Social media updates: what you need to know

1. SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATES:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
February 2021

2. US GOVT NO LONGER FORCING
TIKTOK SELL OFF!
After months of threats, supposed bans and
missed deadlines…
Nothing has happened. The Biden administration
won’t continue to push TikTok to sell to a US
company.
So all that fuss last year for nothing 😅

3. TIKTOK ADDS NEW RECIPE
INTEGRATION
TikTok is adding integration with Whisk, a recipe
app.
This lets creators post links to recipes, adding a
“get the recipe” CTA to their video.
It’s the first step in linking from videos to another
page - something we expect to happen in the
future which will be big for any businesses and
influencers on TikTok

4. TIKTOK ADDS WARNING
LABELS FOR MISINFORMATION
Another social media platform taking steps to
combat misinformation.
TikTok has added a new warning label to videos
with ‘unverified content’. This flags content that is
more of a concern rather than being definitively
wrong.
They said they: “inform viewers when we identify a
video with unsubstantiated content in an effort to
reduce sharing.”
The alert prompts users to consider the
information, and whether they want to share or
engage with the content.

5. TIKTOK LICENSING DEAL WITH
UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP
This new agreement gives TikTok users access to
even more music on their app.
Brands on TikTok can still only use music in the
Commercial Music Library though.
The power of music on TikTok is crazy.
The famous video of user 420doggface208
skating, sipping OceanSpray and listening to
Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams catapulted the 1977
album back into the Billboard top 10 back in 2020.

6. LINKEDIN DEVELOPING A
FREELANCE MARKETPLACE
Further positioning itself as a key player in COVID
recovery, LinkedIn is creating a new freelance
platform.
Businesses will be able to search for, speak with
and pay freelancers in the platform.
They’re also developing a ‘digital wallet’ to enable
payments.
Another big step for the professional social media
platform! If done right, this could be massive.

7. LINKEDIN TACKLING BIAS IN
THE BUSINESS
LinkedIn announced initiatives to remove bias in
its algorithms, systems and recruitment.
US users now get a prompt to add race, gender,
disability and veteran status, none of which will be
visible to other users.
This information is then tracked to see how it
affects each element of the platform.
These changes come off the back of various
claims of bias - including a black woman who
tested CVs using her photo vs. her white fiancé’s,
seeing a much higher response rate to her fiancé’s
picture.

8. LINKEDIN NEW CONTENT
CREATOR SUPPORT PROGRAM
LinkedIn is kicking off the initial stages of a new
support program for content creators, leading to
promotional/advertising opportunities through
popular creators.
Not much else has been said, but this is definitely
something to look out for - especially if LinkedIn is
one of your main focuses!

9. FACEBOOK TESTS PROMPT TO
COMBAT APPLE’S IDFA UPDATE
Facebook is testing new ways to get users to opt
in to tracking.
Apple’s iOS 14 update changes how tracking
works on their devices, making it harder for
advertisers to track users and performance. Users
receive a prompt on each app, telling them how
they’re tracked.
So Facebook is looking to combat this with their
own prompt which explains why they track user
data and how they use it to ‘improve’ user
experience.

10. FACEBOOK BLOCKS, UNBLOCKS
AUS NEWS CONTENT
The social network blocked all news content in
Australia due to a disagreement about the govt’s
proposed new media bargaining laws.
But later in the month, Facebook agreed to restore
news pages on their platform due to the
Australian govt amending the Media Bargaining
Code.
These amends give FB two months to make
commercial agreements with Aussie news outlets,
before the govt decides if these deals are enough
to avoid enforcing the new code on FB.

11. FACEBOOK RELEASES SHOPS
IN UK & CANADA
UK & Canadian Facebook users now have access
to Shops, sitting as a new bookmark under the
menu bar.
“The Shop experience for consumers will feature
curated collections, products and recent posts
from businesses of all sizes.
People will be able to see personalized content
from brands within the News Feed, and through in-
product notifications or small business favorites
they follow.”

12. FACEBOOK RELEASES ‘BARS’
APP FOR RAPPERS
FB’s app team released BARS - a video app made
for aspiring rappers.
This app removes the barrier of having to know
how to use production tools, instead offering an
intuitive interface.
There’s visual filters, audio effects and even auto-
suggested rhymes when you’re writing bars.
These videos can then be saved and shared to
other platforms (get ready for some rapping vids
on TikTok.) FB has created an extremely niche app
to test engagement on different types of content.

13. FACEBOOK REDUCING
POLITICAL CONTENT IN FEEDS
In a new test, the social media platform is reducing
how much political content is shown in users’
news feeds.
This comes from recent criticism of political
content taking over news feeds, with Facebook
also testing new ways of ranking political posts to
improve user experience and engagement.
Previously, the platform loved sharing around
divisive political content due to the sheer amount
of engagement you get on polarising posts.

14. FACEBOOK WANTS TO HELP
WITH VACCINE TAKE-UP
Facebook’s COVID-19 Information Centre now
alerts users when they’re eligible for vaccination
and where they can get it done.
They’re also giving $120m in ad credits to spread
reliable vaccine info.
And any content containing the following claims
are automatically removed from the platform:
• COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured
• Vaccines are not effective at preventing the
disease they are meant to protect against
• It’s safer to get the disease than to get the
vaccine
• Vaccines are toxic, dangerous or cause autism

15. Instagram released a list of “dos and don’ts” for
Reels, including:
“Do share original & authentic content, created with
the Reels camera.”
They’ve further expanded on this by saying:
“Don’t post a Reel that is visibly recycled from other
apps (i.e. contains logo or watermarks)”
Users will now have to create content specifically
for Reels, otherwise Instagram limits your reach.
INSTAGRAM LIMITS REACH OF
TIKTOK REPOSTS ON REELS

16. INSTAGRAM LAUNCHING FOUR-
PERSON LIVE STREAMS
Instagram’s Live feature is currently limited to two
people streaming at once.
They’ve got plans to allow up to four users host a
Live.
This is a great way to encourage more users to go
Live, as a four-person stream is much less
intimidating than a one or two-person Live.
It also opens up your reach to three other users'
audiences!

17. SHOPIFY BRINGS ‘SHOP PAY’ TO
FB AND IG SHOPS
This new integration allows Facebook and
Instagram users to buy items through Shop Pay in
FB and IG shops.
Users will now have Shop Pay as a payment
option at checkout - allowing them to checkout
70% faster than standard checkouts (according to
Shopify.)
This is a big step for Facebook’s e-commerce
dreams, making it quick and easy for users to
purchase in-app.
Shop Pay saves email addresses, card details and
billing info for quicker checkout times.

18. TWITTER EXPLORES PAID
OPTIONS
In an attempt to reduce reliance on ad revenue,
Twitter is looking into a subscription service.
The “Super Follow” function works as a paid
subscription, allowing content creators to
monetise their audience.
There’s also been talk about other paid features on
Twitter, including undo send and custom profile
colours, but nothing has been confirmed.
All of this comes off the back of Twitter’s CEO
Jack Dorsey push for innovation after pressure
from the board.

19. ®
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