Welcome back to another Spark Social Report by Spark Growth! If you want to be armed with the most relevant and timely digital marketing trends and social media updates, then you’ve arrived at your destination! This week, we’ve got new updates to share with you, including Clubhouse rolling out a reshare option for rooms. So, if you want access to all the latest and timely social and digital news, keep reading.
Social Media Trends
TikTok is the social media platform to be on these days. Still, executives at the company wanted to know whether their advertising delivers results for users. The number one question they wanted to answer was whether brand awareness ads on their platform result in offline purchases.
To find out, TikTok partnered with Nielsen—a leader in audience insights, data, and analytics—to uncover whether the app’s ads are effective. They found that TikTok delivers a strong return on investment (ROI) for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands.
Social Media Updates
Twitter has begun testing a new feature that would allow users to see their Tweet search options on the home page. If this test is successful, it will make it easier for users to search for topics of interest across the platform without switching to the Explore tab. The company notes that the test is currently available on iOS, so some of you may already see this!
And if you were hoping for a new Tweet composer placement, then you’re in luck. Twitter is currently playing around with the button location. A new test for iOS moves the Tweet composer from its current location on the bottom right to directly below the main feed in the app. There’s no word yet on if or when this will be released, so stay tuned!
iOS users, are you feeling the love yet? Twitter is also rolling out live testing of full-screen visual Tweet reactions. The test will give users the option of choosing a “Quote Tweet with reaction” to create a custom Tweet reaction. Twitter users will have the opportunity to share a full-screen video or image in response to a Tweet and place the original Tweet on top of the image.
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Lots of news for Twitter this week, so let’s keep going. Next up, Twitter bulked up its Spaces Insights with new data that reveals the total number of views for recorded Spaces. This update will allow the host to pull information that includes how many tuned in live and how many times users replayed the session.
Finally (yes, finally), Twitter is giving its users more control over what they see on the app. The company has expanded its keyword blocking and muting tools on the platform, which will now apply beyond the main timeline. The purpose of this update is to ensure that keywords and accounts that users have blocked stay blocked across the platform.
Instagram is testing out two feed options for its users. One of the two new features is choosing an algorithm-free, reverse-chronological feed. Instagram’s Adam Mosseri took to Instagram to share a sneak peek of what this would look like (see the post below). The other option is a “favorites” feed that is customizable and displays content from accounts a user follows. Users will also have the option to stick with the current Instagram feed experience they have today, which Mosseri calls “Home.” This is where the app’s algorithm tailors the feed to what it thinks a user will like.
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And if that weren’t enough, Instagram is also testing a new model for their Stories design. This feature offers vertical scrolling and is currently being tested with a small selection of Instagram users. In addition, the company is giving its users new ways to organize their Instagram feeds and customize their profile grid. However, there is no word on when these options will be available for all Instagram users.
LinkedIn is running a test for an audio events platform. Like Clubhouse or Twitter Spaces, it would allow its users to watch live discussions in the app, raise a virtual hand to participate as a speaker, or post likes in response to speakers within the livestream chat. The testing phase included separate panels for those speaking and a separate board for those tuning in.
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Clubhouse
Clubhouse has given its users a new way to optimize room discovery by rolling out a re-share option that allows users to highlight engaging room sessions of interest to other users. They’ll be able to share this with their social network by copying the link and sharing it to a messaging app. Alternatively, they can share on Clubhouse and add a comment as well. The person whose room the user shared will also be notified.
Last but not least, Facebook is starting a new “Privacy Center” that will give users more control over their privacy and shared data. At first, this new feature will be available to some desktop users in the U.S. and there’s no word yet on a wider release date. For now, the Privacy Center will give users information about how Meta collects data in a specific category, and it will show how to turn off this data tracking if the user prefers to do so. The five categories in the Privacy Center include security, sharing, collection, use, and ads.
That’s a wrap for this week’s Spark Social Report! Be sure to check us out on Instagram to keep up with the latest social media news.
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