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Managing Social Media is Hard Enough — Staying Up to Date Shouldn't Be.
Hello, friends! It's good to be back. And it feels like TikTok has only gotten more popular since I've been away. The app continues to hold onto its top spot for global downloads (more details below) and a new report from App Annie is predicting the company will surpass 1.5 billion active users in 2022. By comparison, Instagram currently has 1 billion actives. Based on this news, I think we can all safely expect to see more TikTok-like features to launch on Insta and Facebook 😒.
Here are today's top stories:
Facebook tests controlling what you see in the News Feed
YouTube's 'dislike' update gets a 👎
This was the most downloaded app in October 2021
And how may Instagram hashtags should you use?
Read on ⬇️
Playing Catch-Up
The social media updates really started to pile up while I was away. So, this week I thought I would dedicate this top section to catching up on the latest news and updates. From Facebook tweaking its News Feed algorithm (again!), to a YouTube update getting some dislikes, and Instagram unleashing the rage, let's dig into what's been happening...
Facebook tests controlling what you 👀
Facebook's parent company Meta says it wants to help businesses and individuals tailor their Facebook News Feed experience, and is testing some new controls.
For users, Facebook is testing the ability to reduce or increase the amount of content from friends, family, Groups and Pages they are connected to.
For brands, the company is testing the ability to exclude certain categories when creating an ad, including — News and Politics, Social Issues, & Crime and Tragedy. "When an advertiser selects one or more topics, their ad will not be delivered to people recently engaging with those topics in their News Feed."
The algorithm tweaks are currently available to a small percentage of users. They come on the heels of whistleblower testimony by former Facebook employer Frances Haugen, who provided evidence to suggest that Facebook's algorithm favours money over safety.
Dislike for a YouTube update
YouTube says it wants to encourage "respectful interactions" — and as such, is experimenting with removing public dislike counts. So while you'll still be able to hit "dislike" on a video, you won't see a totally tally of how many others also gave the video a thumbs down. "Based on what we learned, we're making the dislike counts private across YouTube, but the dislike button is not going away," YouTube said in a recent blog. Creators can find their dislike counts in YouTube studio.
Reaction to the change has been fairly negative. Even YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim (star of the first-ever video uploaded to YouTube) says it will be the end of the platform. "The ability to easily and quickly identify bad content is an essential feature of a user-generated content platform," he wrote in a description on the original video. "Why? Because not all user-generated content is good. It can't be. In fact, most of it is not good. And that's OK."
Instagram unveils a "finally feature"
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced two new updates for the app, including something he described as a "finally feature" (aka, something people have been asking about for a while that they are now finally launching). That feature is the ability to delete a picture from a carousel. After you upload the group of photos, you can remove any of the pics by clicking on the three dots in the right-hand corner, and clicking edit. Then, just navigate to the picture you want to delete and click on the trash can icon in the top left. It's available now on iOS and coming to Android.
The other feature is called "Rage Shake." Essentially, when Instagram isn't working properly, just shake the phone and an option will pop up that will allow you to report a problem. And Instagram will have someone take a look at your feedback. This feature is only available in the U.S. right now. (Sending positive vibes to the people moderating this feedback option 🤗).
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RETAIL-LIKE
Attention Shoppers (and E-tailers)
Pinterest unveiled its gift guide of items topping the wish lists of Pinners this holiday season — and the results are broken out by demographic (is it just me, or does anyone else feel like we're focusing too much on age groups?). Anyway, feel free to check out what Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers are into this December. In the meantime, here are some social media updates that shoppers and e-tailers might be interested in:
Facebook tests live shopping for Creators + Top Product Mentions & Shops and Product Recommendations in Groups — Learn more
YouTube (also) tests live shopping with a week-long Holiday Stream and Shop featuring top content Creators — Learn more
Instagram helps checkout-enabled U.S.-based businesses launch their new products on the app — Learn more
ICYMI
🔴 TikTok introduces The Game Room, a live gaming experience [TikTok Blog]
🔴 Instagram to shut down Threads as Meta consolidates its messaging platforms [The Verge]
🔴 Snapchat launches Memories and Explore Layers on Snap Map [TechCrunch]
🔴 Twitter addresses "disappearing" tweet issue with update [CNet]
69%
That's the percentage of U.S.-based Twitter users who say they get their news on the app, according to a Pew Research Center survey. And two thirds of those surveyed said they also use Twitter for breaking news and live events, which is much higher than the 59% of respondents who said that in 2015. (To be fair, we've had a lot of breaking news over the last few years).
APP-LIKE
TikTok Won't Stop
TikTok took the top spot once again for most downloaded app worldwide in October 2021, according to mobile app analytics firm Sensor Tower. Meanwhile, Instagram inched up into the second spot (which is normally where Facebook ranks). In third and fourth place were Facebook and WhatsApp. And Telegram, an encrypted messaging app, pushed Messenger out of the top five.
#HASHTAG
Putting the Debate to Rest (For Now)
How many Instagram hashtags should I use? It's a question that many of us wrestle with every day. And now, there may be an answer. But before I reveal the number, what would you say?
0
5-10
10-20
20-30
If you picked 4 (20-30), you are correct! At least, that's according to a recent analysis of 18 million Instagram posts by social media management tool Later. Twenty hashtags received the highest reach rate, and 30 hashtags received the most engagement. "The takeaway? Go big or go home when it comes to your hashtag strategy," according to Later.
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