This Week in Marketing Show notes

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s updates.  1. Facebook will start verifying the identities of accounts that keep going viral to ensure that users are getting authentic posts and not bots. This means that all accounts that exhibit “inauthentic behavior” or those who continuously go viral in the US will need to provide identification and if the ID does not match the identity of the account, Facebook will reduce the reach of that account’s viral posts by reducing the number of people who will see it in their feeds.  2. Facebook Market Place is now open for businesses selling new products. Facebook Marketplace is now open to US-based businesses selling new products and added new features, like the ability to process a transaction through checkout, and the option to offer shipping options. All you have to do is put in your business information, adjust your shipping and tax settings, link accounts for payments, and select your data feed source. And the best thing is you’re getting a two in one channel because listing your inventory on Facebook Marketplace allows you to use the same catalog for checkout on Instagram.
3. Google Discovery Ads is one of the two “big image-driven” ad tests launched by Google marketing last year but now it is out of the testing phase and available to all advertisers globally. You can now use Discovery campaigns to help reach up to 2.9 billion customers across Google feeds to achieve your performance goals in Google Ads by using Google’s understanding of consumers’ intent. With Google Discovery Ads, you can use multiple images and the Discovery ads with a single image, and you will also get a weekly impression estimate based on your geographic targeting, provide you with more than ten “call to action” options, and organize your campaign based on your strategy or theme.

4. Instagram helps creators turn their passions into a livelihood introducing two ways users can earn on the said platform. First is by adding Badges in IG Live which is a new way for fans to participate and show their love to their favorite content creators. Viewers can purchase badges during a live video to stand out in the comments and unlock additional features like access to a special heart. 
The second earning opportunity via IGTV ads. Instagram shares 55% of the advertising revenue with the content creator. Initially, IGTV ads will appear when people click to watch IGTV videos from previews in their feed and will be built for mobile and up to 15 seconds long.

Both options will begin testing by June with a small group of creators and businesses in the US.
5. Facebook is helping businesses transition through their business education program called Facebook Blueprint. They are launching 15 new FREE blueprint courses that offer downloadable materials to help business owners learn what they need to take their businesses online. You can check the full listing of Facebook blueprint courses on their Blueprint platform.https://www.facebook.com/business/learn
6.  LinkedIn is considering new reactions to express more responses during COVID-19. Last August, LinkedIn launched its Reactions using five different emojis that allows you to quickly share how you feel about a certain post or update. Now, LinkedIn is looking into adding a new “Care Reaction”, similar to what Facebook launched last month.

7. Twitter is expanding tests of a Messenger-Like chat window for Direct Messages and it has already started live testing the picture-in-picture, messenger style display for your messaging discussions for desktops. Active DM chats are now displayed in a smaller, sub-window at the bottom right of the screen. There’s no word on how widely this is being tested as yet, but it is now available to some users.
8. Instagram users now have an easy way to video chat with up to 50 people by creating Messenger Chat Rooms directly from their Instagram Direct inbox. When you tap on the video chat button within Instagram Direct, a new prompt to create a Messenger Room will be seen. Although you can create a room within Instagram, you’ll still have to switch to Messenger to engage in the video chat so it really just provides another way to use Facebook’s new multi-participant video chat option.
9. WhatsApp has begun testing its own QR code option, which will make it easier for users to exchange contact info via QR scans. This technology can be useful for businesses to make it easier for customers to sign up for in-store loyalty programs without going through the extra steps of providing their details and waiting for your info to be found on their system. In the future, it may even be used for payment methods just like how QR codes replaced cash and cards in China.
10. Polls now back in Messenger and is here to help coordinate activities or share opinions by voting in your group chats. You will also notice how this newer version of the Polls will have a refreshed look and feel with new colors and an updated button to vote. You can now also enjoy Polls in the Messenger Desktop app, available for both Mac and Windows users
Bonus:
Facebook is taking part in this trend by renaming its digital wallet “Calibri” to “Novi” for the upcoming Libra Cryptocurrency Collective. Libra is a new global payment system that allows open, instant, and low-cost payments all around the world. It is this very useful for businesses because it offers flexible solutions for merchants and e-commerce or payment platforms. 

Novi converts your money into a Libra digital currency when you add money to your Facebook wallet. You can now send money to friends and family all around the world, track your transactions, add personal notes, and see the exchange rate when making the transfer. The transaction is real-time and instantly accessible without having to pay extra charges. You can choose to keep your balance or withdraw it in your local currency anytime you wish. The best thing about it is that customers are verified with a government-issued ID to protect their accounts