Social Media Updates For Your Business
Written By Melissa Carrick
Constant updates, new features and whatever Elon Musk is doing today - keeping up with social media can be an overwhelming full-time job. We have to admit, the constant changes can be frustrating but ultimately make our lives easier and are better for businesses alike. So we’ve searched through the good, the bad and the unnecessary to give you the latest and greatest social media updates that your business needs to know about.
Facebook Audience Targeting
The one thing we know and love about Facebook is that they allow us to target very specific audiences…until now. Recently, Facebook took away some of their key targeting categories that were honestly really important to some of our clients. Advertisers will no longer be able to target users based on health, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, political beliefs, health causes, religious practices and groups, social issues, causes and organizations.
These changes really narrowed down some of our audience targeting which meant our messages were reaching less people. So how can we continue to reach the correct audience?
Custom Audiences
Lookalike Audiences
Location Targeting
A custom audience helps you connect with people who have already shown interest in your business or product. This can include several sources such as a website, customer list (emails), app activity, videos, Instagram account, lead form, events, Facebook page, shopping or a Facebook listing.
After creating a custom audience, you can create a lookalike audience to reach new people who are likely to be interested in your business because they share similar characteristics to your existing customers. To create a lookalike audience, our system leverages information such as demographics, interests and behaviors from your source audience to find new people who share similar qualities. When you use a lookalike audience, your ad is delivered to that audience of people who are similar to (or "look like") your existing customers. From there you can narrow down your audience by age, location and interests.
You can also select your audience size. You may think the bigger the better but that is not necessarily the same. You want your lookalike audience to match as closely as possible, so it is recommended to select between 1-2% which shares the closest characteristics. As you adjust, the estimation reach will increase. Test this as 1% and if you need to adjust later, you can.
But if you want to reach a broader group of people than you originally defined, you can use detailed targeting expansion to help improve your campaign performance. This option will show your ad to additional people and offer cheaper results.
Instagram Stories Link Sticker
Instagram really did us all of a favor this time by finally taking away the 10K follower requirement to have a link in your story. Say goodbye to the swipe up feature and hello to the new “Link” sticker that allows you to direct customers to your website from your story. To add a link sticker:
Capture or upload content to your story
Select the sticker tool from the navigation bar
Tap the “Link” sticker to add your desired link and then tap “Done”
Place the sticker on your story then tap for color variations
So while you still can’t put a link directly in a post and have to use the “link in bio” feature, the link sticker for stories is a great way to send people directly to your website for more information, to register for an event, to buy your products and more endless opportunities!
Other IG updates worth looking into:
60-second Instagram Stories
Updated Algorithms
The "Add Yours" IG Sticker
Twitter Professional Accounts & Communities
Did Elon Musk finally give us an edit button? No, but Twitter did roll out Professional Accounts and Twitter Communities to all users.
According to Twitter Business, Professional Accounts are a new tool that allows you to have a unique and clearly defined presence on the platform. Once you convert your account through settings, you will have access to a new business information display, product listings, a newsletter module and more. It’s pretty easy to do so we recommend making the switch!
Twitter also rolled out Twitter Communities which to our understanding is similar to a Facebook or LinkedIn group. Twitter Communities were created to give people a dedicated place to connect, share and get closer to the discussions they care about most. So, anyone on Twitter can become an admin or moderator of a community and enforce rules to keep conversations on topic. Tweets within the community can be seen by anyone on Twitter but only members can engage and participate with them.
LinkedIn Creator Mode Tools
”A big focus for LinkedIn this quarter has been adding more tools to help creators and soloprenuers maximize their opportunities, especially leading into the post-pandemic phase. ‘The Great Reshuffle’, as LinkedIn has dubbed it, which has been accelerated by the work from home shift, provides new opportunities for LinkedIn to act as a connective platform, enabling users to showcase their professional capabilities, while also helping employers find better matches for their open roles through its evolving HR tools.” - Social Media Today
The new opportunities for creators include:
New Content Alerts
New Profile Video Tools
New Creator Analytics
New Newsletter Feature
First, make sure your profile is in Creator Mode so you have access to these new features. Once you make the switch, you will now have access to LinkedIn Live Video which allows approved members to create live content on their page or host a live event. Creators can also leverage newsletters on LinkedIn. According to LinkedIn, “Starting a newsletter on LinkedIn means you’ll engage your audience from the minute you publish. LinkedIn makes it easy to invite all your connections or followers to subscribe when you create a newsletter. Also, after publishing each newsletter article, push, in-app, and email notifications are sent to all your subscribers to help drive views. You’ll get real-time feedback and comments from your readers, and you can understand how your content is doing with analytics.”
LinkedIn continues to grow as one of the most engaging platforms out there so you can expect to see more features rolling out soon.
Now what?
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that all of this could change tomorrow. That’s the beauty and the pain of social media. It’s always evolving and keeping us on our toes! The best way to stay up to date is subscribe to get the latest social trends and breaking updates straight to your inbox. We recommend the following:
What social media updates are you loving this year? Tell us in the comments!
