This Week In Social – 13th April 2020

We have collected the most important updates from each of the key social media platforms over the past 7 days so you don’t have to. As the world looks to social media for everything from entertainment to education, businesses in all industries should be using social platforms to keep in contact with their clients, particularly during times where you are unable to communicate with them face-to-face. To help you keep track of the latest social media news, the team at Ventura plan to put this together every week which I'll be publishing on LinkedIn as well as on our company blog.

Facebook

Facebook has started assisting health authorities with COVID-19 by highlighting key areas of concern. Three types of data tracking tools will become available to authorities: co-location maps, which reveals the likelihood of people in that area coming into contact with one another, illuminating areas of concerns; movement range trends, a tool to show if people are staying at home or if they are travelling away from their main location; and the social connectedness index, which shows relationships between people across distances to help epidemiologists forecast the likelihood of disease spread.

Instagram

Not only have Instagram finally added the DM feature to the web version of the app (it took them long enough!), but on Thursday they launched new series Wanna Talk About It? Partnering with Netflix, the series will focus on self-care and maintaining positive mental health whilst in lockdown. The biggest stars from Netflix’s features (including Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why) will lead discussions with trusted mental health experts. Catch Wanna Talk About It every Thursday on the Netflix Instagram account.

LinkedIn

Business pages on LinkedIn now all have access to the network’s Events feature. Events allows companies to host replacement live events, meet-ups or webinars on LinkedIn, a professional alternative to Zoom or Skype calls. Previously the Events feature – which launched in October 2019 – was only available to select company pages, but it was announced last week that during the pandemic the feature will be extended to all business pages.

Pinterest

Pinterest has added new tools to assist brands with the rise of e-commerce activity, hurrah! Users can now shop from boards, pins and from the app’s search feature. There are also new Style Guides which Pinterest describe as “visual recommendations” which “make it possible to explore trending styles and taste even when you don’t have the words to describe what you’re looking for.”

Snapchat

In their latest blog, Snapchat has revealed tips for brands struggling to connect with their audiences during the coronavirus outbreak. This is a really useful resource for marketers using Snapchat, and for those trying to connect with younger audiences. Snap’s guide advises brands to interact with Snapchatter’s throughout the day, to highlight new ways for your audience to connect with one another during this time to help spread positivity, and urges brands to understand their audiences mindset and shift campaigns to adhere to this. Give it a try!

Want to learn more? Check out our previous This Week In Social posts here.