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With so much changing globally this month, digital platforms have been teaming up with Governments and Health Organisations to educate people about COVID-19. More news....Zoom goes boom, Facebook introduces dark mode, and Instagram launches IGTV Monetisation. A lot more happened in the digital marketing world in March. Here’s what you might have missed…

Snapchat & TikTok working with the WHO

Snapchat & TikTok is working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and US Centres for Disease Control, to help ensure Snapchatters are getting the latest information about COVID-19. WHO publishers regular updates about the coronavirus from their official account and have been working with Snapchat & TikTok to develop custom content to answer questions from its users. Snapchat have even created stickers to communicate the importance of implementing health measures.

Google partners U.S Government

Google is partnering with the U.S Government to develop a website dedicated to COVID-19. The content will highlight prevention and educate people with local resources. The website will be rolling out in late Monday, March 16, and they will continue to update the site.

Instagram Launches IGTV Monetisation

Instagram has started to launch IGTV by asking it top video creators to partner on ad tests. Users in the program will receive a 55% share of all advertising in IGTV, the same rate as YouTube. Instagram will start testing the ads this spring.

Twitter Increases Automation Tools

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Twitter looks to shift its workforce out its offices around the world and to work remotely. As a result of this, Twitter will increase its use of automation tools to detect and remove violating content.

Incoming Facebook Dark Mode

Social media enthusiasts Jane Manchun Wong has suggested that Facebook’s dark mode is in development. This will be good news for avid Facebook fans. Dark mode is currently available on Messenger and the feature dark mode is on WhatsApp.

Zoom Goes Boom

Due to Government advice stating people should work from home where possible Zoom has seen a huge increased in users which have caused problems for the software.

With millions of people joining Zoom at once, Zoom has reported a “degraded performance”. Also, other video conferencing services including Microsoft Teams, Webex & Google Hangouts, has had its share of problems. 

Brands encouraging social distancing

Due to most restaurants and bars in big cities temporarily closing or suffering from the effects of social distancing, many brands are relaying the message by rebranding themselves. 

Timeout Magazine is a global magazine and in their spring edition, changed the branding to Time In. The change in branding is a nod to remind people to stay indoors and keep social distancing.

Impact of coronavirus on local business engagement

Yelp, a business directory service and crowd-sourced review forum site, has seen an enormous change in demand due to the impact of the coronavirus.

According to Yelp (2020) consumer engagement with restaurant has fallen 54% and for nightlife businesses which have fallen 69%. Grocery stores have seen a dramatic rise in consumer engagement with 160%. Also, home fitness & exercise is up 344%.

Twitter Ad Revenue Loss

Twitter’s revenue has taken a hit due to COVID-19 pandemic. This has reduced advertising spend and has impacted on Twitter’s revenue stream. However, the social media giant has seen steady user growth, and this has been the same with social media platforms.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, social media platforms have a rise in usage, which is not surprising, since the public are going online more for entertainment during home confinement.