Snapchat Announces Custom Geofilters!

It’s safe to say most Snapchat users all get a little bummed out when visiting somewhere that doesn’t have a geofilter. With the app’s new feature, this won’t be a problem for much longer!

Snapchat has officially introduced on-demand geofilters, which allows users to create their own custom filters, which will temporarily appear within the app. 

The idea for this feature is to give users the opportunity to create a custom geofilter for any event, from a house party to graduation to a wedding! Though a similar feature has been available for quite some time, the on-demand feature is much more cost efficient and customizable, starting at just $5. Who wouldn’t want to create their own geofilter for their next event?  

The process is pretty simple, too. Users can submit their custom filter on their new online portal in three simple steps: 

1. Design – Users can create their custom filter on their preferred image editor. Snapchat has also provided users with templates compatible with Photoshop and Illustrator to aid in the creative process. 

2.  Map – In this step, users pick a date and time they want the geofilter to be available. 

3. Buy – Finally, users submit their final geofilter and checkout. Once submitted, the Snapchat team will quickly review the design and get it up and running.

Users can choose spaces that are a minimum of 20,000 square feet to a maximum of 5,000,000 square feet – to put into perspective, that’s roughly the size of a business’ office to a few blocks around a city. As far as the run time, the custom filters can stay live from an hour to thirty days. 

On-demand filters are now available to users across the U.S., UK and Canada, and will be available in more countries soon. Be sure to create a geofilter for your next event! 

 Written by Samantha Velotta of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Facebook: More Trending Topics, More Substance

We all know how easy it is to scroll mindlessly through Facebook’s infinite news feed. With friends keeping you updated on their life-events, funny videos, or what they ate for lunch, you may get lost in the crowd of content. In the midst of all this over-stimulation, we can’t help but crave something with more substance. Well, Facebook has heard this cry and taken a step in a more substantial direction.

The dawn of Facebook Trending improved the site to give users a worthwhile experience while they update their statuses. Most are familiar with the “Trending” sidebar on the homepage. It features a list of words and phrases that are most often mentioned in Facebook users’ posts, along with a brief description or headline.

A recent update to Facebook’s Trending sidebar plans to expand the service by offering different categories for trending topics. At the top of the sidebar, along with an “All News” section, there will be five topics: Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Business, and Science & Technology.

As Facebook tries to become an established news distribution platform, the update caters to the unique consumer by offering a variety of stories and headlines that intrigue a specific Facebook user.

This change is will also be beneficial to marketers with content that matches category niches, allowing them to target their audiences through trending topics included on the list. It is also helpful to media outlets who want to get more exposure and user engagement.

Facebook’s latest update to the Trending sidebar is a positive step in the direction of high-quality content and providing its users with a meaningful, fulfilling experience. Though the site is first and foremost a social media platform, the growing news distribution feature adds both substance and variety to the social network.

Written by Jackie Miesle of Rebecca Adele PR & Events