September Social Media Digest

As the summer comes to a close, the social media landscape continues to evolve rapidly with new features, platform updates, and strategic shifts reshaping how brands connect with their audiences. In this edition, we’ve curated the most impactful stories and developments from the past month, providing you with the insights needed to stay ahead in the dynamic world of social media marketing.

Instagram Expands Carousel Posts to 20 Frames (Via Drunk on Social)

Instagram has officially expanded its carousel format, allowing users to include up to 20 photos or videos per post, doubling the previous limit of 10. This update opens new opportunities for brands to showcase more comprehensive visual stories, whether a product launch, an event recap, or an in-depth tutorial.

This move aligns with Instagram’s broader strategy to prioritize visual content that engages users for longer periods. This update is seen as a direct response to the rising popularity of video and carousel posts on the platform, which tend to generate higher engagement rates than single-image posts.

It’s the latest in a series of updates for the format, with Instagram also experimenting with text overlays and variable presentation formats for your images within a carousel.

Smarty’s Take?? The increase in carousel capacity is a significant win for brands looking to maximize engagement through detailed visual storytelling. With more space to present content, brands can create richer narratives that keep audiences swiping and engaging longer. This update aligns perfectly with Instagram’s push toward immersive content experiences, making it an essential tool in your social media strategy.

Threads Introduces Content Planning Tools (Via AXIOS)

Threads, Meta’s text-based platform, continues to evolve, with new features aimed at enhancing content creation and planning. The platform now includes an analytics dashboard, the ability to schedule posts, and options for drafting multiple posts. These tools are designed to help creators and brands maintain a consistent online presence and better engage with their audiences.

The rollout of these features arrives amid a heated competition between Big Tech companies to recruit and retain influencers, as platforms like Threads, Twitter (now X), and Instagram vie for dominance in the content creation space.

Smarty’s Take?? With the ability to schedule and analyze posts, brands can now take a more strategic approach to their Threads presence, ensuring that their content resonates at the right time with the right audience.

TikTok Offers Incentive Rewards to Attract New Creators (Via Swipe Insight)

In a bid to expand its user base and ad revenue, TikTok has started offering monetary incentives to creators from other platforms like YouTube and Instagram. These incentives include promotion credits or gift cards, encouraging established creators with large followings to join TikTok and diversify their content offerings.

This approach not only helps TikTok attract fresh talent but also stimulates the creation of diverse content that appeals to various new audience segments.

Smarty’s Take?? TikTok’s aggressive strategy to attract new creators highlights the platform’s commitment to maintaining its competitive edge in the social media space. For brands, this presents an opportunity to collaborate with newly onboarded influencers who are eager to grow their reach on TikTok. Leveraging these fresh faces could inject new energy into your campaigns and help reach untapped audiences.

LinkedIn Tests Premium Company Page Subscriptions with AI Tools (Via The Linked Blog)

Beyond job search enhancements, LinkedIn is testing AI personas that simulate conversations with industry experts. The platform is testing a new subscription model for company pages, offering advanced features such as AI-assisted content creation, dynamic UTM tracking, and enhanced video capabilities. These tools aim to help businesses optimize their LinkedIn presence, engage more effectively with their audience, and drive better results from their social media efforts.

This move reflects LinkedIn’s growing focus on AI and automation as key drivers of content strategy and audience engagement. According to CMSWire, these premium features could revolutionize how B2B companies approach LinkedIn, allowing for more personalized and efficient marketing strategies that are data-driven and result-oriented.

Smarty’s Take?? The introduction of AI tools and premium features on LinkedIn underscores the platform’s evolution into a powerhouse for B2B marketing. For our clients, this means more sophisticated ways to analyze, target, and engage their audience. These tools may significantly enhance your LinkedIn strategy, making it easier to create impactful content and measure its success with precision.

Instagram Changes Grid Layout to Include Portrait Thumbnails (Via Social Media Today)

Instagram is undergoing a major visual shift by changing its grid layout from the traditional square format to a new 4:5 portrait aspect ratio. This update is part of Instagram’s broader move toward vertical content, which aligns with the platform’s emphasis on Reels and Stories. While this change allows for more creative storytelling, it also poses an obstacle for brands that have curated their grid in a specific aesthetic.?

This shift has sparked diverse opinions within the industry. Some see it as an opportunity to refresh their visual identity, while others are concerned about the challenges it presents for maintaining consistency. To adapt to the new layout, some brands are experimenting with content that fits both the traditional square and the new portrait formats to ensure a cohesive Instagram presence.

Smarty’s Take?? The shift to a 4:5 grid format on Instagram is a double-edged sword for brands. While it offers more vertical space to captivate users and tell richer visual stories, it also requires a rethinking of grid aesthetics to maintain visual consistency. As this rollout continues, it’s essential to start experimenting with content that fits both the traditional square and the new portrait formats to ensure your brand’s Instagram presence remains cohesive and engaging.

Top 5 Takeaways:

1. Adaptation to Expanded Carousels: The doubling of Instagram’s carousel capacity is a call for brands to deepen their visual storytelling. It’s not just about more images; it’s about creating a narrative that keeps the audience invested across multiple frames.

2. Strategic Planning on Threads: With new content planning tools on Threads, brands have an opportunity to elevate their content strategy. Scheduling and analytics offer a pathway to more intentional, data-driven posts that resonate with your audience when they’re most receptive.

3. TikTok’s Influencer Expansion: TikTok’s incentivization of new creators suggests a potential shift in the platform’s content landscape. Brands should be prepared to explore fresh influencer partnerships as new voices emerge and bring diverse perspectives to the platform.

4. AI-Powered LinkedIn: The integration of AI into LinkedIn’s premium pages signals a future where content creation and audience engagement can be more personalized and efficient. This could lead to a significant transformation in how B2B marketing is conducted on the platform.

5. Rethinking Instagram Aesthetics: Instagram’s move to a 4:5 grid challenges brands to rethink how they design their thumbnails. Smarty recommends creating thumbnails that fit the square and vertical format in case this update gets rolled out to the masses.?

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for next month’s updates as we continue to navigate the dynamic world of social media!