October was a busy month for all our favourite social media platforms!
First up, Facebook!
Contrary to the belief that Facebook usage (including ourselves) has been declining, their Q3 update released showed that they are continuing to add users worldwide. However you will see that Europe and the U.S./Canada are quite static.
Here are a couple of changes they’ve made this month:
They have removed the ability to schedule a post on desktop for some users unless you’re posting from the “Publishing Tools” page. This probably makes it easier for those of us that bulk schedule but it’s slightly annoying to lose it completely from a page post.
However, there is good news on the scheduling tools front!
Facebook is reportedly testing a new option within its post scheduling options which would enable Page admins to reach their audiences when they’re most active on the platform. It’ll be interesting to see if this comes in as it could be a very useful tool for marketers.
Was your business verified on Facebook via their grey tick?
From now on, all those grey ticks will be gone. Facebook have made this move because users were confused between those and the blue ticks, which are for public figures, media companies and brands.
Now my favourite…. Instagram!
Instagram (at least it feels like it to me when I’m updating my training presentation!) are always updating different things on the platform. Whether it’s Stories or different user tools, there’s always something new in the pipeline.
They’ve changed the whole layout of their Stories screen for users.
You were able to previously swipe along the bottom for the different tools such as Boomerang and Live, now there is a ‘Create’ option including different Story formats such as a GIF screen, templates to encourage engagement with your followers, and other options such as poll, quiz and countdown which were available previously as stickers.
They are also testing a new sticker as seen by Jane Manchun Wong, called ‘Invites‘ which allows users the chance to RSVP to the sticker once posted. If this comes to pass, it would be a great way to interact with followers working similarly to events on Facebook.
Another interesting test coming soon will be Instagram sorting users ‘Following‘ lists into different categories including different topics.
Business accounts will fit under the different topics that they would have chosen in their Instagram settings. An interesting list to see will be the ‘least interacted with’ and ‘most shown in feed’, based on the user’s activity.
This could encourage users to unfollow some business accounts, so make sure your content stays engaging for your followers!
Messaging!
Instagram is finally introducing new features to their messaging to allow businesses to reply instantly to messages when they’re not available and also to set up an away message. This will be very useful to help communications with customers and ensure no-one is left waiting without an answer.
Finally…. LinkedIn are launching their own events feature!
It looks like it works similarly to Facebook Events, and it also gives you the option to invite specific people to an event. This will be great for anyone organising networking events, product launches or any other professional events.
That’s it until next month..thanks for stopping by!
Alma
Alma Brosnan is part of the Digital Marketing team providing Social Media Consultancy and Training services at Fuzion Communications from our offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland
