Published in

thesocialnerd

5 min readJun 21, 2017

Storytelling. It’s so important yet so many brands fail to realize that this is why brands like Red Bull, NIKE, and Apple are connecting with coveted audiences. Yes, these brands do make some pretty dope products, however, they tell a story. Long gone are the days where you can just push out your product and hope your audience will swallow it after it’s been jammed down their throat. Okay, all vivid descriptions aside, Generation Z has grown up with social. They have grown up in an age where they get to choose what it is they want to see. Where they want to engage. How they interact. Brands that fail to recognize this are simply ignored or seen as interruptive (and not in a good way). But before I go off on a tangent, let me shut up. Let’s get to why you’re here — the Social Snapshot.

#NationalSelfieDay: Oh, we needed a day dedicated to this? Whelp, at least now I have a reason to post some of these awkward photos that are in my camera album of me starting back at myself. (Twitter)
George Clooney: Don’t worry Twitter didn’t try to kill one of your favorite actors off again. Yes, I’m assuming he is up there because I mean — c’mon it’s George Clooney. Anyhow, he sold his tequila company (that he started on accident) for $1 billion. Sheesh, I already love tequila why didn’t I start a company. (CNBC)
#WinterIsHere: It’s the first day of summer, but Game of Thrones just dropped a new trailer for season 7. Needless to say, like Walking Dead, you will NOT be catching me on Sundays when this starts back up. (Twitter)
Travis Kalanick: This name may look foreign to some, but his company surely isn’t. Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber, has resigned after pressure from investors after recent drama. (NY Times)
Netflix Interactive Storytelling: A new option on Netflix is rolling out that puts viewers in the director’s chair. Viewers get to make the choice on how the story unfolds. I’ll let you watch the trailer for it below, but I think this is absolutely cool as s#!%. (Digital Trends)

Social/Content News

Facebook

GIFs in Comments: Facebook has rolled out GIF support in comments. Personally, I have been waiting on this for some time now. What better way to express yourself than a repeating clip of the “Carlton dance” to show you’re excited? (Social Media Today)

New Features to Creative Hub: Two new features were added to Facebook’s Creative Hub, testing tools and real-time mocked-up ads. The first feature will allow marketers to test mobile ad creative. The second lets marketers deliver mocked-up ads from the Creative Hub in order to improve workflow between media and creative. (Marketing Dive)

Instagram

Less Shady Marketing on Instagram: Influencers that have been less than honest about their partnerships with brands are going to have an even tougher time doing that. Instagram announced that it’s rolling out a new format that calls out when the post is part of a business arrangement with the words “paid partnership” at the top. (Engadget)
Instagram Stories at 250 Million Daily Users: Facebook announced that Instagram Stories is now up to more than 250 million users daily. This surpasses Snapchat which has around 166 million total users. While we shouldn’t exactly count Snapchat out, they are going to need to innovate to stop the behemoth that Instagram is turning out to be. (Social Media Today)

Live Video Replays Added to Instagram: Users can livestream videos then share a replay that will be available for the next 24 hours. This is a play to get more influencers utilizing the livestream feature. Extending livestreams is a smart play, and is guaranteed to get more of their followers consuming their content. (WeRSM)

Twitter

#SeeEverySide: Twitter has rolled out their second television ad with Chance the Rapper. It’s an effort to push Twitter as the platform where users can get a wider perspective on the world. (Adweek)

Snapchat

Marketers Haven’t Fully Embraced Snapchat: Snapchat is a booming app that we often hear (some ill-informed) marketers say in meetings, “well why aren’t we on Snapchat?” However, a recent study shows that marketers are still reluctant to embrace the platform. (Statista)

Snapchat Map: Snapchat rolled out a map feature which allows users to showcase their own and/or see their friends’ location. Creepy or cool? Time will tell. (PC Mag)

LinkedIn Adds Images to Comments: It’s never too late to join the party. LinkedIn has added the ability for users to add images into the comments section. This is huge especially for those that want to add a visual to help get their point across. (LinkedIn)
New Feature Aimed at Helping Job Seekers: LinkedIn rolled out a new feature that allows users to see how many times they’ve been discovered by companies, as well as which ones. They can utilize this feature to then research what job opportunities exist within those companies. This is an effort to help users with their job search which can sometimes be strenuous. (CNET)

Camera Search Lens Update: Pinterest updated their Lens tool by adding a zoom and tap-to-focus tool that simplifies the search process. (Tech Crunch)