May 19, 2017

The Figaro Digital Digest: 19th May 2017

Another week, another round of digital developments. Take a look at what hit the headlines of the online interface.

1. The Increasing Importance Of PR

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The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the USC Centre for Public Relations at the Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism published a report estimating that marketers will increase both internal staffing and overall spending on PR over the next five years.

The survey conducted by the institutions saw 75 per cent of respondents dictate their intention to increase overall spending on PR, with 54 per cent stating that the discipline will be more closely aligned with marketing in the following five years.

As PR continues to evolve as an industry, it’s apparent that it has benefited greatly from the increasing interest in digital marketing. It’s gradually become integral to most marketing strategies, and in turn the industry has been thrust on to centre stage as it allows for quick responses to ongoing developments.

2. Pinterest Promotes Its Lens

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Pinterest has continued its quest to bring together the digital platform with everyday reality by introducing further updates to its ‘Lens’.

The add-on was rolled out in March of this year and updates to the software are already being made. One such development is the new object-detection capability which allows users to search for multiple objects within one image.

Alongside this, visual guides will help the user to narrow their search and discover relevant objects that match their original idea or inspiration.

It appears as though Pinterest is attempting to tap into the increasing impatience of modern life. The ‘see it, want it’ mantra has become synonymous with Generation X and, in providing a platform for users to go from visual to physical in almost an instant, the social media tool can only look to increase its user population.

3. Facebook Messenger Continues To Grow

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The ever-growing social media giant that is Facebook appears to have expanded once again with its latest chat extension.

Facebook’s Vice President, David Marcus, announced the update at the annual F8 Developer Conference in April and leading brands such as Spotify, Food Network and the NBA have jumped at the chance to collaborate with the social media platform.

The extension allows multiple Messenger users to chat with a business at one time, promoting even further engagement with customers using social media.

With Facebook continually proving itself as a hub for business growth, it will be interesting to see whether businesses move away from traditional websites altogether and rely solely on the platform provided by social media.

4. Twitter Turns To Artificial Intelligence

Twitter has long been attempting to boost its engagement and prove itself on the social media world stage, and the platform has now took things up a notch and began implementing artificial intelligence as a replacement for the algorithmic timeline that was recently introduced.

Through a technique known as ‘deep learning’, during which the AI software will be trained via constant repetition and the introduction of different variables, Twitter software engineers are hoping to boost engagement and improve the relevancy of each individual users’ timeline.

It appears as though Twitter is battling to become the king of user experience by tailoring the timeline in a way that sets it apart from other social media platforms. However, with Instagram and Facebook already paving the way with such services, Twitter may have to go one step further in order to avoid being left behind.

Once again this week we saw big changes in how social media, as well as marketing as a whole, continues to develop and will consistently grow in the near future.

While many things are uncertain, such as how social media platforms will grow autonomously when front runners are consistently attempting to dominate the market, one thing is certain: it will make for an interesting weekly update.

Read More:

Facebook F8: Key Takeaways For Marketers
Direct Mail In A Digital World
Social Media Stories: More Than A Passing Gimmick