This week’s Spark Bites has you covered with all of this week’s social media updates! Twitter is finally bringing back reverse chronological order within their timelines, YouTube is going vertical with their ads, and LinkedIn is changing the way we fly. All this and more social media updates are waiting for you in this week’s instalment of Spark Bites!
- Facebook is taking Pages to a whole new level of engagement! The social media giant just rolled out an update that allows Pages to join groups, interact, and comment as a business page. This is a great way for companies to build brand awareness and generate exposure to consumers on the platform. Brands are also able to pick which groups to interact with, enabling them to build relationships with consumers in their target demographic. Let’s see if other platforms take a “page” out of Facebook’s book in the future.
- With so many hashtags to use, where do you put them? Instagram is testing out a new feature which will allow users to have hashtags in the caption without actually having them in the caption! This feature would allow users to non-intrusively add hashtags to their picture while not distracting from their well-crafted caption. Rest assured that your picture still reaches the maximum amount of people though, they just won’t be seeing your hashtags. Hashtag away, my friends. #cantstopwontstop
- Instagram just can’t get enough of shopping. The company recently announced two new ways to shop on the platform that will have your closet jumping for joy. Instagram will now have shopping tags in stories available in 46 countries, as well as a dedicated shopping channel. No doubt this will allow consumers to feel closer than ever to their favorite brands. Add to cart, please!
- Let GIFs do all the talking! Instagram has added the option to send your friends GIFs when you direct message them. If you’re feeling particularly brave you even have the option to randomly send a GIF. Seems like soon everyone will be communicating solely with GIFs. Can’t wait!
- Looks like Pinterest is taking its motto of “discover and do what you love” to a new level. They have opened their API access to third-party providers in order to bring brands and influencers closer together. Businesses will be able to gain visibility into key stats like monthly views, followers, impression and saves. We’ll pin that!
- Twitter users rejoice! Hallelujah! Twitter is finally bringing back the option to have your timeline be sorted in reverse chronological order. Whether you want to see the most relevant tweets or the most recent, Twitter is putting the choice in your hands. This new development is sure to make a lot of users happy and help boost engagement. Are you Team Reverse Chronological or Team Most Relevant?
YouTube
- Tilt lock lovers, this one’s for you. YouTube is moving towards vertical viewing for ads, which will enable brands to capitalize on a fresh new viewpoint and presentation. Of course, this only applies to mobile users and likely draws inspiration from other platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. With over 70% of YouTube’s views coming from mobile phone users, it makes sense for the platform to move towards a medium that allows brands to tell their stories in new ways. Things can only go up from here!
- What do kids watch nowadays? If you answered YouTube, you’d be right on the money. YouTube Kids will be introducing a new “older kids” section, which should help parents keep their kids’ viewing habits under control. Parents now have the option to choose which channels their children can watch and start fostering safer viewing habits. Sounds parent-approved!
- Have a long flight coming up? LinkedIn is offering LinkedIn Learning courses while you fly! Take advantage of all the free time you have and enhance your skills in just one flight! Even cooler: if your skills don’t match a job you had your eye on, one quick course with LinkedIn Learning in the air might just put you ahead of the pack. It really gives a whole new meaning to business class.
Thanks for reading this week’s social media updates! Check back next Friday for everything new and improved in the digital world. Until next time!
