We’re approaching the home stretch of 2015, and, as usual, some of our favorite social networks continue to evolve.
Of course, it’s not always butterflies and roses for all brands on social media. IHOP made news for some of their off-color posts, while their pancake-welding counterpart, Denny’s, shined.
In addition to social network changes and online controversies, research is emerging on relevant data points for the end of 2015 and what to look to in the future. Brian Harnish put together an excellent overview of 25 social media facts for the end of 2015, among which is emphasis on the growing mobile landscape.
Although November was a slightly slower month for social media updates, there were numerous changes to some of the smaller social networks like Reddit and Tumblr.
Here’s the latest social media news from November:
Facebook will roll out a new post format called Music Stories. Music Stories will trigger when iPhone users share songs from either Apple Music or Spotify.
Learn More: Facebook Introduces New Post Format Called Music Stories
Instagram is testing users’ ability to manage multiple accounts from a single dashboard, similar to the way you can in Facebook or Twitter.
Learn More: Instagram Tests Multiple Account Feature
Google+
Google+ has been reimagined a home on the web for communities and collections. Google describes its redesigned social network as being simpler and more mobile-friendly.
Learn More: Google Decides Google+ is a Place For Communities and Collections
SEJ conducted a study on whether hashtags increase post visibility on Google+. The findings show that posts with hashtags received 1.23 times more +1s. However, the final data is actually inconclusive.
Learn More: Do Google+ Hashtags Increase Visibility? An Exclusive Study
Pinterest introduced new search functionality that will allow people to find pins of items pictured in other pins.
Learn More: Pinterest Introduces Visual Search, Find Items Pictured in Pins
Steve Huffman, the returning co-founder of Reddit who took up the role of CEO, says Reddit replaced the controversial Shadowbans with account suspensions. Reddit defines Shadowbans as, “the tool we currently use to ban people when they are caught breaking a rule.”
Learn More: Reddit Finally Ends Shadowbans, Replaces With Account Suspensions
Snapchat
Snapchat’s enabling its publishing partners to promote their channels on Facebook and Twitter with links directly to their content.
Learn More: Snapchat Now Allowing Some Publishers to ‘Deep Link’ To Their Content
Tumblr
Tumblr is the latest social network to get its own built-in instant messaging feature, available now on Android, iOS, and desktop.
Learn More: Tumblr Gets Its Own Instant Messaging Feature in Mobile + Desktop Update
What updates will have the biggest impact on your social media strategy?
Image Credits
Featured Image: Image by Paulo Bobita
In-post photo #1: d8nn/Shutterstock.com
In-post photo #2: Your Design/Shutterstock.com
In-post photo #3: Roman Pyshchyk/Shutterstock.com
