January 2018 | Social You Should Know

Facebook

• The new feature ‘Account Switcher’ lets you switch between Facebook accounts for easier page management.
• Facebook is testing the ability to Cross-Post Instagram Stories to WhatsApp Status.
• Manage your identity with the use of new Face Recognition Technology.
• A new feature called ‘snooze’ allows you to  temporarily unfollow a person, page or group for 30 days.

Snapchat

To make the app easier to use and therefore inspire more engagement from new and old users, Snapchat launched its newest update in Canada, the U.K. and Australia. The changed Algorithm now lists the most recent chats in the friends feed whereas the Discover feed will rank solely publishers, with subscriptions as a high-priority signal based on consumer behaviours. However the update is mostly causing anger and negative feedback amongst consumers.

Twitter

Twitter has a feature that lets you add a description to your pics for the visually impaired.

Youtube

Big changes ahead in paid content and sponsorships for YouTube Creators. New viewers can now subscribe for free to creator content, viewers will stop being charged for any existing subscriptions, all paid content will automatically be made private, and more.

What’s to Come in 2018

Facebook

• Newsfeed Update: Zuckerberg has pledged to change our news feeds, so that posts from friends and family members are prioritized over posts from publishers and brands in order to boost the well-being of users. Facebook could even take a step further and separate news from the news feed.  Zuckerberg said the change was informed by research that shows the “well-being” of users is better served by connecting with friends and family than by “passively reading articles or watching videos.”
• As videos are discovered through friends and bring communities together Facebook created a dedicated place they can go to watch videos: Facebook Watch is a new personalized platform for shows on Facebook. After it’s launch somewhere in 2018, it has a good chance to compete highly against Netflix and Amazon within video marketing.
• Facebook Dives into the Home Device Market with a video chat product called “Portal”, available from May 2018.  Rather than positioning the device as a smart assistant like Amazon’s Echo speakers, Portal is a way for families and friends to stay connected through video chatting and other social features.

LinkedIn

• LinkedIn is set on becoming the essential platform for human resource professionals and job seekers in 2018, including further integration with Microsoft’s offerings, improved professional datasets, and more..

Snapchat

• Snapchat could end up taking a page from Facebook’s Instagram by introducing a live video feature to the app.
• A new option called ‘Stories Everywhere’ would enable users to post Snaps outside of Snapchat itself.
• Snap is believed to be planning a second generation of Spectacles that could use AR to detect a user’s location and beam relevant content onto a live video feed.
• There is even talk of Snapchat’s own phone with more VR + AR possibilities.

Instagram

• The future of Instant Shopping on Instagram is closer than we think. Shopping the Feed and Tap to Purchase is seeing high opportunities to get more engagement this year.
• More evolvement of image-based discovery. Users will be able to search specific objects in posts instead of hashtags / names.

What Else Can We Expect?

• Chatbots are coming of age this year.
• Google’s micro-moments.
• Advanced image-based discovery like Google Lens.
• Cheaper, better 360 degree cameras for videos like these.
• Voice Search and navigation is likely to become the hands-free way to get your messages out to friends in the social media landscape.
• More livestreams in Social Media strategies due to growing demand for live content.
• 2018 is likely to become the year that wires and cords become obsolete, with companies making more effort to get rid of cables all together.
• Digital Hang-outs like Houseparty will become a thing.
• Cheaper, more improved and less tethered Virtual Reality.