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.
As a reminder, each episode of Social Chatter is available as a blog post or video.
For those of you who missed last week's show with Phil Gerbyshak and Anh Nguyen, you can find it 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 Augmented Reality On Movie Posters And More
In Facebook news, they are testing Facebook augmented reality on Ready Player One movie posters.
Why Facebook Augmented Reality Matters For Your Business
Facebook is rolling out augmented reality for Ready Player One and A Wrinkle In Time movie posters.
You simply open the Facebook mobile app, open your camera, and scan the code. You'll then get to experience Facebook's augmented reality.
Currently, augmented reality on Facebook only works with these two movies. They are planning on rolling out a toolkit for developers later in the Spring.
Right now, augmented reality is very basic.
As a business, we suggest taking a trip to your local movie theatre to experiment with Facebook augmented reality.
While it won't be applicable for every business, by experimenting, it should get you thinking about how augmented reality might play a role in your business.
Throughout the year, we expect augmented reality usage to grow steadily as more and more people and businesses adopt it.
To read more about Facebook augmented reality in movie posters here.
Better Transparency for Facebook Pages and Ads
This week, Facebook is working on improving how they manage ads and Pages (along with Instagram).
Why Improving Transparency For Ads and Pages Matters For Your Business
Here are the changes that are taking place.
First, Facebook is going to be labeling ads that are politically charged with "political ad" in the top left corner. If something was paid for, they will have a "paid for by" tag.
Next, Facebook is working on view ads. These will let you see the ads a Page is running. Right now, they're only testing this in Canada, with plans to release a public, searchable political ads archive in June.
Last, people who manage Pages with a large number of followers will need to get verified. According to Facebook, if you "manage large Pages that do not clear the process will no longer be able to post."
They don't give specific numbers at the moment. As a business though, you'll want to pay attention to this. Otherwise, your Page could be restricted from posting.
To read more about improving transparency for Pages and Ads here.
Instagram Nametags - A Snapchat Clone
Also this week, Instagram added a new camera format called Instagram Focus as well as new Instagram Mentions stickers.
Why Instagram Nametags Matter For Your Business
Instagram is borrowing another page from Snapchat with a new feature called Instagram nametags.
Here is what name tags on Instagram look like.
Nametags work like Snapcodes. You simply scan them with the Instagram Stories camera.
As a business, once they are launched, you should be able to include them in your store window, on product merchandise, posters or even on-screen during live video. Right now, you can't scan the codes, but chances are, it will take you to that Instagram account so that you can connect with them.
Here is also a short video showing you some of the customizations that you can do to Instagram name tags.
To read more about Instagram Nametags here.
Instagram Adds New Focus Camera Format And Mention Stickers
Also this week, Instagram added a new camera format called Instagram Focus as well as new Instagram Mentions stickers.
Why Instagram Focus and Instagram Mention Stickers Matter For Your Business
The first update this week is a new camera format called Instagram Focus.
According to Instagram, "when you open the camera, you'll see "Focus" next to "Superzoom" under the record button."
What will happen is Instagram will blur the background so that you standout in your photo or video.
You can then add stickers, filters, text and more.
As a business, this could be a great feature to use to draw attention to products, a guest, or yourself.
Consider experimenting with the focus camera format to see how you can make your products stand out more on your channel.
To get this update, update your Instagram app to the latest version.
A second feature this week are Instagram mention stickers.
Mention stickers is only available for iOS. With this feature, "after you've taken a photo or video in your stories camera, open the stickers tray, tap the @mention sticker, start typing the name of the account you want to mention and select from the options that appear."
As a business, you can use it to now tag customers in your Instagram Stories or other businesses that you work with. This way you can begin to build stronger relationships with them (and notify them that they were in your Instagram Stories).
To read the announcement about Instagram Focus here.
Snapchat Lenses For iPhone X
In Snapchat news, they are rolling out lenses specifically for iPhone X users.
Why Snapchat Lenses For iPhone X Users Matter For Your Business
Snapchat is rolling out Snapchat lenses just for iPhone X users.
We're particularly excited about Snap lenses just for iPhone X users. iPhone X is already a very advanced device. Why not release lenses just for those users. This way Snapchat can tap into advanced camera data to create high-quality lenses.
As a business, if you upgrade your device, the iPhone X has the best camera on a mobile device. By adding unique lenses for iPhone X users, you'll be able to also share content that looks great for your users.
To get these lenses, be sure you upgrade your mobile device to an iPhone X and then update your Snapchat app to the latest version from your app store.
You can read more unique lenses for iPhone X users here.
Snapchat Bringing Back Chronological Stories Feed For Some
Snapchat is bringing back the chronological stories feed for some users.
Why Snapchat Chronological Stories Matter For Your Business
Snapchat is bringing back a tab to show Stores in reverse chronological order.
With the chronological stories feed coming back, this should make it easier for you to see updates from your friends or customers on Snapchat.
This is because Snapchat is now putting popular social media users and brands in the Discover section.
As a Snapchat user, this may affect you if you don't post frequently enough. It also helps you establish a baseline to build off of if you're not being seen on Snapchat and want to grow your presence.
Here's a quick look at the Snapchat chronological stories update.
To get this update, try updating your Snapchat app in your devices app store.
You can read more Snapchat bringing back the chronological stories feed here.
LinkedIn Adding GIFs For Messages
In LinkedIn news, they are working with Tenor to add GIFs to direct messages.
Why LinkedIn Adding GIFs to Messaging Matters For Your Business
LinkedIn is adding the ability to use animated GIFs in direct messaging.
As a business owner, you may think it doesn't seem right to include animated GIFs in direct messages; however, if you look at other social media channels, they are adding this feature and so LinkedIn needs to keep up.
We've worked with a lot of business owners and if you are going to use GIFs in your LinkedIn direct messages, remember, there's a place and time.
Here is how you can use GIFs in your LinkedIn direct messages thanks to a new partnership between LinkedIn and Tenor (a Google-owned company).
Phil Gerbyshak had this to say about using GIFs in LinkedIn direct messages.
"If you're more familiar with your customer, you can use a GIF to deepen the connection. If you're not, follow their lead. If they use GIFs, you can. I don't recommend going first."
You can read the announcement about LinkedIn allowing GIFs in messaging here.
It's Now Faster and Easier to Start YouTube Live
In YouTube news, YouTube Kids is getting the option for parents to automatically turn off algorithmically recommended videos and only display those suited for children.
Why Changes to YouTube Kids Matter For Your Business
You may have children or know friends who do.
In a new update coming to YouTube Kids, YouTube is giving parents the option to turn off algorithmically recommended videos. This way you can control what your kids see.
When you turn this feature off, YouTube will show only videos suitable for children that they have handpicked by their team of curators at YouTube.
While we don't have any screenshots of this change, you'll be able to get it when YouTube updates the YouTube Kids app in your device's app store.
In the meantime, as a business owner, you communicate with your customers on a frequent basis. Consider sharing this blog post with them or if you're meeting with them in-person, show them how they change it - they'll thank you for it!
You can read more about these YouTube kids updates 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.
Tagwin
The first tool that we have discovered this week is called Tagwin (web).
Would you like to run contests or giveaways on Instagram? If so, the easiest way is to use a social media tool called Tagwin.
Tagwin makes it easy to run hashtag contests or follow to win contests on Instagram.
To enter your Instagram giveaway, you can require entrants to follow your account, like a post, require a comment on a post or add a mention.
Tagwin also provides an easy-to-use dashboard to mange your Instagram contests. Here's what it looks like.
You can run your first Instagram giveaway using Tagwin from the link below. From there, prices start at $19 per month.
World Clock
The second tool that we have for you this week is the World Clock feature on your mobile device.
As someone who lives abroad, we often have to juggle multiple timezones.
Fortunately, we don't have to do too many calculations thanks to the World Clock.
As a business owner, think about the clients you often work with. Are they in the same timezone that you are or are they located across the world?
You already have a lot to think of, so why add one more thing to your to do list?
With the world clock, you can set up corresponding timezones. This way whenever you need to schedule a Facebook Live event or send out an email newsletter (maybe you're traveling to a different timezone), you can have them all accessible at your fingertips.
If you're an iOS user, you can access the world clock from the clock application on your device - I have mine set to the first position that I see.
From there, tap the plus sign and add the other cities you need to track.
What I like to do is order them based on the cities that are closest in time to me.
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 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.
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