Welcome back to Spark Social Report by Spark Growth, your weekly source for social media updates! This week, TikTok partnered with GIPHY for a new media library tool, Twitter brought Professional Accounts to all users, and Instagram added new ways to support social movements on the platform. Continue reading for more weekly updates across social media!
Digital Marketing Trends
Oracle took a survey of over 850 marketing professionals to reveal some of the successes, struggles, and solutions for marketing in 2022. What did they uncover in their survey? Here are some of the highlights:
- 82% of marketers will add, remove, or replace technology components of their marketing tech stack in order to improve performance this year.
- 42% say that they trust AI to personalize content and offers.
- 64% are increasing their budgets from last year.
- 37% are planning to invest more into customer data platforms.
Interested in viewing more insights? Check out the full report on Oracle’s website.
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New Collaborative Tweet For Twitter Users
Revealed in a tweet by Alessandro Paluzzi, mobile developer and reverse engineer, it appears Twitter is working on a new feature that will allow for multiple users to be attributed to a tweet. This new feature would add a new collaboration icon to the tweet composer, allowing the original author to add another user to their tweet. While there is no official release date for the feature yet, its addition could be used in various ways, such as partnership transparency and creator content collaborations.
#Twitter is working on tweet collaboration 👀 pic.twitter.com/usDuQWqqBj
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) December 11, 2021
Twitter for Professionals Available to All Users
Twitter has made the option to convert user accounts into professional accounts available for all users globally. Previously, Twitter required accounts to go through an approval process before switching to a business account. With this update, the feature is now openly accessible to all users without the need for an approval process.
Existing Twitter accounts can transition into professional accounts by accessing a new “Switch to Professional” tab under profile settings. The user will then be prompted to distinguish their account between two options: business or creator. Professional accounts have access to additional features and tools, such as Twitter Shopping, Quick Promote, and newsletters.
https://twitter.com/TwitterBusiness/status/1508855707684438016
TikTok
TikTok Partners With GIPHY For New “TikTok Library” Tool
TikTok has launched a new in-app creation tool called “TikTok Library,” which includes content from GIPHY that can be included in users’ TikToks.
GIPHY brings a catalog of thousands of officially licensed GIFs and GIPHY Clips (the platform’s solution for combining sound with GIFs) to TikTok, from partners such as HBO, ABC, Hulu, and Xbox. Users will also have access to additional user-generated content on GIPHY.
To make use of the new feature, TikTok creators can tap on the new “Library” icon in the app’s camera screen, opening the Library to trending content. Users will also have the option to search for specific content. GIPHY is the first partner for TikTok’s Library feature, with additional partners coming in the future. The feature is now being rolled out to Android users and is coming to iOS next week.
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Advertisements In Search Results For Selected Partners On TikTok
TikTok has begun beta testing advertisements in search results. David Herrmann, digital ad expert, posted to Twitter an example of ads appearing within search results.
As seen below, search ads are tagged with a “Sponsored” label above the “others searched for” section on the search page.
Not only will advertisers be able to run ads in specific search results, effectively reaching any users searching for specific terms or products, but according to another tweet by David Hermann, they will also be able to pull a list of search terms that converted their advertisement to further optimize ad performance.
Once you have the ability to run ads in search results (in beta) on TikTok you can began to pull the search terms of the ads that converted.
Then…. make a list of those search terms and start putting those as titles in your top performing TikToks to get new life out of them. pic.twitter.com/nptM9Lz9h1
— David Herrmann (@herrmanndigital) March 24, 2022
TikTok Tests New “Watch History” Feature
Hammod Oh, a user who has been uncovering features in testing phases by social media platforms over the past year, posted in a tweet that TikTok is now testing a new “Watch History” feature.
#TikTok is testing adding a watch history feature in the app pic.twitter.com/zFLn6uYSUr
— Hammod Oh (@ihammod_oh) March 26, 2022
The new feature will allow users to rediscover TikToks that they didn’t have a chance to save, which is a common issue for many users.
After Hammod Oh’s initial tweet, additional Twitter users who had been opted into the beta testing provided indications on how Watch History will be accessed. Users will navigate to the “Content & Activity” section within the app’s settings to find a new Watch History section containing the last seven days of their watched content.
TIKTOK ADDED A WATCH HISTORY FEATURE !!!!! pic.twitter.com/1vAVRwIbEx
— heart⁷ (@strgzingjin) March 25, 2022
“Messenger Shortcuts” for Facebook Messenger
A new universal command system called “Messenger Shortcuts” has now been added to Facebook Messenger.
While Messenger users have already been about to use “@” to tag specific users, a new “@everyone” command will notify all participants within a group chat. Additionally, the new “/silent” command allows users to turn off incoming notifications.
Additional commands are in the works for future updates. A new “/pay” command will allow users in the U.S. to send and receive money within one-on-one chats and adding GIFs will soon be streamlined with a “/gif” command.
Old-school text-based emoticons will also have their own commands with “/shrug” and “/tableflip” just to add some lighthearted, throwback fun to commands!
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YouTube
YouTube Testing “Search Chips” On Desktop
YouTube is testing a new experimental “Search Chips” feature exclusively for YouTube Premium users.
By inserting a keyword, YouTube will then generate Search Chips related to the keyword. Clicking on a chip will curate a collection of videos related to the specified keyword along with additional chips to further refine users’ search results. The current test will run until April 14th.
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YouTube Experiments With Timed Reactions
YouTube is experimenting with a “timed reactions” feature which will allow users to share a reaction to an exact moment in a video. YouTube is also testing multiple sets of different emoticons to use as reactions.
Reactions can be viewed while watching a video included in the experiment by opening the reaction panel, located in the video’s comment section.
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New Ways To Support Social Movements On Instagram
Instagram is testing a new feature to support and fundraise for social causes through hashtags. When searching for specific hashtags, a new pop-up will prompt the user to share the hashtag through direct messages or create their own fundraiser for the cause. Fundraisers created through hashtags will donate 100% of their proceeds to the relevant organization for the specified hashtag.
The feature is rolling out first to longstanding hashtags on the platform such as #BlackLivesMatter, #womensrights, and #climatecrisis, and Instagram plans to continue working with additional organizations in the future.
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New Career Pathfinder Application For LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn has launched a new application titled “LinkedIn Leaning Pathfinder,” which aims to help users find the right LinkedIn Learning courses to successfully achieve their professional development goals.
The user is first asked what they want to achieve professionally over the course of the next six months. These achievements vary between goals such as cultivating a better work-life balance, growing in one’s current role, and getting a new job. Users are then asked additional questions about how they would like to achieve this goal, resulting in a generated learning path specific to their needs.
Not only can users now easily find courses to support their professional development, but these skills will also be highlighted and accredited on the user’s LinkedIn profile, ensuring their competency in the skillset to potential employers.
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New Analytics and Video Tools For LinkedIn Creators
LinkedIn has announced new tools for creators on its platform including updates to “Profile Videos” and improved content analytics.
While users have already had access to Creator Mode, LinkedIn has added additional insights to the tool such as total impression numbers, engagement statistics, and improved demographic breakdowns.
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Profile Videos have new prompts, added with the intention to spark creative content ideas. Users can also now see how many people have viewed their videos.
Additionally, a new Profile Video ring will appear around the profile picture of users who have posted video content, making it easier to access and promote new video content.
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That wraps up the latest social media update for this week! Be sure to check us out on Twitter for more digital marketing trends and news.
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