It’s a brave new world in the land of social media and some of the most successful business owners have been using it to their advantage. Today I want to chat with you about Social Media updates that will benefit your business

I know I sure have been trying to keep up! But with the ever changing algorithms and updates, it can be A LOT! 

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With so many social media platforms available to us, we have our pick of the litter when it comes to choosing where we want to show up. I know many entrepreneurs are successful showing up across multiple social media platforms, but for me, I like to keep it simple and spend most of my time on Instagram. 

There’s no right or wrong answer for where you choose to spend your time, but Instagram has been working really hard to make their platform the perfect place for social selling and I feel most at home there. 

Have you noticed any of the new updates in that space? With each new addition to the app it can get pretty tricky to understand how to use them well, so let’s look at some of the newest updates and how you can use them to benefit your business.

Okay, so this one is so new it hasn’t even left the beta testing phase yet, but it’s something that I think you’re going to want to get a handle on now so you’re ready to use it to your advantage as soon as it becomes available! 

Instagram is currently testing this new feature with a small test group before they release it to the platform. Essentially this feature will allow you to set a monthly price where followers will subscribe for exclusive content you have created just for them. There will be an option for Subscriber Stories, Lives, and more, allowing you to earn a recurring monthly profit by offering your subscribers exclusive benefits and experiences. 

I don’t know about you, but this is so exciting to me! This gives business owners and creators the opportunity to offer subscription opportunities to their followers without having to host their own platform. Not to mention the possibility of earning recurrent income in a space we normally hang out in for free! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for this feature once it becomes available!

Gone are the days when you have to have 10K+ followers to unlock the link feature for IG Stories. This new update allows anyone on the platform to link to websites within their stories. 

Simply click on the smiley face icon in the top right-hand corner of your IG stories and select the “links” icon. There you will be able to add a link and personalized description of the link that will appear in your stories for your followers to simply click and enjoy. 

The importance of this feature is to allow you to lead your audience to blog posts, items you’re selling, affiliate links, new podcast episodes, and so much more. Anything you want your followers to check out outside of the Instagram app can be linked in your stories for quick and easy access. 

IG has also made our lives easier by adding a closed captioning option. We no longer have to type out what we’re saying in our stories. Hooray! We can simply click on the smiley face icon in the right-hand corner of our stories and select the “caption”  feature and IG will add the caption for you! 

This update is so important to utilize as 92% of people view videos with the sound off, meaning your audience won’t know what you’re saying without captions and skip right on by. This is why it’s so important to include captions in your reels and lives as well! 

Instagram has recently added the Shoppable feature in stories, allowing you to add shopping stickers within your story content. This allows you to drive sales directly to your site without first sending people to the link in your bio! 

Add the Shoppable feature with a few simple steps: 

1. Be sure you have an IG business account. 
2. Connect your IG profile to a Facebook Catalog.
3. Open your stories and select a video or photo from your camera roll. 
4. Tap on the Stickers button and select the ‘Product’ stickers.
5. From there, select a product from your catalog.

I love this new update as it allows you to send your audience directly to the product or service you are selling without sending them on a wild goose chase to find what you’re offering.  

For more tips and tricks on how to navigate the wild and crazy world of social media, be sure to join The Blush Pages for exclusive monthly business education.  This month we’re talking all things Social Media and you’re not going to want to miss it!  

But hey, I get it. Even when you understand all of the latest and greatest updates that social media has to offer, it can still feel really overwhelming to show up there day in and day out. There are still so many amazing ways to connect to your audience when you feel like putting social media on pause. Check out my best advice for connecting outside of social media here: https://melissakoehler.net/2021/05/05/connecting-outside-of-social-media/

Thank you for chatting with me about Social Media updates that will benefit your business! Be sure to keep an eye out for Part Two of this blog series where I’m sharing even more great IG updates that will benefit your business and set you up for social selling success! 

For even more content on building a business with the skills and hours you already have, be sure to check out:

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