A lot has changed in the past few months for almost all the social media platforms; with so many updates coming around every now and then, these platforms are expanding their audience base by adding a multitude of new features and updates.
Let’s have a look at what the social media platforms have been up to these days.
We’re halfway through 2022. So far this year, we’ve seen a big focus on Reels and creator monetisation across Meta platforms. Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that Meta is expanding new ways for creators to earn money on Instagram and Facebook. Creators can keep their earnings indefinitely. According to Zuckerberg, revenue sharing is off the table until 2024. Revenue from Badges, Subscriptions, and Paid Online Events is included.
Meta also announced the following modifications:
Facebook Stars are rolling out to all eligible creators. (Previously, only specific creators could access this feature.)
Reel monetisation will be available for more creators through the Reels Play Bonus program. Creators will be able to cross-post and monetise their Instagram Reels on Facebook.
Interoperable Subscriptions are coming. Soon, creators will be able to offer paying subscribers on other platforms access to subscriber-only Facebook Groups.
Creator Marketplace is being tested on Instagram. This feature will help creators connect with brands for partnership opportunities.
Meta’s Digital Collectibles test is expanding. This will allow more creators to display their NFTs in-app. A small group of U.S. creators will test this feature on Facebook after coming to Instagram. Meta also plans to test NFTs in Instagram Stories.
Promoting transparency for social, political, and electoral advertisements
Facebook has been the subject of considerable controversy in recent years, as transparency regarding social, political, and electoral issues on social media platforms has become an important topic in public debate. Many people began to question the ethics of advertisements in these categories in particular.
As a result, Meta recently launched new transparency tools for social, political, and electoral advertisements. Emerging in July 2022, the Ad Meta Library will include targeting information summaries for these ad categories. The details will be made available to qualified academic researchers. The goal is to investigate the impact of social media on society (while safeguarding individual users’ privacy).
The following targeting details will be revealed:
- Demographic information, including age, gender, interests
- How much of their budget do the individual advertisers dedicate to each target demographic, whether an advertiser is using custom and/or lookalike audiences
YOUTUBE
With its most recent upgrade, YouTube is introducing a few new features. With the app’s “most replayed” feature, you can jump right to the video’s most engaging sections. Additionally, the update adds new functionalities, including “Single Loop,” “Video Chapters,” and more.
YouTube Most Replayed Section
You will no longer have to endure your favourite YouTuber’s long-winded intros or boring bits by skipping to the most replayed parts of the video. You can see a graph that covers the progress bar that shows how popular that segment is. “If the graph is high, then that segment of the clip has been replayed frequently,” explains YouTube. The desktop and mobile apps both now offer this feature.
Video Chapters On Gaming Consoles And Smart TVs
The YouTube video is divided into topic-specific segments, making it easier for you to go to the section you wish to see. Despite being introduced in May 2020, not all smartphones supported the capability. Now, both Smart TVs and gaming consoles offer this feature.” Soon, we’ll be testing a new and more straightforward approach for you to get to the precise moment in a video that you want to view,” continues YouTube. Currently, you can skip to the next video chapter by either long pressing on the player or double tapping with two fingers.
New Full-Screen Mode in YouTube App
A new panel has been added to YouTube’s full-screen mode that displays the video description, comments, chapters, and other information. New quick action buttons for the app include like, dislike, remark, share, and playlist addition.
While Facebook may be the king of social media networks, Linkedin sits on the throne of online professional networking, owning the territory of business development, job opportunities and professional interactions.
Real-time captions
The major update is real-time captions for Linkedin audio events, which were first introduced in January to capitalise on the Clubhouse boom. With this update, users will be able to read along and have more opportunities to listen in on live audio discussions whenever they have time.
Rediscovering posts
LinkedIn is working to implement a way for users to search the Creator’s name and keywords for posts they have already seen on the app (similar to what you can already do on Facebook.)
Service listings
Linkedin is also improving its service listings so that visitors to profiles can see comments in-stream. Service providers will be able to share reviews in their feed, allowing them to realise the rewards of word-of-mouth referrals. This update is one to seriously consider, as Linkedin reported a 3.5x increase in people searching and requesting services in the app.
URL display options
Finally, Linkedin has announced that users will soon be able to add a link to the top of their profile that will redirect visitors to their company website. This feature will first be available to Creator Mode users before being made available to all users.
New Instagram Reels Templates and New Dual Features
Instagram is taking its commitment to assisting users in creating Reels very seriously. By offering pre-built Reels templates that anyone can use to quickly create a Reel, they can finally do this very effectively. Even if they have no concept of how Reels function, this is a fantastic method to encourage others and assist them in making their own reels.
The use of Reels Templates is quite simple. To construct the Reel, simply click the ‘Use’ template and add your magic to it.
We think that the Reels video format will continue to gain popularity as a result of Templates.
Dual: Users can now record their perspective on events in addition to the new Reels templates. This implies you can simultaneously record a video using the phone’s front and rear cameras.
New Instagram Maps update
Instagram is enhancing the functionality of the Map. There is now a category search option available for finding nearby businesses.
You may look up nearby establishments on the new Instagram search map and learn more about them. This can be helpful when searching for a specific kind of business or curious about your surroundings. Simply enter a city or a close-by place in the search bar to access the new Instagram search map:
- Zoom out once you’re on the Map and select “Search this region.” Local businesses will appear in the search results, sorted by category or industry. There are links for hotels, cafes, etc.
We think that Instagram Maps is only getting started and that there will be additional features in Instagram’s future innovation built around creators. They are the ones responsible for its expansion, and the Instagram team is placing a significant wager on the economics of creators. The tools that Instagram can offer to help them earn more money are, of course, the foundation of win-win success.
Instagram Subscriptions New Features
Subscriptions are one of these tools; it was unveiled in the middle of January and is already accessible to some beta customers.
A fantastic approach for creators to obtain recurring money and have a reliable source of income is through subscriptions.
Instagram just revealed new improvements and a subscription extension. The following is new:
- Ability to invite users to a group conversation in subscriber chats
- Instagram posting option for Subscriber Reels only available to subscribers
- Instagram Reels can be posted as Subscriber Posts for subscribers exclusively.
- A new tab in the profile for all content solely accessible to subscribers is called Subscriber Home.
Subscribe to Instagram
With this update, creators can now offer exclusive content to their subscribers. Reels or Instagram posts that are only accessible to subscribers can be used as this material.
Additionally, all of the content relating to subscriptions is accessible to subscribers in a designated area of the Creator’s profile.
Users of Twitter can now co-tweet with others on the platform.
Have you heard the expression “two heads are better than one”? Twitter put that theory to the test by introducing a new feature that allows users to co-tweet.
The feature, dubbed “CoTweet,” allows users to invite any public account that follows them to co-author a tweet with them. However, the invitee has the option to decline the invitation. If they do, the draught CoTweet will be deleted.
Amid the ongoing drama surrounding Elon Musk’s withdrawal from the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, the microblogging platform has announced the launch of its “Unmentioning” feature, which allows users to remove themselves from conversations.
Until now, the company had been testing the feature with a small number of users, allowing them to remove themselves from conversations in which they did not want to participate. However, the feature is now available to everyone.
