79 NEW tools, tips, updates + changes for social media managers

December 04, 2020

Hello, geeks!

It’s that time of year when social media managers get SAD: Scheduling Anxiety Disorder. I am with you in spirit as you sit there, drowning in content calendars, requests for last minute holiday posts, and frantically pinging colleagues to just send the f**ing copy/image/video you needed, like, yesterday. Stay strong, people!

HIDDEN GEM: Beat the Twitter trolls with this NEW A.I.-powered moderation tool. Skip the beta waitlist by mentioning ‘Geekout’ in the request access form.

Here’s what got my attention this week as I pinged around the social web…

These bits and bobs are also worthy of your attention if you’re looking for a distraction or FREE stuff: 👇

Right, you lot. Let’s get on with it and dive into what went down in the world of social this week...

— Matt

🚨 Everyone's talking about...

One of the key features of TikTok is its 60-second video limit. It keeps things snappy and encourages users to stick around for a few seconds longer than they might otherwise; if you know any video will only waste no more than a minute of your time, it's easier to give it a chance.

So, there was plenty of reaction when I broke news this week that TikTok is testing videos that last up to three minutes.

This will probably go one of two ways. Either people will skip videos faster if they don't immediately grab their attention, or a whole new genre of 'long' TikTok content will thrive as users learn to slow down a little.

Some people are wary of such long videos potentially messing with TikTok's mojo, but social apps need to try new things all the time to stay ahead of the competition and to keep users interested. TikTok has made almost no missteps with its platform design so far, so it's hard to believe it will officially launch three-minute videos as a feature if they make the user experience worse.

Following its launch in the US, Facebook News is reportedly coming to the UK next month. As with a similar new feature from Google, Facebook is paying publishers to link to their news.

Make no mistake, Facebook would rather not pay for news, but it needs to make friends in the media at a time when publishers around the world increasingly fret about big tech platforms 'stealing' their audience and revenue.

And the political winds seem to be blowing in publishers' favour. Just last Friday, the UK's House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published a report recommending that there should be "a compulsory 'news bargaining code' to force digital platforms to pay news publishers for the right to use their content," as Computer Weekly [$$$] reports. I summarised some of the Lords' report's other recommendations in this thread.

That 'bargaining code' sounds a lot like the system in Australia, which Google is pushing hard against while at the same time paying publishers in some countries for its News Showcase feature. It seems it's not so much whether publishers should be paid, but who sets the value, how much they're paid, and what for, that are the biggest issues.

Still, if the experience of US publishers is anything to go by, UK news sites will get some cash but not a lot of traffic out of Facebook News. As Digiday [$$$] puts it: "Facebook News still a non-factor in publishers’ plans."

At last! Facebook's Oversight Board has announced the first moderation cases it will spend up to 90 days looking into and making rulings on. Of 20,000 submissions, the board has picked just six, but the idea is they will set precedents that will guide future moderation by Facebook.

There will be a lot of pressure on the Oversight Board to make 'good' decisions. That pressure comes from interested outsiders like you and me, but also from Facebook itself. After all, while the board is independent in one sense, it's also funded by the company it's ruling on.

As TechCrunch cynically described it, it's "a Facebook-funded body that the tech giant set up to distance itself from tricky and potentially reputation-damaging content moderation decisions."

Now you can post and schedule across all your best loved channels - including Instagram (with Reels & IGTV!), Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin & Google My Business. (*Ts & Cs apply)

👀 ICYMI...

Stories you need to know about:

Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp:

Kustomer offers businesses an omnichannel look at their customer service data.

  • Facebook is reworking its hate speech algorithms to focus on speech against minorities. [USA Today]

  • Facebook will remove false claims about Covid-19 vaccines. The move comes as the first vaccine doses start rolling out in the UK. [The Guardian]

  • Fixing the splintering global internet should be a priority for Joe Biden, Facebook's Nick Clegg says.

  • Facebook's restrictions on political ads didn't affect their reach in the week before the US election, a report claims. [Axios]

  • Facebook has struck a deal to stream cricket tour content in partnership with Sony Pictures India. [TechRadar]

  • Mark Zuckerberg hosted a live video chat with US Covid-19 guru Dr. Anthony Fauci this week. [@Facebook]

Twitter:

It turns out threaded replies did the opposite of what they were designed to do.

  • Twitter is shutting down its prototype 'twttr' app. It may return in the future, but it was mainly used to test threaded replies, so it's going the same way as that feature for now. [TechCrunch]

  • Twitter has updated its 'Hateful Conduct' policy to cover dehumanising language related to race, nationality, or national origin. [Twitter blog]

  • Fleets aren't a good fit for Twitter-style content, according to respondents to a YouGov survey conducted a week after the feature launched. [@MattNavarra]

  • Donald Trump raged against Twitter's trending topics feature again after #DiaperDon trended among users. [The Independent]

  • Twitter has revealed the top brand tweets of 2020. [AdWeek $$$]

TikTok:

In which TikTok VP Blake Chandlee compares Instagram Reels to Google+ 😂

  • TikTok creators are paying brokers $1,000 to get verified. [Business Insider $$$]

  • Viral TikTok videos from Covid-19 vaccine trials are helping to spread positive health information about vaccination. [NBC News]

  • TikTok has shared the platform's most creative brand campaigns of 2020. [Campaign]

  • TikTok has shared 100 highlights from users' videos on the platform. [TikTok Newsroom]

And the rest:

We finally know how big Reddit is. It's no giant, but it's growing fast.

  • YouTube will ask users to rethink posting comments if they appear to be offensive. [The Verge]

  • Parler users are complaining about Parler... on Facebook. [OneZero]

  • Dave Chappelle’s '8:46' special topped YouTube's list of trending videos for the year. [Vulture]

  • More than a million podcasts have launched via Spotify's Anchor platform this year. [The Verge]

  • There's been more briefing to the media about the UK government plans to use the Online Harms Bill to control how social media companies can control political messaging. [Mail Online]

  • Snapchat is hosting a public online AR Festival, called 'Lens Fest' next week. [Social Media Today]

  • British Airways has apologised after tweeting support for England in a rugby match against fellow British side Wales. [Sky News]

❓ Question of the week

How many of these super-useful Google Chrome Extensions did you know about? Add your top recommendations to this Twitter thread. 👆

🔨 Tool of the week

Instagram has added a smart ‘Video Notes’ feature in its Threads messaging app. It auto-captions your videos and even lets export them for use on other platforms. They really should shout about this feature a lot louder. It’s very useful and will be popular. The link above is for the iOS app. Find it on Android here.

🐣 Tweet of the week

📲 Quick hits

Updates, experiments, and useful info snippets:

  • Facebook has launched a Social Good for Business website to help companies make a social impact. [Social Good for Business]

  • Facebook Gaming has introduced ‘Hanging Out’ - A new streaming category with a focus on conversation over gameplay. [Facebook Gaming]

  • Facebook is switching off some Messenger API features in Europe because they are incompatible with GDPR. [Social Media Today]

  • Facebook has been spotted offering cash prizes for hashtag challenges. [@MattNavarra]

  • Facebook has introduced new tools for advertisers in the automotive industry. [Social Media Today]

  • Instagram Live now supports up to three guests... but only for users in India and Indonesia (for now). [TechRadar]

  • You can now select a default audience for Instagram posts shared to Facebook. [@MattNavarra]

  • Instagram will test new ways for people to create and share fundraisers for non-profits within their feed. The app featured a 'Giving Tuesday' story this week to promote charitable donation. [Social Media Today]

  • Instagram continues to test a TikTok Duet-style feature for Reels, called Remix. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram is working on an option for toggling public or private live videos. [@alex193a]

  • A new Instagram notifications icon has been spotted in the wild. [@katairobi]

  • WhatsApp for iOS now has custom wallpapers for individual chats, sticker search, and more thanks to a big update. [9to5Mac]

  • WhatsApp's test of video and voice calls on desktop has been spotted in the wild. [@alexhern]

  • WhatsApp now has the ability to send in-app announcements to all users. But what will they announce? [@WABetaInfo]

  • Maybe the in-app announcements are for this: WhatsApp will force users to agree to new terms in 2021 or else 'lose access to the app.' [The Independent]

  • Screenshots of Twitter's Audio Spaces feature have emerged. Jane Manchun Wong says it uses Periscope tech on the back end. [TechCrunch]

  • Twitter has new dedicated topics you can follow for influencers, TikTokers, Twitch streamers, and YouTubers. [@MattNavarra]

  • Twitter now supports physical security key logins on iOS and Android, useful for account security. [TechCrunch]

  • Ad frequency capping is now available on all Twitter campaign types. [Social Media Today]

  • Twitter's developer relations team is now on Twitch. [Twitch]

  • TikTok has brought back its 'Small Gestures' initiative, letting users share up to three free gifts from brand partners. [AdWeek $$$]

  • YouTube's Premieres feature has been spruced up with trailers, redirects from live pre-shows, and customized countdown timers. [The Verge]

  • YouTube has revealed fresh information about how its algorithm works. [Search Engine Journal]

  • YouTube Giving is now available to all YouTube Partner Program channels with more than 10,000 subscribers in the U.S, U.K, and Canada. [Google blog]

  • Snapchat has added a Favorites option for Memories. [@KenSchillinger]

  • LinkedIn has launched a new 'Sales Insights' data analytics tool, offering real-time data to help sales teams. [AdWeek $$$]

  • Telegram is testing an iOS feature that reads incoming messages to users over headphones when their device is locked. [MacRumors]

  • Google Maps is increasingly social. It's now added a newsfeed with a like button. [TechCrunch]

  • Spotify now has Stories, but only in a very limited way for now. [The Verge]

📖 Weekend reading

"Thousands of TikTok users, including musical theater professionals, are creating a Broadway-style adaptation of the animated Disney film about a rat with culinary aspirations." [$$$]

😳 And finally....

Can you trick this AI into thinking you’re someone you’re not? Take the test.

📅 Back next week...

BOOM! You made it to the end. Legend!

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Now, go finish your Christmas shopping, or something far less stressful!

Goodbye, geeks.

Matt

❤️

This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant.

Copyright 2020: Matt Navarra Media Ltd

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