Welcome back to another Spark Social Report by Spark Growth! This week, Twitter announced that hosts using its audio-only feature Spaces can now add co-hosts. Read more social media news and app updates below!
Digital Marketing Trends
According to social media analytics expert Nick Cicero, here are some of the top trends and opportunities in the digital marketing world. First, video content continues to be the top-performing content type online, with statistics showing that video output on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube is up more than 60% year-over-year. Cicero also states that while TikTok is the newest platform with many growth opportunities for brands, Snapchat is the most underrated. For example, Snapchat added a Brand Profiles feature in May that allowed businesses to get certified on Snapchat, which can help to increase brand awareness, discoverability, and credibility among online audiences.
Social Media Today has also highlighted key trends in the e-commerce space. Here are some audience insights that stood out to us: 113 million users tap on shopping posts to learn more about the product each month on Instagram alone; features like voice search are enabling faster checkout, reduced screen time, and ease of giving feedback to businesses; and 77% of consumers have chosen, recommended, or paid more for brands that offer more personalized experiences. View the full infographic here!
Social Media App Updates
Facebook has launched a new series called “Data, Creative and Advertising Excellence.” The series consults experts and provides guidance for marketers on topics like key industry shifts, how to build effective Facebook ad campaigns, and more. The platform will release several chapters which will explore how data and creativity are improving advertising efforts and helping businesses drive better return on investment. Chapter 1, which is entitled “How to Create Online Video That Cuts Through,” can be found here.
The platform also announced a new summit called #BuyBlack in order to promote, amplify, and support Black-owned businesses. The free, one-day virtual summit held on August 24, 2021 will be hosted by comedian and actress Michelle Buteau and features speakers who will discuss topics like how to drive sales ahead of the holiday season. The event will also spotlight several Black-owned businesses, and offer other resources and opportunities for brands to connect with Black business owners.
Facebook also announced several updates to its Transfer Your Information (TYI) tool. With the goal of making data portability more streamlined for users, the update includes a simpler and more intuitive design that shows users which destinations and what data types are supported. Additionally, there is now more transparency around the status of each transfer, making it easier to retry certain transfers. Users can also simultaneously start multiple data transfers for one destination, and also have access to filters that will allow them to more precisely choose the data they want to transfer.
Lastly, the platform announced a “Social Impact Education Conference” that will be held on September 9th and 10th. This event is geared towards helping nonprofits and charity groups recover from the pandemic’s impact and achieve their goals—such as fundraising, building awareness around its cause, and reaching new audiences—using Facebook’s online tools.
Instagram has added a new “Audio” tab to its search options. Now, users can look for audio in the search bar, making it easier to find trending content based on music clips. The Audio tab will highlight the various tracks that are available for use within the app, and users can tap on a track to see Reels content that uses samples of the song. Users can then save the audio if they wish to use it, and also get an overview of relevant trends and clips.
The platform also announced new features to further protect its users from online abuse. The first feature is “Limits,” giving users the option to automatically hide comments and DM requests from accounts they don’t know during spikes of increased attention. Instagram explains that this update came after the Euro 2020 final, which resulted in a spike of racist abuse towards certain players on social media. Next, Instagram will display stronger warning prompts of its Community Guidelines to users who try to post potentially offensive comments multiple times. The last update is “Hidden Words,” a feature that allows users to automatically filter offensive words, phrases, and emojis into a Hidden folder.
TikTok
In further efforts to increase safety measures for its younger users, TikTok has shared new updates. The first is changes to Direct Messaging privacy settings, where TikTok will set the default Direct Messaging setting to “No One” when someone aged 16-17 joins TikTok. Those users will have to manually switch to a different sharing option if they wish to do so. Next is an update to the “Decide who can watch your videos” option, where TikTok has added a pop-up notification that appears when teens under the age of 16 are publishing their first video. The pop-up will ask them to choose who can watch the video, and these users will not be able to publish their video until they make a selection. Last is “Choose who can download your public videos,” which will provide additional context to help teens aged 16-17 understand how downloads work. If they choose to turn the feature on, they will receive a pop-up asking them to confirm their choice before others can download their videos.
TikTok has also launched a guide called “Creative Solutions,” which is aimed at helping marketers build more effective TikTok campaigns. This how-to guide provides insight on best practices, tips, tricks, and other useful information on how brands can use TikTok’s creative capabilities to build a stronger presence on the platform.
The platform has also partnered with Vimeo and Canva to provide more streamlined creative capabilities for marketers who use Ads Manager. Brands can now use “Vimeo Create,” which is an AI-driven video production tool that will allow users to create and publish ads directly into Ads Manager in less time. There are also custom video templates that marketers can choose from in Vimeo Create.
Good news for those who use the Spaces feature on Twitter! Now, hosts on Spaces can add co-hosts from their “Guest” tab at the bottom of the Spaces screen using the new “Invite co-hosts” option. When clicked, users can search through the people who are attending their Space and add them as a partner host. Users will be able to add a maximum of two co-hosts to each Space. Co-hosts are also given admin access to remove guests, which may be a helpful moderator tool when hosting a large Space.
making it easier to manage your Space…introducing co-hosting!
– hosts have two co-host invites they can send
– the table just got bigger: 1 host, 2 co-hosts, and 10 speakers
– co-hosts can help invite speakers, manage requests, remove participants, pin Tweets and more! pic.twitter.com/s76JFbhTL2— Spaces (@XSpaces) August 5, 2021
On the topic of Spaces, Twitter also added a new raised hand emoji feature that allows speakers to signal when they have something to add without interrupting the chat. Unlike other reaction emojis, the raised hand will not disappear and will remain present until either the user chooses to switch it off, or they unmute and are ready to speak.
show you want to speak without interrupting someone else. starting from today anyone on stage — speakers, hosts and co-hosts — will have a raised hand emoji 🖐
unlike other reaction emojis, which disappear, the raised hand stays persistent until you lower it or unmute. pic.twitter.com/sT5etbwVxd— Spaces (@XSpaces) August 10, 2021
The platform has also published an updated version of its Agency Playbook, which is an overview of how brands can create effective ad campaigns on Twitter. The updated document includes new usage insights, revised ad specs, case studies, and more. Marketers can download the 41-page playbook here.
Twitter’s design team has made a number of updates to improve its in-app presentation. First, Twitter’s interface now uses its custom “Chirp” font, and all Western-language text now aligns left to make it easier for users to read tweets while scrolling. Twitter also updated its colors to be higher contrast and less blue in order to draw more attention to the photos and videos that users share. The platform’s new buttons are also higher in contrast, making it easier for users to see important actions. Lastly, Twitter stated that it has cleaned up some of its visual clutter, such as decreasing gray backgrounds and divider lines, and increased space to improve text readability.
https://twitter.com/twitterdesign/status/1425505308563099650?s=21
In potentially less happy news for Twitter users, the platform is temporarily pausing the rollout of access to its new verification tool. The platform stated that this was done to refine its systems, and Twitter Product Lead Kayvon Beykpour clarified that anyone who currently has access to the application process will not lose it.
We’ve temporarily hit pause on rolling out access to apply for Verification so we can make improvements to the application and review process.
For those who have been waiting, we know this may be disappointing. We want to get things right, and appreciate your patience.
— Verified (@verified) August 13, 2021
The professional networking platform added a new review element to its professional services listings, providing users with another way to highlight the quality of their skills on their profile. LinkedIn’s Services listings, a feature launched in 2019, allows users to list any services that they provide on their LinkedIn profile. This latest update now allows a user’s past clients and customers to leave reviews of their work, which can be displayed within their listings. To see or manage reviews, users can go to their Services Page, and can also send out review invites from there.
New! @LinkedIn is rolling out a ratings + reviews feature for profiles
LinkedIn users who have enabled 'services' on their profile will now be able to request and manage reviews from clients.
You get 20 credits to request reviews from previous clientshttps://t.co/D9bxPE5bgp pic.twitter.com/DJfaoGpLAS
— Matt Navarra (I quit X. Follow me on Threads) (@MattNavarra) August 12, 2021
Snapchat
Snapchat has launched “Snapchat Trends,” a resource hub that highlights the most popular keywords shared with the Snapchat community. This data is compiled through public Stories and My Stories that have been viewed by a large group. Through these insights, the platform is able to provide more visibility into the types of organic content that are resonating with audiences. Marketers can use this resource for product market research, creative messaging, competitive research, and more. Access the full hub here!
YouTube
YouTube announced new updates to better protect users under 18. First, the platform will adjust the default upload setting for users aged 13-17 to the most private option. It will also make its digital wellbeing tools more prevalent, including turning bedtime and taking a break reminders on for all users aged 13-17. Lastly, YouTube is changing how it treats commercial content for kids and families and will remove overly commercial content from YouTube kids (e.g. a video that directly encourages children to spend money).
The platform also announced a number of updates in this video. The first is that dark mode for YouTube Studio is now available for desktop users. Second, YouTube launched a “Hashtag Autocomplete Suggestions” option within the video upload process, which will show users relevant suggested hashtags and insights on how much each tag is used on the platform already. YouTube is also adding a new “Mentions” tab in the comments inbox on Studio for desktop, which will help creators track mentions of them on the platform.
Lastly, YouTube announced updates to its search options. Now, users will be able to see how many chapters are included in a video, offering them a better idea of a video without having to leave the results page. Users will also be able to jump directly to the section they are most interested in, making it easier for them to narrow their search down to specific elements.
Pinterest
Pinterest has launched a new “Hair pattern search” feature, its latest effort to improve inclusive beauty search on the platform. Hair pattern search allows users to refine hair searches through six categories, which include protective, coily, curly, wavy, straight and shaved/bald. As the feature rolls out, users will be able to search for a broader hair term and narrow their results by selecting the most relevant hair pattern. Pinterest stated that this feature is a “first-of-its-kind technology, created with Black, Brown and Latinx Pinners in mind, that empowers users to search for hair inspiration across hair types.”
And that wraps up this week’s updates! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to keep up with more digital marketing news.
If your brand isn’t on social media yet, we want to ask you: what’s holding you back? If you’re interested in pinpointing the source of your concerns, we can help. Book a conversation with us by clicking the link below!
href="#" data-color-override="false" data-hover-color-override="false" data-hover-text-color-override="#fff">Book a 30-minute consultation today!