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Spark Bites: Giving Snapchat a Run for Their Money

Sink your teeth into these digestible digital morsels from our weekly roundup!

Facebook:

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  • Facebook upgraded its video reporting with additional metrics.
  • Advertisers may soon be able to advertise on Facebook Messenger’s home screen
  • News Feed algorithms got some serious updates in Trending Topics.
  • Facebook Stories keeps growing and improving, becoming an increasingly promising potential Snapchat competitor.

 

Instagram:

  • Last week, Instagram launched a carousel feature. This feature was previously available only as an advertising tool, but can now be used in organic post across user accounts—including brands, influencers, and consumers.
  • The new feature allows users to post up to 10 photos or videos in a single swipe-able post.
  • Everyday, creating strong photo and video assets becomes more important to success across platforms.

 

Twitter:

  • Two weeks ago, Twitter rolled out an anti-harassment “time-out” measure to combat online bullying. From now on, accounts will be temporarily suspended if a user is engaging in abusive behavior (i.e. aggressively tweeting obscenities at another user who does not follow them). During their “time-out,” content will only be visible to the user and their followers.

 

Pinterest:

  • At the end of January, Pinterest announced the launch of Search Ads. Businesses will now be able to go after users via highly-targeted Keyword and Shopping campaigns. The platform is partnering with digital advertising giant Kenshoo to make it happen. Hear that? That’s the sound of the entire Wedding Industry collectively crying with joy.

 

Snapchat:

  • At the end of 2016, the growth of Snapchat slowed, coinciding with the implementation of Instagram stories.
  • In other news, the company recently began selling Spectacles—their in-house developed video-capturing glasses—for $130 online. This has been a suspected factor to help prove the viability of the company to investors (Snapchat’s parent company Snap filed for IPO in early February).

 

YouTube:

  • In January, YouTube introduced “Super Chat,” a way for fans to purchase prioritized, highlighted messages in a live chat stream that stand out from the rest. Super Chats remain pinned to the top of the chat for up to 5 hours, and do double duty: keeping conversations and connections with (super) fans meaningful and lively, while also giving creators a new way to make money.

 

G+:

  • New updates being rolled out for Google+ include a default setting that automatically hides low-quality comments, less white space and zoom functionality for photos, approved posting in communities, and the ability to create and join events.

 

LinkedIn:

  • LinkedIn recently revamped its desktop experience, making two notable changes regarding its private and public messaging:
    • A form of “Chatbox” will be introduced to private messages, giving users messaging ice-breaker suggestions when contacting new companies or individuals.
    • New algorithms, affecting both organic and sponsored content, will be introduced into the newsfeed. These changes are aimed at getting more people to visit and remain on the site for longer durations. Breaking News alerts will now be featured as well, along with supplemental links for more information, your connections and their relevance to the news item, and links to relevant influencer posts.

 

In Other News:

  • WhatsApp recently announced that it’s coming out with its own version of Snapchat stories: the WhatsApp Status. News sources suspect the platform plans to monetize its 1.2 billion monthly active users soon.
  • Ahh The Trials and Tribulations of Email Marketing. Personalization is one of the top trends of the year. Emails with personalized subject lines get 26% higher open rates and drive 760% more revenue.

 

We’re keeping our ears to the ground, so stay tuned for next week’s update!