5 Social Media Changes That Will Affect Your Marketing

As we’ve all learned, social media seems to change every few months. Not only are new sites popping up with increasing frequency, but existing sites seem to be constantly adjusting features to better appeal to users.

All of these changes keep marketing managers on our toes. But luckily there are plenty of resources available to help us stay abreast of these changes. Here are some of the most notable social media changes and how you can adjust your marketing efforts for success.

#1: Facebook Graph Search

Search has been one of Facebook’s weaknesses since its inception. By introducing Graph Search, Facebook users can search for people who have specific interests. Marketers are using Graph Search to find people who meet a target demographic before contacting them. But one of the biggest benefits to Graph Search is that it will hopefully help potential products find your product or service. When a customer types “Dallas plumbers,” a plumbing service based in Dallas will now have a better chance of showing up in searches.

#2: Vine Growing in Popularity

This new video-sharing service from Twitter is the latest trend, especially with younger social media users. The site reached 13 million users recently, which is no small feat for a new social media undertaking. Users communicate with each other through six-second videos that they can shoot easily using a mobile device. To be successful on Vine, remember: the simpler, the better. Consider hosting a contest where the best video of someone using your product will win a prize, with the finalist featured on your business’s Vine or Twitter account.

#3: Twitter for Business

Twitter is already widely used by businesses around the world. Twitter for Business merely attempts to reach out to those business users with a new section with tutorials on everything from building your community to finding success with Twitter ads. The social media site has also added a section with nearly 70 examples of Twitter campaigns that worked. Perusing these success stories may provide just the inspiration you need to give your Twitter marketing a boost.

#4: LinkedIn Search Upgrades

Lately, LinkedIn seems to be constantly tweaking things. One of the latest changes that will most affect marketers is its new streamlined search feature. Instead of entering separately the name and company of the person you’re trying to track down, you can now enter one search term and receive relevant results across all areas. Like Facebook’s enhanced search feature, LinkedIn’s changes will not only help you more easily network with others in your chosen industry, but it will also help bring traffic to your own profile.

                               

#5: Instagram’s Photos of You

If you aren’t aware of Instagram’s growing popularity with teens, you may be missing out on a vital demographic. Even the Facebook CFO himself has weighed in on the growing phenomenon. The company’s new Photos of You feature brings photo-tagging to the site, allowing brands to be added to photos. Since a site that’s primarily photos isn’t exactly SEO-friendly, this is essential for marketing. If you can encourage your loyal customers to tag your brand in their photos, you may benefit from reaching customers in an all new way.

All of these small changes show how eager social media sites are to encourage businesses to market using their services. With the right tools, you can turbo-charge your marketing efforts and attract new customers.