up.to.dateAPRIL2016

CHANGING CHANNELS: WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF TV IN THE MIDDLE EAST?It is a question everyone in the industry is asking: what will become of television? As hand-held devices become evermore popular, drawing advertising dollars and now even launching exclusive content, some are wondering if the box-set has had its day.

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3 Ways Facebook’s Trending Topics Has Altered Social Media

Two years ago, Facebook began rolling out its trending topics section in spite of much eye-rolling and snide remarks. It seemed that the social media giant was simply copying Twitter’s rapid-response style. While that may be true, Facebook has used its immense algorithmic capabilities to produce a slight tweak to Twitter’s trending monopoly.

Whether through explicitly ending Twitter’s stranglehold on the idea of “trending” stories, aggregating personalized news or just producing yet another way to curate one’s social media experience, trending topics have altered how people interact with Facebook in particular and social media in general.

Regional advertisers go big on social mediaThey have more than compensated for the slower uptake on web-based advertising

The Gulf’s advertisers might have been relatively slow on the uptake in realising the potential of web-based advertising. Doesn’t matter, because they seem to be doing quite well on social media. There are multiple reasons for their fast-track approach.

And social is what seems to be driving much of the web-based ad placements in these markets. From a narrow base of 3 per cent back in 2010 (out of an overall billings of $5.1 billion [Dh18.7 billion] across all platforms), digital has grown to claim 10 per cent in 2015 of Mena’s spend of $5.55 billion in ad dollars, according to Northwestern University data. (During the same period, newspapers’ share was clipped from 45 per cent to 32 per cent, while that on television ranged between 37-43 per cent.)

Second-Screen Searches: Crucial I-Want-to-Know Moments for BrandsForget the remote; smartphones are becoming the essential TV-watching companion. People are using their second screens to search for info about what they're watching—commercials included. These 'I-want-to-know' moments are a chance for brands to be present, relevant, and to gain insights.

These micro-moments, when people search Google to get answers, happen constantly, even while people are watching TV. Second-screen search moments can serve as a barometer for what people think, what they're curious about, and what they want to explore while they're watching TV.

Content is King. But Context is God.

It’s no secret that we are living in an era where everybody is a media company. Provide value to consumers by creating helpful videos or new recipes or funny cartoons. Give them something they actually want because that content builds up the relationship that then allows you to ask for the sale.

But people forget that, now more than ever, great content is predicated on context.

You’ve probably heard this one from me before: “Content is king, but context is God.” I love that that line is quoted so much, but I want to make sure everyone has the tools necessary to execute on that.

Gary Vaynerchuk, a global figure in digital marketing and oft-quoted guru discusses three must have tickboxes. Respect the platform and the audience, Don’t interrupt the experience. And... Be consistent and self aware. This is a great piece for every one in marketing today...

Key stats from Facebook's State of Connectivity report

Facebook recently released its second annual State of Connectivity report on global internet access.

At the end of 2015, estimates showed that 3.2 billion people were online. This increase (up from 3 billion in 2014) is partly attributed to more affordable data and rising global incomes in 2014. Over the past 10 years, connectivity increased by approximately 200 to 300 million people per year.

While this is positive news in terms of growth, it also means that globally, 4.1 billion people were still not internet users in 2015.

Nobody’s really arguing anymore over whether the future will be mobile.

Apps have become one of the primary ways we engage ideas, each other, and the world around us. This trend is only expected to increase in the future, so right now app development is as hot as the surface of the sun and getting hotter every day. However, to say competition is fierce in the app world is a massive understatement.

77 percent of users never use an app again 72 hours after installing

How do you measure ‘virality’ of your content? Here’s a cool new metric.

Snapchat rivals Facebook with 8 billion video views on its app every day

The battle for online-video supremacy is no longer a contest between YouTube and Facebook.

Snapchat has emerged as a new powerhouse, with the revelation that users of the service now watch 8 billion videos on its app every day.

That number was shared by CEO Evan Spiegel to an audience of investors at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Monday, according to a report in Bloomberg and confirmed to Business Insider by a source familiar with the matter.

magnamena.com © Magna Mena. Magna up.to.date is produced by MCN Corporate Communications. Contact: Bassem Masoud | Regional Managing Director | bassem.massoud@mcnmena.com | +971 4 445 4647

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There’s so much out there on how to measure virality of content, that it gets confusing. So far the best definition, or formula, I have seen comes out of the virality sessions at this year’s SXSW #viralcode sessions, and it has been kind of ratified by Simply Measured as well.

Essentially, what is important in the viral content game is having the right shareable content and the right context. Which really is what engagement is about. And, yes, there is a science behind it. No wonder that sites like Upworthy have actual social scientists working for them to figure out how/why people share!

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