New features and support for Australian businesses were announced this week, from industry leaders Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn and more. From free support video guides and grants to new shopping and event promotion features for businesses, there’s plenty to get excited about this week.
We continue to see a shift towards digital acceleration, with NSW government agencies to rely on e-invoices from 2022 and Banjo Loan’s research showing businesses who overcame the impacts of the pandemic were those who found other ways to reach customers: online.
So, keep reading to discover the exciting announcements from this week’s top tech, digital and business news…
Top Tech, Digital & Business News from 24 — 28 May 2021
Monday, 24 May 2021
Facebook’s new Transparency Centre will provide users with exact policies and guidelines of how they collect, store and use their data.
On the dedicated website, users can find government data requests, data policy changes, trends and more, including a biannual report.
You can learn more over at transparency.fb.com/data.
Afterpay Executive Vice President Lee Hatton last week revealed the buy-now-pay-later service is looking to offer services for small businesses.
This news comes a month after Afterpay’s rival, Zip, launches a credit line of up to $150,000 for small businesses.
It was not said what a small business lending product with Afterpay would look like, but it was said it would help answer cash flow pain points for Aussie business owners.
Help Me Grow My Business Podcast Episode 2 on Blogging Out Now on Spotify
Episode 2 of Localsearch’s Help Me Grow My Business Podcast is out now on Spotify.
This episode dives into if blogging is still an effective marketing tool and how even the smallest of businesses can get started.
You can listen to the podcast on Spotify or read the transcript.
Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Instagram has launched insights into Reels and Instagram Live Broadcasts to help content creators and businesses understand their full value.
Reels insights will include:
- Plays.
- Accounts reached.
- Likes, comments and saves.
- Shares.
Live insights will include:
- Accounts reached.
- Peak concurrent viewers.
- Comments.
- Shares.
There are also new Reach insights in Account Insights.
Twitter’s Spaces feature will soon include a monetised ticketing feature to allow accounts with more than 600 followers to restrict access to their Spaces events. It will give social-savvy businesses another chance to connect with their audience and build authority.
20% of the ticket cost will go directly to Twitter, with the remaining funds going to the Twitter account creating the ticketed Spaces event.
Twitter Spaces was created to rival Clubhouse, including similar audio rooms, which users can join, listen to and participate in conversations.
An old scam asking Instagram users to reset their password or gain access to their account via a text message is reportedly still active.
In the text, users are alerted to a problem with their Instagram account, and prompted to login or reset their password. Whoever is on the other side of the message will then be able to gain access to your account.
The scam was first identified around August 2020, but users have been reporting still receiving these messages.
All you need to do to avoid your account being compromised is delete the message and definitely do not click on the link.
Wednesday, 26 May 2021
LinkedIn Launches New Boost Option, Event Ads & Other Tools
LinkedIn announced yesterday that users can now boost organic posts on the platform, use Event Ads and other tools to reach more people. The features include:
- Boost: Users can boost their organic posts by clicking the Boost option and entering payment details.
- Event Ads: With live and virtual events on the rise, marketers can use the Event Ads tool to promote their events and analyse the results with the Event Analytics tool.
- Custom Streaming: Users can live-stream using a selection of broadcasting tools, including Zoom, OBS and eventually Microsoft Teams.
- Mobile Page Analytics: Now you can easily view insights on your mobile phone via the LinkedIn app.
TikTok has launched a new series, “Behind the Camera,” offering insightful tips for how creators and small-to-medium businesses can produce high-quality content to reach their audience.
Behind the Camera will have a variety of easy instructions on how to create strategic videos on TikTok using a step-by-step guide.
The basic guide recommends:
Keep it simple.
Shoot vertically.
Use good lighting.
Focus on your subject.
Use text and other effects.
Have fun!
You can view the Behind the Camera playlist on TikTok’s YouTube Channel.
New reports from Banjo Loans shows 72% of Australian small businesses were drastically impacted in 2020 due to the pandemic, with one third either overcoming this or face closing their doors.
The Banjo SME Compass Report shows how businesses who exceeded their revenue targets were those who prioritised and invested in new technology, products and assets, moving towards a future with improved online presence.
When restricted, the businesses who thrived were those willing to find other ways to reach their customers online, a pivotal move for long-term success, especially as our world becomes more and more online.
Thursday, 27 May 2021
Instagram launched their new ‘Drops’ feature yesterday, which will help businesses to increase eCommerce activity and sales. Drops is a shopping showcase feature, displayed at the top of the shop tab with brands customers have recently engaged with or may be interested in.
Instagram also announced yesterday users will now be able to hide like counts on posts on both Instagram and Facebook. This can be done via the new ‘Posts’ section in Settings, allowing users to hide likes on posts in their feed, in addition to their own posts.
A new Australian app brings transparency to shoppers by analysing how ‘local’ everyday items are. The app, Strayan, is used to scan barcodes of more than 250,000 products and allocated a score out of 100 to determine how Australian made and owned the product is.
This is a huge benefit for local Australian businesses, as “shop local, buy local,” becomes more important to customers. Sports equipment, beauty products, electronic devices, toys, car parts, food and more can be scanned using the app.
E-invoicing must be used by New South Wales government agencies for goods and services up to $1 million, from 1 January, 2022. This move helps to reduce paperwork, errors and payment times, saving businesses:
- $20 on average, each time an e-invoice is used instead of a paper invoice.
- $17 on average, each time an e-invoice is used instead of a PDF invoice.
By taking active steps to reduce unnecessary costs through updated systems and technology, the government can help small businesses improve their cash flow and long-term profitability.
Friday, 28 May 2021
Google users can now use their account passwords to protect their search history and Google Maps activity viewable in the Web & Activity Page. This means users can have more privacy, even on shared devices.
Now, users can keep this data safe from others they may not want having access to it by setting a password, which has to be entered before viewing their personal history in the Web & App Activity page.
This feature can be set up by going to myactivity.google.com and selecting “Manage My Activity verification” and choosing “Require extra verification.”
The ABC has signed letters of intent with both Facebook and Google, which the broadcasting giant has said will inject money and resources into regional communities.
Relationships between news networks and the digital tech giants have been strained while the Media Bargaining Code was worked and rolled out.
However, both Facebook and Google are creating their own platforms to pay news outlets for content.
Episode 3 of the Help Me Grow My Business Podcast Out Now
Episode 3 of Localsearch‘s Help Me Grow My Business Podcast is all about how to start doing Facebook Ads and not waste money while doing it.
The podcast’s hosts, Sarah and Katrina, talk to Localsearch’s own Senior Paid Social Strategist, Myles Hart, about exactly where businesses often go wrong, turning them off such an effective product.
You can listen to the podcast on Spotify or read the transcript.