If there is one thing you can count on it’s that social media platforms will change and update. Here are a few of the latest that has happened in the past few weeks.
Starting Monday, July 17th, Facebook users can no longer edit the headlines, descriptions or featured images that make up link previews when sharing a link. Facebook will pull this data (headline, description or featured image) from the URL and use that for the link preview.
Facebook is doing their best to stop the spread of fake news and this is their latest precaution. I don’t see how this will detrimental to businesses in the long run. But in the short run check any Facebook post scheduling apps you use to make sure your posts go out correctly and look good. It will remove the customization you would have been used to.
Facebook has been experimenting with inserting ads into your Facebook Messenger feed. They’ve had a good response in Australia and Thailand so they’re turning ads on for all Facebook Messenger feed.
ARGH! More ads! I think these will be very compelling when people are speaking with a customer service rep and they see an ad for the product they’re communicating about. But if they insert ads into threads where there are no comments about products or buying anything, I think they will be invasive and completely unwelcome.
Create your cartoon alter ego, connect with friends and interact live in virtual reality. There’s even a place for you to create 3D drawings in Spaces.
It kind of sounds like the future is here. Soon you won’t even need to go outside to interact with friends and family. Imagine a VR Thanksgiving. When Aunt Bea starts with the intrusive line of questioning you can pretend the internet crashed and disconnect fast.
There are so many business applications for Spaces.Take a tour of a factory you’re thinking of purchasing across the country. Go to the resort in Fiji before you buy the plane ticket and week long stay. Check out products in VR. This will minimize the time and energy spent researching products because you don’t have to travel to the products to see and learn about them.
One issue that will impede adoption of Spaces is the cost to enter the VR market. Cameras and video setups can be costly, especially if you go for 360 video. Also, VR headsets aren’t widely used … yet. So there is a very limited set of viewers that will use Spaces.
I’m watching this intensely. We’re at the beginning stages of VR, in 2 years it won’t look the same. I anticipate widespread adoption eventually.
This is being rolled out to a limited number of accounts. It’s in beta stage.
With this newest feature, you’ll be able to create a custom audience in your Facebook Ad area that is made up of people that have interacted with your Instagram business profile.
I’m for anything that will allow me to get deeper into the demographic of my followers and expand my knowledge of my target market.
LinkedIn is the last of the large social media platforms to allow users to upload video to their news stream and have the videos play automatically.
LinkedIn is testing this feature with a small number of users in the US. Uploaded videos will play automatically with the sound off when they appear in people’s feeds.This feature should be rolled out to everyone in the next few months.
In the mobile app, you’ll see a video camera icon next to the normal camera icon in the status update box. Click the icon to record a video using LinkedIn’s in-app camera or upload clips from your phone.
I’m so happy that LinkedIn is allowing us to use the power of video in our accounts. It’s been a long time coming and it looks like LinkedIn really wants to compete with Facebook and Twitter for B2B customers.
Video is the best way to get your business found on Facebook. Look for similar benefits for your LinkedIn account.
