03rd Aug 2018 by Sam Benzie

Musical.ly is no more! Snapchat introduces sticker packs, WhatsApp adds new business features and Facebook's got talent!

Facebook’s Got Talent

Facebook is now working on a new “Talent Show” feature that is going to allow its users to perform their auditions on the platform. According to Jane Manchun Wong, an eager eyed platform user, Facebook is working on a new feature that will let you sing your own rendition of a song for assessment.

As part of the new talent show feature, users can choose a song, record their version of it and then submit it. Who this is submitted to is not completely clear as of yet, and it’s possible that only certain pages will have the feature at this moment in time. This new talent feature however, bears a resemblance to Facebook’s Lip Sync Live that it ran for live streams, but also to Instagram’s newly-announced Music Stickers.

But, as we know very little about the feature, the new feature could offer much more.

WhatsApp adds a new business feature

Ever since last year, WhatsApp has been building and testing new tools for its users and for businesses to communicate with each other more effectively. And now it has announced an expansion of support for businesses that require more powerful tools to communicate with their customers with its WhatsApp Business API.

Here are the new features:

Request helpful information: Businesses can now send information like shipping confirmations or boarding passes to users who provide their mobile number to them “on their website, on their app, or in their store.”

Start a conversation: Businesses can now run Facebook ads with a click-to-chat button, or add the click-to-chat button to their website so that users can quickly message them.

Get support: Some businesses will now be able to provide “real-time support on WhatsApp to answer questions about their products or help you resolve an issue.”

With this new feature, users will have full control over the messages that they receive and will be able to block any business easily. Along with this, WhatsApp is monetising its platform as businesses will have to pay to send certain messages. This will make businesses more selective with their messaging and will reduce clutter on users news feeds. Businesses can respond to messages for free, only if they answer within 24 hours; those that respond after that time will be charged.

Snapchat adds sticker packs made by creators

Snapchat has been doing all that it can to keep its creators lately and now its pushing a new feature to do so.

Following on from last week’s launch of Snapchat Storytellers, which brought together creators and brands for collaborations, Snapchat is now bringing together users and creators. Last week the first creator – Geir Ove Pederson, aka Geeohsnap – launched his own sticker pack on Snapchat, and on July 29, Ketnipz, Harry Hambley’s popular cartoon also appeared as a sticker pack on the app. The sticker packs show up when users click on the “star button” within Snapchat’s sticker section.

Reports also say that sticker packs from Cyrene Quiamco, aka CyreneQ, Alex Richter, aka decalex, Audrey Spencer, aka cakes1todough1, and Mike Metzler, aka Metz044, are also coming soon.

“Being able to include our own branding as a native part of the platform is incredible for us creators. The fact that Snapchat is partnering with creators to roll this out is another way to show they are investing in the creator community,” Metzler explained.

Budweiser displays its connection to music

Budweiser has a strong connection with some of the most iconic music in the world, and it has invited fans to view it. But how? Well they asked their fans to Google it.

In their latest campaign running in Brazil, Budweiser capitalised on its place in the music industry by showcasing the fame and talent that were spotted drinking the drink, those being some of the most iconic musicians of all time.

“Tagwords” is a campaign imagined by the agency Africa, and it includes outdoor and print ads that encourage consumers to check out the rich history of the Budweiser brand. So, the introductory video explains: “We can’t show you the proofs,” “But we can tell you where to find them.”

Musical.ly shuts down!

Musical.ly is no more! The sensation app that took the teen community by storm has been acquired by the Chinese company ByteDance, and has now been absorbed into its TikTok app.

The users of Musical.ly woke up to a shock as they found out their favourite app had been replaced with a new logo and name: “Welcome to TikTok, where every second counts.”

Musical.ly, which had huge success in the US, had around 100 million users, while TikTok has around over 500 million MAUs worldwide. The apps are very similar in terms of their features, these include short-form videos up to 15 seconds. Time will only tell if the fans of Musical.ly will react positively to the switch over and stay loyal.

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