Below are the top social media stories for the week of January 24th to January 30th!
Reports
Everything You Need to Know About Facebook’s Q4 and Full-Year 2015 Results
Facebook reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2015 and the full year after market close Wednesday. Read about it on SocialTimes
Houston Chronicle Tops Facebook Publications; BuzzFeed Rules Twitter (Report)
The Houston Chronicle was the most effective print publication on Facebook, while Business Insider topped the digital-only list, and the two winners for Twitter were The New York Times and BuzzFeed, respectively. Read about it on SocialTimes
Report: LinkedIn and StumbleUpon Referrals Drive Highest Order Values
AddShoppers analyzed data from 495 million shoppers, more than 10,000 stores, and 3.4 billion page views and uncovered some insights on personalization, influence and the impact of social media on e-commerce. Read about it on SocialTimes
Instagram Ads Off to a Strong Start (Report)
An increase in demand for Instagram advertising during the second half of 2015 led to a corresponding price hike, according to new research from Brand Networks. Instagram opened up its ads application-programming interface to advertisers last August. Read about it on SocialTimes
Facebook Live Video Extended to All U.S. iPhone Users
Facebook began testing live video by users in December, and the social network announced Thursday that the feature has been rolled out to all iPhone users in the U.S. Read about it on SocialTimes
Inside Facebook’s Decision to Blow Up the Like Button
The Reactions extension to Facebook’s like button will include one to six Facebook-compatible human emotions and will be officially launched “in the next few weeks.” Read about it on Bloomberg Business
Facebook is Expanding its Burgeoning Ad Network to the Mobile Web
Facebook is expanding its ad network from just third-party apps to the mobile Web. Read about it on Adweek
WhatsApp Beta Includes Facebook Sharing Option
The latest beta version of cross-platform messaging application WhatsApp contains an option for users to share data with WhatsApp parent Facebook. Read about it on SocialTimes
Facebook Now Tracks Call-to-Action Clicks via ‘Actions on Page’ Insights Tab
Facebook is giving page owners a deeper understanding into how active those call-to-action buttons are. Read about it on SocialTimes
Twitter Hires American Express’ Leslie Berland as CMO
Twitter’s newest CMO, Leslie Berland, was most recently American Express’ executive vice president of digital partnerships and development. Read about it on SocialTimes
Oprah's Weight Watchers Tweet Helped its Stock Price Surge 23% in a Day
Before Oprah's tweet at noon Eastern on Tuesday, Weight Watchers shares were trading at $11.44 a share, then rose nearly 16 percent, trading at $13.24 an hour later. Read about it on Adweek
YouTube Donation Cards Allow Video Creators to Raise Money for Charity
Recently, YouTube has rolled out donation cards to its US creators that allow viewers to donate to a charity of the creator’s choosing, directly from the video. Read about it on The Next Web
Google Play Games Soon Won’t Require a Google+ Account
Google is removing the requirement for users of Google Play Games to sign into the service using a Google+ account, which will please the many Android users who don’t use the slowly dying social network. Read about it on The Next Web
Medium
Medium Now Lets Publishers Schedule Posts, Link Twitter Accounts to Publications
Over the course of a week, the company will introduce a way to schedule posts for publication, an integration with Twitter designed to increase readership, and statistics around its Letter offering. Read about it on VentureBeat
Snapchat
How Are People Really Using Snapchat (Infographic)
An infographic from Column Five and Newscred examines how Snapchat’s audience uses the platform. Read about it on SocialTimes
Vine
Vine Celebrates Third Birthday, Launches Trends Page
Vine will celebrate its third birthday on Jan. 24, and to mark the occasion, the company has unveiled its Year 3 collection, which contains the most-looped Vine of the app’s third year, as well as other popular or influential posts. Read about it on SocialTimes
Periscope
Now You Can #Periscope From Your GoPro HERO 4
Periscope, Twitter’s live-streaming app, is no longer restrained to your phone’s camera. Periscope and GoPro announced Tuesday morning the ability to broadcast from the GoPro HERO 4 camera, via the Periscope for iPhone app. Read about it on SocialTimes
Spotify
Spotify Will Bring You Video Starting This Week
Spotify plans to add video content to its Android app sometime this week and to its iOS app by the end of next week. Read about it on CNET
Pandora
Pandora Adds a Browse Section to Help You Find New Music
After buying Rdio’s assets and introducing a personalized radio station, Pandora is now launching a ‘Browse’ section to help people discover different music – although it’s currently limited to iOS users only. Read about it on The Next Web