Welcome back to another Spark Social Report with Spark Growth! This week, let’s look into some digital marketing strategies on LinkedIn. Keep reading for the latest social media app updates, including new holiday shopping events on Facebook.
Digital Marketing Strategies
At Spark Growth, we’ve developed many marketing funnel strategies for clients looking to optimize their customer journey. Recently, LinkedIn has also provided some insights into digital marketing strategies using an effective funnel. One idea is to use ads to create conversions and build brand awareness. LinkedIn offers many ad targeting parameters that can be used to reach your audience!
Social Media Updates
Before Santa climbs into his sleigh, Facebook is getting a head start on helping users with their holiday shopping experience. Starting on November 1st, Facebook and Instagram will host daily Live Shopping experiences with popular brands. #BuyBlack Friday is also back to highlight Black-owned businesses. These two shows not only make holiday shopping easier for users but also helps support Black-owned and small businesses in the process!
In light of World Mental Health Day that happened earlier this month, the platform integrated new assistance tools and awareness resources. Facebook worked with mental health experts to develop new guides and tools for its Emotional Health resource center, which includes resource cards provided by the World Health Organization, and resource guides developed for BIPOC Mental Health Month. In collaboration with WhatsApp and UNICEF, the company also launched a Global Mental Health chatbot to help users reach out to others. The feature will be useful, especially for young users who are either looking to better inform themselves on mental health or seeking help from others.
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Facebook launched its “Audio” hub which encapsulates all audio formats including podcasts, Live Audio Rooms, and short-form audio. Audio will also feature personalized recommendations that cater to users’ tastes over time. The new addition is meant to support creators in terms of discovery while also helping users find and discover creators they love.
Facebook’s VP of global affairs, Nick Clegg, recently shared how the company is looking into new measures that address concerns around how teens use the app and ways the algorithm might be updated in the future. Some routes the team is exploring include a prompt that notifies teen users of posts that may be harmful to their well-being and reducing political content on users’ feeds. The company hasn’t announced when these measures will be implemented yet.
Lastly, Facebook has updated how it counts people for ads planning and measurement. Users who don’t have their Facebook and Instagram accounts connected in the Accounts Center will be considered as two separate people for ads planning and measurement. For users who do have their accounts connected in the Accounts Center, they will continue to be counted collectively as a single person. The update offers users more control over how their information is being used for ads and may affect ad campaign planning estimates and performances for businesses.
Due to outages that occurred this month, Instagram is testing out notifications that will alert users when certain parts of Instagram aren’t working. These notifications provide users with more transparency and information. The example below shows how the pop-up may look, clearly explaining the area of the site that’s being affected. At this time, the feature is being tested among U.S. users. There’s no official release date yet, so stay tuned!
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Instagram also incorporated Reels Ads Placements into its Marketing API. Creators will now be able to see how ads are performing through Instagram Reels placement. Developers utilizing the platform will be able to use “INSTAGRAM_REELS” as one of the target positions when creating ads, as well as fetch previews in the Instagram Reels format. The addition of Reels ad placements will make it easier for brands to incorporate Reels campaigns into their digital marketing strategies and drive business for the upcoming holiday season.
Twitter rolled out a new feature that allows users to remove followers without blocking them. Users simply need to go into their Followers and select “Remove this follower.” This new feature aims to help users feel more secure about who can access their content on the platform.
We're making it easier to be the curator of your own followers list. Now testing on web: remove a follower without blocking them.
To remove a follower, go to your profile and click “Followers”, then click the three dot icon and select “Remove this follower”. pic.twitter.com/2Ig7Mp8Tnx
— Support (@Support) September 7, 2021
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Twitter has added a new Spaces tab, allowing more users to easily find discussions. At the moment, the feature is only available for iOS users in English. If you’re not familiar with Spaces, it’s similar to Clubhouse, allowing users to have live audio conversations on the app. Users can host, join, listen, and speak in Spaces.
Further expanding on Spaces, the app also launched Twitter Spaces Spark Program—a three-month accelerator initiative designed to discover and reward Spaces on the platform. Creators who fulfill the eligibility criteria are required to complete the application by October 22nd. If chosen creators will be rewarded with financial, technical, and marketing support on Twitter!
*unmutes*
today we’re opening the application process for the Twitter Spaces Spark Program
what’s that? it’s an initiative for creators who are excited about the future of social audio 👇 pic.twitter.com/4zay8uvao8
— Spaces (@XSpaces) October 12, 2021
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Twitter has listened to user feedback and is now currently testing out a swipeable timeline option for select iOS users. In the future, users may be able to have control over what Tweets they want to see first by simply switching between “Home” and “Latest.” It’s definitely something to look forward to!
Top Tweets first or latest Tweets first? We’re making it easier to switch between the two timelines and know which one you’re scrolling.
Now testing with some of you on iOS: swipe between "Home" and "Latest" on the Home tab to choose which Tweets you see first. pic.twitter.com/LoyAN4cONu
— Support (@Support) October 12, 2021
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The app also updated its Carousel Ads by introducing Multi-Destination Carousels, allowing users the option to add custom headlines and landing pages into each frame. The updates give advertisers the opportunity to be creative and diversify their ad message. Multi-destination carousels are a flexible way for advertisers to drive traffic and engagement on their ads.
YouTube
YouTube made further improvements to its accessibility experiences with new expansions. Some improvements include allowing users to enable live automatic captions, translating captions for mobile users, and adding searchable captions in Transcripts. Live automatic captions and adding captions to mobile, which was previously only available on desktop, will enhance the user experience and make the platform more accessible. The addition of searchable captions on Transcripts is also another useful expansion that can help users dig for valuable and relevant information.
Snapchat
To celebrate World Mental Health Awareness Day that happened last week, Snapchat launched Club Unity, an initiative that groups together celebrities that talk about their mental health journeys to encourage young users on the platform to also take steps towards doing the same. Additionally, Snapchat has also partnered with Active Minds, a mental health organization, to host its first-ever Club Unity Summit. With Club Unity, Snapchat is providing a safe space for young users on the app to inform themselves on mental health and inspiring users to take initiative and open up about their own mental health.
Meet Club Unity – A group of friends who are getting real about the stress and pressure of daily life and talking about ways to help each other get through it.
Check out Club Unity and @Active_Minds mental health resources on Snapchat at https://t.co/mc5lVQVeNx pic.twitter.com/5o5KCOSjTv
— Snapchat (@Snapchat) October 8, 2021
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LinkedIn released an Inclusive Language pocket guide to help marketers with formulating their brand messaging. The seven-page guide defines what inclusive language is for marketers and provides tips, such as using person-first and gender-neutral language. The guide is beneficial for marketers who are looking to weave diversity and inclusion into their brand identity. Soon, we’ll be seeing more inclusive and diverse marketing that can showcase more cultures, ethnicities, genders, and identities! To read up on how to incorporate inclusive language into your marketing, check out the pocket guide here.
Reddit enhances user engagement on the platform with its launch of Predictions. Redditors will be able to participate in tournaments to predict the outcome of an event or conversation and are given the opportunity to win Tokens made specifically for Predictions to make bets! The release of Predictions on the platform is an entertaining way for users to interact within their communities on the platform.
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That’s a wrap for this week’s Spark Social Report! Make sure to stay in the loop by following us on Twitter for social media updates and much more!
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