Hump Day Headlines: Google+ (What’s Happening), New Instagram Features

By Art Unlimited.

Some of the topics we're going to talk about today are Google+ (what's happening? Big changes there), some Google My Business modifications, Instagram rolling out some new cool features, as well as some data transparency changes across multi-channels.

You can either watch the video or read the transcript below. Plan to join us live each Wednesday on Facebook.

The Death of Google Plus

7 So basically Google decided to just kill Google+. They tried hard to make their own version of a social media platform and they just had too big of competition with Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms that they just couldn't compete with.

And I think Google's really good about trying to work at something and then just not being married to it, and if it doesn't work they just cut it out and keep moving. So, I think this is a really good decision for Google to just kill Google+.

We've stopped using Google+ for a little while, and many others have said for a long time it’s just bad. It’s good to let it go.

Instagram & Augmented Reality

So, one of the topics that we've been diving into is Instagram! Instagram's making some pretty cool changes. Some of Instagram's features are now reflected on Facebook. For example, if you look at the image carousel, that has changed.

But specifically on Instagram they're rolling out an augmented reality feature that developers can tap into and submit what some of their augmented reality ideas are. And if they're picked, they can then roll those new features out within Instagram.

So, some crazy cool stuff that's going to be happening on social through augmented reality! I'm excited to see where this goes and some of the different experiences that we will have available to us on the Instagram platform.

Have You Searched By Emoji?

We talk almost every week about Google My Business, so not to disappoint, we’ve got some stuff about the Google My Business! According to Moz, they’re now rolling out a feature where you can use emojis in your GMB listing and descriptions. And basically what they're saying is don’t overload it, don't pack it full of emojis, but what we're seeing is that people are starting to search by emojis. So they’ll put in a slice of pizza and then put 'near me,' and that will pull up nearby pizza places

Honestly, just dive into Google My Business and find out information. They're always rolling out cool features and new information.

And just some statistics about Google My Business: 68% of consumers left a Google My Business review for local businesses, and 97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. So, if you're not keeping up with your Google My Business, you should be. So, this is your not-so-friendly reminder to keep up on your Google My Business listing!

Google killed one thing (Google+), but they're continually rolling out new changes on Google My Business among their countless other platforms.

The Data Transparency “Ingredients” List

So talking about food, we referenced something earlier about the data transparency label. So, I don't know how many of you look at the labels when you're in the grocery store and say, "Ah, should I eat this or not?" and you look at that label, and it tells you specific information about what's included within that package that you're purchasing.

The same thing is starting to transpire within marketing; there’s a digital transparency label that's going to say if "I were to buy this ad set or this data set, what is the personification within it or what is my target reach?" So, some great new opportunities will be opening up to marketers.

If this data transparency label does go full-scale,  I think it'll have some good information that we can leverage to make advertising even more effective on a host of different platforms.

So, thanks for joining us for this week's edition of Hump Day Headlines!

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