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Facebook 2.0 – The New Features You NEED to Know About

By 5th April 2017 No Comments

Good ol’ Facebook. It’s been the pinnacle of social media for many years now and it takes a lot to hold the throne for so long. New trends and technology comes through and Facebook does its very best to keep up to date and relevant. This is what makes it great.

Whatever your use of Facebook, whether it be personal or a way to promote your business to your community, it’s essential that you keep up to date with it’s ever-changing features.

The last thing you want is to be late finding a new feature, losing out on the latest way for people to engage with your business.

Which is where Startup Active come into the play. We want to keep you on top of all the latest social media trends, so, in this article, we will show you some new cool trendy features Facebook boasts and how you can use them for your business.

 

new facebook features

Facebook 360 – What’s new

If you’re a regular user of Facebook, I am sure you have come across the 360 images many are posting that all you to literally look around the image doing a 360 (clues in the name, right?)

Some critics were quite sceptical of this feature, suggesting that it wouldn’t catch on, however, to date there have been more than 25 million 360 photos uploaded! It’s safe to say this is a successful feature.

But this isn’t the new feature we are actually talking about. We are talking about the new Facebook 360 App for Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus.

This new app is going to totally change our experience of 360 posts , however, there is a catch – you will need to have a Gear VR – compatible Samsung device.

Tech-geeks are expecting big things from this app, so if you haven’t go a VR headset, it might be time to invest!  

 

 

facebook new features 2017

Workplace by Facebook

Something more business related is the Workplace tool. Originally, this was use for Facebook employees to stay connected with each other, however, Facebook is now making this available to the outside world too!  

Just like the normal Facebook, it features a newsfeed, the ability to communicate via Live video or chat, plus other features that allow colleagues to speak to one another.

This tool is especially great for businesses who have connects in different locations or time zones, allowing us to stay in sync.

But the coolest feature has to be the multi-company groups, or shared spaces, that allow employees from different organisations to communicate and collaborate with another.

Like a new Facebook for business owners!

 

 

new facebook 2017

Facebook Live on your desktop

Facebook Live was a monumental addition to the social network, paving the way for a new digital revamp.

Obviously, Facebook is primarily used on a smartphone or tablet, which meant one thing – the desktop version was trailing behind in new tech.

However, Zuckerburg and Co. have now added Facebook Live feature, allowing us to create live streaming videos from our desktop or laptop.

This feature is great for business owners as it allows us to go live to clients and prospects from our desk and run, webinar-like features on Facebook.

It gets better too! You can now designate other users as “Live Contributors,” which gives them the capability to stream to the page at any time.

Plus, users can now pin comments to the bottom of a Live Broadcast, highlighting any important message you have for viewers. Ready to get started? All you need to do is download a streaming software and click on “Live Video” at the top of your news feed.

 

 

facebook 2.0

Messenger Day

On of the latest features in Facebook’s new arsenal is Messenger Day. The best way we can describe this feature is it’s very similar to Snapchat and Instagram Stories.  

While there are similar features such as filters and stickers, Facebook’s stab at the story-telling app is a bit more in-depth. Messenger Day, which can be found in your Facebook Messenger, has been made as more of a conversation starter, allowing you to see who’s online and active in real-time – something that Snapchat and Instagram Stories lacks.

The new tool, according to Facebook, is to encourage people to share what they’re doing in the moment or what they’d like to be doing.

So let’s say you want to see if your friends want to join you in a quick HIIT session, all you have to do is snap a selfie, add a sticker and send it over to them. Hopefully they will say yes!

The sad news is this isn’t available for businesses just yet. It’s being tested on personal profiles for now, but imagine the marketing opportunities this feature could bring in the future!

 

 

 

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Group Video

Video calls are becoming hugely popular in Facebook Messenger and they are now upping the anté on its rivals with Group Video chat.

Built right into Messenger’s interface, this easy-to-use tool and allows up to 50 people to jump on a video call – no, that wasn’t a typo, we really did mean 50 people!

How can this work for you and your business? Well, if you’re running bootcamps or group sessions then this will be a great way of communicating with your members, letting them know any news, answering any client’s questions and, well just general chit-chat.

 

 

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Advertising Upgraded

Advertising on Facebook gets a big thumbs up from us – I mean, who wouldn’t want to showcase their business in front of billions of people in one place?

We love Facebook advertising, so when we hear any news of new features – we jump right on it!

The latest new addition comes in the shape of video advertising. With 100 million hours of video being consumed on Facebook each month, they’ve now expanded the way advertising can be done, giving brands maximum exposure to the 1 billion users surfing their news feed. This includes:

 

  • In-stream video ads on publisher sites – Advertisers can upload their ads and bids to Facebook in advance via the Audience Network, allowing users to see the most relevant ads.
  • Ad Breaks in Live videos – Just like with YouTube videos, pages with over 2,000 followers can now place an ad of up to 15 seconds into a live video. This is currently in beta testing.

 

 

facebook new features

Just for fun – Games

Sometimes we have to take a break from work to let our minds relax and a great way to have some fun is with Facebook’s new games!

Facebook Messenger has injected some serious fun into their app, giving us games that we can play right inside our conversation; from PAC-Man to Space Invaders, it’s easy for everyone to engage in a little friendly competition. A great way to break up the day and take 5 minutes from the hectic workload.

 

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These are some great new features and we will keep you updated on any others as and when we get the news!