The State of Social: June Edition

Social media marketing has the potential for incredible results – and with the right tools and knowledge, you can achieve them. In this month’s roundup, we’re sharing five new stories to help you keep on top of the ever-evolving social media landscape.

LinkedIn Updates Algorithm to Focus on Broadening Engagement

In a recent quarterly update from Microsoft, it was announced that LinkedIn engagement continues to rise, with ‘on-platform sessions’ increasing by 24%. Following these reports, LinkedIn has announced some of the recent changes that have been made to its feed distribution algorithm.

LinkedIn had introduced “contribution” as an objective in its selection model - essentially, an element built in to reward content creators or audience builders on the platform. So now, the platform not only works to amplify the most engaging posts from top creators but is also looking to expand on its sub-communities and groups. Learn more here.

Instagram Tests a New Stop Motion Tool for Stories

Instagram is working on a new stop-motion camera option for Instagram Stories which could be an interesting video replacement for marketers to consider. The new tool will help to aid the creation process by overlaying the last captured frame with the previous one, subsequently ensuring that the animation’s movement is correct.

A stop-motion-like effect is already in place on Instagram Stories, however, this update allows you to spend more time on being creative. Currently, the process only allows you to add up to ten frames, but the new features look to be developing fast, which opens up even more possibilities once officially released. For more information, look no further.

Facebook Reveals New Tracking App to Monitor Competitors

Facebook has recently unveiled a new paid research program for help in tracking competitors and will even pay users to do so. The new app called ‘Study’ plans to collect data around any and all smartphone apps people download, as well as the features people may use and amount of time spent on each app.

At first, the app will only be available in the US and India before expanding to other countries over time. Facebook will run ads to encourage people to participate in the market search program, and if they qualify, they will be invited to download the app. As people often have a lot of apps on their phone, Facebook will periodically send push reminders to users who are part of the program. To learn more about the app, read this.

Whatsapp Trials Sharing Statuses to Facebook Stories 

WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will allow users to share statuses with other apps, including Facebook. ‘WhatsApp Status’ is yet another equivalent of Facebook and Instagram Stories, encouraging users to create content that is shared with a user’s contacts.

The new feature will be appearing as part of WhatsApp’s beta program, and also happens to be the first place where Facebook will start showing ads next year. However, this doesn’t mean that WhatsApp is linking to Facebook – it’s simply making use of the same iOS and Android data-sharing API’s. Read more.

Twitter Tests Out Yet Another Desktop Redesign

 Earlier this year, Twitter announced they would be rolling out a new, simplified redesign for its users. A new desktop interface appears to be getting rolled out to a number of people in the US.

The new design will showcase three columns – with trends on the right, menu and navigation on the left, while timeline features continuing to remain central. Twitter has highlighted that these experiments with its user interface are to make the site easier for new users and to help the platform grow. Find out more here.