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The race to find new ways to engage consumers and give brands new means for measuring success reached full throttle this week. Facebook began testing a redesigned News Feed and exploring in-stream ads to monetize live video, and YouTube one-upped Facebook by introducing live 360-degree video.

We'll also fill you in on Twitter's new tools that make targeting specific audiences a cinch; we'll explore the fully redesigned app that Pinterest is betting on for global expansion; and we'll dive into the latest Millennial B2B research to find out where they buy and what type of content they want to see.

Skim to stay ahead of the game!

Facebook testing massive revamp that could bring more news to your News Feed

The social network confirmed it's working on a solution to let users explore more stories around particular topics that they're interested in, and the result appears to be a new layout for mobile that breaks down feeds into different categories.

Screenshots of the possible layout first surfaced on Twitter, and they show four feed sections that include the standard News Feed we're all used to, and then optional categories, including World & US news, Sports, or Food, among others (after all, food videos absolutely kill the competition on the platform). No news on whether such a retooling would be released, or when!

1. Facebook to test in-stream ad options, signaling a move toward monetizing video

Buzzfeed may have drawn 800,000 viewers for its Facebook Live watermelon explosion stunt, but the social network drew zero dollars in ad revenue. In what could mark a big change in the platform's policy and a step toward monetizing live video, Facebook appears set to test ads right in the live stream for the first time.

Any such ad product is months away, and pre-roll video is still off the table according to sources, but it's a promising sign for publishers, who stand to make some extra money on their video content, and it could point to the future of video advertising on the platform.

2. YouTube introduces live 360-degree video

Facebook may have introduced live streaming and a 360-degree camera recently, but the social network hasn't yet been able to combine the two. The world's second-largest search engine, however, filled that void this week with YouTube Live 360, which gives users the ability to stream 360-degree video live on the platform without overly fancy equipment.

For creators, the product will work with cameras as cheap as $350, far less than the $17,000 it would cost to build the open source hardware Facebook introduced at F8.

The fight to provide immersive entertainment rages on between the social tech giants... and though YouTube Live 360 is no virtual reality, it could help bridge the gap until VR becomes a household fixture.

3. New Twitter tools make targeting and monitoring results easier

Meet Ad Groups, the social platform's latest effort to make it simpler for brands to segment and monitor ad performance. The new features let marketers reach consumers with more detailed criteria, as well as create sub-campaigns that target users with audience-specific creative.

Campaign objectives such as engagement, video viewers, or followers can also be set, and all performance metrics are viewable on your Twitter Analytics page.

The update lets brands reach users at a more granular level, helping them test different audiences, improve how they measure results, and identify best-performing content.

4. Pinterest's completely redesigned app to launch next week

Out with the old and in with the new. The online pinboard site essentially gutted its old app and will next week release its modern remake meant to streamline the user experience.

The refreshed design, which will emphasize the pins themselves rather than descriptions and icons, will first be available on iOS, and arrive on Android and the Web in the coming months.

The update triples the load time of the application and brings along support in 31 languages, indicating the network's global ambitions.

5. Interactive video ads arrive on Facebook and Instagram

Online rollover ads let consumers access more information about a brand by moving their mouse over a video promo, allowing brands to bring a new layer of engagement to a format that used to ask viewers to do but one thing: watch.

After a successful test with a British coffee company led to 35% engagement, video marketing solutions company Innovid just launched a beta program to make its interactive video format compatible with social platforms.

The tech vendor's integration begins with Facebook and Instagram, but we think the format is a sign of things to come in the campaign to make social media users active participants.

Check out an example rollover ad below, and start thinking about how your brand could take advantage of such a cool tool.

6. Snapchat takes the stage to dispel misconceptions about its ad offering

Snapchat has received its fair share of negative publicity with regard to its proposition—from its ads' being far too expensive to underwhelming analytics for marketers. The social network stopped shying away from these concerns and took the stage at an Advertising Week event to offer clarity.

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#SocialSkim: Facebook Tests Massive News Feed Revamp, Plus 13 More Stories in This Week's Roundup

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Christian Neri

Christian Neri is a digital marketing professional in the film & television industry, and a contributor to MarketingProfs. An American expat in Paris, he recently completed his MS in digital marketing at IÉSEG School of Management.

Instagram: @christianneri

Twitter: @christianneri