The return of sports has been a welcome distraction for many, and a new report from Snapchat underlines the value of sports for younger audiences.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/snapchat-shares-new-insight-into-snapchatter-discussion-around-the-return-o/585539/
Facebook has published a new guide for video creators, which includes a range of notes on how to engage your online community and maximize video response.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-publishes-new-guide-for-video-creators/585538/
Facebook has provided some new insight into its improved video metrics, available within Creator Studio.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-outlines-how-to-make-best-use-of-its-new-video-insights-within-cre/585537/
Facebook has provided some new tips on branded content and Stories ads, based on internal data insights.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-provides-new-tips-on-branded-content-and-stories-ads-infographic/585535/
New downloads of TikTok and WeChat will be banned in the US, as negotiations over the future of the app continue.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/us-government-announces-ban-on-new-downloads-of-tiktok-as-takeover-discussi/585532/
LinkedIn has published a new guide to its various retargeting options to help you maximize your campaigns.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/linkedin-shares-new-list-of-retargeting-best-practices-and-tips-infographi/585470/
Facebook has published the latest version of its Global State of Small Business report, which looks at the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on business activity.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-shares-new-insights-into-the-impacts-of-covid-19-on-small-business/585468/
Pinterest has published a new guide which highlights the power of positivity in encouraging people to buy from your business.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/pinterest-highlights-the-power-of-positivity-while-criticizing-engagement-/585464/
Facebook is implementing new rules on groups, after various reports on how Facebook Groups facilitate the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-announces-new-rules-for-groups-to-address-concerns-with-misinforma/585459/
Twitter will call on all US election candidates to review their account security as part of a new measure to protect the integrity of the election process.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitter-implements-new-security-measures-to-protect-the-accounts-of-us-elec/585453/
Oracle's deal to become a 'trusted technology partner' for ByteDance-owned TikTok in the US is now before the US Government.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/oracletiktok-deal-which-is-also-set-to-include-walmart-being-assessed-by/585450/
Facebook has launched a new platform to help small businesses manage their Facebook and Instagram presences from one app.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-launches-facebook-business-suite-an-all-in-one-management-tool/585445/
In this infographic, we go back to early 2019 and outline every legal action Facebook has taken since in the fight against platform misuse.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/a-timeline-of-facebooks-legal-actions-against-platform-misuse-infographic/585013/
With watch time of YouTube content on home TV screens rising, the platform has added some new ad tools to help advertisers reach more specific viewer segments.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-offers-new-ad-tools-to-help-marketers-tap-into-the-rise-in-youtube/585385/
Google has added some new features to its listings for local stores and products to improve the shopping process.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/google-adds-new-listing-details-to-streamline-in-store-purchases/585376/
Pinterest has released a new overview of key content trends as we head into the last months of 2020.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/pinterest-releases-new-data-on-key-trends-heading-into-the-last-quarter-of/585372/
Facebook and Instagram shops are coming, and they could have a big impact in the eCommerce space.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/a-small-business-guide-to-facebook-shops-infographic/585370/
Facebook has announced a range of coming AR and VR tools, including its 'Aria' AR glasses and AR ads for Instagram.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-announces-new-advances-in-vr-and-ar-including-ar-glasses-coming-n/585367/
Facebook has launched a new training program with Coursera to help people get certified digital marketing training.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-partners-with-coursera-on-new-social-media-marketing-professional/585305/
Facebook is rolling out a new testing option for organic video uploads, in order to help Pages maximize video performance.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-new-organic-post-testing-option-to-creator-studio/585304/
Facebook is adding some new tools to both Facebook and Instagram to help users celebrate Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-new-features-to-celebrate-latinx-and-hispanic-heritage-month/585298/
2020 has been ripe with change, uncertainty, and endless efforts to manage the uncertain outcomes of our decisions as best we can. Beyond the fear of contracting the virus are the new realities of working from home, virtual schooling, and lack of physical interaction with colleagues, family, and friends. While mask-wearing, frequent handwashing and social distancing have become the norm as a way of avoiding physical illness, ongoing worry and stress continue to exacerbate mental health challenges.
For the one in five who already have mental health conditions – or the one in two who are at risk of developing them – this issue is an important one, arguably as crucial as physical safety. Organizations and platforms continue to show their dedication to this growing issue in a variety of updates. Most recently, as part of this year’s WWorld Suicide Prevention Day, Facebook announced the rollout of several new mental health support updates. Specifically, the platform is introducing new parameters on self-harm related content, utilizing mobile messaging to offer expert support in real-time, and promoting digital literacy on the topic of suicide prevention.
In a recent survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half (53%) of adults in the U.S. reported their mental health has been negatively impacted due to the coronavirus, up from 32 percent in March. Specifically, respondents reported difficulty sleeping (36%) or eating (32%), increases in alcohol consumption or substance abuse (12%) and worsening chronic conditions (12%) due to increased stress and anxiety.
A separate report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted this past June, found that one in four young adults between 18 and 24 said they considered suicide in the 30 days prior to the study citing the pandemic as the leading factor. This topic involves a delicate balance by the part of platforms and poses new questions and obstacles that must be carefully considered, specifically what constitutes “harmful” and where to draw the line between what is in violation of platform guidelines or not.
Last year Instagram expanded its ban on images of self-harm and now Facebook is looking to expand upon its already-existing rules regarding self-harm related content. While some content may not technically be in violation of the rules, the platform is working closely with experts to implement restrictions on content including “depressing quotes or memes” to protect those particularly vulnerable during these times. This is a difficult line to walk however, as for some who may not feel comfortable sharing their struggles, quotes or memes may be a useful coping mechanism.
The proliferation of mobile messaging offers brands and platforms a number of opportunities to connect with communities in unprecedented ways.
Recent data from eMarketer shows that in 2020 there are around 2.7 billion mobile phone messaging app users worldwide, and this number is projected to grow to 3.1 billion by 2023. For context, this equates to roughly 40 percent of the global population. During an age of social distancing, the time is now to turn to this trend as an integral way to share resources, insights, and foster connection. In this vein, as part of its recent push to support mental health Facebook is introducing a new, real-time assistance option via Messenger chat.
“Getting people help in real-time is especially important when they are in distress. In the coming months, we’ll make it easier for people to talk in real-time with trained crisis and mental health support volunteers over Messenger,” the company shared in its News blog.
With 1.3 billion people using Messenger to date and with plans officially underway to merge WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger into a single app, this could be a seamless and non-intrusive way for those seeking help to get access to the resources they need.
In May Instagram announced its ‘Guides’ options for profiles, enabling users to more easily discover content including tips on how to look after your well-being, maintaining connection with others or managing anxiety or grief from their favorite creators and brands.
Building on this, Facebook is launching localized guides offering targeted ways to support those who are struggling. The company pointed to The Suicide Prevention of India’s guide, which emphasizes fostering social connectedness, Mentally Aware Nigeria’s guide catered to having safe conversations about suicide, and Samaritans HK of Hong Kong guide to simple but effective ways to check on your friends and loved ones as examples it seeks to emulate.
Beyond wellness guides, Facebook is doubling down on digital literacy by incorporating Orygen’s #chatsafe guidelines to its Safety Center — the primary aim of the move being to help educators better navigate mental health conversations with their students. In addition, Facebook unveiled its ‘Get Digital’ digital citizenship and wellbeing program featuring a microsite of courses spanning key themes of connection, empowerment, and engagement.
In tandem with the new program, Facebook will host a series of live events throughout this month September tackling a variety of key concerns in the midst of an abnormal academic year — the first of which will leverage insights from the JED Foundation to address mental health.
Mental health has been a prominent and recurring topic in recent months but one worth keeping at the front of our messaging and stories. As marketers, we play an instrumental role in helping remove the stigma and making the practice of digital empathy more mainstream. Creating shared understanding and experiences in an age of social distancing has its challenges, but there are also tremendous opportunities for how can we use the power of technology to address these issues.
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The post 3 Ways Facebook is Supporting Mental Health appeared first on Social Media Week.
http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2020/09/3-ways-facebook-is-supporting-mental-health/
Do you have a cause about which you are passionate, but your efforts have not returned the results you had hoped? Unfortunately, social media and blogging can only take you so far.
As a non-profit, or as someone concerned with a cause, funding is limited. So you might think that video marketing is beyond your capabilities, or maybe even too much trouble. However, producing video content is possible
If we want to really see how valuable video marketing is, we should look at some statistics:
As you can see, video marketing is powerful and it is worth creating video content. You may still worry that it is too expensive or too difficult. Luckily, neither have to be the case!
Here are some common misconceptions about video marketing and how to get started.
Video marketing doesn’t require you to go out and buy expensive, fancy equipment before you get started. In fact, you may already have what you need right beside you. Smartphones have become incredible replacements for expensive cameras and can capture anything just as well as most digital camera models. You may want to get a tripod to keep it steady, which is fairly inexpensive.
Editing doesn’t have to be a hassle either. Tools like Renderforest are full video makers with a low subscription price and will help you along the way.
Hosting platforms like Vimeo have on-site video editing tools. If you don’t want to do it yourself, Fiverr has a large number of experienced video editors who you can pay to help you out for a much lower price than you would expect.
The point is, you have options that can fit your budget.
Maybe you feel a little leery because you have never made a video before. Everyone feels this way when they first start doing video marketing. But you have a secret weapon up your sleeve: your passion for your cause. You are dedicated to seeing your message reach as far as possible, to spread that awareness.
This gives you an eye that you might not know you have. All you have to do is show others what is important to you. Let them see the subject directly, and show them, not just tell them. The results will be incredible.
If you need a quick tip to get started, create a video with many faces in it. It has been scientifically proven, that people relate better to content when they see faces in them. There is something about seeing a human face that gets the neurons in our brain excited and highly active when perceiving it Since most non-profits talk to people’s emotions and ampathy, this tactic perfectly applies to a non-profit video strategy.
Keeping an eye on your competitors or peers and monitoring what they are doing in terms video marketing is another good way to come up with content ideas.
This is the best one of all. While it seems overwhelming, all it takes to start is a subject that you want to record. What would be most effective at telling the story of your cause? Every video should start out with this question, because you are going to be answering it every time you pick up your camera.
Next, you need to ask yourself what style you are looking for. Are you going to sit in front of the camera and talk? A live shoot? A storytime style video with clips, footage, voice-over and music? You are in control and so you will be deciding what your audience needs to see most and how.
Let’s look at a couple examples to help give you an idea of what has been effective in other non-profit campaigns:
High Jump Providing Tuition-Free School Programs For Middle Schoolers
High Jump is a non-profit that creates educational programs meant to help seventh and eighth grade students increase their knowledge in multiple categories, such as art and science. This video campaign netted them $215,000 donations from viewers.
LifeBuoy On A Mission To Save Children Around The World
Lifebuoy launched a campaign that followed Sangrah, an expecting mother. The purpose was to illustrate their efforts to help with prenatal and postnatal care. Their mission is to help children live to the age of five, which 6 million children per year never reach.
Handwashing was the primary focus on this particular experiment, which can help to strengthen the health of the fetus, as well as the mother. The video is incredibly well made and tells a story that makes you really care about the subject of the film.
Do you see how each of these videos uses a different storytelling style that still gets the message across? They also appealed to the emotional response of the viewer. Each was touching in its own way, but they both target different emotions. You should be asking yourself what emotion each video you create is trying to convey.
To get you started, here are a few helpful resources:
How do you know if your video is successful? For most companies, it would be based on views and conversions.
It is a little more complicated for non-profits and will depend on what you deem most important. Is it based on number of donations? If so, how many donations? Is it important for them to click through to your site? What social media activity are you looking to generate? You choose the metrics, so you control what defines a successful video marketing campaign.
One of the most universal metric monitoring tactics is to keep an eye on conversions a particular traffic source is generating. Finteza is a perfect tool for that because it allows you to easily narrow down your reports to a particular traffic source and measure incoming conversions:
Consumers are itching to support non-profits that promote causes close to their hearts, so your small investment in video marketing will pay off. Make sure to your story and decide on how you’re going to measure the success, and you will gain more support for your cause.
Join 100,000+ fellow marketers who advance their skills and knowledge by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.
The post How to Use Video Marketing to Promote a Cause appeared first on Social Media Week.
http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2020/09/how-to-use-video-marketing-to-promote-a-cause/
With COVID-19 restrictions still in place around the world, the need for virtual events is more apparent than ever. Numerous platforms have stepped up in an effort to fill the void with a variety of features from Facebook’s paid online events and Instagram’s announcement of monetization in IGTV to LinkedIn’s introduction of virtual events into pages. One thing is clear from this flurry of updates — these options are here to stay and will likely be utilized long after the pandemic is behind us.
Today, Google is getting involved and providing more tools in this space through an expanded launch of its Fundo virtual events platform aimed to help creators and brands seamlessly schedule and host events through simplified organization and promotional tools.
Originally developed in 2018 by Google’s Area 120 incubator, Fundo began as a tool to allow YouTube creators a way to organize host paid, ticketed virtual meet-and-greet events. Following a beta launch last summer for several hundred testers including fitness instructors, business and lifestyle consultants, Fundo is now available for anyone to use and can be leveraged for a variety of cases including workout and cooking classes and workshops.
“Over the past year, many parts of life had to move online and become virtual. While we didn’t build Fundo specifically because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mission of creating meaningful experiences online is even more important today,” shared John Gregg, General Manager at Fundo in the official announcement.
The one-on-one focus is an important way for creators to host an intimate event with a single individual or small group while workshops are an important feature during a time when small businesses including are facing substantial obstacles. Outside of presenting more ways to spread the word and share content, the option adds greater flexibility in which creators can schedule an event in advance, or let fans request a time and have the option to bring in co-hosts or special guests.
“In 2020, a lot of things are online,” Gregg said in a separate statement to Variety. “We’re not exclusive for YouTube creators. We think it provides value to any kind of creator… There are lots of different ways it can be used.”
A primary goal of Fundo is to take the headache out of hosting a virtual event, especially when you’re dealing with a ticketed experience. Through a single end-to-end platform, creators and businesses can schedule their event, manage sign-up and payment processes, communicate details about the livestream, and more.
There are no apps for external software necessary for Fundo: Event hosts and their guests access everything on the site through a special-purpose video-chat system separate from YouTube. A fan favorite feature? The built-in “photo booth” feature, in which each attendee gets a photo with a creator-customized frame.
Hosts are in control of the price to sign up and any discounts and whether they want a given event to be free, though Google takes a 20 percent cut of revenue generated per Gregg. Furthermore, some creators using YouTube Channel Memberships are able to offer Fundo Meet & Greets exclusively to channel members as a premium perk. To help fuel cross-channel promotion, Fundo users are able to create an account including their other social media profile details, as well as a personalized URL for easier access.
Fans are able to find events happening on Fundo through the home page, or through links that their creators share. Once they’ve chosen an event iall they simply have to do is answer a few basic questions, and complete a ticket purchase. Fundo manages everything else including generating the event link and sending reminders leading up to the event. The platform also provides technical support if it is needed.
While Fundo prides itself on putting creators in control of their event, safety is also a top priority. To support in this regard, Fundo checks every event guest’s ticket and monitors for reporting and flagging of potentially harmful or abusive content
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The post How Google’s ‘Fundo’ is Reimagining the World of Virtual Events appeared first on Social Media Week.
http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2020/09/how-googles-fundo-is-reimagining-the-world-of-virtual-events/
Snapchat's in-app voting push is having an impact, with over 400k people signing on to vote already via the app.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/snapchat-reports-that-400k-people-have-already-registered-to-vote-via-its-i/585293/
