Today Spark Bites has your weekly round-up of all social media updates. Twitter shows support for Suicide Prevention Day, Facebook is revamping their canvas ads, LinkedIn is cracking down on fake accounts, and Google has axed Inbox. That’s only the tip of the iceberg this week, so read on for all the details!
- From September 7th-16th, any time a Twitter user includes one of the following hashtags in a tweet: #WorldSuicidePreventionDay, #SuidicePrevention, #WSPD2018, or #WSPD, a special emoji will appear. The orange ribbon emoji, which is a symbol for Suicide Prevention Day, is an important step forward for Twitter joining the conversation around mental health. Additionally, the platform will provide easy access to resources and links for any individuals who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts. Twitter is taking the lead on an important subject, and we hope that other social media outlets will follow suit.
- Christmas is only 102 days away and Facebook is as excited as we are! This holiday season, the social media giant will be unveiling new holiday themed ad options, which will no doubt help brands stand out during the busiest time of the year. More specifically, the platform will be adding new templates to their Dynamic Ad layouts, and adding a little Christmas flare to their Video Creation Kit Tool. Merry Facebook and happy advertising!
- On a less festive note, Facebook will also be expanding their fact checking capabilities in order to detect fake photos and videos. This means that Facebook will once again be cracking down on Fake News. Once a video or picture is flagged for review, Facebook will use resources like reverse image searching to find the original picture. Sherlock Holmes is shaking.
- We all know Millenials don’t want “things,” they want an experience. Facebook has their finger on the pulse and has renamed their immersive Canvas ads ads accordingly to ‘Instant Experience’. The feature offers a mini in-app store experience, and the update provides new creative template options and improved load time. The templates are available on both Facebook and Instagram, and can offer a fresh, immersive way to connect with an audience. What an experience!
- Catfishing just got a bit harder on LinkedIn! The platform is working to stamp out fake accounts, a bigger problem than you might think. LinkedIn is a hub for important professional and personal information, which is a goldmine for data grabbing. In order to suss out potential fakers, LinkedIn is looking for spam posts and multiple accounts being run by the same person. LinkedIn, my hero!
- Looking for a networking experience a step-up in professionalism from your local bowling league? You’re in luck, because LinkedIn recently launched a new Groups experience. The updated Groups capabilities will allow users to post videos, images and rich media, as well as reply to comments and edit group posts and comments. There are also new Group notifications, and the ability to manage who can join your group. While the previous version ended up being a junkyard for spam messages, these updates are a step in the right direction for LinkedIn Groups.
- Looks like Instagram’s getting a case of the zoomies. The social media platform is adding six new Superzoom effects for you and your friends to play around with. Alas, the update has not been released to everyone yet. Patience is a virtue, we suppose.
- Seems like there’s a parenting book for just about everything these days. Instagram has released a new guide for parents to help them understand what’s happening on their app and how to keep their kids safe while they use the app. It’s quite commendable that Instagram’s guide is trying to bridge the gap for parents and their kids’ social media use… though we also wouldn’t mind a guide on how to get the perfect angle for a foodie photo.
- Reach for the stars—oh wait, nevermind. Instagram is updating stars into flags within the Direct Message function. These stars, which have now become flags, are used to mark certain messages as important in the inbox. When is national flag day anyway?
Snapchat
- Snapchat has recently expanded the Our Story feature to various media partners such as CNN and NBC News. If you’re unfamiliar about what Our Story is, it’s a crowdsourced feature that collects snaps centered around a specific category, such as a sports game, and creates a story that offers a unique perspective of the event. With this feature now available to Snap’s partners, it offers a way for Snapchat to show breaking news stories. This just in: the news is hot and so is Snapchat!
- Say goodbye to Inbox! Google announced this week that they will be doing away with the productivity-focused mail app by Gmail. The app will meet its demise at the end of March 2019. But fear not! All the best things about Inbox like the email snooze and smart replies will be adapted by Gmail going forward.
Thanks for reading this week’s social media round up! Make sure to come back next week for the next instalment of social media updates. Until next time!
