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Sick of being limited with what you can do on social media? You’ll be glad to hear, there have been huge changes on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook that will make your social media marketing much easier – and exciting!
Instagram Updates
You may already have noticed the three brilliant changes to Instagram.
1. No more 24 hour limit for stories
The bane of every social media manager’s life was the 24 hour limit on the photos or videos you could upload to your Instagram story from your phone’s camera roll. Now, any photo or video in your camera roll, no matter how old, can be added to your Instagram story. What this means, is that there is no longer a need to resave photos, or remove their metadata to trick Instagram into thinking they are new. This makes it much easier to include branded templates or videos in a story, as once they are in your camera roll, they can be used and reused whenever you like.
2. The colour picker
This is another time-saving update. If you wanted to use a specific colour in Instagram stories before this update, you’d have had to create a photo (or video) in Photoshop, or a similar program, and then send it to your phone, or scheduling software, to upload to your story. Now, there is a colour picker option where you can select any colour from the photo or video you are uploading and write your copy in that colour. Since this option arrived, it is hard to believe we used to struggle through without it.
3. Instagram Guidelines
Ever noticed how some people place copy too high or too low on their Instagram stories and so it ends up being blocked by the send message and static icons? Well now, there is no excuse for that unprofessional look. Instagram has introduced blue guidelines which tell you when you are placing something in a position where it won’t be seen. The guidelines can also help you position something centrally, which for those detail obsessed Instagrammers, is incredibly useful.
Twitter Updates
Whether you publish your tweets directly on Twitter or via Hootsuite, you are no longer restricted by the 140 character limit. You now have a whopping 280 character limit. This update has not however been universally celebrated. The supporters like that there is the option to tweet more copy if necessary. Those who aren’t in favour of the change, suggest that the character limit is what made Twitter different and that what can be said in 280 characters, can be said in 140 characters (after some well-thought out editing).
Tweet us your thoughts @CuMarketing – in 140 or 280 characters, we won’t judge!
Facebook Updates
While this update is currently exclusive to the US, it is an important one to be aware of. A couple of weeks ago, Facebook launched a new app called Facebook Local. The app is a rebrand and update of its Events app. It uses information from Facebook business pages as well as friend’s page reviews and check ins to show events happening near you. This will increase the importance of Facebook Events in your social media strategy. Whether your business is having an event, sale, launch or anything out of the ordinary, a Facebook Event page will be vital. But, for now, we’ll have to see how our friends south of the border find the app and wait for its Canadian rollout.
Snapchat Updates
While the newest Snapchat update may not require you to shake up your social media strategy, it’s worth mentioning. What are we talking about? Snapchat’s updated smart filters. They now recognize when you are holding the camera up to food or pets and will give you relevant filters to use. It may not be groundbreaking for us marketers, but it sure is fun.
If you’d like to find out how you can make use of these updates in your social media marketing, contact us or stop by our Vancouver marketing agency office – we always have chocolate #yum!