The Weekly Wrap: Twitter launches analytics dashboard and naked strangers go viral

This week’s news is all positives for people using a verified account across Social Media; with Twitter launching its very own analytics dashboard that keeps numbers and stats on your verified account. Meanwhile Facebook released their Mentions app that allows celebrities to keep up to date with what is being shared about them. The viral video this week shows a lot of skin, as strangers undress each other for Showtime’s drama Masters of Sex. And brands infiltrate the video-sharing app Vine with strategic product placement in popular user accounts.

Advertisers don’t have to rely on third party software to gain insights into how much reach and impressions their tweets are receiving. Similar to Facebook’s Pages dashboard, Twitter has launched their own version for advertisers to gauge how many numbers are viewing and engaging with organic Tweets.  Study real time the exact numbers of total engagement, Retweets, favourites, replies and have the option to compare these numbers to previous stats. Locate the content that resonates best with your followers and develop a strategy that harnesses this information. A great new tool to keep on top of this platform, it is unfortunately only available to Twitter advertisers and verified users.

This week’s viral video Undress Me is a follow up concept from the successful viral video First Kiss released earlier in the year. This is a joint feature from the young filmmaker who created First Kiss and Showtime’s American TV Drama Masters of Sex. The video is essentially an advert promoting the second season premiere of the Pay TV drama. Using the exact same formula as the original YouTube hit, the video explores two strangers meeting for the first time and having to undress each other next to a deliberately placed bed. With 10 million views in a week, we ask why was it successful? Here are three points:

Sex Sells – This is nothing new (at all) but nevertheless audiences’ tune in when sex is discussed especially when a YouTube video is titled Undress Me.

Real People, Real Interactions – whether you believe these people are actual strangers or paid models; there is something fascinating about watching two people meet (and then undress) for the first time. There’s also that small part of you that imposes yourself emotionally onto these people.

Debate over its authenticity – Working off the success and subsequent reveal that the original video First Kiss was nothing but an advertisement for a clothing brand – audiences are going to vocally debate the authenticity of these videos. Evoking this two-sided debate means people are more likely to share the video enabling new audiences to participate with it.

Facebook has released a ‘celebrity’ iOS app Mentions that is only available for Americans who have a verified account. These users can now get all the self-confidence boost they need when using the app. Somewhat similar to a Twitter stream, the user will be able to scroll through all the posts that mention the particular user by name. With an interesting feature that allows users to facilitate a live Q and A with their audience, Facebook promises to make the app available to other ‘celebrities’ around the world.

The six-second video sharing app that is popular with teenagers around the world is one of few platforms that still does not facilitate paid advertisements.  Brands desperate to break into the young market are now approaching popular Vine users to push their product in the users content. A form of stealth advertising, popular Vine comedy user Jake Paul released a video trying to steal a friend’s Coke bottle, using the #ShareACoke tag in the description. According to US marketing agency GrapeStory a product-placement Vine could go for $5,000 to $30,000 depending on the users reach and audience. This stealth type marketing strategy is bound to continue with no future prospects of paid advertising coming to the social platform.

Stay tuned next week for more Social Media news!