February 2023 Social Media Trends and New Features Monthly Report
Empowered Digital Marketing
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Looking to stay ahead of the latest social media trends? Welcome to the Monthly Empowered Social Media Trends Report! We’re here to help you choose the trends that will be most impactful for your business. We actively analyze social media data and deliver a report at the end of each month, so you can stay ahead of the curve.
Meta Verified Subscription
Meta is testing Meta Verified, a new subscription bundle that includes account verification with impersonation protections and access to increased visibility and support.
As per Meta:
“To help up-and-coming creators grow their presence and build community faster, we’ll begin testing a new offering called Meta Verified, a subscription bundle on Instagram and Facebook that includes a verified badge, which authenticates your account with government ID, proactive account protection, access to account support, and increased visibility and reach.
Likely, Meta is emulating Twitter with this move. It will be interesting to see how the subscription plays out with creators.
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Reels Virtual Gifts
Instagram has announced that all eligible Reels creators in the US will now be able to accept virtual gifts from their fans via a button on their clips.
Reels viewers will be able to purchase virtual gifts in-stream, at varying cash amounts, via Stars, Meta’s in-app currency. They’ll then be able to use their virtual stickers as a donation tool to give money to their favorite creators.
It’s another way for creators - and Reels creators in particular – to make money in the app, which has become a key battleground for short-form video platforms, as each platform tries to work out the best way to keep top creators around.
New Memories Prompt
As you can see in this example, Instagram is testing out a ‘Memory’ Story prompt, which is essentially its archive feature, just re-packaged in a different way.
Once you tap on the Memory story, you’ll then be shown previous stories that you shared around this date.
While Instagram has had different iterations of this type of prompt in the app for some time, it’s now giving users a more direct push to re-share their past stories, which is similar to Facebook’s ‘On this day’ prompts, and could encourage more engagement within the app.
‘Channels’ Broadcast Chat Feature
Instagram is rolling out a new feature called ‘Instagram Channels’, which is essentially a group messaging function within the app where you can stay up to date on specific topics, brands, people, etc.
Once you join a channel, it will be added to your IG Direct chat list. You can then read and react to messages posted in the chat – though you can’t post yourself to the chat feed.
It’s a way for Instagram to lean into the shift towards more private messaging in the app, which is where more Instagram users are now engaging, as opposed to posting to Stories or the main feed.
User Location Listings on Reels Clips
Instagram’s testing a new way to provide more transparency on Reels content, by listing the location of the profile that created the clip on the video itself.
As you can see in this example, shared by Salman Memon, Instagram is now displaying location information on some clips.
The ‘Learn more’ CTA then takes you through to Instagram’s false information page, which outlines all of the measures that it’s implementing to combat misinformation in the app.
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LinkedIn Adds New Visual Display Options
LinkedIn is looking to make user profiles more visually appealing. Now, you’ll have more ways to integrate visual elements into your profile presentation, with your Activity section now displaying images, videos and articles in a more aesthetic display.
profile visitors will be able to view specific elements of your activity, with each shown in a more visually engaging format.
This update better aligns with the broader shift towards visual elements across social platforms, and while it may require a little more effort, it could be a great way to make your LinkedIn profile stand out.
New Newsletter Tools
On LinkedIn, newsletters have continued to grow, with the platform recently reporting that newsletter creation in the app was up 10X year-over-year.
LinkedIn’s rolling out one-click subscribe URLs and embeddable buttons to make it easier to guide people to your Newsletter and subscription page.
The link can be shared on social media, email, or on a website, and will guide users directly to LinkedIn to subscribe.
LinkedIn will also now display newsletters in search results under the creators’ name.
You can also now customize your SEO title and description of articles to help improve your Google search performance.
And lastly, you will be able to schedule articles, which will also enable you to post your content at optimal engagement times for your audience.
Tag Chats with a ‘Starred’ Function
LinkedIn has added another way to keep track of your messaging chats in the app, with the ability to ‘star’ chosen conversations.
As you can see in these example screens, you can now ‘star’ your chat interactions, in order to keep tabs on them within their own, dedicated ‘starred’ filter.
Recommended by LinkedIn
This is similar to most email platforms, making it a little easier to manage active, ongoing discussions.
Like all social platforms, LinkedIn has seen more and more activity shifting to private DMs. LinkedIn recently reported that conversations in the app are up nearly 20% year-over-year, which is why it’s now looking to improve its DM options and facilitate more engagement.
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TikTok
Amplify Organic Content with Updated ‘Promote’ Tools
TikTok has added four new options to its quick Promote ad feature, which enables brands to essentially boost their posts via a simplified campaign creation process in-stream.
Now, brands will also be able to
Solid Numbers in Latest Performance Report
Pinterest has posted its Q4 and full-year earnings for 2022, showing steady increases in both users and revenue, as it continues to build out its various offerings.
Pinterest has been steadily building back up again since a drop due to COVID, as it continues to refine its solutions around evolving shopping behaviors.
Pinterest’s big winner on this front has been Idea Pins, its Stories-like option which presents uploaded video in a swipeable, full-screen display.
The emphasis on this format has helped boost the platform’s appeal with younger audiences, with Pinterest reporting that Gen Z was the fastest-growing demographic on the platform, increasing double digits year over year.
If Gen Z is a target audience of yours, this could be a platform you want to be on, especially if you’re afraid of attempting TikTok.
5-Minute Video Idea Pins
Pinterest is following the lead of TikTok by adding longer video clips in its Idea Pins format, providing another way to maximize engagement with your content.
Users can now upload 5-minute videos as Idea Pins, which is an expansion on the 60-second limit that’s been in place up till now.
YouTube
Podcast Management Options in YouTube Studio
YouTube is taking its next steps into podcasting, with a new test of the capacity to upload and manage podcasts in the YouTube Studio app.
As per YouTube:
“To make it easier for creators to distribute their podcasts on YouTube, we’re running an experiment that allows you to create a podcast or set an existing playlist as a podcast within Studio.”
Those in the experiment will be able to upload a podcast within the ‘Create’ element of YouTube Studio. You’ll also be able to view all of your podcasts in the ‘Content’ menu under a new Podcasts tab.
Shorts as Comment Replies
YouTube’s looking to make Shorts a more responsive engagement option by enabling users to reply with a Short in the comments feed.
As you can see in this example, creators will now be able to add Shorts clips as comment replies in-stream, providing another way to utilize Shorts within the engagement process.
TikTok and Instagram have similar features so it is likely YouTube is emulating those options.
YouTube Research Tab
For potential customers to find your channel and enter your sales funnel, your content has to appear in relevant YouTube searches. That means you need to know what kind of content your customers are searching for and you have to publish content that ranks at the top of their search engine results.
You can find the new YouTube Research Tab Insights tool by opening YouTube Studio, navigating to the Analytics panel, and selecting the new YouTube Research tab.
Here, you can research topics for your youtube channel and identify competing content that already exists surrounding the topics you search for.
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Thanks for reading our February Monthly Trends Report!
-The Empowered Team