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. Meta Outlines Improved AI Transparency Disclosures
Meta has outlined the latest improvements to its AI usage disclosures in ads which have used Meta’s in-house AI tools in their creation.
Meta began rolling out these labels last year, and it has continued to refine and update the wording of these tags to improve transparency. Meta is working to improve these labels over time, with its current approach only applying to ads that have been “significantly” edited using its own AI tools.
2. Meta Rolls Out Updates to Advantage+ AI Ad Targeting Tools
Meta has announced some new updates for its AI-powered Advantage+ ad campaigns, which, at best, aim to take all, or most of the campaign targeting decisions out of your hands.
Firstly, Meta is testing a new, streamlined Advantage+ campaign setup, “so that marketers no longer need to choose between running a manual or ASC+ campaign.” With this new process, Advantage+ optimization will be available for all of your campaign elements. Meta is also renaming Advantage+ shopping campaigns to Advantage+ sales campaigns “to better reflect the full range of advertisers that can benefit from this product.” Meta is also expanding Advantage+ to lead campaigns, providing more ways to utilize its AI-powered targeting insights.
3. Meta Launches Digital Safety Program for Middle Schoolers
Meta has announced the launch of a new digital literacy program for middle schoolers, which aims to highlight the dangers of online interaction, and how kids can spot concerns, and avoid such, both in its apps and across the web more broadly.
Created in partnership with Childhelp, the new program provides a first-of-its-kind education curriculum to teach youngsters how to stay safe online, and includes modules on how to recognize grooming, sextortion scams, and other types of online exploitation. Meta says that the program, which also includes quick links to support resources, will be made available for free to all teachers, and those who care for young people, including schools, parents, community or faith-based organizations and after-school programs.
4. Meta Initiates Layoffs To Realign Its Focus Around AI Development
Amid rising competition in AI development, Meta is re-aligning its workforce to maximize its AI efforts, by cutting around 4,000 jobs, while hiring more AI engineers.
Meta is looking to cull around 5% of its global workforce as it looks to re-shape its business around AI development. The main hiring emphasis moving forward will be machine-learning engineers, with Meta now rushing to gather up experts in the field to amplify its AI development progress. Meta’s urgency on this front has seemingly been exacerbated by the launch of DeepSeek, a faster, and arguably better AI model which was reportedly developed for a lot less than some of the more high-profile AI projects.
5. TikTok Expands In-Stream Shopping Push to Latin America
TikTok may be facing existential challenges in the U.S. and Canada, but it is still pushing ahead with its development in other regions, with the platform set to launch TikTok Shop in Mexico this month.
The expansion will be the first step in a broader push into Latin America, where TikTok is hoping to spark the next stage of its broader in-stream shopping project. TikTok has been pushing to make in-stream shopping a thing, following the success of its in-app shopping push in China, with the local version of TikTok (called “Douyin”). Its expanded shopping initiatives in its homeland have become the key money-maker for the app, with Douyin bringing in around $500 billion in sales last year. By comparison, TikTok generated around $4 billion in total sales in 2023.
6. Snapchat Shares Data on Sports Engagement in Its App
A conducted by National Research Group in partnership with Snapchat has revealed that Snapchatters are highly engaged with sports, and major sporting events, which could provide key opportunities for sports and sports-themed marketing activations in the app.
The survey report is based on input from 8,400 social media users, across seven markets, and aims to get a better handle on overall sports engagement in social apps. The data shows that almost 9 in 10 Snapchatters engage with sports weekly, and 85% watch sports matches at least monthly. Snapchat further reports that every day, Snapchatters globally view 25 million minutes or more of sports content on its TikTok-like Spotlight video feed. The study also underlines the connective capacity of sports, with 90% of Snapchatters watching sports with friends or family.
7. Snapchat Funds Wildfire Recovery Project in Los Angeles
Snapchat is backing a new initiative to assist in the recovery of fire-impacted areas of Los Angeles, which is the company’s home, and the place where Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy grew up.
Snap Inc., Spiegel, and Murphy have donated $10 million to a new project that they’re calling “The Department of Angels” which will work to assist in the broader recovery effort. The newly formed group will seek to empower residents to have a say in the broader recovery efforts, and will provide access to independent resources and project management support to facilitate this aspect. Previously, Snap CEO Spiegel had published an impassioned letter in support of the community, and committed $5 million in aid to help get L.A. back on its feet.
8. Instagram Adds WhatsApp Connection Sticker for Stories
Instagram has added a new WhatsApp sticker for Stories, which enables you to drive clicks towards a private WhatsApp chat direct from your Stories posts.
The new WhatsApp sticker, which is now available in the Stories sticker tray, lets you link through to your WhatsApp presence, by providing your phone number for verification. This could be a good way to raise awareness of your business’ WhatsApp channel, where you can share updates via DM, while it could also help to drive more direct discussion with potential customers, deepening bonds in Meta’s app.
9. Research Suggests Threads Is Driving More Engagement Than X
According to the most recent Sprout Social Pulse Survey, 53% of marketers are now posting to Threads, with an additional 23% looking to establish a Threads presence this year.
Also, according to Buffer’s analysis, Threads posts are driving 73.6% higher engagement rates than X on average. HardReset.info: Specifically, the median engagement rate on Threads is 6.25%, compared to X’s 3.6%. This suggests that users are more likely to interact with content on Threads, making it an increasingly valuable platform for brands, marketers, and content creators.
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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