This post is a part of our monthly social media updates and news series, where you can quickly scan through quick recaps of all the changes that took place in recent months.
Every marketer and small business owner needs to stay on top of social media updates and adapt to non-stop changes. Getting acquainted with the latest news helps you adjust your social media calendar and strategy accordingly.
We’ve compiled all the necessary social media updates of last month to save you hours of browsing. So without any fuss, let’s dive into it.
What do you have in mind, Facebook?
One of the most important news of this month was the renaming of Facebook. “From now on, we’ll be on the Metaverse, not Facebook,” Zuckerberg said in the presentation.
To prevent confusion, let me inform you that the new “Meta” name is for the company, not the social network. Facebook, a social media platform we use, will still be called the same.
And it doesn’t stop there:
From now on, all platforms under Meta’s umbrella (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, etc.) will restrict advertisers to target based on gender, nationality, and race. In doing so, Meta emphasises that it opposes racism and that equal people are equal regardless of their gender, race, or ethnicity.
Furthermore, Mark, who believes there are over 7,000 languages globally, says he is not entirely satisfied with the translation section currently available on Facebook. For this reason, he intends to update the existing system and make Facebook a universal translator.
Groups got an update
Moreover, Facebook will add colour and information options for groups to better distinguish one group from another and to set the tone for the group and its culture.
In addition, creating subgroups related to the main groups is a new functionality we can utilise to build more connected communities.
Manual news feed management
It gets better: Users will now be able to take control of their news feed on Facebook. How?
They will choose who or whose post they want to see more or less, and the adjustment will be based on their choices. This way, users can keep people they don’t want to see off the social network and create a feed covering their interests.
Shopping gets better
Facebook recently introduced new shopping features:
- Group Shops – Now, Facebook group admins will be able to create their group’s online store.
- Product Recommendations – When users mention a product available on the Facebook store, they get a chance of adding it to their comment easily.
- Live Shopping – Some users are starting to see the Live Shopping section of the Facebook marketplace.
Instagram is always at the forefront in terms of usage
Well, it has been a surprise for all of us! Instagram has created a video selfie verification process to confirm that users are real. It seems like the platform is dedicated to getting rid of all bots and fake accounts. Note that this video will not be visible to other people and shared on your page.
A new era for Instagram live begins: Adding a moderator to live broadcast. In other words, you will be able to choose a moderator from the list of people watching the live broadcast to control comments.
https://twitter.com/alex193a/status/1459041172865880066?s=20
Furthermore, carousel posts finally got the update we’re all looking forward to: Changing or deleting any images inside carousel posts is now possible.
Another feature that Instagram is currently working on is sharing all videos as Reels. So when you upload any video to the platform, it’ll be published in Reels.
Not to mention: Instagram has launched two new features to Reels, which are already popular on TikTok: text-to-speech and voice effects.
It is also good news that the stories will soon last up to 60 seconds. So most influencers and small businesses will benefit from it.
Twitter social media updates
One of the most popular social networks is Twitter. So the first news is an analytical change, which means that you can now see the reach and engagement statistics of your tweets, retweets, and so on.
Moreover, the ability to search in your own profile was one of the most helpful updates of Twitter last month. Previously, when you wanted to find your older tweets or any activity, you’d use a general search that would show many results throughout the entire platform. But now, you can effortlessly search among your posts and find what you need.
Along with such innovations, Twitter also announced its intention to become a live shopping channel like Instagram and Youtube.
Twitter has created more ways of connecting with people for professional accounts to enable them to reach and engage with their audiences better.
The most sensational update of the platform last month was to double-click on the tweet instead of clicking the like button on tweets. So just like Instagram posts, now you can also double-click on tweets if you want to give thumbs up.
Last but not least, it will be now possible to vote negatively on tweets without revealing your identity. It is currently unknown exactly when this will be presented (perhaps not at all), but know that the platform is working on it.
TikTok
From the first moment it entered our lives, TikTok has always been keeping the exciting atmosphere around itself. As a result, Tiktok, which previously only addressed a particular audience, has become a platform used by many brands worldwide.
Unlike other social media networks, Tiktok has not had global success in connecting people with friends and family. And actually, it has never been its primary mission anyway.
Instead, the platform has always positioned itself as a tool that inspires creativity and creates joy through fun content. And other platforms’ continuous efforts to clone TikTok’s features are solid proof of its tremendous success in general.
For example, even Russia has now developed the Yammy program as an alternative to Tiktok.
On the other hand, Tiktok keeps improving its systems and tools. For example, it currently works on the ability to tag other people in videos, thinking that this feature will also be helpful to fuel new trends.
There is an innovation in the Q&A function too. Now you can choose the audience you want to answer your questions. Options include;
- Everyone
- Friends
- And more.
Furthermore, the new business registration enables you to display your business category on your TikTok profile.
In the end, social media engineers constantly update the interface to make it easier for people to use and create a more functional system. So stay tuned for the next month’s release to keep yourself up-to-date about the marketing industry.
