Social Media RoundUp: The Latest Social Platform Updates You Need To Know
From minor and less noticeable updates in the first half of 2018, our favorite social media platforms have become bolder with their updates. They’ve become more confident in integrating features from one another into their own unique platforms especially in marketing, ads, and stories. And they’ve generally been consistent in releasing updates focusing on improving user experience as much as business opportunities. Each of them is expanding their features molding their platforms to how we utilize them. And there’s a lot to catch up on. Here are the specifics for the latest social media updates you need to know:
New Mobile Look. Facebook is the app with the most noticeable changes in its looks. The app has now added shortcuts to our most accessed features and put them beside the News Feed, Notification, and Menu icons on the navigation bar. These shortcuts may include Marketplace, Watch, friend requests, Groups, or our profiles.
Watch. One main focus that has emerged on Facebook is the videos which the app has compiled in one neat feature. Now, all videos from the pages and people you follow are all in one place. You’ll be notified of new video updates and the pages you view most will be on the top section of your recommendations. Another video feature that has recently rolled out is the Watch Party feature in groups. It’s like Facebook live, or Instagram Live exclusive for a group. There, admins or moderators of a group can select a video for you and other members to watch and comment in real time.
Business. Facebook has also compiled businesses into the Marketplace feature. There you have options to buy, sell, bookmark/ save, and to pick out categories to scroll through. In the News Feed, business pages are still present as “instant experiences.” Clicking on them takes you to a full-screen interactive preface where you’ll be able to see key information about the business. Businesses can now also edit the buttons displayed on their home pages. You can now easily connect with a business and set an appointment, place an order, or ask a direct message through one click.
Ads. Facebook has now given advertisers a chance to choose the placement of their ads. Before advertisers could only block their content from appearing on specific categories but now, they have a complete list of possible placements. In addition to that, Facebook is also adapting Instagrams’s Stories Ads. It hasn’t fully rolled out yet but, business who’ve tried it are seeing very positive results.
Snooze. Instead of harsh blocking, you can now opt to temporarily keep a post, a poster, or specific keywords away from your feed. Simply click on the drop-down menu and look for the snooze option which will keep the page or person quiet on your feed for 30 days. For snoozing specific keywords, it will hide away all posts containing the words you entered.
Time Management. Both Instagram and Facebook are testing time management tools for users to be more aware of the time they consume on the apps. It’s found in the settings tab on both apps, and it shows a specific timetable of your average daily time on the app. You can also set alerts to remind you of how much time you’ve already been scrolling. However, it doesn’t block or stop the app when your time limit is up.
Online Friends. Instagram has also adapted Messengers features wherein you can see who’s online and who’s not through a bright green dot on the side of the profile picture. You can see this in the DM feature for friends who follow you or who you’ve connected with recently.
Business. Instagram has also upgraded the opportunities for businesses to showcase their products. Brands can now do product tagging on their stories just like how they tag product details on regular posts. And following on Facebook’s steps for Marketplace, Instagram is also testing out a Shopping Channel in the Explore section. It is tailored to each user’s preferences through the brands they follow and interact with. New superzoom effects are now also being added to the stories section for users or brands alike to play around with.
More information. Instagram is now putting out an “About this account” feature which can help you evaluate accounts. Simply go to the profile and click the menu button and click “About this account.” This will bring up a virtual ID containing when they joined Instagram, the country they’re in, the ads they’re running, and other accounts you share followers with.
Verified Badge. The verified badge is very much coveted, and now, anyone can apply. But, of course, only those who meet the criteria will be given that blue badge.
Chronological Timeline. Instead of the “best posts first” that seem to have flared all over social media platforms in recent months, Twitter is now opting to give you a chance to choose to see tweets from the most recent then back.
News upfront. Twitter’s “Happening Now” feature will be expanded to put breaking news and stories up and center so you won’t have to search specific users or topics to get to the information. And the Explore feature is also now organized by topic instead of content type for more customized content.
Bottom Navigation Bar. It was quite a shock at first but, Twitter’s new bottom navigation bar gives you much more ease navigating between tabs. However, instead of swiping, you’ll need to click on a tab to get to its contents.
Live Broadcasts. Twitter is catching up on the live videos front with the live broadcast function. When accounts go live, especially news, sports, or personalities, the stream appears right on top of your timeline.
Audio Only Broadcast. Twitter now gives you the option to have to take the video out and leave the audio in a broadcast. It’s found in the same options. You simply have to click on the audio-only broadcast. And similar to a live broadcast, you can still keep tabs on stats, live viewers, replay views and the like.
Snapchat
Reverse Chronological Order. Like Twitter, Snapchat has opted to let you see the most recent stories first instead of the most popular ones. Because unlike Instagram and Facebook who both saw an increase in use after switching to the algorithmic order, Snapchat’s ratings went down.
Clear Chats. This feature allows you to delete a text, audio, sticker, or photo that you sent in an individual or group conversation. Unlike the clear conversation feature which removes entire threads of conversation from only your end, clear chat deletes the item from the Snapchat server itself so no one will see it. However, the users on the other ends will be notified of the action.
Visual Search. Snapchat now allows you to search and buy a product through the snap camera. Simply point the camera at the product then press and hold on the camera screen. When the product is recognized, an Amazon card will appear which gives you the link to the product and other similar items.
Sound-Lens and Musical GIFs. Snapchat’s sound lens reacts to sound. It’s a cute animal mask which has ear and eyes that react to whatever sound it hears. And that isn’t the last of it. Snapchat has also teamed up with TuneMoji for you to be able to post musical GIFs on your stories or personal messages. However, you have to have both Snapchat app and TuneMoji app to unlock this feature.
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