Snapchat has reportedly set an asking price of $750,000 per day to advertise on its messaging app, a figure some say is too high for a young app. Companies such as Samsung, McDonalds, Universal Pictures and Macy’s were among the early sponsors who paid for quick videos and photos called “Snaps.” However, the new rate may prove unrealistically high, despite the name recognition of early sponsors. Snapchat says it offers the ability to reach millions of people through its Recent Updates and Our Stories live feed. Continue reading Some Brands Wary of Paying Snapchat Top Dollar for Short Ads

According to a new Pew Research study, American adults are increasing their use of traditional social networks, while teens are spending more time with messaging services such as Snapchat. Facebook use has leveled off, but Pew points to increases in the use of Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Twitter. Pew found that adult Facebook users log in at least once per day, while almost half of Instagram users visit daily, and 36 percent of Twitter users visit daily (a drop from 46 percent in 2013, which Twitter refutes). Continue reading Pew Research Study Says U.S. Adults Using More Social Media

A new report from Frank N. Magid Associates indicates that Facebook’s popularity with teenagers is continuing its decline. According to the study, Facebook usage by 13- to 17-year-old Americans engaged in social media dropped from 95 percent in 2012 to 94 percent in 2013, and 88 percent this year. During the same time frame, Twitter and various messaging apps experienced an increase in popularity with teenagers. In addition, only 9 percent of respondents described Facebook as “safe” or “trustworthy.” Continue reading Survey Shows Teens Continuing to Lose Interest in Facebook

While Facebook is by far the world’s leading social platform (with 1.35 billion active monthly users), new research from the Global Web Index points to Tumblr as the fastest growing platform. Tumblr’s active user base grew 120 percent over the last six months, while Facebook only experienced a 2 percent bump. And in terms of overall member growth, Pinterest had 57 percent growth, compared to Facebook’s base growth of 6 percent. In mobile apps, Snapchat saw the most growth, up 56 percent this year. Continue reading Tumblr Takes Lead as World’s Fastest Growing Social Platform

Snapchat users will now have the ability to send and receive money from friends using a new payment feature called Snapcash. The feature is the latest upgrade to a mobile app that originally began with simple photo-sharing capabilities. To make payments possible, Snapchat partnered with Square, a payments company that recently launched a similar feature to work for email and its own mobile app. Snapcash is available for Android users, with an iOS release coming soon.  Continue reading Snapchat Partners with Square to Offer New Payment Feature

Just three months after Facebook cut off the messaging capabilities from its mobile app, the company’s standalone messaging app, Facebook Messenger, now has 500 million monthly active users. That’s a 150 percent increase over last year. Much of the success is thanks to David Marcus, the former CEO of PayPal that took over the Messenger operation. In the future, Marcus and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plan to integrate payments and possibly advertising into the Messenger app. Continue reading Facebook Messenger Growing Rapidly with 500 Million Users

Snapchat is in talks with Buzzfeed, ESPN, CNN, Vevo and others to help launch a new feature for its popular app that offers a much wider variety of content than friends’ selfies. These media companies will produce articles, music and video for the upcoming “Discover” section of the Snapchat app, making it more of an all-inclusive media consumption app. No date has been announced regarding when the “Discover” section will make its debut on the popular photo- and video-messaging app. Continue reading Snapchat Teams with Major Media Companies on New Feature

Marriott International is making an effort to to attract a younger generation of travelers by providing new entertainment. The company has added YouTuber Jack Harries, Snapchatter Casey Neistat, and “Ghost Whisperer” producers Ian Sander and Kim Moses to its list of content creators. The newly launched Marriott Content Studio has debuted a Web series titled “Marriott Rewards’ Year of Surprises” with a monthly celebrity host, along with a co-production deal with tech startup Naritiv. Continue reading Marriott Turns to New Media to Draw Today’s Young Travelers

Facebook’s Instagram introduced autoplay video ads into its users’ feeds last week. Activision, Banana Republic, the CW, Disney and Lancome are the initial advertisers to strike a deal with Instagram for the 15-second spots. The company reviewed all of the video ads before the launch to ensure that they fit with Instagram’s overall vibe and contain fresh content. Other social network competitors, like Tumblr and Snapchat, have also recently added autoplay video ads. Continue reading Instagram Launches Carefully Curated Autoplay Video Ads

Facebook’s new “Rooms” app is reminiscent of the Internet bulletin boards and chatrooms of old. The iOS mobile app allows users to create discussion boards on almost any topic and chat with people they may or may not know. Participants can use any username they want and they can change usernames in different rooms. Unlike traditional text-heavy, desktop-based chatrooms, the Rooms app is designed for users to post videos and images and have online discussions on-the-go. Continue reading Rooms: Facebook Embraces Anonymity with New Chat App

Snapchat’s popular “Our Story” montages from live events around the world are so popular that the company is adding a similar feature to share students’ college experiences. The “Our Campus Story” feature only allows people on campus to post and view the communal story. Like with “Our Story,” Snapchat will still approve all of the posts before they get added to the mix. The new feature launched last week at UCLA, the University of Southern California, Penn State, and UT Austin. Continue reading Snapchat Adds ‘Our Campus Story’ Exclusively for Colleges

Members of anonymous online messaging forum 4chan claim to have access to as many as 200,000 Snapchat photos through a third-party app called Snapsaved. The smartphone tool allows creators to store photos from their Snapchat accounts. Anonymous members have said that a link will be posted, allowing users to download the photos. It is not clear who created Snapsaved, and the app’s site is no longer working. Meanwhile, Snapchat claims that its servers have not been compromised.

Continue reading Third Party Site May Have Stored 200,000 Snapchat Images

Facebook unveiled its hyper-local advertising feature this week. “Local Awareness” ads are designed to be more targeted and cost effective by allowing businesses to select a specific area for advertising and the age and gender of the desired audience. Meanwhile, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel says, “People are going to see the first ads on Snapchat soon.” The LA-based startup, which makes a mobile app for sharing brief photo messages, attracted investors this year at a $10 billion valuation without any revenue. Continue reading Facebook Debuts Hyper-Local Ads, Snapchat Ads Coming Soon

More than 20 talent agencies and management companies are vying to represent some of YouTube’s biggest celebrities with the promise of growing these stars’ online audience and traditional media presence. Agents often negotiate endorsement deals, acting gigs, music deals and book deals. They can also help the young-adult and teenage stars navigate licensing contracts. YouTube stars have started attracting traditional media companies, and now traditional management companies. Continue reading YouTube Stars Hire Agents, Managers in Traditional Media Push

MTV and GE are among the brands that have turned to 23-year old Jerome Jarre and his popular Vine videos and Snapchat messages that reach millions (his Vine account alone touts 7.2 million followers). Brands pay up to $25,000 for his Vines and $35,000 for a single Snapchat message. Jarre’s marketing firm, GrapeStory is helping to shape the contagious appeal of short form media. And his star status is going mainstream. Celebrities such as Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher and Aaron Paul have appeared in his Vines. Continue reading Short Form: Brands Enlist Jerome Jarre for Social Advertising