Top 6 Latest Social Media Updates You Should Watch Out
It seems like everything we do these days revolves around social media. Whether we get there before our morning coffee to check updates from our friends and family or use it for advertising our businesses. The social media trend isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. If you spend a good portion of your day on these platforms, you’re not alone. In a recent survey found on Digital Information World, the average person spends 2 hours and 22 minutes a day online. This includes everything from scrolling through a Facebook timeline to posting pictures on Instagram.
While it may seem like a huge percentage of the day spent on social media, that is nothing compared to how many people access each of the platforms monthly. Facebook has reached nearly 2 billion active users regularly, with Instagram and Twitter at just over 1 billion.
Social media marketing is nothing new. It appeared shortly after social media took off. Just a few years ago. It wasn’t uncommon for a company to explode, seemingly overnight, by using social media as the catalyst. Just recently, user-generated content has been one of the best ways to utilize social media and attract a broader audience. A notable company that has done fantastic at this in 2019 was TheEverygirl, which saw an increase in followers, up to 800k, and growing, thanks to their hashtag strategy of sharing user-generated content.
However, just when you think you have a firm understanding of social media and how the features work for you, they go and change things. Fall of 2019 has been a busy few months of changes to most of the major platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. What are these changes? How will these affect your business and your marketing strategy? And importantly, how can you cope with the continually changing landscape of social media platforms and your marketing efforts.
How To Cope With Social Media Changes
Are you biting your nails, waiting for the next shoe to drop? With an evolving landscape and changes happening what seems monthly, it is enough to throw anyone for a tailspin. However, relax. You could get worked up, try and rework everything you have done, or make the changes in strides. True, staying ahead of the game is what makes a great marketer, but implementing the strategy is what keeps you on top.
Understand that social media and marketing will continue to go hand and hand. They will continue to update. They will all evolve. The goal for social media is making the process of others to connect easily and fun. However, it is an optimal place for businesses to reach a large audience, given that over a billion users are found on almost all platforms each month.
Being a social media strategist will keep you ahead of the pack. It will give your agency value. Most importantly, it will help your clients expand their marketing efforts and funnel more money to their brand. Having a social media strategist is the best option for executing the highest converting social media posts. You need to create content for more than designs sake, you can drive sales too.
Most significant Changes To Social Media in 2019 — Possible Changes in 2020
Perhaps you are aware of some of the changes that have been going on with social media. Maybe you aren’t. But there have been some massive updates that have come out you should know. As marketers, you must stay up to date. Let’s take a look at some of the major platforms on their own and what is happening.
#1 What Happened to Google+?
So by now, you have probably heard that Google+ is no more. We weep for it’s passing. Not really. This shouldn’t have come as a shock to most, as it wasn’t utilized by very many, and didn’t deliver the features we had hoped for. Google retired Google+ back in April of 2019, and for most marketers, there wasn’t much commotion about it. If anything it allowed us more time to focus our efforts in other areas.
#2 Simplified Shopping On Instagram
Instagram is rivaling Facebook for the top spot among the social media giants. In 2019, there have been a few updates to look for and put into action. The biggest change is that businesses can now promote sponsored posts from their influencers. What this means for brands is that they can set ad targeting. There is quite some setup that will take place for the brand and influencer, but it is well worth the increase in the marketing potential.
Source: TechCrunch
Another massive update for Instagram and one marketing agency should have taken notice of was the ability to do in-app checkouts. For e-commerce brands, this is another fantastic revenue source that has tremendous untapped potential. Now customers don’t even have to leave the app to make a purchase. This has streamlined the process for consumers. Brands can share pictures of their products; customers add these to the cart and complete the checkout. What could be easier?
