The F8 Conference was filled with a ton of reveals – yet we still find ourselves with another week of updates in social media news. That in itself is the beauty of social media: it is always changing, adapting, and becoming better. In a sense, social media is a moving target, and it is our job at KWSM to help you hit the bullseye.
This week Instagram created a curated shopping experience, Twitter updates with the change we have all been waiting for, and Facebook gives a first look at the new changes to come.
@shop is Now Open!
On May 10th, Instagram launched a new account: @shop. As if the name didn’t give it away, this account run by Instagram itself is a curated feed of small businesses. The intention of @shop is to provide a place for community around small businesses and to always keep the conversation moving of what is trending. The best part? You guessed it – each photo is shoppable from within the app! To access this account, simply search for @shop and give it a follow!
RT: GIFS
Have you ever seen a Tweet and in your mind and thought of the perfect GIF to capture how it made you feel? You go to upload it and… you can only reply with text. Not anymore! This week Twitter added an update that allows users to respond in Retweets with GIFS, photos, and videos! Although the update seems simple to the user, Twitter had to problem-solve the best way to allow this update without making the newsfeed look clunky. “We found it was challenging for people to quickly understand all the content in a Retweet with media. This was due to the layout; two large tweets stacked on top of each other,” a Twitter spokesperson said. To fix it, Twitter has indented retweets, almost reading like a Reddit thread.
This update is available on the mobile version of Twitter, however they are working to fix some of the interface display on desktop still.
Facebook Updates Their Brand’s Aesthetic
Facebook’s new layout – referred to as FB5, was announced at the F8 Conference last week and users are beginning to notice the shift, right from their phone’s home screen. For the first time in years, Facebook has a new App icon. The new icon appears to be a lighter shade of blue which is rumored to reflect the brand’s new look. Additionally, at F8, it was revealed that this new layout would be heavily focused on Groups and Events. Our advice? Consider if it makes sense for your brand to have a group on Facebook, as Groups will weigh heavier on the Facebook algorithm moving forward.
Did you know every second there are 20,000 people on Facebook. That’s a lot of people.
Do you need to start marketing your company on social media, but aren’t sure how to get started? Or maybe you’ve been posting content, but can’t seem to get the results you want.
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