Social Media in the News is back after taking a few weeks off! And since the last installment, there has been a lot happening.
Here are some of the highlights:
LinkedIn Focuses on Diversity
LinkedIn has put a focus on diversity with a new set of free courses in diversity and inclusion.
“We all play an important role in moving toward a more equitable workplace and world,” LinkedIn says on its website. “We hope these free courses help you on this journey.”
And if you’re looking for hashtags to use, this website is a great tool to find the most popular ones related to diversity and the movement happening across the U.S.
LinkedIn Adds Polling, ‘Virtual Events’
If you’re looking for input on a new idea, LinkedIn promises that its new polling feature will take less than a minute of your time.
You’re able to add up to four choices to the answers, as well as giving a time range of 24 hours to two weeks for your poll.
While everyone can now add polls, LinkedIn’s new “Virtual Events” feature is still in an invite-only phase. It is a merger of two other products – LinkedIn Live and LinkedIn Events. We’ll keep an eye on these developments.
Instagram Launches Several New Features
In what it says is an effort to maintain a “positive environment,” Instagram is now letting users delete multiple comments at a time.
It’s one of many changes that have come to the platform lately, including changes to its desktop platform allowing users to use the direct messages feature.
Users also now have more control over who can tag or mention them in a post, similar to features available on Facebook.
Facebook Features Highlights Small Businesses
As companies begin to reopen, Facebook has added a “Support Small Businesses” sticker and a “Businesses Nearby” feature.
Facebook also added features for businesses to find even more relevant information about COVID-19 and how to stay connected to customers.
Google My Business Updates Help Small Businesses
If you’re still on the fence about whether or not you should use Google My Business, you NEED to check out our post from May on how it can help your business.
Now Google is helping out smaller businesses even more with a few changes recently:
- Ability to add specific hours for specific services. (For restaurants, these are things such as drive through, pick up and Happy Hour)
- Booking appointments online will be added to business profiles in Search and Map areas of Google
- Letting businesses link to gift card sales and other donation sites
Pinterest Powers Forward with New Features
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in Pinterest has grown. Its monthly active users around the world has now passed 367 million, up from 300 million since last fall.
Searches and number of boards created have increased by 60%.
Now they’re adding new features. A “Today” tab now appears to users with topics and ideas created by Pinterest employers as well as trending topics.
Pinterest also recently launched a verified merchant program. This places a blue check mark on retailers verified by Pinterest for having fair return policies and shipping rates. In-stock merchandise also plays a role.
