May has seen another deluge of developments in the social media universe – but don’t worry if you didn’t keep up with everything, we’ve got the biggest news wrapped up for you here.

 

Snapchat

In a boost for advertisers looking for new and innovative ways to deliver their messaging, Snapchat has introduced a self-serve tool allowing all marketers to advertise on the platform. Instagram saw massive growth after implementing a similar tool, so this could provide a breath of fresh air for Snapchat after its cash flow troubles in recent months. Currently this tool is only restricted to video formats but it features a detailed range of targeting and optimisation, as well as its own version of the Ads and Business Manager (which must have been nice for Snapchat to take from Facebook for a change). Although this is still an unproven channel for mainstream use, Snapchat advertising provides a new opportunity for companies aiming at a millennial audience to reach their target demographic via an innovative method.

 

Twitter

Twitter has continued to press on with their focus on live video this month, signing 12 new deals with content producers to bring a host of original programming, sports and live events to the network, including a 24-hour news network in collaboration with Bloomberg. By providing exclusive video content, Twitter is aiming to boost its number of users whilst increasing its advertising revenue. Moreover, Twitter is experimenting with introducing curated live video at the top of the feed, as well as using push notifications for relevant live events. If there ever was an indication of the importance of live video for Twitter’s future, the fact that they’re testing placing it front and centre of the feed is it.

Finally, Twitter has announced a unique new feature for advertisers – the ability to promote chatbots. This allows businesses to promote ads with up to 4 CTAs with the aim of drawing users into personalised conversations with a bot via DM. Although there seems little benefit with regard to driving direct sales from this ad format, this could help build fun experiences around brand awareness, and encourage positive sentiment.

 

Facebook

It has been spotted this month that Facebook are testing the possibility of connecting Pages to Groups – which can involve linking to, or even posting in Groups from a Page. This could be particularly useful for brands aiming to build communities organically, as this will encourage engagement with fans inside relevant groups, alongside greater capacity for branded discussion and building trust.

Furthermore, Facebook has declared that it will be clamping down on misleading live videos such as polls or countdowns on a static background. This comes in the wake of Facebook reducing the reach of “inauthentic” posts which ask for engagement, alongside the reasoning that predictable live videos will reduce the appeal of the much-vaunted format, and so reduce future engagements. However, it remains to be seen whether this will have the desired effect for Facebook, as these videos are often some of the most engaged with content on the social network – a factor that they constantly encourage.

 

Finally, Facebook has announced its collaboration with delivery companies in the US to order food directly from the app. Although some will see this as Facebook’s further intrusion into every facet of life, this shows the importance of integrating businesses with Facebook when opportunities arise. Given the size of the Facebook user base and the ever more frictionless paths to product discovery and payment, businesses need to be ready to respond to new updates to get the jump on competitors when similar features get rolled out in the UK.

 

by Helen Hargreave

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