Facebook tests out topical tabs for news feeds in Australia
Facebook is testing out a new way to see a stream of stories that focus on specific topics. With default topics like some default topics such as Animals & Pets, Politics, Travel, TV & Movies and Relationships, content is delivered in a unified timeline comprising of sources from pages that users may not have liked, news sources, or other users. It remains to be seen how this new feature will impact the work of brands and marketers.
Why do new mums post more on Facebook?
If you noticed that many new parents choose to use their newborn as a profile picture on Facebook, you’re not alone. Research found that women feel more societal pressure (as compared to men) to be perfect parents and view motherhood as a central aspect of their identities. Brands could definitely empower and engage with these mothers on their journey with content that is both relevant and informative.
Detergent ad slammed for contreversial undertones
Every once in a while, we encounter advertisements so absurd it makes us wonder: “Who approved it?” Chinese laundry detergent brand Qiaobi recently released a TV ad showing a man of African going through a washing machine cycle and emerging as a Chinese man. As expected, the internet picked up on this and the brand was bombarded on social media with accusations of bring racist and xenophobic. The ad was subsequently removed and an apology was issued. With the internet being readily access by a global audience, it would be prudent for brands and marketers alike to remember that being culturally sensitive to just their local market is not sufficient.
Twitter changes character rules to attract new users
Write more even with 140-characters! Twitter has announced it will be changing its rules about what counts as characters on its platform. Photos, videos and usernames will not take up character allowances anymore. On top of that, tweets beginning with usernames will not be hidden feeds as well. What this means for brands is that when they tweet at users (be it with support replies or answers), other followers will see them as well, hence improving visibility.
Facebook Live lets you skip to the best bits.
With the prevalence of live-streaming, it is inevitable that we would have to sit through parts of the video that has absolutely nothing happening. Thanks to Facebook’s new feature,you can now skip forward to the most exciting parts of videos that have received the the most engagement from other viewers
