76% of Instagram influencers hide advertisement disclosure in their posts

Someone using Instagram on their smartphone.

More than three quarters of influencer adverts on Instagram have the disclosure hidden somewhere in the post, whether that be in the middle, at the end or in a comment.

This is according to research undertaken by the team behind global affiliate network Awin.com as part of a wider look into disclosure in affiliate marketing.

For the study, the top 100 posts for each disclosure hashtag were analysed to see whether the hashtag was visible in the original post, or needed...

Institute for Rebooting Social Media launched by Harvard University

Social Media Platforms

Harvard University has launched an academic initiative called the Institute for Rebooting Social Media, which aims to fix social media's most urgent problems.

Described as a “three-year pop up initiative”, the institute will focus on addressing misinformation, privacy breaches, harassment and content governance.

The institute is part of the University’s Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society (BKCIS) and it is being funded with £1.5 million from the John...

Everyday social media influencers grow in popularity

A man and woman covered in paint and holding paint brushes.

The everyday social media user has become the preferred influencer to follow for more than half of consumers (56%). 

Whether it is friends, family, peers, or wider networks, those that share day-to-day content, products, and places that they find a genuine interest in, without an agenda to promote, are now the most trusted source for authentic and genuine content for two in five consumers (38%).

The findings come from a study by Bazaarvoice, a provider of product...

Vimeo becomes first video software company to partner with TikTok

TikTok Logo

Video SaaS company Vimeo has joined TikTok Marketing Partners, a group of specialist companies that create, implement and measure ad campaigns on TikTok’s video-based social media app.

The partnership gives small and medium businesses (SMBs) access to Vimeo’s suite of video creation tools whilst simultaneously enabling them to take advantage of TikTok’s broad userbase.

Pre-release tests of both company’s capabilities saw participants able to double the number of...

65% of UK CEOs think marketers focus on analytics too much

Facebook likes.

CEOs are beginning to question the analytics used by marketers to target campaigns, and instead want what they feel is a clearer link to business goals.

Research from behavioral targeting platform Bango, in which more than 200 CEOs were quizzed, found that 55% consider digital marketing metrics “meaningless” if they aren’t directly associated with sales. Nearly two thirds (62%) of CEOs also feel that too much marketing budget is wasted on activities that don’t deliver...

10 practical ways to grow your local business with digital marketing in 2021

Digital marketing for local business is quite different from how to do marketing for a national or global business.

Yes, we mostly use the same channels - but, in a different fashion.

Local businesses target local people, who are geographically around. They may seem easier to reach without digital marketing; however, it's been long since consumers started searching online before they buy basically anything.

More than 90% of users searched for local businesses...

What Apple’s update means for your Facebook ads (and what to do about it)

The total advertising audience on Facebook is thought to consist of around 2.14 billion people. What’s more, the average Facebook user clicks on 12 ads per month.

For advertisers and brands, Facebook has long provided a huge opportunity to reach a large, targeted audience. But it isn’t without its challenges.

The most recent challenge to the prevalence and power of Facebook Ads actually arrived last October with the release of Apple’s latest iPhone operating...

Top social media trends to drive your 2021 marketing strategy

How can marketers prepare to take on 2021? This year has been a rocky one for many businesses globally, and some of the business trends we see today are likely to continue in the coming year. While a complete recovery might take some time, it is still important for brands to equip themselves with a robust marketing strategy for 2021, based on data-driven insights and consumer trends. In this article, we look at three social media trends that are expected to drive the most impact in 2021,...

Key practices for tech brands to drive brand love in today’s tumultuous climate

2020 has been a tumultuous ride that no one saw coming. Every industry out there has been affected by COVID-19, and businesses are unlikely to go back to the way things were anytime soon. Especially at a time where consumer spending has generally decreased, businesses need to rethink their marketing strategy and brand story, in order to earn a place in the hearts of consumers. 

For technology companies that may be tightening their budgets amidst the current times, it is still...

Consumers who rely on social media for news are less informed. Where do we go from here?

Opinion A major new study from Pew Research has found US adults who predominantly get their political news from social media are less likely than other consumers to closely follow major news stories. But what is underpinning this?

The study, which analysed surveys conducted between October 2019 and June 2020, argued that US adults who rely most on social media for news tend to be younger, are less likely to be white, and have lower levels of education than those who use several...