Brooklyn Nets Digital Debut, Pandora Struggles, Branded Content for SmartTV

The Content Strategist picks the day’s most relevant and interesting stories about the world of content from around the web. Here’s what you should be reading today:

The Digital Strategy of the Brooklyn Nets

On Nov. 1, the Brooklyn Nets will have their first home game, and already, the team is all over the digital space, according to ClickZ.

They have a presence on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and four other social sites, and there are hashtags like #HelloBrooklyn circulating around on Twitter.

The Nets have more than one million followers on Socialcam, “the video-sharing service, where they post videos like highlights from training camp or nutrition tips from the Nets’ strength and conditioning coach.”

Pandora’s Shaky Week 

The New York Times reported on Pandora Media’s troubles this week, which included fights regarding royalty rates with the music industry and the announcement of the iPad Mini.

After news broke that the new Apple product didn’t have a radio service, Pandora’s stock rose, but on Thursday, its stock fell about 20 percent. Since Apple might be releasing its own Pandora-like service, the future of the company may be at stake.

Branded Content’s Connection to Smart TVs 

MediaTel’s Jeff Siegel makes his case as to why branded content should be shown on smart TVs.

This platform, he says, is uncluttered right now, unlike YouTube. Also, they are just beginning to go mainstream, and the content will look better on a bigger screen.

It has an advantage over advertising as well: He cites a study that shows “67 percent of consumers believe connected TV video ads are less disruptive than traditional TV ads.”

Decrease in Profits at the New York Times

For the third quarter, profits at the New York Times have dropped 85 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal. Even as profits were up 11 percent from the digital paywall, advertising revenue was down 8.9 percent.

Keach Hagey writes, “The company blamed the digital advertising decline on a weak economy and price pressure caused by a glut of inventory and the rise of programmatic ad buying. The company expects the advertising outlook in the fourth quarter to be similar to the third quarter, it said.”

Influencers Being Sought After Online

Content Marketing Institute’s Joe Chernov writes that a new search engine that locates influencers online, dubbed Little Bird, has been launched.

He says that the engine “tool starts with a topic and, based on Byzantine connections throughout the social graph surrounding the issue, works backward to the ‘insiders’ who are most influential about that particular subject.”

Through Little Bird, content marketers will be able to figure out how to make more content, whom to target their content towards, and who to seek out as sources for content.

Video Ads Launching on LinkedIn

ClickZ reports that on LinkedIn, 300×250 ad units will soon be available.

The company says that “the video ads will compete for clicks and impressions on the site just like traditional text and image ad formats” and that advertisers will have the ability to control costs, pay per click or view, or stop the campaign whenever they please.

Advertisers will be charged at least $2 per click.

There’s a New “Yes We Can” Song Featuring Ne-Yo 

A sequel to the “Yes We Can” song featuring rapper Ne-Yo has been released, according to Mashable. The song, like the first one, is not affiliated with the president’s campaign.

The first video, which showcased the likes of John Legend and Will.i.am, received over 24 million hits on YouTube.