The current situation with COVID-19 and social distancing measures is changing the way we all work, and that includes those of us in marketing and social media. As this pandemic continues to unfold, many of us in the marketing sphere are still working (from home) and using social media to reach our target audiences. No matter how your brand is using social media at this time, it's important to take note of the ways different social media platforms are reacting to the current global health crisis. In this post, we'll give you an overview of many of the ways social media platforms are reacting to COVID-19 and how those changes can affect our work as marketers right now.
Social Media Platform Responses to COVID-19 and Social Distancing
Facebook & Instagram: Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram have made some updates to their platforms in order to keep users accurately updated on COVID-19 developments and to help businesses navigate the social media marketing landscape during this time. First, Facebook has added a pop-up feature to COVID-related Groups that points users to the platform's official COVID information page. Facebook also added an official WHO-bot to its Messenger app in order to provide users with official health updates from the organization. For both Facebook and Instagram, businesses now have access to a set of free templates/images that can be downloaded and posted in their feeds in order to help communicate key messages to their customers, including whether or not they are still open, accepting orders, etc. Finally, Instagram has added gift card, food order, and fundraising tools to its Stories and profiles to help users support small businesses and each other.- LinkedIn: LinkedIn has made its Events tool available to all businesses, where before, this feature was only available to select business pages. This could potentially allow businesses to better advertise and manage online events during social distancing.
- Snapchat: Snapchat has launched a dedicated COVID-19 business hub which provides resources and data to businesses on the platform. The page includes information about media consumption and buying habits during this time, as well as tips for staying engaged with users right now. Additionally, Snapchat has also added a health update page to its Discover feature that users can access for news and updates about the virus.
- Twitter: In an effort to keep users safe and to limit the spread of COVID-19-related misinformation, Twitter updated its safety rules requiring the removal of tweets that "increase the chance that someone contracts the virus." This rule applies to tweets including references to topics like "denial of expert guidance, encouragement of fake or ineffective treatments...and misleading content purporting to be experts or authorities." As many users are used to getting news and updates from the platform, Twitter has taken these steps in order to protect its user base from dangerous false claims.
Changes Across the Social Landscape
As time goes on, we may see more changes and developments in the ways that social media platforms handle the COVID-19 situation and social distancing. In the meantime, the platforms we use most seem to recognize the role they're playing in our culture at the moment. On one hand, social media has become a significant means through which people are staying connected, both with their friends and family and the brands and organizations they follow. At the same time, it's become clear that social media is seen as a huge source of news, updates, and messaging in our society, and many platforms have tailored their posting rules and guidelines in order to ensure that less misinformation can flourish on their platform. It seems to be the social media industry's main concern, like many of our own, to keep people safe and healthy now and in the future.
