FACEBOOK'S ANNUAL F8 CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Facebook held its Annual F8 Developer Conference in California and a few announcements have been made including Facebook getting a complete redesign, brand new Instagram features, and a peek at the long term goals for both networks.
Even though the event is branded 'developer' conference, it's super important for marketers to know how these changes may affect them, here are a few of the most important announcement to help you plan your marketing strategy in 2019 and 2020. check out Social Media Today’s in-depth announcement pieces for the entire announcement list as only the announcements that are listed are marketer related.
1. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced a complete redesign of the Facebook desktop and mobile experience at F8. This new design not only looks different but gives us a glimpse at how Facebook will function in the future.
Facebook redesigned itself around Groups, it does this by providing quick access to groups from an ever-present left-hand sidebar, and adding a group's quick button to the top of the app.
What does this mean for marketers? Well, basically, get on board and create a branded group for your brand before its too late and, no matter how painful it may be, you will need to accept that organic reach is a downward trend and you will need to embrace Facebook ads.
2. Facebook announced an Instagram change, and now influencers and creators will have the ability to sell products right from their Instagram accounts. Creators will be able to tag products in their posts just like they usually would, the only difference is that, when a product tag is tapped, Instagram users can order the tagged product right from the Instagram app – no web browser required.
A launch date has yet to be set but, from what we know, well-known influencers are currently beta testing the function.
So, what does this mean for you? Basically, influencers will have the ability to sell products through Instagram instead of having to link products in their bio. Influencers will instead be able to link to their partner’s products right from a photo with a paid placement.
3. Lastly, another Instagram update: Hidden Like count. Currently, this is still in the testing phase, however, when discussed it is said to create a “less pressurized environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.” This signals that Instagram is moving back to its creator-focused, art-centric roots of years past.
In conclusion, the new Facebook groups-focused design will undoubtedly dampen organic reach even more, and we can only be happy that they are giving us a heads up. On the other hand, Instagram influencers being able to sell products directly will make influencer marketing better than ever, and hidden like counts may prove to be just the revival Instagram needs to fight bot spam.
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