A new month means a fresh round-up of social media updates. As TikTok continues to evolve its platform, are Facebook and Instagram struggling to keep up? Check out this month’s social updates below.
Facebook Updates
Facebook Tests Warning Prompts to Users Sharing News They’ve Not Read
Facebook this month is testing a warning option to come up when users try to share an article they have not read. As you can see below, prompts will appear if you tap the share button without clicking on the article first. This will hopefully encourage users when it’s fully rolled out to reconsider what links they share when they haven’t seen the full context, which could therefore reduce the spread of fake news and misinformation.
As explained by Facebook:
“Starting today, we’re testing a way to promote more informed sharing of news articles. If you go to share a news article link you haven’t opened, we’ll show a prompt encouraging you to open it and read it, before sharing it with others.“
This is a positive move from Facebook to help prevent the spread of fake news, especially during the pandemic, by encouraging people to think twice before sharing news they haven’t fully read.
Instagram Updates
Instagram Tests New Upload Options in the Desktop Version of the App
Instagram’s new test could come in handy for all the content creators out there who know the struggle of having to constantly live post using the mobile app, rather than on desktop.
Back in 2019, Facebook added Instagram feed and IGTV posting tools to its Creator Studio app, which enables you to upload and schedule IG content from your desktop tools. But Facebook’s desktop version of the app has never made it widely available.
Using this new upload process, as it currently stands, users would have all the basic in-app options for their feed posts, including image formatting tools and filters.
Instagram Adds Engagement Metrics for Reels and Instagram Lives
With the use of Reels and IGTV becoming even more important for creators, Instagram is providing new insights data for both Reels and Instagram Live broadcasts within the app, which we have been waiting for! Instagram reels was launched in August 2020, heavily inspired by TikTok, a platform which already provides insights on their videos (for creator accounts only).
- For Reels, Instagram will now provide data on Total Plays, Accounts Reached, Likes, Comments, Saves, and Shares.
- For Instagram Live broadcasts, users will be able to access data on Accounts Reached, Peak Concurrent Viewers, Comments, and Shares.
Instagram is adding these new reporting insight elements into its account insights overview section to give users an insight into the use of reels and IGTV over time and how it can affect insights.
Twitter Updates
Twitter Rolls Out Larger Image Display in Timelines to All Users on Android and iOS
After testing it for months, Twitter has now fully rolled out its new image display format, which is significantly larger than the images that were previously shown in timelines.
The previous display, as illustrated on the left, showed in 2:1 and 3:4 aspect ratios, which will now be displayed in full, cropped images making it difficult to see them in most cases. Now that Twitter displays fully sized images on timelines it will change the way tweets are displayed. Images will appear large and stand out more in your feed, helping users create more engaging, image-led tweets.
TikTok Updates
TikTok is Exploring New Job Listing and Recruitment Tools
Could TikTok be the new LinkedIn for Gen Z? No. But are they going to try and take over something else? Yes. This month’s slightly unexpected update from TikTok featured exploring new job listings and recruitment-focused tools for the app.
As explained by Axios:
“The pilot program is designed to help people find jobs on TikTok and connect with companies looking to find candidates. It’s also meant to help brands use TikTok as a recruitment channel.“
Axios says that the new recruitment platform, as it currently stands, is not integrated within TikTok itself, but is accessible via a separate web page, which can then be linked back to the TikTok app. Through this process, brands can post jobs that can be shared through their TikTok clips, while users are able to share a TikTok video résumé to apply, rather than a traditional document.
LinkedIn Updates
LinkedIn Releases State of Sales Report relating to Covid-19
This month, LinkedIn shared new insights into market shifts due to Covid-19 in its State of Sales Report, which looks at how buyers and sellers have adjusted to working during Covid-19. The report is based on responses from over 400 buyers, as well as 400 salespeople and sales managers in each region, which has enabled LinkedIn to put together dedicated ‘State of Sales’ updates for North America, the Asia-Pacific, Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the UK.
LinkedIn also provides some platform-specific pointers for salespeople, such as:
“Our data indicates that having a complete LinkedIn profile could increase your chances of meeting or exceeding your sales targets by more than 2X, and it can increase InMail acceptance rates by as much as 87%.“
In Other News
Snapchat Introduces AR
After years of development, snapchat has moved into its next phase of Augmented Reality (AR), with the launch of the first iteration of a fully AR-enabled version of its smart Spectacles. The announcement is a huge step forward for AR usage and comes a step ahead of bigger players like Facebook and Apple, which are also developing their own AR glasses.
