5 Social Media Updates From September That You NEED To Know ??

1. Instagram Experimented with New 'Add Topics' Option for Reels Upload

Instagram is slowly introducing the option to ‘Add topics’ to reels, helping to refine its Reels recommendation systems, which are currently a top priority for the app. This new feature will be a brilliant addition for honing in on specific target audiences and ensuring that your content reaches the right accounts with interests in the topics provided. Due to their high dwell time and ability to hold users' attention, Instagram reels are ultimately being implemented into almost every aspect of your news feed. It's Instagram's preferred form of content, and despite complaints from users about the platform's tendency to copy other content platforms - such as Tiktok - almost 20% of user time on Instagram is spent watching reels and continues to rise each quarter. What do you think about the changes to Instagram? Do you think they should change their strategy or should they focus more on innovation?

2. LinkedIn Added a ‘Focused Inbox’

LinkedIn launched a new type of inbox to assist users in organising their incoming messages. This inbox divides messages into two sections: a "Focused Inbox" for your most important messages and an "Other" inbox that essentially serves as a spam folder. Although it is unclear how LinkedIn prioritises relevant messages for filtering, the inbox is designed to adapt to your preferences. This presents an interesting challenge for sales personnel who have been utilising LinkedIn direct messages.

3. Instagram Confirmed ‘Re-Post’ Feature Experiments

In an effort to restore credit back to original creators, Instagram is working on bringing the repost feature to their platform. Instagram, unlike other social media apps, has never provided a simple way to share other users' content by reposting it. This may change soon, as Instagram has begun testing such a feature with a small group of users. The action of reposting could be enabled by a button next to each post in a user's feed, though influential whistleblower Alessandro Paluzzi recently suggested that the button could be hidden away in the share option. Since this is a test, there is no guarantee that Instagram's repost feature will be permanent. With many users urging Instagram to return to its roots, it's difficult to predict where the app is heading.

4. TikTok Users Can Now ‘Dislike’ Comments

TikTok recently announced the launch of a feature that allows users to downvote comments. The button will appear in the form of a thumbs-down icon next to likes on individual comments under videos, which users can click. According to TikTok, the feature, which was first announced as a test back in April, will now be accessible to users worldwide. Users can reverse their downvote by clicking the button again, and only the person who downvoted will be able to see that they did so. The feature is intended to help identify comments believed to be irrelevant or inappropriate, but the number of downvotes is not visible to the public, implying that downvotes will be used more as a back-end moderation tool.

5. BeReal Reportedly Considering Paid Features

In a highly competitive social market, the viral photo-sharing app BeReal has accumulated 15 million users in record time. Unlike the social apps with billions of users that are attempting to imitate it, BeReal has yet to figure out how to monetise. According to a Financial Times report, the app is looking to earn funds through paid features or subscriptions rather than bombarding users with ads. BeReal's founders, Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau, are notoriously tight-lipped about the app and have yet to give a media interview. The app has enormous potential, but it must figure out how to sustain itself in the future.

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