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CiT Monthly Roundup of Marketing News & Updates 

October 01, 2021

Autumn has arrived, say goodbye to the long summer days and hello to crunchy leaves and woolly jumpers! Before we look ahead to Halloween (and Christmas!) we’re looking at the best marketing updates and interesting marketing news from the month of September. 

As you know, social media and Google are CONSTANTLY evolving. There’s a new algorithm change every single week, and it’s important for your business to stay up to date with the latest news and updates to please each social platform and Google.  

Check out our marketing business monthly roundup of the latest news and tips down below. 

Instagram have Spilled Allll the Tea on Hashtags!  

Just 3 months ago, the @creators account shared that their hashtag best practice is to use 8-15 relevant hashtags per post, but just yesterday, they revealed the rules have changed once again.  

Instagram are now recommending just 3-5 hashtags per post in order to boost content’s discoverability. According to Instagram, using 10-20 hashtags will now NOT help in getting additional distribution.  

It looks like hashtags are becoming less important in Instagram’s eyes, with more of a focus on Alt text, and keywords in posts. I mean, when was the last time you searched for a hashtag to find what you were looking for, as opposed to just searching a keyword in the search bar?  

TikTok Has Reached 1 BILLION Active Users 

If social media is a big part of your digital marketing, then you will likely be aware of an app called TikTok. Many people think that TikTok is an app for the younger generation and that including it in their marketing is not worthwhile, however, it is becoming an ever-growing platform for small businesses to reach customers and create sales.  

Are you wondering is TikTok good for business? Keep reading and we’ll tell you why it is. 

Just this week, Tiktok has reached 1 BILLION active users this week!  

“More than 1 billion people around the world now come to #TikTok every month to be entertained as they learn, laugh, or discover something new!” –  TikTok 

The rise of TikTok is not a shocking one – the algorithm makes it easy for ANY user to go viral, even if you have little to no followers.  

This month, TikTok has also revealed a partnership with Shopify and is pilot testing TikTok Shopping which will bring new features to assist businesses in creating content and make it easier for customers to buy their products. 

If you are a small business with a creative streak, there is no better time than now to hop on the TikTok trend, the reach can be astounding and video is quickly becoming one of the best marketing techniques. 

Google are working on Indexing Instagram & TikTok Videos 

Google is seemingly working on deals with Instagram and TikTok to index their video content in search results.  

Currently you are unable to use Google to search for Instagram and TikTok videos. If this deal were to occur, it could bring a large new audience to these platforms who may otherwise not use them. 

This expansion could in turn bring more search queries to Google if users are aware of the larger variety in results. It could also turn Google into a port of call for both articles and videos and can bring more overall opportunities for publishers to be found. 

The information has details from Google of early talks with Facebook and ByteDance who are the respective parent companies of Instagram and TikTok. 

Bringing more platforms and types of media to Google searches could be an amazing opportunity for businesses and lead to new marketing opportunities, how exciting!! 

LinkedIn are shutting down LinkedIn Stories. 

LinkedIn have announced that they are going to be removing LinkedIn Stories by the end of September! 

Liz Li, Senior Director of Product at LinkedIn had this to say on the matter: “We want to embrace mixed media and creative tools of Stories in a consistent way across our platform while working to integrate it more tightly with your professional identity.”  

LinkedIn made this decision due to feedback from users. Users feedback included that they want to create longer lasting videos which could be visible for longer than 24 hours and it also became apparent that users needed some creative tools to help them tell their stories. 

We look forward to seeing how LinkedIn uses this feedback to create a new and improved video feature that we can all benefit from! 

Chatbots 

Did you know that chatbot usage has more than doubled since 2020? A third of all marketers now use a chatbot to interact with customers. 

The pandemic had an effect on the use of automated systems as it increased the requirement for online purchases. 

Do you use a chatbot? More people than ever still prefer making online purchases and therefore increasing your engagement is vital. Automated systems are growing in sophistication and can aid you to provide tailored content to your consumers. 

We hope that this monthly roundup will keep you up to date with all the latest marketing news and updates, check back in next month for our October roundup! 

In the mean time, does your business need a hand keeping up to date? Maybe you’re struggling to keep on track with all of the new marketing changes? We’ve got your back! 

Book in for a discovery call now and our marketing business can help you with all the latest strategies and changes. 

By Fred Warner

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