New social media features and updates to know this week
New updates from Threads, Instagram, Reddit and more.
Threads
The Meta-backed, text-based social platform is continuing to test and implement tons of new features.
Likely the most exciting for social media managers is news that Threads’ API will be broadly available in June. Currently, the app is testing in beta with partners including Hootsuite, Sprinklr, Sprout Social and a handful of others, according to engineer Jesse Chen. “The API currently enables users to authenticate, publish threads, and fetch the content they posted through these tools – and soon, we will enable reply moderation and insights capabilities,” Chen wrote. This will be a big quality of life improvement for social media managers who rely on third-party posting tools.
In a minor update, the “save” function is now available to all users. It’s a bookmark feature.
Threads is also instituting a number of other intriguing tests, including a much-requested draft post option appearing for some users, according to social media sleuth Matt Navarra. Social Media Today also reported that the app is testing an in-app camera function, allowing users to snap photos without leaving Threads.
This last update isn’t even a test yet, but an interesting insight into the mind of Threads (and Instagram) head Adam Mosseri. In a poll, Mosseri said he believes the app “should move to automatically archive posts on Threads after a month or so.” Threads users, however, strongly disagreed, with a huge 83% saying posts should “never” be archived. Will the app buck consumer sentiment and become a more temporary social network, somewhere between the ephemera of Snapchat and the permanence of X?
Over on Threads’ sister site, Instagram rolled out new features to help users identify and avoid scams. “This is particularly important because bad actors often don’t immediately use their accounts in malicious ways,” the update announcement reads.
Instagram will now remind users to be cautious of scams if they’re followed or contacted via DM by an account they’re flagged as suspicious, or if they click on a link to a sketchy website.
Social media expert Ahmed Ghanem found that Instagram is testing a new Games function in Lives, including “This or That” and “Trivia,” both of which could be fun ways to boost engagement during live events.
App leaker Alessandro Paluzzi has found progress on a previously reported feature that remains in testing: a Friend Map, a pretty direct rip off of the Snap Map.
Post by @alex193aView on Threads
Users will be able to share either live locations or past locations, as well as the ability to leave Notes.
Finally, Meta announced it will begin to expand its Instagram creator marketplace outside the U.S. to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan, India and Brazil. Creator marketplace makes it easier for brands and creators to find one another and connect on campaigns that work for both parties.
Meta
In other creator news, Meta is updating its creator monetization program. The Performance Bonus monthly cap will be removed by mid-March, the announcement said. Additionally, content can be monetized via Performance Bonus, Reels ads or In-Stream Ads on photos, text, long-form video, Live or Reels. The invite-only program will also now be available to creators in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
LinkedIn is eyeing its next round of algorithm updates, which could have a major impact on the platform. According to an interview with Senior Director of Engineering Tim Jurka and Editor in Chief Dan Roth in Entrepreneur, these changes and tweaks are on the horizon:
- Suggested Posts would help extend the lifetime of your best content. If your post is identified as “uniquely useful,” the algorithm could continue to display it for months or even years to relevant users as a specially marked “suggested post.” Jurka cautions that this is in its “very early days.”
- Expanded newsletter features that could allow the platform to compete with other similar tools like Substack.
While not updates per se, the interview also revealed two other tidbits of information worth knowing:
- LinkedIn is moving away from using the term “creator” for one simple reason: “Our members told us that it was not something they identified with,” Roth said. So keep that lingo over on Instagram.
- Finally, Roth flatly said you should ignore those slick white papers and infographics that tell you how to crack the LinkedIn code by posting at precise times and in precise ways. Because the algorithm is constantly evolving, chasing posting trends will hurt you in the long run. Just focus on posting good stuff.
X
X is implementing a number of mostly minor feature tweaks/updates:
- All pinned posts will be recommended to all followers once every 48 hours, X head honcho Elon Musk said.
- You can now choose your video playback quality, according to an X engineer.
- Video and audio calling is now being rolled out to all users, not just Premium subscribers.
- A new Monetization tab will help creators keep track of their payouts.
- Tests of Video Spaces (previously Spaces were audio only) are rolling out to Premium users.
TikTok
TikTok has implemented an opt-out feature that will allow creators to make any video “shoppable.” Lindsey Gamble reported that when used on product reviews, promotions, tutorials or similar content, it will direct viewers to the TikTok Shop to find (and buy!) similar products.
Reddit and Google
Reddit and Google have announced a renewed partnership that will better integrate Reddit into both search results and AI, Google announced. It’s a smart move, as more and more people search for the personalized, specific information that can only be found on Reddit. Direct access to Reddit’s API will allow Google to “have efficient and structured access to fresher information, as well as enhanced signals that will help us better understand Reddit content and display, train on, and otherwise use it in the most accurate and relevant ways.”
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Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on X or LinkedIn.
