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As always, big changes have been rolling out on Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, and more. These are the updates savvy social media marketers need to know RIGHT NOW!

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Big Updates From Zuck on Facebook’s Direction

A long post from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined… a lot!

Here are just a few of the big takeaways:

• More than 2 billion people now use at least one Facebook service every day

• Facebook’s focus heading into the future is on Messaging (“people increasingly want to share privately too”), Stories, Communities, and Videos

• On Instagram, the focus is on exploring Interests (as opposed to communities on FB)

• Facebook is also “heavily investing in AR and VR”

• Increased safety and security threats continue to be a major concern, and he acknowledged the 2018 election will be a test of how far Facebook has come since 2016.

There’s a lot more. Read it for yourself here.

Top Social Media Channels Getting Out the Vote

Instagram, Snapchat and others are celebrating Voting Day this week with tools meant to encourage civic engagement.

Instagram is introducing two ways of celebrating voting – an “I Voted” sticker and a “We Voted” story. The “We Voted” story will feature all of your friends who have used an “I Voted” sticker. By tapping the “I Voted” sticker, your friends will also be able to find their polling location via “Get to the Polls” – a nonpartisan site.

SnapChat went a step further by allowing users to easily register to vote within the app. Users who are 18 years or over were presented with a link to register to vote from their User Profile. Video messages from Team Snapchat and nationwide filters will make it easier to tell other you voted and encourage them to do the same.

Snapchat - on Desktop?! (Not quite.)

Announced in late October, the Snap Camera app allows people to use Snapchat’s popular Lenses on video sharing services like Youtube, Skype, Google Hangouts, and OBS.

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae3nuKiTAsk&w=854&h=480]

Snap Camera syncs with your desktop lens and can be used with a variety of platforms. Thousands of lenses are available via Lens Studio. (According to The Verge, 250,000 lenses have been submitted using Lens Studio and they have been viewed 15 billion times.)

The Snap Camera app could present interesting branding opportunities to marketers who want to combine live streaming with branded Lenses. What possibilities could you imagine?

You can download the Snap Camera app from snapcamera.snapchat.com.

A New Facebook Messenger

Facebook has released Messenger 4, a simplified version which appealed to most users based on a Messenger study. Acting on two key findings—the need for simplicity and the perception of making users feel closer to their friends—Messenger 4 aims to deliver “the closeness and authenticity that you’ve been asking for”

Simplifications include reducing 9 tabs into three: Chats, People, and Discover.

A fun new feature includes color gradients so you can now personalized conversations based on mood or topic.

More From Facebook:

• How to Make Your Business Account More Secure

Carousel Ads on Pinterest

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O6vicFzbE4&w=640&h=480]

Do you have a hard time picking one image for your advertising campaign? Well, Pinterest will no longer force your hand—they’re joining Instagram, Facebook, and others with brand new Carousel-style ads.

The promoted carousel feature allows you to upload up to 5 images to tell your brand’s story and build an experience around your product or service. You can also drive additional purchases by displayer a series of items or a product’s numerous features.

YouTube + Eventbrite for Following Concerts

Youtube linked with Eventbrite to share local live performances:

It’s now easier than ever to keep up with your favorite music artists. Youtube has partnered with Eventbrite to merge the online music world with live performance experiences. Youtube users listening to official artists will now see Eventbrite listings for live music performances throughout the U.S. This is an interesting way to help fans track performances of the artists they’re already listening to on YouTube —without needing to go offsite to different websites, blogs, or ticketing websites.

Could Twitter Really Remove the “Like” Button?

Rumors of Twitter’s plan to remove the “like” (or favorite) button come amid criticism of the platform’s failure to address issues of harassment and violent content.

Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey has shown concerns about rethinking the overall health and status of his platform. Dorsey has questioned the “like” buttons’s role in facilitating meaningful conversation but no official plans to get rid of it have been revealed.

As we've been saying for a while, we are rethinking everything about the service to ensure we are incentivizing healthy conversation, that includes the like button. We are in the early stages of the work and have no plans to share right now. https://t.co/k5uPe5j4CW

— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) October 29, 2018

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Catch up on last month's social media updates (October 2018) →