This POV highlights recent updates and changes to social advertising offerings by Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Pinterest. Throughout the year, social networks test and roll out new advertising products to improve their offerings for brands to better reach consumers. The social networks listed in this POV have added new ad units to their advertising suites that are currently or are about to be public to all brands. By understanding each social network’s new advertising products, brands can leverage the options that best fit their business goals from driving awareness of a campaign to increasing website traffic to boosting ROI.

1. POV on Updates to Social Advertising
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Pinterest
February, 2014

2. Table of Contents
Purpose ......................................................................................................... 3
Updates: Facebook Video Ads ........................................................................ 3
Updates: Twitter Tailored Audience ads ......................................................... 4
Updates: Google+ Plus Post ads .................................................................... 5
Updates: Tumblr Sponsored posts ................................................................. 5
When will Pinterest launch advertising options? ........................................... 6
FAQs .............................................................................................................. 7
About Social@Ogilvy ...................................................................................... 8
POV on Updates to Social Advertising, February 2014
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3. Purpose
This POV highlights recent updates and changes to social advertising offerings by Facebook, Twitter,
Google+, Tumblr and Pinterest.
Summary
Throughout the year, social networks test and roll out new advertising products to improve their offerings for
brands to better reach consumers. The social networks listed in this POV have added new ad units to their
advertising suites that are currently or are about to be public to all brands.
By understanding each social network’s new advertising products, brands can leverage the options that best
fit their business goals from driving awareness of a campaign to increasing website traffic to boosting ROI.
What are Facebook Video ads?
Overview
In January 2014, Facebook introduced its new video ads unit. These are videos that will start playing
automatically when users visit their News Feed – both on desktop and mobile devices. Videos will initially
play without sound, providing users the option to turn on sound if they want to hear more. By scrolling past
the ad, it will stop playing. At the end of the video, a carousel will appear featuring two more videos to see
similar content from the same advertiser.
According to media buyers, these ads will cost around $2 million per day for the ability to reach 140 million
US users aged 18 to 54. Brands will have the option to target video ads by gender and age, but not by
interests.
Video ads are still being tested to a limited number of users. Throughout testing, Facebook notes it has
seen over a 10% increase in people watching, liking, sharing and commenting on videos. The first video ad
will be a teaser of the new sci-fi film “Divergent.” Information on when Facebook will expand its offering to
the public has not been released.
Implications
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Ideal for brands looking to reach a wide, US-based audience in a short amount of time.
Creates an emotional connection with consumers on Facebook using a richer storytelling format that
includes sight and sound.
POV on Updates to Social Advertising, February 2014
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4. •
A recent survey1 showed that the majority of Facebook users say they would find video ads intrusive
and would likely ignore them. Therefore, ensure that video is the strongest outlet for advertising
before considering this option.
Additional Changes
Facebook also announced that it will discontinue its Sponsored Stories ad unit on April 9, 2014. (See FAQs
on page 7 for more information).
What are Tailored Audience ads on Twitter?
Overview
First previewed in July 2013, Tailored Audiences is now a public offering
that retargets ads to website visitors who also use Twitter. The new
feature gives advertisers the ability to hone in on specific audience
segments by tailoring promoted tweets to groups of new and existing
customers.
Using browser cookie IDs through an ads partner, Twitter can match
users’ information to their Twitter accounts. For example, if an auto
enthusiast visits a car manufacturer’s website, an ads partner can locate
their browser ID and match it with their Twitter account. The next time that
customer logs into Twitter, a Promoted Tweet may appear from that
manufacturer in their Twitter feed.
Additional features include the ability to create tailored audiences from
lists of email addresses from CRM databases or Twitter IDs – either
usernames or user IDs. Using a similar example from above, the same car
manufacturer might prefer to share a new deal only with previous
customers. With its ads partner, Twitter can match email addresses (or
Twitter IDs) using unreadable scrambles, called hashes, to match that
Source: Twitter
information to Twitter accounts. Next, the manufacturer can issue a
Promoted Tweet to show up in only those users’ Twitter feeds. Adversely,
advertisers can exclude selected CRM and Twitter ID segments from tailored audiences through Twitter’s
existing targeting options: interests, keywords and TV.
Twitter users have the option to opt out of Tailored Audiences at any time by unchecking a box next to
“Promoted content” in their privacy settings.
1
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/12/19/facebook-ad-intrusive/4125461/
POV on Updates to Social Advertising, February 2014
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5. Implications
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Helps brands obtain a broader reach with potentially interested users.
Provides new opportunities to promote content to users who may have already explored a brand’s
website but not yet engaged socially with its content.
Allows advertisers to run multiple promotions at the same time targeting different audience
segments.
What are Google Plus +Post ads?
Overview
+Post ads are expandable display ads that run on the Google
Display Network (GDN), which is used by over 2 million sites
worldwide. The ads essentially turn a public Google+ post into an
ad that lives outside the Google+ network, keeping the platform
advertisement free. Ads can be in the format of status updates,
videos, photos and hangouts, providing the ability for consumers
to directly interact with the brand. However, users must have a
Google+ account to interact.
Toyota USA, Ritz Crackers and Cadbury UK are among the first
brands to beta test +Post ads. They will be publicly available to
more advertisers in other markets around the world starting February 2014.
Source: TechCrunch
Implications
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Reach new consumers outside your brand’s Google+ page.
Open up two-way conversations between consumers and brand community managers to prospective
customers.
Brands using the feature have seen 50% higher expansion rates when compared to the industry
average.
What are Tumblr Sponsored Posts?
Overview
Tumblr Sponsored Posts are part of a wider announcement introducing the new Yahoo Advertising suite, a
united platform that will simplify the purchase of ads on Yahoo’s various properties including Tumblr. The
new sponsored posts have the ability to target by gender and location. Additionally, advertisers will only
have to pay when the Sponsored Post is reblogged, liked, followed or directly clicked on.
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6. Implications
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Increases visibility of posts to target audiences influencing reach.
Spreads word of mouth through the option to reblog the post.
According to Tumblr’s metrics:
o 60% of users who’ve seen Sponsored Posts find the content fun, engaging and high quality.
o 70% of consumers perceive a brand more favorably after seeing a Sponsored Post.
o 50% of users who saw Sponsored Posts researched the sponsor afterward.
When will Pinterest launch advertising options?
With engaged Pinterest users spending 15 minutes on average a day on the platform, brands are eager to
implement a paid content strategy, which is not currently offered. The Wall Street Journal recently
interviewed Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann to find out when to expect an announcement. In the article
Silbermann notes that his goal for Pinterest is to generate its first revenue by the end of this year through
charging advertisers to promote its content.
Currently in its early stage, promoted pins may be among the first of Pinterest’s ad offerings. Promoted pins
would act similarly to promoted posts on Facebook, and users would interact with promoted pins the same
way they interact with pins in general.
Implications
Silbermann does not go beyond mentioning the idea of promoted pins. When asked to specify implications
for advertisers, he simply states, “At a very high level [it will help] their products or services [be] discovered.”
POV on Updates to Social Advertising, February 2014
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7. FAQs
How will the removal of Facebook’s Sponsored Stories affect my current paid strategy?
With the removal of Sponsored Stories, this means that all existing domain and open graph sponsored
content will cease to exist after April 9, 2014. In response to a class-action lawsuit filed against Facebook in
2011 for violating privacy rights, Facebook also changed its privacy policy. The new policy states that all
user data is fair game. A person’s face and likes, including those of minors, could be used in all
advertisements on Facebook. Users do have the option to opt out of appearing in the ads by changing their
settings.
Are the new offerings optimized for mobile?
All of the new ad offerings listed in this POV are optimized for mobile. While it is likely that promoted pins
will also be optimized for mobile, details have not been released at this time.
Are there any other ways to improve awareness of my brand’s content?
These are only the newest advertising options for each social network. By visiting the social networks, and
clicking on the advertising section, you will see a comprehensive list of all of the ways your brand can
advertise on the platforms. If you have questions about other options, you can reach out to the
Social@Ogilvy team to learn more.
I want my brand to utilize one or more of the new advertising options for an upcoming campaign.
What do I do?
The social team at Ogilvy can set up time to brainstorm the best method for advertising on social, strategize
about action engagement and walk you through the steps to promote your brand on the social networks.
These include:
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Determining key message points to create a paid social strategy
Creating relevant content to best amplify your brand’s message
Creating conversation calendars to promote this content through your brand’s owned social channels
Measuring content performance
Want to get started immediately? Contact us for additional details, project management schedules and
executing a scope of work.
POV on Updates to Social Advertising, February 2014
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8. About Social@Ogilvy
Social@Ogilvy is the largest social media marketing communications network in the world. Named 2013
Best Digital/Social Consultancy in the World by The Holmes Report, the practice leverages social media
expertise across all Ogilvy & Mather disciplines, offering an extensive list of services within the foundational
business solutions – Listening and Analytics; Social Business Solutions; Social Media Marketing and
Communications; Social Shopping; Social CRM; Social Care; and Conversation Impact.
For more information, visit social.ogilvy.com and connect with us
at www.facebook.com/socialogilvy, www.twitter.com/socialogilvy, www.slideshare.com/socialogilvy. You can
also email us on social@ogilvy.com.
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9. POV on Updates to Social Advertising, February 2014
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