TikTok releases two different marketing guides complete with insights and tips and LinkedIn is yet another platform to join the short-form video bandwagon. We have made sure you or your business won’t miss a thing with this week’s digital update rundown. Let’s go!

What’s new with Meta?

Facebook Announces Broadcast Channels for Pages with 10k+ Followers

Facebook is giving business pages with over 10,000 followers a new way to connect with their audience! You can now create a Broadcast Channel, which lets you send updates directly to your followers’ inboxes. It’s like a private messaging group, but only you can post information. This is a great way to share exclusive content, early access to posts, and other perks to your most engaged fans.

Key features:

• Exclusive Channel: Connect directly with your most engaged followers by sending them exclusive content and updates through a private messaging channel
• Early Access: Share content early with your channel members before you post it publicly on your Facebook page.
• Share Channel Messages between Platforms: Automatically share your channel’s messages from Instagram to Facebook.
• Share Channel Messages to Stories: Both creators and members can share channel content via Facebook stories to reach even more people.

Recommendation for Business Owners: If you have a Facebook page with over 10,000 followers, creating a Broadcast Channel is a great way to boost engagement and share exclusive content with your fans. This feature is available to Australian business owners right now.

👀 Tests Spotted on Meta

• Meta Tests Automated Creative Variations for Reels. This clever tool will experiment with different versions of your Reel, including variations of captions and thumbnails, to find the one that performs best with your audience.
• Meta Announces select advertisers will be able to send paid marketing messages on Messenger, using Ads Manager, to people who have opted-in to them.

Want some help running your Paid Ads? Book a free 20-minute-chat here and never worry Meta updates again.

What’s new with Instagram?

Two Brand New Updates to Instagram’s Notes

Instagram has introduced two new features to Notes further expanding the ways you can interact with your followers.

Key features:

• Video Notes: You can now post pictures and videos of your surroundings to your Notes for your friends to watch (previously just selfies).
• Birthdays for Notes: When you wish a friend a happy birthday in Notes by tagging them, there will be a confetti explosion to celebrate!

This update sees a further emphasis that Instagram has placed on interactions between friends on the platform.

👀 Tests spotted on Instagram this week:

• Instagram tests “liked by” bubbles at the bottom of posts. Some users are seeing bubbles with users’ profile pictures that have liked the post.
• Instagram tests “Post quietly to profile” feature for some users. This toggle allows you to post to your profile without the post appearing on your followers’ feeds.
• Instagram is seen working on Shared access for your Instagram accounts! This feature enables you to invite trusted users to access your IG account. 👀 Up to 3 other users will be able to post content, manage messages and more without sharing your password, they will not be able to disable your account.

Want to take Instagram off your hands? Book a free 20-minute-chat here and have a month’s worth of content scheduled at all times, your comments replied to and NEVER have to struggle with content ideas again!

What’s new with Google?

Google Analytics 4 Gets Major Upgrade with AI Insights, Cross-Channel Measurement and More

Google Analytics 4 is getting a major upgrade! They’re rolling out new features to help you understand your customers better and make smarter marketing decisions. Including AI-powered insights, so you can spend less time analysing and more time taking action. You’ll also be able to see how your marketing efforts perform across different channels and plan your budget more effectively.

Key features:

• Faster Insights: Get smarter insights about your customers with AI-powered explanations for changes in your data. It will analyse your data and explain what’s happening – like why you might see a sudden jump in sales. This will save you time deciphering numbers and let you focus on what matters: growing your business.
• Understanding Performance Across all Channels: Multiple advertising platforms and devices can make it confusing to track your marketing results. This will be simplified by giving you a clearer picture of your customer journey across different channels. This will make it easier to see how everything works together and optimise your marketing strategy.
• Planning & Budgeting: A new budgeting tool is added to help you get the most out of your marketing spend. This beta feature will allow you to see how your campaigns are performing across different channels and project their future results.
• Privacy-first: The new platform will support upcoming privacy changes like the phasing out of third-party cookies. This combines your data with Google’s anonymously to give you better insights.

Recommendations for Businesses: Google Analytics 4 is a powerful tool that can help you improve your marketing results. If you haven’t already, be sure to upgrade from Universal Analytics before July 1st, 2024 to keep access to your data.

Google Perspectives Now Showing Instagram Posts

With Google’s ‘perspectives’ carousel launching in June 2023, it has not just been updated to include Instagram posts in the Google Search results.

Key features:

• Instagram posts included as perspective articles: This new introduction shows Instagram post links contributing to the Google perspective carousel search results.

Our take: We are always here for movements that legitimise the genuine impact that social media has on pop culture and world events! It will be interesting to see how this feature is regulated and analysed.

What’s new with Pinterest?

Sharing your Pinterest Board has never been Easier

Pinterest is launching a new feature that allows you to share your boards with audiences on other social media platforms. This is a great way to showcase your creativity and find inspiration from others. The feature is particularly popular with Gen Z users, who are using Pinterest to express themselves and develop their unique aesthetic.

Our tip / key features:

• Show your Process: Reach a wider audience and showcase your creative process by sharing your Pinterest boards on social media. This will give audiences a deeper connection and understanding of your business processes and vision.
• Share your boards to your Instagram Story: Just choose a public board that you want to share, tap on “Share” in the top right, then select one of the curated photo or video templates to give a glimpse of your board’s pins. Then simply share that board overview as a Story.

Recommendation for Businesses: Want to share your biz’s design, and vision process? Simply share your boards with your audience so they can see the BTS of your biz!

What’s new with TikTok?

TikTok Shares Updated Insights for Marketers

TikTok is giving marketers a heads-up on how the hottest trends have evolved since the beginning of the year! Their “What’s Next: In Action” update provides insights into what’s resonating with users right now, including new hashtag suggestions to jump on board with. This is super helpful for businesses who want to stay relevant and keep their content popping on TikTok.

Key insights:

• Curiosity Peaked: TikTok recommends leaning into the unique aspects of your business that will give you a recognisable difference to audiences.
• Leverage Hashtags: The report includes relevant hashtags for each trend, making it easier to get your content seen by the right people.
• Focus on Value & Connection: While trends are important, high-quality content and genuine audience connection are still key for long-term success. The report emphasises the importance of unfiltered, real-life interactions between brand and their audiences, such as street interviews, story-telling, community events, retail pop-ups, or unscripted challenges.

Recommendations for Businesses: This report offers a valuable analysis of TikTok trends, pinpointing areas where brands can establish a presence. Businesses can look to this report for inspiration for their upcoming strategic content!

TikTok Reveals Upcomming Consumer Trends

The guide offers a summary of key discovery trends in the app and also addresses how using sounds can be a powerful tool for your TikTok marketing.

Key insights:

• Active Search: The guide states that users are actively searching for topics that interest them with 2 in 3 discoveries made on TikTok being intentional.
• TikTok Discovery: The guide follows this up by saying that many of the discoveries on TikTok are new with 61% of TikTok users discovering new brands and products on the platform, this is 1.5x more than other platform users.
• Creative Best Practices: The guide includes an impressive list of “Creative Best Practices” for the optimum outcome on TikTok. Some of these insights include using sound on your TikToks such as sounds, voiceovers or music. The guide also references using hooks and CTAs in your ads to see the most success on the platform.

Recommendation for Businesses: If TikTok is a platform you already feel comfortable on for your socials marketing, we definitely recommend downloading the guide to get an even better understanding of what will make your TikTok ads and content POP!

Struggling to get results with TikTok? Book a free 20-minute-chat here and we’ll prepare a strategic content calendar, along with direction for filming, editing all of your TikTok’s, posting and community management. And we provide a monthly report so you can see exactly how it’s contributing to the bigger picture.

What’s new with LinkedIn?

LinkedIn hops on the Video Bandwagon

LinkedIn joins numerous other social media and entertainment platforms with their own version of short-form video feeds, following TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and even Netflix. One of our own OMD girls noticed that they had LinkedIn’s video feed integrated into their app and it looks like this feature that was in testing has been rolled out for all users now!

Key insights:

• Vertical Video: Once you find a vertical video in your LinkedIn feed and click into it, you will be able to scroll to watch other short-form videos posted to LinkedIn.

Our take: It’s so interesting to watch that takeover of the vertical short-form video on ALL platforms, even LinkedIn! This is a testament to how the digital climate is always changing and platforms are constantly trying to keep up with users’ preferences, just like us!

📔 Other noteworthy updates or tests:

• Meta is falsely tagging real photos as “Made with AI”. Many users have come forward saying that their real images that have been edited are being tagged as being made with AI for all of their audiences to see. Meta has said they are investigating their processes to refine this feature.
• Apple Imposes 30% Fee on Facebook and Instagram Ads Bought In-App. Currently, this hasn’t been rolled out in Australia yet but we will be sure to keep an eye out for you to make sure your biz isn’t spending more than it needs to!

With LinkedIn putting a focus on short-form video and TikTok continuing to offer new marketing insights it’s clear that the social landscape is constantly changing! Feel free to sign up for our weekly summary here so you never miss the best updates. AND don’t forget, if you do miss out you can always go back to last week’s blog posts here.

XOXO

OMD SQUAD