Welcome to this week’s edition of Spark Bites ― your one-stop-shop for the latest in social media news! While some social networks crowdsourced their housekeeping, others got in on all the Oscars buzz. Read on to find out more!
- After a major News Feed overhaul that prioritizes user-generated content over published media, Facebook is now trying to get back into publishers’ good graces. The social network launched a Local News Subscription Accelerator program which will aid U.S.-based publishers in gaining a larger audience. The program facilitates training for publishers to learn about subscriber-acquisition by Facebook’s “digital subscription experts.”
- In an effort to make its advertising platform more efficient, Facebook removed 20 ad performance metrics that it deemed redundant. Furthermore, it launched “metric labels,” which will differentiate hard data from “estimated” or “in development” metrics. This feature is expected to aid marketers with strategy direction and planning.
- Facebook expanded its job posts feature to 40 more countries this week. The feature enables business pages to post and advertise job openings. In turn, job seekers can apply for jobs on the platform itself and also use Messenger to schedule interviews. Looks like Facebook is giving LinkedIn a run for its money.
- Facebook Watch is all set to live-stream this year’s Academy Awards on March 4, 2018. This is the second award show the platform will be airing after the Golden Globes red carpet pre-show. Looks like the social network is aiming to conquer the live-stream space by competing with Hulu, YouTube and the like.
- Facebook seems to be doing some introspection. It served a poll to users last week, asking if they thought Facebook was “good for the world.” Users could agree, disagree, or remain neutral.
- Twitter launched a “Bookmarks” feature, which allows users to save tweets without having to like or retweet them. Saved tweets can then be accessed through the new Bookmarks option in the profile menu.
- In an ongoing effort to combat bots and cyber abuse, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asked for external help in measuring the toxicity of the platform’s content. In a series of tweets, Dorsey invited project-proposals from the public on how Twitter can determine whether its content primarily drives “healthy debate, conversations, and critical thinking” or “abuse, spam, and manipulation.” The company will implement the chosen project in partnership with the applicant during July 2018.
Snapchat
- Despite its ill-received redesign, Snapchat is drawing more 18-24 year-old users than Instagram. According to Pew Research Center’s Social Media Use in 2018 report, 78 percent of survey respondents aged 18-24 use Snapchat versus 71 percent of them who use Instagram. Looks like things are finally looking up for Snapchat!
- Pinterest hired Francoise Brougher as its first Chief Operating Officer. Brougher was formerly Google’s vice president of SMB global sales and operations and Square’s business lead. She will now lead Pinterest’s global operations, advertising and partner marketing.
That’s all for this week, folks! We’ll be back with more exciting social media news in our next Spark Bites installment. Until then, check out our work or contact us for expert digital marketing help!