Welcome to our April edition of the Social Media Snapshot! Every month we try to catch you up with a brief overview of what's been happening in the social media world as it pertains to businesses. This month, we're taking a look at all of the updates and new tools that various social media platforms have released- some of which we are very excited about!
Important Social Media Changes
The next major update to the iPhone operating system, iOS 14.5, will be released “next week,” according to Apple. As a result, Facebook and other social media platforms are going to be seeing some changes in how they track users and how marketers can use that data. Facebook provides insight on these changes and how you can prepare on their platform.
Facebook
According to Facebook's recent State of Small Business Report, more than half (55%) of small businesses say they're using digital tools to communicate with customers. As a result, Facebook decided to develop new tools and features to help businesses connect with their customers online and grow more efficiently. These include:
- Testing a new experience from News Feed where people can tap on topics they’re interested in under posts and ads in Feed, such as beauty, fitness or clothing, and explore content from related businesses.
- Giving businesses using the new Page experience new tools to manage their business Page, all without leaving the Facebook app.
- Launching the most requested features for Facebook Business Suite, including ways to publish and schedule Stories on mobile and desktop, save posts as drafts and edit scheduled posts.
- Introducing new optimization goals for ad campaigns and other features across Lead Ads, Call Ads and Click to Messenger Lead Generations.
Facebook is also working toward updating their algorithms in ways that users would like to see it changed. According to Facebook:
"This spring, we’re expanding on our work to use direct feedback from people who use Facebook to understand the content people find most valuable. And we’ll continue to incorporate this feedback into our News Feed ranking process."
Instagram
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has now officially confirmed the launch of a new test that will enable IG users to choose whether they display post Like counts or not within the app.
On the topic, Mosseri stated, "Last year we started hiding like counts for a small group of people to see if it lessens some pressure when posting to Instagram. Some found this helpful and some still wanted to see like counts, in particular, to track what’s popular. So we’re testing a new option that lets you decide the experience that’s best for you – whether that’s choosing not to see like counts on anyone else’s posts, turning them off for your own posts, or keeping the original experience."
Twitter
Twitter has outlined its latest algorithmic research effort, which it's calling its 'Responsible Machine Learning Initiative', which will monitor the impacts of algorithmic shifts. It consists of the following pillars:
- Taking responsibility for their algorithmic decisions
- Equity and fairness of outcomes
- Transparency about their decisions and how they arrived at them
- Enabling agency and algorithmic choice
Snapchat
Snapchat is now being used by 280 million people every day, a 22% increase in year-over-year performance, and the app's biggest increase in its YoY usage growth in more than 3 years.
Pinterest
Pinterest is expanding its partnership with Shopify to include 27 more countries. They are also launching multi-feed support for Catalogs, a new feature allowing businesses to easily upload their products in multiple product feeds within the same Pinterest Business account.
Pinterest also introduced a new Content Claiming Portal designed to help users claim their content and to decide how it appears.
Reddit
Reddit recently shared the first look at their new "Reddit Talk" audio feature that is designed to rival Clubhouse. You can currently sign up for their waitlist to try out the feature before it's fully launched.
TikTok
TikTok recently launched its Business Creative Hub for its users that desire inspiration for new content to post. According to TikTok, "The Hub offers guidance on content creation and a steady stream of trending content to help you learn from best practices and turn creative ideas into TikTok videos."
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