Social Media News Round-Up: 19/11/21
This week’s social media marketing news at a glance:
Scroll down to read the full news stories
🛒 Facebook adds new commerce features, including Shops in Groups
🛍️ YouTube outlines plans to bring livestream shopping to all users
🎵 Snapchat partners with Sony Music to expand sound options in its app
📈 TikTok set to surpass 1.5 billion users in 2022
🧤 Meta previews new products linked to the metaverse, including advanced haptic gloves
📊 Twitter improves its tweet analytics
Facebook adds new commerce features, including Shops in Groups
This week, Facebook continues to expand its eCommerce capabilities with new features, including Shops in Groups. Within Groups, users will now see a dedicated Shop tab where they can purchase products related to that Group. Group admins will be able to curate their Group Shop, highlighting specific products of interest to specific communities, as well as being able to allocate funds to related causes if they choose. Facebook’s other new commerce features include product recommendations in Groups, which will allow users to share their expertise and help other members, as well as beginning its test of Live Shopping for creators on the platform.
YouTube outlines plans to bring livestream shopping to all users
YouTube has announced a series of upcoming livestream shopping events ahead of the Christmas season. The events will allow users to interact with creators and celebrities in real-time as well as buy products in-app. The series takes YouTube a step closer to its goal of allowing “anyone with a mobile device and a product to easily host a live shopping stream” in the future.
Snapchat partners with Sony Music to expand sound options in its app
Snapchat has taken its audio offerings a step further by partnering up with Sony Music on a new deal that will allow its users to incorporate even more songs into their content. The deal aligns with Snapchat’s ongoing shift to becoming a more creator-friendly platform, providing creators with more creative capacity and appeal to users, and ultimately allowing Snapchat to be a genuine competitor to TikTok.
TikTok set to surpass 1.5 billion users in 2022
Talking of TikTok, this week a new report by App Annie suggests that the platform is set to exceed 1.5 billion users in 2022, overtaking Instagram. The report won’t come as a surprise to users and creators considering TikTok’s unprecedented growth and increasing cultural power in the last few of years. On the other hand, for many brands who still aren’t utilising TikTok, the report may come as a much-needed wake up call that encourages them to expand their social media strategies and meet customers where they are.
Meta previews new products linked to the metaverse, including advanced haptic gloves
This week, Meta has provided new insight into its work on the metaverse, including the development of advanced haptic gloves. These gloves would enable users to feel and interact with virtual items in a digital space and, though the reality of the product becoming affordable and accessible in the near future is still a way off, gives us a glimpse at the potential of the metaverse.
Twitter improves its tweet analytics
Twitter is rolling out an updated tweet analytics display, which will provide more specific performance insights into each tweet. The analytics will now include insights into replies, retweets and likes, as well as more specific data on where tweet impressions come from and link clicks and engagements.
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