Do you want to use customer endorsements in your social media marketing?

Wondering how to create a persuasive testimonial video?

In this article, you’ll learn how to produce an effective testimonial video to share on social media.

How to Create Testimonial Videos by Victor Blasco on Social Media Examiner.

Why Testimonial Videos?

People value the opinions of their peers. According to a BrightLocal study, 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Sharing testimonial videos on your social media channels can help you guide your audience in the direction you want.

What sets video testimonials apart from other types of video content is that your customer does the talking; someone with whom your prospect may relate. The customer’s testimony offers evidence that your product or service helped them solve a specific problem.

For instance, in this testimonial video, WireBuzz explains how they combined HubSpot with video to create an effective email marketing campaign.

VIDEO

Testimonial videos are widely used for the decision stage of the buyer’s journey, when potential customers are searching for information that will help them make up their minds. A persuasive testimonial video can help guide prospects through the sales funnel.

Now let’s look at how you can create an effective testimonial video for your product or service.

#1: Create a Testimonial Questionnaire

The first step is to think about the questions you’ll ask your clients/interviewees. To get insightful answers, consider including these questions in your testimonial questionnaire:

Create a testimonial questionnaire to help customers share their story.

• What prompted you to consider this product?
• What was the problem you wanted to solve?
• Was there an obstacle that might have prevented you from buying this product? Were you reluctant? (This question can help you discover an issue you might not have considered.)
• How has the product affected your business?
• What features do you like most?
• Can you name three other benefits?
• Would you recommend the product? If so, why?
• Is there anything else you want to add?

Be sure to share these questions with your client before your interview so they’ll know the key points you’re planning to cover.

Coordinate with your client to find a day and time to do the interview. If you’re interviewing more than one person, set up specific interview times. Share the details of the shoot to help ensure the process runs smoothly.

#2: Scout a Filming Location

How do you choose the ideal location for your shoot? It’s important for the location to provide some context to viewers. Choose a setting that best supports the message you want to convey in the video.

If you shoot indoors, as Codecademy did for the video below, you can control the environment (light, traffic, noise, etc.) and the setting will be safer and more private. Shooting special effects and creating extraordinary scenarios are also easier.

VIDEO

However, costs tend to run higher and shooting indoors is not the best option for replicating a realistic or ordinary set. Examples of indoor locations include a studio, lobby, conference room, or bar/café.

If you have a smaller budget, shooting outdoors may be a better option because the costs tend to be minimal. However, you’ll have no control over the environment, and privacy and security (for storing your equipment) may become issues when shooting.

Examples of outdoor locations include the front of an office building, a sidewalk, a special location related to the topic of the video, a city square, and so on. For example, this Buildpro testimonial video was shot at a personal residence.

VIDEO

#3: Set Up Your Shoot

Once you choose a location, you need to set up your microphone, lighting, and camera, and decide where to position your subject.

Choose the Right Microphone

It’s important to select the right microphone for the environment in which you’re shooting. Here’s a rundown of your options:

Consider your environment when you choose a microphone.

• Omnidirectional mics capture sounds from all directions equally.
• Cardioid mics capture noise mostly from the front. They don’t capture sound as well from the sides and nothing at the rear.
• Hypercardioid mics have a tighter forward focus than cardioid mics and don’t fully reject sounds from the rear.
• Bi-directional mics capture sound in two ovals on both sides, but reject sounds 90 degrees off-axis.
• Shotgun mics capture sound directly in front of them (even from a distance) but nothing from the sides or rear.
• Lavalier mics are small omnidirectional mics that can be clipped onto clothing (usually hidden near the collar or lapel).

If you’re interviewing your subject indoors, shotgun, bi-directional (if you need to record the voices of both the interviewee and interviewer), and lavalier mics are good options because they’re more directional. Omnidirectional, cardioid, and hypercardioid mics tend to record sounds from the environment so they’re not the best options in this case.

If you’re shooting outdoors, all mics are susceptible to wind. To reduce wind and other noises, place a windscreen made of acoustic foam rubber over the mic. This filter is widely known as a “zeppelin” because it resembles an airship.

Set Up Your Lighting

If you’re shooting indoors, consider a three-point lighting setup:

Use a three-point lighting arrangement.

• The key (or main) light is the brightest light and the most important. It’s usually placed to one side, and high up.
• The fill light illuminates the parts of the frame that would be in shadows if you used only the key light.
• The hair or backlight helps separate subjects from the background by lighting their backs.

Of course, you can add or remove lights to create the right lighting arrangement for your video. However, with the basic setup described above, you won’t be disappointed.

If you plan to shoot outdoors in bright sun, you can use a “scrim” to minimize harsh shadows on the subject’s face. To do this, attach a diffuser to a light stand (or similar device) to soften the sunlight. You can also use a white bounce board to add dimensions to the subject’s face.

Position Your Camera(s)

If you’re using only one camera for your video shoot, the editing process will be much easier. You’ll have only one video and audio file to care about.

With a single camera, you can capture as many shots as you’d get with two or more cameras, but you’ll need to do some careful planning to pull it off. Think about what angles you’ll need and be prepared to adjust your shots.

For the interview itself, you can use the traditional medium shot. To capture emotional moments or specific/relevant quotes, do tight close-ups. The tricky part is trying to predict how subjects will react or what they’ll say so you can adjust your shots. The questions you ask can help guide you.

Decide whether you’ll use one camera or two.

Be sure to place the camera at the same height as the interviewer and subject so they won’t appear to be looking up or down at the other person.

Using multiple cameras is the easiest way to show a variety of angles in your video. Make sure all of the cameras use the same frame size, frame rate, aperture, ISO, and white balance. The editing process will be a little more challenging than with a single camera because continuity and visual coherence are key to a quality video.

If you’re using a two-camera setup, place both cameras at the same height (if possible). You could place camera A near the interviewer so the subject’s eye line falls to either the left or right of the camera. Place camera B on the same side to capture more of the subject. This arrangement allows you to get both a close-up and a medium to wide shot, giving you proper coverage.

When you position camera B, stick to the 180-degree rule.

Tip: Adding a third camera to the mix will help you get even more interesting angles of your subject. Get creative!

Position the Interviewer and Subject

Have the interviewer stand or sit to the right or left of the camera so the subject will be looking just off-camera.

Use the rule of thirds to position your guest.

To position the subject, imagine your camera shot is divided into thirds and then place the subject in the opposite third from the direction they’re looking. That is, if the subject is looking to the left of the camera, position them in the right third of the frame so the viewer can see a portion of the area they’re looking at.

Avoid placing the subject in front of a white wall or a cluttered background. Some activity behind them can be nice, but too much can distract your audience. Make sure the background is out of focus while you shoot; in other words, create depth to emphasize your subject and focus the attention on them.

#4: Record the Interview

The more comfortable subjects feel, the better the interview will be. So make sure you match their mood, energy, tone, and body language.

Use the interview questionnaire as a guide and let the interviewee elaborate. Avoid interrupting and just let them talk. You can always trim the discussion during the editing process. If the subject is nervous or suddenly gets quiet, don’t worry; that’s not uncommon. Just set them at ease and give them a minute to regroup.

Use the interview questionnaire as a guide for the filmed discussion.

Ask the interviewee to acknowledge your question when they answer. So if you ask, “What was your main pain point?”, have them answer, “My main pain point was….” The audience won’t hear your question so this will help add context to the subject’s answer.

Feel free to revisit a question or topic that hasn’t been addressed properly. If you reword your question, you may solicit the response you’re looking for. You can also ask the subject to elaborate on an interesting point previously covered.

As you conduct your interview, be an active, engaged listener. Listening carefully to answers, pauses, and nuances will help you know when it’s the right moment to move to the next question or ask a follow-up.

Don’t be shy about asking for what you need, but always be polite and specific. For instance, if you need the subject to do something differently (maybe they’re fidgeting too much), just ask. However, wait for them to finish answering your question and then pause the interview. Showing them the video you’ve shot may help convey your point.

This tactic also works well if you need to make adjustments in your framing, camera setup, or lighting; always let the subject finish before pausing the interview.

#5: Edit the Video

When you’re done filming, edit the footage to create a video that’s about 90 to 150 seconds long. Make it enjoyable, credible, and human. If the subject goes on too long at times, trim the content to avoid losing the thread. Include the quotes and content that add true value.

Here are a few additional ways to enhance your testimonial video during editing:

Edit your footage to make the final product enjoyable, credible, and human.

• Incorporate inserts and cutaways when you lack interesting content from the subject, or want to strengthen a point or simply add some excitement.
• Choose the best camera angles for each moment. Remember, close-ups are a great way to emphasize an emotional message.
• Make adjustments to correct lighting issues from the shoot (too cloudy, too bright/dark, etc.). Apply special filters to create specific aesthetics.
• Add lower thirds as text overlaying the video to identify the person speaking (name and title). You can add other graphic elements such as boxes, images, or shading, but don’t overdo it.
• Use your brand colors for the footer, lower thirds, and cards, as well as at the beginning and end of the video (in these two cases, with the logo included).

Conclusion

To create an effective testimonial video, you need to invest the time in planning the interview, setting up the location, and editing the footage. A high-quality, professional video will project the right image for your business and encourage prospects to choose you as their vendor.

What do you think? Have you used video testimonials in your marketing? What tips can you offer? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Wondering how much you should spend on Facebook ads?

Do you need to set a budget?

In this article, you’ll discover how to set a Facebook advertising budget by working backward from the revenue you need to generate.

How to Set a Facebook Ad Budget by Logan Mayville on Social Media Examiner.

#1: Set a Target Revenue Goal

Defining a revenue goal for your campaign seems like a simple move for an established business or marketing professional, but you’d be surprised how often people skip this step. Instead, they might say, “Let’s test a $1,000 monthly Facebook ad budget and see how it goes.”

There’s nothing wrong with this approach as long as the “see how it goes” part is strategized, tracked, and optimized. But most often, the person who manages the campaign will talk about the great engagement the ads received, which has no direct connection to revenue.

A better strategy is to replace the previous statement with a question like this: “What budget do we need to generate $X in revenue with Facebook ads?” Establishing a revenue goal for your campaign informs the ad planning process and helps you more accurately report the ROI, or return on ad spend (ROAS).

Say you want to use Facebook ads for lead generation, targeting $10,000 monthly revenue. If the margin on your product is around $1,000, you need 10 sales per month derived from Facebook ads.

Set a monthly revenue target for your Facebook campaign.

Furthermore, if you know that it takes an average of 12 leads to create one sale, you’ll need 120 leads from Facebook to hit your revenue goal. Another way to look at it is each lead is worth approximately $83 ($1,000 profit / 12 leads).

#2: Create a Custom Conversion Path in Ads Manager

Once you have a revenue goal in place, let’s look at how to configure Facebook Ads Manager to show you the data you need.

First, install and configure the Facebook pixel so you can track your conversions and provide transparent ROI. Once the pixel is in place, you’ll need to create a custom conversion.

Suppose you want to set up a custom conversion to measure ebook downloads. Open Facebook Ads Manager and select Custom Conversions.

Go to Facebook Ads Manager and click Custom Conversions in the Measure & Report column.

Then click Create Custom Conversion. In the pop-up window, enter the URL of your thank-you page, select Lead as the category, and click Next.

Create a URL-based custom conversion with your confirmation page.

Enter a name for your conversion and click Create. Now anytime people view the thank-you page (which loads when they successfully fill out the lead generation form), Facebook will record a lead.

Enter a descriptive name for your custom conversion.

When you create your Facebook ad, choose Conversion as your objective and select your custom conversion as the conversion event.

When you create your Facebook ad, select the Conversion objective and choose the custom conversion you just created.

At this point, everything is set up to accurately attribute ad spend to lead generation.

#3: Create a Two-Part Ad Campaign

When you calculate cost per lead, your audience, ad creative, and funnel strategy can have a huge impact on the results.

Instead of sending cold traffic directly to an ebook download page, use content to warm up your audience before asking them to submit their email address. You can do this in two steps:

• Send cold audiences to a high-quality blog post.
• Retarget blog readers with your lead magnet.

Here’s an example of an ad that drives cold audiences to a blog post.

In your first ad, drive cold traffic to one of your top blog posts.

This second ad retargets blog readers with an ebook landing page.

In the second ad, retarget blog visitors with your lead magnet.

You’ll notice both ads mention “detoxification,” but the graphics and ad copy are very different. This approach can decrease your cost per lead significantly.

#4: Monitor Your Results and Adjust Your Ad Campaign

After you run your ads for a while and gather conversion data, go to the Ads Manager to take a look at your costs. To see the relevant data, you’ll need to configure your columns to show custom conversions.

To do this, click the Columns button on the right and select Customize Columns from the drop-down menu.

In the Ads Manager, click Columns and choose Customize Columns from the drop-down list.

In the middle pane of the Customize Columns window, select the check boxes for the columns you want to add to the results table (on the right). Here’s a layout you can use to report on custom conversions:

Select the columns you want to add to your Facebook ad results table.

After you make your selections, select Save as Preset in the bottom-left corner and click Apply at the bottom right.

If you added the Book Download and Cost per Book Download columns to your results (as in the example above), you can see how many leads you generated and how much it cost you to get a lead. For example, suppose you see the results below that reveal you pay $5.10 per lead:

$250 spent / 49 leads = $5.10 cost per lead

Now let’s revisit your revenue goal from earlier, which was to generate 120 leads (10 sales) per month. Based on the results above, your Facebook ad budget would need to be around $612 to reach that goal.

Review your cost per lead and then adjust your Facebook ad budget to reach your revenue goal.

Refine Your Campaigns

Now that you’ve designed a Facebook ad budget based on a revenue goal, there are some ways you can improve your results:

• Double down on the cold audiences that perform best. For example, if people interested in “detoxification” were much cheaper to target than people interested in “health benefits,” shift budget to the “detoxification” audience to create more leads at the same cost.
• Create lookalike audiences based on the leads you generated. Facebook will use a combination of data points to target people who are similar to the people who filled out your form.

Before you create a lookalike audience, you’ll need to create another custom audience of people who successfully completed your custom conversion event.

After you create your custom audience, go to the Audiences section of Facebook Ads Manager. Click Create Audience and choose Lookalike Audience from the drop-down menu.

In the Ads Manager, select Lookalike Audience from the Create Audience drop-down menu.

Then simply choose your converted audience as the source. Adjust the other options and click Create Audience.

Choose your custom audience of your converted leads.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that your Facebook ad budget should be based on… your bottom line. The tactics above are best suited for direct-response advertising, but if you have a branding or awareness goal, you can use a similar strategy to hit your numbers.

The added benefit of building your Facebook ad budget this way is that it creates a culture of measurement and optimization. If you achieved an average cost per click of $0.30 last month, try for $0.29 this month. Once you’ve reached your breakeven point for profit, look for opportunities to improve your margins by reducing cost per lead.

What do you think? How do you set your Facebook ad budget? Do you define a revenue goal first? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

How to Set a Facebook Ad Budget by Logan Mayville on Social Media Examiner.

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Social Media Marketing Talk Show, a news show for marketers who want to stay on the leading edge of social media.

On this week’s Social Media Marketing Talk Show with Erik Fisher, Kim Reynolds, and Jeff Sieh, we explore Facebook Publisher changes, YouTube Breaking News, Facebook Camera updates, and other breaking social media marketing news of the week!

Watch the Social Media Marketing Talk Show

If you’re new to the show, click on the green “Watch replay” button below and sign in or register to watch our latest episode from Friday, August 25, 2017. You can also listen to the show as an audio podcast, found on iTunes/Apple Podcast, Android, Google Play, Stitcher, and RSS.

For this week’s top stories, you’ll find timestamps below that allow you to fast-forward in the replay above.

Facebook Adds Publisher Logos to Trending News Section and Search: As part of “ongoing efforts to enhance people’s recognition of the sources of news distributed on [its] platform,” Facebook will begin showing publisher logos next to articles surfaced in its Trending News section and search functionality on both desktop and mobile. With this update, publishers may upload multiple versions of their logos through a new Brand Asset Library so the appropriate logo can appear next to their content on Facebook. Facebook offers a full step-by-step guide and requirements on how publishers can insert their logos and start using this feature. This new feature is initially rolling out to all publishers exclusively featured in Trending and search, but it will eventually be extended to “all places where people consume news” on the platform. (6:25)

Facebook now features publisher logos in Trending News section and search.

Facebook Will Test News Stories Subscriptions: Along with adding logos to the Trending news sections and search, Mark Zuckerburg announced that Facebook will begin testing a new way to help news organizations grow their subscriptions through the platform. If a user subscribes to a publication after seeing news stories from that source on Facebook, the money will go directly to publishers and Facebook won’t take a portion of that fee. Facebook will begin testing this monetization plan with “a small group of U.S. and European publishers” later this year. (18:40)

Facebook Allows Select Pages to Share Stories: It appears that Facebook now allows select business pages to share branded stories. However, Facebook hasn’t officially announced nor provided any details about this possible rollout. (24:35)

It appears that Facebook now allows select pages to share Facebook stories.

Facebook Adds Ability to Capture 360 Photos on Mobile: Facebook users can now capture 360 photos from within the latest versions of the Facebook mobile app and instantly upload them to their timeline, albums, or groups and use them as a cover photo on a personal profile. Facebook is also starting to roll out zooming into 360 photos and spatial tagging, which gives users the ability to tag friends within a 360 photo on the desktop. All iOS and Android users should be able to take and share 360 photos with the Facebook app starting this week. (27:44)

VIDEO

Facebook Boosts Stories Camera With Live, GIF Creation, and Text Sharing: Facebook recently added the ability to go live, shoot two-second GIFs, and share full-screen text posts on colored backgrounds directly from Facebook Camera. Users can then share these videos and images to Facebook stories, direct messaging, and the traditional news feed. This update is available on iOS and Android. (30:34)

Facebook boosts snubbed Stories Camera with Live, GIF, & text sharing https://t.co/HBVZypiShw by @joshconstine

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) August 15, 2017

YouTube Tests New Mobile Playback User Interface: The Next Web reports that YouTube appears to be testing a new user interface for its video hosting platform “that will make it much easier to browse for content while watching videos on your phone.” While the current UI allows viewers to minimize videos and scroll through other clips at the same time, the new design offers dedicated playback controls and video titles next to the minimized thumbnail. (35:33)

Google is testing a handy new playback UI for YouTube https://t.co/q2tuqXKMPp http://pic.twitter.com/F8IYdqnFSV

— TNW (@TheNextWeb) August 22, 2017

YouTube Rolls Out Breaking News Section Across All Platforms: YouTube added a new Breaking News section within the main feed on mobile and the homepage of the desktop versions of the platform. The new section highlights seven videos displayed in a horizontally scrollable carousel format and is currently featured on the front page of YouTube. Android Police reports that the content is consistent for all users across a general regional area, but it’s unclear whether the videos are populated by an algorithm or curated by hand. It’s also unclear if this new section will only surface when worldwide, newsworthy events occur or will be shown every day. (38:24)

YouTube feed now has “Breaking News” section across all platforms for many https://t.co/aovpF4hEKN http://pic.twitter.com/hAqqKONgrw

— Android Police (@AndroidPolice) August 18, 2017

Amazon Opens Influencer Program to YouTube Creators: Amazon quietly enabled a self-service tool that allows YouTube personalities to request access to its “highly vetted” and exclusive Amazon Influencer Program. This program, which launched as a private beta in March, allows social media personalities to earn commissions on the Amazon products they promote provided they meet Amazon’s requirements for audience size, fan engagement, quality of content, and relevancy for Amazon, among other things. (41:19)

Facebook Takes Actions Against Video Clickbait in the News Feed: In the coming weeks, Facebook will begin demoting stories in the news feed that feature either fake video play buttons embedded in their images or videos of only a static image. Facebook observed that spammers often use these intentionally deceptive practices to trick users into clicking links to low-quality websites or experiences. Facebook notes that only pages relying on these practices to distribute clickbait will be affected by this update, and “most Pages won’t see significant changes to their distribution in News Feed.”

Facebook will demote posts featuring fake video play buttons and videos of only a static image.

WhatsApp Rolls Out Colorful Status Updates: WhatsApp debuted different fonts, colorful background options, and links to text status updates. VentureBeat reports that WhatsApp began testing the colorful status options with “select users” earlier this month and is now rolling out this new feature to all users this week.

WhatsApp adds colorful text status updates, just like Facebook https://t.co/1LJOKT7LwS by @kharijohnson

— VentureBeat (@VentureBeat) August 21, 2017

Twitter Celebrates the Hashtag’s 10th Birthday: This week, Twitter celebrated the 10th birthday of the first time a hashtag appeared on Twitter and “people worldwide [made] this platform their microphone, shaped culture, and changed the world.” Initially designed to elegantly capture the brevity, simplicity, and fun of Twitter, the hashtag has since dramatically evolved “from grouping Tweets to adding quirky commentary… [and] sparking social movements and global conversations.”

how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp [msg]?

— ⌗ChrisMessina (@chrismessina) August 23, 2007

Google Rolls Out Six-Second Video Previews on Mobile Search: Google announced that silent six-second video previews will now appear within mobile search results pages to help users identify videos they would like to see. TechCrunch reports that this new feature “will work for the vast majority of videos on the web… including, but not limited to, YouTube,” and is expected to remove some ambiguity around a video’s actual content and quality.

Google brings six-second video previews to mobile search https://t.co/uWxfsBtB6s http://pic.twitter.com/TMTMH2YIEe

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) August 19, 2017

Reddit Announces Native Video Player: Reddit announced an extended rollout of a native video beta, which will make it “easier than ever for redditors to capture, upload, and share videos and gifs with all their favorite communities.” Users will be able to natively record video within the official Reddit apps on mobile or upload pre-recorded video content from mobile and desktop. Reddit is also rolling out a GIF-making tool along with the native video player. These new features are rolling out slowly “to ensure… a best-in-class experience” and time to gather feedback from the community.

Reddit announced an extended rollout of a native video beta.

Facebook Introduces a Dedicated Tab for Safety Check: Facebook announced that it will soon offer “a single place to go to see where Safety Check has recently been activated, get the information you need and potentially be able to help affected areas.” Facebook announced that it will gradually roll out the dedicated tab for Safety Check “in the upcoming weeks” starting now.

Facebook will soon offer a dedicated Safety Check, where users can see where it has recently been activated, get the information they need, and potentially be able to help affected areas.

LinkedIn Rolls Out Video Globally: LinkedIn announced plans to roll out video to all members globally over the coming weeks. LinkedIn has been testing this feature in limited release over the last month and it’s now available on mobile for both iOS and Android. Members have the option to natively record a video or upload a previously recorded video. They’ll have access to Audience Insights “such as the top companies, titles and locations of [their] viewers, as well as how many views, likes, and comments [their] videos are receiving.”

LinkedIn opens video uploads to all as part of a bigger video push https://t.co/LOuj0PSXNw by @ingridlunden

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) August 22, 2017

Facebook Finds Video Series Drive Higher Engagement: Digiday reports that “video series on Facebook are already driving higher engagement” than stand-alone videos uploaded and shared on the site. According to viewer stats from popular video publishers including Mashable, Attn, and Tab, “people would rather watch multi-episode video shows and other serialized programming than one-off videos” and “the average watch time for Facebook Live videos is three times that of on-demand clips.”

Snapchat Commits to Scripted Content Push by the End of the Year: Snapchat has confirmed that it will “likely to push into scripted content through its Snapchat Shows by year’s end.” The company states that its goals are “capturing the audience who are not probably consuming TV at the same rate and pace of engagement that they once were” and bolstering rather than replacing current traditional TV consumption. Snapchat inked a number of broadcast content deals earlier this year, including partnerships with TV networks NBC and ABC, the BBC, Vice Media, and more, as well as a $100-million agreement announced in June with Time Warner to produce up to 10 new shows exclusively for Snapchat.

Snapchat to Move Into Scripted Content by Year’s End https://t.co/upIM7jcKdG

— Variety (@Variety) August 23, 2017

NBC News Show on Snapchat Discover Boasts Audience of Over 29 Million: After its first month of broadcasting, NBC’s twice-daily news show called “Stay Tuned” on Snapchat’s Discover platform reportedly captured over 29 million unique viewers. TechCrunch reports that this is “roughly triple the number of viewers who tune into the top-rated ‘NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt’ program” and that 60% of viewers of this new show are younger than age 25.

NBC’s Snapchat news show gains 29+ million viewers in its first month https://t.co/7Hb6IbsE9J by @sarahintampa

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) August 18, 2017

Facebook Announces Upcoming 2017 Global Partner Summit: Facebook announced that its upcoming 2017 Global Partner Summit will be held October 4 and 5 in San Francisco. At this annual event, Facebook presents the product roadmaps for its flagship platform, Instagram, and Messenger. Facebook also shares key opportunities for growth and gives its partners “a place to connect with each other and share ideas.” People can tune into the event and watch select keynotes through a Facebook Live broadcast on the Facebook Marketing Partners page.

Facebook announced that its upcoming 2017 Global Partner Summit will be held on October 4 and 5 in San Francisco.

Facebook VR Division Files Patent for Smart Glasses: Oculus, Facebook’s VR division, published a patent application for a “waveguide display with two-dimensional scanner,” which can augment the wearer’s view of the environment with computer-generated imagery. The filing states that the device “may be included in an eye-wear comprising a frame and a display assembly that presents media to a user’s eyes.” Business Insider interprets this to mean that the smart glasses would be able to display images and video, and work with connected speakers or headphones to play audio when worn. Facebook has declined to comment on the patent filing.

We just learned more about Facebook’s futuristic AR smart glasses https://t.co/wJ2c5xqfYI http://pic.twitter.com/6hHUK8gDZu

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) August 18, 2017

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