March Social Media Digest

Are you planning your SMM strategy for the rest of the year?  According to the recent infographic the TOP-8 Social Media Platforms to promote your business are: Facebook InstagramTikTokPinterestRedditTwitter, LinkedInSnapchat 

March 2021 turned out to be rich in rolling out multiple new features for the most popular platforms. Are you ready for that?  

Facebook: New Monetization Options 

Facebook focuses on short videos and allows creators to get profit from videos just one minute long. In this case a video will be interrupted by an ad at 30 seconds. Three minute long videos will stop for the commercial at 45 seconds. The opportunity to monetize short videos could be an attempt to put some more pressure on TikTokFacebook is also about to start testing Facebook Stories Monetization with sticker-like ads. New rules are actually welcoming for new short-form creators.          

More Details: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-new-monetization-options-for-creators-including-ads-in-short/596570/ 

Instagram tests “Remix” feature for Reels 

Instagram Reels, which is a TikTok-like clone, gets a remix option. As of now, just some selected users are testing it in its options menu. It means they are given an option of creating a reaction clip, playing side-by-side with the original one. “Remix” feature allows users to respond to trends or take part in viral memes, thus it becomes a more interactive and inclusive tool.  

More Details: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-remix-option-for-reels-is-now-being-tested-with-selected-user/597437/ 

Instagram Lite App is available in 170 Regions 

Instagram launches its lite version for low-connectivity regions, which helps stay connected. It preserves the same key features except those more advanced ones like AR. Facebook also developed Reels for IG Lite. This version will definitely increase the number of users worldwide.   

More Details: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-launches-revised-instagram-lite-app-in-170-regions/596494/ 

Up to 4 people can go live in Instagram Live Rooms  

First, this feature came to testing in India back in December 2020 after a year of developmentDue to the pandemic we observed a rise in streaming, since people were looking for new ways to stay connected. But now this option goes to all the regions. A user is given an option of inviting other people to their IG Live Rooms, where you will be seen live side by side. A person, who is being invited, will see a drop-down notification. Such an option suggests a wider range of applications: from conducting interviews to strengthening a connection with your audience.  

More Details: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-announces-new-features-for-international-womens-day-including-mu/595852/ 

Twitter ads Extra Security Key  

In the middle of March Twitter provided support for extra security keys, which means that every user on the platform can link more than one key to the account. Those keys are used for two-factor authentication login support. The physical keys also provide extra security for people, who do not want to share their phone numbers for authentication, and accounts managed by many people. The matter of security came into focus after the hack of a few high-profile accounts.  

More Detailshttps://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitter-adds-new-measures-to-provide-additional-account-security/596743/ 

 Twitter advertisers can now control who comments on their ads 

This platform allowed its users to control who replied to their tweets back in August 2020. And now it extends its option even further. Now the brands are given an option to limit who can reply to their promoted tweets. The dropdown menu suggests three options: default setting, implying that anyone can leave a comment, “people you follow” or “only people you mention”, preventing others from commenting on it. This feature gives plenty of useful ideas from avoiding criticism to making a special offer to those, who replies.   

More details: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitter-will-now-enable-advertisers-to-control-who-can-reply-to-their-promo/596403/ 

Twitter tests the “Undo” option 

Twitter users have been advocating the editing option for years. And now the platform is testing 5 second-window for the user to skim the tweet and correct some clumsy mistakes. The developers also consider this time to be enough for rethinking or even preventing you from posting unwanted or potentially offensive comments. Most probably, it is not the final version yet, but at least that is something.  

More Detailshttps://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitters-testing-a-new-undo-option-for-sent-tweets/596196/ 

Twitter previews “Communities” 

It’s a new group-like feature, which allows users to share tweets with the selected number of users instead of sharing with everybody. Within the “Communities” you can select a special audience for each tweet, and thus avoid boring your main audience. This feature also makes creating multiple accounts for different purposes simply unnecessary.  

More Detailshttps://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitters-developing-new-community-tools-to-share-tweets-with-selected-au/597443/ 

LinkedIn: New Profile Options 

Individual users are getting more options to maximize their own presence on the platform and make their accounts look more personal. Now you can add a cover story to your profile to list your experience and skills. Once you’ve done that, there will be an orange circle around your picture. In addition to this, a profile gets an optional gender pronoun field at the top. And last but not leastthe platform is launching a completely new “Creator Mode”, which allows to display your activity and engagement and add hashtags to indicate your interests.      

More Detailshttps://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/linkedin-adds-new-profile-features-including-video-cover-stories-and-crea/597578/ 

TikTok Creators can now control the comments 

Business Accounts on TikTok have received a new option. Now they are given the tools to control the comments and decide whether to approve or deny it, and thus users can choose, which ones will appear on their videos. Actually, before removing a potentially offensive comment, you will still need to read it. For now there is no such option as automatic detecting and removing it without having to read it.    

More Detailshttps://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-adds-new-comment-review-option-providing-more-control-for-creators/596498/ 

Tik Tok rolls out a “Playlist” feature 

Last week TikTok allowed the selected Creators to group their videos into themed playlists. Each playlist can be given a special title within 15 characters, which will be visible on your profile. The Creator gets a “Sort videos into playlist” button, which is pretty simple to use, since all you have to do is to follow the prompts. Gradually, this feature will be available on all Creators’ accounts. 

 More Detailshttps://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-launches-new-playlists-feature-to-group-clips-into-themed-collecti/597460/ 

TikTok encourages more engagement between fans and creators 

TikTok launches a “question and answer” option to prompt the engagement. Now the users are given an opportunity to ask creators questions, that can be answered during the broadcasts or future videos, which is a new way to connect actuallyQuestions are given a “question” label, so that the creator can easily notice them and comment. There is a special button for posing a question, which creators can also use to prompt an answer. From now on this option is available for all the accounts, which switched to a Creators mode.    

More Detailshttps://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/tiktok-rolls-out-qa-feature-to-all-creator-accounts/596161/ 

 Snapchat adds new animations 

This platform maximizes inclusion and adds new stickers to represent the diversity of our society. Now there are new wheelchair animations available for Bitmoji and the users have a wider range of options to portray themselves more accurately. Snapchat platform used to be criticized for the lack of support for inclusion, but now it’s striving to improve the situation. 

More Details: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/snapchat-adds-new-wheelchair-animations-for-bitmoji-avatars/595998/ 

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