Social Media updates and what they mean for you – October 17th

TikTok and Facebook are dominating on the updates front this week.

Instagram
In yet another test that looks suspiciously like a feature they may or may not have been “inspired” by another app, Insta is testing Achievements on Reels. Why? To drive engagement of course! Will it work? Maybe?

What does this mean for you?
IF (and it’s a big if given this news hasn’t officially come from IG HQ) it *does* roll out to everyone, you’ll be rewarded with various achievements based on your Reels’ performance. Right now it doesn’t mean a whole lot, but it could play into their incentive program to help grade payouts. Time will tell.

Facebook/Meta
Meta are, unsurprisingly, leaning heavily into VR and announced a cutting-edge range of VR features at its Connect Conference.

In another unsurprising move, Facebook is removing the Instant Articles feature, moving away from a 2015 decision to build relationships with publishers. Instead they’re, you guessed it, focusing on video.

Speaking of video… A collaboration feature in is development to help you invite others to co-create Reels with you. Basically, it’s the much-needed back-end portion of the Creator Collaborations and Collabs features already in existence on Facebook and Insta.

What does this mean for you?
VR is here to stay and continuing improvements could signal an important development. Which means if you’re a product business you could start sharing your wares in a digital format. Or maybe you want to fully embrace the VR life and conduct all your business in the Metaverse.

The move away from news sharing is unlikely to have an impact on businesses, but if you are being affected it’s time to get comfortable with video (sorry!).

The potential for a collaboration feature is great news as it could mean increased access to influencers and creators. Both of which can help your business reach an even greater audience.

TikTok
A partnership with Linktree sees a more dynamic experience for users, helping to drive traffic for creators.

Ever the disruptor, TikTok is celebrating Halloween by highlighting creators rather than launching a series of filters.

Launched on World Mental Health Day, you can now find new resources to support your mental health. An interesting move from a social media platform and one that I’m sure has a lot to do with its heavy Gen Z demographic.

What does this mean for you?
Increased traffic means more potential leads. While you have been able to use Linktree forever, this move makes the whole process more streamlined so you can handpick which videos to showcase and do even more.

Mental Health tools are always a good thing in our book. While we don’t see that they are going to have an impact on businesses per se, they are a good place to signpost followers to where appropriate.

That’s it for this week folks! Remember to sign up for weekly updates direct to your inbox and connect with Jordan on her LinkedIn for more tips. See you next week!