TikTok boost post
If you want people to spend money with you, you need to make it easy. And that’s exactly what the ‘boost’ button on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn does.
This week TikTok announced it’s adding its version of Boost called ‘Promote’. All business accounts will be able to Promote videos directly from the video page or from Business Suite. You’ll be able to choose an objective; video views, website visits or followers and you’ll see results in the ‘Promote analytics tool’.
At the moment organic reach on TikTok is so good it may take a while to entice small businesses to click ‘Promote’.
LinkedIn ditches stories
Social media moves fast. Not so long ago Stories were the new shiny content type, now they are dying.
LinkedIn is following Twitter and removing stories from the platform. They’ll be gone by the end of September.
Feedback from users has been that they prefer content that stays on their profile, rather than stories that disappear.
According to Liz Li, Senior Director of Product at LinkedIn, stories will evolve “…into a reimagined video experience across LinkedIn.”
What will this reimagining look like? Will content become more prominent on profiles? Will short-form video become part of this new product?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-next-linkedin-stories-video-liz-li/
Facebook preferred shop label
Now that Facebook shops have taken off, how will you be able to stand out amongst all the other shops? How can you prove you are trustworthy?
Facebook is about to launch a new ‘Preferred Shop’ badge that will highlight shops that deliver excellent customer experiences.
Quite what an excellent customer experience is and how it will be measured is not yet clear. Whatever the criteria, a badge like this will make you look trustworthy and those without the badge less so.
So what happens if you don’t get a badge? Will you lose customers? Will you have to jump through Facebook’s hoops to comply? And how will Facebook highlight the businesses that have the badge?
We’ll have to wait and see.
Instagram Says Put Hashtags in the caption
How does Instagram search work and how is that changing? A new blog post from Instagram’s Adam Mosseri tells us.
Search results on Instagram are based on the search term you enter, your activity on Instagram and finally popular content.
To get found, use keywords in your profile name, handle and bio that are relevant to your content.
And, use relevant keywords and hashtags in your captions. Not in the first comment as so many of us do.
There are also hints that keywords rather than hashtags will become more important in the future.
https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/break-down-how-instagram-search-works
Even longer TikTok
TikTok, the place where the current trend for short-form video started, is no longer particularly short.
Soon you’ll be able to make TikTok videos that are 5 minutes long, the current limit is 3.
As all the other platforms scramble to add their TikTok style videos, TikTok is moving in on their territory.
Can TikTok succeed with long-form vertical video where IGTV hasn’t? Will this obvious swipe at YouTube work?
Less Political Content On Facebook
Facebook users don’t enjoy political content, so Facebook is working on showing less of it in the feed.
They’ve already been testing this and it’s now rolling out to Ireland, Costa Rica, Sweden and Spain.
Political posts tend to get more engagement, what’s interesting is that through the test Facebook has learned to put less emphasis on content that gets lots of comments and reactions, and more emphasis on negative feedback.
Will this change the way non-political content in the feed is assessed too? Could this be a big change to the algorithm in the future?
What about businesses who thrive on their controversial content? Will they see an algorithm hit too?
Collectable stickers for Instagram
Instagram is working on collectable stickers. You’ll be able to pick one up when you visit a specific location, add it to your stories and your collection.
This reminds me of Pokemon Go without the AR. They could be used by tourists to visit landmarks or even sponsored by businesses who want to attract Instagram explorers.
Everyone loves collecting, I think this could be a fun way to bring your real-life and digital life together.
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