LinkedIn now allows pages to post long-form articles
LinkedIn users have been able to publish long-form content from their personal accounts for some time, but LinkedIn has now just rolled this feature out to pages too. This enables page admins to post blog type articles directly from LinkedIn without being restricted by word count. Articles posted from pages also provide detailed audience insights including firmographics of people consuming your articles.
Facebook launches new ways to generate leads & connect with customers
Facebook has just launched new free and paid business tools to help businesses find new customers and connect with them. The new tools include:
- Click to message ads update – you can now link to any messaging platform including third-party.
- Start WhatsApp chat from Instagram – businesses can now add a WhatsApp click-to-chat button to their Instagram profile to encourage customer to connect via WhatsApp if they prefer.
- Request a quote on messenger – allowing you to invite customers to request a quote via a customisable form within Facebook messenger. (Currently in testing)
Google updates keyword matching processes for phrase & broad match
Google has announced changes to keyword matching, including a change that prefers the phrase and broad keywords which are identical to the query string. However, exact match keywords will still be given preference over phrase and broad match terms. Google is also updating the matching process for queries that don’t have an identical keyword match. Find out more here.
New WordPress update 5.8.1 released
This new update is now available and anyone using the WordPress CMS should ensure they update to this version. Fixes implemented with this new update include 3 security issues (data exposure vulnerability, XSS vulnerability and a library version update) rectified, 41 bug fixes on core and 20 bug fixes for the block editor. Find out more about the new update here.
YouTube adds new useful features for creators
YouTube has just released some useful new features to support creators including:
- Evergreen video insights – which give creators access to insights for their most popular videos (evergreen videos)
- Trending hashtags – now in the explore section to help viewers choose by popular hashtags
- AdSense blocking controls – allowing creators to choose which specific ads or types of ads they don’t want to appear on their channel
- Bulk editing of video chapters – to allow you to easily bulk edit chapters which are now automatically added (if turned on) by YouTube.
New verification guidelines for Facebook & Instagram
Brands looking to verify their account on both Facebook and Instagram will now have to follow the platforms updated application process. Facebook has stated that the process is now easier to do, particularly thanks to the transparency around what is required for verification. Find out more about the new process here.
Twitter super follows provides a new way to monetise followers
Twitter has announced they are testing a new way for creators to monetise followers with Super Follows. This new system enables approved Twitter creators to charge a subscription to followers who will be able to view exclusive bonus content such as private tweets that include polls, links, conversation threads and voice tweets. Subscription rates on the system are: $2.99, $4.99 and $9.99 a month.
Google confirms website themes impact SEO
Google’s John Mueller confirmed in a short video that website themes do impact SEO. Mueller said “It’s easy to consider website themes as just a splash of color on top of a finished structure. But there’s so much more involved.” A theme will impact headings, text, images, how pages are interlinked, page load times and structured data, and therefore changing a website’s theme generally will affect a website’s SEO.