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Given more people are looking for work amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it's little surprise that LinkedIn has seen increased usage, with parent company Microsoft reporting that the professional social network saw 'record levels of engagement'
LinkedIn’s engagement is up 31% in it’s most recent quarter. The findings are listed in Microsoft's FY21 Q1 report, which the company published last week, outlining its key performance highlights in the period. LinkedIn revenue is also on the rise, up 16%, driven mostly by increased ad spend.
Microsoft had said:
“Advertiser demand on LinkedIn returned to near pre-COVID levels, up 40% year over year, as marketers use our tools to connect with professionals ready to do business.”
Microsoft's also reported that LinkedIn is now up to 722 million members worldwide, up from the 675 million. In addition to this, Microsoft also notes that LinkedInLearning has also seen a big increase in usage in 2020.
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TikTok's now testing a new, dedicated 'Learn' stream of videos within the app.
The new 'Learn' feed would be an alternative to the current 'Following' and 'For You' streams, giving TikTok users access to educational video clips.
This new addition is currently in testing, the stream looks to be an expansion of its @LearnOnTikTok program, which is being funded through TikTok's $50 million creative learning fund, which it announced earlier this year as part of its broader $250 million commitment to assist with the impacts of COVID-19.
As explained by TikTok at launch:
"They've partnered with over 800 public figures, media publishers, educational institutions, and real-world professional experts who've been affected by this global pandemic to bring learning material to TikTok. They've been humbled to be able to bring these grants to educators, professional experts, and nonprofits who have the power to offer everyone creative learning especially during this tough time.”
In a broader sense, the Learn feed could be another way for TikTok to better ingratiate itself with the wider community, and showcase its social good, and the benefits it can provide, aside from the various controversies recently linked to the app.
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Google is testing a new process which would enable businesses to create video assets from static website content, making it easier for brands to move into video content.
Google's URL2Video process is able to automatically analyze webpage assets, then arrange them into an animated presentation.
As explained by Google:
"Assume a user provides an URL to a web page that illustrates their business. The URL2Video pipeline automatically selects key content from the page and decides the temporal and visual presentation of each asset, based on a set of heuristics derived from an interview study with designers who were familiar with web design and video ad creation."
This could make it a lot easier for more businesses to shift into video content - and as every social media platform says, repeatedly, video content is the best performing content type online.
New tools like these are making it easier than ever before for, for businesses to put together simple, animated productions that they can use to promote their offerings online. And with the pandemic accelerating the adoption of eCommerce, producing video content could be an even more important consideration.
As the leading advertising and marketing agency in Melbourne, we are experts at helping businesses to increase their ROI through direct response marketing and other performance marketing. Contact us today to find out how we can help you to devise the perfect marketing strategy.
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