July Social Media Round Up – Facebook Doubles Down on Video, Instagram Search Improves, Meerkat Gets Cooler and More…
Krista Neher
Jul 31 2015
Don’t have time to follow all of the most important social media news? Who does? Check out our round-up of the biggest changes in social media from the last month.
We read all of the latest social media news so you don’t have to.
As a value add for our All Access Pass Members, we provide a monthly call where in 30 minutes we share the biggest changes in social media and importantly how they impact your social media strategy.
Facebook Improves Video Publishing – Facebook announced improved video publishing options making it easier to publish videos on Facebook and giving publishers more flexibility and control.
New Video Insights – To accompany the push for more videos, Facebook now provides greater insights around your video views.
Video Algorithm Updates – The newsfeed algorithm for Videos has changed – people don’t often comment on or like videos, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t enjoy watching it. The new algorithm takes this behavior into account.
Facebook Updates CPC Definition – Previously, clicks were counted as any click (a like or share counted). Now clicks are only link clicks making the metric more relevant.
Twitter Removes Background Images – This isn’t a major change, but Twitter has removed background images that could previously be customized when viewing the site. Now you’ll just see a light grey background, which IMO reduces the clutter.
Twitter Summary Cards Have More Detail – If you get traffic to your site from Twitter you should be using Twitter cards – which are now even more in-depth. Twitter cards show more of your content directly in the Twitter stream – check out the new features.
Twitter Launches Safety Center – This makes it easier for people to understand how to protect themselves and report inappropriate behavior on Twitter. If you engage in spammy tactics or other offensive behavior you may find more people are reporting you.
New Search and Explore – Instagram makes discovering the best photos easier with new search and explore. Make sure that you accurately tag your photos and consider adding locations to your images to maximize your visibility.
Instagram Launches Desktop Search – Instagram announced that the search feature is now available on Desktops 😉 You can search users and hashtags from a computer now. YAY!
Pinterest
Rolling Out Buyable Pins – Pinterest is rolling out buyable pins with select partners (if you have a Shopify store you can get them). Integrating commerce may increase sales and this is a trend we are seeing across social networks.
SlideShare
SlideShare Announces New Lead Generation Tools – If you are in B-to-B, slideshare can be a great way to acquire new leads. Check out SlideShare’s newest lead generation tools if you want to advertise on SlideShare to drive leads.
Google+
Google+ Begins to Dismantle – Google announced a while ago that it would start removing Google+ integrations from their other services (like YouTube, App Stores, etc). It has finally taken the first step by removing the Google+ account integration from YouTube!
YouTube
YouTube 360 Degree Ads – If you want to explore the future of Video Ads, check out the new YouTube video format. Their new 360 Degree video ads turn video into an interactive experience where users can click to view more. Definitely worth a look.
Vine
If you haven’t paid attention to Vine yet, you probably didn’t notice that they recently repositioned themselves. Rather than a platform focused on sharing videos, they view themselves more as a media platform where people consume videos.
First, if you don’t know YikYak it is a mobile micro-messaging app where you can see messages from people nearby. It is growing in popularity with teens
Meerkat Cameo Let’s Users Take Over – This multi-user approach to video allows other users to take over your Meerkat livestream for 60 seconds. Kind of cool.
