The only thing constant in social media is change. There’s a reason your phone is always reminding you to update your social apps, and that’s because all of your favs have been adding new functionality and extras at breakneck pace. So,here’s what you’ve missed in social Q1, 2021.
No more image crop on Twitter!
Good news for artists, illustrators or infographic lovers: the dreaded Twitter crop, which algorithmically crops your beautiful image to a rectangle that often cuts out all the best bits of your pic, is now gone! (The only downside: the inevitable end of the “click for a surprise” meme.)
Add your pronouns to LinkedIn and Instagram.
Auto-captioning for Instagram stories is here!
When uploading a video, option the stickers section, click the “captions” sticker, wait a bit, and watch those captions roll! (NB: if the algorithm messes up anything you’ve said, you can go in and manually edit the caption.) Here’s a handy tutorial.
LinkedIn lets you highlight your content.
In case you missed my earlier blog, LinkedIn has launched something called “Creator Mode”, which lets users lead with their content instead of their bio – a win for the nascent thought leaders among us!
Instagram borrows from Clubhouse and Tiktok
Surprise, surprise! If you’re loving Duets and Stitches on TikTok, good news: those skills are now transferable to Instagram. These are still in their infancy and haven’t rolled out widely, but there are some great opportunities for fun and promo to be had! IG is also allowing users to switch off their microphone or video while on an IG Live – giving us some definite Clubhouse vibes.
Twitter is testing professional profiles.
Wish you had more space to share your business info on your Twitter profile? Ta-da! Now you can add your address (with a handy map) and operating hours – and have people get in touch via a contact button. Twitter also says that further functionality is in the works. Game changer for brick-and-mortar businesses.
Image captioning abounds.
Image captions – descriptions of what’s going on in an image – are critical accessibility features for the visually impaired. Twitter offers an option to manually type them in on image-based posts, and Facebook and IG now offer AI-supported captioning support.
Facebook makes it easier to engage as your page.
Welcome to your own dedicated business news feed! Now you can comment, post and like as your business – instead of awkwardly toggling between personal and professional accounts.
Love a Tweet? Leave a tip.
Twitter has just rolled out a Tip Jar service that lets you tip fellow Tweets – from non-profits to journalists to thought leaders. This could be an interesting one for content creators and entrepreneurs to watch, for sure!
Instagram adds a professional dashboard.
If you’ve been scrambling all over Instagram trying to stay on top of your stats and performance, good news: the Professional Dashboard brings a bunch of analytics, tools and insights into one central place. Use the Track Your Performance, Grow Your Business and Stay Informed tabs to do exactly that!
Yep, there’ve been a TON of updates and changes these past few months, but don’t worry – I’ll keep you informed about the ones that matter to your content strategy!
For more insights about what you need to know about the social landscape, and how to leverage these updates for maximum ROI, sign up for my newsletter over on the right hand side, or drop me a line!