Written by Allison Herrera & Brittany Prats
Say “hello” to Meta. Facebook rebranded as Meta last month, & we are LOVING the changes that are coming along with the new name. Along with a move to virtual reality under Meta, here are five (5) Facebook & Instagram updates you should look out for.
1) Facial Recognition is no more!
- While the jury is still out about whether we’re happy or sad to see it go, this update is definitely going to be an adjustment for everyone.
- For obvious safety & privacy reasons, many were concerned about where this data was going and how it was being used. Meta’s VP of Artificial Intelligence made it clear that they wanted to assess the positives & negatives of facial recognition, after noticing the intense concern from their users.
- Meta is never going to stop evolving, so to say that facial recognition is gone for good is quite unlikely. Meta even stated that while they are in the process of saying goodbye to facial recognition, they are still looking into how to enhance the feature and, hopefully, reintroduce it once AI is in a better state to display transparency and offer complete privacy to their users.
2) Facebook Group fans, where you at?! Don’t worry, Facebook Groups aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, in fact, Facebook has made them more of a priority for their users! With the new update, they launched customizable features to make groups as user friendly and tailored as possible.
- Feeling like you want to change up the look of your group? Well, now you can! Facebook has graciously granted us with the ability to not only change fonts, colors, and backgrounds; but we can now create our own reaction emojis tailored to the group’s purpose. Instead of a like button, maybe it’s a gingerbread man or a dog… the possibilities are really endless!
- Facebook also wants to increase the engagement aspect of groups, so you can now send an automated, yet customized, welcome message to all new members!
- The update also allows admins to pin an important announcement to the top of the page, so that all users will immediately see it when they enter the group.
3) Tired of saying “link in bio” on all of your Instagram stories… us too. Well, guess what? Meta has made it a million times easier on us, you can now add a link directly into your Instagram Story! While this feature was previously available to users with higher followings, now every single user is able to put a link in their story whether they have 10 million followers or 10 followers.
4) Remember that carousel post from senior prom? The one where you wish you could just delete that ONE picture of you and your ex? Yeah, we know that feeling a little too well. Thankfully, Meta has once again come to our rescue! With the new update, you can go into a previously posted carousel and delete any pictures you wish.
5) Instagram Lives can sometimes feel impersonable. In order to make IG Lives more interactive for both the user and the creator, Meta introduced badges.
- Badges are basically a little icon next to a user’s name when they comment on an Instagram Live indicating that the user supported the creator through purchasing a $.99, $1.99 or $4.99 heart.
- This is a great way for creators to make some extra money, as well as an inexpensive way for users to show their support for their favorite creators.
The fun doesn’t end there…more Meta updates are coming.
We already know that Meta is prioritizing Facebook groups, but what if I told you they could make them more organized & specific to your needs? They’re currently looking into allowing admins to create a subgroup within their overarching group. For example, if you’re in a group for a specific organization, the admin can create subgroups within that group for things like upcoming events, merchandise, member spotlights, announcements, etc. – all without having to create a million different groups for each topic. Within the topic of subgroups soon being introduced, Meta is also developing paid subgroups, where users can subscribe to a subgroup in order to receive exclusive content.
Along with these updates, there are also potential features in development, which can potentially change the game as far as enhancing the user’s experience. It seems that with the new updates, Meta is more focused on the user and creating an enjoyable, but extremely tailored experience for them. A few of the features we heard about through the grapevine include:
- Awards can soon be added to a post in order to make it more clear what the tone of the post will be. Words like “Insightful”, “Interesting”, and “Fun” can be awarded to creators, so users will be more likely to stop and read the whole post if it’s something that they came to Facebook in search of.
- Community Chats can potentially be used to bring users together in real-time. No more waiting for them to respond or wondering if they ever will. A community chat will allow the users to talk whenever and wherever, with people who share their same interests.
- Facebook Events can be really fun and helpful for the user; but from an Admin’s standpoint, it’s tedious. Meta is in the works of introducing a feature where you can make an event recurring – meaning you won’t have to put in all of the same information every single month for that monthly meeting that always happens at the same time, in the same place, and with the same people. This will make it way easier for planning events and can better regulate when recurring events are happening.
This might seem like a lot of information (and it definitely is), but Meta is trying to make Facebook and Instagram as user-friendly and interactive as possible – whether that be through groups or getting rid of the age-old “link in bio” dilemma.
Too much to take in? Not a fan of change? Uptown Girl Media has your back! We’re super excited about these changes & how they can enhance digital marketing, so we’d be more than happy to help you update your marketing. Contact us today!