Episode 58 – The YouTube Adpocalypse, #Hashtags, and Snapchat’s New Context Cards

This week, our hosts Matt, Rai, and Kyle explore some of the latest developments and trends as well as a fundamental part of social media! Together, the group examines the state of advertising on YouTube, how to effectively choose and use hashtags, and Snapchat’s newest feature, context cards.

The YouTube Adpocalypse [9:05]
#Hashtags [19:40]
Snapchat’s New Context Cards [28:00]

The YouTube Adpocalypse

During the months of September and October, YouTube has been tightening up its restrictions on ads, demonetizing many YouTubers and creating what’s being called ‘The Adpocalypse.’ Our host Matt examines the fallout and shares whether you should be worried or unconcerned with the recent developments!

“YouTube’s ad policy changed to say that ads won’t be placed on controversial videos.” -Matt
“When they changed their policy, they left what ‘controversial videos’ was super vague.” -Matt
“Pewdie created a video that was very racially insensitive that had ads posted on it and the advertiser got really upset which sparked the whole thing.” -Matt
“Tons of ad revenue started to get pulled out of YouTube so YouTube added this policy and it pulled ad revenue out of tons of YouTube creators.” -Matt
“This is impacting YouTube heavily.” -Matt

#Hashtags

Hashtags are the foundation of platforms like Instagram and Twitter and they hold the power to grow your following substantially when used well. For that reason, Rai explores the history and best practices of Hashtags to make sure you’re getting the most out of your time in the digital space.

“A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded with the # sign used to aggregate social media content.” -Rai
“Hashtags just had their 10 year anniversary back in August.” -Rai
“Don’t use any special characters or punctuation in your hashtags, it will end the tag.” -Rai
“Try to average 3 hashtags, any more and it can start to look spammy.” -Host Name
“If you’re hosting events, shorten your hashtags to make it easier to remember and easier to use.” -Rai

Snapchat’s New Context Cards

Snapchat has concreted its status as one of the most innovative social platforms today and they don’t have any plans of stopping. Our host Kyle looks at their most recent development and explains how they can impact your business in the race against your competitors.

“To open your Snap Map, expand the screen by pinching outward on your phone screen.” -Kyle
“When you select areas on the Snap Map, tap the “More” button in the bottom to get more info on that place.” -Kyle
“These context cards display things like ratings, Uber and Lift rides, and more right in Snapchat.” -Kyle
“You used to type search words but now you’re visually looking for locations and details.” -Kyle
“These Snapchat context cards will be really powerful for B2C businesses.” -Kyle

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