Social Media

Facebook is Working to Keep its Systems Operating, Seeing Lower Ad Spend Amid COVID-19 Lockdowns

With billions of people on virtual lockdown in their homes, it’ll come as no surprise that Facebook is seeing a massive increase in activity within its apps. But even so, the actual numbers are significant – according to Facebook, over the last few weeks, it’s seen: Total messaging increases of more than 50%, across both WhatsApp and Messenger, an increase of 70% in Messenger group video calls, and more than double the regular demand for video calls in WhatsApp and overall U.S. traffic from Facebook to other websites has increased by more than 50% week-on-week. On one hand, this is positive news for The Social Network, boosting its all-important engagement stats. But Facebook has also noted that the increased traffic has put increased strain on its network, and that it’s now working hard to keep its systems running amidst unprecedented demand.

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YouTube Will Switch to Standard Definition by Default in All Regions to Lessen Network Load

After lowering the video quality of its streams across Europe last week, in response to concerns that local networks could become overloaded with video traffic, YouTube has this week confirmed that it will do the same in all regions, with YouTube videos to load in standard definition by default for at least the next month. As explained by Bloomberg: “Over the coming days, viewers will at first see YouTube videos in standard definition. Users will still be able to watch in high definition if they want, but will have to choose to do so.” It seems like a relatively minor imposition – especially given that HD will still be an option for those that want it. And it could play an important role in keeping people connected, at a time where everyone who’s able to work from home is doing so. Given the circumstances, maintaining connection is critical. Sure, you might miss the specific detail of the crowd in that basketball highlights video you’re watching, but that seems like a small price to pay in order to maintain optimal operation for everyone else.

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Marketing

Summer Olympics Postponed Further Shakes 2020 Ad Spending Expectations 

Sporting events were supposed to be a key driver of advertising spend growth this year. Instead, the coronavirus crisis has led to widespread cancellations, the latest being Tuesday’s announcement that the 2020 Summer Olympics will not take place as planned in June. The question is whether these ad dollars will be redistributed elsewhere or simply vanish. Last week, eMarketer lowered its projections for global media spend this year by nearly 3%. That revision assumed that the Summer Olympics would still take place as planned in June. WARC had earlier advised that the cancellation or postponement of UEFA Euro 2020 soccer tournament and the Olympics and Paralympics would affect traditional media most heavily (NBCUniversal had sold a record $1.25 billion in national advertising around the Olympics by early March, according to Ad Age.), but “will also impact online publishers and BVOD platforms.”

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Winners and Losers: How COVID-19 is Affecting Search Behavior

Looking at Google Trends, we can see the dramatic surges in search volume around representative search terms in the grocery, bulk and online productivity categories that saw huge growth swings. Social distancing measures have forced many to prepare food at home, and both Merkle’s figures and the Google Trends data for the keyword “groceries” reflect that. The Trends data shows an annual high for the week ending on March 21 — an increase of 446% compared to the same period in 2019. Related keywords, such as “online groceries” and “grocery delivery” also saw similar growth. Perhaps out of fear or simply to prepare for long-term self-quarantining, big-box retailers, such as Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club are also being searched significantly more than they were in March 2019. Costco’s search interest is up 82%, which is just 5% lower than its peak interest during Black Friday 2019.

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