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 take a look at some of the most significant developments from the last week in the world of social media.
1. Instagram Moves to Next Stage of Development with Creator ‘Media Kit’ Option
Instagram continues to push ahead with its plans for a new in-app Media Kit creation option for talent, which would guide creators through the process of building their own pitch to brands, with a view to securing more influencer marketing deals.
Instagram has now added a new intro flash screen for its Media Kit, which it’s now calling ‘Creator Portfolio’ instead. As Instagram notes, the benefit of the Creator Portfolio, over a Creator Marketplace listing, is that it would then enable creators to share their profile direct with potential partners in-app.
2. Twitter Tests New Tweet View Count Display to Better Highlight Content Reach
Twitter has launched a public test of a new ‘Views’ count on some users’ tweets, which displays the total number of times that each of your tweets was seen in the app. As a result, some users are now also seeing a ‘Views’ listing, alongside ‘Retweets’ and ‘Likes’.
Some users have also reported seeing profile view counts in the app as well, which falls into the same category, with profile view data also already available in your tweet analytics.
3. Snapchat Announces New Content Deal with LaLiga, as it Seeks Ways to Attract Older Users
Snapchat has announced a new deal with European Football League LaLiga, which will see Snap host exclusive content, weekly highlights, historic archives, top goals and more. The deal will also include LaLiga branded Lenses, stickers, Bitmoji additions, and more.
Snapchat has seen big success with sports coverage, with NFL football, in particular, generating big interest in the app. According to Snap’s own research, 87 million Snapchatters watch sports content every month, while NFL fans also engaged with Snap’s AR tools during Super Bowl LVI over 2.1 billion times.
4. Meta’s NFT Display Tools Extend to All US Instagram and Facebook Users
Meta has now announced that all US users on Facebook, and most people on Instagram, can now post their digital collectibles to each app, with a specialized post format that provides more detail on each NFT piece.
Meta’s NFT display process includes a ‘Digital Collectible’ overlay indicator to signify that it is an NFT, while there’s also a hexagonal icon with a tick inside to signify that this user has connected their NFT details in the app. Once users have posted an NFT piece, there’ll also be a new tab added to their account, which will provide an easy way to access and view all of their NFT artworks.
5. YouTube Tests Improved Comment Removal Notifications, Updated Video Performance, and Hashtag Insights
YouTube’s looking to provide more context on comment removals via an updated system that will link users through to the exact policy that they’ve violated when a comment is removed. The new comment removal notification aims to address this, by providing more context as to when a comment has been removed for violating the platform’s Community Guidelines.
YouTube says that this will hopefully reduce the number of abusive comments across the platform, while also adding more transparency to the process, in order to help people understand how they’ve broken the rules, which could also help to guide future behavior.
6. TikTok Reports 62% Jump in Fake Profiles Being Created in the App
TikTok has published its latest overview of Community Guidelines Enforcement responses, which outlines all of the videos and accounts that it either removed or otherwise took action on in Q2 this year. According to the report, TikTok took down over 113 million video clips between April and June this year due to policy violations and other issues - an 11% increase on the previous quarter, though that remains pretty much in line with the ongoing trend.
TikTok’s video removals have steadily increased over time – which makes sense, given the app’s continued growth. But it also points to ongoing misuse, and how the scope of the challenge in this respect continues to rise, intentionally or not, as people increasingly turn to the app.
7. Facebook Tests ‘Subscribers Only’ Posts to Enhance Creator Offering
Facebook is testing out a new post option that would enable you to restrict access to your post to subscribers only for an initial period after publishing – be that 24 hours, 48 hours, or a week.
Some users now have access to an ‘Early Access for Subscribers’ toggle in their post settings, which enables you to limit access to that post for a chosen period of time.
8. Meta Detects New Covert Influence Campaigns Run from Russia and China
Meta has announced that it’s detected and removed two significant new influence operations, stemming from state-based actors in Russia and China, which had both sought to use Meta’s platforms to sway public opinions about the invasion of Ukraine, as well as other political subjects.
The main new network identified was based in Russia, and comprised of more than 1,600 Facebook accounts, and 700 Facebook Pages, which had sought to influence global opinion about the Ukraine conflict.
9. WhatsApp Launches ‘Call Links’ to Better Facilitate Group Audio and Video Chats
WhatsApp has announced the launch of a new Call Links feature, which, as it sounds, will enable you to share a link to invite others to join a group chat in the app. You will now be able to create dedicated URL links for WhatsApp group video and audio chats, which will make it easier for others to join the discussion in the app.
When available (the option is being rolled out this week), you’ll be able to see the Call Link option within your ‘Calls’ tab, enabling you to create a shareable link to get people into your chats.
Wrapping Up
And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next Monday 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.