The year is coming to an end and it was a busy one for social media. Rather than our usual weekly roundup of social media news, we decided to share our favorite developments from 2013. Enjoy and we’ll see you next year!
Facebook lifts contest restrictions. Prior to this change Facebook required contests to be run through third party apps, which – in my experience – could be cost intensive and cumbersome for followers to enter. Now a contest is as easy as asking people to like or comment on a photo. I’m a little concerned about database management and maintaining a level of professionalism with the lack of structure, but I do enjoy the newfound freedom to explore new avenues.
Videos take over. Twitter and Instagram both launched video sharing for users in 2013 – Twitter through Vine in January and Instagram on its own app in June. Users have embraced both and it’s given the world more Beyonce and cat videos than we could ever ask for. With video popularity also comes video ads, which is something we can anticipate in 2014 across many networks.
Pinterest allows users to map their boards. In response to a growing trend of travel-themed boards, Pinterest announced this development in November. Pinterest says in Places Pins’ introductory blog post that this is just the first step in being more useful to travelers. In addition to being an adventure planner, it is a unique turn in social media that has oodles of potential for companies and organizations. Oh, the places you can pin!