It’s June and we’ve got some interesting social media updates and insights for you! Are you struggling to keep up with all the changes in this industry? Then we’ve got you covered! We’ll be talking about Instagram’s Stories test that could hide some content, new business tools for Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp premium, and Snapchat’s recent eBay integration. Keep reading to learn more.
Twitter’s notable replies
First up, Twitter has reported an update that lets you highlight notable replies. Twitter is experimenting with a new label for tweets that publicly show when an author has liked a reply. Effectively using the reply feature as a way for people to show their endorsement. It also encourages more engagement by providing users with the chance to win that endorsement if they reply. The label shows up within the tweet directly above its content with a “Liked by Author” badge, similar to the “Liked by creator” badge on TikTok. There have been reports that the new feature has been spotted by several users worldwide on Twitter’s Andriod app. Twitter confirmed it is testing the badge but hasn’t confirmed any more details.
WhatsApp Premium
There are a few new updates to share on WhatsApp’s optional subscription service that is due to arrive for WhatsApp for business users. We now know that it will be called WhatsApp Premium. It’s still under development, but this paid-for tier will offer business accounts on android, IOS, and desktop additional features for a small subscription fee. Business users who subscribe to WhatsApp premium can link up to ten devices which you can name for ease of use. You can also customise the back end of your WhatsApp chat URL link every 90 days. Custom links won’t hide your business contact number and they are unique, so they’ll always open a specific business chat. These updates confirm that Whatsapp will play a huge role in customer service in the near future.
Instagram’s new stories layout
Instagram's new Stories layout may hide your content! Instagram is reportedly testing a new layout for stories, where they only show viewers the first 3 slides. If viewers want to see all the stories you’ve posted, they will have to press a ‘show all’ button to expand it and view the full set. If your followers don’t choose to ‘show all’, Instagram will automatically move on to the next account’s first 3 stories. The maximum number of stories you can post will still stand at 100. But the platform is trying to encourage users to see stories from more people in one session. This feature is still in testing and there is no indication yet that it will roll out fully.
Snapchat’s eBay integration
Snapchat has integrated with eBay to let brands share products natively. Snapchat users can now share eBay listings with their friends using the Snapchat camera on Android and IOS. It’s just one more way that the platform is cementing its place in eCommerce and its learnings from this integration will only serve to benefit brands and retailers in the long run. To share an eBay listing to Snap, users tap the share icon while viewing any listing in the eBay app. Tapping the Snapchat icon will redirect you to the Snapchat camera, featuring an automated eBay sticker promoting the listing. Users can then complete their snap, and share it with friends or post it on their story!
Facebook Messenger’s recurring notifications
Messenger has added a new feature to drive more sales, it’s called recurring notifications. With this, you can send automated messages to customers who have opted in to receive them. You can customise daily, weekly or monthly messages according to your business's needs. For example, you could send Pre-sale alerts, discount codes, or notifications to let customers know a product is back in stock! Customers can see the topic and frequency in advance and they have to opt into this before you can send them recurring notifications and they have the option to opt-out at any time. The feature is currently available to all businesses on a Free Trial basis via the messenger platform. However, you will have to pay for continued use.
You’re all caught up for the month of June! To learn more about some of your favourite social media platforms then head to the Gather Social website today to read another blog, or just click here.
