Social Media News – And All You Need to Know About Your 2019 Holiday Season Social Media Ads
With the ever-changing nature of social media, it can be challenging to stay current and topical with your posting. To keep you informed, we’re discussing the big changes of Instagram hiding the public metric of post likes and Facebook introducing Facebook Pay. Furthermore, we dive into three significant Facebook trends that can help to build YOUR customer-brand relationships for a more profitable holiday season.
Instagram Hides “Like” Count
Similar to many other aspects of life, people like to compare themselves to others. How often have you scrolled through Instagram and compared your content to others? How often have you admired other accounts for the amount of likes they receive on their photos or videos and have sub-consciously been disappointed with the performance of your content?
Instagram’s big change is meant to alleviate the social performance pressure and allow users to express themselves freely. Through hiding “likes,” Instagram wants to shift the focus of Instagram users to the actual content rather than paying attention to public metrics. This concept is currently being tested around the world and will be introduced to parts of the U.S. by the end of the year.
“Instagram’s big change is meant to alleviate social performance pressure and allow users to express themselves freely.”
What does that mean? To put it simply, you will be the only one able to see how many people liked your post. As can be seen in the picture below, the like count will not be visible to the public eye. Nevertheless, you can click on “others” and a list of people who liked the content will pop up. So, if you have the extra time and are really curious to know how many people liked your post, you can always just count up the total manually! So, what do you think, will this help to relieve the pressure and boost freedom of expression on the platform?
Picture courtesy of Business Insider
Not sure if this change is for the better? Remember: it’s NOT about the number of followers and likes, it’s about the quality of your audience and their genuine interest in your content!
Facebook “Pay” Rolling Out
Have you previously advertised your products on Facebook with a follow link to your website? How often have you had potential customers bouncing off your website or abandoning their cart because they hadn’t input all of their information? With this new feature, Facebook is leveraging on the convenience of making in-app purchases. They don’t want their users leaving their platform for yours, which will be rough on your website traffic numbers, but hopefully great for speeding up the buying process and converting more customers! This new feature is slowly rolling out in the U.S., so if you don’t see the options just yet, Facebook advises to check back in a little while. Over time, Facebook is planning to expand the availability of this feature.
Facebook Pay allows people to make direct purchases on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It doesn’t stop there! As can be seen below, another option is to send and request money from your friends, like the app Zelle. Lastly, it’ll be much easier to make donations to fundraisers as all your information will be saved with specific security measures in place.
Picture courtesy of Social Media Today
Not only does Facebook Pay increase the on-platform purchasing opportunities for customers, but it has the potential to open up a new world of opportunities for businesses, especially for those that don’t have a brick and mortar store.
3 Facebook Holiday Marketing Trends
The holiday season is the perfect time to get your brand and products in front of hungry shoppers who are trying to avoid the Wrestlemania of Black Friday and shop online. The holiday trends discussed below could help to reach your target audience more effectively, increase conversion rates and up your profit margin. Enjoy the read.
“Stories”: The New Window Shopping
“Stories” is where it’s at! Why? Because more and more people turn to Stories in the early stages of their customer journey to be inspired and find ideas either to gift or to be gifted. According to a Facebook survey conducted in October 2018, 62% of people become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in their Stories. Typically, influencers and friends help with the product selection process: items are introduced, instantly reviewed, and recommended (or not).
“To gift or to be gifted, that is the question!”
It all leads back to trust. As a small business owner, we recommend that you focus on building a strong, personal relationship with your audience by using Stories. Be personal and relatable. Introduce the products and make them desirable to your target market. Maybe it’s time to revise your influencer marketing strategy and collaborate with influencers that fit your brand?! Or use stories to cross-sell and educate potential customers about all of your offerings. There are many ways to use Stories to your business advantage.
Example of product promotion via Instagram Stories by Kickstand Kafe
Mobile First, Then In-Store Shopping
With continuous technological developments, customers have more and more channels at their disposal to complete their holiday shopping. While this has its benefits, it also comes with certain expectations, in particular, a growing intolerance toward bad shopping experiences. Once again, we recognize the increasing importance of mobile shopping in the purchasing journey.
Just as Stories is becoming the new window shopping, one may think the in-store channel is becoming less popular. Not so! In-store shopping is still critical for retailers, especially in the holiday season. Not only does it allow potential customers to physically see and touch the products, but it also provides them with an experience to remember! Whether it be the jolly music, the sparkly decorations, the fun company, or smells that trigger memory, it’s a great way to get into the holiday spirit.
Make the most of your holiday marketing and drive foot traffic through Instagram mobile campaigns!
Set Yourself Apart with Facebook Messenger
Many small business owners have yet to experiment and thus don’t know about the importance and capabilities of Facebook Messenger. Using this tool as part of your marketing strategy can really benefit in setting yourself apart from your competition.
It’s been quite popular to set up automated answers to frequently asked questions. This saves time and aids the person inquiring as it provides an immediate response allowing for instant gratification. Your possibilities with Facebook Messenger can actually go much further: you can set up automated questions and prompts to educate customers on offerings or send out coupons and other promotions to either drive website traffic (which may not even be necessary depending on how Facebook Pay works out) or foot traffic.
Based on Facebook’s Global Holiday study, messages sent between potential customers and businesses have increased tenfold over the last three years. So, if you haven’t jumped on the messaging train yet, make sure you do so as soon as possible.
“Messages sent between potential customers and businesses have increased tenfold over the last three years.”
Still not convinced? Here’s another reason: 65% of shoppers report being more likely to purchase from a business that they can message. Don’t miss out on establishing meaningful relationships with potential customers!
Conclusion
As per usual, exciting changes are happening in the social media world. We’re looking forward to seeing how hiding likes on Instagram will affect user engagement, influencer marketing, and overall platform usage. Also, it’ll be interesting to see how receptive Facebook users will be to Facebook Pay and what future opportunities businesses like yours will have with this new feature.
When it comes to implementing marketing trends – always use your good judgment. You know your audience best and what they respond to. Mirror their behavior!
We know it can be overwhelming and time-consuming to stay connected with your audience and frequently engage. So, amidst all changes happening, we’re happy to note that the importance of being authentic and establishing a solid relationship with your audience has NOT changed. Interested in reading more about social media tips and tricks? Check out our recent blog on 6 ways to up your Instagram Game.
Not sure how to strategize your social media marketing efforts? No problem! Message us, we’re here to help!