Social Media Changes and Their Business Impact

Social media companies continue to add or update features in an attempt to increase the time users spend scrolling through posts. Do you know how these changes will impact your company?

Recently, Facebook and Twitter announced changes that will impact how your business interacts with its followers. Learning how to integrate them will help you more effectively promote your products and services on social media in ways your audience is expecting. Read on for Facebook and Twitter updates to be aware of.

4 Updates to Facebook

 

With 1.6 billion active users as of January 2016, Facebook is the largest social media platform. In order to stay on top, it is continuing to add features to its many services as a way to keep users on the site and app.

1. Video content

Social media users are craving video content, so many platforms incorporated video auto-play in their news feeds. Now, Facebook has gone a step further and offered the ability to share live video streams with everyone in the U.S. using an iPhone.

This could lead to an increase in organic visibility for businesses, which has dropped substantially in the past four years — from 16% in February 2102 to 12% in October 2013 and down to just 6% in March 2014.

The live videos will show up in the News Feed, and while watching one, a Subscribe button will allow users to be notified the next time a video goes live.

This feature could be a great tool for businesses to show off with a behind-the-scenes tour, a product demonstration or a service showcase.

2. Instant Articles

In an attempt to solve the problem of articles taking too long to load, Facebook has created a way for publishers to share interactive articles that load immediately via a lightning bolt icon in the top right corner of a post. The capabilities include interactive pictures, videos and animated maps, allowing for a layering of information.

Because good stories are shareable, Instant Articles will help content reach more people in a quick, seamless way. With the ability to customize typeface, color and layout, this feature will help businesses uniquely represent their brand

Though this feature has only been released to a limited selection of publishers participating in a beta program, if Facebook can redesign and modify it to solve the issues raised by testers, it could be opened up to a wider circle of content creators.

3. Messenger

Last year, Facebook launched Business on Messenger, for a select number of U.S. companies. It’s a new way to engage customers by having personal conversations in real time. This allowed users to easily send information, such as order confirmations or shipping updates, and encouraged the consumer to reach out to the business if they had a question or an issue.

In 2016, Messenger is continuing its efforts to improve the communication between customers and businesses. With goal of giving users the experience of buying an item and talking to customer service in the same app, expect to see even more opportunities for businesses to create a positive experience

4. Facebook M

Considering the digital assistants Siri and Cortana, it might seem like Facebook M is at a disadvantage. However, it makes up by being a more powerful virtual assistant than its counterparts.

The key difference that makes the Messenger-based digital assistant unique, and ultimately more user-friendly, is a mix of artificial intelligence and actual people. If technology alone can’t answer a request, a Facebook employee, or M trainer, will be there to take over.

Though Facebook M was only offered to a few hundred users in the San Francisco area last summer, it is anticipated to ultimately reach everyone. This feature could help connect businesses to customers who are specifically looking for a product or service the company provides.

4 Updates to Facebook Ads

 

In addition to incorporating new features for users, Facebook is also changing how they interact with businesses’ advertisements. Check out the following four changes.

1. Call Now

Instead of having to click through from an ad to a company’s Facebook page to get contact information, there is now the option on including a Call Now button directly on the ad. By eliminating the need for potential customers to have to search for a way to get in touch, this addition is an important lead-generation tool.

2. Carousel Ads on Mobile

Although carousel ads have been an available option on the full site for a while, Facebook recently began offering it on its mobile app. This allows advertisers to show multiple images, each with its own link, in a single post. It’s both a creative and engaging way to share content and the format incorporates the sideways swiping users are already familiar with.

3. Updated Ad Tools

It will soon be possible to create advertising for Facebook and manage ads with one Tool. Updates coming to Facebook’s Ads Manager offer bulk-editing for several ads at once and a simple way to copy just one ad or an entire campaign. Data on how a business’ ads are performing will be also be easier to find, as Facebooks puts both ad creation and metrics in one place.

4. Ads Manager App

Businesses can now manage advertising campaigns on the go with the release of the Ads Manager app. Features include creating and editing ads, adding photos, tracking performance, adjusting the ad schedule or revising the budget. The ability to receive push notifications means you can also stay up-to-date without being tied to a desk.

5 Updates to Twitter

 

With 320 million active users as of January 2016, Twitter is in the top 10 when it comes to social networks globally. In order to attract even more users, it is continuing to improve its services for both consumers and businesses

1. Timeline

Since the platform launched back in 2006, the Twitter users have viewed tweets in reverse chronological order, with the newest ones at the top of the screen. Recently, the company chose to tweak its timeline’s algorithm to show what it deems important tweets users may have missed since the last time they logged in.

While some responded to the news by predicting the change would ruin the network (remember hearing about #RIPTwitter?), this update might turn out to benefit businesses that are able to engage their followers. By creating great content and encouraging people to retweet or like your tweets, you increase the chances that they will show up in the new timeline.

As you make changes to your marketing strategy for Twitter, use the company’s Best Practices guide to help you boost the effectiveness of your efforts.

2. Polls

One way to get followers to engage with your content is to create a poll. They’re a great way to allow your audience to make their voices heard and gives you insight into what your potential customers are thinking.

Voting on polls lasts 24 hours, and you can create two options to choose from. Those who participate do so anonymously, and the results remain public. Even though having just two poll answers might not seem like enough options, it’s an opportunity to get creative and think outside of the box.

3. Conversational Ads

At the beginning of the year, Twitter took the engagement of promoted tweets to the next level with conversational ads. This new feature allows businesses to include “call to action” buttons with customizable hashtags.

Every time a follower clicks on the button they prefer, a message you created pops up for them to tweet. Your message can include your business’ Twitter handle and is a great way to spread hashtags you want to associate with your company or products.

It’s similar to retweeting, but the engaged user’s tweet will look like an original post instead of just sharing what someone else has already said. Also, the original ad will be included so others will have the ability to interact. As a bonus, the customer will receive a thank you message for participating.

4. Increased Character Limit

Twitter is maybe best known for its 140 character limit for posts. This had led to lots of creativity, like choose your own adventure games and an entire novel delivered in 280 separate tweets, but it can be tricky to include everything you want to say in one post.

A tweet by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey earlier this year recognizes that users are tweeting screenshots of text and speculates what the platform could be like if they were allowed to put that text into the tweet itself. Since then, there have been rumors that the company will expand its character limit to 10,000.

What does this mean when it comes to marketing your business on the site? First, part of the reason for the change is to encourage more people to sign up, which would increase the number of people your marketing will reach. It also has the potential to improve your SEO since the longer content can include more keywords and be indexed.

However, you shouldn’t lose that 140 character mindset completely as it looks like tweets longer than that will not be posted in their entirety; users will have to click to expand it further.

What won’t change is the need for content you post to Twitter to be engaging and have personality. Making sure what you share is readable and has substance will remain vital for grabbing your follower’s attention.

5. Buy Now Button

Following in the footsteps of Pinterest and Instagram, Twitter has added a “buy now” button. The company has teamed up with a handful of e-commerce platforms, and retailers that partner with those platforms can now offer their products for sale via a tweet.

When a customer makes a purchase this way, the order will be handled just like it would be if it had been made on the business’ website. This new feature is a great way to get your products or services in front of your followers and offer them a convenient way to purchase them without the hassle of interrupting their Twitter experience.

Have you heard about any more changes to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter? What do you think about them and the impact they will have on your company?

 

Special Offer: Complimentary Consultation

Three Girls Media, Inc. is a public relations and social media management agency founded in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley with a team in the Seattle area. We love working with small and emerging companies across the nation to raise their brand awareness and name recognition. We offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation with our CEO and can answer your questions and discuss your specific marketing needs.

Call 408-218-2391 or Contact us today to arrange yours!