This was a slightly lighter month for social media updates than last month, but there were quite a few for Facebook, as well as some for Twitter and Instagram.
Facebook will turn its Messenger service into a platform similar to Snapchat in the sense that it will become a messaging service which third parties can use to deliver content and communicate more directly with their audience.
Learn more: Facebook to Turn Messenger into a Platform Similar to Snapchat
Facebook announced a major enhancement to its Messenger service that will allow friends to easily and securely send money to each other. This feature, which is free, will be available to US users within the coming months.
Learn more: Facebook Makes It Possible To Send Money Between Friends
Facebook acquired shopping search engine, The Find, in an effort to improve the social network’s advertising efforts.
Learn more: Facebook Acquires Top Shopping Search Engine In Effort To Improve Commerce Ads
Facebook is giving Page owners access to topic data, which shows marketers what audiences are saying on Facebook about events, brands, subjects, and activities.
Learn more: Facebook Introduces Topic Data: Learn What Your Audience Is Discussing on Facebook
Some Facebook Page owners saw a drop in likes early in the month as Facebook no longer counted Page likes from deactivated and memorialized accounts.
Learn more: Facebook Warns Page Owners About Upcoming Drop in Page Likes
Twitter debuted a new embedded video widget, which works just like Twitter’s official Tweet buttons and embedded tweets.
Learn more: Twitter-Hosted Video Can Now Be Embedded On Your Website
Larry Kim, the Founder/CTO of WordStream, shared a case study and first-hand insight on Twitter content tips to get more retweets.
Learn more: 5 Ways to Get 10x More Retweets on Twitter
Twitter also updated its rules with new language that explicitly prohibits users from posting explicit photos without the subject’s consent.
Learn more: Twitter Updates Privacy Policy to Address Revenge Porn
Instagram will start showing clickable links, but only in its new multi-photo carousel ads that can tell a story by letting you swipe through four branded images in sequence.
Learn more: Instagram Starts Letting Ads Be Clickable
Instagram unveiled Layout, a standalone app that lets users create photo collages from images on their phone’s camera roll.
Learn more: Instagram Launches Layout, an App for Photo Collages
Kelsey Jones and I discussed these latest updates in our monthly videocast:
Which of these latest updates will have the largest effect on your social media marketing strategy?
Photo credits:
Facebook messenger photo via Facebook blog
Laser cat photo via Larry Kim of WordStream
