If you’re looking to maximize your LinkedIn marketing efforts, this is worth noting – the platform recently updated its algorithm, in response to user feedback that too much irrelevant, non-professional content by was flooding their feeds. This comes via Jason Feifer of Entrepreneur, who recently spoke with LinkedIn team about their updates. You can read Feifer’s full overview here.
Our Take: This is the “Year of LinkedIn” for our own Digital and Inbound Director, Roop, so music to his ears. And LinkedIn seems to be doing something right. It also says that it saw a 42% increase in content shared between 2021 to 2023, and a 27% increase in overall content viewed. Viva la LinkedIn!
Organic Traffic From Facebook Plummets
An apparent change to Facebook’s algorithm in May caused a dramatic drop in traffic to news and media websites, according to a growing list of publishers and data from Echobox, a social media management company. Clicks coming from Facebook have been in decline for about a year, but that drop accelerated rapidly in May 2023, according to Echobox, which collects data from more than 2,000 publishers worldwide. Across Echobox’s clients, the share of traffic coming from Facebook fell about 50% from summer of last year. “It’s difficult to say with certainty what the causes are, but Facebook has made no secret about its intention to deprioritize news on its platform and give greater precedence to video content, which by nature results in less clickthrough traffic,” said Antoine Amann, CEO of Echobox.
Our Take: We’ve always maintained a paid strategy is necessary to be successful on social media, Facebook and Instagram in particular, news and media website or not. The greater emphasis on video content? We’ve been saying that too.
B2B Social Media Marketing Seen as Most Effective
Social media is the most effective revenue-driving channel, with 60% of US B2B marketers naming it their top choice in 2023, per an April survey by Wpromote and Ascend2. The B2B buyer is younger, digital-first, and dominates the share of voice online. They’re demanding, but they’re also more engaged in the buying process. And they look to social content for education, inspiration, and solutions. As the number of young decision-makers only increases, social media’s importance in B2B marketing strategies is growing too.
Our Take: Younger B2B buyers are the main reason marketers need to refresh their strategies. Millennials are significantly influenced by social media content when making final purchasing decisions.
WhatsApp Adds New Promotional Options to Help Brands Connect with Customers
Meta’s adding some more ad tools to WhatsApp, in order to help businesses capitalize on the rising use of messaging, and WhatsApp in particular, in more markets. Among other things, Meta’s adding a new option that will enable businesses on WhatsApp to launch paid promotions on Facebook and Instagram, without needing a Facebook account. Direct connection can be a powerful tool for engaging potential customers, and as users look to shift more of their interactions to more private spaces, it’s worth considering where WhatsApp may fit into your outreach planning.
Our Take: It’s hard to argue with WhatsApp’s numbers, and as customers continue to look for (and expect) new and easy ways to engage and reach out to B2B brands, it may be worth exploring if the message-based marketing is right for you.
Meta Targets Mid-July Launch for New Twitter Challenger App
I don’t know whether Twitter usage is increasing – though I definitely don’t believe that it’s growing at the rate that Elon Musk has repeatedly claimed. And I don’t know whether Meta’s soon-to-be-released Twitter competitor app will gain traction, though I do know that it’s already failed once with basically the same idea. But this does look set to be the next big social media battleground, both literally and figuratively, as Meta seeks to capitalize on user unrest as a result of Musk’s changes at Twitter, with the launch of its new P92/Barcelona/Threads app coming very soon, according to latest reports and insight.
Our Take: If there’s ever going to be a challenge to Twitter, this is it. Per usual, if it’s a big platform rolling out something new, make sure to get in early and at least claim your B2B brand’s name/handle before someone else does.
Snapchat Shares New Insights Into What Gen Z Consumers Want From Brands
Snapchat has shared some new insights into how to connect with Gen Z consumers, which could help in your planning for the upcoming holiday season. Based on a survey conducted in partnership with Omnicom Media Group’s (OMG), Snap has provided some key pointers on what Gen Z shoppers are seeking from brands and brand marketing, and how you can shape your messaging to align with these key elements.
Our Take: See our POV on Gen Z and why they’re ready to connect with your B2B brand.
New Report Looks at Social Media Posting and News Consumption Trends in 2023
The Reuters Institute has released its annual review of news consumption trends, which, in many ways, also reflect broader online usage habits, and as such, it includes some valuable points of note for social media marketers that are looking to better connect with their audiences. The report, conducted in partnership with YouGov, incorporates responses from almost 100,000 internet users, across 52 nations, and includes a heap of in-depth analysis of news engagement trends, as well as people’s views on algorithmic interference, left/right wing bias, criticism of media outlets, etc.
Our Take: The times, they are a changin’ … The author says “There’s a heap to dig into in the full report, which, again, is 160 pages long, so there’s no way I can do it justice here. If you’re interested in news trends, you’re better off downloading the whole thing, and taking in the specific points of interest.” We couldn’t have said it better.
Twitter Experiments with Job Posts as Part of New ‘Twitter Recruiting’ Element
Twitter looks set to make its next steps into facilitating job posts and applications, with a new ‘Twitter Recruiting’ element now being built into the back-end code of the app. The job listings will be displayed on the company’s Twitter profile, with a link back to an application page on their website (or third-party provider).
Our Take: Twitter versus LinkedIn? Definitely wasn’t on our 2023 bingo card.
LinkedIn Launches DMs for Company Pages
With more social media conversation shifting to DMs, and away from public feeds, LinkedIn’s looking to build out its messaging tools, with a view to facilitating more professional connection and interaction via InMails in the app.
Our Take: We chatted about this on the podcast a few weeks ago. One of those things that seems so obvious it’s crazy LinkedIn is just now getting around to adding it as a feature.
