Ecommerce features expanded on Facebook and Instagram
Facebook has announced a number of new ecommerce features for both the main Facebook app and Instagram. They include a new section called Facebook Shop (currently being tested in the US) where users will be able to can find products from a variety of different businesses. For Instagram, the company has also been testing a live shopping experience called Instagram Live Shopping, where businesses can show off products in a live video. This should now be available to all sellers in the United States, who will also be gaining access to Instagram’s checkout feature over the coming weeks.
TikTok creators will soon be able to sell items via the app
TikTok has confirmed that its creators will soon be able to sell merchandise they design and create directly to fans on the platform. The move will be made possible via an integration with commerce platform Teespring, which already works with a number of TikTok influencers, and is currently being tested with a group of 7,000 TikTok creators in the US. The full integration is set to roll out later this month.
Facebook updates Messenger Rooms
Facebook is rolling out a number of new features aimed at making Messenger Rooms easier to both create, discover and further personalise. The new version of Messenger Rooms will now display the Rooms you’ve been invited to at the top of your Chats tab to make them easier to find. It will also make the ability to create a new Room more visible, by placing the option front and centre in the Chats tab, and a Share Rooms option will also make it easier to send a notification to a friend.
TikTok reveals US and global user numbers
TikTok has revealed specific US and global growth milestones for the first time, showing nearly 100 million monthly active users in the US (with 50 million daily active users), up nearly 800 per cent from January 2018. The platform also confirmed that, in August, it surpassed two billion global downloads and reported nearly 700 million monthly active users in July.
Facebook prepares to expand Facebook News outside the US
Facebook is planning to bring Facebook News, its dedicated tab for curated news content, to the UK, Germany, France, India and Brazil “within the next six months to a year” – as part of an expansion beyond the US. Publishers in each of these regions will need to register as news pages and follow the company’s publisher guidelines and community standards, which means they will be forbidden from posting misinformation.
Twitter helps users track quote tweets
Twitter is officially rolling out its new quote tweets counter, which lets users see every time a tweet has been retweeted with an additional comment. Quote tweets will now sit alongside the Like and Retweet counters underneath the content itself.
Tweets about a Tweet add more to the conversation, so we’ve made them even easier to find.
Retweets with comments are now called Quote Tweets and they’ve joined the Tweet detail view. Tap into a Tweet, then tap “Quote Tweets” to see them all in one place. pic.twitter.com/kMqea6AC80
LinkedIn details new updates around user safety
LinkedIn has shared some upcoming changes to help ensure the safety of its members on the platform. According to LinkedIn, policies are being updated to reinforce that “hateful, harassing, inflammatory or racist content has absolutely no place on our platform”, while AI tools will be implemented to help stop inappropriate or hateful content from being sent via private messages. As part of these updates, users will see a warning that enables them to view and report the content, or dismiss the warning and mark it as safe.
Facebook makes its content recommendation guidelines public
For the first time ever, Facebook has made public how its content recommendation guidelines work. The new document, available in Facebook’s Help Center and Instagram’s Help Center, details how both platforms’ algorithms work to filter out content, accounts, Pages, Groups and Events from its recommendations.
Reddit goes big on voter rights with new AMA sessions
Reddit will be running a series of Ask Me Anything sessions in the lead up to Election Day in the US, aimed at giving Redditors access to information from experts on voting laws and voter rights, as well as clarity on the process of voting for the first time and voting absentee or by mail. The activation follows up on its Up the Vote initiative earlier this year.
Pringles asks fans ‘What’s Your Flavour?’
Pringles has launched the latest instalment in its #PlayWithPringles series, What’s Your Flavour?, which taps into existing social conversations of people coincidentally ‘glamming up’ in one-colour outfits and being likened to a Pringles tube. Pringles teamed up with two TikTok stars to kick start the campaign, and will continue to curate and celebrate UGC from people who’ve dressed as their favourite Pringles flavour. Check out our Instagram page for more on the activation.
Burger King gets Twitch all kinds of wrong
Burger King upset audiences on Twitch last week by using the platform’s donation feature to hijack streamers’ feeds to promote its $5 value meal, without paying anything meaningful for its advertising. If you want to understand more about what went wrong here, and how brands can get platforms like Twitch right, check out our latest blog.
