DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Alphabet, Meta lure back advertisers as smaller rivals expected to struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

This year, though, the social media ad market is expected to grow at a slightly faster pace than in 2022, according to a report last month from media and intelligence firm MAGNA. "Advertisers are simply going back to platforms they know, like and trust," said Brian Mulberry, a portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management. The social media advertising market overall is expected to grow 6% this year to $66 billion, according to MAGNA. Last year, the social media ad market grew 2% in part because privacy updates by Apple Inc (AAPL.O) made it more difficult for advertisers to gather user data to serve targeted ads. Digital pinboard company Pinterest is expected to post a 3% year-over-year rise in quarterly revenue on Thursday, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Snap misses revenue expectations, warns on second quarter outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While Snap said it was not providing formal financial guidance, its internal revenue forecast for the second quarter is $1.04 billion, which would be a 6% decline year-over-year. The internal forecast is below analyst expectations of $1.13 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. "Snapchat users primarily use the app for messaging, and messaging apps are notoriously difficult to monetize," she said. Along with AR, Snap has deepened its investment in artificial intelligence and recently expanded its chatbot called My AI to all Snapchat users globally. Snap said it expects between 394 million and 395 million daily active users in the second quarter.

☆ Analysis: Twitter's advertising business seen facing slow recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Musk, who also runs electric carmaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), earlier this week told the BBC that most of Twitter's advertisers are returning to the platform and the business was "roughly breaking even." Research firm Insider Intelligence this week slashed its forecast for Twitter's global ad revenue this year by 37% to $2.98 billion. That would represent a 28% decline from Twitter's 2022 ad revenue of $4.14 billion. 33 among Twitter's top advertisers before Musk's acquisition, according to Sensor Tower. Twitter's ad business is "eroding" and its subscription product Twitter Blue is seeing only moderate success, Similarweb said in a blog post.

☆ Is TikTok’s time up? CEO’s skewering before Congress raises questions about app’s future in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“TikTok’s fate in the US is on shakier ground than ever following lawmakers’ grueling questioning of Chew,” Insider Intelligence principal analyst Jasmine Enberg said. The 40-year-old Harvard-educated Chew was never going to get a warm welcome from US lawmakers. Chew, welcome to the most bipartisan committee in Congress,” Republican Rep. That said, Chew needed to provide clear, direct answers to questions posed by lawmakers, particularly those regarding fears of potential Chinese authority over the company. Instead, his murky answers on questions pertaining to the Communist Party of China led to added confusion at times.

☆ TikTok's ad business is growing around live sports as platform faces possible U.S. ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The social media platform has been under scrutiny from the U.S. government and faces a possible ban. But the company is nonetheless attracting billions of dollars in advertising revenue as major companies look to reach a younger audience. Hyundai prioritized TikTok this year as many automakers bypassed TV advertising during the Super Bowl to preserve cash or spend on ads elsewhere. TV ads drew more than $7 million for 30-second spots during this year's Super Bowl on Fox's broadcast network. While this makes up about 2% of overall digital advertising spending, the growth of the spending for the platform has been rapid.

☆ TikTok CEO set for grilling in House hearing. But U.S. lawmakers also face questions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

U.S. tech platforms including Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Google's YouTube , Twitter and Snap's Snapchat have raised similar fears for lawmakers and users. Evaluating a potential banThere's little appetite in Washington to accept the potential risks that TikTok's ownership by Chinese company ByteDance poses to U.S. national security. The interagency panel tasked with reviewing national security risks stemming from ByteDance's ownership has threatened a ban if the company won't sell its stake in the app. Trahan said members should ask about national security risks of the app, but those questions should be substantive. Bowman noted lawmakers haven't received a bipartisan congressional briefing from the administration on national security risks stemming from TikTok.

Snap said its direct response business geared towards driving product sales or website visits rose 4% in October-December. That could "be viewed as a healthy sign for Meta and Google," whose businesses are tuned to direct response advertisers, said Mark Shmulik, senior analyst at research firm Bernstein. Similarly, Meta has said in previous quarters that the bulk of its revenue comes from direct response advertising. Headwinds for Meta and Google could be notably less severe, he added. The weak outlook pulled down the shares of rivals Meta, Google, and Pinterest (PINS.N), which also earns revenue by selling digital advertising, on Tuesday.

☆ Twitter will lose over 32 million users by 2024 as Elon Musk's takeover causes more hate speech and technical problems, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter could lose over 32 million users in the next two years, Insider Intelligence found. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to be contacted by Insider Inc. and receive emails from Insider Intelligence and eMarketer (e.g. Twitter could lose more than 30 million users in the next two years after Elon Musk took over in November, data from Insider Intelligence showed. Users will abandon the platform as frustrations over mounting technical issues and increased hate speech and offensive content flood the platform, Insider Intelligence said. The forecast for Twitter ad revenue growth was also cut to "essentially flat," over the next two years, Insider Intelligence said.

Black users have long been one of Twitter’s most engaged demographics, flocking to the platform to steer online culture and drive real-world social change. But a month after Elon Musk took over, some Black influencers are eyeing the exits just as he races to shore up the company’s business. And while there is no hard data on how many Black users have either joined or left the platform over that period, some prominent influencers say they’re actively pursuing alternatives. Some signs indicate a slowdown among Black Twitter users that predates Musk. “It’s crippling to the economies of cities when Black folks leave, platforms when Black folks leave, entertainment sites when Black folks leave,” she said.

☆ How influencers are trying to recession-proof their businesses, from locking down long-term deals to testing out fan-paid revenue models
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Amanda Perelli | Tanya Chen | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Traditionally, brand deals have been the biggest income driver for Tosone. Unless any last-minute deals arise, Tosone said platform incentives (like Instagram's bonus program) will overtake brand deals. And for creators, Ashley said diversifying their businesses is the "best insurance plan." Relying on affiliate marketing, however, can still be a risk. Establishing a fan-paid model with memberships, subscriptions, or coursesTosone launched a Patreon membership and she's coaching other influencers on social-media strategy.

☆ Exclusive: Twitter is losing its most active users, internal documents show
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The reality, according to internal Twitter research seen by Reuters, goes far beyond the handful of examples of celebrities ghosting their own accounts. Twitter was motivated to investigate “disturbing” trends among users that may have been masked by overall growth in daily active users and better understand the decline in the company’s most active users, the documents said. Twitter’s most active English-speaking users were also increasingly interested in cryptocurrencies, reaching an all-time high in late 2021, the internal documents showed. ‘DEVASTATING’ LOSSESTopics that have traditionally made Twitter a popular platform for its millions of users are now in decline among the most active English-speaking users, the documents show. But the categories have since lost the highest number of heavy Twitter users and have shown no signs of recovery, the report said.

☆ Twitter is losing its most active users, internal documents show
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The reality, according to internal Twitter research seen by Reuters, goes far beyond the handful of examples of celebrities ghosting their own accounts. These "heavy tweeters" account for less than 10% of monthly overall users but generate 90% of all tweets and half of global revenue. Cryptocurrency and "not safe for work" (NSFW) content, which includes nudity and pornography, are the highest-growing topics of interest among English-speaking heavy users, the report found. Twitter was motivated to investigate "disturbing" trends among users that may have been masked by overall growth in daily active users and better understand the decline in the company's most active users, the documents said. Our overall audience has continued to grow, reaching 238 million mDAU in Q2 2022," the spokesperson said, using an acronym for monetizable daily active users.

☆ Elon Musk's trove of private text messages is a bad look for him — and another win for Twitter, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-30 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hundreds of Elon Musk's texts could work against him in his court battle with Twitter, experts say. The messages appear to show Musk was aware of issues with bots ahead of offering to buy the company. The hundreds of texts between Musk and some of Silicon Valley's most powerful players offer fresh insight into Musk's plans for Twitter. But Musk's private texts appear to tell a story that is "in tension with his lead argument," Schettenhelm told Insider. "Purging fake users will make the numbers look terrible, so restructuring should be done as a private company," he texted Taylor, according to the cache of documents released Thursday.

☆ The whistleblower hearing was more of a win for Twitter than Elon Musk in their $44 billion court battle, some experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Experts told Insider the Twitter whistleblower's hearing did little to aid Elon Musk's legal case. Musk's legal team has amended its countersuit against Twitter to include Zatko's claims. Another avenue for Musk's team could be if the FTC imposes a fine or revisits its 2011 settlement with Twitter. But, Zatko appeared to have no firsthand knowledge of FTC compliance issues in his testimony, experts said. Zatko has been subpoenaed for the $44 billion court battle between Musk and Twitter.

☆ Influencer marketing stats: How creators have impacted businesses in 2021
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-17 | by ( Insider Intelligence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nearly 68% of US marketers from companies with 100 or more employees will use influencer marketing in 2021. Most brands today have incorporated influencer marketing into their media plans, and many intend to allocate even more funds to the tactic this year. Insider IntelligenceInfluencer marketing 2021 forecastAccording to our latest forecast, 67.9% of US marketers from companies with 100 or more employees will use influencer marketing in 2021, up from 62.3% last year. "Social commerce in particular has made influencers very powerful," said Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of influencer marketing platform Influence Central. According to January 2021 research by Influencer Marketing Hub and influencer marketing platform Upfluence, 62% of marketers worldwide said they intend to increase their influencer marketing budgets this year, while one-fifth expecting their influencer budgets to remain the same as they were in 2020.

Search resuls for: "Jasmine Enberg"

15 mentions found