New social media features and updates to know this week
Including updates from LinkedIn, Snapchat, Bluesky and more.
A theme in this week’s social media updates is the push for greater engagement and personalization.
LinkedIn doubled down on video with new features that connect content to user profiles and Snapchat introduced AI-powered tools for more personalized interactions. Meanwhile Instagram announced a few new features for its Edits app.
Rival platforms Bluesky and Threads continued their tug-of-war in the microblogging space by offering distinct ways for users to interact with one another.
Sensing blood in the short-form video waters, YouTube has struck a new partnership to make it easier for social media managers and creators alike to “future-proof” and migrate content from TikTok and Instagram.
That’s a whole lot to unpack. Let’s get into it.
LinkedIn has seen a 36% year-over-year increase in video views, with video creation growing at twice the rate of other original post formats. To that end, the business-centric platform has introduced several new features to help use video to direct viewers to your profile, explore services and connect, including:
- New profile preview within full-screen video player: Viewers can now see a snapshot of a LinkedIn profile directly within the platform’s full-screen video player while also receiving a preview of your other videos without leaving the player.
- Enhanced video follow feature: LinkedIn added a more prominent follow button.
- Video average watch time tracking: You can now track the average time viewers watch your videos.
Snapchat
Snapchat is rolling out more features for Snapchat+ subscribers, including a new option called Snap Modes that adds more customization to video creations. Users can do things such as send Snaps that “self-destruct” if not viewed within a set period.
Other features include a new lens that turns users into a movie poster and AI-generated stickers that match the content of their message. Simply type in the chat bar, tap the sticker search button and see a sticker with your text appear. Snap has also updated the Bitmoji wardrobe with new styles, including a range of Valentine’s Day-themed looks.
Bluesky
Bluesky plans to give users more control over who can respond to their posts. The open-source microblogging platform is introducing a “followers only” setting to restrict replies, according to TechCrunch. This change will also allow users to set default reply-to settings, letting them choose to limit replies to followers only, either by default or as-needed.
Bluesky’s post interaction settings allow the OP to choose who can interact with their post. The options are “Everybody,” “Nobody,” “Mentioned users” and “Followed users.” A user can combine the last two to create custom lists. They can also limit whether to let anyone quote their post.
This feature sets Bluesky apart from X and Threads, offering more customizable options.
Flashes – an Instagram-like photo-sharing app developed on Bluesky – has also entered beta testing. The developer reported receiving 500 requests to test the app within 22 minutes of the announcement of the beta version’s availability.
Threads
Not to be outdone, Threads took a page out of Bluesky’s book by offering its users the ability to make their custom feeds public and follow feeds made by your favorite people.
To set up custom feeds, search for a topic and select the latest posts. Then, tap the three-dot menu and select “Create New Feed.” You can also add specific users to a feed.
A new Feeds tab aids in discovery, and they can also be shared via DM.
Instagram’s new video editing app Edits will also serve as a testing platform for features that may be available in the main app. In a video update, IG head Adam Mosseri noted that you’re likely to see new features tried first in the Edits before making their way into the main app. This one isn’t so much a new tool as a note to social media managers to use the app as a sign of what’s to come for Meta products down the road.
IG also added a new WhatsApp sticker for Instagram Stories. This will make it easier to drive clicks towards a private WhatsApp chat direct from your Stories posts.
YouTube
YouTube continues its effort to topple the kings of short-form video with a new partnership marketed as a way for brands and creators to “future-proof” in light of uncertainty in the social media world.
The partnership with Repurpose.io, an automated scheduling platform, intends to make it easier to upload TikTok and Instagram content directly to YouTube. Not just new content, either. Users can upload older content, or entire catalogs, from IG and TikTok with a few clicks.
The promotion makes Repurpose.io free to use for the first three months.
If you’re interested in learning about the latest digital trends, plan to attend Ragan’s Social Media Conference at Walt Disney World from March 19-21. You can find more details on the event website.
Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.
