It’s not even Halloween yet, but Meta is giving us an early social media Christmas present. TechCrunch is reporting that by December, the company is going to roll out the ability to delete your account on the Threads app (right now you can only deactivate or make your account private). I’m not saying I’m going to delete it, but it’s always nice to have the option.
In today’s newsletter:
AI AI Ohhh: Social Media Farms Up Some AI Features
Social Snack: The Ups and Downs of Social Media
IJBOL: Gen Z Says LOL is DOA
Note: Next weekend is a long weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving, and I’ll be taking the week off. But stay tuned for the Oct. 16th newsletter featuring a social media dictionary in honour of Dictionary Day!
AI AI Ohhh
Want to talk to an AI-generated version of Snoop Dogg playing a character? Need help with YouTube video ideas and music? Or do you want to know how to make it easier to find a sales target?
These are just a few examples of the type of AI features recently unveiled by Meta, YouTube and LinkedIn. Keep scrolling for a high-level overview.
But just a reminder: These are JUST tools. These aren’t a substitute for social media strategy. If they can help support your strategy, great. But don’t let them distract from your goals. 💪
1/3 Meta’s AI Roundup
At the recent Meta Connect 2023, CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a number of AI features for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, including:
IMAGES & STICKERS
Editing Images on Instagram using AI: Restyle and backdrop are two new features coming to Instagram. Restyle lets you add an effect to your image (for example, applying a watercolour effect to a regular image). Backdrop changes the scene or background of your image (for example, adding a group of puppies in the background behind you). Note: Meta says that images created using AI will indicate the use of AI in image generation.
Stickers: AI-generated stickers are coming to chats and stories. Users will be able to create stickers using text prompts. This new feature is rolling out to select English-language users over the next month in WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook Stories.
AI ASSISTANTS
Meta AI Assistant: Through a search relationship with Bing (yes, I said Bing), you’ll be able to engage with a Meta AI assistant and ask it questions, such as what food to pair with what drinks, hike locations, etc. It’s similar to any other AI assistant.
Celebrity AIs: This one is a bit more confusing. Basically, Meta has created a cast of 28 AI characters you can connect with. But here’s the thing - they are celebrities playing a certain character. For example, Paris Hilton as “Amber” a crime-solving detective. Or Tom Brady as “Bru” a confident sports debater. 🤷♀️
*Note: AI assistants are only rolling out in the U.S. right now.
2/3 YouTube’s AI Roundup
At a recent Made on YouTube event, the company unveiled a number of AI features, including:
Dream Screen: This one is specifically for YouTube Shorts (its TikTok competitor). With Dream Screen, users will be able to create AI-generated video or image backgrounds by typing an idea into a prompt. For example, you could create a background of trekking through outer space, or an enchanted forest. “We'll start to introduce Dream Screen to select creators before we roll out more broadly next year,” says YouTube.
AI-Powered Insights: Need help with draft outlines and video ideas? YouTube Studio will offer generative AI to help with brainstorming. “The insights will be personalized for each channel and based on what audiences are already watching on YouTube,” says YouTube.
Audio Options: You’ll be able to use assistive search in Creator Music to choose the right soundtrack for your video. An AI-powered dubbing tool called Aloud will also allow creators to professionally dub their content in other languages.
3/3 LinkedIn’s AI Roundup
This AI update is for anyone using Sales Navigator.
AI-Assisted Search: LinkedIn has unveiled a new AI-assisted search function for its Sales Navigator program that the company says uses more conversational language search prompts to find customers. For example: “Find me marketing decision makers at LinkedIn on the U.S. East Coast with whom I have a second degree connection.”
Account IQ: Using General Artificial Intelligence (GAI), you can now “gather key information across different sources and create an easily digestible summary, directly in Sales Navigator.” LinkedIn says this information can include info from “public filing data and financial reports, to our unique LinkedIn insights about workforce trends and what's top-of-mind for company leaders.”
🌭 SOCIAL SNACK 🌭
The Ups and Downs of Social Media
In August 2023, Snapchat posted the greatest user growth with worldwide daily active users increasing 14% year over year, following by Instagram at 10%, TikTok at 6% and Facebook at 2%. [Source: SensorTower]
X is losing daily active users. Speaking at a recent tech conference, X CEO Linda Yaccarino confirmed that the platform has 225 million daily active users. That’s down from 254.5 million daily active users that owner Elon Musk reported just after acquiring the platform. [Source: Mashable]
The launch of the desktop version of Instagram’s Threads app has led to mixed results. Overall engagement is much lower than that of competitors. But the drop off in use hasn’t been as steep as on the mobile app. [Source: SensorTower]
ICYMI
YouTube debuts a new app, YouTube Create, for editing videos, adding effects and more [The Verge]
Snap to shutter business-focused AR unit that just launched this year [Bloomberg News]
Reddit to begin paying people for popular posts [BBC News]
Google launches “SEO Made Easy” YouTube series [Search Engine Journal]
😂 IJBOL
First, they came for the laughing, crying emoji. But now it turns out that Gen Z also doesn’t like the term LOL (“laugh out loud”) or LMAO (“laughing my ass off”).
Instead, they are using IJBOL, which stands for “I just burst out laughing.” It’s pronounced “eej-bowl.”
I first heard about this on TikTok in a video by @unmetacated. The New York Times reported on this back in August, so I don’t feel like I’m too behind on this trend yet.
As for whether I’ll use it or not, I’m not sure I’ll be able to break my lol habit. How about you?
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