Social Scoop: Chapter 1
Just when you think you’re getting the hang of things, the ever-changing world of social throws a couple of planet-sized curveballs at you…constant platform updates, something about NFT’s and did somebody say metaverse? *NeVeR mInD* 😆
Don’t worry, we’ve got you! Think of this as your one-stop source for the latest and most important (if not a little random) social updates every couple of weeks. News, trends, updates, features, memes, puns and everything in between. Expect the unexpected.
Today I’m rounding up some of the changes that have either recently been rolled out or soon will be as we dive headfirst and heavily caffeinated into 2022. Here goes!
Instagram plans to ‘double down’ on video this year
In an end-of-year round-up, head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, outlined the platform’s priorities for the new year. He recaps on how video, particularly reels, and control were a huge focal point in 2021. Now for 2022? Drumroll please…Instagram will double-down on video and focus on reels in 2022. Predictable? Of course! With reports showcasing TikTok to be the most downloaded app globally on Christmas Day, not to mention the groundbreaking news that they overtook Google as the world’s most popular social media platform, it comes as no surprise that Instagram will continue to attempt to replicate their core features this year.
Let’s not forget that TikTok also ‘tiks’ boxes for Gen Z who account for over half of the platform's users globally. It’s no wonder all the apps are trying to copy TikTok in a desperate attempt to keep up and appeal to an audience that spends more time than any other age on social media.
Text-to-speech, reel visual replies and the ‘Add Yours’ sticker (just to name a few) are some of the numerous ways Instagram has mimicked TikTok, and so I’m sure we can expect more of the same in the coming months. In addition to video, reels and control, Mosseri shares some other things Instagram will focus on.
Messaging will come to the forefront this year as he says the platform is the best place for people to connect with friends and share interests online. Next up is transparency, showing users how Instagram works so people can further shape their own personal experience. Finally, Mosseri adds that they will be looking at ways to help creators make a living on Instagram, introducing various monetisation tools throughout the year. A wise move since TikTok rolled out a hub to house their own monetisation tools called ‘Creator Next’ in December. It will be interesting to see how Instagram’s offering differs, if at all, and what effect this will have on its creator community.
Instagram starts testing new feed options, including reverse chronological
Instagram are kicking off the year by giving an overview of the new feed options they’re testing, including the much-missed, fan-favourite; reverse chronological order! Adam Mosseri has again shared a preview on his own channel of what the three options will look like and briefly explains how they will work.
The ‘Home’ feed, which, might I add, will continue to be the default view when you open the app, will be similar to the current feed, showing algorithmically ranked content based on the user’s interests. The ‘Favourites’ option will essentially allow people to select all their favourite accounts they’d like to see on their feed, in reverse chronological order. Finally, the ‘Following’ option will be like the OG pre-2016 view where people will see only the accounts they follow in reverse chronological order and no recommended accounts.
Following on from Instagram’s 2022 priorities I mentioned earlier, Adam Mosseri claims that providing users with these feed options is a way of giving users more ‘control’ of their experience on the app. Amazing, right?! A few thoughts…Will people really be bothered to keep switching between each option? I’m not sure I will. Also, it seems like a positive change but I wonder what effect this will have on creators and brands’ if users do decide to switch to the reverse chronological order feeds every time they go for a scroll? Finally, I quite like being exposed to some suggested accounts and content on socials (hence why there’s a #TikTokHole hashtag).
Looking forward to seeing this one roll out, keep your eyes peeled as it will be some time in “the first half of this year”.
TikTok is testing a repost option
TikTok is interestingly testing a ‘repost’ option in order to boost the distribution of clips and ultimately maximise engagement. Think of it as TikTok’s take on Twitter’s ‘retweet’, the feature allows users to reshare videos to their audience which will then appear in both the ‘Following’ and ‘For You’ feeds of their followers’. It’s important to note that unlike Twitter, the reposted clip will not be visible on your own profile.
When a user hits the ‘repost’ button, their audience will be able to see that this has been reshared and will also include any new comments the user has added to the clip - a quick and easy way to boost a certain piece of content and share to the masses i.e. all their connections at once as opposed to sending to one person privately.
It’s also been confirmed that users won’t be able to repost a video they come across through the ‘Discover’ page, they will only have the option to repost a clip that’s been recommended via their ‘For You’ page.
Since other platforms have moved away from this type of resharing, due to ease of redistribution potentially increasing the risk of harmful or misinformation, I was a tad surprised to see this being tested by TikTok. Of course this is only currently in the testing phase so might not be rolled out to all users yet. If it does, it could be a great way for creators to maximise organic engagement, increase visibility and further build their communities.
Twitter introduces auto-captions for videos
The rise of the video doesn’t show signs of slowing down any time soon, so it was about time Twitter upped their game IMO. Various reports suggest a huge proportion of people watch videos with the sound off, myself included, especially when in a public place. When someone starts playing a video on their phone full blast, zero volume control…red flags. The feature will be automatically enabled on iOS and Android devices when a video is muted and users can opt to keep them on by heading to their settings. The feature can also easily be switched between on and off when using a desktop and is available in over 30 languages at present.
However, unlike competitors, Twitter doesn’t allow users to amend captions before posting. The technology will undoubtedly encounter some errors when transcribing and so this could be a downfall if the automated captions don’t read correctly. Regardless, these auto-captions are a great addition in terms of inclusivity as they will provide access to users with hearing loss or who are deaf. They might also be beneficial if Twitter decides to launch the TikTok-style vertical feed it began testing in December. It certainly is a TikTok world…
You’ll be pleased to know that I’m going to leave it there for now. I could start talking about the influencer marketing world, what to expect from 2022 and the latest Molly-Mae controversy but you’ve got that all to come. Well done for making it to this point… I mean the first week back at work, obviously. Happy Friday!