December 2017 Edition: The Social Media Updates You Need to Know

It's time for another edition of dooley media's Social Updates You Need to Know!

In this December 2017 episode, you'll learn about a big Snapchat updates, updates to "Stories" on multiple platforms, Instagram Remixes, and Pinterest Sections. (We even have an office-friendly holiday playlist for you!) 

Let's get started...

Snapchat Design Updates

A big new update (touted as it's "biggest redesign ever") began rolling out on Snapchat last week. Coming soon to all users, the interface aims to "separate the social from the media" by putting all your personal messages and friends' stories on a screen to the left of the home camera screen, while all publisher content will be to the right.

 [youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx1R-eHSkfM&w=854&h=480] 

There is a lot of writing and Snapchat marketing out there about this new update (including the video above) but it can be a bit confusing to dissect. Here are the most important changes coming to Snapchat in December that you should know about:

  • "Best Friends" – Messages and stories from friends will be sorted with your best friends on top, rather than whoever posted most recently.
  • Top influencer stories are now separated from friends – Posts from DJ Khaled, Kevin Hart and your other favorite Snapchat celebrities will now mixed into the publisher content area.
  • Publisher content now has human curation  – CEO Evan Speigel explains: “Social media fueled ‘fake news’ because content designed to be shared by friends is not necessarily content designed to deliver accurate information.”  (Source: Tech Crunch.) A human team will now review all Discover content and flag anything that might be troublesome. 
  • Snapchat embraces sorting algorithms – Straight from the Facebook playbook, Snapchat's Discover content will now be sorted based on what you've watched in the past. This means Discover will behave a lot more like the News Feeds we're accustomed to seeing on other channels.
  • Event content from the Snap Map will also be highlighted in Discover – Remember when Snapchat introduced that funky Map feature back in June? Now the most popular events in your area will be highlighted in between Publisher stories, which should bring more visibility to this aspect of Snapchat. 
  • Auto-advance is back – Stories and messages will now play continuously, as they did in the past before they introduced the "Playlist" feature. This change may or may not be welcomed by users, but it could be a helpful move for brands who have a hard time getting followers to actually tap on their messages everyday.  

Another "Stories" Feature: Introducing YouTube Reels

YouTube recently announced a new feature allowing users to post video content throughout the day. This newest member of the "Story" social media feature family is called Reels.

  

Appearing in a new tab within the creators section of the YouTube app. This tab is only open to channels with over 10,000 subscribers, and the Reels feature is currently in Beta, according to Tech Crunch. For now, users would need to search out the Reels content on their favorite channels in order to see it. After engaging, new content could show up on their home screen. Since Reels is still being tested, we'll have to wait and see how the feature works as it's refined in the coming months.

For anyone who is a member of the YouTube Creator Community, be sure to check out the Creator Academy lesson for more details and ideas on improving your channel.

Meanwhile, Facebook Quietly Removes "Messenger Day" and Adds Stories for Events and Groups

You win some, you lose some. The Messenger-specific "Day" feature was the chat app's own version of the Stories feature. Now, Stories will be the same whether you post on the native Facebook app or on Messenger. 

Perhaps the bigger story (ha?) is that Facebook is also rolling out collaborative Stories for Events and Groups. This sharing options is like a visual hashtag, allowing users in groups or event attendees to join the conversation by posting a photo or video into the collective story. This could be a great feature for not only weddings and social gatherings but also brands who are utilizing Event or Group communities. If that applies to you, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for ways to utilize this new medium. 

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22RulY9xSVs&w=854&h=480]

Instagram "Remix" Feature Lets You Draw on Your Friends' Direct Message Pics

When you reply to someones Instagram Direct message, a sticker showing the original message is included in the reply snap. A fun new update now lets users move, resize, and even draw on that sticker. 

For influencers or other small businesses who interact directly with followers, this could be a fun way to challenge them to do something creative with your content. 

You Can Now Create Sub-Categories On Pinterest Using "Sections"

Now available to all users, the Sections feature is pretty self-explanatory: You can now organize your boards into smaller groups.

This will definitely help users who have broad groups (like Home Decorating) sort ideas into easier to navigate sections (like Bedroom Ideas and Kitchen Remodeling). It should also be a great way for brands using Pinterest to create better experiences for new and returning followers who want to know more about your products or services. Sections could let you group your content more deliberately in order to get users the information they need right when they need it.

New Advertising Automation Feature on Twitter

  

Twitter recently unveiled a feature called Promote Mode that will automatically boost all your tweets for a monthly fee. It could be an attractive feature for many over-worked marketers, but there are definitely upsides and downsides. There's a lot to consider, but lucky for you, Matthew broke it all down for you in a LinkedIn post: Check it out!

More Updates and Social Platform Tests You Should Know About

A Facebook message-blasting tool is in the works – Facebook is reportedly testing a tool that would allow brands to message multiple accounts in one fell swoop. If it rolls out, this tool will let brands send message blasts to people who had conversed with their accounts on Messenger. 

Snapchat is testing ads that use object recognition – This filters ad product would "automatically recognize things in your images and create filters tailored to them," according to The Next Web. If (or when) these filters get good enough to recognize products, it's a fair bet that big brands are going to be interested. Check out some examples of what the filters can do now on Mashable.

FYI Twitter stickers are not a reliable way to hide sensitive info – A popular tweet recently pointed out the limitations of Twitter stickers. Something to keep in mind:

 

LinkedIn teamed up with Spotify to create an office-friendly holiday playlist – By analyzing Spotify data on the most played holiday songs in "office playlists," these two giants came up with a list of pop favorites. Enjoy:

 

Looking for More Social Media Help?

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Catch up on social media updates you may have missed from November 2017 →

UncategorizedMatthew Dooley