In a nutshell

The "Stop Hate for Profit" campaign has seen a whole host of large companies pull their advertising budget from the social media giant, claiming Facebook doesn't do enough to remove racist and hateful content from its platform. Major brands including Ford, adidas, Coca-Cola, Unilever and Starbucks have joined the boycott, which aims to pressure Facebook into making its platform safer by hitting it in the pocket.

Although these advertisers only account for a small fraction of Facebook’s ad revenue, share price has already dropped by 8% as a result of the movement, and it remains to be seen whether the platform is doing enough to satisfy Stop Hate for Profit.

What does this mean?

Brands are starting to become more aware of the role they play in wider society, with many giving much-needed attention to causes such as LGBT+, Pride and Black Lives Matter, but more needs to be done.

Tim Lawrence, head of strategy & planning at iCrossing UK, urges that we need to “be aware of our responsibility in how we spend advertising budgets and how we choose to represent our brand in content.” He encourages all clients to take some time to consider, more consciously, some of these factors, “particularly where money is being spent, any exclusions in place in programmatic or social, as well as ways to proactively support some of these groups and causes, if they feel comfortable in doing so.”

In a nutshell

Amazon has added livestreaming to its Amazon Influencer Programme, allowing influencers to earn commission on sales of products they feature.

This platform will allow influencers to reach fans in real-time and showcase their favourite Amazon products listed in their streams. Users will be able to live chat with each other during a livestream, with product listings displayed alongside the video, making it quick and easy for viewers to add items to their basket whilst watching.

What does this mean?

Jill Alger, social media strategist at iCrossing UK, notes that “this is a really exciting move from Amazon. At a time when the world is relying on virtual means to remain connected, livestreaming plays a huge part in enabling brands to replicate those personal, ‘face-to-face’ experiences with consumers.

“We also know the significant purchasing power influencers can have in driving brand sales, so integrating this into the familiar Amazon shopping experience will undoubtedly drive new conversion potential for brands, and open up appealing new monetisation opportunities for the influencer community.”

In a nutshell

Instagram is making it even easier for people to shop within its app. The platform has  announced it’s rolling out Instagram Shop in Explore, which will showcase buyable items from brands and creators all in one place. Users will see personalised product recommendations in their Shop feed based on the accounts they follow and businesses using the product listings feature.

A new Shop tab will be added to the navigation bar later this year, allowing users to click through in just one tap.

What does this mean?

This is just the beginning. Instagram Shop, along with the introduction of the “seamless and secure” Facebook Pay, is likely to have a major impact on user buying behaviour – not to mention at a time when we’re all purchasing more online. With a huge audience seeking inspiration on the latest trends, a seamless buying experience could make Instagram a very desirable online shopping destination.

Retail businesses looking to be featured should tag their products in their Instagram posts, enabling them to reach interested users through the platform’s recommendations algorithm.

In a nutshell

Google has announced that it’s adding fact check information to Google Images globally, enabling users to make informed decisions on image trustworthiness. Results from independent and authoritative sources that meet Google’s criteria will display a “fact check” label beneath them, signalling authenticity.

What does this mean?

According to Google, “the power of visual media has its pitfalls”, and it is adding this fact check information to help people make more informed judgements.

Brands could benefit from adding this markup to images that can be fact checked. Although Google has clarified that rankings will not be impacted by these changes, traffic could improve as searchers may recognise fact check labels and be more inclined to click through to those results.