Instagram & Facebook DMs Integrate
Do you know someone who is an Instagrammer but rarely uses Facebook? Or the other way around? It’s a pain to switch apps to message them. Sometimes you’ll forget, sometimes you won’t bother.
Soon it’s going to be much easier to communicate with these people. Facebook just announced that Instagram Direct and Facebook Messenger will integrate, meaning you can message someone on Facebook and they’ll be able to pick it up and continue the conversation on Instagram.
It will make it easier to stay in touch.
Along with the integration, Instagram will get new chat features. Some, like themes and colour schemes, come straight from Messenger.
Other updates include, selfie stickers, watch IGTV with friends and cool animated text.
It’s good for communication but will Instagrammers shy away from the Facebookyness of it?
Facebook and Instagram Account Centre
All your stuff in one place. It would be so handy wouldn’t it? You wouldn’t need to be constantly switching between apps and sites, you wouldn’t need all those passwords. You could post to all your friends, no matter which network they prefer.
Or that’s what Facebook are telling us. This week they announced ‘Account centres’. A spot that you can access via Facebook that will let you completely integrate your Facebook and Instagram from your personal accounts.
It’s a bit like Business Manager but for non-business users.
You’ll be able to post to both Facebook and Instagram, integrate your Facebook pay and if you wish, you’ll be able to update your profiles all in one place.
Facebook are keen to point out this is optional. I’m not sure about this deeper integration. Is it one step closer to Facebook world domination?
Facebook challenges for groups
Challenges can be a great way to engage your audience, build your email list and find potential customers.
And they’re big in 2020.
Maybe because they’re a big part of TikTok.
Maybe because it’s 2020 and they help people get through.
Facebook groups are often the venue for challenges. There are challenges for business, healthy eating, exercise. There’s a challenge for almost everything you can think of.
So it makes sense for Facebook to embrace this. And they are.
Challenges for groups will be hashtag based. You set up a post with a hashtag that ends with the word Challenge and you’ll be prompted to invite up to 50 group members to join in.
They’ll get a notification with the option to join.
What’s interesting here is that Facebook is looking at a way people are using groups and adapting to it. Is there a way your customers want to use your product or service that you are missing?
https://twitter.com/MattNavarra/status/1309429698137591808/photo/1
LinkedIn New Look & Stories For All
LinkedIn is rolling out its new look to all users. The dark blue is gone, it’s all white and incredibly similar to Facebook.
So far people seem to prefer it to the new Facebook.
Along with the cleaner interface, we get new features. On mobile, all users will have Stories, giving us a new way to communicate. It could help us reach people we’ve never reached before.
You’ll be able to edit direct messages after you sent them. Search will be easier to use, and there’s a news sidebar on desktop that I haven’t seen before.
Apple won’t charge you for Facebook events… for a while
Facebook’s new events product is great for small businesses. You can set up your event, sell tickets and run it as a live broadcast all in one place.
Facebook is giving us this tool for free for a year before they start taking a cut.
But there was a problem. When someone bought a ticket on their iPhone or iPad via the Facebook app, Apple would take a big cut.
This week Apple came to an arrangement with Facebook to waive their fee until the end of the year when people pay with Facebook pay.
Great news for small business but I do wonder if we should be throwing all our eggs in with Facebook? Should we stick with the providers that we currently use so as to give us some freedom from the massive thing that Facebook has become?
https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/25/facebook-vs-apple-revisited/
Facebook ditch the 28-day attribution window
I was never a fan of the 28-day attribution window. It gave credit to Facebook which may not have been deserved.
When you run an ad on Facebook and you have the pixel installed, it will measure conversions, people who buy based on an attribution window.
If someone saw the ad, even if they didn’t click, they take the credit if that person converted within 7 days.
If they clicked the ad, it’s 28 days. Or it was.
Facebook is now ditching that 28-day window. They say it’s because of new privacy controls (not there’s) that make it impossible to track for that long.
And you know what, I think this is a good thing. I’m not convinced Facebook should take the credit if someone bought 28 days after they clicked my ad. Sure, it’s nice to know they did, but they could have clicked from an email or from a Google ad.
So for me, it’s a goodbye and good riddance to the 28 days.
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/facebook-ads-to-remove-28-day-attribution-model/382436/#close
Pinterest adds more shopping features
Pinterest is still the place to be if you want to market your e-commerce business.
This week they are adding new shopping features.
They are launching an ad placement next to visual searches, Pinterest lens and the shop tab.
Conversion insights which will show you both how your organic and paid pins are affecting sales. These are available just for Pinterest Verified Merchants and Shopify retailers.
And in the UK they’re launching ‘Shopping Insights’, curated shippable pins from creators. Making it easier to browse and get inspired to buy.
If you are in e-commerce, get on Pinterest!
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