June Social Media News: Snap Map, Twitter Revamped & More

Author: Sophia Bernazzani / Source: hubspot.com

June is typically a time when people start booking vacations and travel, but in the world of social media, the work on innovation never stops.

In fact, just last Friday, June 30th was #SocialMediaDay.

So in honor of Social Media Day, we’ve rounded up the latest launches and announcements from different social media apps over the last month.

(Just kidding, we write this roundup every month, but hey, it’s fun to celebrate holidays.)

From Facebook to Snapchat, from new product launches to small tweaks, here’s a list of what’s new in social media this month. The list isn’t exhaustive, but you can expect to learn the major highlights — what was launched, what changed, and what these stories could mean for marketers.

9 of the Biggest Social Media News Stories This Month

Snapchat

1) Snapchat launched Snap Map.

In late May, Snapchat acquired Zenly, a French social mapping app that shows users where their friends are on a map so they can message and make plans to connect.

And sure enough, in June, a similar map showed up in Snapchat: a heatmap showing where users were posting Snapchat stories dotted with Actionmojis — or more detailed versions of Snapchat Bitmojis that update in real-time. Actionmojis also show if users are traveling in cars, listening to music, shopping, traveling to an airport, flying in a plane, and more activities. Check out the demo video below:

The Snap Map is another move by Snapchat to make content more discoverable and to keep users engaged in the app for longer periods of time. Snapchat is locked in a battle with Instagram that it seems to be losing — its user numbers are increasing slowly, so growth is decreasing, but increased engagement and more ways for content to be discovered could convince more people to share — and advertise — in the app.

If you’re getting creeped out by the thought of the Snap Map, don’t worry — users have to elect to be visible on the map to friends, and they can operate in Ghost Mode, where nobody else can see their locations.

If you swipe down on your Snapchat camera and tap the gear in the upper right-hand corner, scroll down to the “Who Can” section, tap “See My Location,” and choose if you want Friends to find you on the map — you can even choose a select group — or if you want to be in Ghost Mode.

2) Time Warner Inc. invested $100 million in Snapchat TV shows and ads.

In an effort to reach younger audiences on the platform, Time Warner has reportedly invested $100 million to create Snapchat shows and ads over the next two years. Time Warner and its various properties — including HBO and Warner Brothers — will produce three to five-minute shows, and Snapchat will “air” three shows per day in its vertical video format within the app.

Bloomberg reported that Warner Brothers will advertise upcoming movies within the app, too — and will split the revenues with Snap Inc, according to The Wall Street Journal.

So, will HBO’s “Game of Thrones” now live on Snapchat next? I’ll be eagerly following these “shows” and if they take off on Snapchat. Almost 90% of viewers use a second screen while watching TV in the United States, so I’m curious to see if people will forego other smartphone capabilities to watch a three-to-five-minute Snapchat show or not. Either way, we’ll keep you posted.

3) Users can now create Snapchat Geofilters without leaving the app.

Before this month, Snapchat users could create custom Geofilter designs and submit them to Snapchat for approval — for parties, weddings, and other…

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