Tag Archives: Social Media Today

Reddit has announced a new measure for political ads, and a new political ad transparency subreddit, in order to improve its political ad processes ahead of the coming US Presidential Election. The first addition is a new rule which will require political advertisers to leave comments switched on for all their ads for at least the first 24 hours after launch. As explained by Reddit: “Beginning today, we will require political advertisers to work directly with our sales team and leave comments “on” for (at least) the first 24 hours of any given campaign. We will strongly encourage political advertisers to use this opportunity to engage directly with users in […]

Twitter’s Global Creative Lead Joe Wadlington is back with another ‘Good Copy, Bad Copy’ Twitter tips video, this time looking at Twitter polls, and how to make best use of the option to improve your strategic approach. As explained by Wadlington, an important element to remember when creating polls is not to focus too much on engagement over utility. In the example provided, the original poll includes a more light-hearted, engaging option – ‘Cat videos’ – which makes sense as an engagement device, and a means to keep things light when seeking audience insight. But it’s also not very helpful. I mean, if everyone in your audience said that they want more […]

Among the various concerns around social platform data usage, and the amount of personal insights that they’re gathering each and every day, which can have significant consequences in relation to influence and manipulation, a question that’s been repeatedly raised is whether this could be avoided. Could social platforms make money, instead, off, say, a monthly subscription fee, which would therefore eliminate the need for them to gather and share user data in order to sell ads? That doesn’t seem like a realistic possibility. Adding a subscription fee would significantly impact growth in developing markets, while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has specifically stated that “there will always be a version of […]

After rolling out access to Direct messages via the web last week, Instagram is now also giving users the option to view Instagram Live broadcasts on desktop PCs, which comes with a new, less intrusive format, and URLs to cross-promote your streams. As you can see in this image, shared by Android Police, when viewing Instagram Live streams on the web, you get a compressed view, in line with vertical, mobile presentation, but it also separates the comments and video, displaying them side-by-side. That means that while you’re not utilizing the full-screen, you are, arguably, getting a better viewing experience because your view is not being impeded by comments that […]

Instagram has released a new update for its separate IGTV app, which aims to put more emphasis on top creators, who are key to maximizing engagement with the video platform. The main aesthetic change is the homepage – as you can see in the middle frame above, the IGTV home screen will now feature a popular creator up at the top, in a sort of showcase frame. The creator highlighted to you will be based on your usage – and as you can see, the banner image is fairly prominent, which should encourage more viewing of top creator content. That’s an important element for IGTV – as many video platforms have found […]

We all know the basic definition – viral content is anything posted online that reaches intense popularity, often in the short term, but occasionally in the long-term too. It can make your brand a household name, and spur massive interest in your products – but how do you do it? How do you ‘go viral’ and get maximum performance out of your content efforts? One of the most interesting elements of viral content is what actually does ‘go viral’. Often it’s the most random clips, images and stories, bringing sudden unexpected success, and even launching people’s careers as a result. And while it does tend to be relatively random, there are […]

While social media usage is currently at all-time highs amid the COVID-19 lockdowns, it may also be worth considering other avenues for your marketing, and how to you can reach audiences to boost engagement. One option to consider on this front could be Facebook Messenger, which, according to this new infographic from Branex, is only used by around 31% of businesses in their outreach efforts. Messages sent via Messenger see a higher open rate, and can enhance connection with your audience in a more intimate communications channel. You do need to approach messaging with a level of caution, as it can be easier to overstep the mark when connecting with […]

Despite everything going on with COVID-19, we’ve found a silver lining in getting to host our #SMTLive Twitter chats for you more often these days. This week, we discussed adjusting social media budgets due to recent Coronavirus-related changes. It was fascinating to see how everyone is innovating and improvising financially. If you were able to join this week’s Twitter chat, we hope you learned something about adjusting your budget from the other talented social media marketers in this chat. If you missed it, not to worry, we’ve recapped the highlights for you below. Q1 – Whether you’re a freelancer, an agency or part of an in-house marketing team, there’s a high […]

The big tech news to end last week was that Apple and Google have agreed to a partnership which will enable health authorities to better track COVID-19 patients, and alert people who’ve been in contact with them, which could provide significant help in containing the virus. The process would work like this: Apple and Google will provide tools that will enable combined device tracing across both iOS and Android devices, which will mean that no matter what device a person is using, a central process will be able to track it, based on proximity signals via Bluetooth Health authorities will then be able to develop apps that can trace which […]

Facebook has published a new, 64-page guide of key tips and notes to help brands and organizations maintain connection with their Facebook and Instagram audiences amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The guide covers all aspects of Facebook and Instagram content, including Stories, live-streaming, IGTV, groups and more. Each section includes notes on how to make best use of the latest features and updates, along with the key considerations for audiences in relation to the pandemic. Here’s an overview of some of the key elements: First off, Facebook provides notes on what to keep in mind when communicating at this time. The guide also lays out more specific pointers on how to […]