The Big Changes Coming to Facebook & Instagram in The Second Half of 2019

By Melissa

Facebook recently announced a series of huge changes. Not only are they mixing up their own branding (anyone else notice the new app icon?), but they’re also altering how businesses can market to their audiences. Here are a few big changes you need to know:

No More Facebook Reviews – The removal of reviews was a huge shock to business owners around the world. With another push toward fostering user relationships, Facebook has replaced reviews with recommendations. This means, when someone recommends your business in a comment or status, that will show up on your profile. It also factors in when people explicitly don’t recommend a business. This is an effort by Facebook to garner authentic experiences from customers.

Video-Heavy Advertising – Facebook wants businesses to start using videos in ads. Like really wants businesses to start using videos in ads. To drive this point home, they’ve offered some tools to turn photographs into videos. The templates, which you can find in the Facebook ad creator, definitely aren’t perfect. We recommend creating your own videos (in square format) and uploading directly to the AdsManager.

Stories Ads – You’ll now be seeing Facebook ads in stories. These ads will be much shorter and (you guessed it) in video format.

Group Focus – The layout and algorithm of Facebook is now greatly favoring groups.We encourage business owners to create community groups that reflect the style of business. For example, if you sell outdoor equipment, start a mountain biking group! In this group, focus on providing valuable information and connection first and selling second.

Donate Button in Instagram Stories – Nonprofits, this one’s for you! Instagram has released a donate button which can be added to stories during creation. It doesn’t take a cut of the donations, and it’s totally free to use. Before you rush to the app, we recommend strategically planning your usage of the button. It’s a great tool, but it can quickly lose its impact if used too often.

Elimination of Instagram Likes – We know, this sounds huge. But really… it isn’t. Likes will still register in the app and be tracked by reporting software. They’ll also continue to factor into the engagement that drives views to your posts. They’ll just be a little more private. Only time will tell if users will continue to double tap when they enjoy social content, but for now, our advice is to take it one day at a time.

Feel overwhelmed? Don’t. Adjust to these changes one at a time! And, as always, give us a call or shoot us an email if you need a hand.