Even people outside the social media marketing sphere have heard about all the changes coming to Facebook over the past few weeks. From the Facebook news tab, to Instagram and Facebook removing total like counts, to the Instagram scheduling option on Creator Studio, to ad targeting restrictions, these massive updates have been kind of hard to miss.
We decided to catch up with our corner of the social media marketing community on Twitter and check in with them about how the changes have been going on their end. #SMTLive responded with all sorts of opinions on the new updates, so we recapped the highlights from the chat for you here.
We started on a positive note, asking our #SMTLive community what they liked about the new updates.
Let's get started. Q1: Which recent Facebook update(s) are you most excited about? How are you planning to use them for your brand's social media marketing strategy? #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/jSPEHQKFKb
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) September 17, 2019
@JenniferBakerCo was excited about the new Creator Studio updates.
Enjoying the Creator Studio that seems to finally be functioning! #SMTLIVE
— Jennifer Baker (@JenniferBakerCo) September 17, 2019
Just like many news publishers and media outlets, @meganvgavin was curious about the new Facebook News Tab.
As a news publisher, I'm excited to see how the upcoming Facebook News Tab pans out. #SMTLive
— meg (@meganvgavin) September 17, 2019
As Facebook Stories continue to grow, the cross-posting feature on Creator Studio that gives you the ability to schedule between Facebook and Instagram is making a positive splash as well.
So far, images and video. The crossposting feature is helpful due to the number of team accounts and content shared between them. Hoping to dive into other areas deeper, specifically monetization #SMTLive
— Monique Bowman (@MoCherie8) September 17, 2019
With so many new platforms gaining popularity, we're always curious as to how important Facebook, the old standby, is to marketers lately. In our poll, most people still found Facebook "extremely important" for their SMM strategy.
While we wait for people to show up, here's a quick poll. Q2: How important is Facebook in your social media marketing strategy? #SMTLive
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) September 17, 2019
Targeting restrictions haven't had a catastrophic effect on Facebook ad strategies, according to these #SMTLive Twitter chatters. It seems more like some advertisers have had to make a few slight changes to their strategy, and some haven't had to change anything thus far.
Q3: How are you dealing with all the new ad targeting restrictions on Facebook? Have you had to change your Facebook ad strategy because of this update? #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/C3i9o2LvSQ
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) September 17, 2019
A few users haven't had to make any adjustments with the new restrictions.
Q3: Haven't had to adjust (lately) #SMTLIVE
— Jennifer Baker (@JenniferBakerCo) September 17, 2019
The language changes were a small concern here as well.
No changes yet, but have had to think about the language used in our ads to make sure we don't trigger a false positive & have our ads rejected :/ #SMTLive
— meg (@meganvgavin) September 17, 2019
We definitely wanted to make sure we asked #SMTLive about the new Facebook news tab. With established journalists heading over to work for Facebook for the first time, and Apple's news outlet facing some competition, there's plenty to talk about here.
Q4: How do you think Facebook's 'Today In' news section will impact the way publishers share news and the way the world consumes news? #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/mn4Xn6q8VK
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) September 17, 2019
Also, do you think 'Today In' will be beneficial in any way for marketers? #SMTLive
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) September 17, 2019
Facebook's new features tend to make a big impact. @JenniferBakerCo thinks this new update will make the digital news market more competitive.
A4: I think competition for eyeballs is ever increasing. No longer it is a level playing field (ah, the good ol' days) #SMTLive
— Jennifer Baker (@JenniferBakerCo) September 17, 2019
@hautechauclatte thinks that big media companies will benefit from this update more than others.
Seems like big media companies will benefit the most & an attempt to stifle the regular everyday person from being able to get news out as has happened since live video started a few years ago.
— Tamira Hamilton (@hautechauclatte) September 17, 2019
Also, if any of these updates are news to you, check out this helpful link:
If anyone feels like they just need to learn more about what is happening on Facebook currently, you can find all news updates here: https://t.co/loQCfEg4vl #SMTLive
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) September 17, 2019
Testing removing likes has had a lot of positive responses from the general public, and marketers seem to agree that it's going to be a good thing in the end. In fact, some marketers realized that likes aren't everything well before Facebook and Instagram began these tests.
Q5: How do you feel about Facebook removing 'total like count' on Facebook and Instagram? Will this impact marketers? #SMTLive pic.twitter.com/SWsib94f6o
— Social Media Today (@socialmedia2day) September 17, 2019
@JenniferBakerCo noted that "total like count" has always been a vanity metric with a rather obvious pun.
A5: LIKE I've always said, it comes down to if the content is achieving the goals. It's not just about vanity metrics. #SMTLive
— Jennifer Baker (@JenniferBakerCo) September 17, 2019
@matt_lozar thinks this update will lead to better-quality content.
This should lead to better content. It should to people not evaluating content just based on "feel-good" stats
— Matt Lozar (@matt_lozar) September 17, 2019
And @SaucerStudio made an interesting point, too: How will influencer marketing change without seeing total like count? That will be interesting to see in the future as well.
It would make a big change in the brand-influencer relationship. It would be interesting to see how brands would pick influencers to partner with when they don't see their like counts anymore.
— Flying Saucer Studio (@SaucerStudio) September 18, 2019
Thanks so much for recapping this Facebook-savvy #SMTLive Twitter chat with us. If you’re intrigued and want to chime into the next one, RSVP here.