This month in social media (August)

August brought major changes across the broad range of social media channels out there, including updates from Twitter making it easier to unfollow accounts that are often inactive or have less engagement, Facebook allowing publishers to add a ‘breaking news’ tag to posts and Instagram adding their polls function to private direct messages

However, below we’re taking a look at the bigger stories from August, which all have an effect on marketers’ lives. These include major changes to the LinkedIn Groups function, Instagram verification advice and important news to those working with influencers. Take a look.

Redesigned Groups platform on LinkedIn

LinkedIn has prioritised boosting engagement and creating discussion in Groups as their main importance with this latest update. The Groups platform, which is often used by social media managers, is in the launch period.

So just what are the new features? Well, one main difference you might see is the removal of a “moderator” role, and if you’re currently a moderator of a group, you will notice a downgrade to regular member, and those needing to manage a Group needs to be made a “manager” role. In the new Groups redesign, members can reply to comments, edit their own posts and post native video content into the group, as well as interact with discussions directly from the main feed, along with receiving notifications directly, from the Groups you are part of. For social media managers, the lack of moderation options may potentially see a rise in spammy comments, but only time will tell.

You can finally get verified on Instagram

This is something that influencers, social media managers, businesses and journalists have been asking for a while. Instagram has caught up with the other social media channels and allows you to apply for Instagram profile verification, as opposed to waiting for the big day (or knowing someone who works there).

It’s not open to everyone though, which makes sense. To request a verified badge you have to be a celebrity, brand, public figure or meet those account and eligibility requirements, set by Instagram. Where to find this? Head to your setting section on the app, and click on ‘Request Verification’, which you will then be prompted to provide a form of identification to make sure you are worthy of one. Good luck!

Working with social media influencers? Make sure posts are tagged!

It’s no secret that brands and companies are utilising social media influencers as a great way to spread the message about their product or beliefs, but are these companies making sure posts are being tagged? Posts with #Ad and #Sponsored grew by 44% in the first six month of 2018, compared to the previous year, so it’s certainly improving, but the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) have recently announced they’re paying more attention to this.

So is it down to the marketer or influencers? Marketers should really be making sure they are providing enough information to influencers, in particular those new to the scene, and making sure they include the hashtag somewhere in their post, to allow audiences to know whether or not there’s genuine interest from the influencer in the brand, or if it has been paid. It is actually a legal obligation to use the hashtags on advertisement posts, and not to do is technically a breach of consumer protection legislation, and will result in the posts being taken down, which in turn destroys any relationships your brand has with influencers and their audiences.

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