Wow: A Brand New Facebook (and more)

THE BIG NEWS THIS MONTH IS DEFINITELY FACEBOOK’S BIG REDESIGN AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU. WE’RE ALSO LOOKING AT LINKEDIN REACTIONS, INSTAGRAM DONATION STICKERS, AND MORE.

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Facebook’s Major Redesign Puts Groups Front-and-Center

Facebook recently announced what is being called the biggest change in five years.

The company is reshaping its main product to react to many of the trends we’ve been following of the last several months: dozens of scandals around data privacy, a pledge for Facebook to be more “private,” and a growing movement of user attention away from Newsfeed and toward more-private Groups.

When you see the “new” and improved website (known as FB5), you’ll first notice that it visually looks like an entirely new Facebook. There is more whitespace, different icons, and new menus at every turn. Beyond that, the experience of using Facebook will be much more Groups-oriented than before. As reported on Mashable, Facebook says groups are one of the most “meaningful” ways people use Facebook.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MARKETERS?

These changes emphasize what we’ve known for some time: As Facebook users have paid more attention to private conversations over public consumption, brands need to be creative about how they cut through the noise. That could include:

• Develop a Stories strategy to stand out on one of the most popular public features on Instagram and Facebook

• Figure out how to interact in (or host) Groups

• Identify everyday users to spread your message: micro-influencers, user-generated content from employees, etc.

• Pay to play—as much as ever, an ads campaign is a crucial component of any social media strategy

Other new features in Facebook’s redesign include:

• Meet New Friends – A feature that will "help people start friendships with new people from their shared communities like a school, workplace or city."

• Secret Crush – Meant to help friends connect on Facebook Dating.

• A New Events Tab – Making Events an even more-prominent feature on Facebook.

To learn more, read the entire list of updates from the F8 2019 conference.

MEANWHILE, FACEBOOK’S CO-FOUNDER

CALLED FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO BREAK UP

THE COMPANY

Just as Facebook announced a bold new strategy to reinvent itself for the future of social media, its co-founder, Chris Hughes, wrote a toughly-worded op-ed in the New York Times (also available on Medium). It it, he called FB CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s power “unprecedented and un-American” and called for the government to break up the company. Facebook responded with an op-ed from a current VP, who said:

“Facebook shouldn’t be broken up — but it does need to be held to account. Anyone worried about the challenges we face in an online world should look at getting the rules of the internet right, not dismantling successful American companies.”

Instagram and Facebook Unleash Donation Stickers

Another exciting release from the F8 conference was a tool to allow any user to quickly raise funds for a charity of their choice. 100% of the money raised will go to the nonprofit. Just choose the donation sticker when composing a new Story to get started.

Want to learn more about fundraising with Donation Stickers? GuideStar is hosting a free webinar on the subject on Tuesday, May 21. Check it out here.

Read Our Free 2019 Trends Guide »

LinkedIn Rolling Out Post Reactions and Profile Badges

The gif below more or less speaks for itself: LinkedIn Reactions now lets you not only Like a post in the feed, but now you can also choose to Celebrate or Love it, in addition to indicating that you are Curious or even that you find it Insightful (the part of speech of these reactions is a little all over the place, no?).

Fun!

Take a look at the LinkedIn Help Center for more details.

Snapchat Rebuilt its Android App

This one is just for Android users: Snap announced that you’re getting a brand new Snapchat app:

“We’ve spent over a year rebuilding our Android app from the ground up. For our Android community, that means improvements across the app — including updates to Lenses, Stories, taking Snaps, and more!”

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-7lxb69B4I&w=854&h=480]

More Links to Check Out

• “Birthday Stories” let friends contribute to a dedicated story celebrating their birthday (FB News)

• Adding Teammates on LinkedIn (LinkedIn blog)

• “@shop is now open” (IG blog)

• Snapchat Case Study: Shopify Ads

• Learn about Pinterest’s “conversion optimization” ads feature

• The 5-minute guide to mastering audiences on Twitter (Twitter blog)

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Looking for More Social Media Help?

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Catch up on last month's social media updates (April 2019) →