Industry News: New Platform Updates Geared Towards Multi-Location Marketers

Another Industry News blog is here! Here at SOCi, we’re committed to bringing you the latest industry news that could impact or improve your localized marketing efforts. This week, we’re diving into new updates from Instagram, Facebook, Google, and even TripAdvisor. As a multi-location marketer, it’s essential to stay on top of the latest industry news and learn how to incorporate them into your localized marketing efforts, taking your multi-location business to the next level and beyond! 

Instagram TV Rolls Out Closed Captioning 

Instagram made a few recent updates to its platform that multi-location marketers can benefit from. Instagram is now providing users the opportunity to automatically add closed captions to its Instagram TV (IGTV) videos. Recent data from Facebook’s closed captioning shows that branded content ads designed for “sound-off” viewing, which includes closed captioning, have 48 percent more relevance to viewers and lead to 42 percent higher purchase intent. This data is one of the main reasons Facebook decided to expand this option to IGTV. 

If your multi-location business wants to add closed captioning to your IGTV videos, you must select “auto-generated captions” in your caption settings. While there is a chance that the captions won’t be 100 percent accurate, they should be pretty close. Expanding the potential for more users to watch your videos without the sound on is vital. Also, if you aren’t already using IGTV videos in your Instagram strategy, this is a good reminder to get started. The more versatile your multi-location business is when posting on social media, the more you’ll be expanding your brand visibility online, which will hopefully result in more sales. 

Brand Collabs Manager Makes Updates on Facebook 

Facebook has recently announced that it will expand its Brand Collabs Manager to include Public Groups. Brand Collabs Manager enables brands to promote their products and services to find and connect with creators. Brand Collabs Manager makes it easier for businesses to get discovered for paid partnerships and unlock an earning potential on Facebook or Instagram based on their following. By adding Public Groups to the equation, brands will have the opportunity to connect with relevant audiences in these public groups, expanding the pool of collaborators. Group admins will have the chance to earn money for creating branded content. If your multi-location business isn’t already using Brand Collabs Manager or its recent expansion, you could be missing out on an opportunity to reach a broader audience. 

Google Releases New Long-Form Video on Google Search 

Google has recently released a long-form video that provides an in-depth explanation of Google Search and how search results are determined. As multi-location marketers, we know the importance of appearing in local search results. The video, “Trillions of Questions, No Easy Answers: A Movie About How Google Search Works,” goes through the challenges that multi-location marketers face in search. From rankings to user-interface, to the data center and more, there’s a lot to be learned. 

Local search is a top priority for multi-location marketers, and this video can help you improve your efforts. To further enhance your local search strategy and make your business more visible on Google and other search and social platforms, SOCi is here to help. Through SOCi Listings, we can help your multi-location business dominate local search results every time. SOCi Listings is the industry leader in data reputation and authority. We’ll help increase the accuracy of your listings data and improve local search rankings, resulting in stronger brand awareness and visibility.

Instagram Reels Expands Clip Length 

While this Instagram update is short, it’s worth noting. Instagram Reels, which have been compared to Tik-Tok, have expanded their clip length from 10 seconds to 30 seconds. This expansion gives your multi-location business a little more room to get creative and include more content when creating Instagram Reels. If your multi-location business hasn’t taken advantage of Instagram Reels, it’s time to test it out! Whether you make a video highlighting local team members, sharing a new product release, or capturing customer testimonials, it’s worth testing and seeing how it works for your business. By utilizing the latest features on local search and social platforms, your multi-location business can widen its reach and stand out when compared to the competition. 

TripAdvisor Rolls Out New Product for Hotels and Restaurants 

Finally, while we don’t typically include TripAdvisor updates, this update will specifically benefit multi-location businesses in the hotel and restaurant industry. TripAdvisor has launched new software to help hotels and restaurants gain insight and boost visibility. MenuConnect is a restaurant menu-content syndication system that allows restaurants to confirm their business listings and update their menu details. Once established through MenuConnect, these details are syndicated across more than 100 sites, including Facebook, Google, and Yelp. If you’re in the restaurant industry and not already aware of the importance of up-to-date local listings, this blog will help. MenuConnect is an excellent opportunity for restaurants to ensure that their local listings are updated across platforms. 

If your multi-location business is in another industry, it can be challenging to manage your local listings across all of your business locations. That’s where SOCi comes in. Our previously mentioned SOCi Listings can help your multi-location business manage your local listings across all of your business locations, increasing your overall brand visibility. 

In addition to MenuConnect, TripAdvisor has a new offering for hotels. Spotlight is a competitive intelligence and demand prediction tool. Spotlight aims to help hotels predict the demand of their hotel and accurately price their hotel rooms based on the demand. 

Now that you have the latest industry news, it’s time to start improving your localized marketing efforts. While SOCi can help you manage your local listings, it can also help you manage other aspects of your localized marketing efforts. From social media to ratings and reviews, to chatbots and social listening, SOCi has you covered. For more information on how SOCi can help take your localized marketing efforts to the next level, request a demo today!