Social Media Buzz Weekly: Roundup of Social Media Updates
- ClickInsights
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Welcome to Social Media Buzz Weekly, your weekly bulletin of the latest social media updates. With the social media landscape evolving with each passing day, it can be challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments. Well, not anymore, as we have taken it upon ourselves to keep you abreast of every happening in the social media space.
So, without any further ado, let’s look at some of the most significant developments from the last week in the world of social media.
1. Meta Expands Teen Protections on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger
Meta has confirmed that it’s expanding its protections on teen user accounts to all teens around the world who are using Instagram and Facebook, which will ensure greater protections for young users, as well as additional peace of mind for parents.
Meta’s teen accounts, which it first launched in the U.S. last year, automatically limit interactions with certain accounts when its systems determine that the user is under 18. Teen profiles are also subject to additional limitations on what they can view in the app, while they are also shown alerts relating to time spent.
2. Meta Expands Ad-Free Subscription Option to UK Users
British users will now also be able to pay to have ads removed from their Facebook, Instagram and (presumably) Threads experiences, with Meta expanding its ad-free subscription offering to users in the U.K., in order to comply with data control laws, while also enabling Meta to maintain its revenue options.
Under the new offering, U.K. users will have the option of paying £2.99 per month (or £3.99/month on mobile) to maintain ad-free access to its apps. Meta’s U.K. ad-free offering has been in discussion since March, when Meta settled a case with a British user who had objected to her data being used for ad targeting in the app.
3. Facebook Adds Challenges for Fan Pages, Custom Badges
Facebook is adding a new way for creators to drive direct response from their audience, by issuing custom challenges for their fans to participate in. Now, creators with over 100k followers will be able to issue prompts to their audience, inviting them to participate in a challenge of your choosing.
Meta is also launching new custom badges to recognize top contributors in large creator communities. With this new update, creators with more than a million followers on Facebook can now name their own fan badges for their top fans, which will provide another way to recognize their more dedicated members.
4. Meta Expands Use of Facial ID To Combat ‘Celeb-Bait’ Scams
Meta is expanding its use of facial recognition technology to combat celebrity scams, which use well-known identities to dupe unsuspecting users.
Over the past year, Meta’s been experimenting with the use of facial ID for account recovery, enabling users to scan in a video selfie as a means of identification. Meta expanded that same process to celebrity accounts in the U.K. and EU back in March, as part of its broader efforts to combat celeb-bait, which is a rising scam vector across its apps. With this, Meta systems are able to match the faces used in ads to the images that it has on file of high-profile users.
5. TikTok Launches Updated Travel Ads
TikTok is launching new Travel Ads, powered by its advancing AI ad targeting models, which are designed to help travel marketers tap into its highly engaged, aspirational audience, by showcasing relevant offers and options in-stream.
TikTok’s new Travel Ads will give travel marketers another consideration for their promotions, with advanced targeting options that will utilize the platform’s interest signals to reach the most engaged audiences in the app. The idea is that travel marketers will be able to upload their info, and let TikTok’s ad system find the most relevant offers for each user, and showcase those in-stream.
6. Instagram Adds Shareable Performance Data for Creators
Instagram is developing a new option that would enable you to share account and content performance data in a simplified summary, which you can then pass on to third parties.
That could be of particular help for Reels creators, by showcasing specific Reels view and engagement stats, which could boost advertiser interest. Much like TikTok, more brands are seeking creator assistance with Reels because it takes a level of creative nous and understanding of the format to maximize Reels performance, which makes experienced creators a strong option to help tap into this stream.
7. Instagram Reaches 3B Users, Launches New UI
Instagram has become Meta’s third 3 billion user app, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing that IG is the latest to cross the record-setting user mark.
Both Zuckerberg and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri have made announcements about the milestone, which once again re-establishes Meta as the king of the heap in social media apps, with Facebook, WhatsApp and now Instagram clearly leading the way in overall usage.
8. Snapchat Expands Bitmoji Stickers Beyond the App
Snapchat is looking to expand the use of its in-app stickers beyond the app itself, with a new Snapchat app for iMessage that will enable both Android and iOS users to add Snapchat stickers to each system’s native messaging platform.
Now, once you’ve activated Snapchat’s new iMessage app, you’ll be able to select “Snapchat” from your list of sticker sources on other messaging applications. You’ll then be able to use your Bitmoji-powered Snapchat stickers in other apps.
9. Snapchat Announces Paid Storage Expansion for Memories
Snapchat is giving users a new option to expand their storage capacity for their Snap Memories, which means that if you take a lot of Snaps, you’ll now be able to keep them, as opposed to having to delete older ones to make room in your app.
Your new Memories storage options will include three tiers of pricing, though two of them are built into Snapchat+, its monthly subscription package that also includes a range of other add-on elements. Snapchat says that it will also provide 12 months of temporary Memories storage for any Memories that exceed the 5GB storage limit, giving users more time to decide if they want to upgrade.
10. LinkedIn Launches Company Intelligence API
LinkedIn’s looking to help marketers glean more insight into campaign performance, via a new Company Intelligence API, which will feed on-platform performance data back into your CRM, where it can be directly matched with campaign details to better correlate your on-platform ad spend.
LinkedIn’s Company Intelligence API will provide more data into which companies are engaging with your LinkedIn promotions, and will help guide your outreach based on more specific interaction types. LinkedIn has partnered with five CRM providers in the initial roll out of the new tool, in Channel 99, Dreamdata, Factors.ai, Fibbler and Octane 11.
11. LinkedIn Will Integrate More Data From Microsoft for Ad Performance Tracking
LinkedIn will now integrate more audience engagement data from parent company Microsoft, in order to expand LinkedIn’s ad targeting capacity, based on expanded digital tracking cues.
Recently, LinkedIn announced an update to its Terms of Service in order to cover expanded use of user data for its AI tools, as well as an expansion of the member data that it shares with Microsoft for Microsoft’s own ad targeting and promotions. Essentially, LinkedIn will now share your profile and activity data with Microsoft, in order to enable Microsoft to better target its own promotions based on the same.
Wrapping Up
And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next week with more news and updates for you from the social media world. Till then, stay tuned!
If you want to read more on the latest developments taking place in the social media space, take a look at ClickInsights’ Social Media Buzz, wherein we bring to you monthly reports on everything going on in social media, ranging from platform updates to policy changes that influence the way we market.
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