Small business and social media industry news for the month of December, 2020. Read the biggest news in social media and small business, all in one place, every month.
This article is updated weekly during the month of December.
There's a(nother) feud going on between Facebook and Apple
It stems from Apple’s implementation of a new opt-in requirement for users with iOS 14 devices to grant permission to be tracked for advertising purposes. Facebook claims new privacy features are harming small businesses. Apple says it's simply championing for its users and their data. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has also put some skin in the fight, calling Facebook's accusations "laughable".
Businesses "have to get on social media to survive"
In a recent article published on Newsday, a local restauranteur hired a marketing person to help him with social media during the pandemic, but Ripl makes it super simple for small businesses to up their social marketing game with easy to customize templates and a scheduling tool.
All the social media giants are becoming the same
An interesting article on Wired around social media competition and how similar they are becoming while they try and keep up with each other.
Instagram launches shoppable Christmas catalog in the UK
The catalog promotes both influencers and small businesses by featuring gift guides from nine prominent UK influencers.
After testing, Instagram has launched Live Rooms in India
The rollout to India and Indonesia will be complete soon. This new Instagram feature allows creators to go live with up to three people.
Instagram adds shopping tags to Reels
New shopping tags on Reels allow creators to add product listings in their Reels videos, further building out e-commerce capabilities on Instagram.
Instagram added more creative tools to Reels
They've added new "Audio Mix" and "Voice-over" creator options into Reels composition tools.
Twitter releases biggest tweet trends of 2020
In a recent article, Twitter lists all of the major trends and topics from the past year, including most retweeted tweets of the year, top liked tweets worldwide, and most discussed people, TV shows, and sports games.
Twitter announces capability to share tweets to Snapchat stories, Instagram stories
The new integration allows you to share tweets directly to your Snapchat Stories. Twitter also announced they are testing sharing tweets to Instagram stories this month.
Twitter is testing audio spaces feature
Twitter is testing the first wave of their new audio-only, virtual rooms function.
Facebook releases its annual "Topics & Trends" report for 2021
This report outlines a prediction of the key topics across Facebook and Instagram for 2021. According to Facebook, "This year's report explores how the major changes of the last year have affected individuals and communities and how they have led people to embrace authentic connections, find creative solutions to everyday challenges and build skills to last a lifetime."
Facebook launches new website to help businesses increase their social impact
The new site shares tips on how to start a fundraiser, how to donate as a business, and case studies on brands that have recently made a social impact.
Facebook releases new features for Group Admins
Facebook is updating features for Group Admins to make it easier to moderate and organize content in your Facebook group. In the latest update, tags are replaced by hashtags and group admins can pause their group, share feedback on pending posts, and see details on moderation actions.
Facebook is disabling some features in Instagram and Facebook messenger in Europe
Because of the new rules for messaging services in Europe, Facebook is temporarily disabling some features like polls, stickers, and personalized replies.
Pinterest releases their "Pinterest Predicts" annual trend report
The report highlights key trends and themes heading into the New Year.
Pinterest adds new board features
New board features like "notes to self", pin favorites, and improved search tools help keep pinned content more organized and accessible.
Snapchat provides insights and trends during the holiday
This holiday season, people are using Snapchat in different ways. Snapchat published a report on how users are approaching the holidays season, which could affect brand marketing strategy.
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