Keeping Clients Up-to-Speed in Digital

Digital moves fast. A technology, platform or tool few have heard about one day can appear everywhere seemingly overnight (see: TikTok and the early days of the pandemic). As trusted advisors in the digital communications space, we know how important it is to keep our clients ahead of the digital curve by sharing the latest, most relevant and potentially transformative digital news and trends. Account Supervisor and digital expert Kelsey Geisenheimer lists a few of the most promising digital trends on her radar:

BeReal - Keeping Authenticity at the Forefront

Recently called “Gen Z’s new favorite app by Axios, BeReal is an app focused on authenticity and is enjoying a surge in popularity. Launched in January 2020 by French former GoPro employee, Alexis Barreyat, Axios notes that the app:

“… snaps photos from the phone's front and back cameras simultaneously, showing where you are and what you’re doing at the same time. Because users have to send posts within two minutes of getting a randomly timed notification, they don't have time to make fancy adjustments. Also, the app doesn't include any photo editing tools. A user who misses the two-minute window can upload a picture later, but followers will be notified that they didn't post in real time. Users also can't view their friends' pictures until they've uploaded their own, forcing them to participate daily instead of lurking.”

You read that correctly. This app does not allow users to edit or retouch images. But surprisingly enough, TechCrunch reports that BeReal has seen 7.67 million downloads year-to-date, , And, users are already comparing it to Instagram, which has been criticized for being harmful for user’s mental state. Bearing in mind that May is Mental Health Awareness, brands may want to think about BeReal’s increased popularity when looking for their next social outlet.

A Twitter Edit Button is in Our Future

What started as a Twitter poll turned into an official promise when Twitter confirmed last month that it is working on an edit button. On April 4^th, mere Twitter user-turned-potential-owner Elon Musk polled users about their desire for an edit button; the poll received more than 4 million votes, 73.6% of which were in favor.

Almost all other platforms allow users to fix their mistakes, and it looks like Twitter will be doing so as well. However, there is some concern when it comes to an edit button, such as individuals claiming they did or did not say something based on what their current tweet might be after an edit was made. This aligns with Twitter’s past conflicts about having an edit button. The main concerns: Users changing retweeted messages after the fact.

With this new edit button, users will be able to edit their tweets after posting them, rather than delete the tweet completely. This will be beneficial for brands to fix any errors in a tweet without having to sacrifice engagements the post had already received. Twitter shared that it will begin kicking off testing with Twitter Blue subscribers in the coming months to learn what works, what doesn’t and what’s possible. Stay tuned.

Timing is everything: When is the best time to post on social?

It depends on the platform, the audience and the type of content being posted—but getting it right can significantly impact engagement rate. Luckily for us, Sprout Social recently released its annual report providing insight into the best times to post on social media platforms. The company analyzed Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and reported the following (all times shown are recorded in US Central Time):

Facebook: Mondays through Fridays at 3:00am, Tuesdays at 10:00am and 12:00pm

Instagram: Mondays at 11:00am, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm, Thursdays and Fridays between 10:00am and 11:00am

Twitter: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 9:00am

LinkedIn: Tuesday between 10:00am and 12:00pm

Content calendar and media planning just got a little bit easier.

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