February Social Media Roundup
Facebook launched reactions – Facebook has officially launched the reactions feature, expanding the range of Facebook-compatible emotions from one (like) to six (like, love, haha, wow, sad and angry). Facebook’s 1.6 billion users click on the original ‘Like’ button more than 6 billion times a day—more frequently than people conduct searches on Google. What does this mean for businesses? Businesses might be able to target users who’ve posted specific types of responses with further ads on the subject, including those who hit like or love, while excluding those who expressed an angry or a sad reaction. Watch this space…
Trinity Mirror announces new print publication, driven by social media – Just days after the Independent and Independent on Sunday announced they were going digital-only, Trinity Mirror announced that it’s starting a new print newspaper. The new 40-page daily which appeared for the first time on 29th February, is targeted largely at women between the age of 35 – 55. Curiously, the new newspaper will not have a website. A dangerous gamble to take in the world of e-media? Well, no. ‘New Day’ will apparently be largely shaped by the social media feedback of its print readers. Facebook and Twitter will be used to create communities, in which readers will be encouraged to post comments that journalists will use to build stories.
Facebook rolled out live-streaming – Facebook’s Live Video feature is no longer just reserved for celebrities, verified accounts and US users. Now, anyone with an iPhone can click on the ‘Update Status’ box at the top of their News Feed and live-stream a video. Users who do this will be notified about the number of people watching, their names and any comments that come through. Perhaps best of all, the live-streams will automatically be saved on users’ Facebook pages. The feature also allows users to subscribe to people whose videos they enjoy, and receive a notification when that person begins streaming. This should prove strong competition against the Twitter-owned Periscope.
New Periscope-like app ZCast makes podcasting interactive – Think podcasting is all about four hour ‘Serial’ marathons? Think again. An app called ZCast is allowing users to broadcast live podcasts from their smartphones and interact with them. After logging in with Twitter, broadcasters can live stream their podcasts as well as invite other users to join in as guest speakers or listeners, comment in real time and get replies directly to their questions. Digital gurus expect that podcasting will become a major trend for this year, and if ZCast takes off, it could open up incredible opportunities for businesses.
Twitter introduces new algorithmic timeline feature – Twitter announced this month that timelines will rank tweets by popularity in addition to timeliness. People who have tested this new algorithmic timeline have reported mixed feelings because sometimes it splits up conversations, however the good news is that an option remains to turn it off in ‘settings’.
Nearly half of social media users trust Facebook friends for financial advice – It’s no surprise that millennials and digital natives are particularly drawn to online and mobile banking. Social Media Link recently developed an infographic on the relationship between financial advice and social media and found that; 27% of social media users follow financial brands, 17% rely on Twitter for investment/ savings information; and 19% said they made a financial decision based on a review or recommendation of a service through social media. When it comes to financial information, 50% trust followers and friends on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, whilst only 30% trust traditional media. View the full infographic here.
Facebook is making it easier to post in multiple languages – Facebook announced that it is testing a feature for multilingual page managers which will allow them to personally translate posts into multiple languages. The version displayed to users when these posts are published will be the language most relevant to their settings (e.g. country of residence). Those working across global accounts may be familiar with the errors associated with Facebook’s current translation tool, so this is a huge step in the right direction.
Instagram has launched 60 second video ads – brands will now be able to run 60 second video adverts on Instagram, making it even easier for the platform to steal ad spend from other sources such as TV. Video advertising is a huge trend for this year, with brands like Pinterest announcing their intention to branch into it asap. Unfortunately non brands (i.e. regular users) are still only allowed to share 15 second videos.
Consumer PR, Corporate PR, digital PR, Facebook, Social Media, Twitter