So, you want to know how many users Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or other social networks have? The bad news: It’s a lot of hassle researching the latest numbers. The good news: We’ve done the hard work for you. What are we doing? Latest social network user numbers, on a Google Doc, which we will be updating whenever the numbers change. We have doubtless missed some – so if you spot any which are out of date, let us know. Or if you see publicly citable UK figures, likewise. Why are we doing it? We want to share tools and insights which help people build what comes next. We need these numbers, so we know they have value for others. We could keep them to ourselves, but you’d then spend time searching for them, not working on changing things. Why aren’t these all available already? Well, there are a few reasons: Many social networks are private (often VC backed) companies. They don’t have to share them, if they don’t want to. The really big, publicly listed businesses release these numbers as part of quarterly earnings reports. These aren’t always the most accessible, nor do these businesses want to provide a running commentary – it could make the share price jumpy In some cases they aren’t provided because, simply put, they wouldn’t tell a very pretty story. In a world in which tens of millions of users are small change, it can be tough to admit you don’t have a huge user base, or that your numbers are going backwards There is a broad shift happening whereby Monthly Active Users (MAUs) are no longer regarded as the best single yardstick with which to measure usage of a service. That means some businesses are reluctant to share these numbers because it’s not the best measure of how their service is used (for a video business, time spent viewing might be a better indication than MAUs, e.g. Facebook track Daily Active Users (DAUs)). There isn’t, however, any commonly agreed alternative Why do these user numbers matter? Solid user numbers give a basic indication of the scale of adoption – but do bear in mind that because Snapchat has a lot of users (as one example) doesn’t mean it would be relevant for grandparents – demographics of users matter, as well as raw numbers. You’ve missed my favourite network! Sorry – let us know, and we’ll do our best to add it. I’ve found different numbers… Send us a link to the source. If it’s more recent, or more reliable, we’ll swap it. We’ll get better numbers, together. Can I use these numbers for my document/homework/blog? Sure. It’d be lovely to get a shoutout if you do, but absolutely – please do. #MAUs #socialmedia

Since we started monthly sessions with Sanctus (a start-up dedicated to increasing communication and transparency around mental health), we decided to find out how much conversation is already happening around mental health. We found that mentions of mental health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, blogs, forums and news sources in the UK over the last year cumulatively reach 22.3 BILLION users. We can break this down further, determining which topics, in particular, reached the most people. We certainly aren’t ignorant of the constant discussion around social media and mental health, and the stats show that this sub-topic reached 570M people, whereas mental health in relation to work had less than half the reach at 280M. In terms of conditions, however, depression and anxiety were by far the most discussed on the whole, particularly on Instagram where the most used (relevant) hashtag was 'depression'. Perhaps more interesting than the sheer volume of mentions and reach was the variety in the conversations, and who was involved in them, depending on the platform. Twitter has the largest reach of mental health conversations Last year there were over 7.7M tweets, reaching 16.9M people. 85% of the engagements with these mentions were retweets, explaining the significant reach and also indicating a passive engagement with the topic. The behaviour here implies that users are happy to share the content, but not necessarily add their own personal perspective or experience into the mix. A distinct difference from other platforms was that learning difficulties were the most discussed mental health topic on Twitter, with mentions of autism making up 6.4% of the total 7.7M. Somewhat heartening is the drop-off in mentions at the end of the workday when people are traditionally with their families. This graph shows the influx of mentions during the working day over one week: Who is talking about it? Twitter is the most likely of the social platforms we analysed to have an even gender split, yet women made up 56% of users in the mental health conversation. We saw this slight skew towards females across most of the platform; this was in line with our expectations as women are usually more active at sharing on social. Men do discuss mental health, but it seems that forums are the platform of choice. 74% of forum users who mention mental health are male, perhaps due to the anonymity of the platform. Forums like Reddit play a significant role in these conversations – across their mental health threads, there are over 827k active members. Something for everyone? What was really stark from our research was that there is no single way of discussing mental health – different platforms host different content for different audiences. As outlined, Twitter seems to be predominantly a platform for sharing in this conversation. Forums appeared to be the place for millennials to chat through mental health, while those aged 34-45 were the most interested in mental health on Facebook. When you delve a little deeper, however, into the world of memes, the younger generation is present on Facebook. While we are unable to analyse interest in mental health meme pages on Facebook, previous research tells us that the audience for memes is mostly under 25. Furthermore, nearly every mental health hashtag on Instagram also had a dedicated meme-related hashtag too (e.g. 'depressionmemes'). Pair this with the knowledge that the most successful content within the mental health conversation is visual (dark humour memes, motivational quotes, etc) and you start to develop a better understanding of not only which platform people are on, but where they head once on it. Once again, the audience for visual content displayed a clear behavioural pattern of sharing; they passively engage rather than actively comment. Ultimately if you want to discuss mental health on social, there’s a huge variety of conversations taking place with a diverse range of users to choose from. While many people choose to simply share content in order to be involved and show support, there’s certainly the opportunity for active involvement and social (especially forums) offer the benefit of anonymity for those who want it.

Here at OneFifty we are firm believers that it is important to provide resources that support and optimise our team’s personal well-being so they are able to thrive at work. In our continuing search to improve our tools to provide a healthy work culture, we found Sanctus, another startup. Sanctus provides confidential and unbiased spaces for employees to talk about any challenges they might face from their mental health to personal development goals. Our Sanctus coach, Claire, drops by once a month and her work really benefits our team. We love her! Sanctus’ view is that mental health should be treated like physical health; their aim is to put the world’s first mental health gym on the high street! We got to speak with James Routledge, the founder of Sanctus and listened to his insights on the relationships they find between social media, your environment, and mental health, and how we all have mental health that we need to look after. From memes to awareness of potential negative implications, let’s see what James had to say… #1 Social Media and Mental Health Do you think anonymous online discussion helps people be more open? James: It can help people to get to the point of opening up, yes. Why does it matter that we understand how mental health is discussed online? James: In many ways, people might feel more comfortable to share online as there’s less risk from behind the screen. For some, this can be a valuable outlet and there are, of course, cases where people find great catharsis and connection online. However, there are other instances where people’s mental health is triggered in negative ways online and this is really important for us to monitor. Do you think ‘mental health day’ is a useful concept? James: It’s an absolutely necessary one in my opinion. We have sick days so let’s have days off for poor mental health. Do you find that humour is a good way to discuss mental health with someone? James: I’d say we do; humour can be a way to make mental health less scary and more relatable for people. Is there a forum that you would recommend that has a strong community or is particularly informative? James: Sanctus on Instagram is a good place to start, definitely. Other than that, a lot of the other forums can be good for some but very triggering for others. It’s hard to find a place that is very inclusive. What we saw on Facebook was that people who were most active were likely to be parents discussing learning disabilities. We know that young people are aware of mental health. How do we get more of them involved in charity pages, for example? James: I feel like younger people need to be spoken to with more relevant content, hence why the memes are obviously doing so well! #2 Work and Environment Our own research in mental health conversation online last year saw that common topic was the relationship between mental health and the modern work lifestyle. With higher pressure and longer hours behind a computer screen, we asked James how Sanctus are seeing a rise in work-related mental health conversations. How much do you find that work is discussed in conjunction with mental health? James: A lot and a lot more recently. People are spending more and more time at work, plus we’re expecting more from our workplaces. Work might not always cause mental health issues, but it can be where they manifest. Work has a huge impact on our mental health so it comes up a lot. What do you think may cause the cyclical nature of mentions during the week? James: It’s tough to say, but it definitely looks like there is a clear link between people’s weekly living patterns and their mental health. I suppose it just confirms that our outside environment affects people’s inner worlds. #3 Mental health is not homogeneous Do you think there is still a stigma with publicly discussing mental health? James: Yes and, to some extent, I believe there always will be. There is always going to be stuff that people find hard to talk about. What demographics do you tend to see from your clients? Is it homogeneous or does it tend to be varied across most backgrounds? James: Since we started Sanctus one thing has consistently been hammered home to us; we all have mental health, no matter our age, gender or ethnicity. However, we learnt something quickly, that is; our environment at work and home impacts our mental health in unique ways for everyone. What emotions do you see the most in your sessions? James: How long have you got?! Mental health encompasses the full range of human emotions, so it’s so diverse. When people bring their full self to a space, you’ll see the whole of them and that’s a lot of emotion! Within your sessions do you see news stories shaping the narrative or your conversations or people becoming aware of certain conditions through the news? James: The trends going on in the world certainly impact people and, let’s say when there’s a lot of news stories about sexual harassment or racism, that can inspire people to share those sorts of topics too. Are there certain conditions that you encounter or that are more talked about and discussed? James: Anxiety and burnout seem to be getting to the point where they are normalised to an extent to talk about. Depression too is becoming more talked about, but the label seems to scare people a bit more. Do you think there still is a generational gap in discussing mental health? James: From what we’ve seen at Sanctus, younger generations are slightly more open to talking openly about mental health. Yet, that’s not to say older generations are completely against it. We just see a skew towards a younger demographic. Overall, it is refreshing to work with a company that values and understands the importance of personal well-being and we are proud to be partnered with them to help to remove the stigma that is attached to acknowledging personal mental health! If you would like to hear how Sanctus have helped OneFifty, here are some comments about the support our coach Claire brings: “From my brief experience with Sanctus, I have found it really beneficial on a professional and personal level. Claire is amazing, insightful and very helpful in helping me tackle the subjects we speak about. She is extremely professional but makes me feel at ease every time I see her.” “I’d say Claire pretty adaptable – e.g. listens extremely well and can relate to you whatever situation/emotions you’re in.” #data #interview #sanctus

We’re delighted to have some new friends – Rogue Ponies! Rogue Ponies is a platform which matches brands that need to populate their channels – whether with photography, video or beautifully-rendered prose – to those who are expert at creating high quality, engaging content – social creators. The team we’ve put together at Rogue Ponies works with brands to select creators specifically for their style and subject knowledge, not their number of followers and commissions whatever the client requires. Brands are then provided with what those influencers create, be that images, video or copy, for use on their owned channels. So you get content in the style that your followers are most likely to engage with, because it’s been created by someone who engages with that audience every day of their online lives. You’re paying for the creator’s skills, not their follower number, as they don’t post it, they just provide it to you, making it appealing to creators, and effective for brands. We’ve got a team of three working hard to make the internet a better place, with creators able to do more of what they love: creating great content, with less #spon, and more, better brand content instead. So, whether you’re a creator who wants to pursue their skills, or a brand wanting great images, video or copy, get in touch. #influencer #rogueponies #Photography #influencers #video #content

Football’s coming home… World Cup fever is gripping the nation once again. With England beating Panama this weekend 6-1 England fans finally have something to be optimistic about. But are fans getting ahead of themselves? We looked at searches for “footballs coming home” on Sunday. You can see that there is a clear spike after England’s .. goal. When people are searching for Football song what is everyone’s favourite? Based on Youtube searches over the past week ‘Three Lions’ has got more overall search volumes on Youtube. However, Vindaloo receives the biggest spike. People search for football related songs peaks an hour before an England match. If you’ve forgotten how good the Vindaloo video is then here is the youtube link. World in Motion (blue) Vindaloo (green) Football’s coming home (yellow) #england #football #music

There are many things that I’m proud of contributing to at OneFifty; outstanding creative campaigns, stellar client service… but most of all my ‘WorthListeningTo’ Slack channel in which I regularly share Podcasts that I believe the team should listen to. But why podcasts? Podcasts, quite simply, are my hobby. I binge them like a Netflix series, and it turns out I’m not alone in that either. Research by Ofcom in September 2018 shows that over 6 million people tune in to a Podcast each week; a number which has doubled in just 5 years. When it comes to young adults (15-24), 1 in 5 are listening to podcasts each week. I don’t know about the rest of the 6 million, but I personally enjoy listening to podcasts because it’s great to get some entertainment without screen time; when you’ve been staring at your computer for 8 hours, the last thing you need is to go home and stare at your TV screen or phone for another couple of hours. I love finding new shows and sharing my recommendations with others, so here are some of the podcasts that have popped up on #WorthListeningTo. 8am: commute time On your way to work, you need to get yourself inspired for the day, and an hour listening to inspirational people is a great way to do this. Without Fail: Alex Blumberg, CEO of Gimlet media, has candid conversations with people who have battled adversity and lived to tell the tale, from business leaders to filmmakers and everything in between. The Pitch: another Gimlet podcast (there’s a theme here: Gimlet podcasts are excellent and some of my favourites), in which real entrepreneurs pitch to real investors, for real money. Like Dragon’s Den, but without watching the awkwardness go down. The Forward by Lance Armstrong: I can’t take credit for this one, it’s a recommendation from Alex Pearmain. Lance Armstrong chats breeze with sports stars and musicians – entertaining and inspiring at the same time, whatever you think about dear old Lance. 11am – A 20 minute tube journey between client meetings If you’ve got 20 minutes to waste on a tube journey, throw your headphones on (or earbuds if you have to) and listen to the Guardian’s Today In Focus with Anushka Asthana. Today in focus looks at one topic, which has usually been in the news recently, and explores it for 20 minutes. Great for learning about a new thing each day when you don’t have loads of time. 1pm – lunch time Take half an hour to remind yourself that we’re all just tiny beans in a big planet by listening to The Habitat, which followed a year in the life of 6 volunteers living on a fake planet, as part of an experiment to see whether humans can live on Mars. Fascinating stuff. 6pm: commute home The commute home is the perfect time to switch off and indulge yourself in something a bit more entertaining. For some it’s music, but for me it’s usually one of the below. Disgraceland: music lover? This is the podcast for you. In each episode, Jake Brennan tells the story of a rock and roll star behaving badly. It’s amazing just how badly people can behave when they’re famous. Dr Death, Over My Dead Body, Dirty John or in fact any true crime podcast by Wondery: you just can’t help get sucked into the stories. My Favourite Murder: a true crime comedy podcast about murder – and the number one podcast that I’ve been following for years. Karen and Georgia, the hosts, take turns to tell each other a story about a real life murder, with plenty of funny bits inbetween. I even have a keyring with the show’s motto on it: “stay sexy and don’t get murdered.” No YOU’RE weird. My dad wrote a porno: The aubergine emoji of the list, Jamie Morton reads his dad’s home written pornography with 2 friends each week. Quite funny, but gets a bit samey after the first couple of seasons. Good for a laugh to start off with though. Serial: The first podcast I ever listened to; Sarah Koening explores a true story each season in this award winning podcast. Warning, they’re incredibly addictive, and you will find excuses to discuss the cases with anyone who will listen. A good one to start with if you got hooked on Netflix’s Making a Murderer. 10pm: Getting a good night’s sleep Sleep with me: no, this isn’t a less than subtle hint that I’m after something, it’s a podcast that quite literally puts you to sleep. It’s essentially a gobbledegook bedtime story, where the narrator Scooter repeats himself, stutters, makes no sense at all and speaks in such dulcet tones that you’ll drift off listening to it in no time. Strange, but it works. So there you go, a whole list of listening to delights to get stuck into. Let me know how you get on with them over on Twitter! #podcasts

With Instagram holding the title of the “worst social media network for mental health and wellbeing”, our own Architect of Next Olivia felt it was time to offer some words in the way of a defence. You might call it narcissistic, but perhaps it’s self-love – whatever you call it, selfies and bikini shots don’t define Instagram. I am not here to say it can’t be detrimental to mental health, I am not here to say it can’t be demeaning of our own realities and neither I am here to say it doesn’t have its downfalls. But, I am here to put forward its defence and highlight its benefits. Instagram to me – and I imagine many others – acts as a portal into the other; the other place, the other person, the other life. It is a window to other people’s lives in a way that we never had before social media. The people in our lives are often far, they are often flung and one of the true powers of Instagram is allowing us to see snapshots of their lives. Capturing moments of their happiness, their achievements, their self-love or just simply the things they care about, for everyone in their digital world to see. Why can’t we view Instagram more in this way? As a catalogue of the happiness in people’s lives, a record of their triumphs, a gallery of their best moments, a place to see what matters to them. I believe as a tech-literate generation, we are wising up to social media; we are well aware it is a filtered version of our realities. So, why not appreciate it for that: a collection of our favourite moments in which we relish and celebrate in those moments with one another? Your Instagram is your space, so make it into what you want it to be. Post about the things that matter to you, follow the people who are posting things you care about and create it as a space on the internet that you want to spend time. Instagram can be narcissistic, it can be a place of self-love; but fundamentally, it is what you decide to make it. So if you don’t like your Instagram, only you can change it. Follow, unfollow, block as you need in order to make your Instagram a place you like to be. #Instagram #socialmedia

We’ve built OneFifty on a small number of tools, which help us be more effective and mirrors the way we need to work. One of our latest Architect’s of Next, Becki, has broken a habit of a lifetime and fully embraced the single way we run tasks and projects… Efficiency. What a word. It’s something I have always struggled with (both personally and professionally) but to be clear I don’t mind so much. I’m happy to get up 30 mins earlier than I need to, if it means I can potter around and not be under pressure to leave the house. Ironically, I’m always 30 minutes early for most things. Where am I going with this I hear you silently cry through the screen… Todoist, that’s where I’m going. I arrived at OneFifty, new pen and pad in hand. Stationery is one of my loves (alongside pizza and wine #classic) It’s perfectly formed, add a unicorn or some velvet and there’s a slip of my personality, like a badge of honour, neatly beside me on my desk. This is how I do my lists. Sorry. Rewind. This is how I used to do my lists. Because when you join OneFifty, efficiency has to become your new best friend. Let me tell you that pen and paper just doesn’t cut it anymore. There is no time to transfer my notes from my pad to a doc, no time to rewrite my to do list (colour coded for importance FYI). There’s a bigger piece to this however. It’s about how I work with my colleagues and how I let them know what I am doing and how I see what they are doing. See Todoist was the thing I was most concerned about when I started here. Slack – done it. New people – got it. New ways of doing things – ummmm old dog new tricks much? So when Alex, sold me into the vision of Todoist, that actually my life will improve, my days become more efficient, I was unsure. During the busy days of on-boarding, I struggled with taking my lists online, of organising my days online, of just being online (I know, I’m in digital, it’s laughable) but my organisation had always been offline, my trusted sidekick in paper form. I struggled to remember to assign tasks to other people, I struggled with the shortcuts: to be frank I just struggled. I had a little secret list in my lovely notepad that I’d refer to. But it wasn’t working. When everyone else is doing it another way, successfully, I knew I had to give up my dirty little secret. So after watching and reading everything Todoist had to offer, and a session from the Todoist Master (Alex), I flung myself wholeheartedly into the digital list thing. I’m 3 weeks into my new way, and oh boy am I a new person. Now I won’t profess I’m perfect (yet) but actually this has transformed my days. I don’t worry about what I’ve got to do, it’s there. Something comes to me in the middle of a train journey, I fling it on the app. Something sparks my attention, guess what it’s on my list. I’m proficient in all things “shortcut” for my new favourite thing which makes it more joyous. I need a hand with a task – oh I’ll just take a look at their todoist – to gauge what’s fair or achievable. I’ve even colour coded my app on my phone to fit in better (yes I also judge books by their cover.) And don’t even get me started on Karma points. Points for doing work? I’ll take that every day of the week! But in all seriousness, this app is now an extension of me and is helping me to become a better team mate, a better leader and one of those people that remembers to switch off, because I can, because it’s written down on the app. So, what are my top tips for those of you wanting to fling themselves into an organised state? Here you go: Make time to learn it – don’t give it a day and revert back (guilty!) take time to use it, and mould it to your style Put everything on it – don’t half use it, that’s way more stressful than not using it at all Organise! I miss my colour coded notes sometimes, because colour helps me, but if I spend just 5 minutes moving my list around, I know I’ll be more productive the next day Review and rewrite – don’t leave other people’s notes on your list. Look at them when they are assigned (hello email notifications) and adjust as soon as you can – this was a breakthrough for me Do not, and I repeat again, do not just hit reschedule everyday. If you are having to hit the reschedule button – ask yourself why. You might just find the answer lies with someone else And if you still aren’t convinced may I refer you to this. #projectmanagement #taskmanagement #todoist #waysofworking

Sarah’s back to tell us why Giphy is the Gif that keeps on giving. It’s been three months since we first told you about the world’s best kept organic social secret (or, technically, worst kept, given we keep shouting about it), Giphy. It’s fair to say during those ~UnPrEsCedeNtEd~ few months the world’s seen many changes but there’s one thing which has stayed the same throughout, and that’s our love for a GIF. If you haven’t read all about why we love Giphy so much, have a quick look here, and then head back for our update 👇 So, now you’re up to speed, here’s 3 more things you need to know… Verification seems to be getting faster We’ve verified a couple of accounts and whilst the official word on the street (well, website) is that it could take a month, we’re seeing verification for brands happening within 24 hours now. How do we know that? We made our very own Giphy account. You can have a look here [link]. In the 1 month we’ve been on the platform, we’ve seen 116k views of our content. Not bad considering our only investment in this was our time making the GIFs. Upload to availability on Instagram stories is instantaneous – meaning real-time marketing is accessible to small brands If you follow any of #MarketingTwitter you’ll see that real time marketing’s been cast aside in recent years in favour of what I’m calling the ‘lost all imagination, just like to spend big brand bucks with high frequency’ school of thought. Its the older, and let’s be honest, more predictable cousin. And spending big bucks is great when you have them to spend – but what Byron Sharp et al have forgotten is that there are smaller, newer brands who don’t have that luxury. What’s great about Giphy is that uploads on the platform from a verified account are, in our experience, available in real-time on Instagram stories and other channels. Magic. This opens up the playing field for smaller brands who can jump on a trend and create a branded GIF reacting to it quickly (without layers of bureaucracy holding them back), letting them reach new audiences in real time. Will Insta stickers significantly shift the dial for these brands when it comes to share of market? Maybe not. But do they give an opportunity for brands to reach new people in a way that’s native to their platform use and non-invasive, without paying for media? Yes. People love dancing skeleton man and poo emojis 💩 We mentioned a few months ago that analytics data for Giphy is barely existent and unfortunately nothing has changed there (come on Giphy, get a move on) BUT we have been enjoying the ‘trending GIFs and stickers’ sections of the site, which helps give an insight into what’s trending and how people are reacting to the world, frame by frame. Of course, Halloween GIFs are right up there at the moment, shortly to be replaced (we assume) by fireworks, toffee apples and thanksgiving, depending on where you live. And when it comes to Emojis? The top trending is officially 💩 #GIPHY

After a month of letting algorithms and notifications run my life, what have I found? Would I recommend it? Did I hit my goals? Well, I’m going to break this into different areas, as it’s a mixed picture. Work productivity is through the roof. And I’m not just saying that because it’s on our company blog and my boss is reading this over my shoulder. Honest. IFTTT was a big part of this. Specific elements within what has become a full-blown obsession include: 300 notifications and 9 applets Probably the one app which helped my productivity most was the one that saves Gmail attachments automatically – minimum 5 mins p/w time saving. Statsbot – it’s a Slack integration that a friend told me about towards the end of the month. It let’s you connect Google Analytics with Slack and auto-generated a report or for me. Wasn’t a massive time saver as I only needed 4 stats, but still saves you the time to login and click around (change the date etc.). The disadvantage is that it takes away the additional benefits of GA (historics e.g.)… Another one I found quite useful (it unfortunately doesn’t complete the tasks for you but it’s useful to understand when you are more productive) was putting all my completed tasks into a google spreadsheet – there were some errors with the app, compounded by the user bias of how I choose to tick off tasks, but it nonetheless helped me chart and understand my personal productivity patterns Swiftkey likewise improved by speed AND accuracy of typing. 10% quicker, 40% less typos. Can’t argue with that. Did I become more productive? In some areas it works really well: work productivity. For food I wouldn’t say more productive, but interesting to know. For music or movies it doesn’t really work for as I prefer to just click through and go by friend’s recommendations or trendy stuff. Good to know, but not really that practical in your daily routine Eat This much – interesting, but I’m not really sure what to do with this information. You can see the days where i have been to the gym or one of the hundred brunch places where they have avo with toast in London and my proteins go up… but what do I do differently with said info?! Spotify Weekly – the weekly part was the limiting factor here… by Wednesday I’d heard everything and wanted more recommendations. Great as part of your listening habits, Spotify isn’t yet ready to take away all personal choice in the process… So, what are the things I’ll continue with, and commend to you? Well, first and foremost we can all benefit from being more productive in the workplace, and I only scratched the surface of the ways I can optimise my workflows. We have the benefit of being a data-savvy, cloud-based start up, but much (if not all) could be applied in large enterprise environments. Removing the fun of personal choice, even where it’s not the most rationally optimised choice from our personal lives, however, doesn’t bring the same sense of reward. Eat based on your eyes and heart, listen based on your mood, and don’t (yet) outsource these to the robots. Right, I’m off to do whatever my task spreadsheet says to do next!

Instagram announced this week their intention to change the newsfeed from chronological to algorithmic: essentially from what the last thing posted was, to the most ‘relevant’ thing posted in the period since you last logged in. Commentariat was predictably eager for the dramatic ‘user revolt’ story (the petition against runs at 150k signatures), which belies some of the more nuanced and considered analysis which would drive understanding of what comes next. Why are they changing the Instagram newsfeed? The Instagram blog post says it’s in response to the fact that users miss 70% of posts. Now this won’t actually change that (switching how things are presented in this way doesn’t make people view more, it makes people view a ‘better’ set of images) but it will theoretically ensure more ‘value’ from the time those users spent. That could long-term drive a stickier platform. In reality it’s about addressing the ‘noise’ in the feed. If users don’t feel they get what they signed up for, they switch off. Now your feed is full of things you’ve chosen to subscribe to, but forgotten why. It’s also full of poorer quality content as the platform grows, and you become more enthusiastic in your clicks. This is arguably truest of long-standing users. Email has suffered this issue for years, Twitter grapples with it constantly, and algorithms are theoretically the way to address this, by automatically showing you the most relevant content. In practice, it’s also about the long-term profitability of the platform. This change better prepares their ability to make brand use, in particular, commercial and not organic in nature. What does it mean for my organisation, or for my Instagram influencer career? The first thing to note is the lack of surprise from those who’ve spent their time in the development of social media. This was an inevitable Instagram strategy – it’s straight from the Facebook playbook. First you introduce adverts, then you make the algorithmic newsfeed, then (having established the principle you decide what’s best for users, with an invisible hand), you squeeze out the organic reach of certain classes of users – most notably brands. Brands are then required to use adverts to activate their existing audience they’ve previously treated as a captive audience. The endpoint, one way or another, is very likely to be effectively zero organic reach for brands, should the same plan be followed as Facebook deployed Facebook owns Instagram, ICYMI). One interesting outtake from the Instagram blog post was the first official estimate of what organic reach currently looks like in practice. Instagram analytics are virtually non-existent beyond on the ad products, and so there’s been no meaningful way to gauge how many people typically see an organic post. Now 30% is high compared to other social platforms, so the newsfeed is by no means as noisy as the Twitter one, for example. A specific concern from some of those protesting the move is that this limits discovery of surprising or new ‘voices’. This is somewhat confused – if it were in your newsfeed you’d already decided to follow them, so that’s less relevant. It does point to a specific challenge within Instagram for all users though – discovery. The absence of ‘viral’ social gestures (essentially a sharing mechanic like Fwding an email, Retweeting, ReTumbling) means you only see content your existing users post, not them sharing others. To some extent people have got round this by hacking regrams, but it’s never had the same dynamic as on other networks. So, in practice people have discovered new Instagram content in two ways: via other networks (e.g. cross-promotion in Twitter etc) or via topic search (i.e. #breakfast). These are going to remain unchanged, and if anything an even greater emphasis will be placed upon them as routes to gain popularity. Snapchat sees similar viral discovery barriers through its absence of an equivalent social gesture. Algorithms also shouldn’t be viewed as de facto ‘bad’. Bad algorithms are bad, good ones will, definitively, provide a better experience for everyone who doesn’t literally live their day on Instagram. Concerned users would be better lobbying Instagram over the dimensions in the algorithm (e.g. if one wants to ensure they’re exposed to great content more than just that of their friends, that’s achievable). There’s no theoretical reason Instagram couldn’t allow users to personalise what matters to them in their newsfeed in this way… (Just sayin’). Specific areas which might lead Instagram to different rollout decisions to Facebook might include that brands arguably are more relevant in Instagram. For many it is a platform about the visual aspirational world: a space to consume and collect things more beautiful than the ‘real’ world they live in. To that extent, luxury brands, cars, beauty, fashion brands are as (potentially more) relevant than in Facebook, which really is about your ‘real’ social network (babies, cats, beers), combined with media content distribution. One downside of the advertising product rollout in Instagram has been the rise of irrelevant brands to the medium, and it could be that Instagram don’t universally penalise brands in quite the way Facebook have, but do so more selectively, based on relevance. Ask followers if they view ASOS posts as essential to consume, and you’ll quickly get the idea of the importance of brands to the medium… Many who rely on Instagram as a medium to share their content (e.g. Instagram influencers) are rightly concerned. What if their audience drops? One positive for this group ought be that they are likely to be the ‘winners’ from this. Non-brand, well-followed highly-engaged content is almost certain to top an algorithmic newsfeed, especially if several of someone’s friends also follow your feed. Those who might want to look nervously over their shoulder might include those who have “like gamed” over the years, or bought followers, and therefore have worse follower/engagement ratios. That sort of thing is what newsfeed algos penalise, and is likely to see reach drop. In fact influencers may see the burgeoning economy for their placements from brands rise. Assuming brand reach declines and (good) influencers holds up, the ‘value’ of a post from the latter is likely to raise yet further. Facebook never had this aspect of “homegrown” stars, so it’s an area without clear precedent for Instagram. What should I do to prepare for the Instagram newsfeed? As a user, you have no control. The sober way this was announced via the NYT shows they’ve considered this. It’s happening. Deal with it. As an Instagram influencer, ensure your content is really, really engaging. Look for the stuff which drives hearts, not just artistic style points. Also, encourage your followers to get their friends to follow. You’d probably do this anyway, but “affinity” scores matter in algorithms. As a brand, you ought to have been anticipating this for some time, and factored it into your plans. You will, in the medium-term, need to adopt a strategy with three broad components: paid amplification, customer activation (get them to create own content), and influencer placement. It’s the circle of (social network platform) life, to paraphrase a wise cartoon lion. #reach #organicreach #Facebook #algorithm #influencers #Instagram

It’s been a year since I joined OneFifty as a data analyst and social researcher. As a Bavarian, living in London, analysing conversations from right across Europe,  I have noticed that there are definitely unique traits to the German social scene. So, are you wondering whether “Tagesschau”, “Tatort” or “Das Dschungel-Camp” gains more traction on social? Or maybe you have no clue what that means at all? Let me help you out… So, what are the unique traits only we Germans show in social? Crafting is not a hobby, it’s a way of life: Or so it seems among the German online crowd. In no country I’ve researched did I come across so many craft, DIY and interior design inspiration blogs and Instagram accounts. Here are two of my favourites: Wohnkonfetti and a collective of German interior bloggers. Interesting cultural tidbit: Germans are cautious and do not want to give out too much information. “Daten-Sammler”, “Datenschutz”, “Identitätsklau im Netz” (data-collector, data privacy, identity piracy on social networks) are commonly discussed topics around social media usage. They have a deep distrust of data collection by American global players such as Google and Facebook, which became very clear when Facebook owned Whats App got banned from collecting user data. Is LinkedIn dominating your business and career related connections? I think you should check out Xing before you go to your next Business Trip to Germany. With 8.1M members, Xing is currently the largest professional network by members in Germany. But it’s an interesting race between Xing and LinkedIn (Latest official Xing user numbers here, LinkedIn users from DACH here. ). Looking at search trends, since May 2016 LinkedIn is, in terms of search interest, as popular as Xing. But have a look yourself: Anyone remember StudyVZ or Lokalisten? There have been quite a few German networks I remember being really popular among my friends in high school. But they have been slowly dying out against the big international competitors… We all agree how great German football is: But did you know that our biggest YouTuber is currently Konstantin Hert from Stuttgart? His channel freekickerz is 5 million subscribers strong. That’s 3 times bigger than adidas Fussball, Sky Sport Germany and the Bundesliga’s audience together. Shows where the content priorities are… Twitter – it’s what’s happening: However the network has been struggling to attract the same number of active users in Germany compared to its European countries. Is it because we can’t get a sentence structure into 140 characters? Angela Merkel has a mere 2,977 Twitter followers (whereas she has2.3m followers on Facebook), compared to Donald Trump’s 22.3million! Now, if you “only understand train station” or want to know more about Germany’s TV darlings that I mentioned at the beginning, you can tweet me… Actually – nein. Tweet weareonefifty, I am too German… 🙂 #germany #germanysocialmedia #data #socialmedia #socialmediatrends #germansocialmedia #trends