Welcome back to Spark Social Report by Spark Growth, your weekly source for social media updates! This week, Instagram is testing a feature that looks to be a direct copy of the BeReal app, TikTok is working on a “Nearby” feed, and YouTube dedicates an entire explore page to podcasts. Continue reading for more updates across social media from this week!
Digital Marketing Insights
ECommerce has become the new way of shopping and TikTok strives to keep up the momentum with eCommerce initiatives. Here are some key insights into how social commerce is performing on TikTok:
- TikTok users are 51% more likely to find products through ads on the app.
- 76% looking up relevant hashtags and brands on the platform to decide on a purchase.
- 37% of users want to buy products directly from TikTok because it is entertaining.
Consider these insights when coming up with your next TikTok marketing strategy. Read the full survey here.
Instagram Wants to BeReal
#Instagram is working on IG Candid Challenges, a feature inspired by @BeReal_App 👀
ℹ️ Add other's IG Candid to your story tray. And everyday at a different time, get a notification to capture and share a Photo in 2 Minutes. pic.twitter.com/caTCgUPtEV
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) August 22, 2022
Instagram is working on adapting another social media app’s features onto its own app — are you surprised? The new popular BeReal app encourages users to post a photo of themselves and their surroundings every day at different times. The app is against using filters, influencer culture, and follower counts as it aims to be different from Instagram and other social media apps. So, it’s quite interesting that Instagram is copying this feature onto Stories. It’s called “IG Candid Challenges” and is currently being tested. It will incorporate the dual camera and a 2-minute posting window, the same as BeReal. Do you think this will work for Instagram?
Optional Full-Screen Feed
Next, Instagram is testing an option for users to switch to a full-screen feed. Last month, the testing of a full-screen feed was canceled when users expressed how much they disliked the feature. Now, the company is making it a choice for users. The option is found in the Instagram logo drop-down where users can switch their feed between “Following,” “Favorites,” or “Full-Screen Feed.” Will you be making the switch to full-screen?
New Verification Badge for Phone Numbers
Twitter is working on verified… phone number label on profile pic.twitter.com/H4gJGaNHQT
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) August 19, 2022
Twitter is working on adding a “Verified Phone Number” badge to users’ profiles. This will help to ensure that an account is not a bot and has credible information. Currently, Twitter is in a legal battle with Elon Musk over the number of bots on the platform, so this new feature may help to clear up how many real users are actually on the app.
New Stations Audio Feature
Next up, Twitter continues to work on audio features even though the trend has seemingly died down. The new “Stations” feature will bring podcasts to Spaces. This could be valuable as creators and users could have real-time Tweet discussions about podcasts all on the same platform. Will this help Twitter boost the popularity of Spaces?
Filter Out Negative Tweet Replies
Users will now have more control over Tweet replies with a new filter option. This feature will filter potentially unwelcome replies if turned on by a user. Twitter has been working on ways to limit negative interactions on the platform and this update should help!
TikTok
New Feed to Find TikToks Nearby
TikTok's 'Nearby' feed spotted in the wild pic.twitter.com/WG5yND3oLl
— Brendan Gahan (@brendangahan) August 24, 2022
Look out for TikToks from users in close proximity to you! To go alongside the regular “Following” and “For You” feed, TikTok is working on a “Nearby” feed that displays videos from those in nearby locations. This can offer more personalization and reachability on the app. This is being tested with a small number of users in Southeast Asia as TikTok works out all the aspects the feature would need.
Messenger for Mac Users
Moving on to Facebook, Messenger for Apple Macs has gotten upgraded. The new capabilities for macOS users include new video chat features, dark mode, stickers, GIFs, and more. This makes it Meta’s first app that is compatible with Apple silicon Macs. Learn about all the features here!
YouTube
Explore Podcasts on YouTube
For some time now, creators on YouTube have posted clips to full video versions of their podcasts on the platform. Now, YouTube has released an Explore page for Podcasts, giving users the ability to find podcasts and creators on one dedicated page. Although this has been released, YouTube has yet to officially launch the feature for all users so you might not see the section yet.
Insights Feature for Smaller Creators
Next, YouTube is expanding its “Other videos your audience watched” analytics to more creators. This feature gives insights into what your audience is watching within a seven-day period of seeing your video. This was previously only available for certain creators but is now accessible to more users. Creators will also be able to filter between different types of content. No specifications were mentioned as to how users can qualify for access — at least, not yet!
Improved Ad Targeting for YouTube on TV
Watching YouTube on Smart TVs has become the company’s fastest-growing content platform. To utilize this, YouTube is providing more targeting options for advertisers on connected TVs. The first update is the ability to maximize audience reach with specific targeting and only pay for ads that reach the target. Secondly, there will be more buying options for TV YouTube ads, especially when compared with the more limited capabilities for users to purchase ad products for TV. Learn more about the new features here!
Search Comments and Enable Live Settings
Last but not least, Reddit announced some new platform updates! First off, users can now filter search results to “Comments” on desktop and mobile apps. Secondly, users expressed not wanting to see recommendations for live content so Reddit has made this an optional feature. Just visit the Feed Setting to turn off live recommendations. Read about the rest of Reddit’s latest updates here!
That wraps up the latest social media updates for this week! Be sure to check us out on LinkedIn for more digital marketing trends and news.
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