Throughout the month of October, Instagram enabled desktop uploads and Facebook announced its new name as part of the company’s rebrand. Learn more about October’s important social media and industry updates below!
Social Media
Instagram Will Enable Users to Upload Photos and Videos via Desktop from This Week
Instagram has finally enabled users to upload photos and videos directly from their desktop browser. Before this update, digital marketers utilized third-party apps, like Later, to post and manage their social media posts. As of now, Reels and Stories are not included in this update. While this feature does streamline the posting process for digital marketers and brands, users are still unable to schedule posts or videos in advance.
Facebook Adds Group Effects for Messenger, Providing New Engagement Options
Video calling is at an all-time high due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep up with the video chat demand, Facebook recently launched effects and filters for Messenger, called Group Effects. This new feature allows users to add fun AR filters to their video chats, encouraging a whole new way of interacting and entertaining.
TikTok Launches its Inaugural ‘Discover List’ to Highlight Top Influencers in the App
TikTok’s popularity is hard to beat! The platform recently released its “Discover List”, which highlights the top 50 influential content creators on the platform. In the new mini site, brands can learn more about popular TikTok influencers, the type of content they create, their communities, and more.
Industry Updates
Microsoft Partners with Shopify to Help Retailers Expand their Reach
Right before the holiday season, Shopify and Microsoft partnered up to help retailers broaden their ecommerce reach. This new feature allows advertisers to easily integrate their products into Shopify through Microsoft Advertising. Aimed to improve overall online visibility for small businesses and retailers, this update automatically places a brand’s ads in the Microsoft Bing Shopping tab and Microsoft Start shopping tab.
Facebook Just Revealed its New Name: Meta
After weeks of speculation, Facebook finally confirmed that it is changing its name to Meta. Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg says that the rebrand is reflective of what the brand is and who they hope to become. This transition will help to steer the platform’s reputation as “just a social media platform” and create a more encompassing image.
