32 New Things In Digital In August 2018

If you’ve missed out on the recent updates being caught up in the August showers don’t worry because here is a quick run-through. From Facebook taking a lead with numerous features such as Facebook Messenger adding multiplayer video chat for AR games, experimenting with ‘new things in common’ label, adding story highlights followed by LinkedIn which has given some new updates to job listings to WhatsApp introducing video and voice group calling, Snapchat enabling users to send musical gifs and Google’s rebranded and updated Google One app. Read along to get acquainted with the updates of this month.

#1 Facebook Adds New Activity Dashboard To Help People Manage Time On Facebook And Instagram

Facebook is to introduce new tools with activity dashboard that shows the average time spent on the app, a daily reminder once a user reaches a self-imposed time limit on the app and more control over notifications.

#2 Facebook Video Metrics Will No Longer Include Rewatched Video Seconds

Facebook has updated its video ad metrics to focus more on the total amount of time a video is watched and remove redundancies in reporting. Three-second and ten-second video views will no longer include seconds that are rewatched after rewinding. These updated will roll out globally in the next 2 weeks.

#3 YouTube Videos Will Adapt To Desktop Screens And Browser Sizes For Better Viewing Experience

YouTube videos will now automatically adapt to provide the best viewing experience based on the video’s aspect ratio, your computer’s screen and browser size.

#4 Facebook Introduces Options To Send Private Messages With Friend Requests

#5 Google Removes Options To Exclude Mobile Apps For Targeting Display Campaigns

Google to yank advertisers’ option to exclude all mobile apps from display campaigns. It will not be possible to use adsenseformobileapps.com or other controls to keep mobile Display ads from showing on all apps, including interstitial ads.

#6 WhatsApp Introduces Video And Voice Group Calling

WhatsApp added group calling for up to four people using video and voice. These calls are always end-to-end encrypted and will work reliably around the world in different network conditions. The feature is currently rolling out on the iPhone and Android versions of WhatsApp.

#7 SnapChat Introduces First Speech Recognition Lenses

Snapchat rolled out a new type of Lens that respond to simple voice commands in English such as “hi,” “love,” “yes,” “no,” or”wow.” Five or six of these new lenses will be available to Snachat users within the next week. They can be found periodically in the Lens carousel along with the others, starting on August 1st.

#8 Linkedin Introduces New Campaign Manager Reporting Interface For Easy Understanding Of Campaigns Performance

LinkedIn announced a redesigned reporting experience that makes it easier to understand how the campaigns are performing and quickly optimize for better results. The major enhancements of this update include new navigation tools, faster-loading data, improved search capabilities, and much more. These changes began rolling out this past week in Linkedin Campaign Manager.

#9 Facebook Revamps Business Pages, Events And More On Mobile

Facebook has updated more than 80 million business pages to make it easier for people to interact with local businesses and find what they need most. It’s updating pages to make recommendations about businesses including text, photos, and tags more prominent, features to show menus, book appointments, and other actions; expanding Events and job applications features; and rolling out Stories to all pages. Users can now browse a Local section of the Facebook app and a stand-alone Facebook Local app for businesses around you, see what places are most recommended, and check out which events your friends are attending.

#10 Linkedin Will Feature Career Histories In Experience Section On Profiles

LinkedIn will now automatically group consecutive positions within the same organization in the experience section of profiles. This new design feature is starting to roll out on desktop and mobile in the U.S. this week and will be available globally to all members in the coming weeks.

#11 Snpachat User Count Drops By 3 Million in Q2 2018

According to Snapchat’s Q2 2018, Financial Results its user base fell by three million daily active users. The company predicted that the recent app redesign would disrupt usage, with some people typically counted among Snapchat’s daily users opening the app less frequently.

#12 Google August Core Algorithm Update Is Now Fully Rolled Out

Google has just confirmed that the core search algorithm update that began rolling out a week ago has now finished fully rolling out. Google search liaison Danny Sullivan said on Twitter, “It’s done” when I asked him if the rollout was complete. Danny did add that if we are seeing other changes, “We always have changes that happen, both broad and more specific.” This is because some of the tracking tools are seeing more fluctuations today, and if they are unrelated to this update, the question is what they can be attributed to.

#13 Google Ad Manager Also Handles TV Commercials

Digital video ads generated nearly $12 billion in revenue last year, a 33 percent spike over 2016, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. While the vast majority of those video ads were delivered to phones or computers, an increasing number are being displayed on smart TVs.

Whether your audience is watching live sports or their favourite TV show on-demand, Google Ad Manager can deliver the right commercial break experiences in the living room, keeping people watching. Last year alone, video ad impressions served to connected TVs using Ad Manager increased by more than 80 percent.

#14 Facebook Launches Mentorship To Facebook Groups

Last year, Facebook piloted a new Mentorship and Support program that matches people in existing Facebook groups to share one-on-one, guided support. This week, Facebook announced that Mentorship is available to people within select groups focused on parenting and professional and personal development.

#15 Facebook Messenger Introduces Video Chat To AR Games

Facebook Messenger added multiplayer video chat with up to six people to two AR games, “Don’t Smile” and “Asteroids Attack,” and plans to roll out this feature to more games in the coming weeks and months. Video Chat AR Games is available globally with the latest version of Messenger.

#16 Facebook Is Testing Share Button With Messenger Button

Facebook appears to be running a test that replaces the Share feature with a new button that prompts users to share a news feed post on Messenger. This new format shifts Facebook sharing from open, public posts to private conversations and could significantly impact engagement on the platform if it’s more broadly rolled out.

#17 Facebook Launches New Process To Convert Still Image Ads To Video Ads

Facebook’s Creative Shop debuted a new production approach called Create to Convert, “an easy framework to add lightweight motion to still images to create more compelling and effective direct-response ads.” The Create to Convert approach is available to “businesses of all sizes, enabling them [to] create effective video ads at scale.”

#18 Facebook Tests Ads On Stories Similar To Instagram

Facebook began testing the first ads in Facebook Stories in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. At the time, the early ads consisted of 5- to 15-second skippable videos and didn’t have calls to action or click-throughs.

#19 Facebook Introduces New Creative Tools AdsManager App

Facebook rolled out a new suite of creative tools for the Ads Manager app “that makes it easier to build compelling ad content right from your mobile device.” These new creative tools include the ability to incorporate text; crop images; and add stickers, logos, and more into your ads. It also includes fully customizable ad templates and color filters to further embellish and improve the quality of your ads directly within the app.

#20 Facebook Tests New Layout For Scheduled Live Video Posts

Facebook appears to be testing a new layout for scheduled live video posts. The company hasn’t yet shared the official size for the image yet, but it seems to default to a cropped version of the cover image.

#21 Google Adds New Expandable Featured Snippets

Google has announced a new form of featured snippets aimed at showing you more useful aspects of the topic around your search. So, when you search for a query that triggers this new format, you will get a handful of expandable snippets below the main featured snippet with more information.

#22 Google Posts Added To Local Listings For Some Branded Queries

Google is now showing Google Posts in the local three-pack — local listings — in web search. Typically, Google has shown Google Posts when a single local panel shows up for a specific business. But now, if you search for some branded queries, Google will show a tab for “Posts” that will show Google Posts for that brand.

#23 Facebook Is Rolling Out Facebook Stories Highlights On Profiles

Facebook has rolled out ‘story highlights’, similar to Instagram. The highlights option provides another way to re-use your Facebook Stories content, showcasing the best of your Stories efforts direct on your profile for an indefinite period.

#24 Facebook Is Testing A New Comment Moderation Feature For Page Admins

Facebook is adding a new feature to its ‘Comment Moderation’ tool. This automated Facebook moderation tool is the answer for all the page admins to filter out spammy comments or comments that are derogatory in nature. This tool helps you save time where your team can focus on engaging and responding to your followers.

#25 Facebook Tests Highlighting Things That Are Common Between You And Non-Friends On A Public Post

Facebook is now experimenting with new ‘things in common’ labels which will appear above selected comments from people you don’t know on posts you view. It will pick up few comments from the post and show you what are the common aspects between you and the other profiles. So, above someone’s name, you might see a label that says “You both went to Anna University” or that you’re both from Chennai.”

#26 Linkedin Is Rolling Out Groups Again

LinkedIn informed select Groups power users that it’s relaunching Groups by the end of the month into the main app and streamlining the service to reduce spam and be more efficient.

#27 SnapChat Adds Musical Gifs Via New Tunemoji Integrations

Get ready for a fun new option in Snapchat – Snap Inc. has formed a new partnership with TuneMoji which will enable users to send musical GIFs which play a snippet of a chosen song along with the moving image.

#28 Facebook Group Admins Can Now Pin Comments To Focus Discussion

Facebook is now letting group admins pin comments in discussion threads to highlight the best comments, or new angles of interest, which could help spark further discussion around a specific element and boost engagement and interaction.

#29 Facebook To Remove More Than 5000 Ad Targeting Options To Stamp Out Discrimination

As Facebook continues its efforts to clean-up its platform, and lessen its capacity to be used in divisive and damaging ways, it has this week announced that around 5,000 of its advanced ad targeting options will be removed as it seeks to stamp out discriminatory ad targeting.

#30 Linkedin Adds New Job Listing Tools Including Option To Search By Remote Working Opportunities

LinkedIn has rolled out some new updates to its job listings which are designed to make it easier to find the most relevant advertised roles, and get more insights into salary expectations. It has now added a broader set of relevant job information under the main header, making it easier to get an understanding of the key elements. You can scroll through jobs details, save the job that interests you, and see all the most important information – like company size, how many applicants are there, and who in your network can help – right at the top of the page, quickly giving you the context you need to decide if a job is a right fit for you.

#31 Google Images Data In Google Analytics

Previously, all traffic coming from a Google Images search result would be grouped together under ‘google / organic’ in the Acquisition reports in Google Analytics. Soon, when the Google Images team makes their changes to the referral source URL, there will be a new Source line item for image search reflected in Google Analytics which will display as ‘google images’ in the Source report and ‘google images / organic’ in the Source / Medium report within Analytics.

#32 Google Drive’s Rebrand To Google One Includes Offers For Hotels Found In Search

Google is rolling out its rebranded and updated paid Google Drive plans under the new name Google One. The updated plans come with lower pricing, but what will interest marketers is a new Benefits section in the Google One app.