The world of social media marketing is rapidly changing. From algorithm tweaks to new features, staying in the loop is what will help your business grow on social media.
Luckily, we’ve done the hard work for you. Each month, we’ll be updating this mega guide will all the social media news, updates and changes you need to know about in 2024. Bookmark this page and check back each month to see what’s new in the world of social media.
What are you waiting for? Let’s dive in!
March 2024 Roundup
Instagram Updates
- Threads now has a ‘Trending Now‘ section which can be found on the search page and in the For You feed
- Instagram has been rolling out ads with promo codes globally.
- Instagram have announced a number of new DM features to help you better connect with friends, making your messaging experience more flexible and enjoyable.
- Instagram is testing an enhanced carousel post feature with more frames and the ability to include up to 15 photos or videos, aiming to boost their appeal for creators, brands, and viewers.
- Instagram is also testing a new feature allowing users to comment on specific images within a carousel post by linking their replies to the corresponding photo or video based on its assigned number in the sequence.
- Instagram has updated how hashtags work by linking users directly to broader search results when tapped, rather than displaying a “Top Posts” feed.
- Instagram is broadening its trial of extended Reels video uploads, granting some users the ability to upload Reels up to 3 minutes in length within the app.
- Instagram is currently testing a feature allowing users to attach files to their direct messages (DMs).
- Instagram is testing a collaborative engagement feature for Reels called “Spins”, which appears to allow other users to remix your Reels by adding alternate audio and/or text elements.
Facebook Updates
- Meta has unveiled a series of new advertising updates, primarily targeting retailers and users of its automated Advantage+ campaigns.
- Meta is currently implementing measures to limit the visibility of political content, prompting users to manually opt-in if they wish to view politics-related posts in their main feed.
TikTok Updates
- TikTok is introducing a new Data Portability API, offering users an additional method to download and utilize their TikTok data according to their preferences.
- As part of its latest initiative to retain top talent on the app, TikTok will now allow all creators, not just live creators, to offer subscription packages, expanding monetization options.
- TikTok might be testing a new app called “TikTok Photos,” potentially aiming to compete with Instagram by offering a platform focused on photo-sharing.
- TikTok has revealed an expansion of its Effect Creator Rewards program, allowing AR creators in additional regions to monetize their digital experiences.
- TikTok has unveiled a new integration for Apple’s SKAdNetwork (SKAN), providing marketers with a solution to measure campaign performance amid reduced datasets resulting from Apple’s iOS 14 App Tracking Transparency update.
- TikTok is introducing a new analytics feature called “Creator Search Insights,” offering creators information on user search trends within the app to tailor their content strategy to match audience interests.
- TikTok has expanded its “Sounds for Business” audio library by incorporating additional audio clips from various TikTok influencers, providing advertisers with free-to-use options within the app.
LinkedIn Updates
- LinkedIn is aiming to strengthen its relationships with publishers in order to enhance industry-specific engagement within the app.
- LinkedIn is broadening its Thought Leader ads to encompass a branded content promotion feature, allowing businesses to promote content from any user on the platform, rather than solely their own employees.
- LinkedIn is launching dynamic UTM parameters for ad campaigns, allowing marketers to track performance with custom tracking elements in URLs.
Pinterest Updates
- Pinterest has released guidance on integrating inclusivity into marketing and advertising strategies to ensure messaging resonates with a wider audience and connects with a diverse range of consumers.
- Pinterest is expanding its “Body Type Ranges” search filter to women’s fashion and wedding searches, making it easier for users to find matches that suit their body types.
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February 2024 Roundup
Instagram Updates
- Instagram has released a new DM filter option, allowing creators to filter messages from only ‘people you follow’.
- Similarly, Instagram is said to be rolling out a new ‘Meta Verified’ comment filter on Instagram, prioritizing engagements from users who pay to be verified within the app.
- Instagram is testing the ability for users to preview feed post placement before publishing, helping brands and creators curate a cohesive grid aesthetic. Source: social expert Lindsey Gamble on Threads.
- Instagram has expanded its newly launched Cutout sticker feature, now allowing users to create animated stickers from any video clip shared to Reels or Stories. Source: tech expert Jonah Manzano on Threads.
- Instagram is reportedly limiting the number of hashtags users can add to each post, with some reporting a limit of only five hashtags available on a single post. This move is likely designed to help users curate their hashtags and adopt a more strategic, tailored approach. Source: Instagram expert Jenn Herman on Threads.
- Instagram is experimenting with carousels within Reels, allowing users to post multiple photos and videos in a single Reels post (similar to TikTok’s photo carousel feature). Source: app researcher Radu Oncescu on Threads.
- Instagram is currently testing a new AI ‘backdrop’ sticker, allowing you to replace the background of any image in Stories (a handy way to make bespoke content on Stories). Plus, a new ‘Get Orders’ sticker is currently being tested, allowing brands to create a product in-stream and add a clickable tag to a feed post or Story to drive sales.
- Plus, Meta is expanding its Creator Marketplace tools to businesses in new regions (such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK), helping brands find creators to collaborate with on upcoming Instagram campaigns.
Facebook Updates
- Facebook is testing a new feature that enables you to write captions with the help of GenAI. The new ‘Write with AI’ prompt opens up an interactive composer, allowing you to offer prompts, set your ideal tone of voice and customize suggested captions. Source: Jonah Manzano.
While not technically an update, Facebook has just celebrated its 20-year anniversary this month and has just released new data that shows the app has over 3 billion monthly active users (a figure that is steadily growing).
TikTok Updates
- TikTok is experimenting with ‘Sub Space’, a subscriber-only chat designed to incentivize and reward paying subscribers for supporting creators. This live chat room is available only to subscribers and is predicted to be part of TikTok’s Live subscription tools. Source: Jonah Manzano.
- TikTok is embracing its role as a social search engine by prompting users to download a dedicated TikTok Search shortcut to their device’s Home Screen. The goal is to encourage users to choose TikTok as their primary place of searching for content and new ideas (rather than traditional search engines like Google).
LinkedIn Updates
- LinkedIn is phasing out ‘Creator Mode’, specifically removing hashtags on profiles that have been used to highlight a user’s area of expertise. However, many key creator features will remain available to all users (including the option to ‘Follow’ users).
- LinkedIn has edited it’s ‘Network’ tab into two new feeds ‘Grow’ and ‘Catch Up’. The ‘Grow’ feed will show your new connection requests and potential networking opportunities, while the ‘Catch Up’ tab will focus on news from your existing network (such as promotions).
January 2024 Roundup
Instagram Updates
- New content policies and protections for teens: Across Instagram and Facebook, Meta are automatically restricting what content teens see to support safety and well-being and promoting teens to update their privacy settings with new notifications. Plus, Instagram’s new Nightime Nudges are designed to help teens switch off if they’re scrolling on Instagram for more than 10 minutes late at night.
- Create custom stickers from still images: Create custom, branded stickers to use on Instagram Stories and Reels with this handy new feature, allowing you to create a cutout sticker from any static image.
- EU users can now opt-in to separate IG and FB accounts: Want to completely separate your Instagram, Facebook and Messenger accounts? Meta is now allowing EU users to isolate their accounts in line with Europe’s new data privacy changes coming into affect in March 2024.
- Cancel in-progress Instagram Stories uploads: Accidentally tapped ‘publish’ while still editing a Story? This handy new feature allows you to cancel Stories uploads before they’re published in Instagram.
- Instagram trials new collaborative posting option for Stories: Ever wanted to create a Story fora friend? According to reports, some users are now seeing an option to send an Instagram Story to a friend, with the option for this user to publish it using the “Friend Story” option.
Facebook Updates
- New tools to connect talent and talent managers: Within the Facebook Business Suite, agencies can now gain access to new tools to manage talent and creators at scale.
- Facebook’s link history option is coming to all users: Meta has confirmed that all users will soon be able to find links that you’ve interacted with in the app through the ‘Link History’ archive option (a feature that has previously only been available in a few regions).
TikTok Updates
- New text size options improve accessibility: With a handy new in-app slider, you can easily adjust TikTok’s text size in your Settings. Goodbye squinting!
- TikTok could be testing GenAI search functionality: With TikTok’s sister app Douyin already experimenting with GenAI search tools, many are predicting that TikTok may roll out new tools to provide concise AI-generated answered to users’ search queries. Watch this space!
- TikTok experiments with AI Song feature: On the topic of AI, some users are already receiving prompts for a new tool called ‘AI Song’, giving you the ability to generate unique tracks based on text-based prompts.
- New restrictions for hashtag search in TikTok’s Creative Center: If you’ve been used the TikTok Creative Center to search for high-performing hashtags, you’re out of luck. New reports show that the ability to search for hashtags has been removed, with TikTok now only displaying the top 100 hashtags within different industries.
- TikTok doubles-down on in-stream commerce spend in 2024: A new report from Bloomberg reveals TikTok has ambitions to “grow the size of its US e-commerce business tenfold to as much as $17.5 billion this year”.
LinkedIn Updates
- LinkedIn releases B2B marketing trends and insights: Want to learn more about effective B2B marketing? Dive into this latest report about what trends are influencing marketing for the tech industry on LinkedIn this year.
- New sponsored post options help brands to generate leads: If 2024 is the year you experiment with LinkedIn Ads, why not try start with sponsored posts? This new feature will allow you to turn original content into lead gen campaigns, asking users to sign up to access promoted resources.
Lookalike audience targeting option is being removed: From February 29th 2024, LinkedIn’s lookalike audience will be removed, meaning you’ll have to experiment with other paid audience types to reach relevant users with sponsored content on LinkedIn.
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