We’ve gotten, to what feels like, the 226th of January! The new year may feel like a distant memory but fear not. Grab a coffee and get comfy – it’s time to get up to date with the latest social media updates!
In case you didn’t know, Facebook Inc rebranded to Meta back in October, so it’s only fair they get their own header in this month’s blog!
Meta has become more prominent in recent weeks, and with the number of updates they have, we shouldn’t be surprised!
The first update we need to mention is that they are developing an ‘ethical framework.’ Online sites have an obligation to state what is real and what is fake. Especially in the rise of virtual influencers and the increasing power of deep fakes (the 21st-century version of photoshopping).
Meta’s intent with establishing ethics on its networks is to make sure that its users are safe and that their technology will not be used in harmful ways.
This update gets a huge thumbs up from us. We’ve been trying to spread awareness on things like fake news for a while now!
Another thing that Meta plans to integrate into its platform is WhatsApp! WhatsApp will be connected to Meta’s Workplace platform. This way users can share their workplace posts onto WhatsApp, which can help improve both the reach and engagement.
An outline of the requirements for businesses to advertise and sell on the platform has been provided.
This outline covers various eCommerce policies for companies to follow on Facebook and Instagram Shops, as well as on Facebook Marketplace. The policies remind businesses to make sure that they are following protocol.
Facebook has been working on updating its Creator Studio. These updates include Story Highlights, which will take short snippets from your video and post them onto your Facebook and Instagram stories.
Instagram has been busy testing a new post display option. This option has been referred to as the ‘Edit Grid’ feature and will allow users to manually choose the order in their posts that appear in the grid. No matter when the post was originally uploaded! With the potential for pinned posts coming to Instagram as well, we can’t wait to play around with this new feature!
Instagram has also been tinkering with their more Tik-Tok-based features by adding a remix option to Reels. This will allow users to have a more creative way to engage in a video, by having the chance to recreate it in their own perception.
What’s up with WhatsApp this month? Well, they’ve rolled out a beta test for iPhone users. This test will be introducing the addition of a user’s profile picture next to their name whenever they send you a message. This will make it easier for users to recognise who’s contacting them – especially in larger group chats!
This feature is intended to be released this year and sounds exactly like a messenger on Facebook and Instagram.
It’s a major update for TikTok, and they are reportedly testing a paid subscription service.
This test may be a follow-up from the ‘Tipping’ feature which allows users to donate to content creators in a similar fashion to Patreon. The suspected implementation will be for content creators to charge subscription services for certain videos. There is not a lot of information to go off for now, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for any new details!
That isn’t the only update from TikTok about its creators, as they have shared insight into creator collaboration.
The insight shows that businesses benefit when they work with creators as they have resourceful inside knowledge regarding content trends and have their own ways of delivering a message. The data further shows that Ad campaigns that are specific to the platform have the most success – this is because TikTok video clips have their own feel and style, which is key to gaining a big amount of reach in the app.
We’ll finish this month’s social media updates with Twitter, and their update for Spaces. This new update will allow some Spaces to restrict people from joining, which is similar to having a private chat room. The two options being tested include only giving access to those invited by the host, or only those that follow the host.
Twitter is also going to introduce a new search bar for the main timeline. This will work by having a list of topics above the timeline which will function as a quick link to a real-time discussion. This new search bar is also being tested for a different prompt format. Users won’t have to go to the explore tab to search for something – as they can simply stay on the main feed. It’s worth noting that this specific test is only available on IOS for the time being.
The last update for Twitter is about improvements for Tweet Deck. These improvements include having the column creation tools be a part of the main page which makes it easier for users to discover Lists.
Tweet Deck is only available in preview mode for the US, Canada and Australian users that have received an invitation. But with how resourceful the feature is for Tweet monitoring, it isn’t too far-fetched to see this being introduced globally soon!
It has been a busy month of social media updates! From Meta’s ethical growth to LinkedIn being the newest network on the audio room block. We’re looking forward to seeing what February will have in store for us!
For more social media updates, why not check us out on Instagram! Or if you’d like some help with your social media campaigns, you can contact us here!
Until next time, stay social!
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