Retail News CRM

Tag: stories

  • Facebook could combine two important parts

    Facebook could combine two important parts

    Facebook is split into so many products these days that it’s hard to keep track to everything the social app has to offer if you’re not a hardcore user. News Feed, Stories, Messenger are just some of the features that Facebook has made available to users throughout the years.

    The reason Facebook split its app into so many pieces is quite simple: monetization. Well, it appears that the social giant has found a way to make even more money by combining, rather than dividing, two of these features: News Feed and Stories.

    The changes spotted by software engineer Jane Manchun Wong indicates that Facebook is testing a new format that will combine News Feed and Stories into a one swipeable, hybrid carousel.

    It will allow standard feed posts and ads to be placed inside Stories in the same carousel so that users would be tempted to swipe through them more often than not, which translates in more views and better monetization of content.

    The GIF posted by Jane shows how a user seamlessly switches between a News Feed story and a Stories video, inside the hybrid carousel. The feature has been discovered in the Android version of Facebook, but if the company does indeed plan to make it available, it will be present on all supported platforms.

  • Instagram users can now buy items from ads inside the App

    Instagram users can now buy items from ads inside the App

    Instagram is taking its Shopping ads one step further by making it possible for people to buy the products in the ads without leaving the app.

    The feature, called Checkout on Instagram, is currently being tested in a closed beta program by nearly two dozen businesses and is only available to users in the US.

    Retail News has asked for details about if and when the feature will be available outside the US but had not received a reply at the time of this writing.

    Adidas, Burberry, Dior, H&M, Michael Kors, Nike, Outdoor Voices, Uniqlo and Zara are among the 23 fashion, beauty and accessories brands now rolling out the feature. Others will be added in future, according to Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.

    When users tap on a product in a Shopping ad from one of these businesses, they now see a “Checkout on Instagram” button. By tapping the button, they can select the size and colour of the item they want and enter their payment and shipping details to purchase.

    Users receive notifications about shipment and delivery within the Instagram app, and the platform saves all their information for future purchases.

    In the past, if users wanted to purchase a product linked to a Shopping ad, they were redirected to the brand’s website. The new feature removes this step and – crucially for Instagram – keeps consumers in the app.

    “Social selling is really taking shape both in Australia and globally and it’s great to see Instagram leading the way through the next stage of the social selling journey. Giving consumers the option to complete a purchase right then and there in the app will simplify the shopping process and allow brands to connect more easily with shoppers,” said Jordan Sim, group product manager at BigCommerce, an e-commerce platform that has been active in offering integrations with Shopping on Instagram to its users.

    “We’ve seen our merchants both globally and locally in Australia have a great deal of success using BigCommerce’s integration with Shopping on Instagram and are looking forward to unlocking the power of this new integration for our Aussie retailers in the near future. We know the value of simplifying the checkout process to drive sales and this new function on Instagram will facilitate just that.”

    Many brands have said that Shopping ads drive sales, but there’s a trade-off: visibility and control over their customer data. As Instagram continues to make the purchasing process more seamless – that is, takes control of the process – some businesses will undoubtedly question whether the trade-off is worth it.

    It is unclear whether the Checkout feature applies to Shopping posts in Instagram Stories, or only to posts in the feed. Last June, Instagram revealed that of the 500 million people using Instagram every day, 300 million use Stories every day.

  • 8 Easy Startup Ideas For Asia

    8 Easy Startup Ideas For Asia

    We live in the times of so many possibilities. Therefore starting a new business to earn some extra money could be very easy and done very quickly wherever you are – it could even be Asia. People are really into new technologies there at the moment, especially mobile payments through various apps, so you could use the benefits of  this trend for your business idea.

    If you love the idea of making some money on your own, here you’ll find some original ideas you could use for your startup and maybe even start today.

    Specialist Of Education Progress Tracking

    Every parent wants their kid to do well at school and gain the best education possible. That’s why there are so many freelance tutors that help kids and students learn the subjects that they are failing at.

    An education progress tracking will help you reach the best result possible. This is done by tracking the progress of your child and comparing it to other students who are moving up to a similar goal. For example, the same degree in business management or biotechnology. Many criteria need to be evaluated and compared, like grades, honors, certificates, additional skills, and so much more.

    Develop An App For Coworking

    Coworking apps are in demand both for teams in creative and non-creative agencies and also for study groups. Therefore if you are not completely new to coding, you could build an entire network where people could work together on a digital platform. Surely there are already some apps that allow you to share, comment files, and work on projects together, but you can always research your competitors and make an even better product. Simply detect what’s lacking in these apps.

    Print On Demand Business

    Print on demand businesses are getting really popular lately. That is because it doesn’t require any investments and therefore is a perfect startup idea for young people like students. The best part is that you don’t need to be responsible for keeping items in stock, producing it or putting logos on it.

    One of the most popular forms of print on demand business is selling t-shirts. All you’ll need to do is come up with the design. If you want to learn more about how to sell t shirts online – there are POD platforms like Printify that are very easy to use and offer you articles that help improve your business.

    App For Acting

    This could be a similar idea to SnapChat or Instagram Stories, but with a completely different concept. Friends would be able to create short videos with specific timing, for example, 20 seconds. And other friends would have to continue the story. After finishing a story, you could watch it as a single movie clip. To access a group, you should have a special code, link or different kind of key to access. Some groups could be open to everyone thought.

    Job Interviews On Video

    Image credit: Seth Doyle

    Wasting time always means wasting money. Companies and their hiring specialist waste tons of time trying to find the best candidates for one or another job position. It’s hard to imagine, how many time has been wasted on candidates that weren’t a good fit for the company.

    And you could be the one to offer these companies a solution and create a platform with already prepared video interviews. They would be short and very specific – candidates would be asked a few questions and answer it on camera. This could be a really good filter for the hiring specialists.

    Local Social Media Network

    Social media is extremely popular nowadays. But what if you were to create a new platform that would be based only on location? You would be capable of connecting with people, see events and other information related only to the place you are currently in. This would filter out a lot of unnecessary information that we see on our Facebook every day.

    Create An App For Recycling

    Image credit: Paula Brustur

    A lot of people today care about nature and recycling, but really lack knowledge about ecology and how it works. It’s hard to determine what is truly toxic for us and our environment and sometimes we just don’t know how to properly utilize specific products.

    If you were to create a recycling app, it could help people understand recycling more, especially with all the pollution is Asia. For example, if someone would be thinking how to recycle one or another item the right way, they could type the product in your apps search and quickly find an answer.

    Sell Your Own Crafts

    If you have some skills for crafting, you should know that it’s a very trendy thing to do at the moment. Especially things like handmade jewelry and gifts. You could sell your crafts on Etsy, but you can also create your own e-store. All you need is to buy a domain, choose the design and add all needed forms for orders and contacting.

    To save some money, don’t pay the programmers for creating the forms for you, simply use CaptainForm wordpress form plugin that will offer you all the forms your website might need.