Lessons from Grindr, Facebook Sponsored Posts Work, Context Is King

The Strategist picks the day’s most interesting stories for the content aficionados who love the backstory and reading between the lines. Here are the gems you need to kickstart your Monday.

How Grindr Is Changing the Way We Connect (New York Times)
This location-based hookup app for gay men has grown its community to five million users who spend an average of 90 minutes each day using the app.

There’s something to be said about the platform’s three foundational values — intimacy, spontaneity, and simplicity.  People use Grindr to do more than hook up — they’re looking for new friends and to kill time. It’s these social and emotional dimensions that inspire user loyalty by removing barriers to build connections.

Facebook Sponsored Posts: Do They Work? (Inc)
According to a recent Advertising Age survey of 701 marketers and media executives, the answer is a clear yes.

Many businesses are jumping into Facebook advertising for the very first time — this type of marketing is a blind spot that they’re trying to fully understand and navigate.

Sponsored Posts are useful in driving awareness, shares, and likes — however, few of these companies are able to translate these numbers into tangible business value. Sponsored Posts are effective because they improve brand awareness on Facebook.

The precise dollar value for ROI? That’s a key piece of the puzzle that’s impossible to generalize because it’s so business model specific. How does your business capture social ROI?

In the Multiscreen World, Context Is King (HBR)
Without context, your content has the potential to fall flat. The lesson to learn? Know the devices your audiences are using, and know the design principles that are key to making your content most successful.

What’s key is that you look beyond technology to understand the context behind smartphone, tablet, and laptop usage. Who are these users? Are they stationary or on-the-go? Why are they using the device, and what are their pain points? Are they short on time, taking a brain break, or in full productivity mode? Understand the ‘why’ as much as the ‘what’ and ‘how.’