The second quarter of 2023 is coming to an end, and with it comes a number of exciting updates to social media platforms that will enhance user experience, provide better user engagement, and make the platforms even more useful and enjoyable. Whether you’re a business owner, marketer, or simply an avid social media user, these social media updates are sure to have an impact on your experience in some way.
General Social Media Updates
You may have heard of Bluesky, a social platform seen as a possible alternative to Twitter which is similar in look and function. If you are interested in signing up, it is important to be aware of the terms of service before doing so. Read this article to learn more about the platform.
Sprout Social has published its annual listing of the best times to post on major social media apps, including the first-ever TikTok data, as well as industry-specific breakdowns, to provide guidance in social media marketing.
A LinkedIn poll conducted by Social Media Today revealed that 67 percent of the respondents are already using generative AI tools in their work life. While the use of generative AI tools can be risky due to the possibility of inaccurate results, they can be very helpful and businesses are already taking advantage of them.
LinkedIn has published a new report that examines the research and buying behavior of tech brands, providing insight into current mindsets and trends in the tech industry based on feedback from over 2,000 tech decision-makers and 2,100 marketers.
LinkedIn has also launched a new feature allowing company pages to send and receive direct messages, which could enable deeper professional connection and engagement via InMails in the app. This is seen as a big step forward for social media, as it shifts more conversation away from public feeds.
Meta
Instagram is rolling out the option to download publicly posted Reels to one’s camera roll which can help boost creators’ branding with the inclusion of their username on the clip. However, there are some limitations and the feature is currently only available to selected users in the US.
Instagram also released a new feature allowing users to add up to five links in their profile bio, competing with third-party link aggregator tools like linktr.ee. The latest capability will enable people to drive traffic to their various links within the app, greatly improving their presence and boosting user engagement.
More updates from Instagram include comments now allowing for GIFs to be posted, thanks to a collaboration between Instagram and Giphy. Users can search and add GIFs from Giphy to their comments in order to express themselves more creatively.
Finally, Meta has announced a variety of social media updates designed to make it easier for creators to maximize reach and resonance of their content, from new Reels templates and editing options to new performance insights, a daily checklist, and updated monetization options. Additionally, creators can also now access popular Reels trends and information to ensure that their content succeeds.
Amidst the turmoil of a new CEO and tanking user numbers, Twitter has increased the character limit for posts in Twitter Blue to 25,000 characters in a single tweet and has recently added inline images to posts. With this change, the idea is to enable Twitter to become a place where creators can share original content and monetize, instead of sending users off to other platforms.
Other Platforms
Albeit predictable, TikTok has announced its retirement of “TikTok Now,” a copycat feature of BeReal that launched in September 2022. This signals the end of the BeReal trend, although TikTok is attempting to extend its reach with new features such as Bonus BeReal and RealPeople, which allows users to follow celebrities.
In a win for user protection, WhatsApp is rolling out two new elements to enhance its privacy tools: an option to silence unknown callers and a Privacy Checkup push to ensure users are familiar with their privacy options. Specifically focused on the Indian market, the update is designed to help control spam calls through the app.
To wrap up our social media updates, YouTube has discontinued its “Stories” feature, with all stories expiring after 7 days. YouTube is focusing on other, more popular features such as their recently rolled out “Community Posts” and “Shorts.”
