Each new year signals a new beginning—especially when it comes to your social media strategy. If you try new things on social this year that other brands aren’t doing, you have a much better chance of surprising your audience and engaging them.
We’ve outlined all the major updates and new features for each of the major networks so you can incorporate them into your social marketing strategy for 2018.
Bonus: Download our free guide that shows you how to 10X your social media performance and beat your competitors. Includes the tools, tricks, and daily routines used by three world-class social media experts.
1. Experiment with TV-style content using Watch
When you’re thinking about your 2018 video strategy, consider Watch, a platform for hosting TV-like shows on Facebook.
The shows that a Facebook user will see depends on their interests and what their friends are watching—with highlights like “Most Talked About” or “What’s Making People Laugh.” This Netflix-style approach to targeting viewers based on interests is a big deal for brands. You’ll be able to extend your reach through your existing fanbase.
Watch is currently being introduced to a small group in the U.S. and will soon extend access to other groups and content creators .
2. Create collaborative Stories in groups and events
Facebook’s Stories—which allow you to post content that disappears after 24 hours—is now available for groups and events. People can post Stories that are visible only to their groups or on any event page. These Stories will have a private hashtag and will be moderated by admins to make sure that content is appropriate and on-brand.
If your brand uses Facebook Groups or Events, collaborative Stories offer a fun new way to engage with your audience. For example, if your brand is promoting an event on Facebook, you can build excitement by sharing insider, sneak peek clips before the day.
You could also provide incentives (like prizes) to get people to share their experiences at an event. User-generated content from attendees can help build a sense of community and brand advocacy, and give you more information on your most engaged customers.
3. Add royalty-free music to your Facebook videos
Adding the right soundtrack to your video is key to creating a successful social video. To help make this process easier, Facebook has introduced the video editing tool Sound Collection, which lets you add sound effects or music—free of charge—to your video clips.
Audio files on Sound Collection are royalty-free so you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement or blowing your budget. It can help you save time and money while producing your video.
4. Showcase your best content using Stories Highlights
Instagram Stories Highlights lets your brand showcase your best Stories and post them permanently on your Instagram profile. This feature is super valuable for brands because, unlike self-destructing Story content, Stories Highlights can be saved, reposted, and measured for long-term performance. You can organize your own Stories Highlights however you want before you post, whether it’s by theme, campaign, or date.
Stories Highlights is also a good way for you to promote the content you want users to see first. They appear right below your bio for easy viewing.
5. Be more transparent
Instagram has introduced a paid partnership tagging feature so that influencers and brands can be more transparent about disclosing which of their posts are sponsored. When an influencer tags a business in their post with the paid partnership feature, that business will then have access to performance data for that post, including metrics such as reach and replies.
…
