New Image options for Facebook
There’s so much content online that it’s becoming much harder to grab your audience’s attention, even with visual content.
Facebook has the same problem. It needs to keep people on their platform longer and stop the fast scroll. It’s testing new ways for users, (personal profiles only at the moment) to display their still images.
There are new layout options that give you better ways to present albums of photos, and ‘Effects’ which add movement to your images. Nothing too exciting right now, just slow zooms and lighting effects.
Just like the 3D images, these new motion graphics could capture a scrollers attention for a little longer.
For Facebook, this means people will stay longer rather than scrolling by and leaving.
TikTok wants to educate you
How-to and tutorial content rules YouTube. Many people use it just to find out how to stuff. If you create great tutorials you’ll be onto a winner.
It seems TikTok wants some of the action. Some users are seeing a ‘Learn’ menu appear at the top of the screen alongside ‘Following’ and ‘For You’.
So if you are a TikToker or if you are building a TikTok strategy for 2021 you may get an algorithm boost if you post tutorial content.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/05/tiktok-tests-a-learn-tab-to-showcase-education-and-how-to-videos/
Facebook shares ad tips for the holiday season
What makes a good Facebook ad? Facebook wants to help us understand that.
In an article on their news site, they share tips for advertisers to use over the holiday season and beyond.
They recommend:
- Defining your brand voice and tailor it to your audience.
- Explain why your customer needs your product. Tell them about the benefits and why it’s unique.
- Use unique packaging to make your products stand out.
- Use retargeting ads to target people who left without buying or to target existing customers who haven’t bought in a while.
They’ve also included a formula for writing ad copy.
https://www.facebook.com/business/news/five-tips-to-increase-brand-awareness/#
Shopping buttons on WhatsApp
When we go shopping in real life we go to the same shops almost every time. Sometimes we branch out and try something new, but we will end up returning to the same shops over and over.
That’s what WhatsApp shopping reminds me of. Facebook and Instagram are throwing content our way to attract us. WhatsApp helps us sell to our existing customers.
This week, WhatsApp is testing a new ‘Shopping’ button which will appear at the top of business WhatsApp accounts and give you access to the shop catalogue.
It’s a great way to make it easy for existing customers to buy.
New Google Search Ranking Signals Are coming
How user friendly is your website? Google’s new ranking signals should help good websites shine.
As from May 2021 a new range of algorithm signals called ‘Core Web Vitals’ will apply to websites.
They centre around the usability and the speed of sites.
The first signal Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) relates to how fast key images on your site load.
First Input Delay (FID) is about how quickly someone can click or search after they click a link.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) relates to elements moving around as a site loads which can cause people to click the wrong links… Hello Facebook. These updates are more granular about the speed of your website and show us what Google believe is important.
They also mean when people do click to view your site they’ll have a better experience and stay longer.
Twitter carousel ads
Carousel ads are more interactive. When users engage with them by swiping through images, they are spending more time and more brain juice with your business.
Twitter has just released a new style of carousel ads and it should be available for everyone.
The ads can include up to 6 images that people can swipe through. Unlike Facebook there’s only one text element.
Twitter have been testing this for a while and have found that:
For Website Carousels, we saw on average, a ~15% increase in click-through rate relative to single-asset formats.
And for App Carousels, we saw on average, a ~24% increase in installs per impression relative to single-asset formats.
I’ve found carousel ads on Facebook can work particularly well for product based images. It gives people a chance to swipe and choose just like you would in a real shop. Will it be the same for Twitter?
Instagram Is Serious About Reels
How do you get more people to use your latest thing? You make sure they see it, or use it accidentally.
Instagram is about to change the home screen menu and it will feature Reels in the place of ‘Create’. The shop tab also shows up there.
The create button and the notification tag will now appear top right next to messages.
This means… we’ll accidentally hit the reels button a few times, we won’t miss it’s there. And it shows the commitment Instagram has to its TikTok rival. IGTV currently doesn’t have a spot on the homepage.
So once again. If you want more attention on Instagram, use Reels.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/12/21561099/instagram-reels-shopping-home-screen-tab-update
Get a headstart on Google Analytics 4 & understand the lingo with the GA4 phrase book
