LinkedIn Introduces Native Videos
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LinkedIn has now followed other large social media platforms by allowing users to natively upload videos that play automatically.
Videos will be able to be uploaded through the site’s mobile app as well as through its website, and can run up to 10 minutes long.
To begin with, the feature will be tested through a small number of users in the US, but it is expected to be rolled-out worldwide in the next few months.
Where this feature differs from other platforms however, is that the publisher will have access to the company name and job title of a selection of people who view the video.
This could be a significant draw to users of the business-centric social network.
Once released worldwide, LinkedIn will also supply users with best practice guidelines including recommendations that videos should be between 30 seconds and five minutes, as well as reminding users that videos can be published horizontally as well as vertically.
Australian retailers are seeing an increase in online sales, following high growth levels in the country’s ecommerce market.
According to the annual Inside Australian Online Shopping Report from Australia Post, the country saw an increase in online retail sales of 11.5% through 2016.
It was also found that domestic sales accounted for nearly 8 in every 10 sales online.
Ben Franzi, from Australia Post, said that half of all sales came from the fashion and department store markets.
He said that “price, range and convenience are the three main reasons why consumers shop online”, adding that this was pushing growth.
Franzi also pointed out that the survey had revealed that the number of purchases made on mobile grew by 52% in the same time period.
A study into US programmatic advertising found that such campaigns are declining by 12% each year.
The survey showed that programmatic is losing out to native advertising, which continues to increase by around 74% annually.
This change in behaviour is thought to be due to concerns around brand image, following recent controversy over some brand advertising appearing next to objectionable videos on YouTube.
It is also noted by Business Insider that bigger brands are starting to value quality over quantity.
One example of this is JP Morgan, which only saw a minimal decrease in ad visibility when it reduced the number of sites its ads appeared on from 400,000 to 5,000 in a bid for more control.
The increase in native is expected to increase as well, since it has largely improved click-through rates.
A forecast from eMarketer has predicted that in 2017 one-third of the global population will use social media at least once a month.
This number represents more than 70% of the world’s internet population; an increase of 8.2% over 2016.
However, one reason for this increase is due to eMarketer not including WeChat or Snapchat in its survey as they are classed as messaging apps, whilst Facebook and Twitter have recently introduced similar chat features to snatch users from these companies.
Aside from this, growth is encouraged by the ever-increasing availability of smartphones across the world, particularly in emerging markets.
Due to this, the number of social media users logging on with mobile device is expected to grow from 81% this year, to nearly 87% by 2021.
And finally, the classic children’s book character and yellow bear, Winnie The Pooh, has been banned in China.
Authorities in the country have not actually explained the move, but it is widely accepted that the use of the character as a comparison to President Xi is at the root of the decision.
The clamp down has impacted social media sites primarily, such as WeChat, where images have been removed from the platform’s sticker gallery.
In 2015, users began comparing Winnie The Pooh to the country’s leader after he was thought to have looked like the cartoon bear during a parade.
This led to Winnie the Pooh becoming one of China's most censored images of 2015.