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Some may argue that David Attenborough is the ultimate influencer, well this week he has joined Instagram to educate the internet on the fight against climate change. In other social media news, LinkedIn has had a makeover and YouTube are looking to educate their US users on the November 3rd election.
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Have you seen LinkedIn’s new user interface? You might have noticed the new LinkedIn UI on Friday morning, an update which has been launched globally and is designed for a smoother user experience. The professional network’s 2020 makeover includes the launch of Stories and video integrations within the platform. The search experience has also been streamlined, making it easier to filter searches by people, industry, jobs…the list goes on. More calls to action have also been added for businesses who use the platform, encouraging engagement from their followers and (hopefully) increasing brand awareness. Rumours have it that LinkedIn are looking to add a dark mode to the app too, so watch this space! If you haven’t seen LinkedIn’s new look, check it out now, and let us know what you think.
YouTube adds new prompts to limit US voter misunderstanding. The US election takes place in less than 35 days, and YouTube have launched efforts to provide their users access to “voting related content” and information. From now until the election, if you were to search for presidential or Congressional candidates on YouTube you will be shown an information panel, displaying information on that candidate above video search results. YouTube will also provide reminders on the platform and their social media profiles regarding “how to register, how to vote and where to vote”. Two new YouTube Originals are also being released with the aim to “bring you helpful election-related information through innovative and creative ways”. YouChoose2020 will be an interactive voting special, and Kid Correspondent is an election special which will take place in four parts. Find out more about YouTube’s new voting features here.
Facebook has launched an accounts centre to better connect its cross-data and payment systems. Users will be able to connect and authenticate their Facebook, Messenger and Instagram accounts from a central base, saving time logging into, re-opening and paying on specific apps. Initially, three types of account linking will be available: Story and Post Sharing, Facebook Pay Info, and Logging in Across Accounts. For Facebook’s full announcement, click here.
New ad slots and more marketing insights come to Pinterest. Last week we reported that Pinterest have released a holiday guide to advertising on the platform, and this week they have outlined their latest tools to help businesses reach more shoppers this impending festive season. After all, ecommerce is one of the buzzwords of 2020, and Pinterest are eager to get you marketing on their platform. Firstly, more ad slots are being launched, allowing advertisers to place ads in Pinterest Lens and the Shop tab alongside the option to shop by Pin. The availability of personalised shopping is also being expanded across the platform, just one year after the feature launched. Furthermore, a greater number of insights will be available to Pinterest marketers, showing more information in relation to the conversion path, starting from which Pin led to a sale. It is thought such in-depth data will get more advertisers using the platform this Christmas.
This week, LinkedIn have also launched new features to “Help Keep it Professional”. These new features come in the shape of warnings which will appear on potentially inappropriate messages on the professional network, alongside updates on behaviour guidelines. Previous to this, there hasn’t been any real transparency on the reporting process, but LinkedIn have explained “Over the last few weeks we’ve listened to and spoken with some members who feel there’s less engagement on some posts related to racial equity, with content not showing up as frequently on their connections’ feeds. We want to take a moment to address these concerns: We do not remove conversations about race and racism, provided the conversations follow our Professional Community Policies. If a post is removed, it is because we’ve found that it violates our policies.”
Congratulations to David Attenborough, who surpassed Instagram’s record for the fastest time any account has reached 1 million followers! The previous record was held by Jennifer Anniston when she joined the platform in October 2019. Attenborough reached seven figures in four hours and forty four minutes, with his debut post dedicated to the climate crisis reading “Saving our planet is now a communications challenge”. Join Attenborough’s growing follower base here!
