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Creating a Facebook App

26 April 2017

There are hundreds of plugins out there which make use of the data provided by Facebook and it’s easy to connect your website to that data.

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Facebook’s New Multilingual Composer: Post in several Languages at Once

4 July 2016

If your business has clients in different countries, or you just want to extend your messages to friends overseas in their native tongue, then Facebook’s new multilingual composer might help you get the right message across.

The new composer will work across the 45 languages that Facebook currently serves. Imagine you write an English post, choosing an option to translate it into French. The audience members who have their language set to French will see your translation first.

In Facebook’s trials, around 5000 business pages used the multilingual composer. They received 70 million views. Of those, around 25 million viewed a translation.

As no translation made by machine is 100% reliable (just try Google translate for hilarious results!), there is also the option to edit the suggested translation, if you happen to have a native speaker on hand.

So, try (or essaie, versuche, provaci!) and tell us your thoughts regarding Facebook’s latest update.

New: Facebook 360 Photos

12 June 2016

Facebook has recently launched an interactive (and pretty cool) new way to view photos online. It’s call Facebook 360 and it allows users to look at a photo in the round.

It works by basically stitching together the two ends of a panoramic shot – something which most modern smartphones are capable of taking. You’ll probably be able to find ‘panoramic’ view in your settings, when you open the camera. Simply take a panoramic shot and follow the instructions on the 360 website.

Take a look at this one from TIME Magazine:

Have fun trying out 360 and I look forward to seeing your creations!

Going Live: The Rising Trend of Online Video

12 May 2016

Until recently, social media has always settled as being the second screen in our lives. Major players in the digital market have now set about changing this, with enormous impact.

If you’ve been on Facebook recently and noticed a tab pop up to tell you that someone is ‘live’ (most probably Mark Zuckerberg, whose Jedi senses know no boundaries), it means that they are currently streaming video from somewhere in the world, and you’re invited to go and watch them. Media sites, such as The Debrief have jumped on the bandwagon, using Live Streaming to report on active stories, such as the recent NHS protests outside St Thomas Hospital.

Twitter’s Periscope app has been used by some companies for a while now. A famous sell-at-home makeup brand actively uses Periscope to train and mentor its sales force. Celebrities also enjoy making live video to entertain the masses – Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michelle Obama are both noted for their Periscope popularity.

It’s not just businesses that have been using live social streaming. As a tool that’s free and open to the public, all you need is strong signal or Wifi (here’s some best practice tips from Facebook). Like the rise of YouTube star Zoella, individuals are carving their niches in the streaming world.

So how could live streaming work for you and your business? Perhaps a demo might help to explain the benefits of your product? The live messaging that accompanies a stream is a great way to instantly engage with an audience. Maybe a stream from a (quiet) corner of a popular event, or interesting location could pique interest? For strategic help with incorporating video into your digital strategy, get in touch with us today.

#RIPInstagram: What’s all the Fuss About?

23 March 2016

In 2012, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg went on a minor spending spree, buying Instagram – a rival social platform that enjoyed worldwide success. But is Instagram just going to be a clone of Facebook rather than build on it’s own success?

The photo-friendly sharing site was snapped up for a cool $1 billion, and there wasn’t much disruption at first for Instagram users. However, Zuckerberg got a taste for ‘popularity sharing’ of Facebook posts, versus traditional chronological ordering. Last week, it was announced that the same will be happening to Instagram too.Instagram_Icon_Large

By changing the order of post to show the most ‘liked’ content first, it could be argued that less meaningful content will be filtered away without any effort. The lack of choice in the matter though has sparked #RIPInstagram, which has trended worldwide in opposition to this change.

Instagram argue that they wish to roll out this change, because a user on average is at risk of missing out on up to 70% of their feed. By calculating which posts would ‘mean’ the most to the user (e.g., new content from a favourite celebrity, or someone that they frequently interact with), the posts will stay near the top of a feed until it is seen.

Many users say that the algorithm change will take away the spontaneity of what they see; the appeal of being challenged or surprised by their feed now diminished. Instagram say that they want to ‘take time to get this change right’. Watch this space!