Top Meta Updates To Keep In Mind About Facebook and Instagram

Meta releases its Facebook and Instagram updates, according to its policies and time. To marketers, these two social media options are of immense advantage. The new updates launched by Mark Zuckerberg's team add to the features which marketers should keep in mind.

Straight to the core – We shall now highlight the Facebook and Instagram updates the marketers should bear in mind while proceeding with their tasks.

1. Now, the Instagram Videos Under 15 Minutes Are Shared As Reels
As announced by Instagram, the video posts less than 15 minutes will be shared as Reels. The videos posted before the update will remain unchanged. Instagram has even consolidated the Video and Reels tabs on the User's profiles for creating a bringing all the videos under one roof on the app.

With this update being effective, the videos posted on public accounts are turned into Reels that anyone can check out, and they might use the original audio for creating their own Reel. Alternatively, the videos posted on private accounts, are visible as Reels only to added followers.

2. Meta Has Launched New Small Business Support Program, That Includes Online and IRL Elements
Meta's newly launched Small Business Studios project provides both online and in-person training elements through Free workshops for helping small businesses to maximize their marketing efforts across both platforms.

Meta Boost Small Business Studios is offering on-demand training, workshops and 1:1 support for strengthening digital marketing and aiding in business growth.

The main elements of the initial program consist of –

a. Building Your Brand Workshop
At the online workshop, the small businesses are creatively inspired and provided with branding guidance across Instagram and Facebook. This workshop stimulates a customer mindset and influences business branding, deciding on creatives while working on a post, and finally deciding what should be posted.

b. Reels School
A designed course to guide small businesses about simplifying Reels creation and even expanding their audience reach to achieve their business goals.

c. Photography Virtual Workshop
To build up exceptional creatives, insight, vision and aesthetic skills play a combined modular role. This segment is for providing expert guidance on creating, effective, cost-effective and low–lift images meant for mobile.

This is a way out of speaking to a real person within the Meta platform. The program is even offering IRL events in particular areas, starting with a 5-stop US tour, that includes training, direct support elements and networking.

3. Instagram Has Added a New "Boost" Promotion Option for Reel Clips
With an emphasis being heavily on short-form videos, Instagram enables the brands to make better use of their Reels clips, through the new "Boost" promotion option that is built into the format.

But a few criteria are existing – the Reels less than 60 seconds and with a 9:16 aspect ratio are eligible for boosting. It indicates they are vertically filmed and support the full–screen format. Reels using third-party IP, like copyrighted music, interactive stickers, camera filters and GIFs are not eligible for boosting. Additionally, Reels shared on Facebook are even not eligible – a key to note.

4. Meta Has Rolled Out More Parental Controls For Instagram As Well As Virtual Reality
For youngsters to safely use Instagram, a few initiatives have been launched. Now, the parents and guardians can –

• Send invites to their teens for initiating supervision tools
• Set specific parameters for the day and also for a week to restrict their teens from overusing.
• Know in detail whenever their teens are reporting an account or posting, like who was reported along with the report type.

Instagram will send notifications to prompt teens for exploring different content types. In case, a user looks at the same content type on Explore, then notifications will trigger.

5. Fostering Greater Transparency To Social Issues, Electoral and Political Ads
Meta has made changes to the transparency for ads about elections, social issues, politics and elections for the vetted researchers and the public to access detailed information regarding how advertisers are targeting users with political and issue-related ads. Targeting information is available on "Social Issue, Electoral or Political Ads" since the end of May 2022. The Meta–vetted academic researchers can access it through FORT (Facebook Open Research And Transparency).

In July 2022, Meta has launched the summarized form of targeting information for political ads in its publicly-available Ads Library. The users can get an open access to the data on the total count of social issues, political and electoral ads run on the Facebook page as well as the deployed particular targeting categories, like location, interests and demographics. Additionally, the ad spending percentage used for targeting the categories is reported.

6. Streamlined and Improved WhatsApp Ad Creation For Helping Businesses
WhatsApp Ad Creation enables the customers and leads to connect with the business just by clicking a button. A small business will be able to add a "Send Message" button on Facebook and Instagram for redirecting prospects to the WhatsApp conversation thread.

Meta has stated this feature is beneficial to gain traffic on the basis of objectives from Facebook and Instagram Ads. It enhances brand awareness, views, reach and engagement. Meta has announced new tools for WhatsApp for businesses for streamlining conversations, advertisements, as well as lead generation campaigns. This improved version benefits with –

i. Brands can fully utilize WhatsApp’s total capacity.
ii. The flow assists businesses in seamlessly launching and creating their campaigns.
iii. Small businesses can identify the high–quality leads by better connecting with the customers.

As a result, there will be no need for switching between the apps to activate campaigns, which better streamlines the business' promotion process.

Facebook and Instagram have become the top targeted social media platforms for digital marketers to promote and advertise their business products and services. Meta is constantly updating the features for these applications. Marketers have to be updated with all the additions and changes as stated here to continue with their business legally.