Instagram and Facebook Updates for April 2023

What's Happening 

March was a particularly busy month for Meta (both Instagram and Facebook) as they cranked out new features, tested others, and axed unpopular ones.

Since a lot of tech companies are struggling with mass layoffs, it seems fitting to categorize features as ones they are interviewing, hired, or fired.

Interviewing

• Meta – Testing new ads tools
• Instagram – Testing previewing up to 60 seconds of a Reel in Stories
• Instagram – Testing Top 3 share sticker
• Instagram – Testing the ability to add a custom feed to the Explore page to view posts you and a friend both interacted with
• Facebook – Messenger may be coming back to the Facebook app (versus having to use two separate apps for direct messaging)

Hired

• Meta – Meta Verified, a pro subscription service, expands to the US
• Instagram – Reminder ads and ads in search results
• Instagram – Find Reels you’ve shared in DMs more easily. A new menu pops up when you click the search box in your DM inbox
• Instagram – Collaborative Collections allows you to create a saved folder and share it with friends
• Instagram – Share menu and options have been moved around. Tap the airplane button on any post to see the changes
• Facebook - Adding features already available to Instagram Reels, including 90-second reels and templates

Fired

• Meta – “Winding down” NFTs
• Instagram – Cutting Reels bonus play
• Facebook – Group hashtag topics are going away
• Facebook – Group audio channels are getting the ax

Use it for Your Business

You’ll have to go through you’re own interview process to discover if these features are effective for your business. (See what I did there!? 😉)

From my perspective, this list looks like much to do, but it’s really much ado about nothing. Most of the changes benefit users, not businesses.

Meta Verified was looking promising for businesses until Meta reneged on giving additional reach to verified users. Since support from an actual human is included in the subscription package, I still think it’s a good insurance policy in case anything goes wrong with your account. However, it’s not going to make a big difference for your business.

Relevancy Rating

Just because it's new doesn't mean it's worth your time: Are the March Meta updates worth your time?

No: I give it 1 out of 5 thumbs up.

Users might be happy about some of these features, but there’s little for businesses to get excited about.

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