We’re coming at you with another round on what’s new in social media. Facebook is adding new warning messages for users who try to share an unread article, new messaging features are being added to Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct, Twitter is getting an updated image display, and Closed Captioning is now available for Instagram stories! There’s a lot to be excited about, so read along with us.
Facebook to Add New Alerts When Sharing Unread Articles
Facebook is currently testing new warning messages when users go to share an article which they did not read through. So if you go to share an article link which you haven’t clicked on to open up yourself, you’ll receive a message alert saying you’re about to share an article which you haven’t opened. With more and more people getting their news from social media, this is another one of Facebook’s attempts to further stop the spread of misinformation.
New Messaging Features for Facebook and Instagram
Facebook has recently come out with new messaging features across Messenger and Instagram Direct. This includes new chat themes, read receipts, visual and voice replies, and a new archive option. For Instagram Direct, there are now new specific chat themes which include Star Wars and Selena for those that are fans. The addition of specific chat themes could potentially lead to the option for brands to come out with their own theme to further promote themselves, or a new product.
If you love sending voice messages this one is for you. Facebook is also adding an option to tap and record voice messages via Instagram Direct and Messenger to allow you to go hands-free and multitask. Instagram is also adding visual replies where you’ll be able to respond to a DM through an image or video, as well as read receipts. You’ll be able to see when someone sees your Instagram messages as a “Seen” message will be shown, and vice versa. Lastly, Facebook is also updating their archive process for chat threads on Messenger. A “swipe to archive” option will be added for a better way to manage your messages.
Current Chat Themes Available on Instagram
Larger Image Displays on Your Twitter Timeline
How annoying is it to be scrolling through your Twitter timeline and you have to tap on a tweet in order to expand an image which you might be interested in? Well, fear no more, Twitter is now rolling out a new display option where the full image will be shown when a user has attached an image to their tweet, eliminating that extra click.
Instagram Adds New Closed Captioning for Stories
We teased about the new Closed Captioning feature coming to Instagram stories in one of our previous blogs, but now Instagram has officially launched the new feature! Instagram states the feature is now available in a handful of countries, with hopes to expand it soon. By adding the caption sticker to your stories, it will translate your voice into captions allowing for your content to be more accessible. This is something you definitely want to start testing out with your stories, as this will allow you to reach a wider audience while making your stories a bit more fun.
There is a lot happening in social right now to get excited about! We hope these updates give you ideas on how you can generate even better content for your social platforms. Start playing around with these new features, and get that engagement up! 😉
Sources:
Hutchinson, Andrew. “Facebook Adds New Messaging Features, Including Chat Themes and Read Receipts on Instagram.” SocialMediaToday, 6 May 2021, https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-new-messaging-features-including-chat-themes-and-read-receip/.
Hutchinson, Andrew. “Facebook Tests New Warning Prompts to Stop Users Sharing Articles They Haven’t Read.” SocialMediaToday, 10 May 2021, https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-tests-new-warning-prompts-to-stop-users-sharing-articles-they-have/.
Hutchinson, Andrew. “Twitter Rolls Out Larger Image Display in Timelines to All Users on Android and iOS.” SocialMediaToday, 5 May 2021, https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitter-rolls-out-larger-image-display-in-timelines-to-all-users-on-android/.
Hutchinson, Andrew. “Instagram Officially Launches New Captions Sticker for Stories.” SocialMediaToday, 4 May 2021, https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-officially-launches-new-captions-sticker-for-stories/.