It's Thursday! And this means...*inserts suspense*... Four fresh & hot social media updates coming through! Buckle up for an awesome monkey ride🐒
1.Google Announces New Major eCommerce Tools
Google has outlined its latest steps in boosting eCommerce activity, including an enhanced partnership with Shopify and updated product search tools based on screenshots and images.
First off, Google has announced that it's expanding its partnership with Shopify:
"This new collaboration with Shopify will enable merchants to become discoverable to high-intent consumers across Google Search, Shopping, YouTube, Google Images and more."
Google has seen a 70% increase in the size of its product catalog, and an 80% increase in merchants on its platform over the past year. That was boosted by Google eliminating all charges for Google Shopping product listings.
And now, Google's looking to push that further with its 'Shopping Graph'.
That will be a major lure for all Shopify merchants, and will enhance Google's discovery and shopping experience, making it a bigger consideration for all eCommerce brands.
In addition to this, Google's also looking to facilitate more product discovery via image searches:
When you upload an image to Google Photos, you'll now see an option to 'search inside this screenshot' or photo for potential product matches (similar to Pinterest's Lens tool).
At a billion shopping sessions a day, if you're not paying attention to Google's shop listings and options, you're likely missing out - and that looks set to become even more pressing with the addition of these tools.
2.Facebook Launches Live-Stream Shopping Events
An eCommerce push for Facebook with the introduction of a new ”Live Shopping Fridays”, which will see the platform host live-streamed shopping experiences, in conjunction with selected retailers, that will invite viewers to ask questions about products, and make purchases, all in-stream.
"Starting this week and every Friday through July 16, enjoy shoppable live videos from beauty and fashion brands. For shoppers, this means you can discover the latest products from your favorite brands and ask questions about size, fit and tips in real time. And for brands, Live Shopping offers a chance to build relationships with customers, provide new entertaining content, answer questions and streamline the purchase process through convenient checkout with Shops."
It's a fairly simple, engaging way to encourage shopping behavior, and the FOMO-factor of live-streams likely to prompt more transactions as the event is in progress.
3. More Than 5 Billion Searches per Month on Pinterest
Pinterest has shared some new insights:
"As people prepare for a post-pandemic life, searches for outfits, vacations, and home renovations are at all-time highs, and searches for weddings have presumed pre-pandemic levels."
Pinterest has increased its search volume by 150% over the last five years - which, given the pandemic, and the subsequent boost for eCommerce and online product discovery, is not overly surprising. But it does provide some additional context on Pinterest's user traffic, with the majority of these searches (if not all) for products that people are looking to buy.
Pinterest's focus is on product listings specifically, and helping users find the right items to buy, be that via clothing Pins, recipes, travel notes, etc.
And as Pinterest notes, Pin search activity is also shifting as a result of the vaccine roll-out. Now, Pinterest is seeing expanded travel-related trends emerge, which could provide more food for thought for your Pin strategy.
Now with more than 478 millions users, opportunities are rising in the Pins; something worth keeping an eye on for your business.
4.Instagram Adds Engagement Insights for Reels and Lives
Instagram is looking to help more creators make the most of their opportunities by providing new insights data for both Reels and Live broadcasts:
As explained by Instagram:
"We have been inspired by the ways our community has embraced these content formats and want to make sure creators and businesses can understand how their content is performing."
For Reels, Instagram will now provide data on Total Plays, Accounts Reached, Likes, Comments, Saves, and Shares.
For Instagram Live broadcasts, users will be able to access data on Accounts Reached, Peak Concurrent Viewers, Comments, and Shares.
Instagram's also adding these new elements into its Account Insights overview "to provide a broader picture into how Reels and Live shape an account’s performance over time".
This could lead to whole new approaches in your strategy, with better understanding of what, exactly, is resonating with your audience, and where you can improve, based on format-specific data.
"Additionally, we’re launching new detailed information about Reach in Account Insights. We’ve built new breakdowns that provide transparency into which types of accounts you’re reaching and which content formats are the most effective at driving Reach."
With this in mind, it's likely worth experimenting with both formats - and now, you'll be able to tell exactly how effective those tests are, and what kind of response you're seeing via your Insights.