New Features Round-up: What features have we seen this month?

As we venture into 2023, social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, allowing us to connect, share, and express ourselves like never before. So, in the spirit of socials, we’ve decided to collectively review the top 5 new features across the most popular social media platforms this month.

As social media conversations shift from feeds to DM’s, we are seeing an introduction of new direct message features being rolled out across different platforms. LinkedIn have recently implemented direct messages to business pages, whereas in the past dm’s were only able to be used between personal accounts. This is providing new opportunities for businesses, meaning they are able to contact potential customers and existing customers via direct message, as opposed to email and telephone. This may also introduce new opportunities, as business dm’s will now need to be monitored and managed, as customer queries may come from there. LinkedIn business dm’s are definitely a feature to utilise as a business, you can reach out to potential customers, other businesses and more, to expand your LinkedIn community.

This month, Later, a social media scheduling platform, has introduced Alt text for their users. If you are unaware of what Alt text is, it allows users who may be unable to see an image to have a written piece of text to accompany it, so that they are able to find out what the image is. It is a great way to be inclusive and support all abilities through your social media content. Alt text is also used in case an image is unsupported or fails to appear on a user’s device, and so the text is there to detail what the image is. So, as Later have introduced Alt text to their platform, users who schedule their social media posts on the app can now add Alt text to each individual post, meaning they are providing accessible content for all users! Read more here.

TikTok has introduced carousels to their platform, just like Instagram, you can now swipe through a number of images, rather than video content alone. This feature has proven great within the Tiktok marketing realm, as users are discovering that carousels get more engagement, more views, and are evidently favoured within the Tiktok algorithm. Tiktok carousels also provide a crucial feature, once a user has swiped through all of the images, they will then swipe on to the creators page. This means that more users are visiting the creators page, to then browse their other videos and content. This feature is definitely one to try.

Instagram has released their new Reels Editor. Where most of us are used to the basic editing tools that Instagram provides for reels, such as simple text and trimming options, reels are now evolving. We now have the opportunity to choose reel templates, find trending sounds and trending reels. This allows creators to find up to date trends to follow within their own content, and provides an opportunity to reach a wider audience from their page. At bold, we often trial reel templates within our content, to increase efficiency, and to make sure we’re staying on trend. Reel templates allow for a quick, easy and trendy video editing process! Not only are there reel templates to utilise, you can now add text, stickers and audio onto your reel, and adjust their time start and end points with ease. Finally, you can add interactive buttons to your reel, for example location, message buttons and scheduling tools!. The next time you decide to create a reel, why not try out a template, trending sound or interactive button, and let us know how it goes!