It can be challenging to keep up with marketing and social media trends, updates, and new features. That’s why I put together this round up of updates and things you need to know. Even better, you get the context you need to decide how (or if) to use new features.

Google

This is the grand-daddy of search. Google is pretty much the sole survivor of the search engine wars (anyone remember Alta Vista?). But it is fighting for search dominance with social media sites, especially Instagram and TikTok and especially among younger users, as they start focusing on search and discovery within the platforms themselves instead of going to Google to find new things.

Helpful Content Update

Google rolled out the "Helpful Content" search update a few months ago. This was designed to refocus search results on things that are actually helpful and useful to searchers vs. content that was written to be ranked.

With the rise of AI (artificial intelligence) in copywriting this is an interesting story to follow!

Google Business Listing (formerly Google My Business)

As Google fights with social media platforms for dominance in search, it is putting more weight into its own products.

The best way you can benefit from this is by keeping your Google Business Listing updated frequently and optimized to help you be found on Google. This is true for all businesses, but especially important for businesses that serve local audiences.

Do you need to create completely unique content for your Google Business Listing? No. You should be fine reusing content from Instagram or your Facebook business page.

TikTok

You may have noticed the TikTok algorithm has been a hot mess for at least a month. Typically, when this happens it means they are working on things on the backend (and breaking other things in the process). This is true for most social media platforms because tech things are like that.


Longer Captions/Video Descriptions

Captions/video descriptions on TikTok can now be as long as 2,200 characters.

Why this change? TikTok is moving towards SEO (meaning keywords and phrases woven into your copy) for search and discoverability as they fight with Instagram and even Google to see who can have the most people using their platform to find products, services, and places to explore. (Remember, more people using their platforms means more revenue for ads so they can make more money)

Do you have to use all 2,200 characters? Nope. The length of your captions is up to you!

How can you make the most of the extra space? If you are a service based business expand on the content of your video by adding some extra tips and ideas. You may also be able to repurpose all or part of a blog post or other content you’ve already created (with some tweaks). If you are a product based business you can share more about your process, materials, or why your customers love your products. If your business is location based, make sure to include your city or neighborhood in your video description.

Are there any other benefits to using longer captions/video descriptions? Yes! One often over-looked benefit is that users will likely let the video play in the background while they read your caption. This can improve your overall view time and video completion rates which can help increase your reach as the TikTok algorithm “sees” people watching your entire video.

Are there any downsides to using longer captions/video descriptions on TikTok? I’m seeing one that is more on the accessibility side. The caption will fill the screen, but can be difficult to read depending on what is happening in the video itself. I’m not sure what (if any) solution is coming for this issue.

Should you still use hashtags on TikTok? Yes, absolutely. But I expect to see those be phased out in the next year or so as SEO copy becomes more standard.


In-Video Caption Styles

TikTok is giving us more options around what our in-video captions look like. I don’t have it yet, but it will look more like the additional caption styles we see in Instagram.

You’ll also be able to move the captions anywhere you want them on your screen instead of the default we have now of the captions either being allowed at the top of the screen or the bottom of the screen.

Is there a benefit to using the new in-video caption styles? The biggest benefit would be the ability to make your video stand out in a unique way and give you more creative control over what your video looks like.

TikTok Now

TikTok Now is a copy of an up and coming app called BeReal that is popular with the under 24 crowd.

The premise of the BeReal app is that it allows you to take on photo per day, uses the front and back camera at the same time, and everyone on the app gets the same notification at the same time every day.

It is a pushback on the highly polished vibe of Instagram.

You can find TikTok Now on the TikTok app itself or the standalone TikTok Now app (which is just these daily photos). Like your other content on TikTok, you can choose who sees your TikTok Now.

It is extremely similar to BeReal including the front and back camera being used and everyone getting one notification per day.

You can access TikTok Now by opening your app and looking to the left of the “+” - you’ll see a lightning bolt icon (this replaces the “Friends” icon).

This will open both your Friends feed (top of screen on the left) and the TikTok Now feed (top of screen on the right).

Is there a benefit to using TikTok Now? It is new and platforms typically push out content from new products both to promote it and to test how users respond to it.

The real question is whether TikTok’s Now and Instagram’s clone (still in testing) will sway users back to those platforms or if BeReal will become a new contender for social media time.

Instagram

At this point, I think of Instagram as three separate apps (main feed, Stories, and Reels) instead of a single app because there is so much going on and each section has different needs and even audiences.

Captions and Hashtags

Like TikTok, Instagram is moving more towards SEO as they compete with Google (and TikTok) for users.

If being found on Instagram by new audiences is a part of your strategy, make sure you are using words and phrases your target audience would use when looking for what you do or sell. You have a lot of space in Instagram captions, so you can use a variety of terms throughout your copy to get your point across. Like the TikTok captions (see above), you can add context, more information, and even an FAQ to make your captions more robust.

Should you still use hashtags on Instagram? This is a “yes, and” answer - Yes, use hashtags on Instagram AND experiment to see how posts with hashtags compare to posts without hashtags. Try different hashtags and keywords and see how those posts compare overall.

Removing "Shop" Tab

Instagram (and Facebook) were hoping for higher returns from in-app shopping, however it seems it hasn’t worked out that way. They are testing (or at least hiding) the “Shop” tab on Instagram. They will likely switch their focus from expanding into being an e-commerce platform and switching more towards direct ad revenue (businesses paying to run ads). You can learn more here.

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