What’s New in Social Media - May 2022
Welcome back to our monthly blog dedicated to helping you stay up to date with all things social media and marketing. Keep reading to learn all the new features, updates and announcements from your favourite social media platforms!
Instagram Profile grid display
Have you ever wanted a customisable Instagram grid? Instagram has announced they are testing a new profile grid display feature, including the option to pin posts at the top of your profile, just like on TikTok. Users will be able to drag and drop their posts and rearrange them on your profile with this feature. This means they can pin top-performing posts to the top of their profile and audiences will be able to find them easier. The feature is still very much in testing but some users are already getting access to the features. No word yet from Instagram on when this feature will officially be launched and rolled out to all users. This could be a game-changer for businesses and their Instagram strategies.
Youtube Clips
Youtube is rolling out the feature ‘Clips’ to make video sharing easier than ever before! After experimenting for over a year now, Youtube intends to expand the feature to all creators by the end of the month. ‘Clips’ allows viewers to make 5 to 60-second snippets of your Youtube videos and share them on social media. They are compatible with all videos and live streams, with the exceptions being Kid's content, Live premieres, live streams without digital video recording, or live streams with a duration of over 8 hours long. Just click the Scissor icon below the video window to create a clip! It’s as easy as that.
TikTok’s Friends tab
TikTok has replaced its Discover Page with a new Friends tab! This highlights posts from both accounts you follow and their mutuals. Users can find people to follow using their contacts or by connecting the app to their Facebook friends. Here TikTok will also suggest accounts you should instantly follow using your interests and your connections. You can still search for videos and users through the magnifying glass icon at the top of the app screen. The Friends tab will be rolling out to everyone over the next few weeks!
Instagram Full-Screen Feed
Instagram has changed its feed format, AGAIN. Since the app was founded in 2010, they’ve had various feed formats, and gone are the days of the iconic square photo. This new immersive viewing experience in the Home Feed means that video content is centre stage. The Full-screen format allows for Instagram Reels and any other video to blend seamlessly with photos. This will mean a significant change in Social Media Strategies across the app. Many businesses will need to focus on creating high-quality video content as it’ll be pushed into the new feed!
LinkedIn’s algorithm change
Finally, Linkedin is cracking down on engagement bait. The platform is updating its feed algorithm to weed out low-quality and irrelevant content. They say there’ll be new penalties for an account and company pages found to be baiting engagement. It won’t promote content that encourages content with the sole purpose of boosting reach, for example, posts which encourage using reactions as a polling device will be reduced.
The platform also wants to cut down on the use of polls in the feed, focusing on those that are genuinely helpful and relevant and downranking those polls from people who you don’t follow. Overall, this update will highlight posts from people outside your network who provide insight on your career or industry, so more emphasis on creators, thought-leaders and industry experts. To do well on LinkedIn in future, avoid engagement bait, reduce the use of polls and focus on sharing reliable and authentic content.
You’re all caught up for May! To learn more about some of your favourite social media platforms then head to the Gather Social website today to read another blog, or just click here.
