Issue 91  9th December 2016

One Year later: Verizon’s plans for video on go90 and beyond in 2017

Jocelyn Johnson from VideoInk looks at the state of Verizon and go90, and what 2017 holds in store for the platform. 2016 was a year of learning for them in every aspect from demographics to content, and 2017 promises to be the year they drive full steam ahead.

“What you’ll start to see from go90 is a collection of targeted networks with a distinct brand voice programming against demo and interest areas. We will lean in to where we are strong with young females and sports fans. But we will also add in new networks..." - Ivana Kirkbride, Chief Content Officer at go90

PewDiePie quit plan prompts YouTube reply

Prolific video producer Felix Kjellberg, (aka PewDiePie), has suggested changes in YouTube's algorithms, around the 'suggested videos' feed have affected the discoverability of creators' content.

Mr Kjellberg said the feed usually accounted for more than 30% of his video traffic, but in recent weeks it had suddenly fallen to under 1%, signalling an undisclosed algorithm change.

He has also criticises YouTube of changing his channel subscriptions, finding that some channels he had previously subscribed to had been removed from his subscriptions list. He finds his homepage is now filled with 'recommended videos' he is not interested in rather than content from his channel subscriptions, and his 'suggested videos' feed are populated with click bait and pornography.

YouTube have since denied making any algorithm changes. But PewDiePie feels so strongly on these issues, he has threatened to delete his YouTube account. Considering Forbes listed PewDiePie as the highest-paid YouTube star for the second year in a row, this is no idle threat.

In a video published on YouTube, PewDiePie, says he would delete his account once he reached 50 million subscribers. Thanks to popularity of his dramatic statement, he has now reached this target.

For PewDiePie, the end is nigh at noon (5PM GMT) today.

'It's on every media plan': Media buyers hail Facebook's dedicated video tab

Facebook are introducing a video tab. The new feature, has been tested for the last year with a small group of users, and will be rolled out en masse. It's all part of Facebook's strategy to include more video it the user experience. For media analysts and media buyers, the dedicated video positions Facebook to take more advertising revenue from traditional TV.

“It’s been difficult to look at Facebook video as a premium offering, as it has so far been somewhat hidden in your feed and not had its own dedicated channel,” said Kirsten Atkinson, vp of media and branded integration at Walton Isaacson. “But them making making a concerted effort to program it and create a dedicated space for it will definitely attract more buys.”

What marketers can learn from Facebook Live's top brand videos

Live video: it's demanding and it requires meticulous preparation and an ability to adapt if things go wrong. Thanks to Facebook’s built-in feature to archive live videos, mistakes can be replayed again and again.

Since Facebook Live opened up to the platform’s 1.6 billion users in April, a deluge of U.K. brands have been experimenting with the feature and attempting to maximise the potential of Facebook Live for brand exposure.

Like any new social feature that has huge potential for marketers, it will, inevitably, be only by looking at the successful examples of other brands that, over time, a clear "how-to" for Facebook Live is generated.

By looking at 5 clips from 2016, Digiday argue that the key tips that marketers can learn using Facebook Live are adding drama and urgency to what could be a very simple social media giveaway; react quickly, be relevant and, most importantly, have a clear call to action that drives engagement; merge social content with activity in the real world.