Industry News: Facebook Leads Industry Updates for Digital Marketers
It's that time again! We're back with another industry news blog. Industry news and platform updates are happening faster than ever, and it can get challenging to keep track of everything. That's where SOCi comes in. We research the latest industry news and give it to you in an easy-to-read format. We also include tips and tricks for incorporating these updates into your business's localized marketing efforts. There's no longer an excuse for falling behind on industry trends!
Facebook Rolls Out Facebook Pay
Facebook has a couple of recent platform updates, but one of the most notable is Facebook Pay. Facebook announced that Facebook Pay would be released in certain countries and allow users to send and receive money across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. As of June 2021, users can set up Facebook Pay within Messenger and send or receive money using links or a QR code generator, similar to the well-known payment app Venmo.
When it comes to businesses, Facebook Pay will also streamline payments to Facebook and Instagram shops. This means that it will make it easier for consumers to shop on both Facebook and Instagram. What does this mean for your multi-location business? If your business isn't already leveraging Facebook and Instagram Shops, this is something to jump on. It's a great way to promote your business's products or services digitally in a place where consumers are already spending a significant amount of time. Similarly, your business is missing out if it doesn't have a robust local presence on these social platforms.
If you need to manage local social media efforts across 100s or even 1,000s of business locations - that can seem impossible But, SOCi is here to help! SOCi's Social Solution enables multi-location businesses to manage and deploy localized content at scale while maintaining brand consistency at both the enterprise and local levels. Instead of spending time worrying about your local social efforts, with SOCi's Social Solution, your business will have more time to invest in Facebook Shops, which are more valuable than ever with the release of Facebook Pay.
Option to Turn Off Likes Now Available on Facebook and Instagram
We'll keep this update short and sweet. Staying on the topic of local social media, Facebook and Instagram also revealed an option for both users and businesses to turn off likes. While Instagram has been testing turning off likes for many users, it's now available for everyone. Facebook and Instagram decided that giving users the option to turn off likes was the best of both worlds for everyone. After looking at data, the companies noticed that hidden likes lead to increased posting for some users, while others engaged less without the likes being visible.
Social platforms typically favor more meaningful engagements like comments and shares, so whether your multi-location business decides to hide likes on your local profiles, it's still important to be aware of it. The Facebook and Instagram option to hide likes can be found in the settings and privacy section of your account. It is located under reaction counts as seen below, and you have the option to toggle between showing and hiding likes. While this update is relatively new, it will be an exciting update to track and see if it impacts your social engagement in the future.
Yelp Reveals New Yelp for Business Features
Over the past year, there have been quite a few updates to Yelp for Business. Yelp recently announced a new set of features to create a more intuitive experience for businesses on Yelp, including Custom Location Targeting. This new targeting feature allows companies to customize the specific geographic location where their Yelp ad will appear. Before this release, businesses could only promote their ads within a particular radius around their business locations, but this new update allows for wider promotion. While there's been a rise in virtual services over the past year, businesses want the ability to target potential customers in broader areas, and this feature allows them to do so.
Businesses that have already started leveraging Custom Location Targeting see a lower cost-per-click on their Yelp ads, which means that the specific targeting is working. To save companies more money, Yelp has also introduced a new budgeting editing experience. This new feature enables business owners to optimize their campaigns by leveraging budget recommendations through Yelp. Yelp's machine learning engine analyzes the business's profile and campaign performance and comes up with a recommended ad spend.
If your business is leveraging advertising on Yelp, these new features are essential. Between Custom Location Targeting and Yelp's new budgeting experience, your multi-location business can ensure that your ads are reaching the right audience effectively.
Google Expands GMB Profile Editing Capabilities in Search and Maps
Google rounds out our industry news updates with an expansion in GMB profile editing capabilities in both Search and Maps. While editing capabilities in Search and Maps aren't new, Google continues to add to what businesses can edit. Business owners can now add local service offerings to their local GMB profiles through both Search and Maps. For instance, if you're in the beauty industry and your salon offers manicures, eyelash extensions, and massages, you can now add these offerings directly to your GMB profile through Search and Maps.
Google has also announced that businesses are now able to schedule Google Posts directly from Search. Google Posts allow businesses to share updates with potential customers. These posts appear in the local listings of Search and Maps. If your company wants to update your profile directly through Search, type in your business name, and you'll gain access to editing capabilities. In order to make updates on Maps, your business must be logged in and tap on "Your Business Profile" after clicking on your profile picture. For more information on the importance of Google Posts in building a strong GMB profile, check out our blog on the topic.
Strong local GMB profiles play a significant role in online visibility through Google, so the more information your business has in its local GMB profiles, the better. These features make it easier for your business to update its GMB profiles and ultimately rank higher on Google. If your business is worried about managing your local GMB profiles across all business locations, SOCi is here to help. SOCi Listings empowers you to manage your business listings at scale and effectively optimize your online presence and local search rankings. From syncing, updating, and managing your local listings to custom audits and profile recommendations, SOCi Listings covers every step of the process to launch your listings to the top of search results.
That's it for all of the latest platform updates! Now that you have all of the information, it's your job to implement relevant updates into your business's localized marketing strategy. As mentioned previously, SOCi is here to help you achieve your localized marketing goals and crush the competition. For more insight into how SOCi can help your multi-location business navigate platform updates and improve your localized marketing efforts accordingly, request a demo today!