It’s been a while since we last checked in with some updates about how social media is changing, which means it’s time once again for a social media news roundup! Here is a summary of the biggest moves being made in the social media world this spring, and how they could impact your business.

Instagram

Instagram is reaching out to smaller businesses to help them through the current COVID-19 crisis. Some tools it is rolling out include a “Support Small Business” sticker which can be used in Instagram Stories. Users can shout out their favorite small businesses with this indicator, raising its profile locally. A new Business Resources tool in the app directs businesses to financial aid options, like how to apply for forgivable government loans or small business grants. It also allows businesses to provide gift cards more easily or offer easy ordering directly to customers, generating revenue from a new source.

Twitter

After hearing complaints from users about being bombarded with (or even harassed by) unwanted tweet replies, Twitter is currently testing a feature that limits who can reply to your tweets. FGIA’s Twitter account has been included in this early wave of test users! As a result, FGIA and other testers can choose among three options for who can reply to tweets: Everyone, people you follow or only people you mention in a tweet. (Everyone can still like or “heart” a tweet no matter what.)

LinkedIn

If your company is dedicating ad dollars to LinkedIn, you might be interested to hear that the site is announcing some new features for advertisers — retargeting capabilities tied to video ads and lead-generation forms, as well as new brand safety integrations for the LinkedIn Audience Network. Now, you can make and target ads to users who watched anywhere from 25-100 percent of your video ads, making lead generation a little easier. This can lead to more conversions than before.

Facebook

Facebook has seen that COVID-19 has created a lot more interest in video chat, and they have adopted this feature for Facebook Messenger. With social distancing keeping us apart, the connection through video chat is proving more and more important. From the Messenger view, open a conversation with a person or group with whom you want to video chat, and then click the video call icon to begin a call – surely meant to compete with video conferencing giant, Zoom. Like Zoom, this service is free.

Other

Speaking of Zoom, while it’s not technically a social media platform, it is a necessary communication tool during these times. Knowing now is the time to compete, Zoom recently announced that they are beta testing live closed captioning for the hard of hearing. Google Meet, a new tool related to Google Hangouts, is also testing live captions, meaning keeping in touch with those we care about is becoming even more accessible.

Do you have any other social media news to share? Comment below!