Facebook’s new update, removes reach restrictions for ads that have more than 20 percent text in the primary image, meaning, that these ads will be displayed, as normal, and will reach the same amount of people as any other Facebook ad. Apparently the reason it was done in the first place, was because it gives better performance. As you can see in the official explanation, Facebook still maintains that ad images with less than 20% text perform better, and recommends that advertisers “keep your text short, clear and concise in order to get your message across effectively”.
Another recent update is to Facebook’s 28-day attribution model. Facebook’s attribution models, enable advertisers to measure specific responses to their campaigns, based on rules set by the advertiser. Advertisers will no longer be able to track their direct actions based on their campaigns over this longer period. Due to changes in their data tracking policy, Facebook will no longer be able to offer a 28-day window, and will instead be limited to a 7-day review of direct response performance. Brands will be urged to download their data before it becomes unavailable. The change will take place October 12th.
Pages Manager has now become Facebook Business Suite. This is supposed to be, a more, all-in-one integrated tool for both Facebook and Instagram and will eventually include WhatsApp as well. Facebook also says that it plans to make Business Suite “the main interface for businesses of all sizes who use Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp”. Facebook is also planning to integrate WhatsApp messaging functionality into the app in the near future. Along with this move Facebook also made a central payment account center will enable users to connect and authenticate their Facebook, Instagram and Messenger accounts from a central home, which will then save them having to re-open each app when using it as a log-on or payment option.
Instagram is launching a new mini-site full of new resources created to help small businesses learn to use Instagram Shops.
Instagram Shops is a feature that was launched back in May that allows businesses to set up an online storefront for free.
Instagram’s new mini-site is designed for businesses that are starting out with the platform’s shopping features for the first time and it gives a step-by-step instruction on how to set up this new feature. This site also has instructions for tagging, collections and setting up shopping ads and creating custom audiences.
Twitter now has audio tweets. They are now available to iOS users (but still not to Android for now), while Twitter has also re-affirmed its commitment to adding auto-captions for voice tweets as soon as possible.