Another week, another Spark Social Report by Spark Growth! This week, Twitter launched a way to privately Tweet with friends with its “Circle” feature, LinkedIn added the ability to pin comments, and Snapchat is implementing BeReal’s popular dual camera. Keep scrolling to catch up on all the updates from other social media platforms!
Digital Marketing Insights
Twitter published a study on the most effective ad format combinations based on three focus goals: building brand awareness, boosting purchase intent, and increasing brand favorability. Here are some key insights:
- Having a mixture of a single image, an image with a website button, a carousel image with a website button, and a video website button boosted brand awareness by 7x.
- The more a consumer sees advertisements from a brand, the more likely they are to purchase or click.
Click here to read the full study and learn more about different ad combinations for each business objective!
Bring Your Private “Circle” to Twitter
https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1564598913784549376
Twitter has officially launched Twitter Circle, a private group option for users to Tweet to a group of up to 150 chosen followers. The company reported that during testing, users felt “overwhelmingly positive” about the new feature. Similar features are on Instagram and Snapchat through private stories. Twitter’s Circle is now available on iOS and Android around the world!
Profile Spotlight for Professional Accounts
Next, Twitter will soon make it easier for professional accounts to direct traffic to their websites. With the new profile Spotlight options being worked on, businesses can customize a link display with various CTA (call-to-action) options including “book an appointment” or “view menu.” The feature was spotted in testing and has not been officially released yet.
New Link Card Display
Today we’re beginning to test Tweet Tiles with @nytimes, @wsj and @guardian. Tweet Tiles will let developers extend the Tweet experience and will pave future innovation for our @TwitterDev developer community🚀 https://t.co/LDyExFq4b1 pic.twitter.com/mKeU87jNIv
— Amir Shevat (@ashevat) August 25, 2022
In more “linking” news, Twitter is also testing a new display for publisher links called Tweet Tiles. Developers will be able to use new link cards that offer larger images, more fonts, and CTAs. The feature is currently being tested with The New York Times, The Washington Journal, and The Guardian.
New Default Sensitive Content Settings for Teens
Instagram is putting more limits on potentially harmful content for teens under 16. New users who are under 16 will now have the most restrictive setting called “Less” by default, which limits any potentially sensitive content found across the app. Teens who already have an account will be prompted to update their settings to choose Less, but it’s optional and can be turned off.
NFTs on Instagram and Facebook
We’re introducing the ability to post digital collectibles across @facebook and @instagram. You can now connect your digital wallet to either app to share your #NFTs on both.
What NFT are you excited to share? 👀https://t.co/wa2wkWfI7p pic.twitter.com/SlpwAuY02c
— Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) August 29, 2022
NFT (non-fungible token) display options have officially come to Instagram and Facebook. Since May, Meta has been talking about bringing NFTs to its app but the feature hadn’t been fully developed until now. NFT popularity has hit a major downfall since then, so the feature might not see as much engagement as the company hoped for.
Personalize Your Instagram Feed
Instagram has updated its content recommendation options so that users can have more input on what they see on the app. Users can now choose multiple posts that they are not interested in and may soon be able to input words or phrases that they don’t want to see. Al-generated feeds have become popular since TikTok but many Instagram users aren’t as enthusiastic about recommended content so hopefully, these new features can help get the algorithm right.
Pin Your Favorite Comments
Showcase your favorite replies with LinkedIn’s new feature that allows content creators to pin a comment. By clicking on the three dots menu on a comment, users can attach it to the top of the reply section to steer the conversation in a certain direction or to show off their favorite message.
In-App Post Scheduling
#LinkedIn is adding the ability of scheduling a post! pic.twitter.com/1a8uhEWMbB
— Nima Owji (@nima_owji) August 31, 2022
Next, LinkedIn is working on in-app scheduling options! Spotted in testing, the feature could make it easier to run a LinkedIn page as third-party scheduling is the only option for those who want to schedule a post ahead of time. We will keep our eyes on this for any future updates about the feature!
Group Invite Links for Messenger
As we head back to school, many of us are kicking off group chats for class parents and study groups. You can now create a link to any group chat in @Messenger and @Instagram DM's so it’s easy for anyone to join and share the chat. 📚🍎 pic.twitter.com/oXtvKpdxdO
— Loredana Crisan (@loredanacrisan) August 31, 2022
Have you found it difficult to find all the Facebook accounts of the people you want in your group chat? After many requests, Facebook has finally launched Group Invite Links for admins to share. This could be used for companies too, such as to send offers and promos to customers.
YouTube
New Ad “Promotions”
By using the new “Promotions” tab, YouTube creators can now promote their channels without going through Google Ads Manager. It can be found in YouTube Studio, which essentially makes it easier to quickly boost their channel. This is being tested with a small number of creators through the desktop app.
Creative Tools for Community Posts
Next up for YouTube, the company is testing new creative tools for image posts. On Community posts, creators can use filters, stickers, and text options to make more engaging images. This feature is currently being tested among select creators on the Android app.
Snapchat
Dual Camera Comes to Snapchat
Snapchat is implementing the dual camera popularized by BeReal — but in a somewhat different and creative way. The Dual camera allows users to record both the front and back camera and can be done at any time while using Snapchat. As seen in the image above, users can choose between various formats such as picture-in-picture, vertical, horizontal, and cut-out. What do you think about other apps implementing some of BeReal’s features?
Snapchat is Cutting Features
Next, Snapchat is reevaluating its whole company structure and will be removing a lot of features in the process. Snap original shows that are on the Discover section of the app are coming to an end. In-app games that were available for developers are being stopped. The new Pixy drone that was released in April is stopping production. Lastly, Snap had acquired two stand-alone apps called Zenly and Voisey, which it is now pulling back from. Unfortunately, Snap has seen a significant decline in revenue since the Russia-Ukraine war. Do you think the company will bounce back?
That wraps up the latest social media updates for this week! Be sure to check us out on Twitter for more digital marketing trends and news.
If you’re interested in reading more about social media marketing and how it can work wonders for your business, check out our case studies! Click the link below to learn how we helped one client, iLook Glasses, grow its followers organically through proactive outreach and engagement.
href="#" data-color-override="false" data-hover-color-override="false" data-hover-text-color-override="#fff">Click here to read our case study!