What sounds like the premise of any dystopian science fiction novel is actually the ten year plan Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg outlined at this week’s F8 conference. F8 is Facebook’s annual developer conference that unveils new products, integrations, and technologies.
Here are a few highlights from the two-day conference, and what this means for social media managers (us) and our clients (you).
Messenger & Chatbots
Facebook’s Messenger app, which launched in 2011, has reached 800 million monthly active users as of January 2016. The app allows users to
- Chat one-on-one or with a group of friends
- Video chat with another user
- Send money to another user
- Send and preview Dropbox files
- Play a hidden basketball minigame
The next big update: bots
Chatbots inside the app represent Facebook’s effort to pull businesses into Messenger, currently mainly used by individuals. Through chatbots, businesses can provide customers with interactive experiences like automated customer support, e-commerce guidance, content, and more.
Since Facebook’s got to earn money somehow, they plan to let businesses sponsor messages to users that have already voluntarily started a conversation with a businesses. Additionally, “Click to Message” ads in newsfeeds prompt users to initiate bot conversations with your business.
How Can We Use It?
A new Send/Receive API will allow bots to respond with structured messages rather than just text, so businesses can send messages with images, links, and call-to-action buttons. This service has the potential to redefine the way businesses sell their products and services and handle customer support.
Basically, this update will give social media managers, like us, a new way to reach your audience on a platform that is making it harder for businesses to succeed organically.
Instant Articles for Everyone
Have you noticed that, on the mobile Facebook app, when you click on a link to an article in your newsfeed, it either opens up the article in the app or opens a new window in your web browser?
Have you also noticed that the article that opens inside the app loads so much faster than the one opening in the browser?
That’s the basics of Instant Articles, and now, any publisher can take advantage of it!
A few stats if you’re not already convinced Instant is better:
- Instant Articles receive 20% more clicks
- Users are 70% LESS likely to abandon an Instant Article before reading
- Instant Articles get 30% MORE shares
So if you want your posts to load faster and be mostly free of distractions so users get the full experience of what you are offering, you’re going to want to sign up for Instant Articles.
Facebook’s Next 10 Years
It looks like Facebook has no plans to slow down its takeover of the world of technology. From drones, satellites, and lasers, to artificial intelligence and virtual reality, the social media giant used the F8 conference to reinforce its plan to “connect the world.”
Imagine the Posse-bilities!
The constant changes made to Facebook and other social media platforms continue to prove the value of an inbound marketing strategy has on your digital efforts. Whether it’s attracting people to your website through the correct use of content marketing or gaining new advocates for your business by delighting customers, the need for your business to stay on top of the changes in the world of social media is at an all-time high. If you’re not sure how to get started, don’t worry. We can help.