3 Social Media Changes You Need to Know About

change_post.pngFast-paced and ever-changing, once again there are several big changes in the realm of social media that will affect marketers in the months to come. In this post we want to highlight 3 social media changes in particular that you should be aware of. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, three of the most popular social media platforms, have all recently announced something to have on your radar:

Facebook Live

Facebook Live is a feature that offers live-streaming video capabilities to users. The good news is once your live video ends, the video will stay on your timeline to view forever. There are also Facebook Live insights that allow you to collect data about your live viewers. You have the option to boost your video once the broadcast has ended, just like any other post. Taking advantage of this new tool could significantly increase the engagement on your page, but we recommend having a “camera ready” personality at hand to take on this feat. Here are some basic tips for successfully marketing on Facebook Live.

  1. Announce your broadcast on Facebook days in advance.
  2. Create a compelling headline for your broadcast.
  3. Interact with viewers and answer questions.
  4. Consider working with a known blogger or influencer with on-camera experience to handle your broadcast
  5. Have an incentive for viewers to stick around until the end.

Twitter Characters

Gone are the days that you have to sacrifice valuable characters in your tweet to add necessary media. Twitter has announced that pictures, videos, links and mentions will no longer count against your 140 character limit. This added flexibility will allow you to get your point across in 140 characters while also having the freedom to add photos, videos, GIFs and links as you please. The update is expected to roll out in the coming months. Here’s what these changes mean for marketers.

  1. You no longer have to waste time trying to configure your message around necessary media.
  2. You can now retweet or quote yourself when you have a fresh view or think a great tweet didn’t get enough attention.
  3. You can expand your reach without sacrificing the meaning of your message.
  4. You no longer have to use the shortcut .@ at the beginning of a tweet when you want all of your followers to see a mention.

Instagram Analytics

In addition to a controversial announcement of an algorithm update, Instagram is (finally!) preparing to launch a series of new tools for businesses and brands, including much-anticipated analytics. Analytics are a crucial part of any social media strategy, so this update is long overdue. This data will allow you some insight into what’s working for your brand and what isn’t, as well as who is digging your content. So in short, what does this mean?

  1. You will be able to see demographics like location, gender and age of your followers.
  2. Your top posts will be sorted by impressions to see what content is working best.
  3. You will be able to see when your followers are online so you know optimal times to post.
  4. These insights will allow you to better strategize and plan for future content on Instagram to predict what will perform well.

Like every other social media update ever, we will adapt to these changes with time. The GREAT news is that we believe these changes are all in favor of thoughtful marketers like you! Are you looking for more ideas and strategy recommendations to optimize your social media presence? We can help you make improvements in just 30 days – here’s how.