Here’s my summary and opinion on the week’s social media news that matters including new developments from Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.
You can watch my take on latest news on THE #SocialToday SHOW below. I do the show every Monday morning at 8.45am BST on Facebook Live. Feel free to ask me questions by posting in the Comments during or after the broadcast or under this blog post, or by tweeting me @intranetfuture.
Facebook – Facebook has rolled out the ability to use video when adding Comments to posts following on from the addition of emojis and stickers to Comments. Facebook’s Bob Baldwin states: “Videos in Comments are now available worldwide! You can upload them as replies to posts by people and Pages, as well as within Groups and Events. It’s supported on desktop web, iOS, and Android.” So if you want to reply to a client’s question on your Page or in your Group why not make an impression by recording a posting a video?
Some users are now able to upload 360 photos to Facebook. Simply, take a panoramic photo with a 360 photo app or camera and post it like a normal photo. 360 photos will have a compass symbol on the right hand side, signifying to users that they are able to tilt their phone or drag with their mouse to see more of the image. Photos can also be viewed using a VR headset such as the Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear VR. The video below explains.
Introducing 360 Photos on Facebook from Facebook on Vimeo.
Facebook Live – Facebook Live is now available in Groups. If you use a Group to grow a Community, provide them with extra value by using Facebook Live to run Q and As or to provide useful information.
Instagram – Instagram is now more popular than Twitter amongst advertisers according to a survey of 83 advertisers by Strata although the results are disputed by Twitter. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed cited Instagram as their platform of choice compared to 56% who chose Twitter.
It’s now easier to share photos from iPhones and iPads. Yo can now post directly to Instagram from Photos or other iOS apps. Users can select an image and use the share menu to post directly. It’s also possible to add a caption in the process without having to open the Instagram app.
Twitter – It’s been reported that 32 million Twitter accounts have been hacked with user names and password put up for sale. Although there is a question mark as to whether the data is authentic, Twitter has sent many of its users notification that their accounts have been locked for security reasons, along with a request to reset passwords. Even if you haven’t had an email this is a good time to reset your password and review your connected applications. Here’s how – Reduce risk of your Twitter account being hacked.
Twitter has introduced Twitter Insiders. According to Twitter’s blog it’s “a network of more than 12,000 Twitter users that participate in research studies… [and] act as an anonymous virtual panel from across the US and the UK, inspiring businesses to make a more customer-centric decision.”
Twitter has a shiny new Android app which has a neat and tidy menu at the top which makes it easier to move among the different sections of Twitter. It also features a floating action button which you can use no matter which part of Twitter you are on. It’s a big improvement!
A revamped look and feel for our @Android app, now rolling out globally! See what’s new: https://t.co/MOaWKJgjqc pic.twitter.com/snL8pBLnDL
— Twitter (@twitter) June 7, 2016
Periscope – Periscope is providing support for Community Meetups with “tips, tricks and FAQs” to make planning and joining local events easy. Event organizers can submit their meetups to Periscope here. Periscope will then share details of the event on a web page and if you’re lucky will tweet about it to keep more people up to date. I’ve just registered Laptop Friday in Cardiff.
LinkedIn – LinkedIn Premium members now have access to Premium Insights on Company Pages. This is a new feature that provides “unique and timely data about the companies that interest you – their growth as well as hiring trends by function.” STOP PRESS: After publication of this blog post it’s been announced that Microsoft have purchased LinkedIn for $26 billion. More on this in my video above.
Number of the week – 40. Nearly 40% of Twitter users say they’ve made a purchase as a direct result of a Tweet from an influencer. Source: Twitter and Annalect.