Social Media Immediate Future

Social Media

Another week, another #socialsnapshot. This week saw updates across many of the big social media players. A big focus has been on Twitter following its continued censorship during the US Presidential Election. Marketers are also keeping an eye in the shifting power of e-commerce platforms following the positive…

2020… what else is there left to say? A soul-sapping, up and down rollercoaster of emotions that has forced some to do the unthinkable. Yes, that’s right people. Christmas trees are sprouting up in front-rooms across the UK as families and friends alike look to ’light up…

I am always a bit shocked when I discover there is no strategy behind marketing – how on earth do you know if it works if you don’t know where you’re going? So, when I heard that somewhere between 50-60% of branded communities have no strategy or…

With the groundbreaking election taking place across the pond, we are reminded to vote and to share with others the importance of voting through our social channels. Platforms are giving us factual information, and sometimes something creative to show support. These sort of social media events have been going…

Supporting businesses, Christmas and a few new platform announcements – it’s social snapshot time, so let’s just jump right in! Twitter offers Christmas insights Like all of 2020, Christmas is going to be different this year. So, to help marketers prepare for the unusual festivities, Twitter has shared…

Will perennial bridesmaid LinkedIn ever become the bride? It pains me to say I suspect not. Before anyone thinks this is an anti-LinkedIn or anti-Microsoft rant, this X-Box playing marketeer wants nothing more than LinkedIn to realise its potential. Sadly, the diversified IT supplier appears to place more…

Can you quite believe that we are a mere few weeks from the end of 2020! For many, it can’t end quick enough, but for brand marketers, we KNOW there’s never quite enough time to plan for the year ahead. We’ve just launched our…

That title is not nearly as scary as it sounds (though there’s plenty to be concerned about with social media, but that’s not the subject of this blog) – it’s just a reference to a new feature from Facebook called ‘Neighborhoods’. Certain users in select locations are getting…

Q3 spend results, a new ‘Neighbourhoods’ feature and an extended time limit on live streams for Instagram – let’s dig right into this week’s Social Snapshot: Instagram extends time limits on live streams to 4 hours Annoyed you can’t archive your livestreams? Wish you could stream for…

In this day and age, almost everybody and every business are on social media. For us individuals, it’s a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, and occasionally show off something we’re proud of. But for businesses, it’s an important aspect that should be included in your…

Increasingly, brands look to digital-only events to replace the much-loved physical events that have welcomed footfall to conferences and exhibitions across the globe. However, pivoting to a digital-only event can be tricky. At the start of this year, few would have predicted the scale of home-working and the speed…

If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you’ll remember when we wrote this post – the overarching tone of voice was “Gah, FINALLY, LinkedIn!!!” Given that almost every real-life event in 2020 has been cancelled or moved to online (thanks for nothing, Mr C. Ovid!), we…

Ready, set, #SocialSnapshot. It’s that time of the week again, and the newest roundup of social media updates does not disappoint. The first thing on our watch list is the newly-launched LinkedIn Stories. Marketers and professionals will now have the opportunity the share images and short videos with…

Social media reactions have become a staple across all platforms, as a new way to engage with content from brands and friends. These reactions give better context to how you feel about the content and a deeper understanding of what works and what doesn’t work. Gone are the days…

Sometimes it can be hard to stay up to date with the ever-changing world of social media! Stick with us as we take you through our weekly roundup of everything you need to know… WordPress turns blogs into Twitter threads WordPress has released a new function that allows users to…

TikTok is nothing new, but brands are still in the early stages of figuring out how to build successful marketing campaigns to reach audiences and add business value. But with about 850 million monthly active users worldwide, brands need to act now to begin building…

While there’s always more to learn about the largest social media channels that we’re pretty familiar with when is the last time you checked out what was happening on some of the smaller, or more niche channels? If you fancy watching our latest Serious Social about these three,…

Are you like me? Do you enjoy, nay, LOVE, Halloween season? It is by far the most enjoyable season (don’t @ me, I *will* fight you!) I absolutely love seeing the amount of creativity that goes into costumes, make up and media. I mean, even coffee get’s…

Cross-app communication, Instagram’s 10th birthday and Facebook’s new Groups feature – it’s been a busy week, so let’s dig in today’s Social Snapshot: Facebook introduces cross-app communication between Messenger and Instagram Facebook announced it will begin rolling out new functionality, allowing Instagram and Messenger users to communicate…

It’s been a whopping ten years since Instagram launched and changed the face of social media. Feel old yet? WE DO! So, first things first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Instagram! From the selfie revolution to the rise of the influencer, IG has helped shaped the digital revolution and has…

Entrepreneurs rightly state that employees are our biggest and most valuable resource. Yet many businesses are not unlocking the potent potential presented by social media. As business leaders start to scale the upper echelons of industry, they understand the importance of having an inside-out voice. Thought leadership or opinion…

It’s been a big week for social media news, with lots of new features and insights! So we’ll get right to it… LinkedIn adds new warnings LinkedIn has added a new feature to the platform which sends users prompts over inappropriate content and those that go against its…

2020 has led to countless changes across the board – and for marketers, one big pivot has been with events and in-person activations. With new restrictions announced just this week, it looks like events will continue to happen online for the foreseeable future. Here are…

Facebook recently had a showcase event in which they provided an overview of their latest advances in VR and AR which include; Project Aria Facebook’s take on “smart glasses” – which, by the way, will be a pair of Ray Ban’s – is…

Out of time to catch up on social media news? We’ve done the work for you with our Social Snapshot – collating the biggest news of the week: Oracle confirms Bytedance-TikTok partnership in US The big news this week is Oracle confirming it has secured a Bytedance-TikTok…

We know it’s technically still too early to talk about Christmas, but in the world of marketing, Christmas usually starts in July – and this year it was even earlier! (See Katy Howell’s Christmas in July Serious Social for all the facts and figures about…

Our purpose at IF is to break the social boring – what does that take? Bravery. Courage. AND preparation. The campaigns you see out in social which tackle taboos or hit a topic head-on – and then succeed – they’ve taken time to prepare, to look at what…

Much like Vine before it, TikTok exploded onto the social media landscape – with an estimated 500 million users across the globe today. Naturally, a slice of that pie is up for grabs and Facebook jumped in with Instagram Reels in August (though some were seeing a different,…

For this week’s social snapshot, we’re bringing you the top social news that’s on our radar (and feeds). It’s been a big news week, with lots of features, programs and insights guides. So, let’s jump straight in! Some users are now able to view Instagram Stories on Facebook…

You read the title correctly, some Facebook users have been allowed the option to choose if they want to view Instagram stories on their Facebook feed. The Instagram Story spears on your Facebook Stories feed with the IG rainbow border to differentiate from Facebook’s own Stories.

A lot has happened in social this week. Whether it’s a new feature, guide, or masterclass, it’s something you need to know! Stick with us and you’ll be up to speed in no time… LinkedIn publishes new guide. Many marketers, especially B2B businesses, use LinkedIn ads but may…

It’s a frequently asked question framed at us by boardrooms and marketing directors. More often than not it comes from the senior-most person in an organisation. People who wish to sense-check what the brand is doing on social and validate past spend versus future investment. We’re frequently asked to…

Often, when explaining what we do for a living, social media managers will be met with blank stares, frowns and pleasant smiles with an “oh, sounds complicated!” comment. This is usually because social media users aren’t at all aware of how channels work, and how we have to figure…

New features galore this week – join us as we go through all the tools you’ll be playing with in coming months with our Social Snapshot: Instagram has replaced Nametag Codes with QR Codes to quickly connect users Back in 2018, Instagram launched what it called ‘Nametag…

A lot happened this week in social, so we’ll get right to it. TikTok continues to gain rapid momentum and the social giants are trying to keep up, so we’re seeing a lot of advancements in AR functionality. Moreover, the upcoming US Presidential Election has led to significant…

Successful social media campaigns are achieved not by a single “viral” tweet, but by experience, understanding and preparation – there are SO many hurdles that social media marketers have to leap, and often because social is seen as “easy”. We’ve got news for you, it’s not!…

Twitter is rolling out new settings that will allow all users to control who can reply to Tweets. It’s a feature they tested earlier in the year, but now we’ll all be able to start limiting who replies to our content. So, what does this actually mean? We…

OMG! Have you seen the latest lockdown content from Nike? Wow! Now this is the content we need to entertain us. https://twitter.com/Nike/status/1288845608694902786?s=20 I know Nike have deep pockets, but you don’t need to have big budgets to create attention grabbing content on social. We’ve been saying since the…

The B2B landscape is an interesting one. There’s a common misconception that B2B organisations are low on usable content, but it’s simply not true. The landscape is actually flush with more information and eye-catching, challenging content than perhaps a lot of businesses realise. What do I have right now? Think…

Writing for social media ads might seem like a no-brainer, but there’s a lot more involved than you may think. Social media is a noisy landscape, and you can’t simply rely on your creative to get your audience’s attention – you need them to buy into what you’re…

No time to go through all the social media news of the past week? Don’t worry – we’ve collated it all for your easy perusal. Take a look: Facebook’s Q2 results beat estimates Facebook has beat its Q2 estimates, reaching $18.69 billion in revenue and 2.7…

Call-out or cancel culture has been around for some years now. But like many things in marketing, it’s accelerated in importance over the last few months. Brand values have moved centre stage and what you stand for matters more than ever. The impact of #cancel is seen whether…

Increasing engagement on social media can sometimes be difficult – just because one thing works for one company, doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll work for yours. With over 3.6 billion people using social media worldwide and algorithms constantly changing, companies need to be smart. But what counts as engagement? Engagement…

It’s that time of the week again – time for your #socialsnapshot. We’ve got you covered for the latest in all things social media. So sit back, enjoy and take it all in. Users can now broadcast their Messenger Rooms via Facebook Live Facebook has announced a…

There’s no doubt that 2020 so far has been a little tiring for marketers. With limited resource and time during the workday, let alone the demands of working from home, some social media marketers might be looking for a little help with content planning. It’s not just about finding a…

Last week, Facebook released a video on making creative impacts with text, timing and format. While focused largely on Facebook, the video has some general tips that are crucial for everyday social marketers looking to have their knowledge or current methods vindicated, and those that are trying to…

Social media is ever-changing, and sometimes it can be hard to stay up to date! Stick with us as we take you through our weekly roundup of everything you need to know… Screen-share comes to mobile Messenger. After bringing the option to desktop earlier this year, Facebook has…

Ah, content planning – the bane of many digital marketers! As CJ rightly pointed out in his last blog and podcast (check it out), you might *think* you don’t have enough content to run on social media. And if you think that, you might fall…

Myths are part of historic fabric. From the existence of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, to the Beast of Bodmin Moor, myths or legend are folklore in Britain. Some to stories have transcended continents too – the story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men making it all the…

A few months ago we wrote about Fleets, Twitter’s answer to ‘Stories’ – which is Instagram’s answer to Snapchat! Whilst Fleets still haven’t rolled out to everyone, they are now working on creating a ‘collaborative’ version: “We are testing something new for some people using Fleets in…

A new social media subscription service, maximised ad campaigns and IGTV previews – let’s jump right into this week’s Social Snapshot: Twitter’s working on a new subscription service Brief disclaimer – this is supposedly only speculation, but a new team is reportedly working with Twitter’s payments group…

Sounds mad doesn’t it? Who’d of thought that now is the time to start your Christmas campaigns. Usually you are finalising plans in July for Q4, but not advertising. Things are indeed strange. A look at the social conversations and latest insight from Facebook and Pinterest makes it…

LinkedIn has been historically reticent to give in-depth follower information, or it has at least limited follower-specific features. When it brought back the option to invite your connections to follow your company page late last year, it implemented a limit of 50 invites per page manager, per day.

More ads on YouTube, pinned comments on Instagram – the social media landscape is ever changing, but we are here to keep you up to speed. Join us for another social snapshot: YouTube is adding more ads YouTube videos are usually at least 10 minutes long. That’s…

One of the latest releases from Twitter is the Audio Tweet! Now, I must admit I am a sceptic with this function – I’m not sure that, when social media is so visual, an audio-only format will be useful or used. However, sound is important in branding (tune…

As always, the world of social media is non-stop with news and platform updates. And of course, this week is no different! So, dive right in and find out the latest happenings with our Social Snapshot… Facebook’s announced another algorithm change. Another week, another algorithm change. This week,…

Tik Tok for business has just recently launched, providing a plethora of tools to help brands and marketers utilise the short-form video app for their ad campaigns. “TikTok For Business is where you can unleash your brand’s creative side.

GlobalWebIndex has reported that 29% of total internet users have used a live streaming option on social media, and 13% have watched a live gaming stream. These figures alone tell us that live streaming is the new mode to watch – and that marketers…

So many insights and developments in one week – let’s get right to it with our Social Snapshot! TikTok reveals how its algorithm works TikTok is working hard to demonstrate it is a transparent company, with this week providing another level of transparency – explaining how its recommendations…

We all must know that at some point Google will take a formula that’s been well received and try to emulate it, which is exactly what’s happening with Keen – Googles latest offering, “a place to grow and share your interests with loved ones, and…

Last Friday we covered this topic in our latest #SeriousSocialLive. It’s a 13-minute video that charts everything you need to know in order to best prepare for a crisis. Hopefully, that’s an endeavour that you’ll never need to lean upon. Sadly, there is a growing number of businesses who…

Pride months is here, and while many people will be celebrating at home, social media is once again delivering features to users that let their voices be heard digitally. In London, the annual march that usually involves more than a million volunteers, artists and Pride-goers cannot take place.

It’s that time of the week again – time for our Social Media Snapshot. So, grab a coffee, put your strategy cap on, and settle in for our roundup of the biggest things that happened this week in social media. Facebook adds new functionality to its Portal Move…

In recent weeks there has been a reoccurring question framed at us, “if social is noisy what’s the point in publishing content? Covid-19 has sent it crazy, hasn’t it?”. It’s an obvious answer, but, ‘you need to be at the races – you need to be in It,…

Both TikTok and Pinterest have experienced huge gains during the last few months. Engagement on Pinterest is up 75%, and TikTok users grew by 34% in April. If you’re not sure how to get started with either platform, here are a few ideas. Pointers for Pinterest With 367…

This won’t come as a surprise to anyone, but the big players in social media are finding new ways to monetise their platforms. The shift towards full eCommerce platforms has been particularly apparent in recent weeks, with the introduction of new storefront features. So, what’s new? And more…

Changes abound in another week of social media activity – from Twitter bringing back verification to Facebook’s revamped news section. Join us for another social snapshot: Twitter bringing back verification? In the past, getting verified was a nebulous, question-filled process. How many followers is enough? Is there some…

From baking banana bread to getting sick of our own cooking and ordering in, here are some of the key drivers and examples of the food and drink sector in social media: Eating and drinking at home After 4 weeks in lockdown, McKinsey reported…

Right now, as lockdown lifts, marketers are looking for short-term quick wins that will deliver impact. A fast move to recovery, a chance to grab market share and make a distinctive difference that will run the rest of the year. It makes sense. For many brands marketing had…

Back in March, TechCrunch reported Instagram had seen a 40% increase in traffic due to the pandemic. With everyone at home, more time is being spent on digital platforms, and all social media platforms have been nurturing their growing platform in different ways – but…

As always, there’s a lot going on in the world of social media. The top players have been busy introducing updates – from e-commerce roll outs to Bitmojis (yes, MORE Bitmoji). So, buckle up, grab your notebook and get your social media on. Pinterest adds ‘shop’ tab…

A New App from Facebook? Venue – an app that brings people together to experience live events in an interactive way. What does this mean? According to Facebook – “Venue aims to give fans an interactive second screen experience, curated…

Brand as Broadcasters is the concept all business running brand events need to truly deliver greater cost efficiency and standout innovation Running brand events comes at great cost. Marketers have to evidence cost efficiencies that yield tangible returns for the business. Formats have to keep being refreshed to…

Another week, another whirlwind of social media updates – stick with us as we take you through everything you need to know: Twitter allows users to choose who can rely to Tweets Twitter is testing a new feature that allows users to prohibit entire groups of people…

In recent months, the workplace has shifted more than we’ve ever experienced. Some have found this shift towards remote working productive, while others have found it unmotivating; no employee experience is the same and we’re all scrambling to adjust to the new normal. And while information is…

When it comes to conversion, the goal you might be setting doesn’t have to be a purchase – you might wish to measure conversion on increasing followers, engagement on your posts or sign-ups to an email list. Whichever conversion you’re measuring, we’ve got some top tips on what…

We’ve got your roundup of the latest happening on social media. For more on how these updates impact your business, drop us a line or follow our social channels. Buy products directly from a business’ Facebook Page or Instagram profile Facebook and Instagram have launched ‘Shops,’ which will allow…

Now is a time of rapid change – which can be scary. People are inherently resistant to change because it means disruption, even if it is beneficial. Can you remember Instagram’s old logos? The days when it looked more like a rounded-edged floppy disk? When Instagram’s logo was…

Facebook has been slowly rolling out a set of features that will help small and medium sized business that have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. These include a “Support Small Business” sticker for Instagram which not only allows users to share a business profile, but it…

We’ve all likely noticed the upswing in social media traffic – but we now we have hard statistics on the massive surge happening in recent months. A look at monthly traffic, Google’s new digital skills training sessions, Facebook’s redesign and more! Media habits are changing Across all…

Don’t let the title fool you, we’re not suggesting that you simply reintroduce old content into your social feeds. In fact, we feel so strongly against this that we went as far as dedicating an entire Serious Social podcast episode to NOT repurposing content. There is, however,…

Few will be surprised by this statement. So why haven’t more acted on this knowledge in recent years? It is as if some marketers have been caught in a cavity of boring and until someone senior to them instructs otherwise, inside the cavity they will stay. Some…

Life has changed. Work meetings are now interrupted by children (our own Managing Director recently had to pause everything because his son was just so darned proud he’d beat a level in a Lego game, which, to be fair, is very impressive). The Emmys will now be televised,…

We take creativity seriously at Immediate Future. Not only because we’re a team comprised of artistic people, but also because it’s needed to make social work. In an industry where audiences are flooded with an endless stream of promotional messaging, your campaigns need to stand out. Creativity is…

As the online population grows, so does the pool of consumers – some with time, and money on their hands. In recent weeks, e-commerce businesses in sectors like crafting, beauty and home accessories – as well as gifting – have started to boom. If you’re starting out in…

Let’s take a break from the unsettling news that’s been bombarding us from every angle and focus on some of the good that’s going on. Yes, this is no doubt a challenging time. But it’s also a time where communities have come together to support one another –…

This week it seems the social platforms have paid a lot of attention to user behaviours. They’re launching functionality aimed at hobbyists, pushing entertaining features and challenging some of the comms products that have helped us through the first phase of lockdown. It feels like a week of…

Mark Zuckerberg has recently announced a whole new range of video tools across the Facebook app family. And without further ado, here is what’s coming; With video calls, Facebook will soon double the amount of group video calls from 4 to 8…

Oooh it’s been a creative week in social. The channels are beefing up their dev kits and creative back rooms with some new tools. There is no excuse now not to break the social boring and explore new ways to connect to customers. There has also been a…

Though lockdown is in full swing, we haven’t all gone mute as a result. In the B2B tech sector, conversations around AI, cybersecurity, cloud, etc. are all staying strong – but have the discussion points changed, and what can you do to adjust your messaging so you remain…

Last Friday, we broadcast the latest episode of our Serious Social Facebook Live. Having moved from an edited weekly publication to a live broadcast. We’ve joined the brilliant British public response in flexing around Covid-19 requirements, whilst continuing our commitment to surface, address and offer solution to…

Navigating through today’s societal challenges as a marketer is no easy task. Driving business objectives while also remaining respectful and providing support to audiences is a delicate balance that can easily be threatened with one wrong move. In recent podcast “Marketing in the time of…

Pah! Long weekend, what long weekend. When you’re in social, the chatter doesn’t stop just because it’s Easter. Whilst the conversations rise, the channels push out Beta functions they would normally keep under wraps until they were properly tested. Many companies are experimenting and launching co-viewing entertainment content…

The current climate is changing our perception and view of what the word “community” means. If you’re unsure what you should or shouldn’t be using in your messaging right now – the first task is to listen to your audience. Discover where they are – which channels,…

(…in which the author has nostalgic ramblings) Well it’s about time, Facebook! The company has now announced that Messenger for desktop is available for download for both Windows and Mac OS machines. In a quote from Facebook: “people are using technology to…

It’s a question that really puzzles me. Along with ‘why do some businesses try to mimic the market leader?’ or, ‘why do B2B companies continue to use awful stock photography of people pretending to be businesspeople?’ or, ‘why do travel companies persist with blue filters?’. At the risk…

What planning must you do now for the inevitable new normal It’s frantic busy. Every marketing department and agency is resettling and refocusing. Spinning multiple plates as usual! Last week, the below diagram was shared with me on the Drum Network Slack channel. I loved it – it…

While the streets are quiet and the shops are shut, the bars and cinemas are closed – and so are the theatres. But in the theatre, when they are “dark” (there’s no live production), there’s a tradition to leave a “ghost light” centre stage. Partly for the safety…

In the past couple of weeks, social media has become the go-to place to get news updates and entertainment for many. So of course, our favoured platforms are continuing to test out new features to keep their audiences engaged during this uncertain time. If you’ve missed out on…