Weekly social news roundup! #4
Climate change AR, Facebook’s dating reveal, Beyonce dance challenges and more…
Welcome to the AnalogFolk weekly social news roundup, a weekly collection of the best social news of the week, compiled by our Social Media Manager, Rachel Bennett.
1. Instagram users can now buy influencer looks
Following last month’s rollout of ‘Checkout’ on Instagram, which allows users to make purchases from select brands within the app, the platform will now allow users to shop directly from Influencer posts; a natural next step for the social giant.
Soon users will be able to tap on a photo, see what they’re wearing, check out who else has worn it and buy it without even leaving the app. At the moment there will only be about 50 influencers and creators who’ll be testing out the function in the US, such as Gigi Hadid and the Kardashians/Jenners.
This is huge news for Instagram in terms of shopping. The feature will help influencers close that gap between inspiration and purchase and help brands better asses how much ROI they’re getting from their influencer marketing. Not only that, but product-specific tagging will help those tapping product tags every month, more quickly identify and potentially purchase those products.
Keep your eyes peeled!
Full story here.
2. Snapchat shows effects of climate change with Earth Day Lens
To mark this year’s Earth Day, Snapchat launched a new Lens in partnership with the United Nations which showed the projected waterline in the year 2100, if emissions continue without change. The interactive Lens (which was available for one day only), also allowed users to tap the ‘More’ button to be taken to the UN Environmental website, which offered more detail on climate change.
Full story here.
3. Facebook redesigns its core app
In an announcement at Facebook’s F8 event, the company is making a bid to move away from the News Feed and roll out a refreshed design, making events and groups centre stage on the app.
Facebook is making a conscious effort to ensure groups are visible in every part of the app, so it’ll start promoting groups in areas like Marketplace and Watch. With the new design, the platform says you’ll be able to post to any group you’re a part of from the News Feed as if you were posting to your own profile. As for Events, Facebook is putting a big emphasis on helping you find stuff to do in your local neighbourhood. The new tab will have a better map view for seeing where the events you’re interested in are in proximity to each other.
Since the rollout, we have noticed that there is, in fact, no emphasis on making Groups and Events centre stage at the moment, as it still defaults to the News Feed. Facebook relies heavily on the News Feed for ad spend, so they’ll need to do more if they want to change a user’s experience and make Groups and Events part of a bigger plan.
A lot more info on the redesign here.
4. Facebook launches a new feature ‘Secret Crush’
This year’s F8 conference, Facebook has announced that ‘Dating’ is opening in 14 more countries, bringing the total to 19 and is launching a new feature with it called ‘Secret Crush’. How does it work I hear you singletons ask? A user chooses up to 9 friends they’re into and if those 9 friends have opted into Facebook Dating too, they’ll be notified that some friend has a crush on them. If they add you as a Secret Crush too, you’re both notified and can start chatting on Messenger.
The launch is in the hope that users who have ‘2,000 friends’ on Facebook (how?!) have a good chance that one of those people is a good match for them. ‘Dating’ revolves around users opting in and browsing Events and Groups they’re part of for potential matches. Users can then send them a text-only message based on something in their profile which goes to a special Dating inbox. And if that person reciprocates, they can chat and potentially meet up. We’ll let you make your mind up on whether the whole thing’s creepy or cute…
Full story here.
5. Beyonce launches #BeforeILetGoChallenge on Instagram Stories
In her first ever Instagram Story, Queen B has launched the #BeforeILetYouGo challenge — the latest viral dance challenge which encourages fans to share their “Before I Let Go” dance videos after the singer released the cover of the 1981 banger by Frankie Beverly and Maze as part of her new Homecoming documentary on Netflix.
With a $60 million deal with the streaming giant which includes two more specials, we’re sure this won’t be the only viral craze to come from the singer.
Full story here.
Catch last week’s social news here.
Want to catch up on the latest in innovation? Read our weekly innovation roundup here.
