Tag Archives: Social Media Today

Among the various impacts of the COVID-19 shutdowns, one of more significant aspects that can get overlooked is the amount of social and development time that youngsters are losing out on by being at home, and away from schools, sports and other connective events. Teenagers, in particular, are at a crucial stage of their lives, where they’re learning more about who they are, what they’re interested in, and where they stand in the broader social scale. The more they miss out on this, the bigger the impact becomes, so it’s important, where possible, that we look to facilitate ways for younger people to connect with friends and maintain those links, […]

Among the various impacts of the COVID-19 shutdowns, one of more significant aspects that can get overlooked is the amount of social and development time that youngsters are losing out on by being at home, and away from schools, sports and other connective events. Teenagers, in particular, are at a crucial stage of their lives, where they’re learning more about who they are, what they’re interested in, and where they stand in the broader social scale. The more they miss out on this, the bigger the impact becomes, so it’s important, where possible, that we look to facilitate ways for younger people to connect with friends and maintain those links, […]

After recently ramping up its efforts to remove videos that include ‘medically unsubstantiated’ claims about COVID-19 from its platform, YouTube has now announced another element in its push to reduce the distribution of coronavirus conspiracy theories, with the expansion of its fact-check pop-up alerts on searches that are prone to misinformation. As you can see in this example, the new ‘independent fact check’ alerts will appear on searches related to topics that have seen significant misinformation, or have been debated by official review sources. YouTube partners with various fact-checking organizations to review such claims, and the alerts aim to help reduce the spread of misinformation by providing alternate links to authoritative […]

Instagram has published a new COVID-19 playbook for businesses, which outlines a range of ways in which brands and marketers can make best use of the platform’s various tools to help maintain connection with their audiences, and maximize performance, during the global pandemic. The guide includes both specific tips on what you should be looking to use Instagram’s functions for, as well as ‘how to’ overviews for each element. The first section of the guide looks specifically at how brands can ‘take action during COVID-19’ by utilizing the available tools, including notes on Instagram Live, IGTV and Stories. These are some good pointers and considerations – and while Instagram only touches on […]

Instagram continues to explore new ways to help people and businesses impacted by COVID-19. Today, Instagram has launched a new fundraising option within Instagram Live, which will enable users to raise funds during a Instagram Live stream – like a small-scale telethon via the app. As explained by Instagram: “Many people are facing challenges at this time, and we want to do our part to support nonprofits and communities who need it the most. Now, you can easily create a fundraiser on Live with 100% of the money raised going directly to the nonprofit of your choice.” As you can see in the above screenshots, to create your own Instagram […]

If you run a big Twitter account, you may have noted a significant drop in your follower count over the last few weeks. That’s because Twitter has removed millions of accounts linked to a potential vulnerability in its SMS service, which has also lead to Twitter switching off its tweets by SMS option permanently in most regions. We want to continue to help keep your account safe. We’ve seen vulnerabilities with SMS, so we’ve turned off our Twitter via SMS service, except for a few countries. Everyone will still have access to important SMS messages needed to log in to and manage their accounts. — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) April 27, […]

Snapchat has this week announced the launch of a new ad offering called ‘First Commercial’, which will enable advertisers to own ‘the influential first commercial a user sees when they tune into Snap’s robust suite of shows’. The offering will help Snapchat maximize the potential of its original content offerings – in its most recent performance update, Snap noted that the total daily time spent by Snapchatters watching Discover content has increased by over 35%, year-over-year, while total daily time spent by Snapchatters watching Shows has more than doubled versus Q1 2019. Indeed, over the last year, Snap has seen a steady rise in interest in its Snap Original programs, with more than […]

After implementing new restrictions on how many times messages can be re-shared by users earlier this month, WhatsApp says that it’s seen a major reduction in the distribution of forwarded content, significantly reducing the spread of misinformation within the app. As explained by WhatsApp (via Business Standard): “WhatsApp is committed to doing our part in tackling viral messages. Since putting into place the new limit, globally, there has been a 70% reduction in the number of highly forwarded messages sent on WhatsApp. This change is helping keep WhatsApp a place for personal and private conversations.” WhatsApp initially limited message sharing last January, restricting forwarding to five times per message, before it implemented […]

Hashtag challenges are an essential element of TikTok, providing inspiration for users to create their own takes on trending content, and take part in broader shifts. They’ve become so big that they’ve even passed a key social media milestone – they’ve been cloned by Instagram, which means that they must be gaining real traction. But more than just an engagement tool for regular users, businesses can also utilize hashtag challenges to expand their branding efforts on the platform. It’s not a given – it’s difficult to know what will resonate and catch on, and what’ll fall flat. But hashtag challenges do provide another consideration for marketers on TikTok, which, used […]

Facebook is quickly moving to boost its eCommerce presence in India following the purchase of a 10% stake in local internet provider Jio for $5.7 billion earlier this month. As reported by TechCrunch, JioMart, an eCommerce division of Jio’s parent company Reliance, is now testing an ordering system on WhatsApp which enables users to order common grocery items within the messaging app. As explained by TechCrunch: “[Users] can initiate an order by texting “Hi” to +91-8850008000, which prompts a link that opens a mini store on the browser, allowing them to pick a range of grocery products including toothpaste, snacks, tea and coffee, rice, and cooking oil. Once an order has been […]