Once again, the world of social media has been keeping us on our toes with plenty of updates, announcements and new features to each platform. Here are some of the changes we’ve spotted throughout the month…
INTRODUCING TWITTER CIRCLES
Have you ever wanted to tweet to a select group of people, without the rest of your followers (and the world!) seeing it? Well, now you can!
This month, Twitter introduced a new feature, Twitter Circles, which enables you to add different accounts into a Circle, then tweet just to that circle.
To tweet to a specific Circle, simply compose your tweet as usual, then select the drop-down option at the top of your screen to change your audience from ‘everyone’ to your chosen Circle.
You can add and remove accounts from your Twitter Circle whenever you like, and they won’t be notified.
LINKEDIN SCHEDULING COMING SOON
If you regularly schedule your social media content ahead of time, you will probably know that most platforms (including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest) now have their own built-in scheduling tools. LinkedIn, however, has always been an exception, meaning often having to pay for an external scheduling tool just to schedule content to LinkedIn.
The AMAZING news is… this is changing! LinkedIn is said to be testing their own built-in scheduling tool, which means this issue will soon be a thing of the past!
This will be great to save money, and time switching between different platforms. We’re hoping it will also iron out some of the common scheduling flaws such as not being able to tag personal profiles in scheduled LinkedIn posts… fingers crossed!
CREATOR STUDIO INSPIRATION HUB
This month, we noticed a new feature within Creator Studio (Facebook and Instagram’s own scheduling platform), called the Inspiration Hub.
The Inspiration Hub pulls the top performing content across Facebook, including Reels and videos, that are relevant to you and your target audience.
In theory, this is a super simple way of finding content ideas that you can replicate or take inspiration from, that are relevant to your Facebook page and audience. However, so far, we have only seen this option appear for a couple of pages, and the content it recommends doesn’t seem entirely relevant.
INSTAGRAM TESTS REPOSTS
Instagram has always been unlike any other platform, in that the content shared on your profile, is entirely your own. However, it sounds like this is changing.
Instagram is currently testing a repost feature which will allow you to share content from other accounts onto your own feed. Content that you repost, will appear on another tab on your profile (much like the posts you are tagged in do now), so these are still kept separate from posts you publish directly.
LOGIN WITHOUT FACEBOOK
Over the past few years, we’re sure you’ve seen more and more websites offering the option for you to log in using Facebook.
Now, big brands including Dell, Patagonia, and Nike, are removing this option due to concerns about privacy, security and data-sharing.
We’re not sure how many people actually use this option anyway, but it certainly says something about how the general public currently feel about Facebook, and how it’s influence is diminishing.
TIKTOK NOW
Social media platforms are known for copying each other, based on new features and where people are spending the most time. At late, this has basically meant the majority of platforms mimicking TikTok, however, this time, it’s their turn to copy.
This month, TikTok has announced a new feature called TikTok Now, which prompts users to share a selfie, using both the front and back camera, at a random time each day.
The feature, though it may sound new, is basically a direct rip-off of BeReal, a French social app that’s been steadily gaining popularity.
NEW LINKEDIN FEATURES
This month, LinkedIn announced some new features for company pages, including post templates, link stickers, and pinned comments.
Do you remember when Facebook introduced ways to jazz up and add some colour to plain text posts? Well, that’s basically what LinkedIn templates are – a way to make short text posts a bit more eye-catching.
Link stickers look a bit like the stickers found on Instagram stories, though these you can add over the top of any image, allowing your followers to click through to your website.
The one we think will be the most useful though, is the new ability to pin comments to the top. So, if you’ve added a link or some vital information in the comments section, or maybe just received some lovely feedback there, you can now pin this to the top so this is the first comment your followers see.
TIKTOK ROLLS OUT DISLIKES
Earlier this year, TikTok started testing a ‘dislike’ button for comments, which helps to identify not-so-useful or spammy comments. This month, TikTok have announced that this new feature will be rolling out to all users.
If you click the dislike button on a comment, the dislike won’t be public and commenters won’t be notified that their comment has been disliked. Commenters and other users also won’t be able to see how many times a comment has been disliked.
Basically, this isn’t a way to spread hate or make people feel bad about themselves, but is actually a way to create a better experience for users.
THAT’S ALL FOR THIS MONTH
We hope you enjoyed this month’s round-up and we can’t wait to see what September has in store! Be sure to keep an eye out for next month’s update to see what’s changed!
Don’t forget, you can also get our monthly updates straight through to your inbox when you subscribe to our newsletter here.
Is there something we’ve missed? We’d love to hear any other changes you’ve spotted in the last month, so be sure to share them with us on social media.