Industry News Round Up: Facebook and Instagram Updates

It’s been a busy week for Facebook and Instagram. In case you haven’t had a chance to delve into the latest news, here’s a quick summary:

Three upcoming changes for Facebook 

1. We may start to see news content hosted inside of Facebook, instead of links that direct users to another media site. This will make consuming content on Facebook more seamless, especially for those accessing it on mobile devices. Some initial media partners will include The New York Times, BuzzFeed and National Geographic. 
2. And while we’re all familiar with Facebook’s autoplay videos, the company is looking to take autoplay to the next level. This new feature will automatically play another related video when the one you’re watching is done — similar to how Netflix automatically plays the next episode of a series you’re watching.
3. Furthermore, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced at the F8 Developer Conference on Wednesday that the company will be turning its Facebook Messenger into a platform. When it launches, more than 40 third-party apps will be available to download directly from Facebook Messenger, allowing users to send one another not just texts, but GIFs, music, videos and more.

Through a new feature called Messenger Business, Facebook will also aim to replace work-related emails with Messenger. This means email addresses won’t be needed for common online business interactions such as sending direct messages, making reservations and checking business order statuses. Launch dates for these new features have not yet been confirmed, but look for them in the next couple of months!

Facebook introduces educational resource for marketers

Do you advertise your brand on Facebook? If so, you might want to check out Blueprint: a new educational resource for advertising on Facebook. Released this Wednesday, Blueprint offers more than 35 online courses and includes in-person training and certification. This resource lets advertisers explore Facebook’s campaign optimization offerings, video ad options and effective ad measurement tools at their own pace. Anyone with a Facebook account can access Blueprint via desktop or mobile device.

If you’re a small business owner, Facebook created Learn How with you in mind. This new online learning center helps small businesses do more with their Facebook Pages and Ads. Facebook built the Learn How page to be flexible, saying marketers can “use it to cover a topic in-depth, or as a reference library to cover questions as they come up.” Like Blueprint, this resource is also available on desktop and mobile. To stay on top of Facebook marketing changes, follow the updated Facebook Business website.

With more than two million businesses advertising on the social media network, it appears Facebook saw the opportunity to improve their experience by creating a hub of information and answers for online marketers of both large and small businesses. Smart move!

Instagram rolls out new collage app 

On Tuesday, Instagram rolled out a new app, Layout from Instagram, a feature that allows users to create collages of their photos. We love how incredibly simple it is to use this app! Unlike other photo collage apps, however, there are no filter, text or border color options.

While most third-party collage apps require users to choose the collage format before selecting the pictures, Layout does the opposite. Users simply click photos from their library (up to nine) that they wish to include in a collage, then choose the format from a variety of options.

Here’s an example of what it looks like:

After creating a collage, users can easily share their creations to their social media platforms.

Easy, right? First Lady Michelle Obama has already used the app, as have brands such as Sephora and Victoria’s Secret.

You can currently download this app for free in iTunes, and Layout will be available to Android users in the coming months.