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New Features on Instagram that will Help Small Business Owners

New Features on Instagram that will Help Small Business Owners

Digital Marketing, Instagram, Marketing Tips, Social Media | 0 comments

Instagram has recently announced some very major changes that are making users, especially small business owners who use their platform to promote their business, anxious about the app’s future. Here are recent changes that Instagram has made and changes that they have announced they are going to be making in the future that every small business owner needs to be aware of:

 

Facebook Launched Messenger API for Instagram

Since Facebook owns Instagram, most business owners that market themselves on Facebook also find themselves promoting their business on Instagram. Whenever someone replies to a story that you post or messages you directly, you had to go to your inbox on the Instagram app in order to respond. Facebook has now made this task a lot easier and less time-consuming. If you use a social media management platform like Hootsuite, you will now be able to check your Instagram messages and story replies.

 

Instagram Reels Now has Ads

Instagram has said several times that making Instagram reels consistently is the easiest way to organically grow your following, especially if you are just starting out on the platform. Reels Ads is now available to a larger group of people after being tested during the first half of this year. Just like your standard Reel, these ads can be up to 30 seconds in length. You will be able to add a description to these ads, where users can view the likes and comments.

 

Instagram is No Longer a Photo Sharing Platform

Recently, Instagram’s CEO Adam Moserri announced that Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing platform and that video will now be prioritized on the app. This seems like an obvious change after all, since the app has spent the past year prioritizing Instagram Reels in an attempt to adapt to newer trends. Still, it is causing some small business owners to panic since they primarily share pictures instead of video content.

 

The app is not rushing into these changes and has instead announced that this change will happen throughout this year. This change does not mean that users should panic and trash all of their pictures. It simply means that users should start to plan to allocate some time producing video content monthly, as everyone waits to see how Instagram will choose to implement this change.

 

The App is Experimenting with Recommendations

            Instagram’s CEO also announced over the next couple of months they will be experimenting with recommendations. This is great news for small business owners on the app because it means your content can potentially end up on someone’s feed even if they don’t follow you yet. The app already has some recommendation features that accomplish this but this update means that you will have even more opportunities to end up on someone’s page who isn’t following you.

Instagram has been making an effort to be more transparent with their users this year about the changes they are making to their platform and even taking the time to break down how their algorithm works in some of their recent blog posts. A lot of the changes that Instagram has announced will benefit small business owners and help them to manage their time more efficiently. Make sure that you check back in to stay updated on future changes Instagram is making.

 

 

New Features on Instagram that will Help Small Business Owners

Instagram has recently announced some very major changes that are making users, especially small business owners who use their platform to promote their business, anxious about the app’s future. Here are recent changes that Instagram has made and changes that they have announced they are going to be making in the future that every small business owner needs to be aware of:

 

Facebook Launched Messenger API for Instagram

Since Facebook owns Instagram, most business owners that market themselves on Facebook also find themselves promoting their business on Instagram. Whenever someone replies to a story that you post or messages you directly, you had to go to your inbox on the Instagram app in order to respond. Facebook has now made this task a lot easier and less time-consuming. If you use a social media management platform like Hootsuite, you will now be able to check your Instagram messages and story replies.

 

Instagram Reels Now has Ads

Instagram has said several times that making Instagram reels consistently is the easiest way to organically grow your following, especially if you are just starting out on the platform. Reels Ads is now available to a larger group of people after being tested during the first half of this year. Just like your standard Reel, these ads can be up to 30 seconds in length. You will be able to add a description to these ads, where users can view the likes and comments.

 

Instagram is No Longer a Photo Sharing Platform

Recently, Instagram’s CEO Adam Moserri announced that Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing platform and that video will now be prioritized on the app. This seems like an obvious change after all, since the app has spent the past year prioritizing Instagram Reels in an attempt to adapt to newer trends. Still, it is causing some small business owners to panic since they primarily share pictures instead of video content.

The app is not rushing into these changes and has instead announced that this change will happen throughout this year. This change does not mean that users should panic and trash all of their pictures. It simply means that users should start to plan to allocate some time producing video content monthly, as everyone waits to see how Instagram will choose to implement this change.

 

The App is Experimenting with Recommendations

            Instagram’s CEO also announced over the next couple of months they will be experimenting with recommendations. This is great news for small business owners on the app because it means your content can potentially end up on someone’s feed even if they don’t follow you yet. The app already has some recommendation features that accomplish this but this update means that you will have even more opportunities to end up on someone’s page who isn’t following you.

Instagram has been making an effort to be more transparent with their users this year about the changes they are making to their platform and even taking the time to break down how their algorithm works in some of their recent blog posts. A lot of the changes that Instagram has announced will benefit small business owners and help them to manage their time more efficiently. Make sure that you check back in to stay updated on future changes Instagram is making.

Latest Changes on Facebook Small Business Owners Need to Know

Digital Marketing, Facebook, Marketing Tips, Social Media | 0 comments

Facebook is constantly changing its algorithm and features. Here are some recent changes that Facebook has made recently that may affect business owners who market themselves using Facebook:

Facebook Advertisers can Update their Focus Event

Since Apple has released its App Tracking Transparency update, Facebook has been experimenting with several different changes in order to ensure that business owners who use their platform to run affordable advertisements can still have a positive experience. One of the biggest complaints since Apple’s update has been released, is that Facebook users are noticing that their conversions have been dramatically decreasing.

Part of the reason for this decrease is that some conversions are still happening but the app is simply unable to report the conversion since some users have turned off the app’s ability to track which websites they have visited. In order to help find a solution to this problem, Facebook is starting to release different features including the ability to update their focus event. Before this change users would have to manually pause the campaign and make these changes. This change will allow for a smoother, less time-consuming experience that will make it easier to implement changes that can enhance your campaigns.

Facebooks has Added Estimated Conversions

On the 7-day attribution window, Facebook has now added estimated conversions. This feature will help advertisers get a better understanding of what their actual number of conversions looks like, even with the loss in data Apple’s new update has contributed to. A lot of advertisers are trying to find ways to maximize their reach to Android users since Android has not given their users the option to disable tracking.

Facebook has responded to this by providing more event options to users when they are setting up their campaigns. This means that advertisers who are trying to maximize their reach to Android users will be able to optimize their campaigns more.

Facebook is Adding Sound to some of their Emojis

While the other updates the app is releasing are more on the technical side, Facebook is also launching a new feature that will add sound to some of their emojis. The library of this new type of emoji will be updated regularly with clips from different famous TV shows and other classic sounds. Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Bridgerton, and Fast and Furious 9 are just some of the shows that will have sound clips featured in this new emoji library.

These new emojis will be available in the messenger app and can be found by clicking the speaker icon. These new emojis can be a useful tool to use in order to stand out and deliver a unique response when you are engaging with people via direct message.

Throughout this year, Facebook has released several new features and this momentum is expected to continue as they continue to find ways to adapt to Apple’s new update. One main takeaway that small business owners should keep in mind is that even if your reported conversions or insights, in general, seem to be drastically decreasing, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your ads are less affected. The app is still adapting and trying to find ways to give users more accurate insights while still allowing their users to opt out of being tracked. In order to run effective ads on Facebook make sure to regularly check back in to see what other changes the platform has made.

With the constant changes in social media, it can be hard to stay up-to-date with it and your own career knowledge! We are here for you.

Nikole & the Crew,
Shield Bar Marketing

p.s. We would love it if you would take the time to leave us a Google review! Click here > click on the grey “review” button.

The Power of Digital Marketing for Your Business

The Power of Digital Marketing for Your Business

Digital Marketing, Pinterest, Social Media, Websites | 0 comments

DIgital Marketing Shield Bar

The Power of Digital Marketing for Your Business

Creating a Visual Story

Digital Marketing can be defined as the process of utilizing technology such as websites, mobile apps and online resources to market your company’s products and services. The digital marketing space is never too saturated, although it may seem that way at first glance. Many marketing professionals and businesses, both online and local, use the internet and digital assets to create a visual story.

A visual story consists of images and messaging that appeal to the eye. Today, people have short attention spans and need to make their decision to click your call to action, within 8.0 seconds. A visual story will assist in the click, and help with a greater conversion experience.

Types of Visual Marketing Campaigns

Social Media Marketing consists of visual elements and textual content. A good visual campaign contains colorful images that also contain text, and often combine text over an image. These types of visual elements are called “memes.” Memes are easy to share. Shared memes increase visibility and encourage the almighty “click”. When a cold lead (prospect) clicks a link on the text of an ad, they immediately become warm.

The social network site “Pinterest” has millions of subscribers who share thousands of images daily. Tapping into the visual crowds leads to successful campaigns in a tight niche.

Warm leads can then convert to sales with greater ease. For example, a meme shared on Facebook can contain an image description and within the description there will be a link to a website. From the website there will be an opt in, warming the lead up again. Memes can be of baby goats, or serious political issues. Memes make you smile, laugh and even cry.

High Click Campaigns

Businesses with successful digital marketing strategies will have campaigns that enjoy 1000s of clicks to a CTA, (Call to Action). Clicks can be measured within the insights of most social media networks. The digital marketing lead within the marketing team will keep a close eye on the success, or failure of a digital campaign.

High-click campaigns result, by rule of averages, in more sales, more profits and more room for expansion. Knowing your niche and what they need from you is key to launching a digital marketing campaign that enjoys viral success. A successful campaign makes an impact, quickly.

What is your company’s marketing strategy?