Despite the popularity of Instagram Stories, Facebook’s equivalent hasn’t quite seen the same success. In a potential effort to get users on the platform more interested in the feature, Facebook appears to be testing a new Facebook Stories layout, utilising swipeable grids containing 6 stories each. These Stories are displayed at the top of the home feed, taking up majority of the screen when viewed on most mobile devices. Facebook has yet to announce if and when this new format will be rolled out officially.
Ads will soon appear on WhatsApp
With more than 1.5 billion monthly users, it was only a matter of time before WhatsApp allowed brands and businesses to tap into its colossal user base through paid advertising. WhatsApp’s vice president Chris Daniels announced last week that these ads would be incorporated within the “Status” section of the app, a section similar to Instagram and Snapchat’s “Stories” feature, allowing users to share text, photos, and videos for a period of 24 hours. Though WhatsApp’s “Status” still falls behind Instagram Stories in terms of popularity, it has already overtaken Snapchat, with over 450 million daily users, giving brands an incredible opportunity to reach new audiences. Ads from Facebook will likely be displayed in “Status,” though Daniels did not announce when this ad implementation will take place.
Honda Drives a Different Route for Halloween
Instead of playing up some scares, Honda did some Trick-Or-Tweeting. The brand engaged some of Halloween’s MVPs – candy brands – on twitter, calling out their products and, where relevant, ongoing Halloween campaigns.
Does it have anything to do with selling a car? No. But it did ignite some sweet interactions when those brands started responding; and allowed Honda to create a more memorable, engaging set of Halloween content than what we might usually see.
