Social media is an integral element of any PR strategy and one that cannot be taken lightly in the digital world we live in. From highly visible, thought-provoking organic content to the more sophisticated audience targeting offered through paid social advertising, the opportunities available on social media are greater than ever before. However, as we all know, social platforms are ever-evolving and recently it has felt increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest social media marketing updates.
It is important to be aware of platform updates to ensure your strategy remains in line with what will perform well, but it can seem an overwhelming task. Fear not, we have you covered! We have listed some of the top social media marketing updates all in the PR industry should know about to ensure you are delivering the best social media marketing campaigns for your clients. We have focused on Twitter and LinkedIn in these social media marketing updates as they are the main focuses for companies in the tech and cybersecurity space.
Twitter…where do we begin?
It has been a rocky time at Twitter HQ since Elon Musk took over. Engagement levels have dropped significantly across the board and many have chosen to boycott the platform altogether.
Twitter is a particularly important platform in the Tech and Cybersecurity industries, so we as a Tech PR Agency are not recommending our clients to completely abandon the platform. However, we are remaining up-to-date with the latest news to ensure we are doing the best we can for our clients.
Here are some of the latest, and most significant updates to know about (if we listed all of them this blog would be more like a dissertation…)
- Twitter ‘For You’ Tab
A couple of months ago, you may have noticed a new tab at the top of your screen when scrolling through Twitter. The new ‘For You’ tab is a new timeline that follows Twitter’s algorithm (don’t we all love an algorithm to get our head around!?).
The content shown on this timeline are posts Twitter believes you will engage with based on your previous activity on the app. With this update, you shouldn’t just consider how this will affect what you are seeing, you should consider how this will affect who is seeing your client’s content.
What should you be doing about this?
In order to ensure your client’s content is being shown to as many people as possible, a big emphasis should be placed on community management. Liking, sharing, commenting – this will all play into Twitter’s new algorithm and increase the likelihood of your client’s content being shown to more people on the new ‘For You’ tab.
- Twitter Blue Subscription
Up until now, a Twitter blue checkmark has been awarded to those who reach a certain number of followers, but Elon Musk has changed this to a paid subscription. The opt-in, paid monthly subscription that adds a blue checkmark to your account and gives early access to new features such as the highly anticipated ‘edit’ button.
Other implications of the Twitter Blue subscription mean that only accounts who pay for the blue checkmark will be able to advertise on the platform. There have been further talks of the ‘For You’ tab previously mentioned only showing content from Twitter Blue subscribed accounts which would significantly impact reach and engagement levels.
What should you be doing about this?
Twitter advertising is part of many of our clients’ social media strategies – whether it be for conducting research or increasing brand awareness. The Twitter Blue subscription comes in at around £10 a month so for many clients we have recommended they opt-in to this.
If Twitter advertising isn’t an integral part of your client’s social media strategy and organic Twitter isn’t a huge focus for them, it might not seem like the best option. We recommend talking to your clients and getting their thoughts on Twitter as it will be unique to each individual case.
LinkedIn – is this the new Twitter?
LinkedIn is notoriously beneficial when it comes to B2B marketing. In the cybersecurity and tech industries, LinkedIn has always been a key focus when it comes to social media strategy as it benefits many business’ goals. With Twitter being such an unknown entity, we are urging clients not to neglect their LinkedIn profiles and ensure they are kept updated on a regular basis.
- LinkedIn Algorithmically Suggested Posts
Something you may have already noticed when scrolling through your LinkedIn feeds is that they have introduced algorithmically suggested posts to feeds. This follows Twitter, Instagram and TikTok in showing users posts which the algorithm believes you would be interested in based on previous activity. Suggested posts will appear with a ‘Suggested’ label in your feed so you will be aware of this kind of content.
This should be seen as a positive social media marketing update as it could lead to higher engagement levels with content being shown to more people who have previously engaged with relevant industry and conversation topics.
What should you be doing about this?
As with Twitter’s ‘For You’ tab update, this places more emphasis on the importance of community management for your clients. By regularly going through client’s LinkedIn feeds and engaging with content you will be feeding into the algorithm, resulting in a significant impact when it comes to brand exposure to the right audiences.
- LinkedIn Will No Longer Count Inactive or Restricted Accounts in Connection or Follower Stats
A recent update from LinkedIn tells us that they will no longer be counting ‘hibernated or restricted accounts’ in follower or connection numbers. This update has been made in an effort to support LinkedIn members with more reliable engagement and research insights.
What should you be doing about this?
The content you publish on other channels may not always be relevant on LinkedIn, and it is a great task to produce unique LinkedIn content multiple times per week alongside all the other social media management. However, 1-2 posts a week will help keep you active and play into LinkedIn’s algorithm.
- LinkedIn Company Page Following
Company pages will now be able to follow other pages in the app. This can provide a means of staying on top of industry trends, monitoring key discussions, finding opportunities to chime into discussions from clients’ accounts and using it to monitor competitors.
It is also worth monitoring big brands/companies to be aware of any opportunities to increase client exposure within the comments sections.
What should you be doing about this?
Follow relevant pages from your client’s LinkedIn profiles and regularly scroll through their feeds, ensuring you are engaging with relevant content. This will feed into LinkedIn’s new algorithm and ensure your client’s posts are appearing on more relevant timelines. You will also be able to use the information discovered through client’s feeds to influence future content creation and suggestions.
- LinkedIn Audio Events
Final update worth noting from LinkedIn is their LinkedIn Audio Events. Similar to an Instagram Live, these events will be available for company pages to host and provide another avenue to engage with your audience on the platform.
What should you be doing about this?
It would be worth suggesting these audio events to a selection of clients as a way to make professional connections and tune into industry-specific discussions with leaders in the field to both learn from and engage with.
Found this helpful? Let us know and we will continue to update you, as you can guarantee we will never run out of social media marketing updates to talk about. If you are looking for some social media marketing help, or any other PR services, get in touch to discuss how we might be able to work with you to achieve your goals.