Sherrilynne Starkie
Here are some of the innovations and new features introduced by Twitter, Facebook, LinkIn and Pinterest this week.
For those for whom 280 characters are not enough, Twitter is introducing ‘tweetstorms’! Soon long rants can be composed tweet by tweet and then published in order by clicking “Tweet All”. This is going to be a popular feature for many (I’m looking at you Donald), including brands. The new feature is being tested now and should be made available soon. This cool feature will allow longer form content onto Twitter which make it a more relevant channel for brands.
Remember QR codes? These machine-readable labels seemed so full of promise for marketers about 10 years ago, but they never really caught on in North America. Now Pinterest is introducing its own version to help users jump easily to boards by using their smart phone cameras. This is big news for retailers and lifestyle brands wishing to boost instore sales.
Using LinkedIn for lead generation just got easier. The professionals’ social network is introducing lead forms for Sponsored InMails. Now with just one click, the form will be populated with a prospects name, email address and other data. Move over recruiters. LinkedIn keeps getting better and better for marketers and sales professionals.
Stories are popular on Instagram and Snapchat, but haven’t really caught on for Facebook until now. With the introduction of a new features for use on pages, events and groups we are all going to see a lot more stories in our Facebook feeds including Stories posted to Instagram and Messenger. Ephemeral content is known for boosting audience engagement and loyalty, so watch for brands to pile in.
Video creators are getting a whole slew of tools and resources from Facebook. The Facebook Creator app (only on iOS) is designed for livestreaming and the website is full of how to information and tips. More evidence that Facebook is gunning for YouTube in the race for video content supremacy.
