Beginning this fall, Apple Podcasts creators are getting more tools to measure user engagement and help grow their audiences, with the addition of premium subscription analytics and marketing tools provided by Linkfire, popular among artists and labels as a way to generate an unlimited number of smart links to pod landing pages and measure the ways listeners engage. Updated Analytics functionality lets creators use the Overview tab to see how many listeners started a free trial, the number of paid subscriptions, the percentage of listeners converting from free to paid, and estimated generated proceeds. Continue reading Apple Podcasts Creators Get Subscription Analytics, Linkfire

YouTube creators who want to see specifically where people are looking in their 360-degree and VR videos are in luck. The company is introducing a new analytics tool that does just that, via heatmaps, available for any such videos that exceed 1,000 views. YouTube is also sharing tips on 360-degree videos aimed to help video producers. Making these videos is particularly challenging since viewers can watch in a variety of ways, including via a VR headset, the YouTube smartphone app or desktop web browsers, where they can rotate the video. Continue reading YouTube Intros Heatmaps, Production Tips for VR, 360 Video

Sensor devices used to track shoppers are becoming more commonplace in shopping malls this holiday season. The devices, often scattered through malls to identify shoppers’ movements, help retailers track how long people are waiting in line and pinpoint where they’re shopping. Some even use heat maps to show where within a store most people are gravitating. The Future of Privacy Forum estimates that approximately 1,000 retailers are using sensors. Continue reading More Retailers Tracking Shoppers with Sensor Technologies