June 2024 Social Media Platform Updates
Thursday 4th July
by Beth Perrin
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The world of social media was busy once again in June, with many new features being released by all of the major platforms which will benefit both casual users and brand marketers. Let’s take a look at a selection of them below so you can assess which ones might be advantageous for your personal or professional use as we head into Q3.
Meta Verified Money Back Guarantee
To start off the month, Meta announced the arrival of a new money back guarantee that allows users to try Meta Verified for 14 days and then receive a refund if they aren’t totally satisfied with the subscription and its features. The verified package, which ranges from $14.99 per month to $349.99 per month depending on which tier you choose, gives users a blue verified badge beside their name, impersonation protection, access to customer support, an enhanced Instagram profile and more. However, users must sign up (and pay) separately for Facebook and Instagram if they want to be verified on both platforms. Although it’s currently unclear how many people and businesses have signed up for verification so far, the new money back guarantee could be a good way for Meta to increase uptake and get more users to try it out.
✨New Feature: Meta now offers a 14-day trial of Meta Verified. If you're not satisfied, you'll get your money back. pic.twitter.com/EI6C7LLrD7
— Jonah Manzano (@jonah_manzano) June 1, 2024
Swipe to Show Interest on Threads
Threads introduced a new side-swiping element on posts that people can use to indicate whether they’re interested in that type of content or not. Simply swipe right to indicate that you like a post and want to see more of this type of content, or left to signal that you’re not interested. This means users will now have a direct way to control the Threads algorithm and improve the recommendations they’re shown in the app, making their experience much more personalised and tailored to their individual preferences rather than generic.
Post by @mosseriView on Threads
Premium Video Ad Placement on LinkedIn
In order to tap into rising video consumption on the platform, LinkedIn has added a new ad placement option, via a video sponsorship program called ‘The Wire’. This allows brands to choose specific pre-roll placement with trusted publishers, which could help them maximise and add credibility to their ads. According to LinkedIn: “Aligning your brand’s message to publisher content in a format that resonates with buyers will support memory recall when it’s time to buy.” It also confirmed that its feed has a brand safety score of 99%, offering reassurance to any brands that may be concerned about their ads potentially being displayed before or beside unsuitable content.
WhatsApp Integration for Google Business Listings
Businesses can now add a WhatsApp link to their Google Business listing, enabling searchers to make direct contact via the app. This feature is currently only available in Brazil after being announced at Google’s recent ‘Google for Brazil’ event, but it’s likely that we’ll see the tool roll out to wider markets over the coming months, opening up more opportunities for customers to connect with brands via the search panel.
Today at #GoogleForBrazil, we shared our latest economic impact, local training initiatives and new products and features coming to Brazil on Android, Search and more. Learn more → https://t.co/ypPO4TRFYY 🇧🇷
— Google (@Google) June 11, 2024
Image Product Search on TikTok Shop
TikTok has added a new image search function, which enables users to search for products in the app based on a visual example. Users can now tap the camera icon in the search bar of the Shop tab, where they can then either take a photo or use an image from their camera roll to find similar items. TikTok has been testing this option in selected markets over the past year, but it has now added the functionality for all users in the US and in Southeast Asia, where its shopping tools have recently gained more traction.
Premium Company Pages on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has been developing Premium Company Pages over the past few months and is now launching the option more broadly. It’s expected to be globally available by the end of July, and some of the premium features available are:
• Custom CTA button: Premium company page owners can add a button to generate more leads, such as ‘Visit website’ or ‘Book appointment’. It will appear at the top of the page, feed posts and search results.
• -invite: Automatically invite individuals who engage with your company page’s content - or with similar pages - to follow your page.
• See who visited your page: Premium page admins will receive insight into who visited their page (subject to member settings).
• Additional benefits: $500 ad credits on LinkedIn, 3 months free access to DropBox, Microsoft 365, GoDaddy and Hootsuite, special discounts to Intuit quickbooks and more.
Advanced Analytics for Premium X Subscribers
X users who pay for X Premium can now access more specific insights into their performance, including total impressions, engagement rate, profile visits, video performance, link clicks and more. The updated analytics hub is built around a large central bar chart that users can change to highlight different elements, making it easier to view performance over time. Users can also switch the date ranges along the top of the chart to see their results from specific time periods.
Today, we're rolling out a new and improved analytics page. Upgrade to Premium to get daily insights into how your posts are performing.https://t.co/ZVdEbG1PJa pic.twitter.com/5qmklLcsOC
— Premium (@premium) June 13, 2024
WhatsApp Video Group Call Updates
WhatsApp has announced some new updates for video calls in the app that it says will make calls across your devices even bigger and better. As well as improved audio and video quality for clearer calls no matter where you are, these updates include:
• More participants: Up to 32 people can now join a video call across all devices, a handy addition for any workplaces that use WhatsApp for group discussions with their remote team members.
• Screen sharing with audio: When you share your screen, you can now share your audio too, which could be useful for watching videos together.
• Speaker spotlight: The person currently speaking is now automatically highlighted and appears first on screen so participants can easily see who’s talking.
Community Notes on YouTube
YouTube announced a new option that will enable users to add their own notes on videos to provide additional context, similar to Community Notes on X. Some examples given by YouTube of when this could come in handy are: “[To] clarify when a song is meant to be a parody, to point out when a new version of a product being reviewed is available, or to let viewers know when older footage is mistakenly portrayed as a current event.” Third-party evaluators will then rate the helpfulness of these notes, which will help train YouTube’s systems. Notes will only appear publicly under a video if the evaluators decide that they are broadly helpful.
Threads API Launch
The Threads API is now available to all developers, which will enable creators and publishers to schedule posts, manage replies and more via third party apps. According to Meta, insights have been one of the top requested features for the API, which is why they have made it possible for people to see key metrics such as the number of views, likes, replies, reposts and quotes, as well as their number of followers and follower demographics. The current third-party partners include Hootsuite, Sprinklr and Sprout Social.
Post by @mosseriView on Threads
New AI-based Advertising Options on Messenger
In order to tap into the rising use of private messages as opposed to public posting, a new Q&A feature is being tested on Messenger using Llama 3, Meta’s AI assistant. Based on the most popular questions that businesses receive, the bot will provide custom, automated responses to common queries, and is designed to feel more active and human than previous versions.
Meta is also launching a new messaging promotion option, which will enable marketers to create, organise and send paid marketing messages on Messenger, via the Ads Manager, to people who have opted in to receive them.
TikTok’s New App: Whee
TikTok launched a brand new app called Whee, an image sharing platform where photos are designed to only be shared with friends, setting it apart from Instagram, for example, where everything is shared publicly (unless you specifically create a private account). In the app’s description on the Google Play Store, TikTok states that it aims to “keep you connected with your close friends through life’s spontaneous moments”, and that it wants to allow people to be their most authentic selves. As of early July 2024, Whee has 50K downloads, with TechCrunch reporting that the app’s lack of marketing is likely to blame for its current low traction.
Broadcast Channels for Facebook Pages
Meta’s Broadcast Channels feature, which has seen great success on Instagram since its launch back in February 2023, is being expanded to Facebook Pages with over 10k followers and Messenger. Some new tools have also been added:
• Share channel messages from Instagram to Facebook: This feature will enable creators to automatically share updates from their Instagram channel to their Facebook channel, saving them the time and effort previously spent on repeating the content manually.
• Early access to channel content: Creators can share their Facebook posts to channel members before anyone else as an exclusive perk, or as a way of collecting early feedback on content.
• Share to Stories: Creators and channel members can now share channel content onto their Facebook stories to reach even more people.
Summary
If you’ve used any of these new features over the last few weeks - either for your business or as an individual user - find us on X @3sixfivepro and let us know which ones you’ve benefited from so far. We’d love to hear which updates you’re planning to incorporate into your brand’s upcoming social media marketing or customer service strategy, or which ones have made it easier for you to connect with friends and family on your favourite platforms.
