-google 21. Why Facebook’s ‘dislike’ button will be both a challenge and opportunity for brands

Facebook features such as ‘like’, ‘share’ and ‘comment’ have been very popular with their users, and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has now confirmed that a ‘dislike’ button is finally joining the Facebook family. However, brands fear that the new feature could easily create brand embarrassment.

CMO at the Post Office, Peter Markey, believes the ‘dislike’ button could overtake the amount of likes for a brand, causing an uncomfortable situation that needs to be managed carefully. In contrast,  Telefonica’s UK head of strategy, Jonathan Earle, believes the new feature will help engage a new audience and will provide valuable information.

If you ‘like’ the sound of the new feature, click here to read more.

2. 5 of the cleverest marketing campaigns in recent times

In the last few years we have seen some of the memorable marketing campaigns from brands but have they stuck in your mind?

Remember the ‘Dress’ that sparked a lot of attention earlier this year? Dunkin’ Donuts didn’t hesitate to seize the social media moment. They posted a photo of two different donuts – one blue and black, the other white and gold – with the caption, “Doesn’t matter if its blue/black or white/gold, they still taste delicious”.

To see these 5 clever marketing campaigns and draw inspiration, click here.

3. Do your search results stack up against Google’s Q2 report?

Earlier this year, Google published very strong Q2 results, leveraging in particular the continued success of YouTube on mobile devices. However, at the same time they reported a significant decrease in average cost-per-click (CPC).

As many industry observers have already highlighted, the average CPCs are gradually decreasing due to new geographies; however, major markets, such as the UK, are seeing an increase of CPCs on desktops. One major UK retailer reported a 30% increase in their CPCs over the last two years, but will this continue?

Click here for more information.

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#MarketingTitbits – Facebook secrets, B&Q, startups

facebook-b&q-startups-smaller-11. Shh… three Facebook marketing secrets
You may have read some of our Facebook advertising news stories over the past few weeks, but this week even more has been revealed. Some of the most experienced Facebook marketers may be surprised to hear about some of the hidden features that they keep behind closed doors.

Now, Facebook can tell you all you need to know about your audience. For example, you can find out whether they’re using desktop or mobile, their age, and whether they’ve graduated or not. However, if you have an American audience of above 1000, then your ‘spying skills’ can gain much more depth, as you’re able to identify income brackets and even the cars they drive (although, this may be bordering on stalker tendencies).

To check out other insights, click here.

2. B&Q’s new £60m responsive website reviewed

What could you buy for £60m? Fifty Bugatti Veyrons? Possibly a chunk of Buckingham Palace? The list could be never-ending, yet did it cross your mind that you could also invest in a new website for yourself or your business? Maybe not, but that’s exactly what B&Q have done. Will their new web design blow you away?

Econsultancy undertakes a comparison between new and old, so you can make your judgements on whether the more contemporary design works for B&Q. They have now followed in many brands footsteps by introducing the ‘click and collect’ feature, although the products available to take advantage of this are unfortunately limited. An important point is has the company already lost customers by removing the option for a guest checkout, resulting in more shoppers ditching their virtual baskets?

To take a look at the review for yourself, click here.

3. 8 of the most first-world startups on the planet

Why are start-ups aimed at the world’s wealthiest people becoming increasingly popular? Well, it seems that 24% of your average app developers make nothing from their creations, so maybe attracting the millionaires of the world is the way to go. However, if you would like to indulge yourself in the high-life rather than create it for others,  these apps could be perfectly suited to you.

The apps consist of the seemingly normal and of course, the weird. For example, Priv is an app that allows users to pay rather steep amounts for professional beauty and wellness services sent straight to them. Whereas Hangover Club was created to send buyers specialised IV drips to cure the after-effects of the night before, for prices ranging from $175 to $250.

If these apps have interested you, then click here to see the remaining six

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#MarketingTitbits – Twitter, Alzheimer’s, advertising

twitter-alzheimers-advertising-smaller1. Tips to help your business gain more followers on Twitter
 If you’re using Twitter the chances are you will be tweeting content as often as you can – and if you’re not you really should be. With this in mind, you don’t want to be tweeting to an absent audience; no one wants their tweets to get lost somewhere in cyberspace.

But do not fret, there are a few things you can do to help your business gain new followers. Ensuring that you have some personality is a great way to entice people into following you, tweeting Christmas party images and news about the team is a great way to make things a bit more personal! Searching for people in your industry is another great way to find relevant Twitter followers – not only are they more likely to follow you, they’re more likely to retweet and favourite your posts.

To have a look at more tips for helping your business to gain new followers on Twitter, click here.

 

2. The Facebook campaign that simulated Alzheimer’s disease

 If you’ve ever had anyone close to you suffer the misfortune of Alzheimer’s disease, you might have a better understanding of how terrifying it is to lose your memory of where you’ve been, who you’ve been with or even who the people are around you.

However, it can still be hard to understand what it really is like for those suffering. For that reason Alzheimer Nederland set up a Facebook campaign to give people a taster of what it can be like for Alzheimer’s suffers. They created images of people, who hadn’t even liked their Facebook page, in places where they had never been and tagged them in the images. The image captions read “Confusing right? You’re now experiencing what it’s like to have Alzheimer’s disease” and then prompted the Facebook user to send the app to a friend.

To have a look at the heart-warming campaign, click here.

 

3. Six trends in advertising you need to know for 2014

Are you ready for the New Year ahead and the trends that have been predicted for advertising? If not, we’ve found a great article that highlights the six key trends that are likely to affect advertising this year, predicted by the Chief Executive of Econsultacy, Ashley Friedlein.

From real time bidding trends, video advertising and mobile advertising, to read the full article, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Photoshop, WordPress, Facebook

photoshop-wordpress-facebook-smaller1. The 12 best free Photoshop plugins for designers
 Photoshop is one of the most popular pieces of software for editing images out there. Used by both designers and photo enthusiasts, the software doesn’t come cheap but once you have it the possibilities are endless.

Despite this, many plugins have been created that extend its already huge capabilities. Using plugins can help to perform tedious or complex tasks much easier. This week we found a great article from Mashable that highlights the 12 best free plugins for Photoshop. From Social Kit to CSS3Ps have a look at them here.

 

2. A blogger’s guide to setting up a WordPress site

 If your business isn’t already updating your site with regular content, then you should be. Not only is this great for SEO but it’s a way to get your audience engaged and remind them that you’re experts in your field.

One really easy way to get this content out there is to set up a blog. Today, more than 6.7million people worldwide are blogging about everything from fashion to new technology and everything in between.  Despite this, starting a blog can be daunting and seem like a task too big for some, this is why we want to share with you a blogger’s guide to setting up a WordPress site.

To have a look at all the hints and tips, click here.

 

3. 7 things you didn’t know you could do on Facebook that make it better

Facebook now has 1,310,000,000 active users monthly. This figure ensures that it is the number one social networking site in the world. As much as some of us love Facebook, they have created some hidden features that can enhance the user’s experience.

From making your Facebook pirate language to changing all baby pictures on your newsfeed to pictures of kittens, if you love Facebook then click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Facebook, Vine, YouTube

Facebook-Vine-YouTube-smaller1. This is what happens on Facebook when you die
You may have never wondered what happens to your social media profiles when you die. It is not something most people would think about. However, different social media channels treat death in different ways. Until recently, Facebook has chosen to restrict a person’s privacy settings to just friends once they have died; however this has now changed.

Now, when a person dies, their Facebook privacy settings stay the same, they say they “are respecting the choices a person made in life while giving their extended community of family and friends ongoing visibility to the same content they could always see.”

Facebook have also added an extra touch for friends and family. If you are a Facebook user you will know that recently you have been able to access your “Look back” video, showing you your life on Facebook. After a father’s plea on YouTube to be able to see his deceased son’s “Look back” video, users can now request to see their friend’s videos upon request after they die.

To read more, click here. 

 

2. 14 best branded Vines of February 2014

Today, many brands are using Vine to connect with their customers. Companies such as McDonalds, Xbox, Microsoft and General Electric are doing great things on Vine and using the relatively new social media platform in an innovative way.

If you’re in need of inspiration on how to use Vine or just want to have a look at who is doing it well, have a look at the 14 best branded Vines of February 2014here. 

 

3. YouTube’s 20 most shared ads of February

Unruly Media have put together a list of the most shared adverts on YouTube from February 2014.

Three’s “Sing It Kitty”, Coca-Cola’s “Social Media Guard” and Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” all feature on the list. To have a look at the full 20, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Tesco, Steve Jobs and Twitter

Tesco-Jobs-Twitter-smaller1. Tesco buys into big data to make marketing more personalised
In a bid to make their marketing more personalised and improve Clubcard loyalty programmes, Tesco’s subsidiary Dunnhumby, have purchased big data technology firm Sociomantic. The combined data of the two will mean that Tesco have access to an “unprecedented” database of more than a billion people.

The CEO of Dunnhumby says this “will allow Tesco to improve its online marketing to provide a better experience for consumers and advertisers.” Tesco is hoping to improve its Clubcard scheme by going digital, this will eventually mean away with plastic cards and paper vouchers and will allow customers to collect points via their mobile.

To read more, click here. 

 

2. Steve Jobs’ 13 most inspiring quotes

“Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me… Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”

Just two inspiring quotes from Steve Jobs, to read more, click here. 

 

3. Twitter’s redesign: is it turning into Facebook?

You may have noticed the changes Twitter have made in the last week. They have totally redesigned the profile pages making them look and feel much more like Facebook’s profile pages.

Some of the specific changes include:

  • Larger profile photos and banner images that stretch across the whole page
  • Popular tweets will be larger and easier for users to find – these are tweets that have had a high engagement rate
  • A new feature that allows users to pin their favourite tweets to the top of their profile
  • Users now have the ability to filter the tweets of the individuals they follow

To read more, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Facebook ads, Jack Daniel’s stories, Google structured snippets

facebookads-jackdaniels-google-smaller1. Nine best practice tips for Facebook advertising

E-Consultancy has compiled a list of the best marketing practices to use with Facebook. The tips include engaging with a vast audience in order to facilitate the opportunity for more clicks on your links, to separating mobile and desktop campaigns due to the behaviour changes in users depending on which platform they are using. Surprisingly, according to previous research, mobile users are more likely to click on links.

To read the other tips on optimising your Facebook ads, click here.

2. How Jack Daniel’s uses storytelling to personalise the brand

Many brands across the world employ focusing on the tradition and heritage of their existence; Jack Daniel’s is one of them.  On their website, the brand describes their timeline as a story of ‘independence and craftsmanship using years as chapters’. For brands such as Jack Daniel’s, the importance of history is clear and September happens to be the month of ‘Mr Jack’s birthday’, although no one knows the actual date. Much of the time, the stories that are told fail to mention the brand in any way, creating a more authentic and engaging atmosphere around ‘Jack’. On the Jack Daniels website you can rewind back to the early 1900’s by scrolling through the timeline of events that have followed the brand throughout its history.

To read the story of Jack for yourself, click here.

3. Google introduces ‘structured snippets’ into search results

Google is starting to test out ways to improve CTRs (click-through rate). The introduction of ‘structured snippets’ is one of the initiatives they are testing. You can see exactly what this means for yourself by Googling ‘Nikon D7100’ or ‘Superman’. You’ll see that extra detail is added to directly to the search listing on the result page itself, informing us of the camera specifications or Superman’s origins without the need to click through to the webpage the search result is directing you to. Structured snippets certainly help a result to stand out more but will this improve CTRs or will it have the opposite effect?

To see more, click here.

 

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