Social Media Updates From January 2019

Voted #1 Best Branding Agency in Nashville, Brentwood & Franklin TN

Written by: Nice Branding Agency

Categories: Other Tips

Published On: 1.16.2019

Our social media company strategies are ever-evolving, especially with so many social media changes. So many new features were released in January, many of which we think can help brand accounts to put their content in front of their target audiences. Here are the changes our social media company that we think you really should know about. 

Social Media Company | Facebook Releases Collaborative Group Stories

Collaborative group stories on Facebook were tested earlier this year so that page admins could better engage with communities. Collaborative stories enabled members of a group or attendees to contribute to a story that can be seen by the entire group. Recently, this feature was released globally, so admins can enable group stories and collaborators can start posting! Admins have the option to monitor member stories and mute individual members. Social media changes like collaborative group stories are steadily evolving to emphasize stories over the news feed. Incorporating stories into your business’ social media marketing plan in a way that is appropriate for your industry is imperative as stories continue to gain greater momentum.

Social Media Company| Share Collections on Facebook

Facebook Collections have been out for a while. Collections on Facebook now gives users the option to “save” posts, videos, Marketplace listings and ads into a list. These “collections” of content have made it easy to go back and find specific posts from friends and pages you follow. You can name each collection for easy organization, much like a Pinterest board. However, now you can share your collections with your friends. Facebook noted that users have increasingly been utilizing collections to organize ideas for inspiration, events, and projects. Shareable collections will make this a more collaborative, engaging tool for users. For brands, social media changes like Facebook shared collections create a new opportunity to promote content. Widely shared collections will help get your posts into the hands of people who are really interested in your content.

Social Media Company | Instagram Voice Messaging in Direct Messaging

Instagram just keeps rolling out ways to keep users in touch. After a period of testing throughout 2018, voice messaging within direct messages has been released across the platform. Within a direct message, users can hold down the new microphone icon and record a message. The messages can be up to a minute long. Sent voice messages don’t expire, so you can listen to them again in the future. Voice messaging is available in other apps, like WhatsApp and on Facebook. However, a key benefit of voice messaging on Instagram is that it takes away the need to type. Voice messages make it faster to communicate. Additionally, voice messages can make it easy to communicate in different languages. Some languages aren’t as easy to type out and are more easily spoken. Facebook and Instagram’s second-biggest market is India, so while some might see the addition of voice messaging as is a fun new way to communicate, it actually provides a practical function for users in regions or markets with more diversity.

Social Media Company | Post to Multiple Accounts at Once on Instagram

This one is a heavy hitter for anyone who manages multiple Instagram accounts. Instagram is releasing an update so that a single post can be published to several Instagram profiles at once. While this is great for social media managers who are maintaining similar content for several accounts (picture a chain of restaurants which has a unique Instagram profile for each of their locations), it can be dangerous to create large amounts of duplicate content. The crossover potential between audiences will determine if this new “double posting” will be a good idea. However, “big” brands like Nike with several different pages to run will be able to use the feature to promote major sales, events, or updates to all of their pages at once.

Instagram is Testing a Feed View That Functions Like Stories

Stories are now available everywhere, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and obviously Snapchat and Instagram. Facebook has repeatedly emphasized that stories are the future of sharing on social. A new format for the standard Instagram feed is being tested. In this feature, users can swipe through content instead of scrolling, changing the use of the feed to be just like the use of stories. Rumor has it that the side-swiping format for the feed could end up being optional, so users can pick their preferred format for their feed. As user behavior is evolving, favoring the “stories” format, we predict that this change, could be the new norm in a month or two.

Social Media Company | Pinterest's Recommendation Algorithms Are Improving

Pinterest is getting better and better at finding and showing users relevant content. An update to the Pinterest algorithm is prioritizing relevant content over popular content in its recommendations. Before, it would recycle popular content. However, now the platform is prioritizing showing users content that they are likely to be interested in. For businesses, this means that your presence on Pinterest is increasingly more likely to be shown to pinners who are truly interested in your content. Pinterest populates more than 10 billion recommendations every day, so adding your content onto the platform in 2019 is a great way to get in front of your target audience. Brand account strategies on social aren’t always about being trendy; it takes some discernment to know what social media changes will benefit your brand and which ones are truly just made for the teens (we’re looking at you, rainbow filter). Need help determining what’s what online? Call the team at Nice Branding Agency and let us sort out your social.