Welcome back to another Spark Social Report by Spark Growth! Let’s buckle down for some of the latest social media news, including LinkedIn launching “Office Hours,” a series of Live Stream events that allows users to personally engage with education and industry development. Scroll down to learn more about the latest social media trends and updates!
Social Media Trends
This week, it turns out that broadcasting is on the rise! Social media users have started to find more enjoyment in broadcasting and live streaming rather than sticking to private conversations.
The rise in live streaming may have to do with the current COVID-19 pandemic, where users are seeking human connection on a broader scale when being confined to their households. Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook allow users to create live streams where not only family and friends are able to interact with, but even strangers who happen to come across are able to engage. Celebrities and influencers also take advantage of live streaming to promote content and engagement with fans.
Check out the full infographic here!
Social Media Updates
LinkedIn is adapting to the trend of live streaming in a professional setting by hosting live events that they call “Office Hours.” The live stream events are high-demand courses that aid in developing professional skills for users on the platform. Users are able to post questions and comments in real-time to instructors, creating an interpersonal and engaging learning environment!
TikTok
In TikTok news, the social media platform had taken steps further with the development of its Creator Marketplace API (Application Programming Interface) in order to help facilitate brands in reaching influencers in different demographics.
Facebook launches “Fantasy Games”—a sports prediction game in which users are able to predict winning sports matches. The add-on allows users to compete with one another on leadership boards, but also through private leadership boards to play amongst family and friends. Fantasy Games aims to not only engage users to participate in the game, but also to bring back the interest in previous games that exist on Facebook.
The social media platform also recently added the “Verification Tick” to test out on their platform. Facebook notes that:
“[at] its core, verification is a way for people to know that the notable accounts they are following or searching for are exactly who they say they are. It’s a way for people to know which accounts are authentic and notable. Verification badges aren’t an endorsement from us, nor do we consider them a symbol of importance.”
The platform is rather strict with which accounts are able to adorn the blue mark on their page. Facebook assures users that the verification tick is only meant to ensure validity and authenticity on the platform, not endorsement. Facebook also assures that there is impartiality, creators and brands without the blue tick will still have equal chances of being able to promote and market their content just the same as verified pages. The platform’s feed will not be disrupted through endorsed pages but aims to provide assurance and trust in an account, allowing users to feel less anxiety about an account’s credibility.
Instagram has taken the trend of broadcasting by the reins and is utilizing it to support influencers and creators with their business. The platform pushes for digital marketing with “10 Days of Live Shopping,” allowing influencers, celebrities, and major brands to stream and market product launches on its platform. The event will be showcased in real-time using Instagram’s in-app “Live” feature from September 1st to 19th. Creators can take advantage of the opportunity to market their content through live engagement. From Instagram’s perspective, this event is almost certainly a way for Instagram to promote the use of in-app shopping and live streaming.
Creators can take advantage of the opportunity to market their content through live engagement, as well as promoting in-app shopping and usage of live streaming. The feature aids users in engagement not only within the digital marketing side of the platform but allows users to have more options to interact and connect with family and friends.
Reddit is broadening its horizons within digital marketing. The website has recently added a new ad option, “Conversation Placement”, giving brands an opportunity to promote their business and interact with the audience and potential customers through a comment thread. Although current Reddit users may not particularly enjoy the idea of having more advertisements on their feed, this new ad placement is an opportunity for users to communicate and directly engage with brand representatives to learn more about the product or brand.
Pinterest is providing a series of insights for creators to boost their marketing on their platform. In the first instalment of the series, published a few weeks ago, they introduced tips including:
- Pushing weekly fresh content
- Utilizing the trend tool on their platform
- Adding text overlay to their posts
- Including tags before publishing their posts
- Having clear and descriptive details for their board
Of course, these insights are just a guide to help creators navigate the platform better. Users are encouraged to be as creative as they wish to market their brand to fit their needs. This series may be especially useful for those who are just starting their business or are new to the platform.
Due to the mental stress that some users experience with social media usage, Twitter is providing a new “Safety Mode” feature. This addition to its platform is able to auto-block accounts that may use any potential harmful language to shield users against negative comments.
In addition, Twitter also announced its “$uper Follow”, which is a monthly subscription to exclusive content from users’ favorite creators. Creators with “$uper Follow” are able to use the platform to monetize their content and interact with fans.
Twitter has also launched its first live test of new labels for bot accounts, permitting users to identify useful bots from spambots. The new feature is going to help indicate to users who they are interacting with on the platform! Although it will still be difficult to identify good from bad bots, Twitter had announced bot regulations in the past, helping to only approve bots that will enhance user experience. The update will not only improve upon the efforts that Twitter has done in combatting spambots, but will also aim to reassure users of the authenticity of the accounts they are interacting with on Twitter.
And that wraps up this week’s updates! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to keep up with more digital marketing news. Stay tuned for next week!
Is your business leveraging the capabilities of social media yet? If not, we can help. Click the link below to chat with one of our digital marketing experts!
href="#" data-color-override="false" data-hover-color-override="false" data-hover-text-color-override="#fff">Book a 30-minute consultation today!