Social media is constantly improving and adapting to user habits. As online communication becomes more important than ever, it’s vital for businesses to be aware of social media updates and stay on top of the game.
In this blog, we’ve been through the latest changes and shortlisted the key social media updates that we feel are most important for businesses. We hope you find these useful but if you have any questions please contact us here.
Facebook Business Suite
This new, one-stop-shop for businesses, allows you to manage Facebook and Instagram pages and profiles, as well as conversations from Messenger and WhatsApp, all from one place.
It’s not quite ‘Hootsuite’ in the respect that you can still only manage Facebook-owned platforms here. However, if you only use Facebook and Instagram for your business and would like to schedule posts to go out across both platforms at the same time, the Facebook Business Suite allows you to do just that!
The combined insights feature is also useful for businesses to monitor performance across both platforms.
On mobile, if you’re using the Pages Manager App, you’ll see the option to opt-in; if you aren’t, the Facebook Business Suite App is available on Android and iOS app stores.
Right now, Business Suite is only available for small businesses. But Facebook’s intention is to roll it out for businesses of all sizes next year so watch this space!
Facebook Messenger is taking over Instagram’s direct messages
The great messaging merge is here!
Facebook announced its plans last year to combine WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram direct messages on the same platform. This month, Facebook is starting that transition, with Messenger taking over Instagram’s private messaging tool for some users.
With this change, the icon on Instagram for direct messages will now be that of Facebook Messenger. The merge will allow cross-communication between platforms and users, it will also allow emoji reactions and swipe-to-reply abilities.
Ad limit for business pages
Facebook announced almost a year ago that they’d be imparting an ad limit on each individual page, restricting the number of campaigns they run.
By restricting volume, Facebook says it will help advertisers keep costs down and performance up as the system’s machine learning and personalisation options mean that high volumes aren’t necessary anymore.
More information has now been released about the ad limits which will roll out between February and the summer months in 2021. Find out more here.
Last year it seemed like this ad limit would only affect major corporations running more than something like 100k ads per month, however, from the latest update it’s clear that this isn’t quite the case.
These will be the new ad limits that determine how many ads can actively be running at a single time:
· 250 per page for small to medium pages
(these are pages with less than 100k in ad spend in their highest spending month over the past twelve months)
· 1,000 per page for medium and large pages
(these are pages with ads costs ranging from £100k to £1M in their highest spending month in the past twelve months)
· 5,000 per page for larger pages
(these are pages with £1M to £10M in their highest spending month over the past twelve months)
· 20,000 for “largest” pages
(these are pages with over £10M in ad spend in their highest month over the last 12 months.)
It is true that machine learning, improved algorithms, and options like dynamic ads make it possible for businesses to run fewer campaigns overall, and maybe restrictions on ad volume will make it easier for them to be approved faster or more reliably (fingers crossed!)
One thing to note, though: if you’re on the verge of the next tier and want those extra ads, pay attention now. You’ve got until at least February.
Facebook launches it’s “Test Posts feature”
The Facebook Test Posts feature finds the best performing variation of a post and publishes that post to the whole of the creator’s audience.
The creator can select up to four variations, the duration of the test, and parameters determining the winning post. These posts will circulate through a percentage of the audience and decide the winning post.
The feature is available below the ‘Create Post’ option in the sidebar of Creator Studio. A creator can set preferences as desired.
The feature is very similar to the learning phase for Facebook ads. The learning phase is a period when Facebook’s delivery system learns about the best places and people to show an ad.
The roll-out of Reels
Instagram has seized the opportunity to release Reels in more than 50 countries since TikTok has been banned in a number of countries. The feature allows people to record and edit 15-second videos with a selection of special effects.
Once created, they can be shared to the feed, Stories, and Direct, while public Reels also appear in a dedicated part of the Explore tab – in some countries, Reels has replaced the Explore tab altogether.
Many influencers and creators have jumped on board and in response, TikTok dropped $200 million into its Creator Fund. Expect competition for creators to intensify as companies like Twitter and Microsoft vie for TikTok ownership, and competitors like YouTube make moves of their own.
New fonts for Instagram Stories
After testing fonts, Instagram has made four new styles available for Instagram Stories, bringing the total up to nine. The inclusion of Comic Sans-like lettering revived the love-to-hate debate on Twitter, and also prompted reminders that the font is among the few that are disability-friendly.
Reels and Shops tabs tested on the home screen
Instagram is now testing three versions of the home screen that add shortcuts for the Reels and Shop tabs.
“These changes reflect shifts we’re seeing from people, both in how they use the product but also how they push culture forward on Instagram: rise of creators, explosion of video, acceleration of online shopping,” said Adam Mosseri, Instagram Head, in a post.
Source: Instagram
Social media updates can also be seen throughout a number of features on LinkedIn Pages. These have been brought in to help organisations stay connected to the communities that matter most to them.
The updates include helping Page Admins connect their employees, highlight upcoming events, and gain invaluable insights about their brand’s followers.
“My Company” Tab — Build a stronger employee community
Your employees aren’t just a workforce
They are the heart and soul of your business community and its most powerful advocates. When LinkedIn announced the integration of LinkedIn Pages and Elevate, they recognised that they could help organisations better engage their employees. This in turn will support in building stronger communities in a safe and trusted environment.
LinkedIn also introduced the “My Company” tab as a new space for employees. This was created to help bring your companies workforce closer together by helping them celebrate key accomplishments, increase engagement within the employee community, and connect colleagues with a single click.
The “My Company” tab includes new features such as employee milestones, trending content from coworkers, and recommendations to connect with people you may know at your organisation. In the future, they have confirmed they will also be adding more powerful tools, like the ability to curate unique content, broadcast content to employees so it can be shared organically, and measure the impact of reach — all for free.
“Events” tab — Showcase your upcoming events to drive viewership and engagement with target audiences
With more events moving online, organisations have found they offer incredible value in keeping industries, and the communities that they’re built upon, connected.
With the new “Events” tab, your Page automatically pulls in a view of past, present, and upcoming events on LinkedIn. The tab appears on the left-hand navigation of your brand’s Page. This makes it easy for followers and visitors alike to find and attend the events they care about.
“View Page Followers” — Get deep insight into the community you’re building
Previously, Page Admins could only see their aggregate number of followers and the general demographics of those followers. They lacked the tools and insights they needed to fully understand and grow their follower base.
In response, LinkedIn introduced a “View Page followers” feature to allow Admins to see individual members following their Page. This provides transparency to better understand audiences. Therefore, organisations can more easily share the right content and build their LinkedIn community around the conversations that matter most.
A few small social media updates have been seen rolling out on Twitter over the past few months, these include:
Direct Messages
- The media upload buttons in the DM composer will now dynamically show and hide on smaller screens. This give you more space for composing messages.
Quote Tweets
- “Retweets with comments” are now known as Quote Tweets. This change has been rolled out globally. Look for Quote Tweets between Retweets and Likes on the Tweet detail screen. And also the Quote Tweet option in the Retweet dropdown menu.
We hope you’ve found these October social media updates useful. If you have any questions or need any advice on using social media for business, please get in touch; info@pickandmixms.co.uk