Recent updates from social media sites prove that they are becoming a digital marketer’s paradise.

Businesses all over the world are increasingly becoming reliant on digital platforms to reach their customers; especially more so in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. This development which has been ‘hailed’ as the ‘Digital Transformation’ of businesses, has been shaping up the corporate landscape for the last few years. Right now, brands around the world are reinventing themselves to cater to the power of social media, running to catch on to every trend, every opportunity. Breakneck speed is the new mantra, you blink and you miss out.

How have social media platforms become the mainstay of modern marketing?

Today, customers expect relevant content in relation to what they’re doing anytime, anywhere, and in the format and on the device of their choosing. It’s their journey that dictates your strategy. The modern internet-savvy customer wishes to be entertained and kept engaged all the time.

And in order to keep up with this new kind of “always-connected” customer, your business must embrace technology to deliver an unmatched customer experience.

Fortunately, the social/digital media giants of today are keeping no stone unturned to become the perfect go-to between brands and customers, making the interaction easy, accessible, and viable for both parties.

Let’s take the example of the largest of these sites-The Facebook. Developed in the hallowed halls of Harvard so one could keep up with their old friends and compare notes, nowadays FB had become a whole new beast. It is now a place to do business. Every month there are new updates/upgrades to the platform to make it more business-friendly; to allow the brands to capitalize on the massive population base which forms the daily users of Facebook.

Let’s discuss some of the recent updates from these sites which clearly show how these platforms are growing out from their identity as social media/messaging websites and are turning into veritable marketplaces themselves. For this article, we will discuss recent updates from Instagram and Facebook (two of the top business-friendly social media sites in the world) which their parent company Meta has introduced in order to make them more business-friendly.

Instagram

At its heart, Instagram is a creator-driven platform. This is what makes this platform a vibrant and ever-changing business scape. The growth of Instagram is driven by creativity and the influencers behind it. Brands; which are able to ride the bandwagon or work in tandem with these numerous creators find themselves reaping the fruits.

And in the middle is Instagram itself, providing creators and companies with many tools to effectively reach their audience and make money.

One of these tools is Subscriptions which was introduced in January and is already available to some beta users. Subscriptions are a great way to enable creators to get recurring revenue and have a sustainable stream of income. They also help them make a loyal audience base to further their own interests.

Recently, Instagram announced new updates and an extension of Subscriptions such as:

• Subscriber Chats – ability to invite subscribers to a group chat
• Subscriber Reels – option to post Instagram Reels for subscribers only
• Subscriber Posts – option to post Instagram Reels for subscribers only
• Subscriber Home – new tab in the profile for all content available only to subscribers

It is very clear Instagram is facilitating its creators to reach more easily to their loyal audience base and create a steady source of income with this new feature.

Another upgrade that makes life easier for Instagram creators and brands is ‘Auto-generated captions for Reels.’ It can surely help users who find it a bit difficult to present their content in an engaging manner to the consumers.

Facebook

Facebook still remains the marketer’s favorite platform and its massive traffic is just one of the reasons. Its spate of business-friendly tools and upgrades might be the another.

Recently, FB launched two upgrades to make their user’s life easier, especially those who are promoting a business/product on it.

• Meta Business Suite, which had integrated the messaging from all of Meta’s subsidiaries under one banner, has a new feature where you can send promotional messages to your customers who opt in. For example, customers can opt-in to get notifications about recent product announcements, discounts, and similar. With this new feature, small businesses can re-engage their customers and build a strong, loyal base.
• It has also added a feature in FB ads where the customer is led to WhatsApp chat directly with a click.

It is very clear with these updates that Meta is trying to integrate its flagship ‘The Facebook’ with its new acquisitions. This cross-platform integration is going to help brands promote their wares much more conveniently and with better results. Especially the smaller brands.

We can also conclude that these platforms are trying to facilitate more direct conversations between the brand and consumer and helping them target such an audience base that is loyal and recurring.

Design Pundit is the pre-eminent digital marketing agency in Delhi-NCR where we solve the nitty-gritty of Digital marketing to build strong, reliable, and enduring brands from the ground up. If you want help with the digital identity for your brand/product/company we are just a phone call away. Or, you could just drop us a message on Instagram!