Welcome to Social Media Buzz Weekly, your weekly bulletin of the latest social media updates. With the social media landscape evolving with each passing day, it can be challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments. Well, not anymore, as we have taken it upon ourselves to keep you abreast of every happening in the social media space.
So, without any further ado, let’s look at some of the most significant developments from the last week in the world of social media.
1. TikTok Signs on to Sponsor Washington Sports Teams
TikTok has announced a new partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), which will see the app become an official branding partner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, while also implementing new promotional pushes across other Washington-based sports teams.
The Capitals’ 50th anniversary events will incorporate various TikTok activations, which will make it the home of Washington sports fans across several leagues. The partnership extends TikTok’s push into sports, which also includes its recently expanded NFL deal.
2. TikTok Announces Expanded Partnership With the NFL
TikTok has announced an extension of its ongoing partnership with the league, via a multi-year partnership that’ll see NFL media and teams continue to post exclusive content to the app. TikTok reported that NFL-related videos generated over 5 billion views in 2023 alone. This has undoubtedly also been boosted by Taylor Swift’s involvement, with her attendance at boyfriend Travis Kelce’s games generating their own media cycle in themselves.
3. TikTok Rolls Out Improved Safety Measures for Teens
TikTok is rolling out some new safety tools for young users, including updated in-app resources for parents, improved advice guides, and a new TV campaign that highlights its safety features.
Firstly, TikTok has partnered with The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) to develop a new “Digital Safety Partnership” agreement for Families, which is an actual contract-style document that can help parents to establish clear boundaries and parameters for social media use. The main aim of this approach is to help get the conversation started between parents and teens, in order to highlight the potential dangers of online exposure. TikTok says that the intention is to then “set positive digital boundaries together” via these agreements.
TikTok is also launching refreshed editions of its Guardian’s Guide and Teen Safety Center, in order to help families make better use of its various tools and controls. Moreover, TikTok is launching a new TV campaign which highlights its various safety tools.
4. Support for US TikTok Sell-off Bill Is Waning, According to New Report
According to new data from Pew Research, half of Americans don’t actually believe TikTok will be banned in the nation.
Based on responses from 10,000 participants, most people are confident that TikTok will avoid a U.S. ban. And at the same time, overall support for a TikTok ban in the U.S. is declining. This means that more people are becoming increasingly sympathetic to TikTok, and/or view it as less of a concern. This has likely been shifted, at least to some degree, by prominent voices like Donald Trump and Elon Musk voicing their opposition to a TikTok ban. Both Trump and Musk have their own reasons for criticizing the push, but given their relative supporter base, it makes sense that overall opinions of the sell-off bill have changed over time.
5. TikTok Shares Insights Into Its Capacity for Film Promotions
TikTok has published a new study that highlights its capacity to help increase awareness of new release movies and influence users to watch films at the cinema.
The research has found that 47% of users say that they have discovered a new movie coming to theaters on TikTok. The research also found that seeing a trailer influenced the decision of 62% of TikTok moviegoers to go to the theater. On the other hand, 39% of TikTok moviegoers said that trends or in-app challenges influenced their decision to go to the theater.
The report also indicates TikTok campaigns can aid in extending interest in films newly released to theaters, stating that while 77 percent of of TikTok moviegoers prefer to see movies within 2 weeks of release, campaign flighting should be maintained beyond opening week to reach the additional 18 percent who wait 3-4 weeks.
6. Instagram Adds Broadcast Channel Replies
Instagram has expanded its Broadcast Channels feature, allowing some creators to enable replies within their channels.
Some Broadcast Channel creators now have the option to switch on replies in their channel, which means that subscribers can now add their own comments into the channel itself. Though any replies are not visible within the main channel feed. The key difference here seems to be that the main broadcast channel will remain just that, a singular stream of updates from the channel admin, providing another means for brands and influencers to keep their fans updated within IG DMs.
Instagram is seeing way more engagement in DMs than in the main feed these days, which is why it’s been trying to build upon this as a means to maintain that social network connection, as the main feed becomes more of a broadcast feed of AI recommended clips.
7. Instagram Adds New DM Engagement Options
With DM usage on the rise on Instagram, the platform is now adding some new DM engagement features to spice up your private chats.
First off, Instagram is adding drawing tools and stickers for images shared in DMs, providing another way to customize your messaging engagement. While you’ve been able to customize your Stories and feed posts for some time, these options are now being added to your DM options, which will give people more considerations in their messaging process.
Instagram is also expanding its cut-outs option to DMs, so you can use specific elements from your photos as stickers. Instagram added cut outs for Stories back in May (as per the above example), and it’ll now also be available as an option for DM shares. So again, it’s a new feature, as such, but it’ll now be available in more places. Instagram is also adding new birthday indicators to users’ Notes bubble in your inbox, so you’ll know when their birthday is.
8. Snapchat Faces Lawsuit in New Mexico Over Failure To Protect Young Users
Snapchat is facing a potential ban in the state of New Mexico, with a new lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Raúl Torrez alleging that Snap has failed protect children from sextortion, sexual exploitation, and harm in the app.
According to the filing, Snapchat is now “a primary platform used by criminals to carry out sextortion,” which is one of the most rapidly growing crimes targeting young people. New Mexico’s Department of Justice claims to have conducted an undercover investigation of the app, which led to the discovery “a vast network of dark web sites dedicated to sharing stolen, non-consensual sexual images.”
9. Snapchat Is Adding Sponsored Snaps To Expands Its Ad Opportunities
Snapchat is adding some new ad placement options, as it looks to build on its recent ad business growth.
The main announcement from Snap is that it will soon launch “Sponsored Snaps,” which are pretty much like LinkedIn’s sponsored InMails in Snap form. The Snapchat inbox has long been sacred ground, and as such, it’s been exempt from promotional materials. But now, as Snap looks to broaden its ad business, it’s taking the leap into, essentially, paid DMs.
Snapchat is also adding “Promoted Places”, which will enable businesses to highlight their stores on the Snap Map. With Promoted Places, businesses can use the Snap Map to reach incremental customers who are exploring places nearby, and easily measure the visitation lift with our closed-loop and privacy-safe measurement.
10. Bluesky and Threads Rise Following X’s Brazil Ban
According to Bluesky, the Twitter alternative platform, created by former Twitter staffers, it’s added 3 million more users over the past week, the equivalent of 50% growth in its user base since the X ban was announced. The majority of that expansion has come in Brazil, where it briefly topped the iPhone “Free” app charts, before being unseated by X’s other main competitor in the region, in Meta’s Threads.
Threads’ download ranking has also jumped in the region in the wake of the ban, with Elon Musk effectively handing Meta an open door to scoop up more users via the ban. Musk, however, continues to perpetuate the idea that X actually remains super popular in Brazil, based on the “News” app rankings.
11. X Launches New Connected TV App
After sharing glimpses of its new TV app over the past few months, X has now officially launched the beta version of X TV, which it claims is a massive leap forward in transforming X into a video-first platform.
X’s new big screen playback platform is essentially the exact same as the YouTube TV app, providing an overview of all the video content that you can watch on X, on the biggest screen in your house. X has reportedly informed potential video ad partners that the new TV app will highlight trending content, powered by X’s advancing AI systems, while it’ll also, eventually, include cross-device compatibility, enabling users to continue watching content as they shift from their phone to their TV.
12. X Rolls Out DM Editing on iOS
X has started rolling out a new DM editing feature to its users in India and elsewhere across the globe. As the name suggest, this new feature lets users edit their direct messages or DMs long after they have been shared on the platform.
Interestingly, X (formerly Twitter), has not shared a timeline for editing a DM. This means that X users can also edit their older messages shared on the platform. However, the company has placed limits on the number of changes users can make to a message. In a support document detailing the feature, X said that users can only make up to five edits to a message. X says that this has been done to ensure that the conversations remain coherent.
13. LinkedIn Launches Gen Z-Focused Podcast via iHeartRadio
LinkedIn is launching the first podcast of its partnership with iHeartRadio, with the Gen Z-focused “Let’s Talk Offline” being added to the platform’s expanded podcast offering.
Hosted by LinkedIn Career Development editor Gianna Prudente and LinkedIn Community Manager Jamé Jackson Gadsden, the show will provide insight into the evolving world of work for younger listeners. LinkedIn’s been working to build out its slate of original podcast content, after initially launching its own Podcast Network, back in 2022, which has now grown to include a range of LinkedIn branded podcasts that focus on professional development and career skills.
Wrapping Up
And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next week with more news and updates for you from the social media world. Till then, stay tuned!
If you want to read more on the latest developments taking place in the social media space, take a look at ClickInsights’ Social Media Buzz, wherein we bring to you monthly reports on everything going on in social media, ranging from platform updates to policy changes that influence the way we market.
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