Social media platforms are always evolving, but, as a marketing professional, it can be hard to keep up. Platform updates are made to create more user-friendly and accessible platforms for marketers and users, alike. So it’s important to stay in the loop!
To make sure you’re getting the most out of your social media platforms, we’ve outlined some of the latest social platform changes happening for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in 2019.
Facebook announced a complete redesign of the desktop and mobile experience that puts groups and communities at the forefront, moving away from a brand-focused feed.
Because reach will be limited due to this new layout, businesses and brands will need to adapt to these changes by refocusing their marketing plans to include more paid ads, and by possibly opening branded groups to be seen more frequently by audiences.
Branded Facebook groups are a great way to create a sense of community and a sense of exclusivity for your online followers. Branded Facebook groups also allow you to “beat’ the algorithm by giving group members a notification every time you post.
If you do decide to create a branded Facebook group for your business, be sure that you are providing some kind of extra value to your group members.
Creating a branded Facebook group is the exact same as building any other group on Facebook. Head over to Facebook's group creation page and click the create group button at the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
2) Changes in video rankingsFacebook is changing how it ranks video content on the News Feed and “More Videos” recommendations.
Focusing on loyalty and intent, Facebook will add more weight in ranking to videos that people seek out and return to week-after-week.
Videos that keep people engaged for at least one minute, especially on videos that are three or more minutes long, will also be pushed to the top of the ranks.
Facebook announced that they would start to limit distribution for unoriginal or repurposed content from other sources with limited or immaterial added value — as well as demote video content from Pages that are involved in sharing schemes.
Brands who create high-quality, long-form, original video content should see an increase in overall views and reactions.
3) Appointment booking buttons
Users can now book appointments directly through both Facebook and Instagram!
Businesses are now able to add “Book Now” buttons to their Facebook and Instagram profiles to directly reach their audiences, without having to link out to a different website.
Once a user selects the date, time, and services they want, and have clicked “request appointment,” they will be redirected to a Facebook Messenger conversation with the business, where the two parties can confirm the appointment and address any questions.
1) Hidden like counts
For some Canadians, Instagram is now hiding like counts to encourage users to focus on what content they share, rather than how many likes they get per post.
Audiences will not be able to see how many likes a certain post gets, but the person/brand who shared a post will still be able to see the total number of likes it receives by tapping on the post’s insights.
2) Insta shopping
Soon, users will be able to buy products directly on Instagram without leaving the app by clicking on tagged products in the post.
3) Donations sticker on Instagram stories
Users can utilize the donation sticker and support their favourite causes, directly from the Instagram app. 100% of proceeds raised on the app go to the selected non-profit organization.
This feature will give non-profit organizations a new way to crowd-fundraise, as Instagram users are able to raise money for causes that they care about directly on their stories.
4) Branded content ads
Advertisers now have the ability to boost influencer or partnered content, as Ads on Instagram. With branded content Ads, businesses will be able to promote their brand through different creator’s voices, reach new audiences, and measure the impact of their partnerships.
1) Added media to retweets & quoted tweets
Twitter now allows users to add photos, videos, and GIFs to retweets and quoted tweets. This feature is currently only available on mobile and will be added to the desktop version shortly.
2) Account switching option on desktop
Twitter recently launched a new simplified account switching option on the web version of the platform. By logging into mobile.twitter.com, users can now switch between handles faster, without having to log out and back in again!
Do you have any questions about these new and upcoming social channel updates?