April social updates: New Snapchat 3D Lenses feature, Instagram offline, Twitter in-stream ads.

In April, social media platforms took the idea of springing forward to the next level with plenty of innovation. Facebook announced that music will be available in Messenger, Twitter introduced in-stream ads, Snapchat released a new 3D Lenses feature, and Instagram for Android now works offline. Get the scoop on all this and more below.

A 3D lens into the future.

With the latest Snapchat update, the app introduced the 3D Lenses feature to the front-facing camera on a smartphone. This new feature allows users to superimpose 3D special effects and sounds over real-world photos, and it marks Snap’s biggest step into the augmented reality realm. Check out the video for more on this update.

Facebook gets groovy.

The Facebook Annual Developer Conference (a.k.a. F8) takes place every April. At this year’s event, Facebook announced several partnerships, with the standout being Apple Music. Soon users will be able to browse music and send songs to other users – all in the Messenger app. No word yet on when we can expect this new feature to roll out, but we sure are looking forward to it.

Good news for marketers: Twitter is making your lives easier.

With the introduction of in-stream video ads, Twitter has hit the sweet spot. Twitter is home to brand-safe videos from hundreds of top publishers. This means brands can now run in-stream video ads to align with the videos users are already watching.

Instagram for Android now works offline.

As one of the eight in F8, Instagram announced at the conference that it has made it possible to use most of its features without internet access. This is a big development for the platform, which has stated that 80% of its 600 million users are outside the US and have limited network connectivity or no data plan. Offline users will be able to see content previously loaded on the feed. With that, users can leave comments, like posts, save media, or follow people – all of which will go through when they reconnect online. As an added bonus, this function could help grow Instagram in developing nations.

Smarter messaging for a smarter user.

LinkedIn has launched a “smarter” messaging feature as part of its ongoing desktop redesign efforts. Users can now chat with any of their connections regardless of whether they’re on the site looking at jobs or updating their LinkedIn profile – no more flipping back and forth between web pages.

Make sure to stay tuned for next month’s round up. The future is certainly bright for social!