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 Announces Updates to Advantage+ and Shopping Ads
Meta has announced a heap of new ad updates, primarily focused on retailers and those using its automated Advantage+ campaigns.
The first update is “Advantage+ creative optimizations”, which will automatically optimize your video ads for viewing on Reels, or the mobile Facebook and Instagram apps with 9:16 ratio. That will help more brands tap into the popularity of the various Meta video formats, with Reels being the key focus.
Meta’s also updating its Advantage+ catalog ads, with the added capacity to import and use branded videos or customer demonstration videos, instead of just static images. Meta will also now enable brands to upload a “hero” image in the center of their catalog ads, which Meta’s AI will then use to show people the best products from their catalog to drive performance.
2. Meta Announces Shutdown of Its CrowdTangle Monitoring App
After years of speculation that it was looking to shut down its platform monitoring tool CrowdTangle, Meta has now confirmed that CrowdTangle is, in fact, going away, as of August 14th.
CrowdTangle became a point of contention within Meta back in 2021, due to concerns that the tool was providing misleading data about the role that Meta’s apps play in spreading divisive political content. Facebook was less than pleased with this characterization, so in response, it disbanded the CrowdTangle team in July 2021 after a dispute over what content the app should display.
3. TikTok Shares Data on Its US Economic Impact Amid Renewed Scrutiny
With a U.S. sell-off mandate looming, TikTok is looking to highlight its value to the U.S. economy, as part of its latest effort to win critical support after a bill that would force its sale or ban moved quickly through the House.
According to a new report from Oxford Economics, TikTok contributed $24.2 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023, a number that TikTok is hoping will be enough to get at least some senators to vote against the proposal to force the app into U.S. ownership. The report also found that almost 40% of SMBs say that TikTok is “critical to their existence”, while 224,000 jobs were supported by SMBs using TikTok as a platform to grow and expand their business.
4. Instagram Is Experimenting With an Option To Add Files to DMs
Instagram may soon allow users to send files like photos, videos, and documents through direct messages. The popular social media platform is reportedly experimenting with adding a file attachment option to Instagram direct messages (DMs).
Users can already send documents within WhatsApp, and on Messenger (in a limited capacity), and with Meta still working to integrate all of its messaging platforms into a single system, it makes sense that it would also need to replicate the functionality of each, to ensure full parity. So, you can expect every function within Messenger, IG Direct and/or WhatsApp to be eventually made available in each other app, as that will then enable Meta to link them all together into a singular messaging system.
5. Instagram Launches Ads With Promo Codes To Entice Purchase Activity
Instagram has launched its new “Ads with Promo Codes” option to all brands globally, providing another consideration for your IG campaigns.
Now, Instagram advertisers can entice potential shoppers with promo codes listed in the caption, which can then be applied in the checkout process. That’ll provide another way to drive sales from your IG promotions, while also giving you another way to track IG sales directly, based on the promo code entered. Meta’s been experimenting with promo codes for years, with Facebook using barcodes and other means to better link on and offline activity.
6. Snapchat Tests Option Enabling Users to Opt-Out of Auto-Deleting Messages
Snapchat is testing out a new option that would enable users to select “Never delete” in their messaging retention options, which would essentially make it much more like every other messaging app.
Users in the experiment, which is now underway in selected markets, will be able to enact this new setting on a Conversation-by-conversation basis. So anyone within a chat can switch this off, ensuring that control remains in the hands of all participants. Snapchat also notes that conversations in the app will continue to auto-delete by default, with ephemerality remaining a core element of the app’s “design philosophy”.
7. Pinterest Expands Body Type Search to More Users and Verticals
Pinterest is now expanding the rollout of its “Body Type Ranges” search filter to searches for women’s fashion and wedding ideas, which will make it easier for Pinners to find matches that more accurately represent their body type.
The system is built on Pinterest’s proprietary AI technology, which uses body shape, size and form to identify various body types in over 3.5 billion images posted to the platform. That then enables users to select the right shape that represents them, so that the search results shown are more inclusive and indicative for each individual.
8. X Renames Trust and Safety Group to Safety
X (formerly Twitter) has announced that it’s changing the name of its “Trust and Safety” team to just “Safety.”
The change reflects the company’s new direction under Elon Musk’s leadership, emphasizing that trust is not a given but something to be earned. The renamed Safety team continues its objective to provide a secure platform for users, which aligns with X’s overarching goals of fighting censorship and encouraging openness. Despite the name change, the team’s operational tasks remain identical, with a focus on ensuring compliance with existing regulations to protect users on the site.
9. X Cancels Content Deal with Don Lemon as Musk Continues To Censor Content He Doesn’t Like
Former TV personality Don Lemon has announced that X (formerly Twitter) has canceled his media deal with him and his team, in which Lemon was set to bring his talk show to X as an exclusive.
The implication made in the note shared by Lemon is that X has made the decision based on who he is, though Lemon has also stated that Musk simply didn’t like the questions that he asked Elon in their recent sit-down interview, which, as Lemon notes, was to be the first episode of the new X show. Some have suggested that Lemon had asked Musk about his rumored drug use, which is what angered Musk to the point of canceling the deal.
10. US House of Representatives Approves TikTok Sell-off Proposal
TikTok is gearing up for a legal battle in the U.S. after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a new bill that would force a sell-off of the Chinese-owned app due to national security concerns.
The house voted 352 to 65 in favor of the bipartisan bill, which will now see it move onto the Senate for a final vote. If approved there, the measure would then be presented to U.S. President Joe Biden for endorsement, and Biden has already stated that he will indeed sign the bill if it reaches his desk. The C.C.P. is absolutely in support of TikTok fighting back, with Chinese Government officials seeing the proposal as an overreach, and an attack on Chinese businesses, in restricting their capacity to operate in the U.S.
11. LinkedIn Will Now Enable Brands to Sponsor Any Organic Post in the App
LinkedIn is expanding its Thought Leader ads into its own version of branded content promotion, by enabling businesses to promote content from any user in the app, not just their own employees.
Up till now, brands have been able to use Thought Leader ads to convert posts from verified employees of their organization into promotions. But now, businesses will also be able to promote non-employee posts as well, if they choose. Thought Leadership ads are available for brand awareness or engagement campaigns, and only for single image or video posts, so you can’t use straight text updates, polls, or slide show style PDF uploads at this stage. Once you select a post that you want to promote, the creator will then get a notification so that they can “approve” or “deny” that specific request.
12. Google Integrates Social Media Posts Into Google Business Profiles
Google has recently implemented a new update, automatically integrating social media posts into Google Business Profiles (GBP).
This expansion comes after Google initially allowed businesses to link their social media profiles to their Google Business listings last October. Now, within the business listing on Google Search, there's a distinct section titled "Social Media Updates," showcasing the latest posts from connected social apps like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, and more. Businesses can manage which social media links are displayed on their Google Business Profile to make the most of this feature. You can add one link from each supported platform, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter), and YouTube.
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.