Every two weeks, Vanguard distills hundreds of digital media headlines into the best “byte”- sized pieces of useful information. Each edition has news ranging from the latest Facebook algorithm changes to best practices for email marketing. Share Digital Bytes with your organization to keep your digital strategies ahead of the pack.

Digital Bytes

Facebook reported a surge in the popularity of Stories, its ephemeral content with a 24-hour shelf life that mimics Instagram Stories. Facebook Stories are now seen by over 500 million people every day. If you haven’t adopted stories yet into your social media strategy, now is the time! Get started by using Facebook’s guide.

In Other News …

• Nonprofits and associations aren’t on the TikTok bandwagon yet, but media outlets like ESPN and NBC are just starting to take notice and join the app. It will be interesting to see if TikTok fades as quickly as it’s come on the scene, or if it has true staying power to start to compete with the big players in the space.
• Facebook is facing billions of dollars in fines from regulators from the Federal Trade Commission as well as European regulators in England, France and Germany.
• Twitter is rolling out a new tool to help users flag the spread of misinformation specifically designed to sway elections. It will be rolled out first in India and the European Union, ahead of elections in those regions.
• Should child labor laws apply to YouTube stars? The Guardian breaks down a murky grey area in labor laws as parents ponder if “unboxing presents” really counts as work.
• Mark Zuckerberg has a new PR strategy podcast called Tech & Society with Mark. Give it a listen!

Fun Resources

• Marketing automation — think A/B testing, retargeting and content scheduling — can be confusing to set up and get started. Read a primer on automation from marketer Ryan Byrne.
• Morning TV shows go through such a breadth of content each day that their corresponding social media strategy must be buttoned up to have a chance of grabbing users’ attention. Get inspiration from Good Morning America’s social media strategy!

Finally …

What happens when you take one part pizza, one part mystery and one part tech? You get a great episode of Reply All, which delves into a mysterious flood of online orders at Dominos.