Social Media News Week of 9/21/15

There are some big changes in social media recently. Snapchat got a pretty exciting new update, we have a new Queen of Instagram, Pinterest hit a big milestone and more. Read on for the full social media news for the week!

Twitter:

1. Twitter recently unleashed its first branded custom emoji. Twitter has created custom emojis plenty of times for big events like New York Fashion Week or the new Star Wars relaunch, however it has now partnered with an advertiser to create one that is branded for the advertiser. Twitter’s partnership with Coke has created #ShareaCoke, which creates an image of two Coke bottles clinking when used on Twitter. Coke is hoping to create the largest number of cheers on Twitter with the new campaign. If this campaign is successful, custom emojis might be the next norm for advertising on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Facebook:

1. Ever since the introduction of the “like” button, consumers have demanded it’s counterpart, the “dislike” button. Looks like we might be seeing that pretty soon. The exact design or specifics haven’t been disclosed, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg says it is in the works. This will be an opportunity for users to express empathy for posts that are appropriate. This does run the risk of too much negativity, so we’ll see how Facebook plans to tackle this.

2. Facebook is launching a new content insights tool called “Signal” for Facebook and Instagram. A study showed that Twitter is where people go for up-to-date information on breaking news. Facebook doesn’t like that statistic and wants to be number one. Signal is a dashboard that journalists can use to discover relevant content across Facebook. What’s nice is that users are able to dig a little deeper and get more details about topics that are important to them. Let’s see if this keeps Facebook on the map for breaking news.

Snapchat:

1. Snapchat just got a huge update. One of the biggest changes is the ability to use “lenses” to add fun and different effects to images and videos. Using the front-facing camera on your phone, you can select from multiple options on the bottom to spice up your Snapchat story. Some of the options include a rainbow tongue and heart emoji eyes. Some of our favorites out there now are a fun cat, and some of the Republican presidential candidates. Some other features in this update include explanations of friend emojis and a Trophy Case.

Instagram:

1. Taylor Swift is officially the queen of Instagram. She beat out the previous champ, Kim Kardashian, when she recently reached 45.6 million followers. Kim Kardashian held the position for two weeks before Taylor took the spot. Let’s see how long she can keep it.

2. Instagram announced that it is expanding globally and opening up ads to over 30 countries.  Ads used to be available in eight countries, but now countries like South Korea and India can join the action. They are also extending the length of ads to up to 30 seconds. This opens up opportunities for brands to create longer ads. While this is exciting for many brands who can now tell longer stories through their ads, they will also have to be more engaging. Most users won’t sit through a 30 second ad willingly, especially since skipping is so easy on the app.  Bottom line: how engaging do ads need to be before users just skip them?

Periscope:

1. Periscope just created an update that allows users to record and view videos in a landscape orientation. This has been greatly requested by consumers and the Twitter-owned company is finally obliging. This means less head-tilting, as well as the ability to see videos on larger and wider screens. This can be a huge opportunity for brands wanting to create more engaging content for larger screens, perhaps for an AppleTV?

2. Along with using landscape videos, Periscope now has web profiles. This allows users to search for specific “Scopers” as well as see the number of followers and “hearts” a user has received. This can be a huge help for those trying to measure how successful they are on the app.

Pinterest:

Exciting news for Pinterest: They just reached 100 million active users! Not only are users pinning, they’re clicking on links to learn more. One of the largest categories being pinned is fashion, no surprise there. With the introduction of Promoted Pins and Buyable Pins, companies and individuals can advertise and promote whatever they want. Hopefully this milestone means a pickup in the social media platform’s place in the social media market, which has been lagging behind Twitter and Instagram for some time.

That’s our social media roundup for the week. Hope you enjoyed what’s new in the social media world! Come back to our blog to get more social media news, as well as other fun digital advertising blog posts. Don’t forget to check out our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts for up-to-date knowledge on digital marketing as well as what the Torx team is up to!