Facebook switches up its measurement system, the FTC foils the fakers, Chipotle gives out Booritos, and more!
October 25, 2019
Impressive (?) Impressions
Marketers and social media mavens alike are trained to notice changes in metrics — big and small. So Facebook’s latest measurement methodology update might raise some alarms when your next analytics reports are pulled. Organic Page impressions will now be calculated to align more similarly with how FB calculates those for paid: by better filtering out repeats. The good news is the numbers will more accurately represent how many unique impressions your posts get … the bad news is they might be lower than they were in the past. Of course, nobody wants to see a dip in numbers, but when it comes to metrics, more isn’t necessarily better — accuracy is.
Fake News, Fake Followers, Fake Reviews …
Sometimes it feels like nothing on the Internet is actually real these days, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants to change that. This week, the FTC settled lawsuits with social media company Devumi for selling fake followers and likes, and skincare brand Sunday Riley for posting positive fake reviews for itself and negative reviews of competitors. Some feel the rulings of the two cases weren’t harsh enough — Devumi paid out $2.5 million to settle, but Sunday Riley didn’t have to admit guilt or pay a fine. Still, both are steps in the right direction toward regulating brands’ online behavior. It’s a reminder to marketers that, in the end, authenticity always wins out — fake friends are canceled and fake brands could be next.
Snapchat Copycats
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And if social media platforms don’t embody that, nothing does. The latest copycat move comes from IGTV, Instagram’s long-form video feature, which has added the capability to create multi-episode series — playing off of Snapchat’s Snap Originals. For Instagram creators and marketers hoping to utilize IGTV more in their content strategies, this update is a pretty awesome branding opportunity. Episodes will be displayed on a special series page and have a badge designating which one they’re a part of, making it easy for users to differentiate them from other videos. Even better, users can set notifications to be alerted when new episodes are released. Snap Originals have done well with millions of monthly viewers, so it was only a matter of time before Insta channeled its idea.
SPARK OF THE WEEK
All Boo’d Up for a #Boorito
Chipotle’s long had a thing for Halloween, giving away heavily discounted burritos to customers who show up to their stores in costume. But now, the fast-casual restaurant is beefing up its Halloween spirit by bringing its annual #Boorito campaign to TikTok. The challenge encourages would-be burrito buyers to show off their spooky before and after costume transformations (like those YouTube makeup tutorials but monster-themed) on the platform. Five users with the most likes will receive free burritos for a year.
This isn’t the first time Chipotle has partnered with the platform, previously celebrating #NationalGuacDay. But this new challenge freshens up Chipotle’s tradition of celebrating the holiday while also fully embracing everything TikTok brings to the party (like 500 million active users). And staying relevant with the platform’s large 16- to 24-year-old demographic isn’t a bad idea, either. It could take some time for marketers to gauge if Chipotle’s challenge is a real treat, but it’s further proof there are plenty of fun and creative ways to upgrade your annual marketing campaigns — no matter how scary that might sound.
