The world of social media is constantly evolving and marketers, business owners and even the daily Facebook user should be aware of the updates. Make sure you are subscribed to our blog to get the monthly news and updates on all things social media sent right to your inbox. Let’s see what happened this past month…
The Return of…. Google+?
The well-known search engine site is attempting to get back into the social media world with a new feature, ‘Google Posts’. Posts will allow ‘Google My Business’ users to share timely updates with Google users within the Search and Maps functions. According to Google, the posting feature gives you new ways to engage with your customers:
- Share daily specials or current promotions that encourage new and existing customers to take advantage of your offers.
- Promote events and tell customers about upcoming happenings at your location.
- Showcase your top products and highlight new arrivals.
- Choose one of the available options to connect with your customers directly from your Google listing: give them a one-click path to make a reservation, sign up for a newsletter, learn more about latest offers, or even buy a specific product from your website.
Snapchat Misses Investors Expectations for Growth
Snapchat’s Quarter 3 reports show that the company brought in $207 million revenue, up 62% YOY, but lost $443 million, which is nearly 4x the amount it lost last year in Q3. While they now have 178 million daily active users, a 17% increase from last year, this has been surpassed by both WhatsApp and Instagram Stories in size. Snapchat is planning a significant re-design to attract more users, which includes paying top content creators in the near future.
126 Million Americans Saw Russian-Backed Facebook Ads Last Year
This was the number revealed by Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch when he testified in front of Congress in early November. As the entire world has noted, that number is quite a bit more than the original figure of 10 million people that Facebook provided one month ago. A marketing director quoted by Social Times accurately sums it up by observing that this is a great case study for the power of Facebook Ads, just not the kind they have in mind. Moving forward, Facebook is testing a lengthier review process for ads that focus on hot-button topics, but given the number of ads that go out each day, that is going to be difficult.
5 Ways to Get Creative with LinkedIn Video
At the end of the summer, LinkedIn introduced LinkedIn video, a way for users for share videos with their network. These videos can be filmed with the app, or uploaded to the app after recording. After a few short months of the feature being available, users have started utilizing LinkedIn’s native video functionality in a variety of ways since. Adweek suggests tips on what to do to get the most out of LinkedIn video:
- Share what you are working on
- Share what is going on behind-the-scenes of your project
- Share interviews with people who are passionate about their work
- Share professionally relevant and authentic stories
- Share a preview of an event
Pinterest President Steps Down
The current president at Pinterest, Tim Kendall announced that he will be leaving Pinterest at the end of the year to start his own company within the healthcare industry. According to the Social Times, senior vice president for ads and commerce Jon Alferness will take his place. In a statement by Pinterest, “Jon Alferness, senior vp for ads and commerce, will now lead the world-class team driving our rapidly growing ads business. Our focus continues to be measurable and actionable results for our partners while giving Pinners relevant ideas to help them discover and do new things.”
YouTube Stories?
YouTube posted a blog at the end of November revealing that they will begin testing their own stories feature, ‘Reels.’ The post stated that, “Reels are YouTube’s spin on the popular “stories” format, but designed specifically for YouTube creators. We learned that you want the flexibility to create multiple Reels and have them not expire, so we’ll give you those options.” This new format will not be rolled out to everyone quite yet, but beta testing will begin with some users and then expand. This update was announced alongside improvements to video discoverability, optimizing of notifications and more.