Q3 is right around the corner! With that, we bring you the June edition of the Social Media Water Cooler. As always, we’re covering new features and trends from the social media platforms most relevant to the digital marketing industry in 2019.
Facebook’s F8 Conference & FB5 Redesign
On April 30th, Facebook held their annual F8 conference with more than 5,000 developers, creators, and entrepreneurs coming together to discuss the recent technological advances and opportunities for the future of the social platform. Among several updates around Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, one of the largest announcements was Facebook’s updated design, referred to as ‘FB5‘. With a renewed focus on the consumer experience, this update provides a home for users to more readily connect with relevant content and with people who share similar interests and passions.
Snapchat Overhauls Android App
After announcing an overhaul in November 2017, Snapchat rolled out an updated Android app for India and other emerging markets in Q1 2019. The new version is 20% faster and saw an immediate 6% increase from users in markets where iPhones are not the most predominant device. “There are billions of Android devices in the world that now have access to an improved Snapchat experience, and we look forward to being able to grow our Snapchat community in new markets,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said.
Facebook Streamlines Ads Manager Interface
In a continued effort to improve the tools and products available for advertisers, Facebook has announced a series of updates to its core Ads Manager interface. While rolling out slowly to all advertisers throughout the year, the updates should simplify navigation, provide additional tools to create and edit ads, and streamline campaign management to improve overall efficiency.
Messenger Automates New Customer Communication
In Facebook’s family of platforms, Messenger has quickly grown, with over 20 billion messages exchanged each month, and Facebook is eager to help businesses connect with these new audiences. New capabilities for lead generation and appointment booking through Messenger are currently in beta testing, with the hopes of automating customer communication. Through lead generation templates, businesses can drive people to an automated question and answer flow to better understand what customers are seeking. The appointment booking interface integrates with a calendar system to show up-to-date availability and allow users to book right away.
Let’s Get Quizzicle
Engagement with followers on social media platforms has always been a great way to build a relationship with your audience and now Instagram has built a new interactive Quiz Sticker to further prompt this social interaction. Similar to Poll Stickers launched in 2017, this update will provide a means to generate additional touchpoints with social media users looking to get to know your brand.
Interested in looking at the last installment of this series? Check out the SMWC: Q1 2019 in Review.
