Social Media Essentials: 6 key updates in social media this week
Spotlight story: Amazon launches Spark
Amazon has launched Amazon Spark, a new feature aimed at improving product discovery. The idea behind the platform is to bring some of the social buzz that goes on beyond the website into the Amazon app. But here’s the catch – it’s only available to Amazon Prime members.
Many have said the platform was inspired by Instagram and its use of shoppable photos. Users are able to post stories, ideas, and images of products they like, which others can react to with comments and like.
To access Amazon Spark, you have to use the Amazon mobile app. When you join spark you tell it your 5 top interests so Amazon can create a customized feed for you. There are also a number of niche categories you can select to further define your personal interests. Read more about how the app works and how marketers can take advantage of these new features.
Facebook Shares Q2 2017
Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook now has more than 2 billion people in its community. This includes more than 1.3 billion people who use Facebook every day and 100 million users who are part of “meaningful groups” on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, and CEO said:
I’m proud of the progress our community is making, and it comes with a responsibility to make sure we have the most positive impact on the world that we can. That’s why, last month, we updated Facebook’s mission to focus not just on connecting the world, but also bringing the world closer together.
YouTube announce their plans to combat terrorism
Instagram introduce new feature to platform API
Instagram has introduced new features to the Instagram Platform API to support the needs of businesses and help them manage their organic presence by upgrading to Facebook’s Graph API. Businesses will be able to see how well their content is performing and overall presence on Instagram. They have also introduced comment moderation tools such as the ability to hide comments. This update will be rolled out in the next few weeks.
Twitter released Q2 earnings report
Twitter released its Q2 2017 Earnings Report, the report revealed some key improvements for Twitter such as:
- Monthly active usage increased 5% year-over-year
- Daily active usage increased 12% year-over-year
- Reported a second quarter revenue of $574 million, a decrease of 5% year-over-year
- 328 million total users at the end of Q2 2017
- Advertising revenue totaled $489 million, a decrease of 8% year-over-year.
- Total ad engagements increased 95% year-over-year. • Cost per engagement (CPE) decreased 53% year-over-year
You can read the full reports here.
LinkedIn launch multiple photos
LinkedIn announced that members can now select multiple photos into a single post. The ability to add multiple photos is available now on iOS, and is coming soon to Android and desktop.
Let us know what you think of these updates by connecting with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Don’t forget to join us next week for another weekly round up.