Earlier this month, Facebook took the social media marketing world by storm at it’s F8 conference in San Jose, California. After all of the security controversy of last year, Facebook is now pushing to “put your communities at the center”. Here are the 5 hottest upcoming features for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp that the giant announced at F8.
Facebook Redesign Around Groups and Events
Facebook announced that they are going to downplay the news feed and shift the focus almost entirely around groups and events. The new design will feature a prominent groups tab and you will see more personalized updates and posts from groups that you’re part of.
This redesign is meant to enforce Facebook’s focus on providing users with “meaningful content” by improving social interactions. Another new feature part of this redesign is the Meet New Friends feature, where Facebook will connect like-minded strangers together. Events are also more accessible now. All these features are available on Android and iPhone right now while the desktop version will take a few months to roll out.
Close Friends on Facebook Messenger
Facebook’s entirely overhauling the Messenger platform, making it lighter, faster and much more personal. The new version will be 4 times lighter than the current one and will also be available as a desktop app. The coolest feature is that Messenger is now being revamped as a way to keep up with your close friends – you can now share statuses and photos with a select group of people that you like and trust.
Instagram’s New Camera
Instagram is updating their camera and adding a new feature called create mode, which gives content creators much more freedom to interact in new ways, like quizzes, as compared to traditional pictures and videos. You can now also add a new Donation sticker to your stories. The Donation sticker will allow users to fund-raise for the charities and nonprofits they care about. This feature is only available in the US for now.
Instagram is also launching a new feature that will allow influencers to sell products directly to their followers through their stories and pictures – simply by tagging the products in them. All purchases will take place within the Instagram app without the need to redirect to a browser window or the brand website.
Facebook’s “Secret Crush” Option
While Facebook released a new dating feature last year, it has added a new “Secret Crush” option to it this time. This new feature lets you do exactly what the name suggests – you can create a secret list of all your Facebook friends that you find attractive and if one of them is also using Secret Crush and has you in their list, Facebook will inform the two of you that it’s a match!
WhatsApp Business Catalogs
In the coming months, WhatsApp is set to release a new feature for business accounts that will let customers browse through their catalogs in-app while chatting. This will make it a lot easier for both businesses and customers to interact and will save both a lot of hassle.
That’s it for now
So far, these are the 5 hottest updates from Facebook’s F8 2019 conference. For more updates or to find out how you can implement these features for your social media marketing strategy, reach out to Tradition Marketing today!
