It’s crazy that this is just the beginning of September but pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin spice this and that are already out in full force! Here are the latest social media updates you need to know to adapt to your digital marketing to continue to be effective in the ever-changing world of social media and online marketing.
There is banter from secret sources leaking information that Instagram is in the process of developing an app that allows you to view goods from merchants you follow on Instagram and purchase them directly on the app. Instagram has not confirmed anything, but with over 25 million businesses already on Instagram, this would be a great way for them to break into e-commerce and expand their opportunities. The Verge covered this news and gave the details they have as of now.
If Instagram can pull off having a separate app for merchants to sell goods directly, it could be beneficial to b-2-c businesses because the consumer could purchase the item they are interested in directly on Instagram shopping and not have to leave the site. As we all know, sales online are always impacted by ease-of-use. The less friction and steps, the more sales go through. This could help increase businesses sales along with making a wide variety of products available to prospective consumers all in one place.
How can you prepare? Cultivate an active following on Instagram. Get experienced with posting, stories, videos, and also using hashtags and commenting on followers comments. It’s about engagement at the top of the funnel!
Stay tuned for more on an Instagram Shopping app!
Twitter has been testing a Facebook-like reply threading and status indicators in efforts to be more conversational. This is a direct look-a-like to what’s common on Facebook. Facebook users are experienced with threaded comments and anyone using Facebook Messenger is aware of the “green” status icon alerting you that this person is online now.
A pro and a con in my opinion. First, the pro. Threaded comments are a “finally” feature for Twitter when they fully roll out. Too many tweets disappear and it’s hard to follow them. This will hopefully bring more engagement and longer conversations to the Twitter-sphere. Again, it means your brand must be ready to comment, respond, and talk with followers. This is the new marketing world….engagement and dialogue.
And now the con. I don’t want everyone knowing when I’m online and reaching out to me just because they see a green light! Social is already so 24/7 that giving online status indicators is in my mind a bad thing to do. Let’s see what happens with this one and if there is an outcry from others as well.
A year ago Facebook Watch was released in the U.S. and it has given people in the U.S. a place to find shows, live events, video creators, and basically, watch “TV” in another format. Now in the next phase, people around the world can interact with each other through videos on Facebook Watch.
Facebook Watch is a way businesses can post regular video content that people globally can view and interact with. Video is becoming increasingly more and more important as viewers prefer video content to text and even images. So with it going global, it can be an opportunity for many businesses to increase their audience and potentially grow their business market. This makes Facebook Watch going global an important new update.
That’s your weekly dose of social media updates that matter!
Speaking of Instagram...if your business is needing either a starting guide or a next step more advanced guide to getting going on Instagram, I’ve got you covered! I’ve got ebooks for both just released with updated content.
See you in 2 weeks with another update!
