Industry Update: July 2020
Here’s what happened in the world of social media in July!
Facebook has announced a new News Feed algorithm update for news content, which will put more emphasis on original reporting, and boost content from news websites that provide information on their journalists, increasing transparency.The change comes as more people are turning to Facebook for news content - according to Pew Research, around 68% of Americans now get at least some news content from social platforms, with Facebook the leading source. And with many local news outlets being forced to close due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reliance on Facebook for news, especially local updates, is only going to rise. (read more here)
Messenger
For too long, the options in video calling through messenger were far too restricted, but this month Facebook dropped the ability to screenshare during videocalls in both Messenger rooms and in the Messenger app!"Whether you want to share memories from your camera roll, shop together online, co-browse social media, and more - screen sharing makes it easy to stay connected and close with your loved ones, even when you’re physically apart."
The standard type font, strong font, and fancy font were getting real old, and while we enjoyed getting creative with stories and stickers, it’s about dang time that Instagram released another BUNCH of fonts to use on stories!! To access them, type in your stories as you normally would, however now you’ll be able to scroll through several more options. Add even more when you select the ‘highlight’ option up the top of the story!
Just when we thought no one could rival TikTok, Instagram has given it a red hot go! Similar to TikTok, Instagram Reels encourages creative users to put together short, vertical videos that can be scrolled through just as aimlessly as TikTok. With still a way to go to before it’s as user-friendly as TikTok, there’s definitely room for potential… but just as much room for an IGTV-styled flop.
You know those gold responses that you get in the comments section of your posts - something that adds value to the post or even starts a conversation! They often get lost amongst other posts, but now you can pin your top three comments to your post! These will be seen first, before someone expands the post to see the other comments. (note: you CAN’T pin your own comment!)
TikTok
TikTok for Business is now officially launched for marketers! Similar to Pinterest for Business, it allows marketers to stay up to date with updates, and news and tips for making the most of the platform for businesses! In the past, you’d have to have a lot of money (hence the frequency of businesses like Nike and Optus having ads on the platform) to be able to advertise on TikTok, but not anymore! It’s now become a lot more accessible for a lot smaller businesses.
Twitter is working on a new List Discovery option as it continues to focus on topics. This means soon enough we’ll be able to find lists that are relevant to us and our business based on a range of topics.
Zuckerberg has been looking for more and more ways to increase eCommerce use on the Facebook owned platforms, and with an ever-increasing amount of people using WhatsApp for both personal and professional use, the introduction of QR abilities on the app is timely and super handy. Businesses can now use QR codes to take customers directly to a direct message thread - consider it like a ‘digital front door’ that makes chatting directly with the business as easy as possible.
