by Welcome to this week's edition of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, a news show for marketers who want to stay on the leading edge of social media.
On this week's Social Media Marketing Talk Show, we explore what global spikes in social media usage mean for marketing strategies and LinkedIn's new conversation ads format with special guests, Tara Zirker and AJ Wilcox.
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Watch the replay of this week's show below.
About Our Special Guests
- Tara Zirker is a Facebook ads expert and founder of the Successful Ads Club, a membership site designed for marketers who want to improve their Facebook and Instagram ads performance.
- AJ Wilcox is a LinkedIn ads pro and the founder of B2Linked.com, a LinkedIn ads–specific agency. He's also the host of The LinkedIn Ads Show, a new podcast that covers targeting strategies, getting the best pricing, and everything there is to know about running LinkedIn ads.
Use the timestamps below to fast-forward to our top stories in the replay above.
- 2:22 Facebook Struggles to Keep Up With Surge in Global Usage and YouTube Limits Streaming to Standard Definition by Default to Alleviate Network Strain
- 27:32 Instagram Launches New Way to Browse With Friends Over Video Chat and “Stay Home” Sticker for Stories
- 34:24 LinkedIn Rolls Out New Conversation Ads Format
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Facebook Struggles to Keep Up With Surge in Global Usage: Facebook, along with other social media and video-streaming sites, are seeing an “unprecedented” spike in traffic and usage as millions of users around the world are being urged to stay home. To maintain service stability throughout the surge in usage, the company is temporarily reducing bit rates for Facebook and Instagram videos in certain regions.
Keeping Our Services Stable and Reliable During the COVID-19 Outbreak https://t.co/RYvcl7BERo pic.twitter.com/fdGG5bBoI4
— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) March 24, 2020
Engadget reports that Europe has already seen limits on bandwidth. A representative from Facebook states that the company is “…committed to working with [its] partners to manage any bandwidth constraints during this period of heavy demand, while also ensuring people are able to remain connected using Facebook apps and services during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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I'M READY FOR REAL AI RESULTSFacebook and Instagram lower video quality in Europe https://t.co/C6dXxoeXQd pic.twitter.com/F7Q7FwMu0a
— Engadget (@engadget) March 22, 2020
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YouTube Limits Streaming to Standard Definition by Default to Alleviate Network Strain: In a move similar to Facebook's, YouTube switched to standard definition streaming by default in Europe to alleviate the peak in demand and traffic strain on the internet.
YouTube goes SD streaming by default in Europe due to COVID-19 https://t.co/e09R2S4Fcc by @riptari pic.twitter.com/HhkzhbDS8E
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) March 20, 2020
CNET states that the company rolled out this initiative in the European Union, UK, and Switzerland and announced plans to gradually expand it globally starting on Tuesday over a few days. The measure is expected to last about 30 days.
Instagram Launches New Way to Browse With Friends Over Video Chat and “Stay Home” Sticker for Stories: Instagram rolled out a series of updates to help users access accurate information, stay safe, and stay connected. One new feature is the ability to view Instagram posts with friends over video chat.
Start by tapping the video chat icon in your Direct inbox or an existing Direct thread –>
View your saved, liked and suggested photos and videos by tapping the photo icon in the bottom left corner –>
Get ready for all the feels ☺😂😮😍
— Instagram (@instagram) March 24, 2020
Instagram is also featuring a shared story at the top of the feed that highlights people practicing social distancing. To be included, simply use the Stay Home sticker in your stories. Users will only see shared stories from those they already follow on Instagram.
Today we’re launching a new “Stay Home” sticker that you can find in Stories. If you use the sticker, your photo or video will be added to a shared Instagram story where people can see how you're staying home and staying safe ❤ pic.twitter.com/MtU3d4bKKq
— Instagram (@instagram) March 21, 2020
LinkedIn Rolls Out New Conversation Ads Format: LinkedIn adds a new messaging ad format that helps marketers “interact with [their] prospects in more personal and engaging ways.”
LinkedIn's conversation ads format builds on LinkedIn's message ads offering, formerly known as sponsored InMail. It allows advertisers to create “choose your own path” experiences and create full-funnel campaigns using various custom calls to action.
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