Social Shoutout: Googles voice search is growing, Facebook live promises higher engagement rates than normal posts, and Instagram replicate Snapchats features as well as changing to stay ahead of data protection!

It’s Friday, which means it’s social shoutout time!

This week we’re looking at how the Google voice search is evolving, how you could be missing out by not using Facebook live, how Instagram is once again once again looking at replicating Snapchats features and how they are going to allow users to download a copy of their content after Facebook’s Data Protection scandal.

OK GOOGLE… DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND WITH VOICE SEARCH

Voice search has been growing in popularity over the years; there are a number of well known virtual assistants that have advanced voice search capabilities including Siri, Google and Alexa.

According to com score, 50% of all searches will be voice searches by 2020 and it was reported in January 2018 that over one billion voice searches are performed every month… so how do you ensure you don’t get left behind?
Google has reported that their “near me: searches have grown more than 130% year on year so it’s absolutely vital to ensure you have your Google account set up properly for your business. Here are our top 3 tips:

1. Get your Google My Business Listing on track

If your business has a physical location or an HQ with an address you wish to share, make sure you first claim and verify your Google My Business Listing. Setting up your Google My Business account will allow Google to confirm your website is trustworthy and from there if a local voice search is performed your business, address and website will show up as a local listing.

2. Update your Business Information

After you get your Google My Business listing sorted, you then need to update your business information. This can include anything from the category of your business, opening hours, phone number and so on. It’s also good to include some images here.

3. Prompt Customers to Leave a Review

Reviews not only provide others looking at your business with valuable information, but they also help your business listing to stand out in Maps and Search. Remind your customers to leave reviews using your communications tools – whether that’s social media, email marketing or through your website. But make sure you reply to review to build trust!

April 6^th marked two years since Facebook Live’s launch and they have reported that the number of daily average broadcasts from verified publisher pages has lifted 1.5 times during the past year.

‘Two years ago, we rolled out Facebook Live to people around the world, giving everyone a way to connect and share in the moment,’ Says Facebook’s VP of product for video, Fidji Simo. ‘It has become a core part of the Facebook experience.’

Simo has also listed a number of ways where Live video has helped publishers connect with their audiences. One example is ‘Face the Wild’, hosted by Bear Grylls, who does a weekly live broadcast. She also noted that they are reviewing live video more quickly, thoroughly and accurately to protect the community from tragic and gruesome events that have been broadcast live on the site.

Last August, Facebook also launched Watch, a refreshed version of the site’s existing video hub. It includes a number of original shows licensed by Facebook – to try and compete with YouTube and Netflix.

Do you use the Facebook Live feature? And if not, do you think you’re missing out on engagement?

It is believed that Instagram is once again looking up to Snapchat with the imminent arrival of Nametags, a feature pretty much identical to Snapchats QR codes, which allows users to scan a unique image to follow other users.

This is reported through screenshots which ‘TechCrunch’ acquired. They reported the new feature was undergoing tests by Instagram. The screenshots show users having the option to make their Nametags more personal by being able to change the background colour, add emoji patterns or even a selfie.

Instagram introducing a Nametag feature could benefit everyday users who use the platform on a social level, as it would simplify the act of following someone because users wouldn’t have to go through the process of typing in a username or searching for the right account.

But what does this mean for marketing?

Nametags could be beneficial to marketing as they could be employed by celebrities, businesses or publications on posters, social media accounts or any other visual products that could be scanned with a phone’s camera. This would make it easier for a business to direct more natural traffic to their Instagram account.

The introduction of Nametags from Instagram would be yet another example of how the platform copies features from Snapchat. Like back in 2016 when Instagram launched their ‘stories’ feature.

Could this feature could see special media influencers who use Snapchat migrating to Instagram and staying there?
And the real question is, does Instagram make Snapchats features better? Or should they leave them to Snapchat?

In the lead up to the biggest change in data protection for almost a generation, Instagram has announced that they will soon allow all users the ability to download a copy of all the content they have uploaded to the social sharing platform.

The announcement comes amid concerns globally around the privacy of user information on social media platforms and the amount of data these companies keep. Although Instagram’s owner, Facebook, has had this facility in place since 2010 it is something that they have yet to roll out across to Instagram and if they do it before May 25th, it will ensure Instagram complies with the upcoming European privacy laws known as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

And that’s this week’s social shoutout over for another week. What do you think of Instagram’s proposed new features? Do you think you’ll ever stop using Snapchat and move on just Instagram?

As always, we’d love to hear your opinion! Tweet us your thoughts!