Friday Roundup: Vine for Kids, Facebook measures lift and more

It’s roundup time! A quick look at all the news that slipped past me or just wasn’t big enough to print. That doesn’t mean these stories aren’t interesting — because they are!

Let’s get to it!

Vine for Kids

The subtitle says it all. Vine has launched a separate app which is nothing but hand-curated content for kids under 5. They don’t say how far under 5, but if your newborn can press the button, they can enjoy these videos, too.

It’s a smart idea and a great example of how segmenting your business can send you off in a whole new, and wonderful direction. Think they’re going to allow branded content? Toy makers? Cereal companies? Studios pushing movies for kids. . . . ?

Facebook Measures Lift

Facebook says that advertisers are too dependent on the click. It’s understandable. That’s the one action that’s easily measured. Either a person clicked or they didn’t. Once they clicked to visit a site, we can track movements and determine whether or not they bought something.

But Facebook doesn’t want you to discount the power of lift. I see your ad, I don’t act on it but later, when I’m in the grocery store, I remember your ad which makes me buy your product. That’s conversion lift and Facebook wants to help you measure it.

Here’s how it works:

When creating a Facebook campaign, a randomized test group (people that see ads) and control group (people that don’t) are established
The advertiser securely shares conversion data from the campaign with Facebook. Typically, this data comes from sources like the Facebook Custom Audiences pixel, conversion pixel or secure point-of-sale (POS) data.
Facebook determines additional lift generated from the campaign by comparing conversions in the test and control groups
The results of the study are made available in Ads Manager

Sounds complicated, but Facebook has to do all they can to convince you that your ads are working even when people aren’t clicking. The one thing Facebook and I do agree on, is that it’s all about the bottom line. If revenue is up this month, then keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working.

LinkedIn for Good

I want to wrap up with this call out for volunteers. There are 4 million people on LinkedIn who are interested in using their skills for good. Are you part of that 4 million? The next time you’re on LinkedIn, check the boxes for “Joining a nonprofit board” and/or “Skills-based volunteering” in the Volunteer Experience & Causes section.