How Twitter's New Direct Messaging System Helps Brands

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Twitter is changing its direct messaging (DM) feature so that users don't have to mutually follow each other to send them.

The use cases for open DMs are intriguing. For starters, customers no longer have to publicly broadcast their complaints to brands; instead, they can DM a brand privately to have their issue addressed. This will also help larger brands that manage hundreds, if not thousands, of daily customer service related messages on Twitter.

Additionally, brands could also utilize the open DM feature to send offers or coupon codes directly to top customers. (Mashable)

In Other News ...

Advertising sold through FBX, Facebook's ad exchange, is selling at extremely low prices. Approximately 23% of ads bought on FBX were purchased at a price of between $0.10 and $0.20 per thousand impressions (CPM), according to a report published by Turn. For comparison, display ads average $1.28 CPM. (Turn)

Sir Martin Sorrell, head of WPP (the world's largest ad holding company), said that Facebook, Google, and other online data management companies are among his firm's biggest competitors. Sorrell said that 75% of WPP companies' $18 billion in revenues is generated from digital advertising, data investment management, and media planning. (Business Insider)

Facebook will let new users ages 13 through 17 post publicly, so their updates can be viewed by people outside of their direct network. According to All Things D, Facebook made the move in an attempt to attract more teens to the social network. (All Things D)

LinkedIn unveiled a new mobile job search feature on iOS, allowing users to see job openings at the companies where their friends work. The social network also launched a new mobile product for recruiters to make sourcing and managing job applications easier. (LinkedIn Blog)

Brand Networks, a social media marketing company and strategic preferred marketing developer, acquired Optimal for $35 million in cash and stock. Optimal is a social media advertising and analytics platform. Brand Networks CEO Jamie Tedford said he is scaling the company quickly in order to meet the demand of supporting large brands on their social media campaigns. (TechCrunch)