We’re approaching the end of 2020, but there is no end in sight when it comes to updates from the digital world. We’ve covered Instagram’s new look as well as updates from other industry leaders.
Check them out here:
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Another Instagram Update
It seems the social media giant can’t go a couple of months without an update these days. This one left even us confused at first, initially struggling to even navigate around the platform with the new ‘Shop’ button strategically placed where you would use to find your notifications.
With every update comes a divide. Backlash from users who just want the old ways back and others who benefit from the new changes…So let’s talk about what is new.
Instagram Camera
Being an image/video based social media app, Instagram’s options of posts, stories, reels and live are now all available from the click of one button. Hit the plus icon on the top right (next to your Direct Messages) and Instagram gives you the choice of which type of content you wish to post.
Reels
Reels were introduced a few months back, firstly on selected accounts, then to the masses. Now reels seem to be the main focus. The reels button is located front and centre of the app where ‘create post’ used to be. More reels are now featured in the explore page too. Is this Insta really ramping things up now to compete with TikTok?
Instagram Direct
Keeping on top of your Dm’s can be a bit of a chore at times, especially with multiple users sharing an account. Alongside read, unread, and flagged, Instagram has added another filter to save selected messaged into a ‘Close Friends’ folder. Ideal for business accounts, if you’re wanting to add a separate folder for your regular contacts aside from enquiries.
Shop Button
Instagram is pushing to make its app more of an online shopping destination, with the Shopping button now on the home screen. The eCommerce market has certainly been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic. Instagram seems to be trying to compete with the major players in the online shopping industry. The user data that Instagram possesses means that its own personal algorithms will be able to tailor the shopping experience to each individual user.
Twitter Fleets
Twitter now hopes to join the 24-hour disappearing story party with their ‘Fleets’ feature. At its most basic level, Fleets is a clone of stories, borrowing all of the best ideas applied by Instagram and Snapchat. You can share text, respond to others’ tweets, or post videos with the same background colour and overlaid text options you get on other messaging apps with ephemeral features, with every message disappearing after 24 hours.
You can also respond to other user’s fleets by tapping on one and sending a direct message or emoji to the creator, which will start a DM conversation similar to how the story reply process works on Instagram. Twitter says it will also be introducing stickers and live broadcasting at some point in the future.
What Fleets seem likely to help with the most, at least at first, is dividing the huge volumes of opinions that get trafficked on Twitter every minute of every day into more digestible formats.
Youtube launches Audio Ads
The interest in audio content is on the rise, and companies have already started to make the most out of this rising demand.
Youtube has just announced that they’re launching audio ads to reach users that consume audio-only content. Audio ads will have the same targeting options as video ads, as well as having the opportunity to target people by music genre or mood using music lineups.
Some of the companies that have tested these ads have said that they’ve seen a significant lift in brand awareness as a result of these audio ads. We can’t wait to see the new ad type in action, let us know what you think!
TikTok joins forces with Shopify to move into Social eCommerce
The partnership will enable users to not only share short-form video but also shop while they scroll through the social video app that has taken the world by storm recently.
The Shopify integration will allow merchants to create targeted marketing campaigns and monitor performance from within the commerce platform. Target audiences can be created based on a number of criteria including gender, age, user behaviour, and video category.
The TikTok channel on Shopify is live only in the US at the moment but will become available in other markets globally, including the UK, early next year.
Well, what do you think? Seen any exciting Twitter fleets? Are you still struggling to find where your notifications are on Instagram? Let us know!
