⚙️ Social media - What's new in August 2018

This week, some of the leading social media platforms announced new features. The changes to Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp will allow businesses and independent professionals to improve how they communicate with potential customers.

Mentors and mentees on Facebook

The world's leading social network has announced a new feature: mentors and mentees can now connect in Groups. Gabriel Cohen, product manager at Facebook, says more than 200 million people belong to these smaller networks and find them truly meaningful. With the mentoring programme, users can receive direct support through learning programmes.

As groups are used by communities supporting causes or discussing subjects their members care about, Cohen believes this new Facebook tool will make it easier to connect people within a community. In other words, if someone needs help with a particular subject, they can easily find an expert in that field who can then offer tips or even teach them.

One example already happening in the United States is a woman who contacted a mentor in a soap-making group. The expert taught her, and she has now even started a small business.

This new feature will be available in groups focused on parenting and personal or professional development. Administrators need to create a mentoring programme. Users can then sign up as mentors or mentees and are paired up. Every week, teachers and learners get in touch to work through the training plan.

Privacy and security have not been overlooked. Communications will only be visible to each pair, and only people over 18 can sign up for these groups.

Gabriel Cohen added that "the aim is to build tools that allow people to find the support they need".

Another interesting new feature in the app lets users play games during video calls. Using their faces, they can play against each other with augmented reality options, as we discussed in the previous article.

New Facebook Pages design

Facebook Pages will also change, mainly in their design and features. This will make it easier for users to interact with local businesses. For example, it will be simpler to book a restaurant table, make an appointment at a beauty salon, or view the latest photos and stories.

The US social network will also make Recommendations more visible. Increasingly, people look at what the community says before buying, eating or visiting somewhere.

Events will also be improved. Imagine you want to buy a ticket for a show: you can buy it directly on the page. Facebook says this generates twice as many sales as selling outside the social network.

WhatsApp: new tools for businesses

The messaging service has launched new tools to help businesses communicate with customers. These allow people to request information, such as order shipping details, and conversations can be started through a click-to-chat button in Facebook ads or on websites. Businesses can also provide real-time customer support.

"Since we launched the business app, people have told us it is quicker and easier to contact businesses than to call or send an email. Today, we are expanding support for businesses that need powerful tools to communicate with customers," WhatsApp said in a statement.

All up to date? Now you can go on holiday and take your favourite augmented reality selfies! If you enjoyed this, you can subscribe to our blog! Thank you!