New social media features and updates to know this week
Including updates from Instagram, YouTube, X and more.
Instagram is leading the update charge this week with several new features for social media managers while changing things up a bit on the user experience front.
Here’s a rundown of what you need to know about this and more.
Meta has introduced new AI-powered tools to help businesses find the right creators on Instagram.
Its updates to IG’s Creator Marketplace include AI-driven content recommendations, improved creator discovery and expanded insights for brands collaborating with influencers. Meta will analyze factors like past ad content, audience similarity and partnership experience to predict which creators will deliver the best results.
Brands can refine searches with keyword-based queries like “soccer moms with dogs” or “gadget unboxing” and filter creators by 20 industry categories including Fashion, Beauty and Home & Garden, according to a blog post on Meta’s website .
Creator profiles on the marketplace now feature playable Reels, experience badges for branded content and partnership ads as well as insights into their active partnerships. Businesses can also contact opted-in creators directly via email.
This round of updates also includes the expansion of marketing API support for partnership ads, allowing brands to use existing IG posts for ads and run campaigns with click-to-message destinations.
That wasn’t all for Instagram. It also has introduced a new playback option for Reels that allows users to watch them at double speed. Now, users can activate the side of the screen while watching a video.
The update, which is rolling out globally, mirrors options available on many other video sites.
Instagram isn’t just giving this week. It’s also taking away.
Head Adam Mosseri posted that the platform is removing the ability to add text notes to feed posts and Reels, citing low adoption. Notes will remain in DMs.
“We’ll keep exploring ways to make Instagram more fun and social, but content notes wasn’t it,” Mosseri wrote on IG. “We’re going to keep simplifying Instagram where we can, which inevitably means being willing to turn off features that aren’t widely used.”
WhatsApp users can now add music to their status updates.
The new feature allows users to select songs from a built-in library and choose a specific segment – up to 15 seconds for photos and 60 seconds for videos.
The update is rolling out globally in the coming weeks.
YouTube
YouTube has changed how it counts views on Shorts. As of Monday, views will now include every instance a short video starts playing or replays while on screen, according to TechCrunch .
Previously, YouTube had been somewhat vague about what it considered a view for Shorts. The platform will now measure views the same way as TikTok and Instagram Reels. The goal, TechCrunch reported, was to give creators a more accurate way to compare performance across platforms.
Creators who want access to the old Shorts metric can find it in YouTube Analytics labeled as “engaged views.”
The TechCrunch report indicated that the change won’t affect creators’ pay on YouTube or affect their eligibility for the YouTube Partner Program.
In another move, YouTube announced that it’s testing a revision to its notification system that disables alerts to subscribers who haven’t recently engaged with a channel, even if they have “all” notifications enabled.
“When they feel overwhelmed or are no longer interested, instead of updating their preferences, they simply turn off all notifications from the YouTube app entirely,” the company said in its explanation for the change.
Notifications will still appear in the YouTube app’s inbox, and channels that upload infrequently won’t be affected.
Engaged viewers with push notifications enabled on their devices will continue receiving them as usual.
X
X is rolling out multiple video features as part of its push to become more of a video-first platform.
The micro-blogging app’s “React with video” lets iOS users post video responsesto any updates on X. The feature began as a test earlier this month but is now available to more users.
X is also developing a tool that overlays an isolated video of the user on-screen, similar to TikTok’s green screen effect.
Ilnar Aliullov, who works on video on iOS for X, posted to the platform that the tool is still in the testing and development stage.
TikTok
TikTok Shop has launched in France, Germany and Italy, expanding TikTok’s e-commerce presence in Europe.
Retailers joining include supermarket chain Carrefour, fashion brand AboutYou and cosmetics company Cosnova, Reuters reported. The article states that TikTok Shop, known for discounted products, aims to diversify its offerings, with luxury goods also making their way onto the platform.
Reddit now allows all advertisers to place ads between comments on conversation pages, expanding a program launched last year.
As part of the update, conversation ads will appear deeper into comment sections. Reddit will automatically add advertisers using these ads into available slots that meet their specified brand safety requirements.
Reddit has also integrated third-party brand safety and suitability reporting, allowing advertisers to verify ad placement.
Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.
