Social media updates and new features to know this week
Including updates from Facebook, TikTok and X.
Instagram is making a big push towards longer form video content — and it’s trying to lure YouTube creators to make it happen.
Business Insider reports that creators have been offered between $50,000 up to a whopping $500,000 in exchange for posting longer form content, known as Features, to Instagram.
In a 6-minute video with Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Tessa Lyons, VP of product at Instagram, the pair said the change came from how creators are making content and how people are consuming it. Creators are looking at more serial and episodic content while consumers enjoy watching Reels together. They also teased an upcoming TV app for Reels.
Let’s see what else is new in social media today.
Threads
A few minor tweaks to Threads this week. First, the app is testing the ability to display a custom reaction when a user likes a post. This could be an emoji, sticker or gif.
Second, Threads is doubling the number of community champions. These are essentially moderators of communities built on Threads and show a deepening investment in the concept as the app continues to forge its own identity, outside of Not Being Twitter.
After multiple changes and plenty of controversy, Facebook is putting a hold on a terms of service update that some said would give Facebook the power to scrape content connected to any business user of the site, including news publishers.
“We’ve heard publishers’ feedback on our proposed ads and business terms update. We care deeply about our partners and do not plan to make policy changes without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders,” Meta said in a statement. Should the updates to the terms of service take beyond the Nov. 20 implementation date, the existing terms remain in effect.
Facebook has also updated its creator assistant tool to prioritize proactive outreach when the AI service sees opportunities for improving post performance.
“This is the change we think will help most: you don’t have to keep guessing what to look at. What’s worth knowing comes to you, which means you can stay on top of your Facebook presence without having to keep checking it yourself,” Meta said in an announcement.
The AI can also act as a thought partner, helping construct shot lists or giving feedback for ideas based on past performance.
Finally, the update will allow the AI tool to select comments and questions most in need of a response and draft responses in the creator’s voice.
LinkedIn is getting more involved in the creator game as well by launching a unified analytics Dashboard. The new features include a post performance table, which displays the most important metrics for each post in one easily comparable place. Other new metrics include followers gained per post, saves and sends per post (great for tracking dark social), and separate metrics for in- vs. out-of-network views.
Taking a page from the playbooks of other apps like TikTok, Reddit is separating its feed in two: For You vs. Following.
Following is simple: It’s the subreddits users have chosen to join. For You, however, will be more algorithmically driven and focused on discovery. Users can switch between the two feeds at any time.
Reddit is also now testing the inclusion of ads in search results. This is unsurprising, given how many people now use Reddit as a search engine, and offers a new way for brands to monetize the human-driven community site.
X
X is looking for a slice of the sweet, sweet vertical video pie. It’s paying qualifying creators who post 15 original videos to the platform on 15 separate days. Inclusion in the test is by invitation only.
In a handy new feature, X is making it easier to share photos and retain credit to the original photographer. Long tap on a pic and press “post photo.” The original author will be credited and eligible for monetary rewards.
YouTube
YouTube is allowing users to type in exactly what kind of content they want to see on their feed. An AI will serve up customized content based on their needs, whether that’s a 30-minute podcast for a commute or music for a rainy Sunday.
YouTube is also moving the Subscriptions feed to the top navigation bar.
Finally, the app is testing allowing creators to cash out rewards at just $20, rather than the previous $100 threshold.
TikTok
Another social update to keep an eye on:TikTok is launching a dedicated shopping app. While this is currently only available in some Asian nations, as TikTok Shop continues to grow in popularity, don’t be surprised to see it pop up in the West.
Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.
