Episode 32 – LinkedIn Messenger, Choosing a Live Story Platform, Instagram Ads, and Twitter Updates

This week, our hosts Matt, Anna, and Will join together to take a look at the latest updates to major social media platforms that have an effect on you and your business. Changes like the LinkedIn messenger updates and how they impact the social exchanges on LinkedIn, the developments on Instagram advertisements and how they changes the way we use them, and a listener suggested topic!

LinkedIn Messenger Update [6:30]
Choosing a Live Story Platform [11:35]
Instagram Platform Updates [17:10]
Twitter Updates [20:55]

LinkedIn Messenger Update

LinkedIn has added a Facebook like chat box in the bottom right-hand corner of their website. This is obviously a step in the right direction for more fluid conversations on the platform but what effects will it have on the professionalism and style of communication happening there? Our host Matt takes a look at this and more as he leads the group through a discussion on the topic.

“I didn’t expect a chat box to be implemented onto LinkedIn personally.” -Matt
“I’m just not sure if people will expect you to use professional lingo or text formatting.” -Anna
“I think the casual messenger on LinkedIn will reduce the professionalism on the platform.” -Matt
“The casual messenger on LinkedIn will be great for networking because it allows a more informal way to reach out.” -Anna
“The messenger might be a slight grab toward Slack’s audience, especially if they integrate Skype.” -Matt

Choosing a Live Story Platform

With so many platforms implementing copies of Snapchat’s Stories feature, one of our listeners asked which one is the best platform to invest time and resources into to start using the feature. Together with the group, Matt leads a discussion about which platform will have the best benefit for your business and how you can get started now.

“Your first reaction is, you want to be on all the live story platforms, don’t do it! It’s such a time intensive platform and trying to do it across three platforms is a huge commitment.” -Matt
“Trying to pre-schedule live stories almost removes the authenticity away from it.” -Matt
“Every platform features live stories in a prominent location, choose the platform you already have a dedicated following on so they can take advantage of that.” -Matt
“If you don’t have an established following and want to be using live stories, start with Instagram. Because Instagram has good organic reach still, you’ll be able to grow better than the alternatives there.” -Matt
“On Instagram, if you hit your hashtags right, you’ll kill it and build a following fast!” -Matt
“Focus on one social platform, master that platform, then move on to the next one.” -Matt

Instagram Platform Updates

As Instagram gains popularity as an advertising platform, the functionality and features continue to change in a pronounced way. To help navigate the changes, Anna takes a look at what’s been happening to the platform and where you can expect it to go in the future.

“A big update for Instagram was having the ability to post multiple pictures in a slideshow.” -Anna
“Instead of posting a million posts of the same concept on Instagram, you can get the point across in one post using the slideshow feature.” -Anna
“Instagram also added story ads.” -Anna
“Instagram recommends that if you’re going to use Instagram Story ads, use videos because it extends your reach a lot more.” -Anna

Twitter Platform Updates

In its fight to stay relevant and useful, Twitter has made some major changes to its platform to help improve the quality of life for users. Will looks into the changes and leads the group through a discussion to decide whether the changes are good, bad, or somewhere in the middle!

“If you reply to a Tweet, now the handle name isn’t included in the 140-character count.” -Will
“Some people don’t like it because if you’re replying to a group but only want to respond to one person, it’s tough to send just to them.” -Will
“This is another great update that really improves the platform as a whole.” -Will

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