4 New Social Media Features on the Networks You Know & Love

Can you recall where social media was 10 years ago? Facebook was still a network only open to those with a college e-mail address. Twitter had yet to officially launch.  LinkedIn and Instagram as we know it didn’t exist.

The social media landscape is constantly changing. New networks are being introduced every day and it’s exciting to watch how this affects B2B and B2C marketing, as well as for personal use. Read on to learn more about four of the latest changes in social media.

1. NEW REACTIONS ON FACEBOOK

For a long time Facebook users were perplexed about how to engage with content that wasn’t upbeat. For example, what if you wanted to show sympathy to a friend who recently lost a pet? Simply scrolling past the post may not have felt right, but neither did “liking” it.

Facebook recognized this interactive disconnect and added five new ways to react to content on Facebook, in addition to the beloved like button. The new emotions include “love,” “haha,” “wow,” “sad,” and “angry”.

To add a reaction, hover over the “like” button on desktop or hold it down on mobile to see your options, then choose the one you want to respond with.

According to Mark Zuckerberg, “love is the most popular reaction so far.”

Any predictions for future reactions? Comment below!

2. YOUR BUSINESS STORY ON FACEBOOK

One week after announcing new reactions, Facebook launched another feature called “Your Business Story.” Targeted at SMBs, this tool allows users to easily create a video for their page.

A helpful hint for those looking to take advantage of the tool: you’ll need to be logged into your personal account instead of the business page you want to manage.  Once you’re at the business story page, a drop-down menu will provide page options that you can create a story for.

First select 8 photos from the albums available on your Facebook account. Think ahead about the story you want to tell and adjust the order of your photos accordingly.

Next, write your story. I was surprised by how limited this was. Users are given the prompt “We’re in the business of…” and have 90 characters to answer. This is a great place to utilize your Tweeting skills in order to impart the most impactful message in a confined space.

Finally, you’ll choose a piece of music to accompany your story from four options. The first selection is a guitar track that provides a lighthearted feel. The next option is a crescendoing piano track, which tugs on your heartstrings (ideal for a non-profit’s story). The third track is a pop piece that can invigorate a story with energy. The last option is an uptempo bongo track that may not work for all stories, but will be the perfect fit for some.

Finally, your story is loaded up for review, with the option to edit futher or post it to your page.

It’s no surprise that Facebook also requests permission to share the story.

My advice? Say yes! I can’t imagine who would want to miss out on the opportunity that exposure from Facebook could bring.

Once there’s enough data to analyze, it’ll be interesting to see how this new tool affects engagement and what kind of developments will roll out in its wake.

3. ADDING MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS ON INSTAGRAM

Social media managers rejoice! Instagram users are now able to be logged in to more than one account at a time on their mobile app.

It seemed inevitable that a feature like this would eventually roll out considering the inconvenience of logging in and out of multiple accounts.

Once you learn where to find this feature, it’s extremely easy to navigate. Visit your profile page and select your options, then scroll down to add an account.

To toggle between accounts, visit your profile page, look for the handle at the top of the page (this can slightly vary in location depending on phone type) and select the dropdown. Voilà!

4. NUMERICAL LIKES ON INSTAGRAM

I’m counting this change as a win for individuals, but a loss for businesses.

For those who eagerly awaited 11 likes, and maybe didn’t get them, fret no more.

But for businesses, small as they may be, it was one more opportunity to get the company name seen and potentially attract new followers with similar interests.

Now, if only Instagram would upgrade their web interface to allow users to upload photos directly from their desktop. Either way, I predict many more tweaks and changes on the horizon.

Do you need help with your social media and marketing services?

Contact us to learn more!