Welcome to Rose Media’s monthly social media round up for October! Things are as busy as ever in the land of social media, so let’s get right to it.
X – CEO Conference Fail
The X (Twitter) saga has rumbled on into October. The most notable event involving a rather embarrassing slip-up from CEO Linda Yaccarino…
During her appearance at Code Conference in California, Yaccarino inadvertently revealed the absence of the X app from her iPhone homepage – as she was showing her screen to attendees seemingly to symbolise X. It was noted that Facebook and Instagram were visibly present on the homepage, and whilst it’s likely that the X app could be elsewhere on Yaccarino’s phone, this was an obvious faux-pas given the circumstances.
This whole interview was somewhat of a fail for Yaccarino. Questions regarding several of Elon Musk’s public claims on potential X developments appearing to catch her off-guard, including the suggestion of putting the entirety of X behind a paywall. Rather than having an answer ready for the interviewer, Yaccarino responded with another question – ‘Did he say we were moving towards it specifically or that he was thinking about it?’
Whilst Yaccarino claimed that she and Musk ‘talk about everything’, we’re not sure that Musk’s public proposals are the topics prioritised in the X team meetings…
X – Anti-Bot Subscription
In other X news, another ‘subscription service’ for the platform, dubbed ‘Not A Bot’ in reference to Musk using paywalls to combat bots, is being trialled in New Zealand and The Philippines. This plan involved a yearly US$1 fee for access to basic functions e.g. tweeting, retweeting, liking and replying. Users who do not subscribe will be limited to ‘read-only’ functions of reading posts, following accounts and watching videos. X will be reporting back on this new test soon, so hopefully we will have some more information for next month’s round up!
Other X developments over the past month include:
- A report from The Markup has found that X is still restricting external links, delaying the load times by an average of 2.5 seconds.
- Headlines from link previews have officially been removed.
- $20million has allegedly been paid out to creators through the Ads Revenue Share Programme.
TikTok – Advertising
There’s been a variety of different updates on TikTok this month
The platform is currently experimenting with an ad-free experience through a subscription that would cost users $4.99/month – joining the ranks of other social media platforms that have already begun offering an ad-free subscription or are trialling one.
TikTok has also introduced ‘Out of Phone’ advertising, which will enable brands to utilise their content beyond the app. There are currently three elements:
- Billboard – this one is self-explanatory; advertisers will be able to use their existing TikTok campaigns on billboards out and about.
- Cinema – again, relatively self-explanatory; this element will aim to replicate the TikTok experience during pre-film advertisements with a display of the top content of that time period, which brands will be able to advertise against.
- Other Screens –according to TikTok, this particular option will allow ad partners ‘to bring TikTok’s engaging content directly to their audiences on their global networks and screen’, for example retail stores, restaurants, airports and more.
This latest move in TikTok’s advertising strategy, following on from other features that we’ve covered in previous round ups, is a really interesting concept that we are keen to monitor as it develops.
TikTok Creative AI
TikTok have also been steaming on with their use of AI, with October bringing the launch of an AI ‘Creative Assistant’. This new tool is designed to ‘support your video creation journey, helping you to brainstorm ideas, understand best practices, uncover trends, and find inspiration’, and will help creators with a myriad of different things in a similar manner to tools such as ChatGPT. This seems to be a more positive use of AI technology, and it’ll be great to hear more feedback from creators in time to see its value.
Some other key updates from TikTok this month include:
- The supporting of direct posting from popular editing apps, such as CapCut and Adobe Premiere Pro / Express, as well as platforms like Twitch.
- All videos will soon have auto-captions by default – great news for accessibility.
- 15-minute-long video uploads are being tested – looking to rival YouTube content?
Meta – AI Chatbots & Instagram Developments
There have been several developments going on recently across the Meta apps, including more developments with AI.
Meta have been developing AI stickers to roll out on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Stories and Instagram, created using text prompts to instantly produce multiple stickers. AI image editing has also been announced for Instagram, done by typing a descriptor or prompts into the tools for the AI technology to then edit the image accordingly. Meta has stated that these images will be indicated as AI-generated, so that’s a positive step for AI transparency.
Meta have also introduced a series of AI chatbots as characters played by different celebrities and influencers, such as Kendall Jenner, Charli D’Amelio and Snoop Dogg. The purpose of these chatbots seems to be predominantly for entertainment, but it’s an intriguing development nonetheless!
Meta are also looking into the possibility of an ad-free Facebook and Instagram subscription for $14/month, following the trend of many others toying with similar ideas.
New Instagram Features
There are some new stickers in development for use on Instagram Stories, including Anonymous Questions, App (allows user to link to an external app) and Notify (allows followers to turn on post notifications), which will help with engagement on Stories. Other Instagram features reportedly in the works include:
- Playing games such as Trivia and This Or That during Instagram Lives
- Adding songs directly to your Spotify playlist from audio used in Reels
- Sharing Stories to multiple audience lists (Close Friends is one example, but users will be able to create different lists for different purposes e.g. family, colleagues etc.)
- Nearby Stories – similar to what can be viewed on Snapchat
- Adding polls to in-feed posts and Reels (another thumbs-up for engagement purposes)
It’ll be interesting to revisit this list over the coming month and see what else has been developed by our November round up!
LinkedIn – Top Applicants & My Network Update
LinkedIn have almost reached the impressive accolade of 1 billion users worldwide, currently sitting at approx. 950 million (as of 31/10/23). We believe that LinkedIn is an extremely useful tool for business, so would definitely encourage you to join this impressive number of users if you haven’t already!
Aside from this, there are a couple of interesting updates from LinkedIn this month. A new feature called ‘Top Applicant’ has been rolled out for LinkedIn Premium users to enhance their job-searching experience. This works based off of the information listed on a user’s profile, using that to identify and then apply for jobs that they might be considered a top candidate for. A user would have to be in the top 50% of applicants for at least one role for the feature to display, which in turn is based on the current LinkedIn members that have already applied for the role (requires at least 10 applicants).
At the beginning of the month, a number of LinkedIn users reported that their ‘My Network’ tab had been split into two categories – ‘Grow’, which would encompass connection invitations and suggestions; and ‘Catch Up’, for things like hiring updates, work anniversaries, etc. Those users who received the update have given mixed feedback, ranging from praise of the more streamlined effect and making it easier to nurture existing relationships, from discontent with the level of notifications produced (in particular from the ‘Catch Up’ section). This update does not seem to have been widely rolled out, so LinkedIn may have taken on this initial feedback and started to make improvements prior to a wider roll out. Stay tuned for next month’s update to see if any more changes come from this!
A couple of interesting miscellaneous updates
Nano-influencers – a better investment for marketing teams?
Whilst not tied to any specific platform, we found this tidbit of social media marketing news very interesting. According to recent research by Adweek, nano-influencers provide brands with a better ROI (return on investment) than celebrities such as Kim Kardashian. Higher engagement with nano-influencers is likely down to having higher levels of authenticity and relatability, thus prompting more feelings of trust in their opinion. Whilst this is perhaps not surprising news, it is well worth brands being aware of this in order to better invest their marketing budget when it comes to influencer campaigns.
BBC releases new social media guidance for staff
At the end of last month, the BBC introduced new social media rules for all staff to adhere to in the wake of a review conducted by former TV executive John Hardie. Hardie stated that ‘the BBC should set a new mission to promote civility in public discourse, and insist that all those who present BBC programmes should respect diversity of opinion and exemplify the BBC’s ethos of civility on social media’, prompting an update of the broadcaster’s social media guidelines (first published in autumn 2020).
What triggered the need for this guidance?
In line with the BBC’s commitment to impartiality, it has been ruled that ‘whilst a programme is on air, and for a two-week window before and after the series, presenters on flagship shows must not endorse or attack a political party.’ This review was partly triggered by an incident in March this year, in which Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker breached impartiality rules by tweeting a series of criticisms of the UK government’s immigration policy and was subsequently suspended. However, this caused significant backlash and the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie was forced to reinstate Lineker in a matter of days.
The corporation said of the new rules that flagship programmes such as Match of the Day, Strictly Come Dancing and Antiques Roadshow ‘carry a particular responsibility to respect the BBC’s impartiality’ due to their high-profile nature. Lineker has publicly responded to these new rules, calling them ‘all very sensible’. The full breakdown of the new guidance can be found here.
If you’re feeling a bit lost with your business’s social media profiles get in touch with us here at Rose Media Group. You can contact our Rosy team at hello@rosemediagroup.co.uk or give us a call at 01444 241 341 to find out more about how we can help you.
We look forward to hearing from you!
