While social media was once a means of connecting with friends, it has become a staple in virtually all aspects of everyday life. From professional networking to creative expression and digital marketing, there are near-endless ways to utilize the many social platforms available today.
In 2010, Mashable declared June 30th “World Social Media Day” to recognize the impact of social media on modern communication and global connectivity. To celebrate, we’re sharing some of the top headlines to be aware of and updates to look out for this summer. Let’s take a look!
1.   LinkedIn Polls
While networking was once LinkedIn’s primary function, today, the site offers a number of opportunities to share business insights, communicate with other professionals, recruit employees, and even advertise your products or services. In May 2020, the platform began testing a new feature focused on boosting engagement: native polls.
LinkedIn polls function similarly to polls on other platforms (like Twitter and Instagram). Users can create a survey, type in their question, and add up to four answer options. Then, they can choose how long they want the poll to run (with a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of two weeks). The surveys can be shared with all connections, specific groups, or individual users.
2.   Facebook Buys Giphy
GIFs are everywhere, from iMessage to Reddit and even Outlook emails. This popularity is in part due to Giphy, one of the largest GIF databases on the internet. In May 2020, Facebook acquired Giphy for a whopping $400 million. The social media giant plans to integrate the GIF library into Instagram and other Facebook-owned apps. This will make it easier for users to share Giphy’s content on Instagram stories and in direct messages.
3.   Facebook Shopping
What if you could watch videos, chat with friends, and shop from your favorite stores, all in one place? Facebook is offering exactly that with its new business to customer (B2C) option on the Facebook Marketplace.
The marketplace was once reserved for customer to customer (C2C) sales, much like Craigslist. However, as of May 2020, Facebook is now allowing US-based businesses to sell their products directly through its platform. This is exciting news for eCommerce brands who already utilize Instagram shopping, as it opens the door to a new audience and whole host of targeting options.
4.   New Facebook Comment Engagement Stats
It’s no secret that engagement is an important aspect of social media. In fact, it’s one of the most common key progress indicators (KPIs) that social media marketers and brands track to determine the effectiveness of their campaigns. In the past, many engagement-focused stats have been limited to comments, likes, and shares from other social media users. However, few platforms provide insight into how brands’ interactions on their own posts affect engagement rates. Facebook is looking to change that by highlighting the impact page managers’ comments make on specific posts. With this update (released in June 2020), Facebook will share insights that demonstrate how many more impressions and reactions posts receive when page managers comment on them.
5.   Instagram Messenger Integration and “Plans” Stickers
In January 2019, Facebook unveiled its plan to integrate messaging on Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. At the beginning of June, the platform took a small step towards this goal by unveiling a new option that allows users to view Messenger messages in the Instagram Direct inbox. However, this function has only been released internally for testing purposes.
The platform is also testing a new “Plans” sticker on Instagram, which enables users to schedule an online meet-up within the app. This could prove beneficial for brands, who will be able to use it to promote events and allow followers to register for them through the sticker.
6.   Facebook Marketing Emails
In early June 2020, Facebook began testing a new function for the Facebook Pages app that allows users to send customizable marketing emails via their page. This is big news for digital marketers and brands, as it enables page managers to utilize the platform as they would a customer relationship management (CRM) system – with all marketing messages (including Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and promotional emails) existing in one place.
To utilize this function, page managers will first need to confirm the email address associated with their page. Then, they can add email contacts to their database individually or by uploading a spreadsheet. Managers must also confirm that they have permission to send messages to those contacts. After this is complete, users can fill out the email template, which includes space for a subject line, preview text, and body content.
Take Advantage of Everything Social Media Has to Offer with Help from an Expert Team
With so many exciting things to look forward to on social media, it’s important to have a trusted team by your side to help you navigate the changes. Luckily, Zero Gravity Marketing is here to assist with all of your social media needs, from developing effective strategies to community management and more.
Contact us today to learn more about our Social Media Marketing services!
