Tag Archives: Social Media Today

Back in 2018, in the midst of the furor surrounding how Cambridge Analytica had allegedly utilized Facebook data to manipulate voter actions in various elections, many of the key questions related to Facebook’s lax protection measures, which had enabled organizations like CA to access the platform’s vast data banks in the first place. Facebook responded to this, instituting a new app review system and new limits on data access via its APIs. And now, Facebook has announced the next stage in this process, with a new, annual ‘Data Use Checkup’ which all apps that use Facebook’s APIs will be subjected to going forward. As per Facebook: “Today, we are announcing early testing […]

Looking to play its part to provide assistance to businesses amid the COVID-19 shutdowns, visual content archive Shutterstock has this week launched a new resource hub for COVID-19 related content and tools, which includes a selection of free visuals for use by SMBs. The resource hub includes curated image collections for use by media partners, including stock images, infographics and other content. In addition to this, Shutterstock has provided limited sets of free images, videos, and music for SMBs, with a focus on content that may help to communicate key trending topics, including the shift to online trading and working from home, among others. The visual collections are, understandably, limited, but […]

Facebook has provided a new set of templates to help businesses communicate key messages amid the COVID-19 shutdowns around the world. As per Facebook: “We know that many businesses are facing unexpected challenges at the moment, including keeping in touch with customers, so we wanted to share a few things that you can do to get ahead of these challenges and stay connected.” The templates, as you can see above, provide simple, visual tools that you can use to help communicate key business changes, including directing people to online purchasing options, offering alternative support options, promoting gift cards to help support your business and more. Any business can download the […]

GIFs have become a key part of how many people communicate online, providing a simple, engaging way to share a mood, a response or just remember a great movie clip. And as with all digital communications mediums, GIFs have seen a big increase in usage amid the COVID-19 lockdowns. Leading GIF platform GIPHY says that it’s seen a 33% increase in usage over the past month, with more than 10 billion pieces of content being shared on the platform each day. That’s also lead to some new usage trends and shifts, which provide some interesting indicators on what people are doing, when they’re doing it, and how GIFs are being […]

Instagram has launched a new ‘Thank You Hour’ initiative, which will see Stories frames that include the new ‘Thank You Hour’ sticker added to a collective Story that showcases the various things that people are appreciative for amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As explained by Instagram: “Today we’re launching Thank You Hour, a sticker in stories that lets you show gratitude for what’s helping you through this time. Use the sticker and your photo or video will be added to a shared Instagram story at 7 p.m. your time where friends can see your thanks.” The collective Thank You Hour story will respect existing privacy settings, so your Story content won’t […]

Facebook has filed new lawsuit over violation of its terms and conditions, this time taking aim at a company called ‘LeadCloak’ and its use of ad ‘cloaking’ to re-direct user actions. As explained by Facebook: “Cloaking is a malicious technique that impairs ad review systems by concealing the nature of the website linked to an ad. When ads are cloaked, a company’s ad review system may see a website showing an innocuous product such as a sweater, but a user will see a different website, promoting deceptive products and services which, in many cases, are not allowed.” Facebook’s Integrity Team Lead Rob Leathern provided this video overview of how cloaking works […]

With people spending more time on social platforms amid the COVID-19 lockdowns, Facebook has added a new ‘Quiet Mode’ option to help better manage and control your Facebook usage, while it’s also revamped its ‘Your Time on Facebook’ listings in order to provide users with more information as to how, exactly, they’re spending their time in the app. As explained by Facebook: “As we all adjust to new routines and staying home, setting boundaries for how you spend your time online can be helpful. We’ve added Quiet Mode, which mutes most push notifications, and if you try to open Facebook while in Quiet Mode, you’ll be reminded that you set this […]

Rising video app TikTok has announced a new $250 million donation to assist frontline workers combating COVID-19, which comes in addition to the app’s $10 million donation to the World Health Organization, which it announced last month. As per TikTok: “We are committed to playing our part in that global outpouring of mutual support and giving. We want to magnify all we are seeing across our community and translate it into concrete relief for those most affected by this crisis.” TikTok’s latest donation will be split into several elements: $150 million in funding will go towards medical staffing, supplies and hardship relief for health care workers $40 million in cash […]

When a major crisis impacts your operations, brands are forced to re-think their marketing strategies, and the ways in which they communicate with their audiences on social media. With the COVID-19 pandemic, however, things are a little different. The coronavirus outbreak has impacted everybody, with every business across the world altered in some form as a result of the global lockdowns and mitigation measures to limit the virus’ spread. That’s forced all of us to re-assess what we’re sharing, when we’re sharing it, and how we stay connected with people via social platforms. To help with this, the team at Socialinsider have put together this overview of the evolution of the COVID-19 […]

After more than a year of testing, Instagram has now expanded user access to Instagram Direct messages via the web version of the app, enabling users to interact with their Instagram DMs via desktop. Instagram first started testing desktop access to Direct in February last year, then began rolling it out to selected users in January – though it noted at that time that it was still, very much, in test mode. Now, more users are able to access the option. To check if you have it, head to www.instagram.com and log in to your Instagram account. The addition will make Instagram’s messaging tools more widely accessible, as not all users are […]