Social Media News: June 2018
If there's one thing that is constant about social media, it's that it is ever changing. Some of your favorite social media platforms rolled out big changes this month. Here are the highlights of what you should know:
Facebook Lets You View Competitor Ads
So this one is pretty cool in my opinion. Yes, that does mean your competitors can view your ads, but they can only see the ad creative. I like this because it gives people the chance to learn from the masters in their industry and get inspiration from others. Facebook calls this a move to greater transparency (which it is), but it's also a call to build better ads.
To find this feature, just visit a business page on Facebook and in the menu on the left-hand side, you'll see the option to view "Info and Ads". If the page is currently running ads, they will appear on the page.
Instagram Announces IGTV
IGTV is Instagram's new home for long-form (longer than 60 seconds) vertical video content. This is definitely a fun space to start playing in, especially if you already create a lot of video content. It will be awhile before people really start dominating this space so now is your chance to experiment with, learn, and master this new platform!
LinkedIn Introduces Carousel Ads for Sponsored Content
If you're advertising on LinkedIn (or are thinking about trying it) you'll now have the option to build a carousel ad like you do on Facebook. Learn more here.
Instagram Announces How Its Algorithm Works
You can view the full breakdown here. Instagram also denies the existence of "shadow-bans", despite many people (myself included) claiming to have experienced the effects of being shadow-banned.
Facebook Rolls Out Even More Tools for Non-Profits
If you operate a non-profit, you need to know about the full suite of tools available to you via the Facebook platform. You will have to go through a somewhat rigorous process to get verified as a non-profit, but the extra effort is worth it as you really have some cool options. See the latest update here.
Instagram Lets You Add Music to Stories
While this feature isn't yet available in all countries, it's still pretty cool that Instagram now lets users select music from their library to add to their stories on the platform. This feature is also only available for iOS at the moment, but Android is coming soon.
What do you think of these changes? Which one are you most excited to try out? Let me know in the comments below!