March 2024 Social Media Wrapup

?Welcome To The March Social Media Trends Report

Looking to stay ahead of the latest social media trends? Welcome to the Monthly Empowered Social Media Trends Report! We’re here to help you choose the trends that will be most impactful for your business. We actively analyze social media data and deliver a report at the end of each month, so you can stay ahead of the curve.

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Now on to the monthly trends…

? Instagram

Frame-Specific Comments in Carousel Updates

Instagram is testing a new feature that allows users to comment on specific images within a carousel post. Users can link their comments to any photo or video by mentioning its assigned number in the carousel. This development could boost more focused engagement and interaction on each image and video, eliminating confusion when commenting on carousel posts. Source: Social Media Today

New Features for DMs

Instagram is enhancing its direct messaging (DM) features, reflecting the trend of increased personal engagement migrating to private chats. New updates include the ability to send files within DMs, edit messages up to 15 minutes after sending, pin up to three chats for easy access, turn read receipts on or off, and save favorite stickers for easy access. Instagram has observed users sharing more content in DMs, eclipsing posting to the main feed. The social media platform is also adding more chat themes, broadening options for user personalization. Source: Meta

Revamped Hashtag Search for Enhanced Discovery

Instagram is simplifying its hashtag and search experiences to facilitate easier discovery. Instead of directing users to a "Top Posts" feed when they tap on a hashtag, Instagram will now display a comprehensive search result for the topic, similar to the Explore feature. This change aims to enhance profile discovery and encourage user search behaviors by providing access to additional elements such as Accounts, Audio, Places, and Reels. It underscores the importance of incorporating target keywords in profile names and descriptions to maximize discoverability. Source: Adam Mosseri via Threads

Longer Reels Duration to Boost Engagement

Instagram is testing longer Reels video uploads, allowing some users to post three-minute Reels, an increase from the current 90-second limit. This is aimed at enhancing user engagement, a trend also observed on TikTok. At present, only pre-recorded videos can be used for longer Reels uploads. Source: Social Media Today

Ads with Promo Codes to Encourage Purchases

Instagram has introduced a feature allowing advertisers to include promo codes in the caption of their ads. These codes can be applied directly in the checkout process. The addition forms part of a strategy to drive and track direct sales from Instagram promotions. According to Meta, advertisers using this feature saw a 9.1% median reduction in cost per purchase and a 10.1% median increase in conversions. Source: Social Media Today

More Frames in Carousel Posts for Enhanced Content Sharing

Instagram is testing an expansion of its carousel posts, allowing some users to add up to 15 images, an increase from the current maximum of 10. For brands, the expanded carousel could offer additional context for product announcements and listings. Some users have reported being able to add up to 20 posts to a carousel, indicating further experimentation. The feature is currently under review based on feedback and user learnings. Source: Social Media Today

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? TikTok

Declining Brand Engagement on TikTok

Recent benchmark reports indicate a significant decline in brand engagement on TikTok. Rival IQ observed a drop in the average engagement rate for brand content from 5.69% last year to the current rate of 2.63%. A similar trend was noted by Emplifi, with TikTok post interactions down 26% from early 2022. Based on an analysis of over 1,000 brand profiles, both Instagram and TikTok saw declining interactions over time, with TikTok's drop more drastic. SocialInsider also reported a 35% decline in TikTok’s average engagement rate over the past year. The dwindling engagement could be due to increased competition, platform maturity, or less engaging content. Source: Social Media Today

Intensifying E-commerce Capabilities

TikTok is doubling down on their e-commerce ambitions with the global rollout of Video Shopping Ads and new features to make them more appealing. With the ability to automatically populate product catalogs into formats like Carousel and Product Tiles, brands can now easily convert their creative content into TikTok promos. The platform has expanded its partnership with Shopify, empowering merchants to easily integrate their catalog and data connections. TikTok is also introducing a Shop Ads Product Card format for direct product promotion. All these efforts aim to simplify commerce promotion and intensify TikTok's e-commerce push. Source: Social Media Today

"Creator Search Insights" for Improved Content Strategies

TikTok is launching a new analytics feature, "Creator Search Insights," that aims to help creators align their content with user interests. This feature provides insights into trending search topics on the platform, allowing creators to tailor their content based on audience searches. The tool offers a filtering option to narrow down insights by topic category, such as "Sports" or "Science," making results more relevant. Creators can also identify "gap topics" which are highly searched but have fewer corresponding videos on TikTok, providing an opportunity for unique content creation. TikTok's addition will soon be integrated into its Creator Rewards Program, incentivizing creators to make content in line with search trends. Source: Social Media Today

“Sounds for Business - Voice Clips" Enhances Brand Creativity

TikTok has rolled out a new feature, "Sounds for Business – Voice Clips," to boost brands' ability to produce engaging sound-rich content. This feature provides brands with 18 free custom voiceover audio templates recorded by top TikTok creators. These templates are designed to aid in quality customer acquisition and are pre-cleared, eliminating the process of obtaining separate licenses. Brands can use these voices in their TikTok videos to create trend-ready content. The clips can also be used with Spark Ads, allowing brands to elevate their organic content into a paid advertising strategy, expanding reach, engagement, awareness, and revenue. Source: TikTok

The Potential Ban and Its Implications

TikTok is facing the threat of a ban in the United States. This follows a 352-65 vote by the House of Representatives in favor of a bill proposing the ban due to national security concerns related to the app's China-based ownership. However, for the ban to be instituted, the bill still needs to pass in the Senate, and then receive President Biden's approval. TikTok's CEO, Shou Chew, expressed concern over this development, highlighting the impact on over 300,000 American jobs and many businesses that rely on the platform. While TikTok users wait anxiously, the Senate vote could still be months away. Source: lsureveille

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? LinkedIn

LinkedIn Rolls Out Company Page Messaging for All Brands

LinkedIn is broadening the reach of its "Pages Messaging" feature to all businesses. This tool adds a "Message" button to company profiles, facilitating easy communication with visitors. Admins can enable or disable this feature via inbox settings, and categorize their messages with different conversation topics for better management. Source: Social Media Today

Recent Feed Algorithm Updates Emphasize Value-Driven Content

LinkedIn's latest feed algorithm updates emphasize valuable, evergreen content over timeliness. This shift aims to prolong the shelf-life of posts, particularly those providing niche insights and expertise. For example, detailed posts on specific topics could reappear in feeds as 'suggested posts' whenever users show interest in these areas months or even years later. LinkedIn also plans to reduce the impact of 'clickbait' style posts, no longer attributing 'Read more' clicks as positive engagement. Additionally, new profile CTA button options, including a 'Subscribe to My Newsletter' option, are under development. Source: Social Media Today

Brands Can Sponsor Any User Post in the App

LinkedIn is expanding its Thought Leader ads, now allowing businesses to promote content from any user, not just their employees. This new feature enables businesses to showcase customer testimonials and industry experts' voices, making their content more trustworthy and relevant. Brands can build Thought Leadership campaigns via LinkedIn Campaign Manager, which now has dedicated search tools for this purpose. Creators will have the ability to approve or deny the use of their posts in these campaigns, providing them with control over their content. Source: Social Media Today

LinkedIn Evolves Its Collaborative Articles Option

LinkedIn is improving its AI-powered "Collaborative Articles" feature by refining the framing of prompts for more specific answers. They've also added an "unhelpful" button for readers to flag subpar contributions, and are enhancing the algorithm to prompt more relevant experts. LinkedIn is also working on improving the distribution of contributions in members' feeds. They've seen a significant weekly increase in readership and reactions to these articles. Additionally, they're now supporting contributions in more languages and adding a Collaborative Article filter in the search for easier discovery. Source: Social Media Today

Dynamic UTMs for Optimized Web Traffic Analysis

LinkedIn is introducing Dynamic UTMs, allowing marketers to automatically generate UTM parameters for their campaigns, making campaign performance analysis more efficient. Currently, manual UTM creation is time-consuming and prone to errors. With Dynamic UTMs, marketers only need to add a UTM parameter to their campaign once. LinkedIn will then automatically generate the account, campaign, and creative name into the destination URL for analytics tools to capture. Source: LinkedIn

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? Facebook

Meta Restricts Political Content

In response to user feedback, Meta is actively restricting the reach of political content, with users needing to opt-in to view politics-related posts in their main feeds. This aligns with the trend of users preferring entertainment-based content over political discourse. Political content has previously brought Meta under scrutiny and has been associated with divisive user experiences. Meta’s new direction could potentially reduce user exposure to political polarization while boosting engagement with content that prompts emotional responses. The definition of “political content” is expected to evolve as Meta refines its approach. Source: Social Media Today

The Comeback of Facebook Pokes

Facebook has reintroduced the Poke feature, adding it prominently to the search results for known users within the app. Once a key element of early Facebook, Pokes were phased out due to declining user interest and annoying notifications. Despite futile attempts to revive Pokes in the past, the feature remained largely ignored. The current resurgence might evoke a sense of nostalgia among long-time Facebook users, but its lasting appeal remains to be seen due to the changing nature of web trends. Source: Social Media Today

Monetization Opportunities for Creators across Various Content Formats

Facebook is enhancing its Performance Bonus program, allowing more creators to monetize various content formats like photos, text, videos, and reels. The social media platform has removed restrictions on how much eligible creators can earn each month from the program, enabling unlimited monthly payouts. The program is also expanding to include creators in additional regions, including parts of Europe, South America, and Asia. Furthermore, Facebook is transitioning its video payout programs to a performance-based model, ensuring that high-quality content receives better rewards. Source: Facebook

Facebook News Feature to Be Deprecated in the U.S. and Australia

Facebook is discontinuing its dedicated Facebook News tab in the US and Australia by April 2024, following its deprecation in the UK, France, and Germany last year. This move aligns with user feedback indicating a preference for short form videos over news content. Despite an 80% drop in Facebook News usage in the past year, users will still be able to view news articles in their feeds and publishers will retain access to their accounts and pages to post news articles and other content. This update won't impact Facebook's commitment to connecting users with reliable information and combating misinformation through its third-party fact-checking programs. Source: Meta

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? Threads

Trending Topics Feature Available to All U.S. Users

Threads is rolling out its Trending Topics feature to all users in the U.S., after a period of testing. The feature displays the most discussed topics on the platform, appearing in both the Search section and the "For You" feed. Renamed from "Today's Topics" to "Trending Now", the feature provides a more direct reflection of what users are engaging with on the platform. Source: Social Media Today

Native GIF Support on Desktop

Threads has expanded its GIF functionality to its desktop version. After rolling out GIFs for app users in October, Threads now supports native GIF search and posting for desktop users. While users could previously post GIFs as attached images, the new in-built GIF search and posting options simplify the process of attaching GIFs to Threads updates. Source: Social Media Today

In-Stream Camera and Post Draft Options

Threads is rolling out its new in-stream camera and post draft functionalities to all users. The update allows users to save drafts of in-progress posts and access them via the bottom compose button. The new camera button enables users to take in-stream photos, although video capture is not yet supported. As Threads continues to enhance its feature set, it progressively aligns with major social apps, offering more avenues for interaction and engagement. Source: Social Media Today

Threads API Update (you’ll be able to schedule Threads soon)

Threads is developing an API aimed at creators, developers, and brands to manage their Threads presence at scale and share ideas with their communities via third-party applications. The API currently allows users to authenticate, publish threads, and retrieve content they posted through the tools. Reply moderation and insights capabilities will be added soon. The beta testing is currently limited to a small group of partners and a few independent developers, with plans to make the API broadly available by June. Source: @0xjessel via Threads

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? YouTube

Crowdsourcing for Auto-Caption Corrections

YouTube is testing a new feature that allows viewers to suggest corrections to auto-generated captions on videos. This crowdsourcing approach could enhance the accuracy of YouTube's auto caption tools by allowing corrections in real-time as viewers watch content. While these corrections won't automatically merge into the video, creators can view them in the transcript panel. This enhancement can improve accessibility and potentially search results, as Google indexes YouTube transcripts for search queries. Source: Social Media Today

YouTube Recommends Not Deleting Old Video Content for Optimal Reach

YouTube creators are being advised not to delete their old video clips. According to YouTube Product Lead Todd Beaupre, deleting videos can impact a channel's algorithmic ranking. This relates to how YouTube's system optimizes for user experience — if a channel frequently removes videos, it makes it harder for the system to gauge the channel's content consistency, which can result in fewer recommendations. To maximize reach, it's recommended to leave them or unlist them if you have to, instead of deleting. Source: Social Media Today

AI-Based Skip Ahead Feature and Remixes of Remixes in Shorts

YouTube is testing a new AI-based feature that helps users skip to the most engaging parts of a video, enhancing the viewing experience. This machine learning process identifies the most watched segments of a video and allows users to quickly skip to those parts. Additionally, YouTube is extending its Remix options in Shorts, enabling creators to add their take on already remixed Shorts clips, promoting collaborative participation and expanding response options within Shorts. Source: Social Media Today

Detailed Audience Retention Analysis

A recent update to YouTube Studio now allows creators to analyze their audience retention charts by specific segments. The initial roll-out includes segments for subscribers and non-subscribers, new and returning viewers, and organic and paid traffic. This feature offers creators deeper insights into their audience's preferences, enabling better content optimization and enhanced audience reach. It also provides a more complete understanding of audience dynamics, illustrating that a single retention chart might not accurately represent all viewer segments. This feature is especially useful for those using the promotions tab, as it separates organic viewership from paid traffic. Source: @MarioJooss via Twitter

Clips Library and Product Tag Alerts

YouTube has introduced a new feature, the "Clips Library", that allows creators to view and manage all clips made from their videos. Available in YouTube Studio, this feature can help creators understand which parts of their content are resonating with viewers. In addition, YouTube is rolling out alerts to inform channel managers when product tags in their uploads aren't displayed due to issues like tag quality, products under review or deleted, or products not yet approved. Source: Social Media Today

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? BeReal

BeReal Struggling To Add Users

BeReal is facing a decline with user growth stalling and funding nearing depletion. Reports indicate that BeReal's active user count has dropped significantly to around 25 million, a sharp decrease from its peak of 70 million daily active users. As funding resources dwindle, the company is exploring options such as raising Series C funding or potential acquisition. Insiders estimate that the app has about 10 months of funding remaining. This situation highlights the challenges faced by many new platforms in maintaining growth and securing long-term value. Source: Social Media Today

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Thanks for reading our March trends report!

-The Empowered Team