The ebb and flow of social media can be hard to keep up with. Today, Gravitate One shares some of the updates in social media (as of April 2022) you should be aware of in order to successfully strategize your digital marketing strategy.

Changes to Social Media in 2022

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably been frustrated by some of the ways social media newsfeeds are delivered to users. As of this spring, however, Instagram has rolled out a big change that many users have been begging for.

Instagram Updates

Remember the good ol’ days of Instagram when your feed was in chronological order? It means you would mostly see posts from people you followed, in the order they were published. Then, Instagram started adding suggested posts to feeds and giving priority to posts with more engagement.

Chronological Feeds

This year, Instagram has given some power back to its community by allowing users to choose whether they’ll scroll an algorithm-fueled feed or one based on who they actually favorite and follow.

With a tap on the Instagram logo within the app, users can choose from dropdown menu options to see who they’re following or who they’ve favorited (up to 50 favorites) in chronological order. For brands, it’s a good time to present a call to action (CTA) in their feeds and stories, asking viewers to be sure they’re both following and have favorited the brand account. This will ensure users still see content in their feeds when they switch to chronological order.

Brand Tagging

Insta is also opening up its product tagging function to all users so anyone can make their posts shoppable. When a brand is tagged, it’ll receive a notification so it can review the content. This streamlines user access to products, whether it’s a sponsored post or just a recommendation from one friend to another.

TikTok Tips

The platform recently released a guide for content creators, giving tips for boosting reach and creating videos for sponsored content. Here are the highlights:

  • Mix both brand-led and creator-led content
  • Give personal insight as to why the product is valuable/share a tutorial
  • Improve brand recall by including songs and voiceovers in sponsored videos
  • Be physically present in the video (vs just doing a voiceover)
  • Don’t bury the lead; include branding references 3 to 5 times throughout the video

YouTube Algorithm Insights

Brands often feel they’re at the mercy of a platform’s algorithm. Thankfully, YouTube shared some insight into its algorithm, and how content creators can improve video performance.

Quality vs Quantity

Don’t make content just for the sake of making content. YouTube does not recommend a channel based on the number of videos it has, or how frequently the channel uploads.

Trends are Your Friend

If you can offer a fresh take on a trending topic, YouTube does recommend doing so, regardless of the competition out there. The only caveat here is to avoid making content on a topic with a short lifespan. For example, seasonal content around the SuperBowl may get lots of views every January and February, but after that time it’s not as relevant to many subscribers. Find the happy medium between evergreen content and trending topics when uploading.

Streamline Your Content

If you develop a passion for a topic that deviates from your current YouTube channel, it’s best to start another channel. Viewers who originally came to your channel thanks to your XYZ content may not stick around if you start integrating ABC content. Streamline what you upload to your channel, and make new ones for other interests.

Facebook Lives Live On

The Facebook Live video feature is sticking around, as many platforms are moving away from static, photo content and switching to video-based content. Brands are seeing an increase in views and engagement when they consistently incorporate Facebook Lives in their digital content strategy. But what’s the best way to create this type of content? What should brands be sharing in their Facebook lives?

The answers may vary, but there are some suggestions from top-performing creators to consider:

Host a Simple Q&A

Live videos allow your viewers to get to know you and your brand behind the scenes.

Share “Day in the Life of” Content

To piggyback on the Q&A format, use Facebook Lives as a way to share a snippet of you in action, doing your daily routine at home or work.

Use Lives for Product or Service Release Updates

If you’re getting ready to release a new product, let your followers know you’ll be hosting a Live to share the details. Viewers love to tune in for big announcements and share in the excitement with you and others in your fanbase.

Offer a Tutorial

Whether it’s your daily makeup tutorial or instructions for how to use one of your newest products, how-to videos are a good format for Lives. 

Successful brands have found that a 20-minute Live duration is the sweet spot, as viewers are less likely to lose interest in that window of time. Keep this in mind when strategizing content, and how you’ll format a Live.

If managing multiple social media channels, and strategizing for each of them seems like too much to add to your plate, Gravitate can help. Our digital marketing company can manage all aspects of marketing, from posts on social to landing pages on websites.