Welcome to this week's episode of Social Chatter where we cover the latest social media news from this past week.
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 special guest, Brian Fanzo from iSocialFanz.
Watch This Week's Social Media Updates
Twitter Launches Explore For Moments, Live Video, Trends, Search
In Twitter news, they have moved search, trends, video and moments to a new "Explore" tab.
Why Twitter Explore Matters
Previously, Twitter Moments has its own tab in the Twitter mobile app.
Now it is being moved under a new section called "Explore."
With this move, Twitter is looking to make "Explore" the new home for Moments along with Live video, trending topics and more!
Overall, this seems like a good update.
Now you won't have to go to multiple places to see what is going on.
Instead, you can see all of it under the Twitter Explore tab and get a quick snapshot about the stories and news that matters.
To read more about Twitter explore, go here.
Running Lead Ads On Instagram
In Instagram news, you can now run lead ads across Facebook as well as Instagram.
Why Running Instagram Lead Ads Matter
Facebook lead ads have been available for a while.
They make it easy for a customer to connect with a business in just a few taps.
That same functionality is coming to Instagram.
There will be a few differences between Facebook lead ads and Instagram lead ads.
One of those is on Instagram, a user will have to open the lead ad and click through a few pages to complete it.
On Facebook, they simply scroll down to view the form.
One other thing to note about Instagram leads ads is that they're only available on the Instagram app and not on the desktop version of Instagram.
You can read more about the differences between Facebook lead ads and Instagram lead ads here.
Create Snapchat Snapcodes For Websites
In Snapchat news, they have rolled out the ability to create snapcodes that link back to a website.
Why Creating Snapchat Snapcodes For Websites Matters
Snapcodes are essentially a new version of QR codes.
This is important though because while QR codes didn't quite catch on, snap codes have for Snapchat users.
Now, besides snapping a code to access someone's profile, you can now create snapcodes that also link to a website.
This means you'll be able to create a snapcode that links to your profile.
You will also be able to create additional snapcodes that you can use to run different marketing campaigns for your business.
For example, you could create a Snapchat snapcode that drives someone back to your website where you explain more about your business.
On that page, it could then have another snapcode that encourages them to connect with you.
To create a snapcode for your website, simply go to Settings > Snapcodes.
Pinterest Rolling Out Search Ads For Keywords
In Pinterest news, they have started rolling out Pinterest search ads for keywords.
Why Pinterest Search Ads For Keywords Matter
"Pinterest users often come to discover new products and ideas, and the company has always generally done a good job of pitching marketers that Pinterest ads do a good job of building awareness, as well as getting users to convert to an eventual sale once they get to a product."
By adding search, this gives Pinterest the ability to show ads based on keywords someone is searching for.
According to Pinterest, "we think search ads in a search environment is the right experience that's gonna lead to a really big business for us and the right results for advertisers.
Right now, running Pinterest search ads is limited to a handful of direct partners.
They are hoping to open this up to more partners.
Read more about Pinterest search ads here.
Facebook Testing Streaming TV App
Also this week, word is Facebook is testing a streaming TV app.
"Sources say the social network is in talks to license original content for a new platform."
With Facebook's big push into Facebook Live video, this doesn't surprise us.
Why A Facebook Streaming TV App Matters
While details are scant except that Facebook would license original content and "the app would be a platform to distribute this new content alongside TV-style advertisements that can fetch a higher asking price than display ads on the news feed."
The streaming TV app would likely be available on streaming TV boxes such as the Apple TV, Amazon or Roku.
Go here to read more about the Facebook streaming TV app.
Facebook Page Reminders
In Facebook news, they have added reminders to Facebook Pages.
According to Facebook, regular posts build visitor trust and engagement, and reminders can make it easier to follow a posting schedule.
The reminders can "remind you to update your Page on days that are important to you."
Why Facebook Page Reminders Matter
As a business owner, we know you get busy.
By adding reminders to Facebook Pages, Facebook can remind you to post regularly on your Page.
In addition to reminding you, they have also included "holiday reminders" to remind you before local holidays.
This way you can create campaigns to take advantage of an upcoming holiday.
In addition, there is also a "custom reminders" option.
This lets you create a reminder to post on a specific day.
Here is what custom reminders look like.
To set up reminders on your businesses Facebook Page, simply go to Settings > Reminders to get started.
Updates to How Facebook Accounts For Video Completion Rates
Also this week in social media news, Facebook announced updates to how they account for organic video completion rates.
According to Facebook, "we're announcing a change to the way we rank videos in News Feed to adjust the value we give to how much of a video is watched. "
Why Updates to Facebook Video Completion Rates Matter
Facebook is going to be looking at "percent completion" on a video that you watch.
"If you watch most or all of a video, that tells us that you found the video to be compelling — and we know that completing a longer video is a bigger commitment than completing a shorter one."
Most Facebook Pages won't see a significant change in distributing their content.
If someone spends more time watching a longer video, there may be a slight increase in distributing it in News Feed.
One thing to remember about creating content on Facebook.
It isn't about gaming the system.
Your Facebook Page should focus on creating videos that people want to watch and engage with.
"The best length for a video is whatever length is required to tell a compelling story that engages people, which is likely to vary depending on the story you're telling. "
To read more about video completion rates, view the announcement from Facebook.
Create Facebook Ad Campaigns In MailChimp
Also this week, MailChimp announced users will be able to run Facebook Ads from your account.
Why Running Facebook Ads In MailChimp Matters
By adding the ability to run Facebook Ads, you will be able to do your email marketing and create Facebook Ad campaigns from one place.
This makes a lot of sense if you're a business owner because you don't have to switch between different platforms.
This is what the interface looks like.
According to MailChimp, "we simplified the ad creation process and sped it up, too."
A few other benefits to being able to run Facebook Ad campaigns in MailChimp are that you can find out which ads are generating the most new customers as well as revenue.
This should be a win-win for business owners and help simplify managing your email marketing and running Facebook Ads to support your campaigns.
Here's a video from MailChimp about this announcement.
You can read more about the Facebook Ad campaigns announcement here.
Tools
In addition to sharing the latest in social media news from this past week, we also highlighted some great tools and apps to check out.
Liner
The first tool we have for you this week is called Liner (iOS).
Liner is a very useful app for collecting interesting words, sentences, phrases and more that you find around the web.
With Liner, all of your favorites are saved to a personal reading list.
Where Liner is very helpful is when you want to use some of those sentences in your social media posts or blog posts.
For example, maybe you want to create images with quotes that you saved in Liner to share on Instagram?
Overall, we're impressed with Liner and how they provide a quick way to highlight important points while you're reading content on the web.
You can download Liner for free from the link below.
Download LinerHubspot Blog Topic Generator
The next tool we wanted to share with you is called Hubspot blog topics generator (web).
Have you ever gotten stuck coming up with ideas to write about in your business?
Maybe you work in a boring industry and you're not sure what to blog about?
With Hubspot blog topics generator, simply enter in a few nouns, this tool will suggest a week's worth of relevant blog posts.
Once you've generated your blog topics, you may want to consider making adjustments to the titles that they give you or run them through Grammarly to make sure they are worded correctly.
The Hubpost blog topics generator is a free tool. You can try it out below.
Get help generating blog topic ideasSwitcher Studio
The last tool we wanted to share this week is called Switcher Studio (iOS).
Switcher Studio is an app that is designed to help you make better videos using your iPhone or iPad and a Switcher account.
They also include a number of streaming options such as the ability to stream live to YouTube and Facebook.
You can also capture 1080p TV quality video or send your video to a display or projector.
Another feature is the ability to switch between cameras, photos, videos and more.
You can download Switcher Studio from the link below.
Download Switcher StudioWrap-up
That's it for this week's episode of Social Chatter.
Be sure to tune-in to our next episode of Social Chatter 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.
