With Summer soon coming to a close, you’ll have likely seen both minor and subtle updates to your favourite social media apps, as the developers prepare for Q4. 

Check out this month’s breakdown of what happened in August and what to expect in the month of September on all relevant social media platforms. 

Instagram 

Instagram has taken a step back from its numerous controversial updates and seems to be working on more back-end-related features that improve the app’s overall safety. 

This was initially seen in an update which allowed users to block message requests from accounts they do not follow, as well as the feature which launched in 2021 whereby you could ‘restrict’ a certain user rather than blocking them overall.

This improvement in user safety is now being seen in their latest update, whereby all accounts under the age of 16 will automatically be put in a ‘restrictive exposure category’ – unless changed manually in settings. 

Instagram’s reasoning behind this update is simply to limit any under 16’s exposure to potentially harmful content – after Meta’s own internal reportage published that Instagram can have (and is having) a detrimental effect on the mental health of many teens.

Snapchat 

If you checked out one of our latest blogs – 5 Up & Coming Social Media Platforms – you will be familiar with the app BeReal, which has officially risen to 10 million users as of August 2022! 

In the year whereby many apps have been accused of taking “heavy inspiration” from a certain popular video app…we are seeing this once again with Snapchat (and no we’re not talking about their ‘Spotlight’ feature).

Snapchat has launched its Dual camera option, which has been outlined as “With Dual Camera, Snapchatters can create content using their front and back-facing cameras simultaneously.” 

Although the feature is clearly inspired by the popularity of BeReal (which many have described as “the new Snapchat”) Snapchat have made it clear that this will not be accompanied by a timer notification, and is free to use at any time like other Snapchat features.

Tiktok

With the new school year quickly approaching, Tiktok has launched a new cyber safety awareness campaign, in an attempt to educate young people about the potential dangers of online interactions. 

This campaign includes partnerships with GCA to develop an ‘interactive Cyber Security Toolkit’, as well as a one-page overview of how people can improve their online safety.

With this in mind, Tiktok has also revealed that it will be raising awareness for cybersecurity jobs – and in particular, the need for more diverse representation in cybersecurity. 

Twitter 

Twitter is currently testing a new format for publishing links through tweets, calling it “Tweet Tiles”.  The tiles show a larger image with a more detailed description and a prominent CTA to increase Twitter’s overall link clicks. 

As explained by Twitter:

“Right now, people on iOS and web may see and interact with Tweet Tiles that include text, images, videos, or other elements like a button from people in the initial test group. These formats are designed to easily engage with content and make your timeline more dynamic and visual.”

This update could be hugely beneficial to marketers, as it allows you to stand out on a users fast-moving feed, increasing the likelihood of higher engagement and overall CTR.

And that’s a wrap! What are your thoughts on these latest features and updates? 

Here at Social Nucleus, we have an expert team of dedicated Account Managers and creative executives who thrive in making your business’s social media presence as successful as possible, no matter the platform. Book a call with us today 🚀

It might seem like a long way off, but Black Friday is fast approaching. It’s a date that you, as a brand owner, need to be paying attention to, right now. 

Black Friday is on Friday 25th November this year, and it’s one of the most important dates in your marketing calendar. 

By planning ahead with your marketing efforts, you’ll make sure you’re fully prepped to get your products/services out there, generate hype around your offering and spur the Black Friday shopper to buy from you.

Up the awareness

In the months leading up to Black Friday, it’s crucial to build awareness in your brand and product offering. This first step of the customer journey is where an exciting customer journey begins.

Many potential customers won’t be ready to buy when they first encounter your brand – but you can make sure they’re set on purchasing from you when Black Friday rolls around.

Utilise your social media channels and content marketing to build that awareness and put your brand out there. Create engaging content featuring your products, communicate their USPs and features to stem the desire to buy from you.

You want customers to add your product to their wishlists, and communicating your brand personality and story helps to cultivate a stronger customer relationship. Relate to your target audience and their pain points to connect with them.

Make sure you prioritise Reels if you’re on Instagram – the platform has been further favouring video content over still imagery – so come up with creative ways to showcase your products in video format. 

Reels = bigger reach – and that’s what you need to build your brand awareness.

It’s also worth investing in paid social media ads to get your brand onto your audience’s social media feeds – this can include boosting organic content to reach a wider audience.

Boost your sales

When the all-important date rolls around, you want to make sure your site is fully optimised for maximum sales, and all your media channels are pushing customers onto your site.

Offer exclusive discounts with your email marketing, scheduling sends in advance in the lead up to Black Friday, with persuasive copy that builds hype and generates an urgency to buy from you. 

In the week before Black Friday and on the day, ensure you stand out in inboxes with eye-catching subject lines that include your discounts.

It’s also worth investing in paid Google Search ads, no matter your budget (PPC ads). Bid on relevant keywords so you’ll appear in your target audience’s search results. Make sure you boost those site clicks on the day your audience is more ready than ever to buy.

Now let’s consider their experience once they reach your site on Black Friday. We recommend investing time in site maintenance, ready for your influx of customers.

When customers arrive on your website, you want to ensure their journey to complete checkout is as clear and smooth as possible. Make sure your site is easily navigable, with engaging copy that persuades them to add to cart. 

Optimise your site speed to avoid slow-loading webpages dissuading impatient customers to go elsewhere. Use sites like www.seoptimer.com  to gain valuable insights in your site performance, and where you could improve.

Considering site content, update your product descriptions – make them punchy, so the customer quickly accesses the key information they need before they buy. Think bullet points, short phrases and broken-down sections.

Get ready to add statements that generate a sense of urgency on Black Friday, eg ‘Selling Out Fast!’ Your customers won’t want to miss out on products that look popular and seem limited in stock.

Another way to tap into the customer’s sense of urgency is to build a countdown timer on your landing page – which can repeat on webpage banners.

Phew- there’s a lot to do to secure your highest performing Black Friday yet.

Feeling overwhelmed? We can help. We’re well-versed in Black Friday preparation – and we’re ready to scale up your marketing efforts, ready for the big day.

From paid social media ads to content creation to SEO optimisation, we’re your growth partner with rich experience in helping brands soar to new heights. 

And the run-up to Black Friday couldn’t be a better time to enlist our help.

Give us a call now to discuss your goals- and see how we can help you achieve Black Friday success 🚀

Not even 5 years ago we would not have been able to imagine more prominent social media platforms than Facebook, Twitter & Instagram – and then came along Tiktok which changed the trajectory of social media for the foreseeable future. 

Every single one of our favourite social platforms had to start somewhere before becoming the essential apps we know them as today – with the rise of niche versions of the platforms becoming more popular as the years go on – and as business owners know, getting ahead of the trends could be crucial for the growth of your brand. 

In this week’s blog post, we will be breaking down 5 up & coming social media platforms. 

Bereal 

Launched in 2020, Bereal has made quite the name for itself in recent months, with the app’s main notification feature becoming a viral meme – which we have been finding hilarious. 

BeReal features a daily notification, at any time in the day which then gives you a 2-minute countdown to capture your ‘unedited’ face & surroundings – The app has been praised by its users for taking social media back to its authentic roots, in a world where we feel socially obligated to share only the highlights & polished versions of our lives – BeReal encourages you to simply: be real. 

However, unfortunately, due to the app’s emphasis on being ‘the only real social media platform,’ it does not currently prohibit advertising for business’ – but many have used it in an interesting way to authentically connect with their audiences.

BopDrop 

‘The Community for music lovers’ – BopDrop is a music-based social media platform which launched in 2020 but has gained notable popularity in 2022. The app expands on the likes of Spotify & Apple Music by combining an engaging user experience and allowing you to discover new music based on the users you follow.

It functions similar to Instagram in regards to the interface & discoverability system – making it easier than ever for users to explore new music & independent artists reaching a wider audience. 

SuperNova

Branded as ‘The Social Network that gives back’, Supernova claims to be the ethical alternative to Facebook & Instagram – with the majority of ad revenue going to charity. To accompany this ethical take on social media, SuperNova currently only uses human moderators to combat trolling & hate speech, which is a prevalent issue on competitor platforms.

Although the ad revenue situation may deter some brands from advertising on the app, this would be the ideal occasion to reach a new audience as well as, give your brand a positive reputation for businesses looking to give back to charity.

Polywork

On the more professional end of the scale, Polywork is a social media platform similar to the likes of Linkedin – without solely relying on the ‘likes’ & ‘connection’ and aims to show that people are more than simply the roles they hold.

Essentially, Polywork takes a more relaxed approach to its competitor, being the social media equivalent of “smart-casual”. You can discuss potential collaborations & simply just things that bring you joy in the workplace – which if this fits your business’s branding, maybe the perfect alternative to represent yourself professionally online.

Locket

Finally, the most unique contender on this list: Locket turns your home screen widgets into a social media platform – allowing users to share live photos with their friends, similar to the likes of Snapchat & Bereal but on a more personal level. 

From an advertising perspective, similar to Bereal this opens the door for allowing your brand to think outside the box & have fun with marketing ideas using the widget space.

The world of Social Media will forever be an interesting place to be, with every niche or hobby slowly being transformed into a platform where others then connect & share what they love. Who knows, maybe we will soon see Tiktok de-throned in the next coming years by an unexpected contestant!

If you need assistance growing organically on any relevant social platform, We’re a team of digital marketing experts ready to help you take your brand to the next level – book a call with us now to discuss your strategy and goals 🚀

July was quite an eventful month in the world of Social Media. With viral petitions and the influx of video-based content becoming the new normal on most platforms… on some more than others 👀 

But if you somehow missed out on everything that’s been happening on your favourite apps, get the latest rundown from July, and what to expect in the month of August in this month’s instalment of Social Media Updates. 

Instagram 

To begin, let’s discuss the elephant in the room…Instagram. After receiving a very public backlash over its ‘Tiktok-inspired’ update – Check out our latest blog “Make Instagram Instagram again”: The New Tiktok Style Instagram Update –  Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri finally addressed the controversial update stating ​​“I’m glad we took a risk — if we’re not failing every once in a while, we’re not thinking big enough or bold enough” – Mosseri went on to confirm that Instagram would be pausing the ‘Full-Screen testing’ and reverting back to the original layout for the select users who received the update. 

But before you jump for joy, it does not seem like this will be the final attempt for the company to replicate Tiktok’s undeniable success; Mosseri continued in his statement about the failure of the testing and stated that Instagram will still continue to prioritise video-based content due to its evident popularity in recent years. 

Like it or not, reels are here to stay.

Facebook 

Following on with the theme of video-based content, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that Facebook will lean heavily towards being ‘Reel’ focused, with this style of content being the fastest growing element based on user engagement. 

This is in response to Meta receiving lower than expected results in both app usage and revenue. Despite the intense backlash Instagram received for pushing a similar style of interface and content overall, Zuckerberg has stated that Facebook will be taking the same approach to Tiktok’s algorithm – whereby content by users you do not follow will be suggested on your timeline. 

“Social content from people you know is going to remain an important part of the experience and some of our most differentiated content, but increasingly we’ll also be able to supplement that with other interesting content from across our networks.”

Zuckerberg goes on to confirm that Meta hopes to have doubled the amount of AI-generated content, from accounts that users do not follow, by the end of the year.

Tiktok

Ironically, the app everyone else is trying to be…seems to be somewhat trying to replicate the success of a completely different genre itself. 

It’s undeniable how influential Tiktok has become when it comes to music in the charts, with thousands of sounds trending every day – and it looks like Tiktok is looking to capitalise on this.  – Check out our blog post – Trends, Challenges And Charts: Tiktoks impact on The Music Industry 

TikTok’s parent company, ‘Bytedance’ have officially filed a trademark for ‘Tiktok Music’ with the service allowing users to “purchase, play, share, and download music. It would also allow users to create, share, and recommend playlists, comment on music, as well as Livestream audio and video” (TheVerge.com). 

This platform would be set to rival the likes of Spotify and Apple Music, creating a more ‘interactive & social’ aspect to the platform compared to their competitors. 

It’s unclear how far in development TikTok Music currently is or if the service will even see the light of day, but with Tiktok setting the unofficial blueprint for so many established social media platforms to follow – it’s entirely possible that Tiktok could dominate the music streaming industry to the same level.

Twitter 

In some non-video-related news, Twitter has launched live tests for users to ‘Set a Status’ – so you can show/ tell your followers what you’re doing or how you’re feeling whilst you tweet!

From what has been tested of the new feature, it has been revealed that you have access to 17 activity options such as: ‘Hot Take’, ‘A Serious Case of the Mondays’, and ‘Need Advice’. 

These statuses will be added to your tweets and displayed in your and your followers’ feeds; with no personalisation option available during this testing stage. 

The Status Markers have received mixed reviews with many stating that they do not add much value to the general Twitter experience – or that the statutes themselves have a very ‘gimmicky’ or ‘cheesy’ feel to them. 

But in the world of social media controversies, many are enjoying the seemingly light-hearted update and looking forward to sharing their #ShowerThoughts🚿 with the world!

Snapchat

And finally, Snapchat has officially launched the ‘Sounds Creator Fund’ to support and encourage unsigned artists to gain distribution and reach via audio uploads. Snapchat audio launched in 2020 which allows users to add a specific track to their Snapchat, similar to the likes of Tiktok. 

As explained by Snap’s Head of Music Partnerships Ted Suh:

“We want to support the independent and emerging artists that are driving creation on Snapchat. By providing meaningful funding and creative support, our goal is for artists to feel empowered to continue creating and pursue a career in music.”

This opens opportunities for small artists to have their music featured in Snapchat Lenses or in ‘Spotlight’, leading to a higher reach and new potential audiences. 

And that’s a wrap! What are your thoughts on these latest features & updates? 

Here at Social Nucleus, we have an expert team of dedicated Account Managers and creative executives who thrive in making your business’s social media presence as successful as possible, no matter the platform. Book a call with us today 🚀