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 Inks Deal With Amazon To Facilitate Shopping on Facebook and IG
Meta has inked a deal with Amazon that will enable Facebook and IG users to purchase Amazon products in-stream.
A key element of this deal could be the integration of data between the two platforms, with Meta and Amazon sharing at least some insights that could then better inform relative marketing strategies, ad performance (via sales), etc. It could be another way to drive more engagement with Amazon ads on Facebook and Instagram, while it might also drive more in-app shopping activity, helping to drive Meta’s commerce push.
2. Meta Joins Initiative To Expand the Detection and Enforcement of Child Abuse Content
Meta has today announced that it’s signed on to become a founding member of a new initiative called “Project Lantern” which will see various online platforms working together to track and respond to incidents of child abuse.
Overseen by the Tech Coalition, Project Lantern will facilitate cross-platform data sharing, in order to stop predators from simply halting their activity on one app, when detected, and starting up in another. Project Lantern, which is also being launched with Discord, Google, Mega, Quora, Roblox, Snap, and Twitch among its participating partners, will provide a centralized platform for reporting and sharing information to stamp out such activity.
3. Meta Launches Initial Test of Read Receipts Opt-Out in DMs
Meta has announced that you’ll soon have the option to switch off read receipts for your DMs, so you can control when “Read” and “Seen” indicators appear (or don’t) for the sender in message streams.
On Instagram, you’ll soon see a toggle to switch off read receipts, with the same also set to be expanded to Meta’s other messaging tools. So if you don’t want people to see that you’ve read their DM, you can just remove the “Seen” notification, and keep them in suspense. Meta says that it’s launching an initial, limited test of the new toggle, with a view to a broader rollout in the near future.
4. TikTok Says It Is Not Fueling Partisan Trends Related to the Israel-Hamas War
TikTok has posted a 1,300-word overview which explains why its systems are not biased, and are not seeding pro-Palestine content to counter claims by some US senators that its algorithms are helping to amplify content about the Israel-Hamas war. TikTok further notes that similar trends exist on Instagram, and other social platforms, while TikTok also says that it doesn’t work to influence the popularity of trends, which are also based on user activity.
5. TikTok Announces Rockerbox Partnership To Improve Campaign Attribution Tracking
TikTok has announced a new partnership with attribution platform Rockerbox, in order to provide more advanced insight into TikTok campaign performance, via additional analytics from Rockerbox’s insights.
Rockerbox provides more direct performance data, so you can better link your TikTok campaigns with actual sales results, through direct integration of data from the platform and the vendor. And now, it’ll have access to more direct TikTok insights, enhancing its measurement offering.
6. Threads Adds Option to Delete Profile Without Impacting IG Presence
The Threads team is addressing one of the biggest initial user concerns with the app, with Threads users now able to delete their Threads profile independent of their Instagram presence. There’s now an updated process in your Threads settings (under “Account”/”Delete or Deactivate Profile”) which enables you to deactivate your Threads profile. And if you don’t reactivate it within 30 days, it will be deleted entirely, with your Instagram profile being unaffected by any change.
7. Instagram Will Now Let You Highlight Post Replies in Stories
Instagram has added another new interaction option, this time via a new way to share post replies to IG Stories, which could help to drive more community engagement. Now, when you swipe across on a reply, you’ll have the option to share it to a Story. The comment will then appear in a sticker format in your Stories composer, so you can create a Story focused on that response.
8. LinkedIn Says Past Carousel Posts Will Be Deleted Next Month
LinkedIn is getting rid of carousel posts, profile videos, and its in-image linking option shortly, which, evidently, will also result in the removal of previously posted carousels, and the de-activation of in-image links.
Starting on December 14th, 2023, LinkedIn will be removing all carousels and profile videos. If you have embedded clickable links within any image or video, note that your content will remain, but the clickable links will no longer work. You can still share external links in the description of any post.
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.