Welcome!

This is the very first edition of Digital Digest, a new monthly round-up of platform updates, specifically designed for in-house teams and small businesses. It will include bite-sized and easy-to-action information so that you have the info you need without feeling overwhelmed.

From next month, there will be a section on analytics and all things web-related from the brilliant Laura McKenzie at Cloudy Day Digital.

And if it would be helpful, I can include some tips on paid social too.

I hope it's helpful, let me know what you think!

Helen

Platform Updates

LinkedIn

LinkedIn hasn't escaped the push to video and in-feed video carousels have landed (was that a groan I heard from the back).

I'm not sure how I feel about this - is it just another platform that is going to force us all to become professional content producers? ??♀? Do senior professionals have the time or inclination? Will it just drown the rest of us out?

Time will tell on this. I've been experimenting across a number of accounts with mixed results. I'm going to keep going though!

Hashtags may well be a thing of the past as LinkedIn has improved its semantic search capability. This means, that LinkedIn's AI is smart enough to pull the keywords from your copy and return your posts in searches. I'm testing this out too as I've definitely noticed an increase in engagement from those who aren't connections when I use certain hashtags. Watch this space for more info.

Facebook

Meta is developing new tools to let bots handle interactions with your customers on the platform...again...

This is the third iteration of Meta trying to get us to use AI to handle our conversations and this time, they promise that the bot will learn our style and tone.

The trouble is, real customer satisfaction comes from engaging with a real human. We all know when we are interacting with an automated service, and it has its place. I just remain unconvinced that consumers want a more realistic bot interaction rather than just a human interaction when they have a tricky issue to resolve.

Let's see what becomes of this...

Instagram

It's not only Facebook trying things out again. Remember when Instagram tried to get us all to move away from the Insta-square? Well, they're at it again and are trialing vertical profile grids.

This is rolling out slowly and means that some of your existing and carefully designed posts may end up looking less than well designed ??.

Another feature on the roll-out is the ability to display your Reels on your profile's main grid AND reels grid, or your Reels only grid.

If you are someone who likes to keep a carefully crafted aesthetic, then I'd opt for displaying on a Reels-only grid. If you want the value you provide to be easily visible, share to both.

You will soon be able to share up to 20 images in a carousel - up from the usual 10.

TikTok

In a VERY exciting development, TikTok and Eventbrite have partnered up to make event promotions and ticket sales easier. I've got several clients in this space and we will definitely be taking advantage of this.

X / Twitter

Is anyone still focusing on Twitter? I've been part of so many conversations about whether brands should stay or go. It's a tricky one and there was good conversation about it over on my post from last week. Check it out if it's something you are currently debating.

Anyhoo, users in Europe are declining and they are struggling to get their video offering off the ground due to lack of advertiser interest.