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Monday Morning Learning – 11 May

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YouTube Adds New Options for Marketers Looking to Reach Viewers Watching on Home TV Screens

With streaming content consumption soaring during the COVID-19 lockdowns, YouTube is seeing some major shifts in viewing behavior, and it’s now looking to provide new ad options to help marketers tap into these evolving consumption trends.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-ads-new-options-for-marketers-looking-to-reach-viewers-watching-on/577619/

Burger King Will Give You a Free Whopper If You Catch Its Moving QR Code on TV

Burger King (USA) gamifies TV ads during quarantine to promote its burgers for order via the BK App

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/burger-king-will-give-you-a-free-whopper-if-you-catch-its-moving-qr-code-on-tv/

Instagram is Testing New Ways to Navigate Through Your Stories Feed

Over the past few years, Facebook has repeatedly noted that Stories are on track to overtake the News Feed as the primary surface for social media engagement.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-testing-new-ways-to-navigate-through-your-stories-feed/577615/

Facebook Is Running a New Series of Education Sessions for Facebook Group Admins

After recently running a series of workshops to help community leaders make the best use of Facebook groups to maintain a connection during COVID-19, Facebook has now announced a new schedule of education events for Facebook group admins, which are designed to help people better manage their online communities, while also facilitating more connection between community leaders.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebooks-running-a-new-series-of-education-sessions-for-facebook-group-ad/577322/

Instagram Will Now Show Stories and Posts from Health Bodies More Prominently in User Feeds

Instagram has announced that it will now surface Stories from official health bodies that you follow higher in your Stories feed, in order to help increase the distribution of key COVID-19 updates and information. This only relates to health organizations that you’ve chosen to follow, so it won’t increase the reach of such messaging across the board, and it won’t change anything for those who don’t want such in their Insta feed. But for those who may be using Instagram to stay connected to key updates, now they’ll be easier to find within the two streams.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-will-now-show-stories-and-posts-from-health-bodies-more-prominent/577438/

Facebook Videos Longer than 30 Seconds Might Not Play Completely on Feed Anymore.

After 30 seconds, the video will stop and FB will invite you to continue watching on Facebook Watch.

News feed videos on mobile app stopping at 30 seconds saying ‘Continue on Watch’ from facebook

Monday Morning Learning – 4 May 2020

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Facebook Outlines a Range of New Video Tools, Including Messenger Rooms for Group Video Hangouts

  • Facebook will soon double the capacity of group video calls on WhatsApp from 4 to 8 participants
  • Over on Messenger, Facebook is adding new effect tools to improve video chat presentations. Facebook’s adding 360 virtual backgrounds to change the look of where you are in video calls.
  • Messenger Rooms option that will be hosted in Facebook Messenger, but will be made available across all of Facebook’s apps, providing a new option for people that want to set up virtual, unplanned hangouts to catch up. 
  • Instagram Live is coming to desktop PCs

URL: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-outlines-a-range-of-new-video-tools-including-messenger-rooms-for/576758/

TikTok is testing a ‘shop now’ button for influencer videos

TikTok is testing a new ad format that links advertisers to its prominent influencers to let those creators display a prominent call-to-action button in their videos, according to people familiar with the matter. The ad revenue will be split between TikTok and the influencer.

URL: https://digiday.com/marketing/tiktok-is-testing-a-shop-now-button-for-influencer-videos/

Why User-Generated Content Should Be at the Heart of Marketers’ Post-COVID Playbooks

Identifying content opportunities in a post-COVID world via trust, social proof, human connection and understanding the new consumer behaviour

URL: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/why-user-generated-content-should-be-at-the-heart-of-marketers-post-covid/577063/

Facebook is Adding New Location Transparency Listings on Posts from Pages with High Reach

Facebook is adding new location markers on individual business profile posts, on both Facebook and Instagram, which will highlight where the managers of that page or account are primarily located, helping to provide additional context.

URL: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-is-adding-new-location-transparency-listings-on-posts-from-pages-w/576579/

Facebook Invests $5.7 Billion in India’s Jio Platforms.

The deal would bring together JioMart in its WhatsApp platform to enable people to connect with businesses. India will be a testing ground for WhatsApp payment services. 

URL: https://about.fb.com/news/2020/04/facebook-invests-in-jio/

Monday Morning Learning – 27 April 2020

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Instagram is Testing a New ‘Challenge’ Sticker to Prompt User Engagement

Instagram is testing a new ‘Challenge’ sticker for Stories which would enable users to call on their connections to participate in visual competitions, prompting more engagement.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-is-testing-a-new-challenge-sticker-to-prompt-user-engagement/576134/

Facebook Outlines a Range of New Video Tools, Including Messenger Rooms for Group Video Hangouts

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced a range of new video tools across Facebook’s family of apps, in order to meet demand and evolving use-cases during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-outlines-a-range-of-new-video-tools-including-messenger-rooms-for/576758/

Instagram Provides Tips on How Brands Can Use Stories to Connect With Audiences Amid COVID-19

While research has shown that most consumers are still open to brand messaging during the crisis, situational awareness is key, and reaching people ‘in the right way’ is essential to effectiveness. To help with this, Instagram has this week shared some key tips on how brands can maintain audience connection via Instagram Stories.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-provides-tips-on-how-brands-can-use-stories-to-connect-with-audie/576680/

Data Shows How Coronavirus Has Influenced Employer Branding

Companies have had to scrap their old employer branding plans and focus on meeting the moment at hand.

Looking at LinkedIn data, you can see how quickly things have changed. The share of posts addressing COVID-19 and working from home have rapidly increased — as has engagement with those posts. The tone has also changed, with themes of support, community, and care on the rise.

Here’s a closer look at how employer branding messages have changed, which messages are resonating the most, and where to go from here.

Link: https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/employer-brand/2020/data-shows-how-coronavirus-has-influenced-employer-branding?src=fb-fb&veh=fb-fb&utm_source=fb-fb&utm_medium=fb-fb&utm_campaign=fb-fb&linkId=100000011920897

New Twitter Data Underlines the Emergence of Gaming – and Marketers Need to Take Note

Gaming is set to become a $196 billion market by 2022, and five of the top 10 channels on YouTube in 2019 were directly connected to the gaming community.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/new-twitter-data-underlines-the-emergence-of-gaming-and-marketers-need-to/576766/

Monday Morning Learning – 20 April 2020

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Instagram is Testing Out New Features for DMs

There are two new features that Instagram is currently working on for its DMs.

The first of these two new features has to do with message forwarding. The second feature is also very reminiscent of WhatsApp. It allows you to quote certain messages and reply to them directly, adding a lot more streamlining into the conversations that you would actually end up having.

Link: https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2020/04/instagram-is-test-new-forward-messages-and-reply-to-previous-messages-in-dms.html

Instagram Live Streams Can Now Be Viewed on the Web

After rolling out access to Direct messages via the web last week, Instagram is now also giving users the option to view Instagram Live broadcasts on desktop PCs, which comes with a new, less intrusive format, and URLs to cross-promote your streams.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-live-streams-can-now-be-viewed-on-the-web/575949/

Instagram Adds Gift Card, Ordering and Fundraising Tools to Help Businesses Impacted by COVID-19

Instagram has now officially announced the addition of its new gift card, food order, and fundraiser tools for Stories and profiles, which will provide businesses impacted by the COVID-19 shutdowns with another way to generate income during the ongoing crisis

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-adds-gift-card-ordering-and-fundraising-tools-to-help-businesses/576151/

Facebook Unveils New ‘Care’ Reactions to Help Express Responses to COVID-19

Facebook has now officially unveiled its new ‘Care’ Reactions for both Facebook and Messenger, which will provide another quick response option for COVID-19 related updates.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-unveils-new-care-reactions-to-help-express-responses-to-covid-19/576318/

Instagram is Testing a New ‘Challenge’ Sticker to Prompt User Engagement

Instagram is testing a new ‘Challenge’ sticker for Stories which would enable users to call on their connections to participate in visual competitions, prompting more engagement. When applied, you’d then be prompted to tag friends to participate, while down the bottom of the screen, there’s also an option to ‘search challenges’ within the hashtag field, based on trending content.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-is-testing-a-new-challenge-sticker-to-prompt-user-engagement/576134/

Facebook Launches an Experimental App for Messaging Close Friends via Apple Watch

The app allows you to send a variety of messages with just one tap, including voice recordings, emoji, location sharing, scribbles and even dictation input — similar to how using iMessage from your Apple Watch works today. However, these messages are being sent over Facebook’s own Messenger service, not SMS or iMessage.

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/14/facebook-launches-an-experimental-app-for-messaging-close-friends-over-apple-watch/?guccounter=1

Monday Morning Learning – 13 April 2020

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Search Trends and SEO

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every industry and business in some form, ranging from complete shutdowns to massive increases in buying in certain sectors.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-search-trends-and-seo-infographic/575576/

Dove Puts a New Face on ‘Real Beauty’ in Homage to Health Workers 

Dove has put a new face on Real Beauty advertising through a “Courage Is Beautiful” campaign, breaking in the U.S., showing faces of healthcare workers marked by the protective gear they’ve been wearing during the coronavirus crisis.

Link: https://adage.com/creativity/work/dove-courage-beautiful/2249271?utm_source=creativity-daily-friday&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200410&utm_content=hero-headline

Facebook Publishes New Guide on How to Maintain Connection With Audiences Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Facebook has published a new, 64-page guide of key tips and notes to help brands and organizations maintain a connection with their Facebook and Instagram audiences amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-publishes-new-guide-on-how-to-maintain-connection-with-audiences-a/575861/

The Evolving Discussion Around COVID-19 and How Brands Have Responded

An overview of the evolution of the COVID-19 discussion across social media, which looks at what people are saying, where they’re saying it, and how some brands have responded.

Link: Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/the-evolving-discussion-around-covid-19-and-how-brands-have-responded-info/575769/

YouTube Moves to Restrict Videos About COVID-19/5G Conspiracy Theory

YouTube has confirmed that it will reduce the recommendation and distribution of videos that promote conspiracy theories that link the spread of COVID-19 to 5G technology.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-moves-to-restrict-videos-about-covid-195g-conspiracy-theory/575564

Instagram Launches ‘Thank You Hour’ Sticker and Story to Share Appreciation During COVID-19 Pandemic

Instagram has launched a new ‘Thank You Hour’ initiative, which will see Stories frames that include the new ‘Thank You Hour’ sticker added to a collective Story that showcases the various things that people are appreciative of amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-launches-thank-you-hour-sticker-and-story-to-share-appreciation/575860/

Monday Morning Learning – 6 April 2020

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Google Donates $6.5 Million in Funding to Assist Fact-Checking Organizations in Battling COVID-19 Misinformation

It’s interesting to see how social media has evolved over the years as compared to how the world battled with the previous, almost similar, SARS outbreak. Social media platforms did not have the need to spend such a high amount of money during crises as they must today – all to combat misinformation.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/google-donates-65-million-in-funding-to-assist-fact-checking-organization/575400/

Linkedin Shares Tips on What to Post During nCov 

LinkedIn’s engagement has been increasing for some time, so it’s not surprising to see more people turning to the platform for professional advice. And this week, LinkedIn has provided some tips on how people can make the best use of its platform to better connect and engage with their networks.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/linkedin-shares-tips-on-what-to-post-during-covid-19-lockdowns/574905/

Facebook Adds New Tools for ‘Facebook Live’ Amid Rising Demand and Usage

First off, for regular Facebook users, The Social Network is adding automatic closed captions, while it’s also providing a new option for people to listen to the audio of Live broadcasts without viewing the video, enabling those with lower data capacity to tune in.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-new-tools-for-facebook-live-amid-rising-demand-and-usage/575060/

Facebook Adds New Video Features, Including ‘Series’ and Updates to Bulk Uploader

With more people looking for more content to watch online, Facebook has launched a new set of video features which are designed to help creators build audiences for their video content and promote return viewership:

  • Playlists update
  • Series
  • New videos tab
  • Updates to the bulk uploader

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-new-video-features-including-series-and-updates-to-bulk-up/575250/summary

Facebook Announces Full Launch of Messenger Desktop App for macOS and Windows

In light of COVID-19, FB Messenger has rolled out a Messenger on Desktop for both Windows and macOS. They are yet to test full functionalities on MacOS, but from the release, it’s a full Messenger version on desktop. It’s a move from them to help organisations and individuals stay connected with each other.

Link: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-announces-full-launch-of-messenger-desktop-app-for-macos-and-windo/575414/

Monday Morning Learning – 30 March 2020

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Facebook Introduces Community Hub for Messenger Users to Fight Against COVID-19 Pandemic

Facebook announces the Coronavirus Community Hub on Messenger that provides tips, authentic information, and other resources to the users to stay connected and informed about the coronavirus breakout.

https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2020/03/facebook-community-hub-for-messenger-users-to-fight-against-covid-19-pandemic.html

Instagram’s Testing a New Set of Animated Selfie Stickers for Stories

The new, animated selfie sticker tool overlays graphics and effects related to different emoji characters on top of your image. The rounded selfie stickers can be applied as many times as you like within a Stories frame.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-testing-a-new-set-of-animated-selfie-stickers-for-stories/575064/

12 Iconic Logos Redesigned Through the COVID-19 Lens

Marketing Mag covered an artist’s re-imagination of different logos that promote safe and healthy habits.

https://www.marketing-interactive.com/12-iconic-logos-redesigned-through-a-covid-19-lens?idU=1

Facebook is Rolling Out a New Set of Updates for Facebook Live 

Because of rising demand for live-stream content amid the COVID-19 lockdowns, including audio only and closed captions, Facebook is coming out with a new set of updates that can create a better user experience.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-new-tools-for-facebook-live-amid-rising-demand-and-usage/575060/

Instagram Launches Co-Watching of Posts During Video Chat

Now you can scroll Instagram together with friends, turning a typically isolating, passive experience into something more social and active. Today, Instagram launched Co-Watching, which lets friends on a video chat or group video chat browse through feed posts one user has Liked or Saved, or that Instagram recommends.

Instagram launches Co-Watching of posts during video chat

Instagram’s Testing a New Option to Promote the Sale of Gift Cards via Your Business Profile

According to a new discovery by reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong, Instagram is working on a new ‘Links’ option within its business profile settings that would enable brands to add a new quick link, via a profile button or sticker, to guide visitors to purchase gift cards or make donations.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-testing-a-new-option-to-promote-the-sale-of-gift-cards-via-your/574982/

Monday Morning Learning – 23 March 2020

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WhatsApp Launches World Health Organization Chatbot to Answer COVID-19 Queries

To use the service, WhatsApp users can save the number (+41 79 893 1892) in their phone contacts, then text the word ‘Hi’ in a WhatsApp message to begin. The bot will then respond via a series of prompts, covering key queries and information – and ideally, dispelling some of the rumors and misinformation around the outbreak which have been spreading via social and messaging apps.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/whatsapp-launches-world-health-organization-chatbot-to-answer-covid-19-quer/574617/

Facebook Is Testing a New Option Which Would Connect Brand Loyalty Programs to In-App Activity

The process enables brands to use Facebook ads to connect with their loyalty program members on the platform using Custom Audiences to target those who’ve previously created a profile with the business.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebooks-testing-a-new-option-which-would-connect-brand-loyalty-programs/574521/

AR Approvals Temporarily on Hold

With the company sending more staff home to reduce the potential spread of the virus, Facebook says that all of its Spark AR reviewers will soon be inoperable. As a result, no user-submitted AR effects, for either Facebook Stories or Instagram, will be approved until further notice.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-says-that-approvals-for-ar-effects-submitted-to-facebook-and-insta/574503/

Instagram Launches ‘Stay Home’ Sticker and Story to Encourage Social Distancing Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

This week, Instagram has launched a new ‘Stay Home’ sticker for Instagram Stories in order to encourage people to stay inside amid the evolving COVID-19 outbreak.

Instagram’s Working on a Disappearing Messages Option

The new option, at least at this stage, would see all of your messages disappear from the chat window after you’ve read them and navigated to another section of the app. Note that WhatsApp is also looking to add the same functionality, though with added control elements for your disappearing communications (i.e. disappear after 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week etc).

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-working-on-a-disappearing-messages-option/574534/

Facebook now lets most users opt-in to dark mode & desktop redesign

Facebook has officially rolled out its sweeping desktop redesign that offers dark mode, tabbed home screen and a cleaner profile, though the interface is slightly different in terms of position of the elements. For example, the profile cover+photo is now in a different position (photo is in the center, not on the side anymore).

Facebook now lets most users opt-in to dark mode & desktop redesign

Instagram Launches First Stage of IGTV Monetization, With In-Stream Ads Coming to Selected Channels

After its coming, IGTV monetization tools were spotted in testing last month. Instagram has now confirmed that it’s reaching out to a group of selected creators in order to invite them to participate in the initial testing of in-stream ads on their IGTV videos.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-launches-first-stage-of-igtv-monetization-with-in-stream-ads-com/574167/

Monday Morning Learning – 16 March 2020

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TikTok Tests New Options to Add External URLs to Clips & Comment Downvoting

Last October, TikTok began testing a new option which enabled selected users to add Wikipedia links to their clips in order to provide more context on certain elements. Now TikTok appears to be expanding that option – user Sam Schmir has provided these screenshots of a new set of options in the ‘Add Link’ prompt which would enable creators to attach a link to Wikipedia, Yelp or TripAdvisor in their video post.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-tests-new-options-to-add-external-urls-to-clips-comment-downvoting/573758/

YouTube Switches ‘Trending’ Tab to ‘Explore’ Which Will Highlight More Content Categories

YouTube is replacing the ‘Trending’ tab in its app with a new ‘Explore’ listing, which will showcase more video categories, along with popular videos, in order to prompt broader discovery.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-switches-trending-tab-to-explore-which-will-highlight-more-cont/574143/

Instagram Bans Searches for COVID-19 AR Effects, Adds New Information Prompts in Home Feeds

After adding new information prompts and links to official resources in related search queries last week, Instagram is now expanding on its COVID-19 response tools, with additional information panels in the main feed and a ban on searches for coronavirus related AR masks.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-bans-searches-for-covid-19-ar-effects-adds-new-information-promp/574140/

TikTok Continues to Gain Momentum, But Challenges Remain in Maximizing the App’s Growth

TikTok was the most downloaded non-game app worldwide last month, outperforming both WhatsApp and Facebook. TikTok installs are up 96% year-over-year, with the COVID-19 outbreak seemingly fueling increased adoption as people look to keep themselves entertained while reducing their time spent in public.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-continues-to-gain-momentum-but-challenges-remain-in-maximizing-the/574134/

Snapchat Launches ‘Lens Web Builder’ to Simplify the Creation of AR Lens Campaigns

With Snapchat’s AR Lens ads driving significant engagement and interaction in the app, the platform is now looking to open up the option to more brands, with a simplified AR Lens campaign option that enables businesses to build custom Lenses based on pre-made templates and/or Snap’s library of 3D objects.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/snapchat-launches-lens-web-builder-to-simplify-the-creation-of-ar-lens-ca/573982/

Facebook Stories Tests Cross-Posting to Instagram

Facebook is testing the option to cross-post Stories to Instagram, instead of just vice-versa. Hopefully, that means the two apps will finally sync up the “already viewed” status of cross-posted Stories so we don’t have to watch reruns any more.

Facebook Stories tests cross-posting to its pet, Instagram
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Monday Morning Learning – 9 March 2020

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Twitter Tests ‘Disappearing Messages’ Feature

Twitter appears to be following other social media platforms in offering disappearing messages where tweets are allowed to vanish after 24 hours.

https://www.campaignasia.com/article/twitter-tests-disappearing-messages-feature/458611

Facebook Finally Launches Dark Mode for WhatsApp

WhatsApp Dark Mode is rolling out this week. Users on Android 10 and iOS 13 can use dark mode by enabling it in system settings, while users on Android 9 and below can go into WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Theme and select Dark.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-finally-launches-dark-mode-for-whatsapp/573411/

Facebook Dark Mode is Getting Closer

Dark mode is already available on Messenger, having been rolled out last April, and it recently appeared in Facebook Lite too, though only for some users.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-dark-mode-is-getting-closer/573663/

TikTok Adds New Analytics Element to Creator Marketplace

This week, TikTok is rolling out some new analytics tools in its Creator Marketplace app, including real-time insights into influencer campaign views, engagement rates and engaged audience demographics.

Not everyone has access to the Creator Marketplace yet. TikTok says that it is currently using an “exclusively invitation-based experience system” for the tool, so you may not be able to use it. Brands can apply via the main website, or contact TikTok for a prioritized invitation via the Help Center.

Facebook Implements Bans on Ads Seeking to Capitalize on Coronavirus Fears

With concerns around the spread of the novel coronavirus, Facebook is now taking action against profiteering advertisers that seek to capitalize on such concerns.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-implements-bans-on-ads-seeking-to-capitalize-on-coronavirus-fears/573056/

Using Emojis in Social Media

Emojis have become a common element in modern communication, with research showing that 92% of people have used, and/or regularly use, emojis in their messaging. The URL below contains an infographic that outlines a range of reasons why you should consider emojis in your brand messaging, along with some key pointers to steer you clear of potential emoji misuse.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/using-emojis-in-social-media-marketing-infographic/573673/

LinkedIn Has Confirmed that LinkedIn Stories are Coming Soon

LinkedIn is currently testing LinkedIn Stories internally, though there’s no timeline for a full rollout.

They’ve learned so much already about the unique possibilities of ‘Stories’ in a professional context. For example, the sequencing of the ‘Stories’ format is great for sharing key moments from work events, and the full-screen narrative style makes it easy to share tips and tricks that help us work smarter.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/linkedin-has-confirmed-that-linkedin-stories-are-coming-soon/573149/