Twitter is on a Shopping Spree

A couple years ago Facebook snatched up Instagram, but what is Twitter doing to keep up? Twitter recently bough Niche which is a company that connects advertisers with social media video stars. I think this was a smart move on Twitter's part, because as we all know those crazy video stars are pros at reaching consumers. The way Facebook has been able to gain such a large net worth is partly through buying these smaller companies and using what they have found or created and adding that to what Facebook already has. Twitter is genius in wanting to have that same strategy, because it works! According to mashables.com Facebook is worth approximately $11.5 billion and Twitter is worth $1.4 billion. If I were Twitter, I would also be taking some notes from Facebook and attempting to use some of their strategies. Niche is not the only company Twitter bought, they bought ZipDial this year as well and Madbits last July. I think Twitter is on the right track, and needs to keep up the good work. 

*To find out a little more about Twitter's recent purchases: http://cir.ca/news/twitter-acquires-smaller-companies

Calling All Cooking Supply Companies

Pinterest is a social media platform I mentioned in my first blog I personally benefitted from. I also believe companies can benefit a tremendous amount from it. Specifically I have seen that companies selling cooking supplies or ingredients could benefit most from Pinterest. My friends and I use the platform a few times a week at least when deciding what to have for lunch or dinner. If companies created recipes using all of their ingredients and posted often to their own Pinterest account, I believe consumers would be more likely to go buy those ingredients. I want to share an example of this with a recipe I made this week. McCormick posted a recipe from their website McCormick.com on Pinterest and I decided to make it. All of the spices included in the recipe were McCormick's brand. I enjoyed the recipe so much it made me want to look at more recipes using their ingredients specifically. Below are pictures of the Pinterest recipe:

                            

    

      

Facebook Puts the "U" in Super Bowl

We all know Facebook is on top of things in terms of advertising, right? Just when companies think they can get their posts shown based off the number of likes and comments, they make you pay to be seen by your target audience. That right there is how you make money! So, what is Facebook up to right now you say? They have introduced a completely "New Super Bowl Experience". Instead of paying millions to have a 30 second commercial/ad shown, they have decided to use their platform as a way to engage their audience. On the Facebook Newsroom* they share what this "new Super Bowl Experience" is all about. Some specifics on what it will in tell are:

• See posts from your friends and people in your network with Friends and Groups
• See real-time reactions from people around the world with Live Feed
• View photos and videos from news outlets as well as people at the game
• View posts from the NFL, teams, players, NBC and other public voices with In the Story
• View live scores, the current play time, and play by play updates at a glance
• Join the conversation by posting about the game with the update “watching Super Bowl XLIX”

I think this is genius. Social media is no doubt an effective way to reach specific audiences, and it was proven last year that Super Bowl watchers are definitely still using social media while watching. For example, when the power went out during the Super Bowl in 2013, Twitter went WILD. Why not integrate social media with the Super Bowl? Facebook decided they would!

*http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2015/01/introducing-a-new-super-bowl-experience-on-facebook/