Lately in Social Media – 7/18/16
In light of recent events, Facebook clarified their Community policy regarding Live video. In short, live video is subject to the same Community Standards as all other content on Facebook, and a reviewer can interrupt a livestream that violates these rules. Anyone can report content that goes against the policy, and one report is all Facebook needs to review that content. As for Live videos depicting graphic content, such as violence, Facebook maintains that “context and degree are everything.” This means that a violent shooting captured on live video would be allowed to stay on Facebook if it purported to raise awareness or identify the shooter, but that same live video would be taken down if it was used to mock or slander the victim of violence. The key takeaway with Live video is it must be wielded appropriately, and brands face even more pressure to be responsible. While you’re crafting that responsible content, know that you can now broadcast in full-screen mode for as long as 90 minutes, and you can swipe right to hide comments and reactions that get in the way of your show.
Facebook is also expanding Instant Articles to the Messenger App. Unlike regular linked articles, Instant Articles allows content to load quickly within the Facebook app, without directing users to the publishing brand’s website. Facebook is also adding feedback buttons here to give users more opportunity for engagement. Overall this is great for loading time, but bad for marketers who want to push Facebook users to their own websites.
However, here’s an update that’s positive for marketers – Facebook will soon let you target users based on the apps they install and how they use them. For developers or brands trying to promote apps, this update will allow them to optimize their Facebook ads to target the users who will continue to engage with it “beyond installation.”
SNAPCHAT
The trendy social media platform has something big in store for marketers. Snapchat has filed a patent application for an system of advertising that would identify objects in users’ snaps, then serve them sponsored filters from brands based on those objects. Imagine that instead of buying ad space for keywords about your product, your brand could have a Snapchat image overlay that triggered when a user snapped a related item. It would be the visual equivalent of buying ad space based on keywords in Google searches, but IRL.
The recent update that launched “Memories” also included the “Suggest” function, which allows users to share other accounts with their friends. To share an account, just hold down someone’s name until a bio pop-up appears with their snapcode at the top, then tap the new blue arrow “Suggest” icon at the bottom right to share with your contacts.
If all of this isn’t exciting enough for Snapchat users, the platform is also joining forces with Bitmoji to let users share their custom stickers in snaps or chats. So if you’re feeling super meta, you can snap yourself chilling with your own Bitmoji.
Are you Twitter famous? Even if you aren’t a celebrity, it’s now easier to become a verified account just by filling out a form. For brand and marketing accounts, having that little blue check mark could really help you stand out from bots and parody accounts. Because stickers and emojis are everything in social media these days, Twitter recently added support for Unicode’s newest batch of emojis (including the very belated bacon strips). Periscope is also getting a little more comfortable on Twitter, because now you can embed Periscope videos to play outside of the main app and website, instead of only being able to share the URL of the broadcast. Lastly, Twitter also increased the file size restriction on GIFs from 5MB to 15MB on web (not the mobile app), so you may also now share larger GIFs. So large, in fact, that you could even upload the entire video for Smooth into a single GIF. Top that contribution, marketers.
YOUTUBE
Last spring, YouTube introduced TrueView for shopping to make it easy for users to learn more or click to buy while watching video ads. Now Google has introduced two supporting features for YouTube advertising: An interactive Companion banner that lets users scroll through products while watching videos, and the optional Product picker that lets advertisers choose and prioritize which of their products are featured in their TrueView for shopping campaign. If you’ve neglected YouTube as a marketing option for products, now may be the time to reconsider.