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. New Report Shows More Users Are Spending Money on TikTok

https://sairam-io.medium.com/new-report-shows-more-users-are-spending-money-on-tiktok-788136e0be5f

According to a new report from The Information, TikTok users sent over $250 million in digital gifts to live-streamers in the app in Q3 alone, underlining a growing trend that could still lead to TikTok generating more income from in-app sales.

Trends like NPC streamers, via popular creators like Pinkydoll, have sparked broader interest in the practice, in which viewers can donate virtual gifts to trigger a reaction from the streamer. In the UK, TikTok has been showcasing trending items in a new “Trendy Beat” eCommerce store activation, while it’s also now looking to fulfill orders itself, through partnerships with retailers, in order to streamline the in-stream sales process.

2. TikTok Announces New Integration With Salesforce Marketing Cloud

https://www.demandgenreport.com/features/news-briefs/tiktok-announces-new-integration-for-advertisers-using-salesforce-marketing-cloud

TikTok has announced a new integration with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which will enable TikTok advertisers to easily transfer the leads generated by their marketing campaigns directly to Salesforce, making it easier to action relevant data and insights. That, effectively, will bring more TikTok insights directly to your CRM, which will streamline the process of managing and maximizing your TikTok ad campaigns.

3. Instagram Adds New API Elements To Expand Posting Capacity in Third-Party Management Apps

https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2023/10/30/instagram-reels-api-bundle-launch/

Instagram is adding some new elements to its Instagram and Reels APIs, in order to provide more posting functionality via third-party apps.

Firstly, it’s adding its new collaborative posting process as an additional element within the API integration, which will mean that you’ll soon be able to publish collaborative posts via third-party social management apps. It is also adding Organic Reels insights into the API, which will provide more data for your content planning.

4. Instagram Adds Song Lyrics Display in Reels Clips

https://www.bqprime.com/technology/instagrams-new-feature-allows-users-to-add-song-lyrics-to-instagram-reels-heres-how-to-use-bqc

Instagram will now enable you to add song lyrics to Reels, as you already can in Stories, which will provide another music engagement option in the app. Now, when you add a music clip to your Reel, you’ll be able to select the lyrics option, which will present the lyrics as text on screen. You can then choose which font you like, highlight the relevant section, and add a more specific message element to your clip.

5. Elon Musk Launches New ‘Grok’ AI Chatbot To Compete With ChatGPT

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/05/elon-musk-debuts-grok-ai-bot-to-rival-chatgpt-others-.html

Elon Musk’s X is officially entering the generative AI race, with xAI’s first chatbot, named “Grok” now in limited testing, with a view to a wider launch in the near future among X Premium+ subscribers.

The main variation of Elon’s AI system is that it’s, in Musk’s own words, intended to be “anti-woke”, with less censorship of potentially sensitive topics. Elon has voiced strong criticism of ChatGPT’s perceived censorship of certain answers on certain topics, so he launched his own AI project to be a better representation of “truth”, in his own definition and experience.

6. X Is Reportedly Looking To Charge $50K for Dormant Handles

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2023/11/03/elon-musk-x-has-started-selling-off-old-twitter-handles/

Forbes has reported that X is putting together a new program to sell dormant X @handles, with a starting price of $50k.

X owner Elon Musk has been discussing options for dormant handles since he took over at the company late last year, noting last December that X would be looking to make these usernames available for new use. Back in January, The New York Times reported that X had considered an auction system to sell off the most popular usernames. But it’s since been pretty quiet on the @handle sales front, with X seemingly moving on from the idea.

7. X Expands Third-Party ID Verification Program to UK Premium Subscribers

https://www.thinkwithniche.com/blogs/news/x-widens-third-party-id-verification-program-for-u-k-x-premium-subscribers

X is expanding its new ID verification option to X Premium subscribers in the U.K., after initially launching it with U.S. users back in September.

U.K.-based X Premium subscribers will now also have the option to confirm their ID, by providing an image of their government-issued identification documents, which can include a license, passport, or basically any government-provided document with your photo on it. Once you provide that to X, and third-party verification partner Au10tix, you’ll qualify for an extra verification element, with a new “ID Verified” marker in addition to the blue checkmark.

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.