Spooky season is upon us, which means the times are changing, and so are things with the top social media platforms. In order to keep up with all the new tools and features coming and going (RIP IGTV which is now Instagram Video), we wanted to pull together the top trends happening on social.
We’re starting a new monthly blog series that will cover feature and tool updates across social that are relevant to any business owner, brand manager, consumer insight professional, and CMOs alike. Take a moment, as you’re reading our blog to think about how you can integrate a few of these tools and features in your social media strategy for the remainder of Q4 and into 2022.
Our Top 5 #SocialHit List
Below, you’ll find our take on September’s newest and most noteworthy social media platform updates.
Facebook, Instagram, & WhatsApp
The social media giant has been busy in September providing us with a long list of updates this time around. To make a long story short here is a quick snapshot of the #Haps:
#1
Facebook Business Suite had a few significant updates which include: File Manager (which allows businesses to create, manage, and post content in a more streamlined way). They also announced a Unified Inbox within Business Suite which allows businesses to manage emails and send out remarking-focused emails. Lastly, a new split-testing feature allows brands to create and compare numerous versions of a single post to see which resonates with a brands’ target audience.
#2
Messenger Features – these features help businesses reach customers no matter where they are in the customer journey. Updates include:
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- Advertisers can now select “all messaging platforms” as a way for users to message them after clicking on an ad. Facebook now automatically pulls up the chat option in the ad based on where a conversation is most likely to happen for that particular user.
- Click-To-Chat button – a new button that leads to WhatsApp from a brand or creator’s Instagram profile.
- “Quote Request” – a new page CTA button that allows users to request a quote from a brand through Messenger. It’s in testing right now, but it will allow businesses to select four or five questions to ask customers before starting a conversation to give them an accurate quote when starting the conversation.
#3
Facebook Reels – WHAAATTT! Reels has made its way to the big blue platform, however, only a select number of users have the feature currently – but it is happening on both Android and iOS.
#4
Twitter Communities is here – In September, Twitter began testing a new way to find and connect users with people who talk and are interested in similar topics. Within Communities, you can join relevant communities and tweet directly to that group and only members are able to reply. Just like Facebook group, there are moderation tools, including picking the topic focus, community rules, and invites to like-minded people. Just keep in mind that Communities are publicly visible so everyone can see what’s discussed, but this is just the start of Twitter’s ‘community-minded’ features.
#5
Paid virtual events – In September, LinkedIn unveiled its new push to generate more original content on the platform…enter Paid Virtual events. With the delta variant still ravaging communities around the world and more businesses transitioning to nearly all remote workforces, LinkedIn events have grown significantly. Because of this, it makes sense for LinkedIn to roll out a feature that helps industry expositions and conferences promote ticket sales and event attendance.
Partnering With B3
Our team loves staying on top of what’s happening on social. That is why some of the top Fortune 500 brands trust us to provide them with relevant recommendations, social listening & monitoring reports, community management, and unified metrics reports.
Through the use of a number of social tools and our robust social media audit, we take a deep dive into a brands’ presence as well as their competitors to understand what’s working and what’s not. We are always mindful of any new trends and relevant platform features which helps us identify any opportunities they’re missing out on. Learn More about receiving a free Social Consultation from the team at B3 Media Solutions.