This issue includes several interesting studies surrounding Facebook’s News Feed as well as Likes for brands, as well as e-commerce. On to this week’s news! Did we miss something? Feel free to DM me during the week and we’ll review submissions for the next post! Click here to catch up on past issues.
Facebook News Feed Results Cracked
In an experiment by The Daily Beast believes it has cracked the code as to how the Facebook News Feed works. Some of this is common knowledge, but there are a few outcomes that are intriguing such as the bias it has on new members to Facebook. We had a post about this a while back right here on Dose of Digital: Why Your Facebook Page Doesn’t Exist.
Do Photos of People Improve ECommerce Conversion?
Great examples of A|B testing. People verses Images verses Text… who helps close on the call to action best? Have you played with where the model’s eyes are looking before? I thought the test with Sunsilk was fascinating but it makes sense.
Ads Drive the Most “Likes” for Brands on Facebook
eMarketer reports that 75% of people that liked a brand on Facebook because of an ad or another form of direct outreach. Surprisingly, invitations and referrals from friends took second place at 59%. While still a substantial number, I would have thought that the old “people trust their friends more than brands” train of thought would have applied here. I suppose sometimes people just need a that direct nudge.
Also in the study, was reasons for unsubscribing from a brand, which 36% of responders had done. Top reasons cited include losing interest in the brand, frequency (or lack thereof) of updates and uninteresting content.
Microsoft Launches its own Games on Demand Online Market
Gamers be glad. Microsoft is creating a hub for downloading digital copies of games. This will include oldies but goodies as well as new releases. The market will launch with over 100 titles in its library.
Amazon Offers Free Web Services
Potential cloud computing users can try before they buy now with Amazon’s Web Services. You can learn more about this free usage tier here: http://aws.amazon.com/free/
Netflix Web Video Streaming Through the Roof [Chart]
Number of subscribers streaming videos more than doubled year to year. As the article points out, Netflix successfully shifted from just a DVD rental company to one of the most lucrative web video companies in the world.