Facebook Call-to-Action Buttons: This Week in Social Media

Facebook Brings New Call-to-Action Buttons to Pages: “Designed to bring a business’s most important objective to the forefront of its Facebook presence, call-to-action buttons link to any destination on or off Facebook that aligns with a business’s goals.”


“Page admins can select from a group of call-to-action buttons—like Shop Now or Sign Up—to add to the top of their page.”

LinkedIn Rolls Out Redesigned Homepage: Now it’s “even easier for you to quickly manage and benefit from your experience on LinkedIn.”


“At the very top of the homepage, your new dashboard gives you instant feedback on how you’re doing.”

Instagram Adds Five New Filters: These new filters are “inspired by the photography, art, fashion and design of the global Instagram community.”


“You’ll see the filters at the front of your filter tray: Slumber, Crema, Ludwig, Aden and Perpetua. They soften and subtly shift colors to achieve the look and feel you want for each photo.”

Facebook Adds Auto-Enhance on Photos Uploaded via iOS: “You can use the auto-enhance filter on iOS now. Check the settings to control the strength or turn it on and off.”


Facebook’s “engineering team took on quite a challenge to build the auto-enhance filter.”

Google Launches Video Analytics Page in AdWords for Video: This revamp will “offer more YouTube Analytics-style performance metrics right in AWV, bringing a greater focus on video creative to campaign management and optimization.”


“As you can see in the above chart, the new Video Analytics page prominently features a visualization of your video’s views, split by paid and non-paid to give a holistic sense of how your video is doing.”

Facebook Updates Rooms: “A new way to discover and join many of these communities via the Explore feature.”

You can “read more at the Rooms blog.”

Skype Announces Translator Preview Program: “The preview program will kick off with two spoken languages, Spanish and English, and 40+ instant messaging languages will be available to Skype customers who have signed up via the Skype Translator sign-up page and are using Windows 8.1 on the desktop or device.”

Here are a few social media tools worth checking out:

Compose: “A simple little app that lets you send email without being overwhelmed by what’s in your inbox.”

“Just open Compose and start writing.”

Nideo: A video hosting, management and analytics platform.

“Where you can turn videos into customers.”

EyeEm 5.0: This app “contains everything you need to make your photos look the way you want.”



“Brand-new filters with adjustable intensity, carefully crafted editing tools and a little something extra.”

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Get the Silver Surfers on Facebook: Experts say using social media can help prevent decline in elderly's health

• People aged 65-95 took part in the study by the University of Exeter
• The group felt more confident and sociable after using the internet
• Using Skype and email to contact relatives among their favourite usages
• Experts said the results could help stunt loneliness among the elderly

Older people should use Facebook and other social media websites to prevent their health declining, a study has found. 

Pensioners who spend time online do not feel as lonely as others their age, which could stunt deterioration of physical and mental health, according to the research. 

The results of the study, carried out among 65 to 95-year-old's by researchers at the University of Exeter, could help cope with the health problems of an increasingly ageing population, experts said.

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The study, carried out among pensioners aged 65 to 95, found using the internet improved the group's social skills and competence (file image)

Among ways to use the web to improve mental health was video calling and using social media via touch screen computers. 

A group of pensioners from 31 residential care homes across the UK were followed as part of the study funded by the EU. 

Those trained to use the technology felt more self-competent, were more sociable and showed improved cognitive abilities.

The project's leader, Dr Thomas Morton, said the findings highlighted how loneliness among the elderly can contribute to poor health. 

'Human beings are social animals, and it’s no surprise that we tend to do better when we have the capacity to connect with others.

'But what can be surprising is just how important social connections are to cognitive and physical health. 

'People who are socially isolated or who experience loneliness are more vulnerable to disease and decline.'

One participant said learning how to navigate her way through the internet had 'changed her life'. 

'Having this training changes people's lives and opens up their worlds, invigorates their minds and for lots of us gives us a completely different way of recognising our worth as we age,' said Margaret Keohone.  

'I was just slipping away into a slower way of life.' 

Emma Green, one of the carers from Somerset Care Ltd, one of the homes taking part in the survey, said: 'As the training programme developed with my participants their confidence grew and they were keen to tell me how family members had emailed back, Skyped or "liked" a comment or a picture on Facebook. 

'Seeing the smiles on my participant's faces when they Skyped a family member in the UK or abroad was such a special moment.'

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