Social Media Updates: February 2023

The social world never stops moving. With trends and platforms changing like the wind, what are the latest social media updates you need to know about?

TikTok Updates

TikTok Shop US allows users to check out in-app

Although already available in the UK, TikTok Shop in the US is now testing in-app checkout. Previously, customers had been redirected to a retailer’s website, but now they can complete a purchase in-app with selected retailers. Pacsun, KinChi Chic, Revolve and Willow Beauty are reportedly part of the beta test. 

TikTok Promote helps drive discoverability 

TikTok Promote has added four new ways to boost branded content. Promote originally launched in 2021 with promotional options for video views, website visits and TikTok follows, but it has now added new promotional capabilities. These include, driving more visits to your TikTok page, receiving more messages from potential customers, boosting other creators’ content, and targeting your audience by location. 

TikTok adds new video analytic feature

TikTok has added a video insights analytic feature that offers creators further information about each video upload. Users can explore performance trends and compare their results against industry benchmarks for each industry. They will have access to granular insights, including frame-by-frame engagement, ad spending over time, audience breakdown, and comment analysis by theme and sentiment. 

TikTok drops 70,000 new data insights

TikTok has added a further 70,000 new insights to its TikTok Insights tool, which marketers can use to find out specific usage trends and shifts. Users can filter by location, audience, insights, industry, holidays and events, and year to ensure the insights they’re looking for are specific and up to date. 

Instagram Updates

Instagram tests commenting with GIFs

Instagram is testing out GIF comments. Users will be able to comment a GIF on feed posts and to Story replies. Instagram is gradually rolling out the feature, so we can expect to see more GIFs on the app in the coming weeks. 

Instagram tests Broadcast Channels

Broadcast channels is a one-to-many public messaging feature. Creators can share photos, videos, GIFs, voicenotes, and polls in an unlimited number of channels, and members can react to messages and participate in polls, but they can’t post their own content. All Instagram users can discover broadcast channels, but only followers who join the channel will receive notifications when the creator posts updates.

Instagram removes ads from livestreams

From 16th March, users will no longer be able to tag products within their livestreams. While livestream shopping and social commerce is booming in Asian markets, it has struggled to gain popularity in the West, but particularly in the US. 

Meta updates

Meta Verified lets you pay for checkmark

Meta is testing a Verified programme, which will allow users to purchase verification on Instagram and Facebook. Subscription is priced at $11.99 USD per month on the web or $14.99 per month on iOS and Android. Subscribers will have a blue checkmark, proactive account protection, access to account support and more exclusive features. Businesses aren’t eligible to apply yet, but it is likely to come eventually. 

YouTube updates

YouTube expands Creator Music scheme

The Creator Music scheme is now available to all US creators within the YouTube Partner Programme. The scheme allows creators to use pre-approved licensed music in longform videos, without having to sacrifice ad revenue. Creators can browse music within the YouTube Studio, and can either buy a licence for a single video and keep their full revenue share, or pay for the track by sharing video revenue with the original artists and rights holders. 

YouTube adds Shorts as comment replies

YouTube has added a new way to utilise Shorts: as a reply. Creators can now add Shorts clips as comment replies in-stream, offering a new engagement method. The function is rolling out to iOS users now, and to Android users in the coming months. 

Twitter updates

Twitter introduces long-form tweets

Elon wasn’t kidding when he said he was going to boost Twitter revenue… Twitter users can now tweet up to 4,000 characters in the US, but they’ll have to pay for it. Available only to Twitter Blue users, long tweets show up as standard tweets in the timeline, but with a “show more” link, which shows the full tweet once tapped. 

more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more words more… https://t.co/0mcFJ1wwZK

— Twitter (@Twitter) February 8, 2023

Pinterest updates

Pinterest launches Pinterest Academy

Pinterest is looking to help marketers build more successful Pinterest ad campaigns with the Pinterest Academy. The Pinterest Academy offers a digestible guide to Pinterest marketing, including courses on setting up a business account, ad formats, bidding, the Pinterest Tag and Conversions API, and measurement solutions. 

Pinterest makes Ideas Pins longer

Pinners can now upload 5-minute Idea Pin videos, which is 5X longer than the previous limit. Ideas Pins live permanently on a user’s profile, and can be edited with text, still images, music, links, product tags, and more to create a dynamic piece of content. The style of Pin is best suited for storytelling, how-to guides, and tutorials. 

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