Fake news, new business accounts and new emojis

Social media essentials: 8 updates that happened in social media this week

To finish your working week off here are 8 social media updates we saw happen this week that could help inform your social media strategy. If you want to keep up to date with everything that's happening in digital marketing check out our top 10 sites we use to keep up to date. You can also vote for your favorite that keeps you up-to-date with what's happened in the world of social media.

Spotlight story: Amazon influencers program welcomes YouTube stars

Amazon is one of the many brands who has seen the benefits of using influencers to increase revenue. In March this year, Amazon’s Influencer Program was launched allowing social media influencers to earn commissions on Amazon products they promote. Last week Amazon also announced they will be accepting sign-ups from YouTube influencers. They have introduced a self-service tool for YouTube stars that lets them request to join the program. Find out more on what the program has to offer.

Facebook pages that share false news won’t be able to buy ads

Due to the amount of fake news that has been shared across social media, Facebook says it’s taking another step against Pages that share false news stories. They announced any pages that share any fake news will be banned from buying any Facebook ads, regardless of whether or not the ad includes a disputed link.

Facebook introduces new memories and milestones

Facebook has expanded their 'On This Day' feature, where users can look back in time as a sharing prompt. Users can now see a range of milestones related to their friendships on Facebook. They are now collecting past posts into monthly or seasonal sharing prompts, such as recaps of you July memories. You can also see who you become friends with each month, called 'Friendship Milestones'.

Whatsapp looks to introduce business verified accounts

WhatsApp is experimenting with giving businesses verified accounts. It has been reported that small accounts will now have a green tick badge next to them. Showing the viewer that WhatsApp has “confirmed” their phone number belongs to a business account. This will have been introduced due to the increase in brands using the platform as a form of marketing or customer service.

Instagram help you get creative with vertical video

Instagram has made creating creative stories easier than ever. They have introduced new ways for businesses and brands to take advantage of the various creative tools on Instagram Stories and create engaging, vertical content for their audiences. According to Instagram, these new tools include:

• Progress Bar - A time keeper to watch how people consume organic stories.
• Profile Photo will be featured in the top left-hand color for users to easily access your profile and learn more about your business.
• Emojify will give you the ability to add text and emojis to stories
• Pause feature mid video
• All brands and businesses can now access the swipe up feature

There are now 250M daily active users on Instagram Stories use these new tools in your stories to engage and interact with your Instagram audience.

WhatsApp Rolls Out Colourful Status Updates

Similar to Facebooks colour status updates WhatsApp has introduced different fonts, colourful background options, and links to text status updates. It has been reported that WhatsApp began testing the colourful status options with select users this month and will be rolling out the feature globally this week.

Facebook add real-world diversity to their emojis

Facebook has bee working on creating a wider range of families and skin tones to their emojis. 125 new emojis have been added to Facebook which allows black families to be represented in emoji form for the first time on the platform. The only emoji not covered is multi tone families, which I'm sure will come next. This update is now available worldwide for all users and works within the Facebook website and app.

LinkedIn help you welcome new team members

LinkedIn has introduced an easy way of introducing yourself to new team members. LinkedIn will notify you of any new employees, giving you the option to say hello and connect with them. An easy way to make some one new feel part of the team.

What do you think of Facebooks new fake news rule? Do you think it will have any impact? How will you make use of LInstagrams new vertical video features? Let us know what you think and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. Don't forget to join us next week for another weekly round up.