The State of Social: April Edition

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, social media channels have continued to adapt to the current situation. We’re here to give you the lowdown:

Facebook Launches Messenger Room

Watch out Zoom, Facebook has introduced a new video calling feature. Messenger Rooms allows up to 50 users to join a virtual hangout. What’s the catch? There isn’t one. The feature is completely free, there’s no time limit to calls, and you don’t need a Facebook account to use it.

You can also invite anyone to join from Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and a shareable link, making it easy to stay connected.

With recent concerns about the safety of video calling apps such as Zoom and House Party, this launch comes at the perfect time. Thank you Facebook. Read more.

TikTok expands parental controls

With many parents now having to juggle working from home and home schooling, social media safety should be the least of their worries. Thankfully Tik Tok has expanded parental control by introducing a new family pairing feature. The new feature allows parents to restrict who can send messages to the connected account, and place a limit on the appearance of content that may not be appropriate.

Parents can also control how long their child can spend on Tik Tok each day. It’s fair to say that this feature could also be useful to adults like myself, who have recently become addicted to watching videos of the Patak Dance challenge and celebrities singing to gummy bears.
Learn more here.

Snapchat launches COVID-19 business resource centre

As many businesses are continuing to suffer due to the pandemic, Snapchat are doing their bit to help by launching a dedicated COVID-19 business hub. The intention of the hub is to share resources with marketeers to help them navigate this uncertain time, and to better connect with their audiences.

The hub offers insights into changes in Snapchat usage during the global lockdown, and highlights opportunities and best practices, based on examples. Learn more.

Instagram introduces Month of Good initiative for Ramadan

With Ramadan beginning last week, and the world still in lockdown, Instagram has introduced a Month of Good initiative to promote messages of positivity and togetherness during the cultural event. As Ramadan is focused on bringing communities together, Instagram is hoping that their #Month of Good guide will do just that.