Social Media in the News – September

As we enter into my most favorite time of the year, when there are pumpkin lattes to drink, Halloween decorating to do and corn mazes to complete, it is understandable that keeping up on the latest social media trends and platform enhancements may not be a priority.

But, here’s a quick look at what’s been happening in the world of social media during September:

Signal for Facebook and Instagram. Signal, a free discovery tool for users who want to source, gather and share newsworthy content is now available on Facebook and Instagram. Trending topics in sports, entertainment and current events can be quickly displayed and shared from people and Pages. Signal’s search functionality makes it easy to find content quickly.

Periscope now offers web profiles. It’s traditionally a mobile-centric app, so incorporating Web profiles helps create more engagement for desktop users. When someone visits a brand’s Periscope landing page during a live event, the video will start playing immediately. The page also displays recent videos that were posted in the previous 24 hours as well as the account’s follower count and total number of hearts that each broadcast received. For more information on Periscope, check out our blog post.

Get pins faster. As you view Pins, Pinners and boards, you’ll be able to search for them later right from your iPhone or iPad’s search screen. If you’re planning a Fall party, and know you’ve seen good ideas on Pinterest, search “fall party” and the search results will show up right on your phone. The more Pins you view on Pinterest, the more you can search for them from your phone.

A whole new way to Selfie. Snapchat has released animated selfies, also known as “Lenses,” “friend emojis,” extra replays and the trophy case in September. If this all sounds like a foreign language, don’t worry, this Mashable article explains everything you need to know.

Facebook adds in-view impressions. 100% in-view impression buying gives advertisers the option to purchase ad impressions where the entire ad—from top to bottom—has passed through a person’s screen in News Feed. This new feature, which should be launched soon, will allow advertisers control and flexibility over how they run their ads.