Social Media Updates

TikTok is working on building a “culture of credit” by developing new tools to help users give attribution to creators on the platform. 

“These features are an important step in our ongoing commitment to investing in resources and product experiences that support a culture of credit, which is central to ensuring TikTok remains a home for creative expression,” says Kudzi Chikumba, Director of Creative Community at TikTok US, in a blog post. “Whether taking part in the latest trend, adding a punchline to a joke, or creating the next viral sound, creators can easily and directly cite their inspiration.”

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Instagram users who engage with audiences through multiple Stories may not be happy with Instagram’s latest potential update.

According to social media expert Matt Navarra, Instagram is testing a new Stories layout that will hide excessive posts. Specifically, Instagram will only show three Stories per user unless viewers tap to “show all.”

Responding to the news, some social media users worry that collapsing Stories will impact user engagement. 

Instagram has yet to make an official announcement on the change, so it could eventually disappear for the select users who currently have access.   Read more

Twitter is currently working on a couple new ways that users can respond to Tweets, according to tech blogger Jane Manchun Wong.

One of those is a “pin reply” feature that will let users pin selected comments to the top of their replies section. Instagram and YouTube already have the feature, which helps creators highlight the responses they’d like their audience to see. 

Twitter is working on “Pin reply” pic.twitter.com/VGYVT4PmLs

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) May 12, 2022

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TikTok is introducing a Friends Tab over the next few weeks to help users more easily connect with their contacts, the platform announced on social media. The new feature is designed to help users more easily find content from the people they’re already connected with. 

Social media expert Matt Navarra gave a sneak peek of the feature earlier this year, explaining that “posts are from followers that you follow back, accounts you follow, and other suggested accounts.”

He also revealed that TikTok had removed the Discover Tab and replaced it with the Friends Tab. The Discover Tab has been used to help users find trending videos, hashtags and creators. Users will likely need to turn to the search icon at the top of the homepage now instead.

TikTok has added a Friends tab!

“Posts are from followers that you follow back, accounts you follow,
and other suggested accounts” pic.twitter.com/Z6lfEH8ilL

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) April 1, 2022

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Creators on Instagram and Facebook can now explore new ways to earn money, according to a news release from Meta. 

In the ongoing battle for creator content, social media platforms are continuing to increase monetization opportunities.

Just this week, TikTok announced they’re exploring an advertising share revenue program with creators, and now Meta has announced they’re updating the Reels Play bonus program and launching a “Challenges” program on Facebook. 

“We believe that creators who do the hard work of crafting and promoting original content should be rewarded in distribution, growth and monetization,” Meta says in a new blog post.  Read more

TikTok is looking to draw more advertisers to the platform with the creation of TikTok Pulse, the company announced Wednesday. The idea is to “help brands be on the pulse of entertainment and culture on TikTok.”

What that essentially means is that with TikTok Pulse, advertisers can increase their exposure by paying for TikTok to show their content right after the top videos on the platform — more specifically, those in the top 4% of all TikTok videos.

TikTok will offer 12 categories of Pulse to ensure advertisers are speaking to the right audiences. Some of those categories include beauty, fashion, cooking and gaming.  Read more

To make Instagram a more immersive experience for mobile users, the platform is currently testing taller videos and photos.

“We know the future of photos and the future of video is mobile-first,” said Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, in a recent post. “They are 9 by 16. They are immersive,” Mosseri described the new format of feed photos and videos.

This means that Instagram’s content presentation will start looking a lot more like TikTok’s in that images will be full screen and vertical.  Read more

Twitter is currently testing a new feature called Twitter Circle, which will let users share content with a smaller audience.

The feature will allow users to choose up to 150 people who will be able to view their tweets when using the feature.

The feature appears to be in the same vein as Instagram’s “Close Friends” feature, where users can curate which followers get to see selected content.  Read more

Instagram has increased the length of Reels to 90 seconds, users have announced on social media. 

Previously, the short-form vertical videos only went up to 60 seconds long. 

Instagram has yet to make an official statement. The platform has made clear, however, that they are looking to enhance the Reels experience for users in 2022. Just last month, Instagram introduced the option to create Reels from story highlights, and updates are expected to continue.  Read more

Instagram is currently testing a new feature that will allow users to pin posts to their profile, the company confirmed. 

The pin posts will supposedly appear above a user’s photo grid. Users with access to the feature will see a “Pin to your profile” option within the three-dotted menu.

Facebook, Twitter and TikTok already allow users to pin posts, tweets or videos to the top of their pages, and it looks like Instagram is finally catching up.  

The pin feature is typically used to highlight an important announcement or show off some of your best content. For creators or brands, a pinned post might be used to introduce yourself to new followers or page visitors.  Read more

Twitter appears to be developing an “Edit” button, according to mobile developers who share leaks on the platform. 

Developer Alessandro Paluzzi announced recently that an “Edit” button is in the works and that the feature will allow users to edit Tweets for up to one hour after publication.

#Twitter is working on the edit button 👀 pic.twitter.com/684nQ5bhnF

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) April 15, 2022

Paluzzi shared that Twitter will indicate that Tweets have been altered by marking them as “Edited” right next to the time and date of the Tweet. Read more

Instagram is currently working on multiple ways for creators to receive the credit they’re due on the platform, Adam Mosseri,…

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