By Nyah Scott
LinkedIn Stories, an Instagram Shop tab, and now Twitter Fleets?! If you’re an avid social media user and utilize platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to promote your personal brand or business, you may have noticed that the apps and websites we’ve gotten to know so well are changing up their layouts and available features. As a working professional or business representative in the digital age, it’s vital to keep up with new social media features that can help you capitalize on expanding your online presence, build a solid customer base, and effectively manage publicity.
Explore those new features.
In the latter half of 2020, top social media platforms have rolled out a number of new features that added to or even dramatically changed the layout and “feel” of the sites and applications. LinkedIn Stories (similar to Instagram and Snapchat Stories) can provide a lighthearted look into the average workday, establish a personable glimpse into the professional lives of those you’re “connected” with, or build rapport with your audience by answering field-specific questions. Corporate consultant and published workplace expert Lynn Taylor, summarizes the purpose of LinkedIn Stories to Business Insider saying, "Consider [Stories] as a living résumé or a living business card…If you were attending a networking event and you were handing out your business card, it wouldn't be a photo from your family album."
On the other end of that spectrum (i.e. where you would be able to share a photo from your family album and similar content), Instagram Reels and Twitter Fleets are meant to be utilized more creatively and expressively to be more outwardly reflective of your personal or business’ brand. Create original content, re-share user-generated content, and unapologetically embrace the client base of your business. Once users are pulled in by your casual (yet properly branded) content, they’ll be more likely to visit your page or your business’ online Instagram shop that you can set up in Settings by linking your business’ Instagram to a Facebook page and uploading a product catalog for review.
Stick to appropriate curation.
Although these platforms may start to look more and more similar, don’t think you can share the same content and copy on all of them and expect the same traction and effectiveness. Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook should generally be reserved for longer information-oriented content and a higher level of professionalism presented than platforms like Instagram or Twitter. Instagram will continue to be (in essence) a photo-oriented platform, and Twitter will be a platform for conveying succinct information or messages that direct people to sources for more information.
Find your balance and see what sticks.
While the promise of getting ahead on the capitalization of new social media platform features may seem too enticing to pass up, make sure to be realistic about your resources, your time, and what sticks. If you’re representing a law firm, you probably won’t need to spend as much time making Instagram Reels as you would answering general legal questions on LinkedIn Stories, or if your clothing store employees spend time sharing Twitter Fleets and not updating content for your Instagram Shopping product catalog, that time may be misplaced. In the end, it all depends on what sticks. If your business gets significant traction from high-quality, creative Instagram Reels, LinkedIn Stories, or Twitter Fleets, and it brings more users to your page, the better!