The history of social media is a long and storied one. It’s bursting with pivotal moments like the launch of Instagram Stories, to that one time Zuck was on trial for Facebook privacy issues, to…honestly, let’s just look at the entire social media history timeline.

So sit back, relax, and join us while we look back at what once was the future.

The 33 most important moments in the history of social media

The first social media site was born (1997)

On one of the first true social media sites, SixDegrees.com, you could set up a profile page, create lists of connections, and send messages within networks.

The site amassed around one million users before being bought out for $125 million, only to shutter in 2000.

The actual answer to “when was the first social media site launched” is debatable. SixDegrees was certainly one of the first, but you have to define what a social media site is before you can say which is the first.

For example, the PLATO system, developed by the University of Illinois in 1970, had many features of an early social media network but was largely used in academia.

So, how old is social media? It depends, but early social media platforms started to pop up in the late 90s to early 2000s, with the technology budding as early as the 70s.

Hot or Not (2000)

Who can forget AmIHotorNot.com? The site invited users to submit photos of themselves so others could rate their attractiveness. Hot or Not is rumored to have influenced the creators of Facebook and YouTube and nurtured millions of insecurities.

After being sold off a few times, it’s currently rebranded as the dating app, Chat & Date.

Friendster (2002)

Launched in 2002, Friendster was originally going to be a dating site that would help set up people with friends in common. You could create a profile, include “status updates,” and reveal your mood.

Unfortunately, the site’s spike in popularity in 2003 caught the company by surprise. The flood of traffic took a toll on Friendster’s servers, impacting users, who increasingly looked to connect elsewhere.

Myspace: “A place for friends” (2003)

Friendster rival Myspace (originally styled as MySpace) quickly became the go-to site for millions of hip teens.

Its customizable public profiles (which often featured music, videos, and badly shot, half-nude selfies) were visible to anyone, a contrast to Friendster’s private profiles.

2005 marked the apex of Myspace. The site had 25 million users and was the fifth most popular site in the US when it sold to NewsCorp. And that was the start of its decline from ultra-trendy to ultra-tacky.

Gaining traction: LinkedIn, YouTube, and WordPress (and more) arrive (2003-2005)

In 2003, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facemash, described as Harvard University’s answer to Hot or Not. “The Facebook” followed in 2004. Registering its one-millionth user that same year, the site became just “Facebook” in 2005.

Around the same time, a tidal wave of other social media sites swept ashore:

LinkedIn emerged, targeting the business community
Photosharing sites like Photobucket and Flickr came into being
Social bookmarking sites like del.ici.ous popped up
The now ubiquitous platform WordPress was born
Sites for teens like Nexopia launched, bringing sparkly, customizable profiles with them
Video-sharing came onto the scene with YouTube
News aggregator/snark factory Reddit arrived

Twitter hatches (2006)

Twitter (née twttr) took flight in 2006.

The first tweet ever, posted by co-founder @Jack Dorsey read: “just setting up my twttr.” and really set the tone for future tweets. Dorsey originally envisioned twttr as a text message-based tool for sending updates between friends.

TechCrunch reported twttr’s first users were sending breaking life updates like: “Cleaning my apartment” and “Hungry.” (My, how times have(n’t) changed!)

LinkedIn “in the Black” (2006)

In sharp contrast to other networks, LinkedIn was the first to offer users paid premium packages. Its Jobs and Subscriptions area, the site’s first premium business line, helped bring in revenue in the early days.

“As far as we’re concerned, a year of profitability is but a ‘taste’ of the success we aspire to achieve at LinkedIn,” said social media manager Mario Sundar in a blog post lauding 2006 as LinkedIn’s first year “in the black.”

YouTube makes partners, the OG influencers (2007)

Through YouTube’s elephantine beginnings, the buzz grew. Between its beta stage in May 2005 and the December 2005 launch, the site gathered nearly eight million daily views. Ahead of its acquisition by Google in the fall of 2006, the site grew to 100 million videos watched by 20 million dedicated users.

In May 2007, YouTube introduced its partnership program. The partnership program made it possible for YouTubers like Mr. Beast to make millions today. This moment essentially marked the beginning of social media influencers.

Tumblr and the age of the microblog (2007)

In 2007, the social network described as “Twitter meets YouTube and WordPress” came a-tumblin’ along when 17-year-old David Karp launched Tumblr from his bedroom.

Soon after, the term micro-blogging became widely used to describe both Twitter and Tumblr, noting the exchange of ‘small’ amounts of content.

The hashtag arrives (2007)

The strict 140-character limit for tweets set Twitter apart from rivals, including Facebook and Tumblr. But Twitter’s significance was really defined by the hashtag, a symbol that’s helped political organizers and average citizens mobilize, promote, and create awareness.

Hashtags have also helped plant the seeds that sprouted movements such as #Occupy, #BlackLivesMatter, and #MeToo. Also, timesucks like #SundayFunday and #Susanalbumparty.

As the story goes, Twitter early adopter Chris Messina, proposed the hashtag for organizing tweets. It wasn’t until a couple of months later, that the #SanDiegoFire hashtag was sparked to aggregate tweets and updates about the California wildfires. In 2009, Twitter capitalized on the hashtag by adding hyperlink capabilities.

Welcome Weibo (2009)

China’s Sina Weibo, or simply Weibo, is essentially a Facebook and Twitter hybrid that launched in 2009, the same year Facebook and Twitter were banned in the country.

Along with WeChat and Douyin, Weibo remains one of the most popular social networks in China.

FourSquare “check in” drops (2009)

Location-based app Foursquare was one of the first that allowed users to “check in,” while sharing recommendations all about their favorite neighborhoods and cities. They earned virtual mayorships while they were at it.

You may not remember Foursquare (or weren’t yet born during its heyday), but chances are, you’ve used the company’s tech. Foursquare’s geolocation API was used for geofilters and location tagging in apps like Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram.

Grindr revolutionizes the hookup (2009)

Grindr, on the scene in 2009, was the first geosocial networking app for dating geared towards gay and bisexual men, helping them meet other men nearby. It revolutionized hookup culture and paved the way for many other geolocation dating apps (like Tinder) for straight and queer people alike.

Introducing Instagram (2010)

On July 16, 2010, one of the first Instagram photos to be published by co-founder Mike Krieger (@mikeyk) was an uncaptioned, heavily filtered shot of a marina.

Instagram posts have become quite a bit more sophisticated, largely due to the platform’s success, and Instagram’s now the most downloaded app globally.

Pinterest has us pining to pin (2010)

Pinterest went live in closed beta in 2010, launching in 2011. Pinning quickly became a favorite new hobby (and verb) for domestic gods and goddesses.

As of 2022, Pinterest had 445 million monthly active users, proving just how popular the site remains.

Snapchat’s disappearing act (2011)

Almost exactly a year after Instagram, soon-to-be rival “Picaboo” launched, quickly rebranding to Snapchat following a lawsuit by a similarly named company.

The app’s early success tapped into the ephemeral nature of life’s moments, allowing users to post content that would vanish after 24 hours. (Not to mention giving us all the ability to puke rainbows.)

The disappearing snaps appealed to the teen demographic the app first attracted. Snapchat was also the perfect alternative for teens to find their friends and flee their families on Facebook.

Google Plus wants in on the party (2011)

2011 was also the year Google attempted to roll out another answer to Facebook and Twitter, following previous failed attempts. Google Plus’ invitation-only system dropped in 2011, giving new users access to 150 invitations they could send out before the official opening. Demand was so high that Google eventually had to suspend them.

Unfortunately, the social network’s launch was no match for social juggernauts like Facebook and Twitter. Google Plus struggled to accrue its competitors’ staggering usage numbers, and it eventually fizzled.

Twitch launches (2011)

Twitch, the hugely popular video game live-streaming site, was initially launched as a subsidiary of Justin.tv, a general interest streaming site that launched in 2007.

Apparently, A LOT of people (like 45 million unique viewers by 2013) love watching live-streamed video games. Amazon saw the spike and quickly scooped Twitch up.

Facebook celebrates one billion and acquires Instagram (2012)

Eight years after its launch (from Zuck’s Harvard dorm room), Facebook announced its user base had reached one billion users.

“If you’re reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honor of serving you. Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life,” Zuckerberg said.

This was also the year Facebook acquired Instagram for a billion dollars, a notable moment in the timeline of social networks.

Vine reshapes the way we view video (2013)

Vine launched in 2013, but not before Twitter bought the video-sharing app for $30 billion. The premise was fairly simple—videos shared on Vine could only be up to 6 seconds long—but quickly spawned a distinct genre of humor that still resonates today.

Despite the rapid success, the app had a fairly quick demise due to apps like Snapchat and Instagram following with their own video-sharing capabilities.

Slack (2013)

Slack dropped the same year as Google Hangouts and brought social media to the corporate world in a way LinkedIn didn’t.

Slack offers workers a place to socialize online within corporations and industry professionals a place to socialize with others in similar Slack groups.

Patreon (2013)

While early social media influencers built followings on places like YouTube and Twitch, the monetization of their followers leveled up with Patreon.

It was created by developer Sam Yam and musician Jack Conte, who wanted to create an income stream from his YouTube videos. The platform allows patrons to subscribe to monthly or exclusive creator content.

Year of the Selfie (2014)

Twitter proclaimed 2014 as the “Year of the Selfie” following Ellen DeGeneres’s Oscar photo. That selfie has been retweeted more than three million times, setting a Twitter record and winning Twitter’s award for “Golden tweet” of the year.

If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap

— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) March 3, 2014

The live-streaming wars begin (2015)

Meerkat was the first app to start the live-streaming craze (RIP). Then, Twitter developed Periscope and won the streaming wars (for a while).

Periscope became the go-to app for streaming and watching live events. Getting showered with hearts anytime you hit the record button was all the incentive anyone needed. It was so popular that Apple awarded the app the iOS app of the year in 2015.

Now, live-streaming is a standard feature in major apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. RIP to Periscope, 2015-2021.

Instagram launches Stories (2016)

Taking a page from Snapchat, Instagram introduced “Stories,” allowing users to post photo and video sequences that disappear within 24 hours (although they can now be saved and archived).

Filters, stickers, polls, hashtags, and highlights to enhance Stories have made the app even more addictive.

In 2023, Instagram announced “Live Story Replay,” a feature that allows you to replay your live videos on your Instagram Stories.

The U.S. election and social media’s fake news crisis (2016)

You could argue that 2016 was a no-good, very bad year for social media and, by extension, democracy.

It was the year sophisticated information warfare was waged using “troll factories” on social media used to spread disinformation, including false claims and conspiracy theories, during the U.S. presidential election.

Facebook has since revealed that 126 million Americans were exposed to content by Russian agents during the election. In 2018, Facebook, Twitter, and Google representatives appeared before the U.S. Congress to testify as part of ongoing investigations into Russia’s attempts to influence the elections.

A star (TikTok) is born (2017)

Douyin, an app by ByteDance, was released outside of China under the name TikTok. TikTok’s popularity burns through Asian countries. It became widely popularized in North America in 2019, at about the same time Lil Nas X released Old Town Road on the platform, which quickly went viral.

@pmckey0

#foryou

? Old Town Road – Lil Nas X

Twitter doubles the character limit (2017)

Twitter doubled its signature character limit from 140 to 280 characters.

The major change, along with the introduction of Twitter threads (aka Twitterstorms), now means tweets that will make you go WTF are increasingly unavoidable as everyone makes the most of their 280 characters.

Rick Ross Funniest Moments

A Thread : pic.twitter.com/UgiWaWI4vW

— PleaseDontTouchMyRaf (@0piumThug) February 22, 2023

Facebook goes on trial for data privacy (2018)

In early 2018, it was revealed that Facebook allowed a researcher from Cambridge Analytica (one who worked on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign) to harvest data from 50 million users without their consent.

Facing mounting pressure to address data privacy, Zuckerberg participated in five days of hearings before the U.S. Congress.

Instagram’s foray into video (2018 – 2021)

In 2018, Instagram increased its one-minute video limit to one hour and launched a new app, IGTV, dedicated to long-form video. They also debuted Reels, an Instagram video feature, in 2019.

In 2021, Instagram merged IGTV and Feed videos into a single format: Instagram Video. This created four different types of video formats on the app: Reels, Video, Stories, and Lives.

Social commerce emerges with Facebook and Instagram Shops (2020)

The global pandemic shifted the way people viewed ecommerce, speeding up adoption rates astronomically.

Facebook and Instagram introduce Shops, a way for users to purchase in-app and businesses on the platforms to easily sell. This feature marks a shift in the rise of social commerce.

Source: Bed.threads on Instagram

New platforms like Clubhouse and BeReal continue to break ground (2020-2022)

As we entered a new decade, social media platforms continued to pop up across the digital landscape.

Clubhouse, a social audio platform, became extremely popular during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. However, it struggled to remain relevant as pandemic restrictions eased.

BeReal, a photo-sharing app that prompts users to post one unfiltered photo per day, made a big splash in 2022. Though it was at one point the most popular social networking app in the App Store, it still remains to be seen if BeReal is the next TikTok.

Source: BeReal

Elon Musk buys Twitter, app updates follow (2022)

In 2022, billionaire Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44 billion. The ownership change is followed by a series of app updates, including paid verification, visible view counts on tweets, and an unprecedented look into the recommendation algorithm.

Manage your social media marketing strategy for every important platform using Hootsuite. Schedule posts, engage your audience, and measure the impact of your efforts — all from a single dashboard. Try it free today.

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The post The History of Social Media in 33 Key Moments appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.

Originally posted on April 6, 2023 @ 7:41 pm

If your brand or business uses Facebook, you should be using Facebook Business Manager. Part of the Meta Business Suite, the tool keeps your Facebook business assets safe, centralized, and organized, whether you’re a team of one or 10.

If you’ve been putting off setting up Business Manager because you weren’t quite sure how it works, we’ve got good news. In just 10 simple steps, this tutorial will teach you how to do everything from setting up your account to placing your first ad campaign.

Let’s dive into what Facebook Business Manager is, who can benefit from creating an account, and how to set up an account for your brand.

What is Facebook Business Manager (aka Meta Business Manager)?

Facebook Business Manager, now called Meta Business Manager, is a free platform that helps you manage and organize your business on Facebook. Meta further explains that Business Manager “helps advertisers integrate Facebook marketing efforts across their business and with external partners.”

Basically, it’s a central dashboard to manage all of your Facebook marketing and advertising activities. You can also control multiple users’ access to your Facebook page and assets, along with additional resources like your Instagram account and product catalogs.

Here are some of the key functions of Business Manager:

It’s a central place to track Facebook and Instagram ads, with detailed reports showing how your ads perform.
It allows you to give vendors, partners, and agencies access to your pages and ads without handing over ownership of the assets.
It keeps your business activities separate from your personal profile, so you don’t have to worry about posting in the wrong place (or getting distracted by cat videos when you’re trying to work).

If you’re still unsure if setting up a Meta Business Manager account is right for you, let’s go over who should use it and why.

Why should you create a Meta Business Manager account?

There are several scenarios you may be in where you’d benefit from having a Meta Business Manager account. Here are a few reasons to create an account:

You’re a brand social media manager: If you’re a social media manager or another marketing team member at a business, then Meta Business Manager is the tool you need. Business Manager makes it easy for multiple people to access and manage your Facebook or Instagram business pages.
You’re a creator or business owner: In addition to helping you organize and manage your business, Business Manager helps separate your brand from your personal account. Your audience won’t see your personal Facebook information — they’ll only associate your brand with the information you choose to share such as your name, work email, and Pages and ad accounts.
You manage multiple assets or accounts: If you manage multiple Facebook or Instagram assets such as Facebook Pages, ad accounts, or apps for your business, then having one central platform helps keep everything organized.
You work with external vendors: Do you work with a marketing agency or freelance social media manager to help create, run, or manage your Facebook Pages or ads? Meta Business Manager makes it easy to give access to external team members while ensuring you and your business maintain ownership of all your assets.

If you find yourself in one of these situations, let’s go over how to set up your Meta Business Manager account.

How to set up Meta Business Manager in 10 steps

Before you create your Meta Business Manager account, it’s important to note a couple of requirements:

You must have a personal Facebook account to create a Facebook Business Manager account. Your personal account is used to log in and confirm your identity.
You can only create up to two Business Manager accounts.

Now that those steps are squared away, let’s go over the steps to set up your Meta Business Manager account.

Step 1. Create your Business Manager account

1. Go to business.facebook.com. You can log into your Facebook or Instagram account or create a new account.

2. To create your business account in Business Manager, enter your business and account name. You’ll also need to add your name and business email to verify the account. Hit Submit to create your account.

3. Check your email for a message with the subject line “Confirm your business email.” Within the message, click Confirm Now.

4. Once you’ve confirmed your account, it’s time to add your business details. This information includes your business’s legal name, address, phone number, and website.

Step 2. Add your Facebook Business Page(s)

In this step, you have a couple of different choices. You can add an existing Facebook business page or create a new one. If you manage Facebook pages for clients or other businesses, you can also request access to someone else’s page.

That last distinction is important. While you can use Business Manager to manage clients’ Facebook pages and ad accounts, it’s important to use the Request Access option rather than the Add Page option. If you add your client’s pages and ad accounts to your Business Manager, they’ll have limited access to their own business assets. That’s a sure way to cause tension in your business relationship.

For the purposes of this post, we’ll assume you’re managing your own assets rather than acting as an agency, so we won’t get into the Request Access process. But be sure to keep this difference in mind.

If you haven’t created your Facebook Business page yet, we have a video tutorial that walks you through setting one up. Hop on over to the video above and come back here to add your page to Facebook Business Manager when you’re done.

To add your Facebook page to Facebook Business Manager:

1. From the Business Manager menu, click Business assets. Click Pages, then select the blue button that says Add Pages.

2. Next, you’ll be asked to choose between a few options. You can either create a new Facebook Page, claim an existing Facebook Page, or request to share a Facebook Page.

3. After you’ve selected Claim an existing Facebook Page, start typing the name of your Facebook business page in the text box. Your business page name should autocomplete below, so you can just click on it. Assuming you have administrator access to the page you’re trying to add, your request will be approved automatically.

Step 3. Add your Facebook ad account(s)

Note that once you add your ad account to Facebook Business Manager, you can’t remove it, so it’s especially important only to add accounts you own. To access a client account, click Request Access instead.

If you’re already using Facebook ads, you can link your existing ad account as follows:

From the Business Manager dashboard, click Add Ad Account
Click Add Ad Account again
Finally, enter the ad account ID, which you can find in Ads Manager.

If you don’t already have a Facebook ads account, the process to add an ad account is similar to adding a Page.

1. From the Business Manager menu, select Business assets. Once there, click on the blue button in the right hand corner that says Add assets.

2. You’ll see several drop-down options to choose from. Select Advertising, then select Ad account.

3. Select Create a new ad account. Enter the details for the ad account you want to create. These details include the ad account name, your time zone, and the currency in which you’ll pay for your ads.

Step 4. Add people to help you manage your Facebook assets

Keeping on top of your Facebook marketing can be a big job, and you may not want to do it alone. Business Manager allows you to add team members so you can have a whole group of people working on your Facebook business page and ad campaigns.

Before you add people to your account, take note of the access options you can assign.

Facebook offers three levels of access:

Full control: Formerly called the “business admin,” this role has total control over the account’s settings, business assets, tools, and people. People with full control can also delete the account. This role is best for business owners.
Partial access: Best for marketing team members or external vendors, people with partial access can only work on tasks and business assets assigned to them.
Advanced options: Adding this option to a role allows people to work on assigned tasks in addition to the access they have with full control or partial access. This role is meant for people who may need access to financial information (previously the finance editor or finance analyst roles).

Once you know which roles are available, here’s how to set up your team.

1. From the Business Manager menu, select People. Once there, click on the blue button in the right hand corner that says Add People.

2. Enter the business email address of a team member you want to add. This might include employees, freelance contractors, or business partners. In this step, you are specifically adding individuals rather than an agency or another business (you can do that in the next step).

3. Next, select the access you want to give them. You can decide whether to give these individuals basic account access (choose Partial access) or full access (choose Full control).

Note: Facebook recommends limiting full control to only a few people.

You can get more specific in the next stage. Make sure to add people using their work email addresses. Then click Next.

4. Next, select which business assets you want to give that person access to. The dropdown menu will display all of the Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts under your business account.

You’ll have a chance to review the invitation before you send it and they can confirm. Once you’re finished, you can add more people to your team if needed.

Note: A Facebook ad account can have up to 25 people associated with the account. After that, you’ll need to remove team members in order to add more.

If someone with access leaves your company or switches to a different role, you can revoke their permissions. Here’s how:

From your Business Manager dashboard, click People in the left menu.
Click on the name of the appropriate person. To edit a person’s role or remove them from your team, click the three dots in the right corner.
Select whether you want to edit their account info, edit their business permissions, or remove them from the business account.

Step 5: Connect your business partners or ad agency

This might not apply to you if you’re just getting started with Facebook advertising, but you can always come back to this step later.

1. From your Business Manager dashboard, click

Business Settings

in the left menu.

2. In the left menu, click Partners. Under Partner to share assets with, click Add.

3. Your partner must have an existing Business Manager ID. Ask them to provide it to you. They can find it in their own Business Manager under Business Settings>Business Info. Enter the ID and click Add.

The business you’ve just added can manage permissions for the individuals on their own teams from their own Facebook Business Manager account. That means you don’t need to worry about assigning and managing permissions for all the individual people who service your account at your agency or partner company, just the partner company itself.

Step 6: Add your Instagram account

Now that you’ve got your Facebook assets set up, you can connect your Instagram account to Meta Business Manager as well.

1. From your Business Manager dashboard, click Business Settings.

2. In the left column, click Instagram accounts, then click Add. In the pop-up box, enter your Instagram login information and click Log In to connect your account.

Step 7: Set up Facebook Pixels

What’s a Facebook Pixel? Put simply, it’s a small bit of code that Facebook generates for you. When you place this code on your website, it gives you access to information that will allow you to track conversions, optimize Facebook ads, build targeted audiences for your ads, and remarket to leads.

We recommend setting up your Facebook pixel right away, even if you’re not ready to start your first ad campaign yet. The information it provides now will be valuable when you are ready to start advertising.

Our complete guide to using Facebook pixels is a great resource that walks you through everything you need to know about making the best use of the information a Facebook pixel can provide. For now, let’s get your pixel set up from within Meta Business Manager.

1. From your Business Manager dashboard, click Business Settings.

2. In the left column, expand the Data Sources menu and click Pixels, then click Add.

3. Enter a name (up to 50 characters) for your pixel. Enter your website so Facebook can provide the best recommendations for how to set up your pixel, then click Continue. When you click Continue, you are agreeing to the Pixel terms and conditions, so you should read those before you go any further.

4. Click Set up the Pixel Now.

5. Follow the detailed instructions in our Facebook pixel guide to get the pixel set up on your website and start collecting data.

You can create up to 100 pixels with your Meta Business Manager account.

Step 8. Increase security on your account

One of the advantages of using Meta Business Manager is that it offers extra security for all of your business assets.

1. From the Business Manager dashboard, click Business Settings.

2. In the left menu, click Security Center.

3. Set up two-factor authentication. Setting it as required for Everyone offers the highest security.

How to create your first campaign in Meta Business Manager

Now that your account is set up and your pixels are in place, it’s time to launch your first Facebook ad.

Step 9: Place your first ad

We’ve got a full guide that explains the strategy and specific details you need to know to create compelling and effective Facebook ads. So here, we’ll just walk you through the steps you need to take to get an ad up and running in Business Manager.

1. From your Business Manager dashboard, click Ads in the left column.

2. This will take you to your ads dashboard where you’ll see an overview of metrics from recent ads. To create a new ad, click the blue Create ad button in the top right corner.

3. Choose your goal, target your audience, set your budget and schedule, and choose your specific ad types and placements. You also have the option to boost existing content or get personalized suggestions with Automated Ads. Follow our step-by-step instructions for advertising on Facebook to be sure you don’t miss a step.

Frequently asked questions about Meta Business Manager

What is Facebook Business Manager called now?

Facebook Business Manager is now called Meta Business Manager. The platform is part of the Meta Business Suite which is used to manage all of your brand’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in one place.

How do I use Meta Business Manager?

To set up your Meta Business Manager, you need to have a Facebook Business account. Setting up your Meta Business Manager account is free and can be done in a few steps. After you create your Business Manager account, you can use it to manage Facebook ads, organize marketing assets, and share access with team members.

Does Meta Business Manager cost money?

Meta Business Manager is a free platform. Anyone with a Facebook Business account can set up Meta Business Manager to manage Facebook advertising and organize brand assets.

Get the most out of your Facebook ad budget and save time with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can manage ad campaigns and organic content across multiple networks. Try it free today!

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The post How To Use Meta (Facebook) Business Manager: Complete Guide appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.

Originally posted on April 6, 2023 @ 7:41 pm

Due to their capacity to assist businesses in understanding the behavior of their customers, heatmap software tools have grown in popularity over the past several years. Heat map tools will be much more effective in 2023, giving information on how users engage with websites and how well content is doing. Understanding user trends and tailoring […]

Originally posted on April 6, 2023 @ 11:41 pm

As a marketer working in financial services, you know that navigating bank social media accounts can be tricky. Balancing compliance regulations with creative ideas for effective content marketing is no small feat. It gets even trickier if you’re managing multiple channels.

Fortunately, we’ve got some helpful tips to make the job easier. Whether you’re looking for new ways to engage customers on Instagram, build brand awareness on TikTok, or just trying to figure out what tactic will work best on Twitter, these seven tips will help you get started.

Why social media is different for banks and credit unions

Banking is a heavily regulated industry. Your banking social media strategy is going to need a different touch from, say, a TikTok teen posting their mall haul.

As a marketer or social media manager who runs social media for a bank (or credit union), there are a few things you need to be aware of. Most importantly, your content and strategy must meet federal regulations. Or, depending on where you are operating, the regulations of your governing body.

Financial sector laws typically treat the internet as a marketing channel. This means everything from your website to your social media accounts must comply with the marketing regulations specific to your industry.

Stringent laws and regulations are enough to think about. On top of that, as a social media marketer working in banking, you have to consider social media-specific compliance and social strategy as well.

Building a social media strategy for banks and financial institutions: 7 tips

Building a social media marketing strategy can often feel daunting for banks and financial institutions. You have to navigate the complexities of digital marketing. And create content that resonates.

Here are a few tips to help you kick off your social media strategy.

1. Get yourself a social media management tool, pronto

A platform that can help you mitigate risk, save time, and stay organized? If that isn’t an easy yes, I don’t know what is.

Using one central, controlled platform for all of your social media channels is going to help you operate more efficiently and securely, centralize your compliance oversight, protect investor and consumer information, and make it easier for your team to navigate your social channels.

Of course, we’re biased, but we would be remiss if we didn’t suggest Hootsuite for your financial social media needs.

Hootsuite’s a popular social media management platform for highly regulated industries, thanks to our operational efficiencies, robust ecosystem of partner apps, custom permissions and approval workflows, and comprehensive compliance solutions.

Plus, Hootsuite is compliant with industry regulations, including FINRA, FCA, FFIEC, IIROC, SEC, PCI, AMF, and MiFID II requirements.

Book a free Hootsuite demo today

2. Educate your internal team

Include a phase in your strategy dedicated to educating your internal social media team on your industry’s regulations and your own social media guidelines.

If your team members understand what compliance looks like, they will be far less likely to accidentally post something that may get you in trouble.

Hootsuite can make this easier, too. Amplify, our employee advocacy platform, allows content admins to push a steady stream of pre-approved, curated content that your employees can share to their own social accounts.

Amplify’s a great way to extend your organization’s reach while reducing risk with on-brand, compliant content.

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3. Have a social media governance policy in place

A social media governance policy lays out the rules of engagement for all employees. This can be a document outlining all of the ‘needs to know’ for your content creators. It should align with your guidelines for email, text, and all other communications with clients and the public. Your governance policy will help you operate within your industry’s regulations.

Since social media management is part of the company’s overall security and compliance policies, the chief information officer and chief risk officer may be involved in creating your social media governance policy.

Hootsuite can even partner with you to deliver custom social media governance training for your employees.

4. Incorporate social DE&I

Social media advertising is a great equalizer, especially for those in the financial sector. You’re not limited by area code, event invitations, or any other space-driven barrier. You can reach all people of all economic statuses who have access to the platform.

This means you can spearhead Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives that can reach all manner of people. Perhaps this is a “Financial Literacy for All” campaign designed to level the investing playing field. Or maybe you’ve noticed you’re not reaching a certain demographic and so choose to target them with a campaign.

TD, for example, executed a campaign that used cricket, a popular South Asian sport, to connect with a wider South Asian demographic.

DE&I initiatives will inherently help you to stay compliant with (and even celebrate) regulations like Regulation B, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act states that as a creditor, you may “affirmatively solicit or encourage members of traditionally disadvantaged groups to apply for credit, especially groups that might not normally seek credit from that creditor.” A properly managed DE&I campaign can do exactly that.

5. Create content pillars relevant to your audience

Creating content pillars provides a solid foundation for your strategy. It gives you an idea of what your overall page should look like and a starting point for creation.

By centering in on themes that resonate with your audience, you’re providing guidelines that keep your posts focused, creative, and relevant.

It’s important to take into account the various platforms you use when deciding which content goes where, such as informative how-tos or fun polls.

If you want to streamline the process even further, set up content libraries stocked with pre-approved templates, media assets, and ready-to-publish content.

 

6. Set up a check system

Having only one person responsible for creating and publishing social media content is a good way to make a mistake. Create a system where people or teams are needed to approve new posts, comments, or replies before they get published.

With Hootsuite, you can define approval workflows for each of your social accounts, so nothing goes out the door without first being checked by your compliance officers or an approved member of your team.

You can learn how to do this through the Set up an approval process.

Source: Hootsuite

7. Have a backup for your backup plan

In the age of social media, having a financial institution without a crisis management plan is like setting sail without a life raft: ill-advised and prone to disaster.

Creating a crisis management plan isn’t just wise; it’s essential. It’s also good practice to have plans A, B, and even C, as you can never be quite sure when Murphy’s Law might rear its ugly head.

When dealing with tricky customer inquiries or defamatory posts on social media, having a crisis management plan will help prevent the damaging spread of information and reassure your customers that their money is in safe hands.

Great ways to use social media for financial institutions

Yes, there may be a lot of rules in place, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a ton of ways to entertain your audience. Here are five ways you can inject some fun into your bank or credit union social media strategy.

Celebrate your audience’s triumphs

Who doesn’t love to be celebrated? You can shout out your audience on their milestones or accomplishments. You can do this in a few different ways.

If someone tags your account in a celebration post (like a successful mortgage application!), ask for permission, then repost it. We’ll go over more on user-generated content (UGC) below.

You can generally shout positive affirmations into the social media abyss, like Chime. While this may not directly impact customer relationships, it will help to shape your brand as a caring one.

You can also take a more active role in celebrating your audience, like the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) did with The Black Atlantic Experience.

The Black Atlantic Experience shares the stories, challenges, and triumphs of some of Atlantic Canada’s emerging Black leaders. It celebrates the people at the center of the stories’ narratives while exploring and addressing the issues they face, notably systemic and overt racism. By not shying away from heavy subjects, these stories give more power to the subjects’ triumphs.

Educate your audience

Use your social media platform as a way to raise financial literacy. You can offer your followers a unique opportunity to level up their financial strategies. Offer valuable advice and make it so that staying up-to-date with your posts can help them to be better informed.

You’ll want to provide helpful guidance about budgeting or saving for the future in an easy-to-digest format. Take Chime, for example. They created a brightly-designed carousel dedicated to helping you understand your taxes.

Use UGC to help your audience feel seen

Brands everywhere capitalize on UGC to make audiences feel seen. It has the added benefit of implying social trust in your audience. Before you repost your audience’s content, be sure to ask for permission. It’s just good manners.

Today we participated in the ribbon cutting for the new US Bank located in downtown Hamilton! Thanks for having us @usbank pic.twitter.com/KXDQBj9ABi

— Hamilton High Cheer (@HHSBigBlueCheer) November 16, 2022

Don’t be afraid of humor

Let’s face it: Financial content can be dry. But that doesn’t mean your voice needs to be stiff and professional.

We can feel your fear through the computer; you’re saying, “There is no way I’ll get approval to post memes on my bank’s Twitter feed.” Don’t worry. We’re not telling you to use the platform for anything off-brand.

Besides, if something feels like too much for your brand, then it’s probably going to come across as trying too hard. But there are so many levels of humor; you can be lighthearted without sacrificing professional integrity. Take the U.S. Bank on Twitter, for example. They use light, family-friendly humor that doesn’t come across as too much.

Look out Bob the Builder! https://t.co/ce98DeI8a2

— U.S. Bank (@usbank) November 17, 2022

Now, take the Plum money app on TikTok, for example. They have a different (likely younger) audience and take a different tone than the U.S. Bank. Both are light-hearted but meant for different audiences.

@plumapp

it takes minutes

? original sound – becca

The takeaway here is to know your audience and your brand, then adapt your social media voice to appeal to both.

Engage with your audience

The beautiful thing about social media is that it’s a two-way street. People are reaching out to you who want to engage. Good customer service isn’t just about fielding complaints, either. Being open and receptive to conversations humanizes your institution and helps build customer loyalty.

Source: U.S. Bank on Twitter

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The post Social Media for Banks and Credit Unions: 7 Tips appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.

Originally posted on April 6, 2023 @ 6:41 pm