Brace yourself
We hope you enjoyed that extra hour of sleep on Sunday. By the way, we thought we were dreaming when we heard about Kim Kardashian West's birthday gift from Ye, but it would have been hard to imagine this tweet. Multimillionaires, amirite? 😏
In social media news...
Facebook and friends prepare for potential U.S. election chaos
TikTok creators come to the app's rescue
Instagram announces updates to Live streams
And merchants get some extra support
This and more in today's e-newsletter. Read on ⬇️
We didn't vote for this
Buckle up, friends, because it’s going to be a bumpy week in the U.S. as the votes are tallied for the next President — and social media companies know it. They're ramping up measures they say are aimed at slowing the spread of misinformation around voting and the naming of the next POTUS. Here's what you need to know...
Keeping it "real"
If any candidate or campaign tries to declare victory before the final results are called, Facebook will add a notification to the top of people's FB and Instagram feeds letting them know the results aren't final yet. COO Sheryl Sandberg confirmed this tactic in a recent Q3 Facebook earnings call. An informational label will also be placed on the candidate's post. In addition, labels will be added to content that "seeks to delegitimize the outcome of the election or any particular voting method."
And forget about trying any funny business on YouTube either. On Election Day, Google-owned YouTube will feature an election results "information panel" at the top of election-related search queries or under videos that discuss the election. You'll also see the wording: “Results may not be final. See the latest on Google," which will link to a separate Google page with results from The Associated Press.
Controlling the conversation
To help keep things civil on social media, Instagram is temporarily removing the “Recent” tab from hashtag pages “to reduce the real-time spread of potentially harmful content that could pop up around the election." On Twitter, the company has removed the ability to just Retweet a tweet, and is instead showcasing Quote Tweets. The goal is to encourage users to “add their own commentary prior to amplifying content." Twitter is also preventing “liked by” and “followed by” recommendations from people you don’t follow from showing up in your timeline and won’t send notifications for these tweets.
Getting ready for chaos While Facebook's plan to limit political advertising in the week leading up to the election perhaps didn't go as smoothly as they had hoped for, the company is reportedly ready for potential election-day chaos. According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook is prepping emergency measures that have previously only been used in “at-risk” countries such as Sri Lanka and Myanmar. These include slowing the spread of viral information, and lowering the bar used to suppress potentially inflammatory posts.
Whatever happens, we sincerely wish all of our neighbours to the south a safe and calm election week.
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ICYMI
TikTok creators for the win
TikTok won't be banned in the U.S. any time soon, thanks to three creators who successfully convinced a judge to issue a preliminary injunction blocking a series of proposed U.S. government restrictions. The creators, who each have millions of followers, argued that a ban would prevent them from making a living. The Pennsylvania judge agreed, saying their videos constitute "informational materials" which are protected under the relevant law, according to The Verge. If you want to see just how much money is at stake for these creators, feel free to check out page 7 of the full ruling (good for you, creators!). In a separate lawsuit, a judge issued a preliminary injunction on Sept. 27th ruling blocking a U.S. download ban on the China-based app. (Is it just us, or is it hard to keep up?). Oh well, congrats to TikTok (for now).
Going Live for longer
If you do a lot of live streaming on Instagram, this update is for you. Instagram recently announced three changes to Live streams, including extending the length of Live streams from one hour to four hours for all users worldwide. Businesses and merchants who have largely moved online in the midst of the pandemic will likely find this helpful. Instagram is also adding a "Live Now" section in the IGTV app. And coming soon, you'll be able to archive Live streams for up to 30 days, after which they will be deleted. Previously, if creators wanted to save videos, they would have to upload them to IGTV or save them to their phones. This update sounds a lot simpler. And in what could be a hint for a future update, a Twitter user asked about whether Instagram would ever allow more than two people to go Live together. Vishal Shah, the VP of Product at Instagram, responded, "We're looking into this, stay tuned!"
Merch alert
We've all seen (and complained about) the in-store Christmas decorations, but many businesses are probably spending a lot more time getting their online presence prepped for the holidays — and social media companies are trying to help. Pinterest recently announced new tools for merchants that include new ways to set up a storefront and discover merchants, new product tagging, updates to the catalogue interface, automatic ad bidding for shopping, and more information about the customer journey. Meanwhile, TikTok users should expect to see more ads that aim to get them shopping, after the app announced a global partnership with Shopify. In a statement, TikTok said the partnership "will help more than 1 million merchants create and run campaigns directly geared toward TikTok's highly engaged community." Heads up — TikTok's e-commerce potential is a big reason Walmart wants a stake in the app.
NEWS-LIKE
🔴 Instagram Changes Breast Holding Policy After #IWantToSeeNyome Campaign [Mashable]
🔴 Big Tech Continues its Surge Ahead of the U.S. Election [New York Times]
🔴 Facebook Takes its First Small Steps Into the World of Cloud Gaming [The Verge]
🔴 Apple Eyes the TikTok Generation With an Updated Version of Clips [TechCrunch]
🔴 Facebook Reports a Decline in Users in Canada and the U.S. [CNBC]
UPCOMING VIRTUAL CONFERENCES
MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum
When: Nov. 4 & 5
Cost: Free to MarketingProfs PRO Subscribers; $595 USD per ticket (includes 1-year PRO subscription)
Social Bakers Engage 2020
When: Nov. 18-20
Cost: Free
Smart Traffic Live
When: Dec. 2-4
Cost: $497 USD (Early bird pricing)
*We do not endorse or are an affiliate of any of these conferences. Register, don't register — it's your call.
HAPPY-LIKE
Friendship in the time of COVID
In the time of COVID and social distancing, heartwarming airport reunions are pretty much a no-no. But four women in the U.S. came up with a magical solution, captured in TikTok video that has already amassed 6.4 million views. And perhaps it's their costumes, or the pure emotion, or the fact that all four women never drop their purses, but we just can't turn away. You can watch it here. 🦄 And in case you need one, here is a virtual hug from us. Have a great week.
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