What happened on social media in March 2020?
It’s been an incredibly strange time for the world, but that doesn’t stop social media from constantly evolving. This month, WhatsApp finally launched dark mode after a long time in the making, Instagram made a series of changes to keep their community safe during the COVID-19 outbreak, and TikTok partnered with the World Health Organization to bring us a COVID-19 information programme.
Facebook updates March 2020
This month, Facebook made a desktop refresh functionality available to all of its users, after initially announcing this at its F8 developer conference last May.
Amid the whirlwind of coronavirus, Facebook announced earlier this month the roll out of the new COVID-19 information centre panel, which you may have noticed is featured at the top of your Facebook newsfeed. It is there to deliver users with the most up-to-date, official news and developments on the pandemic. A quote from Facebook is as follows:
“People can also follow the Coronavirus Information Center to receive updates from health authorities directly in their News Feed. And, starting in the US, people will see features to help them connect with local groups and ask for or offer help within their community.”
Facebook also began testing a blue verification badge across its functions including Stories, Groups, Events and Watch – similar to Instagram.
Facebook has also this week been working on a COVID-19 themed reaction, it’s safe to say it’s been an extremely busy month for the platform.
Instagram updates March 2020
Instagram has this month reported the testing of a new option, which is to be able to re-share live videos on IGTV. This could prove to be a very effective way to boost your Instagram presence and help maximise the exposure of your content. This would be a very simple way of populating your IGTV library with more content, without needing to produce it separately for the channel.
Although historically live broadcasts haven’t been of the best quality, or the most polished productions, users should consider downloading their video before editing it slightly, and then uploading it to IGTV.
Instagram is also testing new features for its story camera mode, including the below…
Instagram is now also considering an option to add more than one guest into Instagram live streams, they have revealed in a recent announcement. Amidst the recent lockdowns, live-streaming is more popular than ever, with people looking to replace their lost social interactions as best they can, and the real-time engagement when streaming is providing the closest alternative. In light of this, it would make sense to evolve live streams in a way in which more than two people can enjoy them at once.
Twitter updates March 2020
Twitter has had a quiet month with little to no new updates. They did take another step toward identifying bots and automated profiles with their new developer policy update. This is because the platform has been battling an ongoing issue with bots that have been known to amplify specific messaging, normally political, in a way to manipulate political news streams.
LinkedIn updates March 2020
This month, LinkedIn also outlined the steps they’re taking to keep all their members informed about COVID-19. They have said that they aim to provide as many options as possible to keep members productive and positive during this pandemic. To help do this they have created a dedicated feed which is regularly populated by the network’s 60-plus editors, with relevant content.
LinkedIn have updated the banner on their homepage, which features government guideline reminders on what to do in the current pandemic.
In other news
Whatsapp began testing disappearing messages based on a set time limit. Talk was sparked this month that this feature is currently under development. This function will give users the choice of how long a new message will last before it’s automatically deleted, giving a one hour, one day, one week, or an off button.
As March comes to an end, we’re eager to see what April has in store for us – hopefully some more positive news surrounding the COVID-19 crisis at least. Make sure you follow again closely next month to see our April Social Media round-up!
