Tag Archives: Social Media Today

Facebook has this week announced a new set of holiday-themed features for its Facebook Kids app, which is aimed at facilitating social sharing among users aged 6 – 12. First off, Facebook is adding some new masks and AR-style overlays for images. As explained by Facebook: “Kids can explore different masks, filters and sticker experiences in the Messenger Kids camera, including rocking out as the dancing Santa; learning about Hanukkah using the menorah filter; adding the celebratory Kwanzaa frame to a photo; or ringing in the new year with the 2020 fireworks and confetti filter.”  Facebook says that it’ll continue to add in new masks and filters every couple of […]

With influencer marketing set to remain a significant consideration in 2020, particularly on Instagram, Facebook is now looking to provide an easier, more direct way for brands and Instagram creators to collaborate on campaigns and partnerships. Last year, Facebook launched its Brand Collabs Manager tool, which is essentially a search engine for Facebook creators, in order to help brands find relevant, on-platform influencers to connect with. Now, Facebook is opening up Brand Collabs Manager to Instagram creators as well, which will make it a more comprehensive creator marketplace tool, and could, potentially, establish the building blocks for the definitive Instagram influencer database. As explained by Facebook: “…we’re opening up Facebook’s […]

Could LinkedIn groups make a comeback in 2020? Once a key feature of the app, LinkedIn groups gradually lost user focus as they became increasingly bogged down with random spam and self-promotion, to the point where, for most, they just weren’t usable anymore. But it still seems like a great opportunity for LinkedIn’s professional community. If LinkedIn can get groups right. And if LinkedIn can line group improvements up with the broader trends towards increased in-app engagement, LinkedIn groups could become a thing again. Maybe. This week, LinkedIn may have taken another step in that direction with the announcement of a new set of groups updates and tools designed to […]

Facebook continues its confusing approach to fact checking with a new program that will see the appointment of a team of ‘community reviewers’, a diverse group of non-Facebook employees who will be called upon to check potentially false reports. As explained by Facebook: “The program will have community reviewers work as researchers to find information that can contradict the most obvious online hoaxes or corroborate other claims. These community reviewers are not Facebook employees but instead will be hired as contractors through one of our partners. They are not making final decisions themselves. Instead, their findings will be shared with the third-party fact-checkers as additional context as they do their […]

After first being spotted in testing back in August, Instagram has this week officially launched its new Layout mode for Stories, which provides a range of grid display styles for still images within a single frame. Strike a pose. And another pose. And then another. ???? With Layout, you can now capture and share multiple photos in your story — a new, creative way to express yourself. Check it out! pic.twitter.com/j02aYOjsoO — Instagram (@instagram) December 17, 2019 As you can see in the example above, the Layout option, which will be among your Stories camera modes, provides a range of presentation styles to choose from, which you can scroll through, […]

Data analytics company Klear has conducted a new report on the state of influencer marketing on Instagram, analyzing over three million sponsored posts in order to identify key trends and shifts of note. And the data shows that influencer marketing is, indeed, on the rise. According to Klear’s analysis, the number of Instagram posts using the #ad hashtag, signifying a brand partnership, increased by almost 50% in 2019. That’s probably not surprising – with Instagram seeing more usage, it makes sense that brands would also be looking to align with that shift. But in looking at those posts which include the #ad hashtag, Klear was also able to establish some […]

Snapchat has this week launched a new movie preview ad format called a “trailer reaction lens” as part of a campaign for the upcoming Paramount Pictures film “Top Gun: Maverick”. As you can see here, the new Lens switches your view to split screen, with the trailer on top, and the front-facing camera on the bottom. Users can then film their reactions to the trailer, while they can also add dedicated digital mask-type tools to their image, adding to the feel of the film. The format seems somewhat similar to TikTok’s ‘React’ option, which enables users to share their video responses to TikTok videos. The option also reminded me of this web […]

With misinformation causing significant division and disagreement online, and leading to widespread confusion around major issues, Facebook has launched a new education course, in partnership with Reuters, which aims to teach journalists what to look for in the use of manipulated media. As reported by Axios: “Facebook is spending six figures to fund a course on manipulated media and deepfakes for newsrooms, executives. The course material has been developed by Reuters, and Facebook is funding its international expansion as a part of the Facebook Journalism Project.” The course itself, which is publicly accessible here, provides an overview of the growing issues around manipulated media, including deepfakes, which Facebook has also […]

In case there was any question of Facebook’s dominance, a new report from app analytics firm App Annie has shown that The Social Network owns the top four most downloaded mobile apps over the last decade. As you can see, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram lead the way in total downloads for the period. Which is no real surprise, but it is worth noting the company’s hold over the mobile market, and the success of its business model and approach over the last ten years. Facebook has, of course, made various mistakes and missteps in its expansion, and it continues to push ahead with some contentious decisions. But it’s tough to […]

Looking to update your social media marketing approach in 2020? This week, LinkedIn has published a simple, five-step checklist for social media marketing success, which is based on insights gleaned from its ‘Live with Marketers‘ podcast series. On ‘Live with Marketers‘, LinkedIn conducts interviews with a range of social media marketing experts, on topics ranging from brand storytelling to effective measurement and metrics. if you haven’t checked it out, it’s worth adding to your podcast rotation – you can access all the episodes of the podcast here. Based on this, LinkedIn has narrowed down its key social media marketing lessons to this checklist: It seems like social media marketing success, which has […]