This Month in Social: December 2016

The world of social media is constantly changing – and with so many platforms and algorithms out there, it’s hard to keep up. That’s why we provide our clients and followers with This Month in Social – where we highlight the biggest changes in social media and how we prepare to tackle them.

Snapchat’s Entering the Programming Game

Recent job board listings have teased that Snapchat is looking to hire a Development Manager for its “Original Shows” team – a new role that will help oversee the development and production of scripted and unscripted programming, while also pitching entirely new content. The future of Snapchat may include six to eight minute long programs, ranging from breaking news to reality TV.

What this means for business: Realizing other big players (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) are enhancing their programming abilities, it’s only natural for Snapchat to also work to stay ahead of the shifting media marketplace. Before long, brands may be able to buy advertising spots between segments – or perhaps be featured in programs themselves!

Facebook Introduces Creative Hub

Initially rolled out to roughly 30 agencies, Facebook’s new Creative Hub is now available to all advertisers and marketers worldwide. It’s purpose – help marketers mock up mobile creative, see how it looks as though it were live and share that mobile creative with anyone.

What this means for businesses: As the world becomes more and more mobile focused, it’s only natural for brands to follow suit. Now marketers can better understand mobile tools and formats, experimenting before setting content live on Facebook or Instagram. Bonus – the Creative Hub also includes an Inspiration Gallery to showcase a variety of mobile creatives for inspiration!

Instagram Has Added the Features We’ve Been Waiting For

A slew of long requested updates have rolled out to Instagram, including: live video on Instagram Stories, disappearing photos and videos in Instagram direct, and more tools and controls for users (like turning off commenting, liking comments, removing followers from private accounts, and anonymously reporting self-injury posts).

What this means for businesses: For brands on this photo-sharing platform, the new live video options can be useful for event-based and real-time marketing moments. Plus, these new options offer a level of interactivity not present on competitor – Snapchat.

Twitter Adds Direct Reply Count

Twitter has introduced a new metric to its engagements. While we are used to seeing tweets with only two numbers attached to them – retweets and favorites – now there will be a third number to consider- replies. In addition to this added metric comes a new Conversation Ranking – which no longer shows replies chronologically, but by an algorithm-based popularity measure of what Twitter thinks the user would like to see most.

What this means for businesses: This will allow for brands to see past potential “spam” replies and engage with the best members of their audiences. Another added bonus – listing out reply numbers may entice followers to click in and see what all the action is about.

Facebook to Create “Collections”, Your Move Snapchat

Facebook is currently working on a feature called Collections, eerily similar to Snapchat’s Discover section. The plan is to showcase lists of curated content from pre-approved publishing partners directly in the News Feed, rather than requiring them to build their own audience or pay for ads to generate clicks as they do now. There isn’t word as to whether Collections will feature advertising, or if this feature will be opened up to those outside of existing Facebook partnerships down the line.

What this means for businesses: The ability to have your content in front of an audience without having to build the network yourself or pay to generate clicks is huge. It gives your marketing efforts a big boost with a lot less effort. If this is something opened up to the public in the future, it can prove very beneficial for all. And if Facebook decides to include advertisements, you may be able to insert your brand into similar content pieces that match your demographic as well.

Do you have any questions regarding the above changes and updates? Reach out to one of Ferocious Media’s Social Media Analysts today!

To learn more about our Social Media Marketing Campaigns as well as other services that we offer, explore our website!