Facebook Announces Integration of Messenger and Instagram Direct, Adds New Messaging Features

Facebook has taken the next big step in its messaging integration plan by announcing new cross-messaging functionality that will link Messenger and Instagram Direct, in various ways. You can cross message from Messenger and Instagram, and you’ll be able to see your Messenger threads in Instagram Direct. But your existing Instagram messages and call details will only be available on Instagram, at least at this point.

Other new elements:

• Selfie stickers – Animated stickers that are “a unique hybrid of Boomerang, emojis, and selfies”, and provide a new way to react to conversations.
• Watch together –  Instagram users will also now be able to join Watch Together video co-watching parties via Messenger. The new integration will also enable Watch Together parties focused on IGTV and Reels content
• Vanish Mode – enable users to send messages that automatically disappear after they’re seen
• Chat colours, Custom emoji reactions, and Message controls

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-announces-integration-of-messenger-and-instagram-direct-adds-new/586180/

How to Run an Effective Giveaway Campaign on Instagram

A follower ‘loop’ is a process that has been devised to maximize post reach.

90% of the time the followers gained via loop giveaways are not high-quality followers who will stick around for your content and engage with your profile long term. There’s a generally large drop off rate, typically 50% or more, at the conclusion of a loop process. If your only goal is to generate followers, then it might be a good mechanism, but for the far majority of businesses, loops won’t work well as a growth strategy.

Here’s a sample giveaway strategy that you can use:

1. Pick a niche prize that your audience will love – As noted, targeting your specific target audience will attract a more focused audience subset
2. Promote your giveaway across your social media following and email list – Getting more people interested will further boost exposure for your campaign
3. Run Instagram advertisements for your giveaway – Retargeting your own audience will help to boost exposure among those already interested in your products while utilizing Lookalike Audiences will help you gain new, like-minded followers
4. Leverage micro-influencers with similar audience – Collaborate and do a mini-giveaway with each micro-influencer, so they help promote your larger giveaway, again among targeted, interested groups
5. Utilize entrant data – After your giveaway ends, you can run a retargeting campaign offering a free gift to followers who sign-up to your email list

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/how-to-run-an-effective-giveaway-campaign-on-instagram/586121/

Laneige Makes Use of IG Filter for Foundation Launch

During a period where it’s difficult for users to purchase foundation (due to no testers allowed at various stores because of COVID19, Laneige has cleverly made use of an IG Filter to allow for users to choose a foundation that may match their skin tone.

https://www.instagram.com/laneigesg/?hl=en

Key Highlights from Facebook’s Annual Communities Summit

• 1.8 billion people in groups
• 70 million moderators
• Admin assist available to make it easier for moderators
• Topics within groups will be searchable via hashtags
• Certification for Community Management now available
• Facebook is also experimenting with an in-group hashtag challenge, similar to TikTok, to boost in-group engagement
• Chats will be added as a feature to groups to boost real-time interactions. They have several mini-features such as stickers, Q&A prompts, etc
• Groups will be easier to discover moving forward

We are live! Join us now for the Facebook Communities Summit Keynote and to celebrate 10 years of Facebook Groups.Tune…

Posted by Facebook App on Thursday, 1 October 2020

Facebook’s Removing its 28-Day Attribution Model for Conversions from Ads

Facebook has announced that it’s removing its 28-day attribution window option for Facebook ads, which will mean that advertisers will no longer be able to track direct actions based on their campaigns over a longer period. It will be reduced to 7 days and will take effect on 12 Oct.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebooks-removing-its-28-day-attribution-model-for-conversions-from-ads/586102/

Facebook Outlines How to Make Best Use of its New Video Insights Within Creator Studio

The detailed listing provides a range of helpful metrics – for example, for the first 48 hours after upload, you can see how your video performed by the hour, which, Facebook notes, could help in your scheduling for future uploads based on audience response.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-outlines-how-to-make-best-use-of-its-new-video-insights-within-cre/585537/

Facebook Announces New Advances in VR and AR, Including AR Glasses Coming Next Year

FB is providing an overview of the latest advances in its next level virtual and augmented reality tools: ie. Project Aria smart glasses.

The initial Aria prototypes will not provide AR overlays within the lenses, but will essentially be research devices, helping Facebook gather data to support the development of things like head-tracking, eye-tracking, and audio algorithms. The next step, then, will be consumer AR glasses – for which, Facebook is partnering with EssilorLuxottica, the makers of Ray-Ban, to build fashionable, Ray-Ban branded smart glasses, which will are set for release in 2021.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-announces-new-advances-in-vr-and-ar-including-ar-glasses-coming-n/585367/

Facebook Launches ‘Facebook Business Suite’, an All-in-One Management Tool for Facebook and Instagram

Facebook has launched yet another Facebook management platform, with this one, called ‘Facebook Business Suite’, which is focused on making it easier for small businesses to manage their Facebook and Instagram presence from a single platform. The new Business Suite platform incorporates all of your Facebook Page and Instagram profile options into one space and will be available on desktop or in a new mobile app. As per Facebook, Business Suite enables users to:

• Save time – Post to Facebook and Instagram at the same time and manage posts in one place to stay connected to both communities.
• Stay up-to-date – Get all of your Facebook and Instagram messages, notifications and alerts in one place so you can stay up to date and respond to all of your customers more easily.
• Business results –  See what’s working with Facebook and Instagram insights and learn what your customers are looking for.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-launches-facebook-business-suite-an-all-in-one-management-tool/585445/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%20Weekly%20Roundup:%20Social%20Media%20Today%2009-19-2020&utm_term=Social%20Media%20Today%20Weekender

Google Adds New Listing Details to Streamline In-Store Purchases

Now, in listings on Google’s Shopping tab, users can select the ‘Nearby’ filter at the top of the page and view all the product options that are available in their local stores, which they can pick up that day. You can check each business’s opening and closing hours, as well as how far each store is from you. You’ll also get a preview of the items they sell that match what you searched for, with a carousel you can scroll through to see pictures and prices of the available products. A lot of this info was already available in different forms, but Google has now made it much easier to get all of the relevant detail on a single page, improving its shopping search and discovery process, while there’s also a click-to-call option on every business page, where such data is available.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/google-adds-new-listing-details-to-streamline-in-store-purchases/585376/

New Trend of Social Media Detox

Based on the documentary The Social Dilemma, there’s a new trend of celebrities and users encouraging social media detoxes, and there are widespread concerns about the addictive features of social media. This, in conjunction with iOS 14 may result in updates to users that were previously sharing a lot more of their data with Facebook.

Retailer BHG SG embraces digital scene with virtual influencer Ava Gram

The partnership comes as BHG looks to embrace the digital age, and explore how the future of technology can intersect with commerce. It also follows the release of BHG’s new eCommerce platform.

https://www.marketing-interactive.com/bhg-singapore-taps-on-local-virtual-influencer-ava-gram-for-in-house-labels-launch

Facebook Announces New Limits on How Many Ads Pages Can Run Concurrently

When an advertiser runs too many ads at once, each ad delivers less often. This means that fewer ads exit the learning phase, and more budget is spent before the delivery system can optimize performance. During the learning phase, the delivery system is exploring the best way to deliver your ad set – so performance is less stable and cost-per-action (CPA) is usually worse. The learning phase occurs when you create a new ad or ad set or make a significant edit to an existing one.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-announces-new-limits-on-how-many-ads-pages-can-run-concurrently/584943/

TikTok Reveals More Insights Into How Its Algorithm Recommends Content

Here are some of the key points:

• When users open TikTok for the first time, they are shown 8 popular videos featuring different trends, music, and topics. After that, the algorithm will continue to serve the user new iterations of 8 videos based on which videos the user engages with and what the user does
• TikTok will show you key, trending posts from several categories, then customize your feed based on the one you engage with the most
• Once TikTok collects enough data about the user, the app is able to map a user’s preferences in relation to similar users and group them into “clusters.” Simultaneously, it also groups videos into “clusters” based on similar themes, like “basketball” or “bunnies
• TikTok’s algorithm is less about pushing you to follow users and more about filtering you into content categories. Based on its engagement graph, TikTok will determine that you’re more likely to be interested in certain content based on what other users with similar interest profiles have engaged with.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-reveals-more-insights-into-how-its-algorithm-recommends-content/585034/

Facebook’s Testing New Email Marketing Tools: Here’s What We Know So Far

1. Facebook’s email marketing tool will follow GDPR subscriber list regulations.

Sending emails to people who didn’t knowingly sign up for them infringes on GDPR regulations — and emails sent through Facebook’s new tool won’t be an exception

And although Facebook is primarily a social media network, it will follow email privacy regulations by instructing users to only send marketing emails to contacts who sign up for them.

2. You can’t build email lists with addresses from your contacts’ Facebook profiles.

When hearing that Facebook offers email marketing, you might think that the marketing emails could simply go to someone’s Facebook Messenger or the emails associated with Facebook accounts that Like your business page.

However, like any other email marketing platform, your contacts will need to subscribe to a list and have an address associated with their contact name to get sent an email from Facebook’s platform.

3. Facebook’s tool might not be as advanced as other free email marketing software.

Available screenshots of the tool show that users can customize email headlines, subject lines, and body copy, but marketing organizations like IMPACT say it’s unclear how much design control email marketers will get related to images, color schemes, links, and formatting.

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/facebook-email-marketing-test?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%20Weekly%20Roundup%3A%20Social%20Media%20Today%2009-12-2020&utm_term=Social%20Media%20Today%20Weekender

Google’s Adding a New Way to Track Video Ad Conversions if the User Doesn’t Initially Click Through

Tracking definitive video ad performance, or indeed any digital ad exposure can often be complicated by the fact that users might not necessarily click through on the ad straight away, but may still be influenced towards conversion by that exposure.

Essentially, EVC will keep tabs on those who’ve viewed your video ads, based on their IP or device tracking into, and provide you with insight as to whether they’ve actually gone on to make a purchase after seeing your promotion. That will provide more accountability within your campaigns, as well as new insight into what the impacts of your video ad efforts actually are, and how long it typically takes to see results.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/googles-adding-a-new-way-to-track-video-ad-conversions-if-the-user-doesnt/585103/

Microsoft Handles Xbox Series S Leak Like A Pro

XBOX had to deal with a crisis last week when there was a leak on the plan to launch a new XBOX that has since been kept secret.

When the leak happened, XBOX was extremely fast in managing it, with a few fun memes that were expressing their shock and then with a fast reveal of the product.

The XBOX account acknowledged the XBOX Series S leak in the best possible way:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/9/21361157/microsoft-xbox-series-s-console-leak-controller-packaging

Oracle Wins in TikTok Takeover Race

Oracle is the preferred partner for TikTok operations in the US, with Microsoft out of the running. TikTok’s algorithms will not be included in the deal, so Oracle will be gaining the brand name as well as access to the app users.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-drops-out-of-bidding-for-tiktoks-u-s-operations-11600039821?mod=djemalertNEWS

Instagram Warns of Major Impacts to Ad Targeting as a Result of Apple’s iOS 14 Update

Data sharing on IOS14 may impact retargeting on Audience Network, as the opt-out screen is now moved to the front, when the user launches the app. As more users pop out, they will be a decrease in the numbers of the audience that we can reach out to.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-warns-of-major-impacts-to-ad-targeting-as-a-result-of-apples-ios/585102/?fbclid=IwAR0Uq7nz2QUqtgtgyQ-NZcxDYBQR9f5qBv8jjC6b5qFPSyaqSVQueO4S7rM

Ikea gives its 2021 catalog an Animal Crossing-themed makeover in Taiwan

After the latest Animal Crossing became a worldwide phenomenon with its compelling combination of fishing, hunting, and interior design, it was only a matter of time before a major outlet tried to capitalize on its success. Now, Ikea Taiwan has done exactly that by recreating a number of pages from its iconic catalog using characters and in-game items from the Nintendo title.

https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2020/8/21/21395096/ikea-tawain-animal-crossing-catalog

Facebook Adds More Ways to Export Photos and Videos as Part of Data Portability Initiative

Facebook is now also facilitating the transfer of your Facebook visual content to Dropbox and Koofr, as it continues to explore new options in this respect.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-more-ways-to-export-photos-and-videos-as-part-of-data-portabi/584775/

Facebook Adds New Personalization Tools for Watch

Facebook recently began rolling out a new topic selection option within Watch to help users better define their content recommendations.

In addition to this, Facebook has also added a new, dedicated section within Watch for live videos, which is recently used to host the UEFA Champions League final.

Facebook also recently added a new section for music videos in the US and India, which had previously only been available in Thailand. The music destination in Watch lets people explore music videos by genre, artist, or mood, and features themed playlists.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-new-personalization-tools-for-watch-flags-new-organic-video/584769/

Facebook Is Letting Some Users View Instagram Stories on Facebook

And it’s not exactly straight-forward – as per the description in the screenshots, in order to view an Instagram Story on Facebook, you have to be connected with that user on both Facebook and Instagram, AND that user has to have linked their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Most people likely have connected their presence on both platforms, (as Facebook prompts you to do so at every opportunity), but it does also mean that the process is beholden to your privacy settings on both. If you’ve restricted who can access your Stories on Instagram, your Facebook connections also won’t be able to see it. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-is-letting-some-users-view-instagram-stories-on-facebook/584772/

TikTok Adds New ‘Stitch’ Feature to Facilitate Video Responses

TikTok has added a new feature which enables users to re-use snippets of other people’s video clips, in order to create responses and remixes on the theme. Stitch allows users the ability to clip and integrate scenes from another user’s video into their own. Like Duet, Stitch is a way to reinterpret and add to another user’s content, building on their stories, tutorials, recipes, math lessons, and more.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-adds-new-stitch-feature-to-facilitate-video-responses/584774/

Instagram Launches Dedicated Reels Tab

Available only in a few countries so far, most notably India, the Reels tab allows users to seamless switch to a more TikTok like experience on Reels. Feedback from users that have access to both TikTok and Reels is that Reels remains inferior to TikTok in terms of features. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-launches-dedicated-tab-for-reels-in-india/584776/

Google Adds New Labels to Images to Make it Easier to Find Visuals You Can Legally Use

Google adds identifier labels to identify if the image is licensed or not with Google Image, and a simple click to get the license.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/google-adds-new-labels-to-images-to-make-it-easier-to-find-visuals-you-can/584448/

LinkedIn Adds New Staff Connection Tools Via Company Pages, New Follower Analytics Options

LinkedIn’s latest feature, “My Company”, allows companies to send company-specific updates for employees, and encouraging employee advocacy, thus removing the need for a dedicated EO content hub! LinkedIn Analytics has also updated the latest followers, to show who these people are along with designation and company name. This would help BD and other departments in identifying if a specific company is checking us out and reach out to them. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/linkedin-adds-new-staff-connection-tools-via-company-pages-new-follower-an/584612/