Social Media Buzz Weekly: Roundup of Social Media Updates

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 Expands Its Paid Verification for Business Program To Canadian Brands

https://calgary.citynews.ca/2023/10/30/meta-launches-business-verification-program-in-canada-for-36-99-per-month/

Meta has announced the expansion of its Meta Verified for Business program to Canadian brands.

The new offering provides brands with tools to better stand out in feeds, for the low, low price of $36.99 CAD/month per Facebook page or Instagram account. Under the new program, brands that sign up to buy a blue tick will also get proactive impersonation monitoring for added brand protection, access to support and help troubleshooting account issues, and new ways to be discovered by being featured as a Meta Verified business, including appearing at or near the top of search results and as a recommended verified business to follow in feed.

2. Meta Announces the Removal of Rooms in Facebook Groups

https://www.thinkwithniche.com/blogs/news/meta-to-discontinue-facebook-group-rooms-end-of-a-pandemic-era-feature

Facebook has announced that Group Rooms will soon be removed as an option in the app.

Group rooms, which enabled users to create video chats with up to 50 members, were first launched in April 2020, giving people a way to connect amid the expanding COVID lockdowns. Tapping into the rise of Zoom, Meta sought to provide its own, in-stream engagement tools. Meta then expanded the option to audio rooms in 2021, on the back of the Clubhouse-led social audio wave. But now, neither version is seeing much usage, so Facebook’s opted to remove group rooms entirely, following on from the broader scaling back of its in-stream connective tools.

3. Meta Faces Legal Action From 42 State Attorneys General Over Addicting Teen Users

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/bipartisan-group-of-ags-sue-meta-for-addictive-features.html

A coalition of 42 U.S. attorneys general has launched legal action against Meta, accusing it of utilizing addictive processes to hook young users on their apps.

The action accuses Meta of deliberately designing its algorithms, alerts, and notifications in order to keep young users in its apps for longer, and to get them coming back to its apps repeatedly. In addition, the various filings also allege that features within Meta’s platforms negatively impact teens’ mental health through social comparison, while also accusing Meta of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) through the collection of personal data on users under 13.

4. TikTok Announces Live Concert Event to Showcase Music Trends

https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/25/tiktok-partners-with-tickets-com-to-sell-tickets-for-its-first-live-music-event/

TikTok will be hosting a live music event in Arizona on December 10th. In addition to the performances, TikTok says that “In the Mix” will “bring to life TikTok’s famous For You feed, with a range of activities inspired by our community’s favorite trends.” This could also provide brands with new tie-in opportunities, aligned with the festival theme, or artists who are performing.

5. Instagram Makes Reminder Ads Available for Stories Placement

https://www.thinkwithniche.com/blogs/news/instagram-expands-reminder-ads-to-stories-a-new-avenue-for-engagement

Instagram has announced some new updates for its Reminder Ads, which enable users to opt into receiving reminders for upcoming launches, events, etc.

Reminder Ads, which were originally launched back in March, provide a simple process to sign up for reminders in the app. Originally, Reminder Ads were only available for in-feed placement, but now, Instagram is expanding Reminder promotions to Stories as well, adding another option for your campaigns. In addition to this, you’ll now also be able to create Reminder Ads in Ads Manager, so you no longer have to post organically, then boost that post with a paid push.

6. Instagram Tests New ‘Nearby’ Feed for Stories

https://socialbarrel.com/instagram-is-experimenting-with-a-new-nearby-feed-for-stories/143074/

Instagram’s currently experimenting with a new “Nearby” feed for Stories, which would highlight public content from users and businesses in your vicinity. The advantage of this feed is that it provides a new surface for promotion, with local brands able to reach users based on geography, while in China, it’s also enabled Douyin to branch into new ad offerings, like services and food delivery, via the app.

7. Pinterest Launches New Information and Education Hub for Creators

https://campaignme.com/pinterest-launches-new-education-hub-for-creators/

Pinterest has launched a new education platform for creators, which provides insights into how to make best use of Pins, how to monetize your on-platform presence, and more.

The new platform, available in 13 languages, includes a range of guides and notes on how to utilize Pins, including info on how to be featured in Pinterest’s’ editorial surfaces, and how to align with platform-promoted trends. There are also best practice tips for creating stand-out Pins. Pinterest has also included dedicated education walk-throughs, giving you access to more specific pointers on how to succeed in the app.

8. X Launches New Price Tiers for X Premium, Including an Ad-Free Premium+

https://nypost.com/2023/10/27/business/elon-musks-x-launches-two-new-premium-subscription-plans/

X has now released two new tiers for its X Premium subscription offering, as it works to get more people paying to use the app.

The new tiers will supplement the current X Premium package, with “Premium+”, priced at $US16 per month, offering an ad-free X experience, and “Premium Basic”, at $US3 monthly, providing some of its additional features. While the Basic package comes with some add-on features, including post editing, longer posts, and encrypted DMs, the “X Premium+” tier includes all of the X Premium incentives, including the biggest new addition, in the removal of ads from your experience.

9. X’s Audio Calling Option Is Now Live for Some Users

https://www.engadget.com/x-is-rolling-out-audio-and-video-calling-feature-nobody-asked-for-205836943.html

X’s new audio calling feature is now live in the latest iOS version of the app. Users can now make an audio call from their X DMs, with video calls coming soon. X News Daily also notes that because the system is using CallKit on iOS, audio calls received via X will look like regular phone calls on your device.

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.