Facebook and Instagram Updates that You Should Know About
Facebook is rolling out several small but significant tweaks in layout that improve how Brand pages look overall. While these changes may not be available to everyone yet, you might have noticed some of the changes recently. Check out what we have noticed recently:
Your facebook cover is more important than ever
It’s probably time to update your Facebook cover as there is a new dimension being rolled out with the new Facebook business page interface. For a long while, covers have been 851px by 351px but now this has been blown up to about 960px by 360px. This just goes to show how Facebook prioritises original visual content. It’s not available to everyone yet, but it’s always good to prepare for the change.
New Facebook Cover
Clearer CTA Button
If you haven’t been using the custom CTA option, it’s also a good time to start using it. The CTA button before was placed on the cover itself, however, now it takes its own spot on the lower left side of your cover. Easy not to miss.
Other minor changes include the repositioning of the page tabs as you can see on the photo above. These includes the like and share buttons as well. With these new changes, it can’t be emphasised enough how visuals are important for a truly effective and great-looking business page.
During the last day of September, Facebook released news about new improvements to mobile profiles starting out with a small number of users in UK and California. While these are not yet happening for everyone yet, the following exciting mobile profile updates, change the landscape of first impressions about online identity on social media.
Facebook adds a new dimension to self-expression as users can now add a few seconds long, looping video clip that auto-plays once someone visits your profile.
Soon you will be able to set time frames for profile pictures that revert back to your original one. This is ideal according to Facebook if you want to “support your team in the week leading up to the big game, commemorate a special milestone like a birthday or vacation or show off a great #tbt picture”. Profile pictures aren’t static portraits anymore.
1-Line Bios and 5 Feature Photos
There’s a new facebook field called one-liner bios. This makes for a good introduction to show people who you are off the bat. There’s also a new custom space on your top profile that shows the different public About fields (e.g. work, education) you want to appear. In addition, you can select your top 5 photos to be Featured first in your profile. All these features are visible to anyone but you have full control on what you want to appear.
Facebook Bio (photo from newsroom.fb.com)
Moving onto, Instagram. These guys recently acquired a 400 million user base with more than 40 billion photos shared on the site.
It’s no big secret Facebook owns Instagram. And it’s no surprise this social media platform has been also rolling out a few changes recently. These changes have been the biggest so far to hit the mobile photo-sharing app.
Instagram now officially supports landscape and portrait photos. Users have only been treated to the regular square shaped photos before but now with Instagram’s new format, rectangular-shaped photos are now in too.
(photo from blog.instagram.com)
Instagram Advertising
Instagram has finally heed the requests of many advertisers as it now makes available to businesses of all sizes advertising. You can access this feature in your Facebook account using the Power Editor(the same tool for creating FB ads) and link the two.
These new Instagram updates will surely help mark the ever growing app’s importance in your social media arsenal. Combining the two big social media tools, Facebook and Instagram, your business would most likely see new, positive changes and reach new heights as well.
References
Shoreman, A. and Hsieh, T. Improving mobile profiles. 30 September 2015.
Instagram. Thinking Outside the Square: Support for Landscape and Portrait Formats on Instagram