On this week’s Social Media Marketing Talk Show, we explore Facebook testing a search engine for influencer marketing, Instagram’s new Mute option, and other breaking social media marketing news of the week!
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Facebook Tests New Search Engine for Influencer Marketing: Facebook is working on a new Branded Content Matching search engine to help advertisers find page owners with “fans they want to reach, see stats about these audiences, and contact them to hammer out deals.” A spokesperson from Facebook explains to TechCrunch that the company wants “to help businesses find creators who can reach their target audience in an authentic way while allowing creators a path to monetize their Facebook content and fan base.” The new tool is currently being tested with a set of lifestyle brands and creators. (5:05)
Facebook Enhances Admin Resources and Support for Groups: Facebook rolled out “several updates to help admins keep their groups safe and manage them more efficiently.” These new tools include more timely and personalized help from Facebook on issues, a new online learning destination with tutorials, product demos, and case studies for group admins, preapproval on content, and a quick and simple way to notify members when they’ve violated a rule. The latter also allows admins and moderators to collaborate by adding notes in their admin activity log about when and why they removed a post. (12:23)
Instagram Introduces Muting: Instagram added the option to hide posts or both posts and stories from certain accounts without having to unfollow them. This new feature is rolling out “over the coming weeks.” (20:23)
Instagram Tests “All Caught Up” Alert: TechCrunch reports that Instagram is showing some users a mid-feed alert that states “You’re All Caught Up – You’ve seen all new posts from the past 48 hours.” Instagram hasn’t yet provided details on how this new feature works nor confirmed if this means that Instagram has shown you every post from people you follow or simply the ones served by the algorithm. This new feature is currently being tested with a select group of Instagram users. (25:50)
Instagram Organic Posts Can Now Be Turned Into Ads: Facebook is rolling out a new feature that allows Instagram advertisers to turn existing organic Instagram posts into ads within Facebook Power Editor and Ads Manager. Advertisers will have access to Brand Awareness, Post Engagement, Reach, and Video Views objectives and be able to purchase the ads in “auction buying.” However, they’ll only be able to create an ad from an individual video and photo post for now. Carousel, Stories, Branded Content, and Instagram Shopping posts are currently not supported. This new feature is rolling out to “all global advertisers” within the “next few weeks.” (30:07)
YouTube Tests Algorithmic Subscription Feed: YouTube confirms it’s replacing the reverse chronological order in which videos are served in the Subscriptions feed with an algorithm that “personalizes” the feed. This update is being tested with “some users” and appears to use a viewer’s watch history and other factors to recommend videos that the company thinks they’ll want to watch. This is similar to the way Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter show posts and updates.
Twitter Introduces the Twitter Timeline Ads Pilot Program for Publishers: Twitter launched a pilot ad program called Twitter Timeline Ads. This new program allows publishers to generate revenue for their site with ads shown in embedded timelines. According to an email sent to publishers and shared by Matt Navarra, Twitter states it has “hand selected a small group of publishers” in the U.S. for this invite-only program. Other publishers can sign up on the Twitter Business site to find out more about the program.
Twitter Shuts Down TV Apps: This week, Twitter announced that its TV apps, Twitter for Roku, Twitter for Android TV, and Twitter for Xbox, will no longer be available. A spokesperson for Twitter cites “…compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation,” which also goes into effect this week as its reason for shuttering the three apps.
Twitter Updates Mobile Web, Lite, and Windows Versions: Twitter’s mobile web version, Twitter Lite, and Twitter for Windows now support night mode; real-time updates on replies, likes, and retweets; and a newer tweet compose window.
Facebook Marketplace Expands to Include Home Services in the U.S.: Facebook Marketplace listings will now include thousands of “top-rated and vetted” local home service professionals such as house cleaners, plumbers, contractors, and more. This new tool is powered by data from third-party partners Handy, HomeAdvisor, and Porch, and gives users access to the professionals’ ratings, reviews, credentials, and location. It also enables users to receive instant quotes on jobs. Facebook is rolling out this new feature to all Facebook app users in the U.S. over the next few weeks.
Yelp Rolls Out Collections: Yelp rolled out Collections, which delivers “fresh, up-to-date content that helps connect you with great local businesses.” With this new feature, new businesses and top recommendations from across the Yelp community will be served as personalized recommendations based on an individual’s activity on Yelp. Yelp will also provide curated collections and enable users to create personal collections.
Facebook Two-Factor Authentication No Longer Requires Phone Numbers: Facebook streamlined the setup flow that enables users to establish two-factor authentication and eliminated the need to register a phone number to secure an account. Facebook previously required a phone number to set up two-factor authentication and prevent lock-outs but has redesigned the process to make it easier to use third-party authentication apps such as Google Authenticator and Duo Security on both desktop and mobile.
Facebook Asks Users to Clarify Privacy and Data Preferences: After being asked to provide a clearer explanation of what information it collects and how it uses this data, Facebook is popping up news feed alerts that ask users to review their preferences and details around advertising, face recognition, and information they’ve chosen to share in their profile. Facebook previously updated its data policy and made its privacy controls easier to find. These tools were initially required by the European Union in preparation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) deadline but Facebook expanded them worldwide.