Welcome to this week's episode of Social Chatter, your weekly social media marketing talk show where we cover the latest social media news from this past week.
As a reminder, each episode of Social Chatter is available as a blog post or video.
Let's see what's new in social media this week with your hosts, Christian Karasiewicz and Nick Rishwain.
We're also joined by this week's special guest, Donna Gilliland.
Watch This Week's Social Media Updates
Facebook Live In Stories
In Facebook news, you can now use Facebook Live in Facebook Stories.
Why Facebook Live In Facebook Stories Matters For Your Business
The big news this week is that you can now use Facebook Live from within your Stories.
This is what the new interface looks like.
This new feature presents a host of new opportunities for users.
To use Facebook Live in Stories, here's how.
How to Use Facebook Live In Stories
- Launch the Facebook mobile app
- Under the search box, tap on "your story."
- Switch to "live"
- Tap on the red Facebook Live button at the bottom
If you want to, you can customize which of your friends see your Facebook Live video by tapping on the "Friends" dropdown.
You can also choose whether your Facebook Live is just part of Stories or whether a separate post is created.
To switch this, look under the "share live video" option.
These are the options you will see when you use Facebook Live from Stories.
You also have the ability to add different effects (tap on the magic wand).
Hidden underneath the … menu are options to add a donate button or use Facebook Live audio - both convenient options for those looking to monetize their Facebook Live video or create a podcast out of their Facebook Live videos.
Once you go live in Stories, people will see that you're live and can join - if it's open to them.
Also, during your broadcast, you can swipe from right to left to bring up a list to see who is live and to bring up a list of people to invite.
There are also options to chat and to invite people to watch your Facebook Live video.
As always, you'll want to be sure you have the right tools to help improve your broadcast for viewers.
Facebook Introduces Watch
Another big announcement this week from Facebook is Watch.
Watch is Facebook’s version of TV episodes.
It is a platform for watching shows on Facebook.
Why Facebook’s Watch Matters For Your Business
Facebook wants to make Watch simple.
Shows are made up of episodes - both live and recorded and follow a theme or storyline.
One thing we really like about Watch is that there is a Watchlist so you don’t miss out on your favorite shows.
According to Facebook, “Watch is personalized to help you discover new shows, organized around what your friends and communities are watching. For example, you’ll find sections like “Most Talked About,” which highlights shows that spark conversation, “What’s Making People Laugh,” which includes shows where many people have used the “Haha” reaction, and “What Friends Are Watching,” which helps you connect with friends about shows they too are following.”
Watch will be available across your desktop, laptop, mobile device as well as in TV apps.
Right now, Watch is only available to a select group of users and will be available soon.
In the meantime, here are some screenshots was well as a short video about Watch.
Here is an example of a show called Nas Daily using Watch.
Adding Stickers to Facebook Page Photos
Another new feature this week was the ability to add stickers to Facebook Page photos.
Why Adding Stickers to Facebook Page Photos Matters For Your Business
When you upload photos to your Facebook Pages, you can now add stickers to them as well.
You'll have to first edit the photo to add stickers.
Currently, you can choose from the same sticker packs available within Messenger.
Hopefully Facebook will eventually let businesses turn their logo into a sticker.
For now, the stickers can be a fun way to enhance photos that you're sharing on your Facebook Page.
If you need help using Facebook Stickers, check out this tutorial.
To learn how to add stickers to your Facebook Page photos, watch this short video.
How to Add Stickers to Facebook Page Photos
Facebook Marketplace on the Web
This week, Facebook rolled out Facebook Marketplace on the web.
Why Facebook Marketplace Matters For Your Business
If you're looking to sell through Facebook, one way is to use the Facebook Marketplace.
Until recently, you could only do this from your mobile device.
This week though, Facebook is making Marketplace available from your desktop.
According to Facebook, Facebook Marketplace is "a convenient destination on Facebook to discover, buy and sell items with people in your community."
As a business owner, you may want to use it to find new office equipment or sell some of your own items.
To use the Marketplace from the web, follow these instructions.
How to Access Facebook Marketplace From the Web
To access Facebook Marketplace from your desktop, follow these steps.
- Launch Facebook
- Under your Profile photo, click on "Marketplace"
- List items for sale
Facebook Stories From Your Desktop
In other Facebook-related news, they are testing Facebook Stories from your desktop.
Why Facebook Stories From Your Desktop Matters For Your Business
Although a majority of the population uses a mobile device for most of their day, not everyone does.
In an effort to encourage more users to create Facebook Stories, Facebook is testing out creating Stories from your desktop.
All-around, this is a great move for Facebook.
Not only will it encourage wider adoption of Stories, but business owners can quickly add to their Stories from either their desktop or mobile device.
This way, users have a choice on where they can add to Stories.
If you're a business owner, while Pages don't have the Stories feature yet, in the meantime, you can begin using Facebook Stories from the Facebook mobile app - look for the "your story" option underneath the search box.
You can then get used to all of the features available within Facebook Stories so that when they do become available for Pages, you'll be ready.
To read more about Facebook Stories on the desktop, click here.
Facebook Shutting Down Groups App
Also this week, Facebook started sending out notices that they are shutting down the Facebook Groups apps for iOS and Android.
Why Shutting Down the Facebook Groups App Matters For Your Business
For the longest time, everyone seemed to complain about Facebook breaking apps out into their own apps.
Now they are retracing those steps and shutting down the Facebook Groups apps in an effort to reaffirm "our commitment to groups with the announcement of our new company mission centered around building communities and introducing several new features, including Group Insights, to help group admins grow and strengthen their communities."
As a business owner, this is particularly good news because it will mean one less app to have to check on your device.
While Facebook is shutting down the Groups app on September 1, 2017 (you won't be able to log into the app), your Groups will still be there for you in the Facebook mobile app.
The only thing you as a business owner need to do is know how to access your Groups from the Facebook mobile app.
You can either search for your Groups in the Facebook mobile app or if you're on your mobile device, tap here.
To read the announcement about the Facebook Groups app, go here.
Snapchat Launches Advanced Mode for Ads Manager
In Snapchat news, they are launching an advanced mode for Snap ads manager.
Why Snapchat Ads Manager Advanced Mode Matters For Your Business
Snapchat is copying a page out of Facebook's playbook.
Specifically, Facebook Power Editor.
With the unveiling of Snap Ad Manger's advanced mode, they are looking to make it easier to automate time-intensive tasks and help advertisers build, manage, and scale their campaigns with ease.
If your business is a heavy Snapchat user, this is great news because you'll be able to quickly build and scale your ads without getting bogged down in the process.
Here's a breakdown on the new features available in Snap Ad Manager's advanced mode.
- Audience Library - Create a list of your favorite Snapchat audiences, so setting up future campaigns is a breeze.
- Automatic Permutation Testing - With a few clicks, you can create hundreds of permutations of custom audiences and ad creative variants.
- Bulk Creation & Management - Use one of our spreadsheet templates, or import your own spreadsheet, to quickly create new campaigns, ad sets, and ads at scale.
- Media Library - A new place to upload videos, images, and other assets to use in your campaigns. You can create multiple ad variants using your library in minutes.
- Power Reporting - In-table pivoting (of all dimensions) and customized exports provide more control over your analytics.
To access the new advanced mode, inside Snap Ad Manager, click on the "advanced" option to access these free features.
Snapchat's advanced mode is rolling out to certain advertisers and should be available later in August.
You can read more about Snap's advanced mode in this article.
Google Launching Snapchat-Discover-like Feature
Google is working on a Snapchat-like Discover feature for media companies.
Why Google Launching A Snapchat Discover-like Feature Matters For Your Business
It seems like everyone is looking to copy Snapchats list of features.
This time, Google is looking to build on their AMP platform (mobile optimization for webpages) with a program called Stamp.
Some of the companies who might be coming to Stamp as early as next week are Vox, CNN, The Washington Post and more.
"Stamp" would feature swipeable slides that incorporate visual content such as photos and videos with text.
This is similar to Snapchat's Discover feature.
If Google were to implement this feature, they would also appear in Google search results.
As a business, the best thing you can do ahead of time is to set up your website so that it is AMP-friendly.
Fortunately, it doesn't take too long.
Here's a guide to help you get started.
Overall, we would love to see Google launch a Snapchat Discover-like feature.
We tend to spend more time on Google than on Snapchat.
It would also help drive websites who haven't been updated in a while forward if Google were to give preference to Google AMP sites.
You can read the announcement about Google's AMP-based Snapchat-like feature here.
Instagram Testing Split-screen Live Video
In Instagram news, they are testing split-screens in Instagram Live video.
Why Instagram Split-Screen Live Video Matters For Your Business
Instagram is in the process of testing out a split-screen feature for live video.
You will be able to broadcast on Instagram with a friend.
To add someone to an Instagram split-screen live video, follow these steps.
How to Do An Instagram Split-Screen Live Video
- Launch Instagram
- Tap on the camera icon
- Switch to the "live" option
- Tap on the two smiley faces icon
- Select a friend to add to your Instagram Live video
All of the other live video features on Instagram will work the same.
Instagram split-screen live video could be especially useful for businesses who want to conduct interviews, answer questions from fans and customers and more.
Right now, Instagram is testing this with a few users and should be rolling this out to everyone over the coming months.
If you have Instagram's split-screen feature, let us know in the comments below and what you think about it so far.
You can read more about Instagram split-screen live video 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.
Screenflow 7
The first tool that we have discovered this week is called Screenflow (Mac).
Have you ever wanted to record high-quality video, audio and iOS captures of your screens?
Maybe you've wanted to create a tutorial or online course?
Screenflow is an award-winning tool for recording your screens.
It's one that we use every time we want to create a new tutorial for customers.
Not only is it easy to use, but it's also feature-packed.
For example, in addition to recording your screen, Screenflow also includes a built-in video editor.
It's powerful for most small business owners.
They recently updated Screenflow and added in a host of new features such as text animation effects, the ability to play clips in reverse (which you can then share on your Instagram channel) and much more.
When recording any of our screens, we use and recommend Screenflow to our Mac users.
It's a powerful application for just $129.
You can download Screenflow from the link below.
Download ScreenflowEcho Podcasts
The second tool that we have for you this week is called Echo Podcasts (iOS).
Echo Podcasts, is an app that shows you which podcasts your friends listen to.
You can also use Echo to discover new and interesting podcasts to subscribe to.
Echo Podcasts is available as a free app.
You can download it from the link below.
Download Echo PodcastsWrap-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 to our Facebook Page to find out what's new in social media news!
If you have any questions about 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.
