Top Five Social Media Trends and Updates from Q2 2023
We’ve curated the top five social platform updates from the last quarter to help marketers stay on top of their social media game. Read on to learn about some of these new and exciting updates to improve engagement with your social followers and maximize your social return-on-investment.
1. Instagram now allows up to FIVE links in your bio
Instagram’s decision to finally address user demand for increased access to “links in bio” may come as a way to gain a competitive edge over TikTok’s stricter limitations in an attempt to lure creators back to the platform. Instagram has announced that the expanded ability to add multiple links to a profile will be available to “all accounts,” including business and creator accounts.
What this means for you:
Five links in bio allows for more flexibility to direct your followers to important content off the app. We recommend showcasing your most important and relevant evergreen links to your website or important articles, while also using one of your five links to house your “link in bio” app such as Linktree or Beacons to allow the flexibility to expand content exploration.
2. Meta adds new lead generation tools on Facebook
Meta’s looking to help brands make more direct contact with consumers via Facebook, with a range of lead generation form updates that will make it easier for users to connect with businesses via simplified, automated info-sharing tools and processes.
What this means for you:
This is a good way to encourage more direct sales activity in the app, while giving your consumer target more opportunity to capitalize on deals that they’ve shown an interest in. This update will make it much easier to gather lead info from Facebook interactions, and could provide significant benefit in prompting follow-up response.
3. Instagram users can now comment on posts with GIFs
At long last, you can respond to posts on Instagram with GIFs. Company head Adam Mosseri announced the feature addition in his recent Instagram Channels chat with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “This is a bit of ‘finally feature,’ but we’re launching GIFs in comments today,” Mosseri told his boss.
What this means for you:
Leveraging GIFs in comments back to your followers is a great way to show off your brand personality and drive a deeper connection with your audience. Before you go crazy with GIF responses, it’s important to have strong community management guidelines in place to ensure there are guardrails on what’s an appropriate, on-brand GIF response vs inappropriate.
4. What are the best times to post on your social media platforms?
Software company Sprout Social, analyzed near nearly two billion engagements across 400,000 social profiles across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok to find out which time slot yielded the most engagement.
What this means for you:
These posting times are a good starting point, but the only true answer comes from testing and there are other considerations unique to each brand when picking times to publish:
- Check when your audience is most active online
- Consider when your competitors are posting
- Post in your audience’s time zone
5. Instagram Algorithm Demystified: Feed, Stories, Explore, Reels & Search
Instagram finally lifted the curtain on the mystery of its algorithm, explaining how content ranking works across each part of the app—Feed, Stories, Explore & Reels with THIS handy resource released by Adam Mosseri. Spoiler alert! Instagram doesn’t use on algorithm to rank content but rather multiple algorithms, classifiers and processes (each with its own purpose) to determine what Instagram users see when they open up different parts of the app.
What this means for you:
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to creating content on Instagram. Do your homework to really understand how your content might be surfaced to improve the reach of your content and think critically about how people use the app to see the content they most want to engage with – this is how the algorithm is tailored no surprise here!
In the rapidly evolving social landscape, consumer behavior undergoes swift transformations, presenting brands with opportunities for success by quickly adapting to the newest platform updates and features. We’re here to help you navigate these changes and stay on top of these trends so you don’t have to. Reach out today for a complimentary strategy session to learn how Smarty can make social work for you!
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