Social Media Changes for Different Platforms 2021
2020 has been a tough year for everyone. Many businesses had to swiftly adapt in order to remain afloat amid overall lockdowns to restrict the spread of the coronavirus. Some weren't so fortunate, and were compelled to shut forever as a result. We have mastered how to work from home, handling our everyday tasks amid home-school and other close-quarter interruptions, and discovering new modes of entertainment to keep each other engaged.
In between all of what went down in 2020, preeminent social media platforms have also rapidly evolved and switched focus to reach the surging demand of users during the pandemic.
That's expedited many of their ideas to come to the forefront of technology in 2020, but for the most part, the modern tools and recommended options were already in progress (although, arguably COVID-19 greatly contributed to the continued success of Tik Tok).
Undoubtedly, many of the guesses for 2020 were spot on and based on ongoing trends. But moving forward, we have put together the latest updates of different social media platforms for 2021. And all going successfully, it looks set to be a year of success and impressive developments. Here’s what businesses should be preparing for as they map out their social media calendars and strategies in 2021. Check out our platform-by-platform updates for what's coming next in the realm of social media marketing.
New Facebook updates are consistently in the works, and there are repeatedly new chances to get ahead of your competitors.
Redesign
We are certain that you have seen it yourself, but Facebook experienced a comprehensive redesign recently. Whether you are an admirer or not, the new update highlights Groups and Events, rather than a personal profile. This is because researches show that they are some of the most significant reasons people visit this social media platform.
Ads Limit Per Pages
Last year, Facebook issued a new regulation on the number of campaigns a business page can perform at once. The intention behind this update, set to be released someday this year, is that quality should outrun quantity. There is a familiar fallacy that a high ad volume indicates higher traffic or better reach. But, the objective for your business should certainly be to set up custom content that has a substantial impact on the target audience. Facebook’s predictive model engages only actual people who are really interested in your business or product during its ad time.
Facebook Business Suite
The introduction of yet another space to organise and list content has been given to us. Business Suite facilitates users to:
- Save time - At the same time, you can post to Facebook and Instagram and administer posts in one place to get connected to both platforms.
- Stay up to date - Get all the messages and notifications from your Facebook and Instagram in one area so you can easily stay up to date, and so you can reply to all your clients more comfortably.
- Evaluate business results - Recognise what is working with Facebook and Instagram insights and understand what your clients are seeking.
Even while we’re trying to stay strong through these hard economic times, Instagram always tries to surprise us. It is impressive to watch how Instagram is swiftly promoting new features and services to tackle major business issues and support users to back their preferred brands.
New updates for Instagram Live
The new update for Instagram live offers these perks:
- It allows you to go live for up to 4 hours
- Live videos will be accessible in your archive for the next 30 days and you can save them or re-post them in your IGTV content
- ‘Live Now’ option is included within the IGTV and Explore so you can find more live streams from other users
According to Instagram, this is the next step toward supporting video creators to follow their interested categories, reach target audiences, engage with communities, and establish brands.
Instagram Shopping is expanding on IGTV
Instagram now launched IGTV shopping. After the option in Explore for shopping, shopping tags on Insta Stories and Checkout, Instagram is extending its shopability across to IGTV. This means, when Insta users are checking out IGTV and notice something they like, they can click on it and will be guided to the brand’s website to shop for it.
It is a win-win case for both users who need a fast shopping experience and businesses and influencers that wish to monetise their IGTV videos. Surely, Instagram will also make a proportion of sales. However, since more users are entering online shopping, this won’t be an issue for anybody, right?
Support Small Business Sticker
Everyone knows that the universal pandemic has had a big adverse impact on businesses, specifically for small businesses. In order to strengthen small businesses, Instagram has developed a “Support Small Business” sticker. You can tag any small business or brands on Instagram using this special sticker, your Story ring will be changed, and you will be displayed first in Story feeds.
While updates and changes are regularly being carried out, here are the latest Twitter updates that are most compatible for businesses and brands. Any business handling Twitter as part of its social media marketing strategy likely recognises the updates of Twitter each month. Those updates can consist of content from a Twitter story update through to stepped-up context around Twitter trends.
Getting on top of new Twitter updates can benefit your brand to make the most of the app and try out the new options. This will also aid you to take advantage of your Twitter marketing plan.
Update in Automated Image Cropping
Twitter accepted that the approach the platform is set up to automatically crop preview images could be detrimental to the integrity of the content. This could lower the visibility of the scope of users on Twitter. In October, Twitter disclosed that they are trying to limit its dependence on machine learning-based image cropping and hand over Twitter users more options over the Twitter image preview.
Inclusion of More Context to Twitter Trends
This Twitter update has prepared to benefit users to better recognise why something is trending in the Explore category. Twitter claims its updates around context are to provide more understanding so they can make up their own perceptions and opinions.
The update consists of pinned Tweets to the trending category. Twitter claims that the pinned Tweets are representing the trend. They are picked by both Twitter’s curation crew and by algorithms. The update also included summaries to Tweets.
Improvements in Authentication System and Other Security Protocols
By the end of 2020, Twitter officials reported that they were going on to work on upgrading security. This update includes more precise checks with the Twitter team and extended advancement of internal detection and monitoring tools to notify the firm about suspicious activity.
The LinkedIn platform is one of the most dynamic career assets available to businesses and marketers. It is the professional portfolio—a multimedia description of who you are and the value you offer. And, in our current all-the-time, all-virtual realm, the LinkedIn profile has become a prime point of impression. Here we can check out some important updates from LinkedIn this year.
Improved Search
LinkedIn’s crew is also managing the search updates that will upgrade engagement across this platform. Earlier, the search would typically give results in terms of other users and firms, but the new update makes it more accessible than ever. Users can better utilise LinkedIn search to discover jobs, events, professional courses, and other related content.
Accessibility
Last, but surely not least, LinkedIn is also introducing new accessibility features as part of the inclusivity changes in the platform. This includes new layout arrangements and brand new detail support for bigger touch targets and text scaling. There is also an expanded disparity for readability to revamp and open up the comprehensive LinkedIn experience.
Visual Overhaul
In extension to the functional adjustments, LinkedIn has also had a new visual overhaul. It is now outright with a warmer colour palette with green and blue accents. The objective is to create the platform to have a softer and better appearance. Other updates consist of a more simplified design with more white space, fewer divider lines, and fancy icons.
The visual overhaul is a tremendous opportunity to optimise your professional or business profile—ensure to pick shades and elements that will integrate well with the new LinkedIn design.
Make sure to utilise the benefits of the latest updates of all the social media platforms and find the most exceptional, most ingenious way to boast your business profile information. Overall, keeping up to date with social trends will help to drive engagement to your brands and make a deep-rooted, forward-moving impression.
