This Month in Social: April 2016

The world of social media is constantly changing – and with so many platforms and algorithms out there, it’s hard to keep up. That’s why we provide our clients and followers with This Month in Social – where we highlight the biggest changes in social media and how we prepare to tackle them.

Instagram to Roll Out Algorithm Based Feed

Instagram has jumped on the algorithm train! Recognizing that people miss on average 70% of their feeds, it’s clearly becoming more difficult to keep up with all the content being shared. This new algorithm hopes to fix that by ordering what it thinks users want to see first based on their own actions.

What this means for businesses: Instagram’s decision to introduce an algorithmic feed was almost inevitable. Knowing that this service, home to more than 400 million users, is owned by Facebook, one can only guess what will happen to a brand’s organic reach on the platform. Will Instagram become the next platform that heavily sees brands “paying to play?” Time will tell – but for now, content isn’t disappearing, it’s just being ordered differently.

Using Artificial Intelligence To Help Blind People ‘See’ Facebook

Facebook recently announced their introduction of “automatic alternative text,” also referred to as “automatic alt text” – a development that works to “generate a description of a photo using advancements in object recognition technology.” Facebook reports that each day more than 2 billion photos are shared across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, and they want to do what they can to help ensure that the visually impaired community can experience their platform just like everyone else.

Here’s how this new feature will work – those who use screen readers on iOS devices will be able to hear a list of the items a photo contains as they look through them; previously, they could only hear the name of the person who shared it and the term “photo” to understand what they were scrolling past. Facebook explains that this will first be available to iOS screen readers who have their settings set to English, but they hope to make it available for other languages and platforms in the future.

What this means for businesses: Businesses need to remember that their audience can be extremely diverse, and now, they’ll have the opportunity to market to an entirely new community that they may have missed out on before. By having the ability to connect with a larger group of Facebook users, brands can/should now play around with their targeting to see how many more people they can reach.

Pinterest Starts Testing Video Ads

Many months after announcing their plan to roll out video ads, Pinterest has finally taken steps toward making this option a reality for advertisers. Promoted video pins have been made available to a test group of users to help determine specifics, particularly regarding video ad length. These promoted pins will play automatically as users pause over them while scrolling through their feed.

What this means for businesses: With video consumption trends on the rise, it’s no surprise that Pinterest has decided to jump on the video ads train. While Pinterest is not generally known for it’s video content, it is certainly a platform renowned for it’s ability to provide excellent visual content. That being said, the opportunity for brands to tap into the biggest growing trend on social — video — from a platform where users are already looking for an engaging visual experiences is a huge win. This could be a great way for lifestyle brands to showcase their products and services to the Pinterest audience.

Introducing New Ways to Create, Share and Discover Live Video on Facebook

Facebook recently rolled out the ability to “go live” in Facebook Groups and Events. While this feature was previously available to public figures, the video feature is now available to all Facebook users. Facebook live is more than a broadcasting mechanism, it provides users with more ways to discover, share and interact. Users can express feelings in real time – choosing from the same reactions that were recently added to the Facebook news feed (Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry).

What This Means for Businesses: The power of video is continuing to grow. It’s more important than ever before that brands take the time to connect and engage with their audience “in the moment.” This transparency and personal connection are essential to developing consumer trust. Through Facebook Live, brands can feature live Q&A sessions, events, sneak peeks, interviews, how-to’s, and more! Brands can also expand their reach through the Facebook live map feature, where users can browse through live broadcasts happening across the world.

Introducing New Metrics for Live Video

Speaking of Facebook Live, in addition to providing all users the option to record and broadcast live videos, they now have the ability to track video performance much better as well. New metrics have been introduced that measure total viewers during a broadcast as well as how many are returning to view over time. Video creators will be able to tell how long viewers were watching, and how many were watching at specific times throughout the broadcast.

What this means for businesses: The opportunity to track viewers in real time means video creators will now have the ability to definitively figure out what works, and what doesn’t. For example, if metrics show that a large majority of viewers are dropping off at a specific point, the creator now knows where the audience is losing interest and can use that information to their advantage when creating social content moving forward.

BONUS:
Twitter and the NFL Team Up to Stream Night Football
Yes, that’s right! Twitter has teamed up with the NFL to live stream Thursday Night Football games. Every game this fall will be free to all registered and non-registered Twitter users on mobile devices, tablets, PCs and connected TVs.

What This Means for Twitter Users: Football fans who may have not had access to games in the past are now going to be able to catch Thursday night games free of charge, and weigh in on the action with other fans as well. This is part of the industry’s continued effort to find new and innovative ways for fans to consume professional sporting events.

Have any questions regarding the above changes and updates? Reach out to one of Ferocious Media’s Social Media Analysts today!

To learn more about our Social Media Marketing Campaigns as well as other packages that we offer, explore our website or contact us at 1-800-454-9103!