Platform Five: This Week’s Most Important Social Media Changes
What changed? And, why are these changes important?
We’re back with another edition of Platform Five, our weekly wrap of the social media changes from the last seven days.
Our weekly wrap also includes some of the latest social media tools that have surfaced around the web, especially ones that make your life a little easier.
As usual, there has been a bunch of movement from the major players, especially in relation to social ads and sponsored posts.
This week’s five most important social media changes
1. Instagram announces the official launch of advertisements – we knew they were coming, and now Instagram has confirmed it. We’ve been promised that the ads will feel natural as possible but expect a big outcry once people start seeing them invade their feeds. However, the introduction of Instagram ads will create several opportunities for businesses providing they are used in the right manner and add to the overall user experience.
2. Pinterest’s promoted pins start to roll out – this social media change was announced a little while ago but promoted pins have only started to surface this week. It will be interesting to see how businesses use this feature, and again using the right content will be key.
3. Google Analytics introduces major changes to the analytics dashboard – we were the first people to break this story and wrote an exclusive article on Search Engine Journal outlining the significance of the change. The key change to be aware of is the change from the reporting of ‘traffic sources’ to ‘acquisitions’ with an increased focus on social media referrals.
4. Snapchat introduces ‘stories’ – Snapchat is famous for it’s disposable content which disappears after a few seconds but this week’s announcement signals the first step in the evolution of the platform. The Stories feature is a timeline-style function for media you want to share in a public forum and will live for 24 hours.
5. Google provides limited access to a new version of ‘maps’ – Google is known for constant changes to its entire product suite and this is another good example. According to the Google Maps blog, the most significant change resulting from this update is the introduction of directions for multiple destinations.
Some bonus tips and tools
Brevado.com – an interactive project timeline tool.
Metta.io – a visual storytelling tool which flips web content into video lessons.