Welcome back to another week of Spark Bites! We hope you brought your appetite and sweet tooth, because we have a huge helping of heart-warming social media updates for you to bite into. It might not be Valentine’s nor Galentine’s Day, but everybody is definitely feeling the love.
Facebook is the ultimate friend of the day: it is introducing Secret Crushes in its dating app, redesigning its news feed and Messenger app to focus more on your relationships with your close friends, and developing a desktop Messenger app to improve your communication with your loved ones. Instagram is next, and it’s spreading the love by allowing users to buy clothing straight from posts by their beloved influencers, releasing its in-story donation stickers, and announcing a Create mode for its camera that makes sharing non-photo and video content easier. Shopify is embracing its friends Facebook and Snapchat, allowing its clients to create ads on the platforms using its tools; Pinterest is helping you out with UI updates and a feature to help name your boards; and Snapchat is reaching out to advertisers and allowing them to reserve their video inventory.
Secret crushes, helping users, helping advertisers: love is in the air! Read on for more sweet treats!
Last week, Facebook hosted the F8 conference and announced quite a few updates heading our way!
It is announcing a new feature for their dating app called Secret Crush. It allows users to create a private list of crushes that they have, and if they’re on their crush’s list, then Facebook will send a notification to both lovebirds! Props to Facebook for being a great secret-keeper, but also an amazing matchmaker.
Facebook is also redesigning its news feed, moving away from a more general timeline to one more focused on your close friends. You’ll see your closest friends’ content first, so you can stay in closest contact with them! Facebook says that it is trying to facilitate more personal and offline interactions as a result of its more intimate newsfeed. So cute, Facebook!
The social network giant is using the same principles of better communication and more personal connections to update its Messenger app as well. Facebook is developing a Messenger app for your desktop to make sure you have fluid communication across all your devices, so that you can talk to your most treasured at any time. It is also updating the mobile app to highlight your close friends and groups more; you will be able to post information directly to those you trust most. As if that wasn’t enough, Facebook is also adding a more intimate version of Watch Party, so that you and your close friends can watch video content in your group chat together! You can have a movie night together, even when you’re not actually together! Facebook, you’re so thoughtful, bringing us and our friends closer together.
Instagram is hopping on the thoughtful bandwagon this week as well! It is currently testing a new feature that will allow users to purchase clothes that their favorite influencers wear in their pictures… directly from that post! Influencers will tag the clothing as they normally would, but instead of linking back to the company’s page and having to go through the website, users will be able to click on the tag and buy that rockin’ Friends t-shirt immediately.
Instagram is also making it easier to post any content you want to! Its new Create feature on the camera lets you post all of the interactive elements that you’re accustomed to—such as stickers, polls and voting—without needing a photo or video. This means that your live streams will be decked out, and all of your friends will appreciate it.
A few weeks ago, we mentioned that Instagram was developing a donation sticker for their stories so that users could raise awareness and fundraise for their favorite non-profits. Well, it seems fitting that this week, what with all these heart-warming updates, Instagram is releasing this feature to all of you. Head onto Instagram and go start doing social good!
Pinterest is not to be left out of this group hug! It is announcing UI updates to its settings screen to make it easier for you to navigate. We definitely appreciate that, as the settings maze is always a scary place to be! Pinterest is also announcing a new feature that will help you name your boards. You will also be given a list of suggestions for what to name to your new board, just in case you’ve got a case of writer’s block. A great navigator and lots of helpful suggestions? Pinterest sounds like the perfect copilot for a frienaissance!
Snapchat
Snapchat is feeling warm and fuzzy as well. It is reaching out to advertisers and offering them video inventory at a fixed cost per mille. Advertisers will be able to purchase commercial space during premium video content on the platform. Snapchat is making this even easier by releasing a “Proposals” feature that will allow advertisers to easily review, manage, and approve their Snap Select plans without having to enter a dedicated ad management program. You’ve got advertisers’ backs, Snapchat!
Bonus: Shopify
As a little bonus for you, Shopify is making new friends this week! It will now allow clients to use Facebook dynamic ads and Snapchat story ads through their tool. For Facebook, Shopify merchants will be able to set their campaign targets, and the right products will be surfaced to the right customers through the Facebook platform. For Snapchat story ads, Shopify merchants will be able to download an app to create and manage their Snap ads, as well as directly link their shop to the ad. Way to work with your new friends, Shopify!
Whew! That was a lot! We don’t think we’ll be able to eat anything sweet for a long time… well, at least for a week, at which time we’ll be back with another installment of Spark Bites. See you then!