What May Seem Like ‘A Little’ Can Go A Long Way
In the wake of the challenges and difficulties that have been presented to small businesses due to the coronavirus crisis, Facebook has created a $100 million grant program in an attempt to help.
Research suggests that we will be dealing with the effects of the virus for months, especially considering there is no vaccination or medicine available yet. This will affect many businesses but can drive small, local companies out of business forever.
Facebook announced they would take initiative to help aid small businesses in this time of need by investing $100 Million in a grant that could support 300 companies within 30 different countries. In the following weeks, Facebook will be announcing more information, as well as starting to take applications for the grants.
Facebook hasn’t stopped there. They are using their platform and power as a company to provide additional resources such as: the launch of a business research hub, which connects affected businesses with tools and resources to help keep them on their feet, a virtual training program for businesses operating in altered conditions, strategy plans for hosting training sessions virtually with companies worldwide, and new Facebook blueprint materials.
The Facebook Journalism Program has also partnered with the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and the Local Media Association to provide an additional $1 million towards news organizations covering the crisis.
Though $100 million may not seem like much compared to the $71 Billion Facebook made in 2019, it will still be of great value to those that benefit from it, and has the potential to reach a number of small businesses in need.
‘What Time Should I post?’
From teenagers to marketers, everyone is always wondering, “When is the best time to post?”
This varies from platform to platform, but Sprout Social has us covered with their recently published ‘best times to post report’.
The data was taken from Sprout Social’s personal network of 20,000+ customers, so the outcomes can vary greatly depending on different audience groups.
Nevertheless, here are the results:
Facebook performs the best on Wednesdays, with the optimal posting time between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. Sunday is the worst day to post on Facebook.
Wednesday stays consistent as one of Instagram’s top posting days, along with Friday (specifically at 10 a.m.). Sunday is also the worst for Instagram.
On Twitter…you guessed it…Wednesday and Friday are prime time. This time, however, Saturday was overall the least postable time.
Nothing new here; LinkedIn results show Wednesday between 8-10 a.m. and noon are best for posting, as well as Thursdays at 9am and 1-2 p.m., plus Fridays at 9 a.m.
*Bumps Elbows*
With social distancing becoming an integrated part of contemporary culture worldwide, there has already been a shift in interpersonal interaction through body language.
One new gesture that many have taken on is the elbow bump, in lieu of a traditional handshake. This is meant to reduce person to person contact. This level of precaution is great, and with any great thing comes an emoji…right? Well, that’s where things get complicated. There is a bureaucratic approval process which is lengthy and can cause new emojis to take about 2 years before coming into existence.
Stephen Paul Wright, an NYC art director, realized there wasn’t time for this. After seeing the elbow bump play out right in front of him, he got to work and created a downloadable emoji himself. Voila!
Apple Is ‘Elevating’
Drumroll please…Apple has some exciting news to announce! There is a new iPad model coming out, unlike any other Apple tablet. The 2020 iPad Pro features a keyboard and lidar sensor, which is used to sense depth and aid augmented reality functions.
This new model is said to look like a combination of the iPhone 11 and the previous iPad Pro model, with the addition of the elevated keyboard.
This iPad Pro has a dual camera, just as the iPhone 11 does, plus the addition of the lidar sensor. It is also complete with a A12Z Bionic chipset, which allows it to be 2.6 times faster than the 2017 iPad Pro. Its features include Face ID recognition, no home button, and a magnetic dock.
The keyboard cover is a separate purchase but allows the iPad to elevate, or “float”, thanks to a magnetic system. The keyboard includes a trackpad, which lets the user have a cursor in iPadOS.
The iPadPro will be available starting March 25th, but for the keyboard, you will have to wait until May. The 11-inch keyboard costs a hefty $299, with the 12.9 inch even steeper at $349.
In case you missed our previous #SocialShort, click here.
