Social updates businesses should know about

Social media is a fast moving world, and it pays for brands to have their fingers on the pulse. Here are five developments from the social world that we think you need to be keeping an eye on.

Click-to-call is coming to Facebook ads

Brands investing in local advertising on Facebook are in luck. As part of their local awareness objective, Facebook is taking a leaf out of Google’s book and introducing a ‘call now’ button to news feed ads, allowing mobile users to call the business just by tapping a button – a brilliant addition which builds on last year’s ‘get directions’ button.

(Source: Facebook)

51% of mobile searchers are searching on the go, so by removing unnecessary steps from their journey to conversion, click-to-call makes finding and connecting with a local business a lot more streamlined.

It’s nice and easy – just choose a call-to-action, select the area you want to reach and choose your budget. You can see the results directly on your Page’s notifications panel, including people reached and clicks.

Pinterest is introducing buyable pins

It’s what all of the 70 million users of Pinterest have been waiting for… The red ‘Pin It’ button will soon be joined by a blue ‘Buy It’ button on the Pinterest mobile app, allowing Pinners on iPad and iPhone to browse products, swipe through different colours and sizes and buy straight from brands without having to leave the platform. And that’s not even as convenient as it gets – Pinterest have partnered with Apple Pay, making the whole experience as seamless as can be. No one will ever need to leave Pinterest ever again.

(Source: Pinterest)

Interestingly, Pinterest won’t be taking a cut of sales made through the platform – instead, they’ll look to increase revenue from ads, or ‘promoted pins’. It’s rolling out in the US as we speak, and Android and desktop users are set to be included in future releases.

Instagram is opening up its ads to all

Previously a privilege reserved for an exclusive few, Instagram is now opening up its advertising to all businesses, regardless of size, as well as expanding its targeting features by working with Facebook.

Through new ‘carousel ads’, Instagram aims to encourage brands to tell a story rather than simply share one image or video – and the new ads will offer more interaction, allowing users to download apps, sign up for services and even buy products directly from the platform. Put it this way: if we’re not on Pinterest, you’ll find us on Instagram.

The ads will be available to buy through an Instagram Ads API as well as Facebook ad buying interfaces, and are expected to roll out globally throughout the year.

Instagram’s also got a new web layout

And about time too. Instagram’s new web layout now mirrors the app in displaying three large images in each row rather than five. It also no longer features the cover images or borders around images. This is great news for image-focused brands who will be able to get a bit more creative with their visual strategy and hopefully gain more engagement on the photo sharing platform.

(Source: instagram.com/frederic.monceau via Guillermo Alonso Lorenzo on LinkedIn)

Finally… Facebook now supports animated GIFs

We’ve been saving the best for last. In a bid to help people ‘express themselves in fun new ways’, Facebook now supports animated GIFs. While whether or not this is good news depends heavily on your friends list, we think it’s another giant leap forward for visual sharing on social media. The only bad news is that Pages aren’t included in the fun… yet.