Welcome to this week's episode of Social Chatter, the longest running social media marketing talk show where we cover the latest social media news from this past week, including Facebook merging Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, new LinkedIn interest targeting, YouTube TV goes nationwide, Shortstack, Hashtag Expert for Instagram and more with Christian Karasiewicz, Phil Gerbyshak and guest, Phil Reinhardt.
If you like, you can watch or listen to Social Chatter on our blog, YouTube channel or the Alexa Flash Briefing.
For those of you who missed last week's episode with Mike Allton, you can watch the replay here.
Let's see what's new in social media this week with your hosts, Christian Karasiewicz and Phil Gerbyshak.
Watch This Week's Social Media Updates
Facebook Merging Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp
In Facebook news, they are rumored to be merging Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Why Facebook Merging Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp Matters For Your Business
While it will take at least a year for Facebook to unite Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, this is a win-win if you're a business.
Not only should it add end-to-end encryption, which only exists for WhatsApp, this functionality also ensures that your conversations, photos, videos, etc are only seen by you and the person you are communicating with.
In addition, by merging messaging platforms, it should help you improve your focus - no need to bounce between different apps.
You can read more about Facebook merging Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp here.
Facebook Moments Shutting Down
Also in Facebook news, they are shutting down Facebook Moments.
Facebook Moments provided a way to privately share photos and videos on Facebook.
There didn't seem to be much interest in this product from Facebook, especially with so many ways to shared photos and videos without posting them on Facebook - email, Dropbox, AirDrop, Google Drive, etc.
Facebook Moments will be shutting down February 25, 2019.
In the meantime, if you were using the service, you can download your Facebook Moments here.
You can read more about this announcement here.
New: LinkedIn Interest Targeting
In LinkedIn news, they adding interest targeting to LinkedIn Ads.
Why LinkedIn Interest Targeting Matters For Your Business
LinkedIn is rolling out interest targeting.
When you run LinkedIn ads, you can target users based on their interests.
Within LinkedIn campaign manager, you can choose from around 200 interests including artificial intelligence, global economy, customer service, etc.
So far, results have been positive, with interest-based targeting on LinkedIn generating a 25% uptick in click-through-rates.
By using LinkedIn interest targeting, you can begin to target users in better, more efficient ways.
To read more about LinkedIn interest targeting, click here.
YouTube TV Rolling Out Nationwide
In YouTube news, they are YouTube TV nationwide just in time for the Super Bowl.
Why YouTube TV Matters For Your Business
If you've been thinking about cutting the cord because you're simply too busy growing your business, now is a great time to think about that.
With YouTube TV rolling out nationwide, if you're looking to lower your monthly costs, while still having the opportunity to consume your favorite broadcasts, consider trying out YouTube TV.
You'll get access to live streaming for news, entertainment and sports (including the Super Bowl). You can also access local feeds as well.
To read more about YouTube TV, click here.
Tools
In addition to sharing the latest news from this past week, we also highlighted some great social media tools and apps for you to check out.
Shortstack
The first tool that we have discovered this week is Shortstack.
Shortstack is a powerful tool to help you run contests on your social media channels or website.
In addition, you can use it to create landing pages for your business, collect email address and much more.
You can try Shortstack for free. Prices then start at $29 per month for their starter package and increase to $99 per month for their business plan, which adds website embedding, integration with other platforms and more.
Try ShortstackHashtag Expert For Instagram
The second tool that we have for you this week is Hashtag Expert.
With Hashtag Expert, you can enter generic hashtags and have Hashtag Expert suggest additional hashtags to use in your Instagram posts.
If you you the pro version of Hashtag Expert, you'll get additional details such as why they recommended a hashtag and much more.
Hashtag Expert is a freemium app. You can try it free for seven days or subscribe for a year for $47.77.
Find the right hashtags for your Instagram posts
Wrap-up
That's it for this week's show!
To watch next week's episode of Social Chatter, your weekly social media marketing talk show, tune-in here to find out what's new in social media!
If you have any questions about any of the social media news or tools that were mentioned this week, please share them with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or in the comments below.
