It’s the start of autumn and that typically means an uptick in Social Media changes as the networks gear up for the pre-holiday season. The past two weeks have kicked it off with a number of interesting updates and new releases. Let’s dig into some of the key ones for you:
Instagram has not released a hashtag selector feature; however, “frequent TechCrunch tipster” and mobile researcher Jane Manchun Wong was able to dig the designated hashtag selector prototype out of the Instagram Android app’s code” (TechCrunch). She found an “Add Hashtag” option under the people tagger.
This possible feature would help eliminate the overload of tagged words that fill up captions and make them harder to read in hopes of getting a few more views or followers. It would be a better user experience and help to clear out the clutter from massive hashtagging done by overhyped marketers. Simply be reasonable and do not overuse hashtags and you have nothing to worry about.
Along with the “Add Hashtag” feature, Wong also discovered a powerful new feature in Instagram called “Choose Location.” This feature would allow you to select from a list of countries where you want your post to be visible.
With the possibility of Instagram launching this feature, it would be great for social media managers, businesses, and content creators to help them reach the right audiences. The ability to choose a country where your post is visible allows people to create specific content and captions based on the locations and language.
You can now send GIFs in Instagrams DMs. You can search for GIFS by keywords or phrases or simply swipe through what’s trending.
This update is not necessarily directly related to your business unless you do DM potential customers (which isn’t a bad idea for personalization!). This is another tool people can use to express themselves visually in Instagram DM’s, and it’s good to be aware of what you can do to be “social” as a brand.
Instagram recently launched a video tagging feature that could help generate more visits as it sends notifications. This feature could also allow Instagram to determine which videos to place higher in your news feed based on the people tagged in the video.
This one’s big! Instagram’s new video tagging feature can benefit businesses by helping their videos be found easier through tagging. It allows your business to personalize things and tag fans and other brands that are in the video. Be careful with this one and do not tag randomly or excessively!
Facebook is Launching a Video Chat Device called Portal. This device is similar to the Amazon Echo and will include facial and voice recognition. There will a privacy shutter to put over the camera. This is the first piece of hardware from Facebook. The Facebook portal will have two sizes and be between $300 and $400.
Studies have shown that Amazon Echo owners spend more than Prime members. This could show a new trend that is starting with the rise of conversational commerce which is good to keep in mind for the future of your business.
Facebook is testing its new Facebook dating feature in Colombia. The new dating feature is opt-in and all about privacy. Its goal is to encourage consideration of each person's profile as a whole rather than the image or going on impulse. It’s an “anti-Tinder” type app
There is no real business use for Facebook’s new dating feature, other than potentially a new location for Ads placement. It’s always good to simply be aware of the areas Facebook is expanding into and what they’re doing!
Facebook Business Pages can now join Groups as the Page! Within Facebook Group settings, a new option is available for group owners that enables them to “allow Pages to request to join as group members.” Previously, only personal profiles could join Facebook Groups and post and comment within them.
Before this change, public figures, non-profits, and brands could have been prohibited from interacting with their fans or supporters within Facebook Groups. Now that Pages can join groups, these users can interact in Groups. This allows Pages to interact on a more personal level within Groups and can be a way for your business to build trust, answer questions, and engage in a new way with potential consumers.
That’s all for this week! Check back in two weeks for more updates on what is happening in the Social Media world!
