In the social media world, a lot can change in a day, let alone a whole month! So we’ve put together a mashup of the main things that have happened in August…
Instagram launched new Business profiles:
Instagram has launched Business profiles, designed to help advertisers on the platform stand out from ordinary users and equip them with greater measurement capabilities. Business profiles will enable brands to have a contact button, provide brands with Insights, a mobile analytics suite and Promote, a tool that will let brands position well-performing posts at the top of users’ news feeds. The rollout has begun and it is now available in the UK, which means Crowd will be busy switching over our clients’ Instagram profiles to Business ones.
Twitter launched a new marketing push:
One of Twitter’s main problems is that potential users are unsure of what it's actually for. Outsiders seem to view it as a social networking platform whereas Twitter believe they are a news platform. In the hope of combating stalling user numbers, Twitter are embarking on a marketing push, including a 45-second spot to demonstrate that ‘What’s happening’ is happening on Twitter.
Facebook changed Page design: Facebook’s new layout will be rolled out to all Pages over the next few months. The new layout separates the cover photo from the profile image, avoiding concerns about an overlap. The call-to-action button is now more prominent, made blue and given more separation from the ‘Like’ and ‘More’ options. The page information has been shifted to the opposite side and the right rail ads have been totally removed. In addition, the new format brings more focus to the actual Page content, which is now front and centre. Snapchat launched Geostickers: Instead of sulking over the fact that Instagram and Facebook are copying everything it does, Snapchat have launched a new feature called Geostickers. Geostickers can only be found in specific locations and users have to have location services enabled. So far they are available in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Washington DC, Honolulu, London, Sydney, São Paulo, Paris and Riyadh.
Instagram launched Stories:
Instagram’s new Stories feature has generated a massive buzz in the social media world and is an attempt to encourage its users to create and share more content on the platform. The feature lets users post photos and videos that vanish after 24 hours… sound familiar?
Pinterest launching video ads:
Pinboard app Pinterest is launching its first video ads for the UK and US. The ads will look like regular pins. Once a user clicks on an ad, the video expands across the screen and underneath, pins will link to products featured in the video. The video ads will initially only be available on mobile, which makes up more than 80 percent of Pinterest's traffic, but a desktop rollout is planned in the future.
LinkedIn launches native video feature:
Video has seen a huge growth on social media over the past few years, so it comes as no surprise that LinkedIn are adding a video feature to their network. The native video feature will enable users to better connect with prospective business partners and employers. The feature allows users to use a mobile app, “LinkedIn Record,” to film and share themselves answering questions submitted by other LinkedIn users.
