Posts visibility for selected users
Twitter is working on the ability to limit the visibility of posts to other users, which resembles the mechanics of the Close Friends function on Instagram.
It is reported that users will be able to regulate the availability of tweets for their subscribers and other network members. The feature —according to preliminary data — will be called Flock and will make it possible to limit the number of users to 150. The exact name has not been agreed upon yet, and the launch date of the tool remains unknown.
The list will be easy to adjust. If the account owner decides to remove someone from the favorites list, the user will not receive a notification about this. But at the same time, those who remain in Flock will see a corresponding sign under the tweet.
Earlier, Twitter reported that the movement toward improving privacy settings and protecting privacy is one of the priorities for the company.
So, in December, the social network banned publishing posts with photos or videos of people without their consent. Moreover, if persons who did not permit to post their image file a complaint, Twitter will delete the post. You can dispute the deletion only by obtaining consent.
NFT accounts for paid subscription owners
After Twitter introduced its paid Twitter Blue subscription, the company began gradually launching additional features for such members. So, in January, the company announced the integration of NFT in the form of a profile photo.
The feature is available for iOS users paying for premium service. Such users will be able to link their Twitter accounts to a cryptocurrency wallet and import NFTs as their profile pictures. However, not only iPhone owners will be able to see hexagon images — it will be displayed for all users.
Currently, the social network has added the ability to link only Ethereum wallets, but they plan to expand the list of partners. The user photo who chose NFT as their profile picture will be accompanied by additional information about the properties and characteristics of the token.
After enabling the new feature, Twitter stressed that the social network would not request funds from the crypto wallet but reminded about security and recommended remaining vigilant, ignoring unfamiliar withdrawal requests. In addition, the information about the initial phase and the private key required to use the wallet will not be available to the social network.
Updating the Communities section
On Twitter, the Communities feature is available to all users now — and the social network is working on expanding its functionality.
So, community administrators will be able to allow other members of the group to invite users. Any participants can join the open community. If it is closed, it requires an invite from a community administration or approval of your request to join. The new format assumes that it is not obligatory for those users who come through invites of the current community members.
Another tool is the article editor. This feature is under development — its essence is the ability to create long texts. It is known that the editor will have some formatting tools such as bold, italics, underscores, and others.
In the future, you will have an opportunity to use various test styles, and the character limit will get expanded. Currently, Twitter users create long branches of posts, limited by the number of characters.
Updating the Ads Transparency Centre
Twitter announced the updates of the ATC - their Centre for Ads Transparency. A significant part of the measures concerns protecting users from illegal content and reducing the number of accounts with such materials.
Twitter has expanded the tools to identify accounts that violate its rules. The company analysts estimate that more than 90% of such profiles were identified last year before Twitter received complaints from regulators.
In addition, control over the materials shown to social network users got strengthened. The ATC specialists reported that displaying posts that violate the Twitter policy in 2021 amounted to less than 0.1% of all the information.
The company emphasized that control over the post quality and content is necessary to develop healthy competition in the social network advertising market and attract business to the platform.
New widget for iOS
Pinterest announced the launch of a new widget for Apple gadget users. It is called Interests and will collect pins for a particular range of topics.
The widget will allow users to view images collected based on their interests and search queries on the smartphone screen. At the same time, the content gets grouped according to the topic.
Now users can filter the images of interest by selecting topics such as beauty, home, food, fashion, and quotes in the settings. If you use Pinterest to track trends or search for design solutions, the widget will help you get an up-to-date picture.
The new widget resulted from the successful implementation of this tool last year. The social network said that more than two million people had already installed it.
Another direction of Pinterest development, according to the company management, is related to e-commerce, so the launch of widgets is necessary to increase engagement.
Stories on the home screen
Another Pinterest update is adding stories to the app home screen. Both iOS and Android users can appreciate the innovation already.
Last year, Pinterest followed the trend of publishing content in the stories format, as most social networks did. Therefore, now the company is testing options for placing stories so that they gather more audience coverage.
The company said that now the stories will be displayed at the top of the screen and will not go unnoticed by users. It is noteworthy that, unlike other social networks, Pinterest preferred not to make them disappear.
Moving Story Pins to the home screen allows you to increase engagement and get more attention to your publications. At the moment, users can see not just the content of the authors to whom they are subscribed — the algorithm recommends viewing materials and other profiles.
Previously, Pinterest stories were published as regular posts. By the way, one more social network feature is that only verified accounts have access to Stories.
New Try On Tools
Pinterest has introduced new augmented reality tools allowing you to try one image on another. AR technologies are a priority social network trend in general and Pinterest — focused on images — in particular.
The tool for the Home Decoration category allows you to evaluate how the pieces of furniture found in online stores will look in your home. This technology, firstly, reflects the concept of a social network — inspiration for users and visualization of ideas. And secondly, it strengthens the interaction between trading platforms and Pinterest.
The company notes that the number of purchases made using try tools is constantly growing. Especially the indicators increased during the pandemic.
Another category where new try-before-you-buy features have been launched relates to cosmetics. Users can use special pins and see if eye shadow from Lancôme, YSL, and other brands will suit them.
This tool is also developed based on Lens technology and allows you to test decorative cosmetics virtually using a smartphone camera. And Pinterest algorithms include those that suit the user’s appearance in the recommended products.
Now you can choose lipstick and eye shadow using pins. However, the company declares its intention to continue financing the development of AR technologies.
VKontakte
The Trending feed
VKontakte has launched a neural network to track all content and form a trending feed based on millions of posts reflecting trends.
In the blog, the company explained that the algorithm selects potentially cited and popular publications and then groups them based on the topic. The core purpose of the new section is to give a complete picture of the day to VKontakte users. In addition, communities and media will be able to increase reach and expand the audience.
You can already find the new tab in the update of the VKontakte app. Now the algorithm selects the most debated posts of authors and communities, taking into account user interest and their interaction with the content.
Not only media but also ones by communities, influencers, and ordinary users can get in the Trending feed if the algorithm recognizes them as potentially quoted. According to representatives of VKontakte, posts are not subject to pre-moderation, but unreliable or illegal information will get deleted promptly after checking complaints.
The company believes that the novelty will draw attention to local authors and groups who comment on current events in the country and the world. It will allow you to respond to trends in real-time quickly.
Video Monetization
VKontakte has provided video monetization tools for all authors who publish videos for groups-participants of the social network affiliate program. Several hundred communities have already joined the program
The groups place ads in the video and receive income from their demonstration. The first results have shown that the most popular topics are sports, education, and fun videos.
As a result of monetization, the total income of authors who uploaded video content augmented to 50%. Large public companies that publish original materials benefited the most from the new feature.
The social network plans to introduce monetization tools for live broadcasts so that communities can earn money on broadcasts.
This year, participation in the affiliate program is available to all communities if they meet several video requirements. It should be informative, potentially interesting, high-quality, and original. At the same time, the company aims at expanding the possibilities of video monetization for everyone, not just large groups.
VKontakte can show ads during any video. The targeting settings that the advertiser has configured influence the process.
The On the counter application
VKontakte has developed and launched a new app for solving business problems. It simplifies the process of managing the store assortment.
The application allows you to convert product photos into a more functional sales tool — product cards. At the same time, users will not have to spend time downloading and uploading pics.
In addition, it is easy to copy product information from the photo caption in the new app. VK has also developed tools for editing cards — you can change their order, edit the description, and set prices.
The store’s customers will be able to add products to the cart and pay for them using the app, and the business owner gets the opportunity to manage orders.
To use the app, you need to activate the Store option in the community. When you enable the On the counter feature, the My Products page will open, on which you can place product cards using the create new product button.
Promo for one product
VKontakte allows promoting a specific product or service now. This option is convenient if you have too much of a product or it is in seasonal demand. The update works on all platforms.
Use the Promote button appearing under each product card to launch a promo campaign for a specific position. You can add an ad text that attracts attention, set a budget limit for the day, and start promoting the product.
You can configure the characteristics for the audience to show the ad manually, or you can trust an algorithm automatically select it. Users will see the publication with a snippet and a product view button.
The difference between the new tool and the ability to add a product to an ad is that it allows you to track the statistics of a specific promotion directly therein. In addition, the launch of the promo has become faster and easier.
There is no limit on the number of products or services you want to promote.
Reports in all communities
VKontakte has opened access to the Reports feature for all users. With the help of text broadcasts, users can cover interesting events: forums, sports, festivals, etc.
You can watch the reports on any device and operating system — there is no need to log in to the social network.
This opportunity is a promising promotion tool for businesses because broadcasts can be about attractive company events and their participation in major ones.
It is vital to adhere to several core reporting principles to keep the audience’s attention. Add photos, videos, polls, and links; they are displayed as snippets in the broadcast and allow you to describe the chronicle of events more colorfully. An excellent detailed story about what is happening will attract the audience.
The most important details you can pin above the feed are a schedule, a list of participants, a link to a record, etc. Another recommendation concerns the activity of promotion: a link to the broadcast can be published on social networks, on community pages, on channels, and chats on other sites.
Users have the opportunity to subscribe only to important broadcast publications, so it is good to mark the catchiest moments with this tag. Notification of the event will be sent to all users.
A platform for marketing automation
The new VK Customer Experience Hub platform provides businesses with tools for moderating customer conversations at all sales stages. It is an opportunity to automate marketing processes and communication with users.
The platform includes two modules. The first one solves analytical tasks and personalizes communication strategies with users. The functionality of the second module concerns data storage and processing thereof. Users can categorize information — and therefore, the audience can be segmented.
The platform provides opportunities to interact with customers through various channels: SMS, e-mail, messengers, chats in social networks, mini-applications, and others. Integration with myTarget and VKontakte is also available, which increases the reach of the target audience.
The platform services allow you to attract a new audience and maintain communication with the established customer pool, and interacting with them goes through user-friendly channels. It also increases the conversion rate.
For business, VK Customer Experience Hub can become a set of helpful tools, including hypothesis testing, conducting A/B tests, and obtaining insights about the audience’s behavior. According to the developers, the main goal of the new service is to enable businesses to interact with customers at all stages of the sales funnel and skip interaction with IT specialists.
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