December 2017 was a great month for new things in digital with many new features and updates being rolled out across our favorite digital platforms. The month was a fitting end to a great year for digital. Here are our picks for the 20 best new things in digital for December 2017:

1.Twitter Launches Account Activity API To Power Customer Service & Chatbots

The new enterprise-level API offers developers access to real-time activities like tweets, mentions, replies and more to help power customer service tools, chatbots and other brand engagement vehicles for Twitter.

2.Facebook Page Messages Can Now Be Found Inside Messenger

Users can now manage Page Messages from the Messenger App on mobile and also the Page Manager App.

3.Branded Filters With Animated Graphics On Snapchat

This one will be of interest to digital marketers as the new filters allow for sponsored ads. Currently available only to some countries, if successful this could become a global feature.

4.Facebook To Let Users React To Individual Parts Of Videos

While no official details are released yet, there is plenty of talk of Facebook testing such a feature that is likely to operate similarly to the way reactions bubble up when watching Facebook Live videos.

5.Real-Time Hashtag Insights On Twitter

Twitter will now suggest variations on Hashtags and reveal which versions are trending and how many people have shared the hashtag within the past hour.

6.Custom Audiences For Users Lingering On Facebook Ads

Another treasure for digital marketers, the feature provides the option to target a list of people who have spent more time than usual viewing your display ads on Facebook and Instagram within Ads Manager. The feature is called Dwell and is an expansion of the Dwell Time feature.

7.Engagement Bait Will Be Penalized On Facebook

Posts from people and pages that try to deliberately manipulate the Newsfeed Algorithm to boost engagement and achieve greater reach will now be demoted.

8.Facebook Provides New ‘Our Story’ Feature For Branded Pages

Admins and Page Owners now have a new section they can use, with a style similar to a blog, to tell people about their brand and company history.

9.LinkedIn Highlights Trending Skills

A monthly notification now alerts users on trending skills among people with their same job title, and provides insights on which companies are hiring people with that particular skill.

10.Facebook Tests Private Comments

A new privacy setting for individual comments will let users write a reply to a thread – but only preapproved individuals can see the comments.

11.Instagram Launches Rights

Manager

Rights Manager will let content creators protect their intellectual property rights to the content they upload onto the platform. A similar feature already exists on Facebook.

12.WhatsApp Call To Action Buttons For Facebook Ads

– Another treat for digital marketers, this feature lets businesses link Facebook and WhatsApp on Facebook Ads that directs users to call or message the company through WhatsApp.

13.Facebook Introduces Sound Collection For Videos

This feature will help creators find high-quality sound effects and music to use in their videos, with Facebook guaranteeing that all effects are owned by them and free and clear for use in any videos shared on Facebook or Instagram.\

14.Facebook Launches Messenger Kids

Currently only available on iOS but soon expected on Android, Messenger Kids is designed for kids under 13 and features all the stuff kids love like video chats, appropriate GIFs, stickers etc – under full parental control – without ads or in app purchases.

15.Two New Ad Formats On Snapchat

The first, Promoted Stories strings together multiple snaps to form a slideshow and inserts it as a branded story in the app’s Stories tab. The second, Augmented Reality Trial ads allows users to play with an AR version of a product overlaid on the world around them.

16.New Pinterest Bot & Chat Extension For Facebook Messenger

This new feature brings increased integration and makes responding to ideas, sharing new Pins and accessing Pinterest Search and Related Pins quicker and easier.

17.Facebook Experiments With Pre-Roll Ads in Watch Tab

Traditionally Facebook has avoided Pre-Roll Ads but with the new Watch Tab they’re thinking about trying out this format. No official confirmations yet but they are playing with it.

18.Instagram Rolls Out Stories Highlights & Stories Archive

Users can now save and showcase their favourite expired stories. Rather than having to rush to download stories to a phone before they disappear, Instagram will now save them in the cloud to view, share or download later.

19.New Dimensions For Facebook Group Cover Images

The new dimensions are 1640X856 pixels or a 1.91:1 ratio.

20.Facebook Rolls Out Trust Indicators For Published Content In The News Feed

In the age of fake news, this will be an excellent tool as publisher trust indicators will provide readers with information on the publisher’s policies on ethics, corrections, fact checking, ownership structure etc… Users can then judge for themselves.

And there you have it, the 20 best new things in digital for December 2017 according to us. What do you think? Have we missed anything? Let us know in the comments below.