Daily Minute Master Series – October 4, 2019
Social Media
Twitter’s Testing a New Option to ‘Stream’ Tweets in Real-Time
Twitter is testing out a new option which would enable users to ‘stream tweets’, meaning that their timeline would be updated as tweets happen. Functionally, the option doesn’t appear to add anything new – while the other option listed in the new pop-up window is the ‘Top Tweets First’ algorithm feed, you can already opt-out of the Top Tweets feed and switch back to the latest tweets first via the existing toggle, which itself was updated with the new star icon in the top right of the feed back in December. But it would provide the capacity to switch to a more active, real-time update mode, which would keep your tweets flowing through, without any manual intervention. The option is currently in testing with a small group of users, with prompts like these set to become a part of the broader tweet discovery process.
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Instagram’s Now Testing New AR ‘Try On’ Ads with Selected Advertisers
As Instagram shifts further into eCommerce, it’s also looking to provide more advanced ad options, in order to help retailers maximize engagement and response. Instagram has now launched a new test of AR ‘try on’ ads with selected brands, through which users will be able to actively engage with the advertised product virtually and see how it looks. The feature is essentially an extension of Facebook’s version of the same, which The Social Network also launched with selected brands last year. The new AR try on tools will be available via selected ads from the noted partners, and users will be able to share these experiences via Instagram Stories, helping to spread the word. It’s an interesting addition, particularly on Instagram, given the audience’s interest in Stories and associated advanced visual tools. That could make it a great option for Instagram campaigns. It will require additional platform expertize to create such experiences, but you can imagine that they will prove popular, expanding your Instagram ad potential.
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Advertising
Google Takes Aim at Pinterest with ‘Style Ideas’ and Improved Google Shopping
It seems that Google is indeed keeping tabs on Pinterest’s growth, as this week, it’s launched a new tool which replicates Pinterest’s ‘Shop the Look’ Pins, offering relevant product matches based on an image captured through Google Lens, or via screenshot sample. In addition to getting similar product matches via Google listings, you’ll also see a new ‘Style Inspiration’ selection, which highlights how other people have added that item into their outfit. Pinterest is still developing its Complete the Look recommendations, so in some ways, Google’s looking to get ahead of the platform with the tools that it has been leading the way on. But it’s not just through Google Lens that it’s looking to hit Pinterest. In addition to style recommendations, Google has also announced a redesign of Google Shopping, via Google search, which will boost Google’s eCommerce potential.
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Marketing
Google to update GoogleBot’s user agent
Google announced that starting in December Google will update Google’s user agent to represent the version of Chrome that GoogleBot is running. It is important to update any code you may have that may look at the user agent of GoogleBot to support this change going forward. . If you have any user agent detection scripts that are hard coded for GoogleBot, you need to make sure to support this new user agent pattern. Google said, “We’ve run an evaluation, so are confident that most websites will not be affected by the change.” “If your site looks for a specific user agent, it may be affected. You should use feature detection instead of user agent sniffing. If you cannot use feature detection and need to detect Googlebot via the user agent, then look for “Googlebot” within the user agent,” Google added. GoogleBot is getting a new user agent, and that is exciting. But it can impact your site if you had any user agent detection methods for GoogleBot. Make sure to test your site to see if it supports the new user agent. Most sites probably do not need to worry about this but you have done any advice GoogleBot detection, you may need to take steps to update those scripts.
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