With Victoria still in lockdown and social media platforms competing for top spot, the news impacting Australian businesses this week was juicy! We’re talking new Victorian business grants, Twitter releasing a subscription service for $4.50, signs of business recovery in Australia and so much more.
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The News Impacting Australian Businesses This Week
31 May 2021: Victorian Government Announces New Business Grants as New JobKeeper Subsidy Rejected
The Victorian Government has announced a $250 million business support package to help 90,000 businesses through the 7-day lockdown.
This comes as the Federal Government rejects requests for new JobKeeper wage subsidies, despite the new outbreak.
Workers are also being encouraged to check their Centrelink payment eligibility to help them during the lockdown period and beyond.
Information on Victorian business grants can be found over on https://business.vic.gov.au/grants-and-programs.
31 May 2021: Twitter has listed a premium package. Will you pay for new features?
Twitter has listed new subscription products on app stores, listed at £2.49 in the UK and $2.99 in the US.
While the social giant has declined comment on the new product, they have said in the past they are working on exclusive features for a paid subscription model. This includes features like being able to undo Tweets.
With the drama surrounding other social media platforms and news content, paying to use social media platforms is something that may not be so out of the norm in the future.
31 May 2021: New Report Shows Positive Signs as 46% of Small Businesses Plan to Expand
A new report from Banjo Loans has revealed 46% of Australian small businesses plan to hire more staff in the next 12 months.
The report also delves into the two-thirds of small businesses planning on borrowing to expand their businesses, with 25% of survey recipients saying they have already experienced strong growth.
You can find out more in the Banjo SME Compass 2021 report over on the Banjo Loans website.
1 June 2021: Microsoft Building Bing Search Engine Chatbot
Microsoft is building a search chatbot for the Bing search engine, similar to Cortana.
Bing users will be able to open the Chat box and ask questions and receive answers, similar to a customer service live chat.
It’s unclear at this time how businesses can optimise their websites for this coming feature, but follow us to stay in the loop.
1 June 2021: Twitter Reportedly Releasing More Tweet Reactions
Well-known social media tipster Jane Manchun Wong has Tweeted revealing Twitter is working on releasing more reaction options to Tweets.
The reactions appear to be similar to those currently available on Facebook, including Like, Cheer, Hmm, Sad and Haha in the form of emojis.
Businesses and content creators on Twitter can use the reactions to better measure their follower and engager sentiments, which can be used for optimising social performance.
1 June 2021: Townsville Businesses to Benefit from State of Origin Game One Announcement
NRL yesterday announced Townsville will host State of Origin Game One on 9th June following the outbreak in Victoria.
Accommodation venues are already reporting a surge in bookings, with many already being booked out.
With the game only a little over a week away, it’s a reminder to Townsville businesses to start marketing their Game of Origin events now across social media, Google My Business and on other platforms.
2 June 2021: Twitter to Test Story Ads
Today, Twitter will start to test ads on their story-like feature, Fleets.
Fleet Ads provide businesses with more options and another platform to advertise their services to meet their ideal audience.
Similar to Instagram Ads, Fleet Ads will have a full-screen feature and will allow the user to click onto the ad and be directed immediately to the advertisers business page.
2 June 2021: EOFY Scam Alert
ANZ has reminded business owners to be wary of scams as End of Financial Year (EOFY) approaches.
Scammers will be targeting business emails, transactions and payment systems due.
It’s important for all businesses to vigilantly monitor and validate all incoming internal and external emails. When in doubt, contact your bank or the platform of the scammer directly to confirm.
2 June 2021: Rockhampton Regional Libraries Launch LinkedIn Learning
Rockhampton Regional Libraries now offers LinkedIn Learning as their main educational program.
LinkedIn Learning allows users to access over 16,000 courses tailored to your interests in 7 languages, ideal for business owners and professionals looking to expand into new knowledge areas.
It is free to access and you do not need to have a LinkedIn profile to access this service.
3 June 2021: Additional $209 Million To Be Added To Victoria’s Support Package
Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino announced that an extra $209 million will be injected into the business support package announced on Sunday.
Small-to-medium sized businesses in Victoria can apply for the Circuit Breaker grant as of today and will be open until 11:59pm Thursday, 24 June.
3 June 2021: LinkedIn Celebrates 18th Birthday with New Updates
In light of their 18th birthday in May, LinkedIn has celebrated the milestone with new updates.
These new LinkedIn features are aimed toward company pages and personal brands.
The updates can include, but not limited to:
- Creator mode to increase organic conversation.
- Characters in posts have been increased to 3000 instead of 1300.
- 30 second introduction videos can now be added behind photos in stories.
3 June 2021: Queensland Tourism Introduces Gold Coast Holiday Dollars
Queensland Tourism have announced they are offering Holiday Dollars to Queensland residents.
These vouchers will give you access to redeem up to $100 off Gold Coast attractions, tours or accommodation.
Queensland.com will open applications on the 7th June 2021 and with applications closing at 11:59pm 10 June 2021.
4 June 2021: Twitter Blue Now Available in Australia
Earlier in the week, we shared the release of Twitter’s premium subscription product, Twitter Blue, appearing on app stores.
Twitter has since released the subscription model in Australia for $4.50 a month.
Upgrading your accounts gives you the ability to undo Tweets within 30-seconds of publication, a reader-mode to make reading threaded Tweets easier to read and customisable app icons and colour themes.
4 June 2021: Instagram Releases New Branded Content Transparency Tools
Instagram has announced new features for their Branded Content Tool to help users with the new sponsored and ad content guidelines.
The new features include:
- The ability to tag up to two brands in single Branded Content post to allow for more promotion opportunities.
- Users will also be able to post Branded Content prior to brand approval, but the brand name will not appear in the post.
4 June 2021: Clubhouse to No Longer be Invite Only
Clubhouse announced on Twitter they expect to open the app up to all who want to join in the coming months.
To join Clubhouse currently, you need an invite from an existing user.
Despite the restrictions, Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison has said previously they have more than 2 million active weekly users. The popularity of the platform has seen more platforms, including Twitter, release audio-room features to their own apps.