Fleets have arrived
It’s been whispered about in Twitter threads and newsletters (like this one) for months. But, yesterday was the day: Twitter’s new feature, Fleets, is finally here.
The Instagram Story-inspired feature isn’t the only thing Twitter announced yesterday, though. Here are the details:
- Fleets are live, but are they flying too close to the sun? The goal in launching Fleets, according to Twitter, is to get more people engaging with the platform. So far, though, users are reporting problems with a glitchy rollout of the feature.
- There are plans for an audio-based feature. Twitter mentioned that they’re currently in the process of testing a feature that’s similar to the app Clubhouse, which is currently still in testing phases. This feature would allow you to have live, audio chats with other people on the platform.
The Crew’s take: We’re seeing all kinds of hot takes on Fleets, ranging from pure hatred to absolute bliss. Like any new feature, it’ll take some time before we see how they’re used by the general public. But, a new content format could mean new advertising options down the road – so it’s worth keeping an eye on.
There’s a new type of keyword research in town
Thought keyword research on Google was enough? Well, that’s not true anymore. Yesterday, Instagram announced a new feature that’ll let users find posts by keywords and topics in the search bar.
It’s a feature that’s been severely lacking from the platform, so we’re glad to see it being added. The company also announced the expansion of Guides to all users.
This is what it means for marketers:
- It’ll be easier for users to find posts they care about. Previously, it wasn’t as simple as typing in a topic and seeing relevant posts. That’s changed now, which means that your topic-focused content might be more discoverable.
- We’re not sure exactly how the algorithm works yet. On an initial glance, though, it looks like a healthy combination of recency + relevancy. We also did find that exact keyword matches tend to rank well (for now), even from small accounts.
- Guides can be a great way to engage your audience. Product and wellness guides could have an exciting future on Instagram – content marketers, take note.
Don’t dive into a keyword-focused content plan for Instagram *just* yet, though. As it’s a new feature, there could be some updates on how it works and on how many users are actually engaging with the feature!
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SEO
Do you really need links to rank content?
If there were a good, bad, and ugly of SEO, link building would definitely be the ugly.
Whether it’s spamming templated emails at busy editors or trying – and failing – to reach out with an organic approach, there’s no right way to approach link building. And, it can often seem, there’s no easy way to do it either.
Fortunately, as Google’s algorithms evolve, active link building isn’t quite as important to rank as it used to be.
A great post from Noel Ceta in the SEO Signals Lab group on Facebook outlines how he got a piece of content to rank on the front page for the query ‘seo case study’ without any active link building. Here’s how he worked his magic:
- Noel created (and recommends creating) useful content, not boring, templated stuff. You’re not going to get organic links – and a high ranking on the SERPs – if you’re writing generic content. Be specific, and write titles that engage. Find the best article on your topic and write something 10X better.
- Promote the hell out of your content. If you’ve got a piece of golden content, all that’s left to do is get it in front of people. Noel uses Reddit, Twitter, Indie Hackers, Facebook groups, and paid ads to promote his content.
- Links will come in organically, but make sure you’re promoting the right way. Don’t be what Noel calls a ‘scummy spammer’. You know the type: People who slide into Facebook groups, drop a link to their content, and that’s it. It doesn’t work well and nobody likes it!
Link building, traditionally, is one of the most discouraging aspects of SEO. You feel like if you can’t get links, you won’t rank, and you know it’s damn hard to get links.
With this strategy from Noel, the process gets a lot easier. Instead of focusing on link building, focus on creating a piece of content that you love and promoting it the best you can!
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
GOOGLE: The final Chrome update of 2020 has arrived, and it’s a good one. It’s significantly faster than before, and there are new tab organization settings for those of you who operate their browser in a constant state of disorganization.
SEO: The ‘remove outdated content’ tool just got an update in Google Search Console with a smoother user interface.
YOUTUBE: Newly launched audio ads will let advertisers target users that tune to audio only content.
BRAIN TEASER
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
It takes one to know one
Remember the time this past summer when Elon Musk, Barack Obama, and just about every celebrity on the planet were sending out spammy Bitcoin donation links?
It was probably the biggest Twitter hack ever, and it looks like the company has been investing in ways to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Yesterday, they made a classic move: Hiring a hacker to beat the hackers.
His name is Peiter Zatko, otherwise known as Mudge (because all hackers have cool aliases), and he’s the new head of security at Twitter.
He rose to fame in the 90s with stunts in the hacking group Cult of the Dead Cow and L0pht Heavy Industries before becoming a security advisor.
You know what they say… It takes one to know one. As far as we can tell, Twitter’s in good hands.