What new features on social media platforms are most important for Social Media Marketing?

Shorts video content has been a game changer since TikTok has introduced it, Reels on Instagram is a great way to get organic engagements and reach, but not only Instagram. In my experience I have found Reels working for Facebook as good as IG (sometimes even better) so do include reels in your FB strategy to get the most out of both Meta platforms. For Reels you just have to be yourself, be helpful and provide value, use auto-generated text and include text and hooks in your videos, remember in the starting 5 secs you need to grab your audience attention and retain that throughout the video, reels do great for both short and long content.

One piece of advice I got from one of the social media managers I consider to be a mentor is that if you are not doing videos to help you increase your reach as a brand, you are mostly missing out on potential growth opportunities. It's crucial to constantly analyze and optimize your social media strategies and include reels as a strategy to ensure you are effectively engaging with your target audience and maximizing your brand's visibility. Additionally, staying updated with the latest trends and platforms can help you stay ahead of the competition and attract new followers.

Short video content, like TikTok's, has been transformative. Instagram's Reels is a fantastic tool for organic engagement and it's not limited to Instagram alone. From my experience, Reels can work equally well or even better on Facebook. Incorporating Reels into your Facebook strategy can maximize the benefits of both Meta platforms. To succeed with Reels, be authentic, provide value, utilize auto-generated text, and grab your audience's attention in the first 5 seconds to maintain engagement, making it effective for both short and long content.

Crucial new features for Social Media Marketing: Stories and Fleets: Short-lived, visual content for engaging audiences. Live Streaming: Real-time interaction with followers. Shopping Tags: Direct product tagging and e-commerce integration. Social Commerce: In-app shopping experiences. Reels and Shorts: Short-form video content for higher engagement. Augmented Reality (AR) Filters: Interactive filters for user engagement. Chatbots: Automated customer service and engagement. Audio Spaces: Live audio discussions for audience interaction. NFT Integration: Exploring blockchain and NFT marketing opportunities. Algorithm Changes: Staying updated with platform algorithm adjustments.

At first glance, creating Reels might seem like a lot of work, but high-performing videos can be made in just a few minutes. For instance, record yourself doing something you already do (typing on your laptop, packaging products, etc.). Add some trendy music to the video, a catchy caption, and a few valuable thoughts in the description. It diversifies your carousel and photo posts, shows your true human personality, and provides insight into your work.

In an age where almost everyone is connected online, social media has become an invaluable platform for businesses to reach and engage with their target audience. Here are a few key points to consider: Brand Visibility: Social media offers an unparalleled opportunity to increase your brand's visibility. By maintaining an active presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others, you can ensure that your brand remains on the radar of potential customers. Audience Engagement: Social media provides a direct line of communication with your audience. Engaging with your followers through comments, likes, shares, and messages can help build a loyal customer base and foster brand loyalty. Linkedin will be more powerful.

Stories in Linkedin WAS a feature in LinkedIn long long time ago, which is currently not used but of course could always come back. New features come and go during the time and as social media marketing expert it is your job to be on track on them, modify your social media strategy and planning if needed.

Hey, AI robot overlords: LinkedIn stories were discontinued years ago. Also, ephemeral? ????♀? Try sharing a personal story as a post to share a bit of your background and help your audience get to know you.

This just shows how outdated these articles are. Fleets are no longer available. As a matter of fact, they haven’t been available for over 2 years. But I guess contributing to these articles will help me get a badge on LinkedIn so I will keep trying. If you are reading this, please like it.

Unlike fleets (a feature that saw it's last ray of sunshine already few years ago) newer features from X (formerly known as Twitter) that brands can use to entertain their audience include Hashmojis (formerly known as Branded Hastags), that allow for a partner to design a custom emoji, that appears on X whenever a certain hashtag is used, Hashfetti, a new, low-lift and highly visual feature that ads suprise and delight with rainin emojis in a confetti-like animation whenever the activated Hashmoji has been clicked, Branded like and Branded notifications.

Pinterest guides are a feature on the social media platform Pinterest that allows users to create curated collections of Pins (visual bookmarks) centered around a particular theme, topic, or idea. These guides are a way for Pinterest users to share their expertise and recommendations with their followers. Here's a short note on Pinterest guides: Curated Collections: Pinterest guides are essentially curated collections of Pins. Users can select and organize Pins from their own boards or search for Pins across Pinterest to create a visually appealing and informative guide. Focused Themes: Guides are centered around specific themes or topics. This can range from travel itineraries and recipe collections to DIY projects and fashion inspire

At the time of my last update, Facebook had several features related to communication and interaction, including: Messenger Rooms: Facebook introduced Messenger Rooms, which is a video chat feature that allows users to create virtual rooms for video calls. This feature was designed to compete with platforms like Zoom and Skype, and it allowed users to invite friends and family to join video chats, even if they didn't have a Facebook account. Groups: Facebook Groups are a way for users to create and join communities based on shared interests, hobbies, or topics. Within Groups, members can discuss, share content, and organize events. Groups can be public, private, or secret, depending on the level of privacy desired.

While the next big trend is always around the corner - as social media platforms and their effect on your marketing strategies are never ending - I find that it’s most important to stay consistent. Yes, experiment with new ways of sharing your brand message, but make sure that your story is consistent across a few solid features before venturing off to something else. This also includes jumping on and spreading yourself thin across all social media platforms (though, I always recommend securing your username even if you don’t readily use the app). Your forever fans don’t care that you’re using every app feature; but, they do care that you remain relatable, interesting, and unique to whatever drew them to you in the first place.

Instagram’s Broadcast Channels are seeing great engagement right now by the early adopters. It’s one-way communication, so not overly “social” but it’s a great way for brands to push messaging since it goes right to subscribes DMs.

From what I have observed, I see people and brands under-utilizing guides on Instagram. When a platform launches a new feature, the algorithm will automatically rig the content in its favour because they are trying to get people to use it. Consider what happened with reels on Instagram. Guides on Instagram are a great way to compartmentalize your content. It's easy for people to find. I think if travel pages used guides (guides to the best restaurants, guides to what to do in a new place), etc., it would make a lot of difference to how the followers perceive and engage with their content. We all go searching for things to do online, don't we? Just offer it on Instagram so the user doesn't have to pull away from your content.

Augmented reality (AR) filters and lenses became popular on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. Businesses used custom AR filters and lenses to promote products and engage users in a playful way. Staying updated on platform algorithm changes was crucial for social media marketers. Understanding how content was prioritized in users' feeds allowed marketers to optimize their strategies.

Consider as part of both sales and marketing the relatively new voice message feature on LinkedIn. A voice with a face via your profile can build a bit more genuine vibe when marketing and selling to prospective customers