Social media evolves so fast, it’s hard for even the most up-to-date marketer to keep up.
“Social media changes very quickly,” says Kari DePhillips, owner of The Content Factory, a company that handles content and social media marketing for a variety of clients. “It’s almost like whack-a-mole, you never know what’s going to pop up or when.”
To help marketers stay on top of features that can improve their connections with customers and clients, we scoured the headlines and believe these three new features are the ones to watch for:
Better customer service through Facebook’s Messenger
When a customer buys a product, you probably send a confirmation email, right? Followed by a shipping email and a ‘thank you’ email. You may have automated this process, but who knows if customers are really getting the message. Plus, these emails are usually “Do Not Respond” emails, just meant to provide information.
Facebook wants to improve this process for marketers by integrating its Messenger app with ecommerce sites.
When a customer goes to buy something they can choose to connect through Facebook Messenger. Once selected, the company can send personalized updates to customers through Messenger.
“I think this new feature is great,” DePhillips says. “Any barrier between customers and brands that can be taken down works to the advantage of the consumer.”
It provides a direct line of contact to the customer, which is irreplaceable for brands.
Facebook debuts a digital assistant to a test audience
As a marketer, you juggle a lot of tasks. Who couldn’t use a personal assistant now and then? Facebook is launching what seems to be an amped-up version of Siri.
According to Facebook’s David Marcus, this assistant, which lives inside Messenger and is called M, can complete tasks on your behalf. It can do more than run a Google search for you. It can purchase items, get gifts delivered to your client, book a lunch date for your next business meeting, and set appointments with top clients.
“It’s early in the journey,” Marcus says. “But it’s an exciting step towards enabling people on Messenger to get things done across a variety of things, so they can get more time to focus on what’s important in their lives.”
Right now a small group of people in San Francisco are testing M out.
A tool like this can help marketers stay connected with clients while taking the headache out of planning the logistics.
Twitter works on new photo and video features
Twitter wants to give marketers more creative control over their pictures and videos. In the near future, you’ll be able to add text, stickers and your own doodles to your pictures and videos.
Twitter asked some of its A-list users, Taylor Swift and Pharrell Williams, to test out this new feature. Taylor Swift posted this video with the text “Showtime” in the corner during MTV’s Video Music Awards in August.
It’s not the first move that shows Twitter’s new focus on photos and videos. Earlier this year the company made changes to allow users to upload four photos at a time and tag up to ten people. Sound familiar? It should. It’s a signature feature on Facebook.
Adding text to images and videos could help marketers capture attention and connect with audience members. Brands marketing to the younger crowd can embrace the stickers and doodles.
Like the other features listed above, it’s still in the testing phase so there isn’t a release date just yet.
Is there a new social media tool or feature that you’re excited about? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
