How Facebook’s F8 Announcements Might Change Your 2019 Social Strategy

Facebook held its annual F8 Conference this week where it announced many changes underway for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and more. Here’s what’s changing and what this means for you:

1. Facebook App Redesign to Emphasize Groups

What’s Changing: Over 400 million Facebook users belong to a group they find meaningful and these groups are one of the leading reasons users log on every day. With this, Facebook is focusing on the future of communities. Posts on group pages you are a member of will appear on your news feed along with suggestions for other groups to join based on your interests.

What It Means: Facebook is shaking up the News Feed, which can potentially impact brand content visibility. Brands should consider how to integrate Groups into their strategies and expect to see future changes in Facebook’s advertising offerings.

2. Instagram Shopping Expansion

What’s Changing: Instagram’s in-app shopping feature is growing with shoppable posts! These posts will be featured on the Explore page.

What It Means: Creators will have the option to include shoppable tags in their post rather than providing links, which creates direct links to sales channels.

3. A “Healthier” Instagram

What’s Changing: Instagram wants its users to feel supported and inspired by others and enjoy a positive experience while on the app. To work towards this goal, Instagram will run a test that removes likes and view counts from the public eye.“We want people to worry less about how many likes they are getting … We want Instagram to feel like a place where you’re safe and supported,” said Instagram Lead, Adam Mosseri.

What It Means: Hiding these metrics could potentially create transparency issues when working with influencers, as follower count doesn’t indicate if an account has good audience engagement.

4. Facebook Messenger Revamped

What’s Changing: With a new tagline, “modern-day social network built around messaging,” Messenger aims to become a common place for people to connect and communicate with others daily.

What It Means: Facebook plans to launch lead gen ads for Messenger, allowing advertisers to expand their marketing funnels quickly and efficiently.

5. WhatsApp, on the Road to becoming a Business Owner’s Website

What’s Changing: WhatsApp is adding product catalogs for business owners who use WhatsApp API or WhatsApp Business. This feature will allow them to show their products to potential customers.

What It Means: Small businesses will be more empowered with tools that allow them to market to their target audience.