It seems like as soon as we get used to one change in social media, there’s already another one. And while it might seem easier to bury our heads in the sand, that’s not going to help us leverage social media as a marketing tool.
Here are just a few of the latest noteworthy changes to social media.
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Leveraging the MT (Modified Tweet)
While the MT isn’t exactly new, we are seeing it more on Twitter. Essentially, putting “MT” at the front of your tweet, followed by the person’s handle that you’re retweeting lets people know that you have modified the original tweet in some way. Maybe the tweet was too long to share, and you cut off part of it (or abbreviated words). Maybe you added your own hashtag. Or maybe you added your own comment to the end of the RT.
It isn’t necessary for you to use MT if you modify a tweet, but it can be courteous to do so. Now, at least when you see an MT on Twitter, you know what the heck it is!
Priority Newsfeed: Are You There?
If you’ve noticed an absence of certain business pages appearing in your Facebook newsfeed, there’s a reason. Facebook made changes to its algorithm earlier this year that has pushed many business pages to the background. Many businesses are, in fact, seeing less activity on their business pages, and less traffic to their site as a result.
There’s one way to combat this, though it relies on your followers seeing this update and taking action. If you ask the people who have liked your business page to visit the page, click the button that says “Liked,” and then select “See First” so that your updates appear at the top of their newsfeed. It’s asking a lot, but at this point it seems to be the only way to be seen.
Facebook Page Messaging
Now, in addition to using your customer service number and email (and chat, if you use it) customers can now message you directly on Facebook. It makes sense: when customers or potential customers are already on your Facebook page, it’s easy for them to reach out with questions about products, your store hours or other topics.
Messaging on Facebook business pages is one of several new business-friendly features the social site has implemented to make it easier for consumers to interact with brands. Others include a call-to-action button you can set up to send visitors on your Facebook page wherever you want: an email signup page, a contact form or a landing page.
By the time this post publishes, there will be a myriad of other new changes in social media, but at least you’ll be on top of these three.
Images: Alan Reeves, Susan Payton, Mixy Lorenzo (Creative Commons)
