September News - Digital Marketing Recap

With the fourth quarter of 2022 starting, we have brought the most anticipated updates related to the digital marketing realm.  

Whether you are a professional or just a beginner looking to expand your marketing knowledge, these are the top news updates that you must know.

• LinkedIn To Enhance Messaging With “Focused Inbox” Feature
  
• TikTok Expands Downvotes for Comments to All Users
  
• Disney+ Released an Augmented Reality Movie Starring Brie Larson
  
• Confirmed! Instagram to Not Split Story Videos Under 60 Seconds Anymore
  
• YouTube Launches Ad-Free Educational Video Content
  
• TikTok To Allow Users to Tag Books in Their Clips to Capitalize on the "Booktok" Trend
  
• Instagram Is Experimenting with Custom Features
  
• The News Feed on Facebook Is Being Redesigned
  

Let’s get started.

LinkedIn To Enhance Messaging With “Focused Inbox” Feature

To assist users in organizing their incoming messages, LinkedIn is creating a new kind of inbox. 
This inbox divides your messages into two categories: a "Focused Inbox" for the messages that are most important to you, and an "Other" inbox that essentially serves as a spam folder. 
Although it's unclear how LinkedIn filters or prioritizes relevant messages, the inbox is made to conform to your preferences. 
Because sponsored InMail and other forms of outreach could end up in the Other mailbox, this poses an intriguing challenge for sales teams.

[The Focused Inbox] is an intelligent, dual-tabbed display that divides incoming messages into two tabs, making it simpler to identify and respond to the items that matter most. 
The Focused tab will display the messages that are most pertinent to you, with the Other tab serving as a convenient place to access the remainder. Additionally, moving messages between tabs is simple.
According to LinkedIn, your inbox will eventually learn what you consider junk mail and adjust its filtering based on how you use it.

TikTok Expands Downvotes for Comments to All Users

The global distribution of a remark "dislike" option has started on TikTok. You can tap a thumbs-down button, much as on other social networks, to show your disgust or undo your action if you change your mind.
The tool is marketed by the corporation as an additional method of receiving input on "irrelevant or unacceptable" comments. 
If a comment has a lot of dislikes, TikTok will hopefully be alerted to any hate speech, spam, or trolling that it might otherwise overlook. That might encourage more wholesome comment sections as a result.

This isn't the only moderation option TikTok has available, and the company's combined resources may be able to control comment sections that all too often turn negative.
In any case, TikTok's comment downvotes could be a useful additional tool to spot emerging bad trends because they are not intended to assist direct the discourse.

Disney+ Released an Augmented Reality Movie Starring Brie Larson

Users can access the experience by downloading a special iOS companion app, scanning a unique QR code on their TV, and then entering "The World of Imagination," a fantasy world where the character's inner child lives.
Only iOS device users can watch Disney's augmented reality film. The eight-minute short film is available as an augmented reality smartphone app from Disney. 
The AR program allows users to build a live forest in their living room with animals, a waterfall that flows from the TV onto their own floor, and shooting stars that fly in front of the sofa.  

Elijah Allan-Blitz, the director and screenwriter, came up with the concept for the movie. The former kindergarten instructor intended to portray the human imagination from a child's point of view.
Disney+ users will have the opportunity to interact with the story by scanning the TV to bring The World of Imagination into their living room using a first-of-its-kind companion augmented reality app.

Confirmed! Instagram to Not Split Story Videos Under 60 Seconds Anymore

Instagram continues to enter the video market. Instagram, a platform for sharing photos, is increasingly becoming a video-focused platform.
Now, you'll be able to play and create Stories continuously for up to 60 seconds, instead of being automatically split into 15 second parts.
Over the past year, Instagram has been testing the update with a small group of users as part of a larger effort to integrate its video options in line with the transition to short-form video and general interaction trends.
It will be a huge relief for Instagram users, especially those who regularly post longer video stories. 
Users can now publish continuous stories that won't be interrupted. In addition, users don't need to keep tapping to watch a lengthy video. That process is laborious and tedious.

YouTube Launches Ad-Free Educational Video Content

 

A new ad-free video player as well as tools designed especially for those who create educational content are just a few of the new offerings that YouTube is launching to support education and learning on the platform. 
The YouTube Player for Education, a new embedded player that displays content on widely used education apps without advertisements, external links, or recommendations, was unveiled by YouTube.
More and more people are using YouTube as a teaching tool, independently and in traditional school settings.  

The video platform is implementing a few crucial improvements to improve the user experience in light of the popularity of educational content.  

These include quizzes to help you remember what you've learned, paid courses from your favorite authors, and an embedded YouTube player without external links or advertisements that will be helpful for teachers.
A new quiz tool that producers can put up in the community tab of their channels and relate to the educational content they generate will also be introduced by YouTube. 
The full version of this quiz function will be made available to creators in the following few months after its beta release.

TikTok To Allow Users to Tag Books in Their Clips to Capitalize on the "Booktok" Trend

With the help of a new partnership with Penguin Random House, TikTok is embracing the "BookTok" trend by enabling users to tag books in their TikTok movies.
Once you add a book, the link will take your viewers to a page with information about it, along with a synopsis and a list of other TikTok clips that have connected to it. 
This makes it simple for viewers to learn more about the book based on what other TikTok users are saying.

Additionally, TikTok allows users to save titles to the Favorites page on their profiles, which will provide a list of all of their favorite books.
This relationship is a positive move, and BookTok is a good example of how it can be a force for good in this regard. 
Moreover, it provides writers, publishers, and retailers with another promotional outlet as they appear to connect with audiences within the app.

Instagram Is Experimenting with Custom Features

   

There is some good news for Instagram users who are frustrated. Two content management tools for suggested posts are being tested by Meta. 
One allows users to hide posts and stop others like them from appearing in the future by selecting the Not Interested option on the Explore page.
At times like this, when Instagram is under pressure from rival platforms, the customization makes sense.

TikTok stands apart in its ability to introduce users to new interests and communities based on their actions on the app. In contrast, Instagram and its sister app Facebook are specialists at suggesting content relevant to what it knows you already enjoy and who you follow.
In a similar vein, the other feature allows you to hide suggested posts with captions that contain particular words, phrases, hashtags, and emojis. 
The app has sought to keep some of that experience by enabling users to only see posts from profiles they follow or have added to their favorites list.

The News Feed on Facebook Is Being Redesigned

   

There are now Home and Feeds tabs on Facebook. Users are given content recommendations on the Home tab depending on their app usage. 
The Feeds tab displays content from the user's followed persons, pages, and groups. When users launch the app, the Home tab contains the first feed they see. 
Home will contain items the user is already following, such as updates from friends and family, but the feed will give priority to suggestions made by the app's discovery feature.

So, marketers will need to modify their social media campaigns on the app as a result of Meta's update to Facebook's feed, but the modification need not be challenging. 
Utilize short-form films like Reels, look for livestream chances, spend money on advertisements, and promote community building to keep viewers interested whether they are on the Home tab or Feeds tab.

Here’s what you missed in our August digital marketing recap.  

Consider going through these popular blogs to keep yourself up to date with the latest social media marketing trends:

• Essential social media sites for business marketing
  
• How social media can make your brand go viral
  
• How to increase your social media audience in few days
  

So, what do you think of these latest digital marketing updates? Stay tuned to our blog for crisp updates coming to the digital marketing industry.