Sherrilynne Starkie
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter have all launched new apps or features this week. Find out more here.
WhatsApp Business, is similar to Facebook Messenger and Skype: it helps businesses connect with customers. It includes multimedia messaging, free calls, free international messaging, and group chats. It also offers customizable quick replies and accessibility to users’ statistics.
Facebook is now prioritizing local news as a part of a new emphasis on high-quality news. Stories from local news publishers may appear higher in news feed for followers in publishers’ geographic areas.
Now, business users on Instagram can schedule updates with ease and security as the social network has added new API functionality. Hootsuite is one of the first partners to implement the API.
Twitter is converting Moments into its version of Snapchat’s Publisher Stories. Called Sponsored Moments, it allows brands to sponsor individual publishers’ Moments, and that deal includes the brand being featured on the Moment’s cover and ads appearing throughout.
A group of 100 experts, advocates and parenting organizations sent Facebook a letter saying, “Messenger Kids is not responding to a need — it is creating one. It appeals primarily to children who otherwise would not have their own social media accounts."
