Mayfly Insights 10/10/2019
Facebook’s new feature for Story ads and the well-being trial, Instagram’s @creators account, LinkedIn’s campaign manager improvements, Instagram adds new “restrict” option and finds new ways to capitalise on their audience interest.
Facebook’s new feature for Story ads
Users are now able to connect with brands and businesses in the Facebook Messenger directly from Story adverts. This new call-to-action feature allows advertisers to connect even more directly with potential customers and is especially useful for all service providers, as through this feature a direct contact to a potential client can be established. Available to businesses with Messenger templates set up in their Facebook Ad accounts, it is the next big step for Facebook in connecting businesses with over 1.3 billion Facebook Messenger users.
Facebook starts well-being trial
Beginning in Australia, Facebook has launched a trial in which only the creator of a post will be able to see the key metrics such as views, likes and engagements. After working with anti-bullying groups and mental health organisations, Facebook has come to this decision as these metrics can spark an unhealthy competitive streak in many and the platform wants to place the focus back on the quality of the content and interactions rather than the quantity of likes. This development is in line with the recent changes of Instagram metrics being hidden in a few selected countries. It remains open whether this trial will be extended to other countries.
Instagram launches @Creators account
To ensure that the social network maintains current engagement and user levels, Instagram has now launched the new @Creators account to help prominent creators make the most of the platform. While the main focus lies on IGTV, which is still yet to gain significant growth in order to be a YouTube-like rival, the initiative aims to be the place for content creators to learn how to up their game. Within a Highlight FAQ section various topics about Instagram are being explained, but it is also clearly stated that the account is unable to help with Verification, which is presumably the most asked question for every aspiring Instagram influencer. It remains open, which information is going to be shared and how useful it will be, but it is definitely worth a follow.
LinkedIn Campaign Manager adds audience targeting logic and demographic forecasts
Available globally since last week, LinkedIn has added audience forecasting information directly to the Campaign Manager dashboard and created a new Boolean targeting logic for building audiences. This is great news for advertisers as they will now be able to customise the forecasting panel to show specific targeting data, such as top industries, years of experience and company size. Further, the new Boolean targeting logic allows advertisers to create targeting queries and build larger audiences for campaigns. LinkedIn will also roll out additional demographic metrics over the next weeks to create even better audience-level insights.
Fighting trolls and cyberbullies – Instagram adds new “restrict” option
Instagram has rolled out a new feature last week to fight bullying and trolls on the platform. The so-called new “restrict” option allows users to limit the exposure of certain users when they comment on their posts. Once the comment has been restricted, it will only be visible to that person and notifications for comments from a restricted account will be turned off. Direct messages from restricted accounts will also be moved to Message Requests, however, the user can decide anytime to “unrestrict” the other user and will be able to view messages and comments normally again.
Capitalising on Audience Interest – Instagram launches product launch reminder stickers
During the past year, Instagram has constantly been adding new features to increase the eCommerce potential of the platform. This week the beta test of a new product launch sticker in Instagram Stories as well as a product launch tag option in the main feed have been rolled out and are currently being tested with selected brands in the US, including Adidas, H&M and Warby Parker. These two new features allow the user to set a reminder for the item launch date, preview the product details and purchase the item as soon as it becomes available, without even having to leave the social network. These new features might be particularly interesting for influencers and content creators launching products in collaboration with big brands, as well as for limited edition sales, as the user will receive a push notification at the exact moment when the product becomes available.