May Social Media Updates: Facebook and IGTV
Welcome to June! As Q3 creeps up on us, it’s time to get your marketing strategy in gear. May’s social media updates include some algorithm changes and new features for both Instagram’s IGTV and Facebook. To help with your quarter 3 social media strategy, here are 3 social media updates we noticed this past month.
Facebook Rewards Pages Who Post Original Content
Since the beginning of 2019 we’ve seen multiple updates come to Facebook, from new additions to Facebook Stories to updating Facebook group features. Well, Facebook is back with another update and this time they are updating their algorithm. The new algorithm rewards engaging video content. Facebook will be looking at how long viewers watch your video, how they engage, and how often they rewatch your video content. When scheduling your videos, keep these three things in mind: consistency, valuable content, and optimization. Your video content moving forward should be consistent, share valuable information, and be optimized for search.
Instagram Adds Support for Landscape Videos in IGTV
Many Instagram users opted out of using IGTV because they weren’t creating vertical video content. As of May 24, 2019, IGTV supports landscape video, meaning you can upload that listing video of yours that’s longer than one minute. Instagram said they listened to creators and viewers that wanted to watch videos in a more “natural way.” Now, you won’t have to reform your HQ videos. Will this mean IGTV will kick off by the end of 2019 with more popularity? It could! Instagram has taken strides to earn the public’s approval for IGTV, so we will see if IGTV finally takes off.
So, does this mean you should be creating content for IGTV as well? Now that Instagram has made sharing content on IGTV more accessible, we say: YES! In addition to adding support for landscape video, previews of your IGTV video now show up in the newsfeed, where previously, users had to head to your IGTV channel to see your video. With these new user-friendly updates, your IGTV videos should be more discoverable. So go ahead and give IGTV a shot!
Instagram Will Soon Add a ‘Join Chat’ Sticker for IG Stories
It’s no secret that Instagram Stories are gaining popularity– there are about 5 Million daily active users. What does this mean? It means that YOU should be using Instagram Stories too! If you are unsure on how to jump on the IG Stories trend, Instagram has made it easy by giving you an array of interactive stickers, such as “Quiz,” “Poll,” “Countdown,” “Questions,” and “Music.” Well, make way for a new sticker: “Join Chat.” It might seem strange to add a chat feature to an IG story that has a shelf life of 24 hours, but it actually makes sense when you look at the facts: IG Direct Messaging drives engagement. About 85% of the messages shared on Instagram are shared among the same three friends, which shows that private group messaging is gaining popularity within the platform.
So, how does that affect you? Well, this means you should integrate Direct Messaging into your marketing strategy. Financial advisors, here’s an idea: post a video series with some financial tips for Millennials, then add the chat sticker so viewers can join and chat about this topic in more detail. Not only will you continue the conversation, but you could also gain some leads!
That’s a wrap for last month’s social media updates. Do you think you can integrate some of these updates into your marketing strategy? If you think you need some help, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today.
