New Social Media Features Every B2B Marketer Should Know

Social media has become an integral part of how we keep in touch with each other. It’s the epicenter of branding and customer relationships, whether you’re a B2C or B2B business.

In this week’s roundup, we’re sharing the latest news about recent social media updates. We believe these new releases will impact the way marketers approach their marketing strategies and nurture their connections. Let’s dive in!

LinkedIn’s New Releases: From Audio Recording to Stories

LinkedIn has become more than just a platform for networking and recruiting; it’s become a hub for thought leadership, learning, and even business development. No wonder the explosive active user growth in recent years.

Recent LinkedIn updates make building connections even easier for users. First, let’s talk about the audio recording feature.

Essentially, this feature allows you to add a 10-second audio clip on how to precisely pronounce your name. Your connections can play the recording by clicking on the speaker icon next to your profile name.

Addressing the issues with mispronounced names, LinkedIn highlighted that “Correct pronunciation is not just common courtesy — it’s an important part of making a good first impression and creating an inclusive workplace.”

The second update is LinkedIn Stories. We’ve seen how stories have taken over Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Now, LinkedIn is hopping on the Stories bandwagon to let professionals share more lightweight and conversational content. Currently, this feature is being tested in selected regions (Australia, Brazil, and France just to name a few), and it’s expected to go live globally soon. 

With Stories, organizations can now showcase their office culture through behind-the-scenes glimpses of a normal workday, among other things. Furthermore, the introduction of LinkedIn Stories comes at the right time, with Gen Z–a heavy consumer of Stories–entering the workforce. This gives employers the perfect opportunity to attract a new generation of talent into their organization.

Our takeaway:

While the success of both features is still to be determined, what’s obvious is LinkedIn’s focus on making it easier for users to connect and engage with each other.

The audio recording feature is a small yet impactful initiative in cultivating an inclusive workplace. Yes, it matters, especially in light of a recent event where a Professor asked his student to anglicize her name. On a brighter note, LinkedIn Stories might encourage more people to share career advice or seek new ideas from their professional community.  More excitingly, you can exploit LinkedIn Stories to distribute bite-sized video content, which has been an on-going trend in the digital space.

What are your thoughts about these new updates? Share with us in the comments below!

Instagram Reels: The Possible B2B Solution to TikTok?

The popularity of TikTok is undeniable. With the platform amassing 2 billion downloads per quarter, it’s no surprise that brands are using TikTok to reach their customers. The app’s large following is attributed to the simplicity of creating video clips using royalty-free audio.

TikTok clearly meets an audience need. However, TikTok users aren’t the typical demographic B2B brands would normally target (69% of the app’s user base consists of those between the ages of 17-24 years old). 

So how can you tap into TikTok-like clips to reach your B2B audiences? The answer could lie in Instagram’s new feature: Instagram Reels.

The social media mogul has been testing this TikTok-like feature in several regions. In terms of functionality, Reels lets you record 15-second video clips with the option to add soundtracks from a music catalog, or even borrow audio from other creators’ videos. But unlike a standalone app like TikTok, Reels can be accessed directly from your Instagram account.

Our takeaway:

Like TikTok, Instagram may sound like another channel where B2C brands thrive. But don’t write-off Instagram and its new Reels feature just yet. 

Reputable B2B brands like Hubspot, IBM, and Shopify have proven that Instagram is a marketing tool for B2B audiences as well. In fact, brands receive 20 times more engagement on Instagram compared to LinkedIn, the go-to B2B social media platforms.

While it’s difficult to rival TikTok’s popularity, Reels is a good testing ground for you to assess whether the TikTok-like content format appeals to your audience.

Can Facebook Be the New MailChimp?

The main purpose of email marketing is to nurture customer relationships. But since customers’ preferred communication channel with brands is social media, sending emails may not always be the best way to engage with your customers. Well, you can now use Facebook for email marketing!   

Facebook business pages could soon have the ability to send marketing emails. The company is reportedly rolling out this feature to a selected number of page admins. Here’s what we know so far:

Similar to email marketing solutions like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign, page managers will need to get user permissions before sending newsletters or promotional emails to their subscribers.

It’s worth noting that Facebook’s email marketing tool won’t convert your fans into subscribers. You would need to build a contact list with regular opt-in, for instance, with a lead-generation strategy. 

Our takeaway:

Facebook’s email marketing marketing tool doesn’t replace the robust capabilities of popular email marketing solutions. This feature is likely to be valuable to businesses who are new to email marketing and currently don’t have a solution in place.

Staying Ahead with the Latest Marketing News

Social media platforms are constantly changing as we speak. While keeping up with the latest features, take an early-adopter position by experimenting with how you can deliver new experiences to your customers.