Here’s the replay of Monday 7 August’s #SocialMediaShow which was broadcast live via my Facebook Profile from Cardiff. This week we have 23 social media news stories (see below) with insights plus the usual features – Headline, Question Time, Top Tip, Tools Talk, Number of the Week plus a quirky story from the world of social media with And Finally.
The #SocialMediaShow is aimed at people who work with or who are interested in social media. If that’s you, and you want to keep up on the latest news throughout the week plus get access to insider tips, then check out Social Media Professionals – a very affordable £10 per month or keep in touch for free by joining my newsletter subscribers.
FACEBOOK NEWS
1. Hot of the press – Facebook is testing a new Explore Feed, a new area on the News Feed. This is interesting as users will see content that they haven’t signed up for. That is there’ll be updates from Pages of news and media organisations that you haven’t Liked. But a good way of providing people with a ‘wider perspective’ and an algorithm will be used to provided content that is ‘relevant’ to the reader.
2. I’ve mentioned Stories being launched on desktop before but this feature, although still a test, is being rolled out more widely.
3. Video metrics – there’ll be more metrics for video creators but less for those that re-share videos. Seems fair enough.
4. Facebook has launched a useful guide providing Tips on Creating Video Ads for Facebook and Instagram. It’s centred around re-purposing TV content but there are some good tips in there. For example: Set the scene quickly. Most TV adverts spend a long time setting up context. On mobile, it’s important to capture attention immediately and plunge people directly into the drama.
5. After last week’s news that Facebook Groups ‘link to Pages’ has now been rolled out globally Facebook are testing Badges for Group Admins to help members identify Admins.
6. Facebook Groups app on iOS is disappearing on 1 Sept. The focus is going to be on Groups in the main app and indeed Groups have been getting a lot of attention recently with tons of new features.
7. In the US, Facebook’s News Feed now features alerts about charitable donations in the News Feed and gives readers the option to donate via buttons beneath the post.
8. Facebook appears to be rolling out a new interactive comments feature in which greetings of “Congratulations” or “Congrats” in posts and comments are published in red and generate animated confetti and balloons when clicked. Similarly, sending Xs and Os generates a burst of red hearts. This feature is only available to some users at present.
9. Facebook will soon rank web page links on mobile based on loading speed. The learning point here is that your mobile website needs to load fast otherwise you won’t find links to it appearing very much in the news feed. To accompany this upcoming change to the news feed Facebook has published some tips on ways publishers can make their sites faster and more mobile-friendly.
10..The smart speaker being developed by Facebook in its notorious ‘Building 8’ that I referred to in last week’s #SocialMediaShow is also rumoured to be capable of video chat.
11. On the desktop version of Facebook some users are being prompted to share events via Messenger in Events section. Great news for Event organisers!
12. Translation has taken a big leap forward on Facebook and is now carried out in full with neural networks and AI.
13. Product tags have been rolled out more widely to Facebook Business Pages. Every business needs a Shop or Services section on their Facebook Page – have you got yours? You can then setup products each with it’s own heading, description and price.
14. Expect more local politics to appear in your news feed. In the US updates from Mayors are starting to appear even if you’re not following them. These updates appear once per week.
FACEBOOK LIVE
15. Live is now available for more users in Facebook Stories. I tried one regarding Laptop Friday last week.
16. You can now “Go Live” directly from Facebook camera – both video and audio.
INSTAGRAM NEWS
17. Instagram say that users of the site aged 25 and under spend an average of more than 32 minutes a day on the photo-sharing app. Wow!
LINKEDIN NEWS
18. If you are looking to make the most of your LinkedIn Company Page – good news! LinkedIn have published a LinkedIn Company Page Playbook.
19. The new mentor/mentee LinkedIn feature I’ve mentioned could be launched as an app.
TWITTER
20. Does this look like a bird to you? Well, apparently it isn’t. At least according to Twitter.
Their “Do not use metaphorically to suggest a bird. It’s not a bird, it’s a symbol of Twitter.” I do wonder about the people who run Twitter sometimes.
21. On Windows desktops there is a new font for Twitter. It’s called Segoe.
22. Will Twitter be around in a year? There’s a good debate going on over on LinkedIn. What do you think?
PINTEREST NEWS
23. Pinterest has made Search and Lens Camera easier to access on iOS by adding the search toolbar and Lens Camera feature on the home feed. This update is coming soon to Android.
AND FINALLY
There have been a number of fake Facebook Live broadcasts recently but last night the fake footage reached new heights with live streaming of an Alien invasion complete with CNN logo.
Upcoming social media workshops in Gloucester
How to sell yourself and grow your business with LinkedIn (Gloucester) – 10 August
Advanced Social Media Workshop (Gloucester) – 15 August
How to sell yourself and grow your business with LinkedIn (Gloucester) – 12 September
Facebook Masterclass – (Gloucester) – 19 September
Questions? Need help with social media?
For more information about how we can help with your social media efforts including other social media training options please call me, Jonathan, on 029 2078 9139. Alternatively you can email, tweet or message via Facebook.