It’s been quite the rainy month, but we’re here to bring some sunshine with our latest collection of social media updates for July! There’s been a lot of exciting changes and be sure to stick around to the end for a not-so-secret surprise update!
If you’ve found yourself struggling to come up with eye-catching titles for your videos, then our first update is a must-read!
Using the power of AI, YouTube will provide video title suggestions based on the video transcript and description. This new update isn’t a smooth process just yet, as suggested titles will be available a few hours after the initial video upload. Despite that, this is a pretty exciting update and could help you see an increase in clicks and views.
The Threads app launched last month and it swiftly gained over 100 million users in just 5 days! While it launched with only basic features, that did mean that there was room to grow! And, we’ve already seen some new updates like the introduction of a following tab. Not only that, but the app is adding branded content tools, which will give marketers a way to get involved with paid promotion. Keep your eyes peeled for other potential updates that should be coming soon, like search, hashtags and messaging!
If you’ve already snapped up your username, be sure to check out the Threads Lingo with their Threads Dictionary!
We love Instagram Reels and using templates can make sharing content that much easier! Not to mention they’re a great way to jump on trends and help with creativity. One downside is that they’ve been a little on the glitchy side. Luckily for us, Instagram has improved its Reels template options which will make it much easier for you to reuse the elements of your favourite Reels!
Meta has also announced an update for video calls! Users will be able to use their Avatars during video calls on Instagram and Facebook Messenger. The Avatars will follow the users’ facial expressions and mouth movements, making them a perfect substitute for any times that you’re not camera-ready! If you’ve already set up your avatar, you can use selfies to help it better resemble your real-life appearance!
Let’s talk about new video features! Firstly, they’re renaming the “Watch” tab to introduce a “Video” tab. This new tab will unify all the video experiences: long-form content, Reels and lives. Users will be able to scroll vertically to switch from one video to another and there will also be a carousel with horizontal scrolling to go through different Reels.
More editing features are also coming for Facebook, which shows that video is still at the forefront of content for the platform. The new editing features will allow users to include filters, add music and adjust the speed of clips.
Not to be outdone by Meta, TikTok has announced the introduction of text-only posts! Posts are limited to 1,000 words and users will be able to add colourful backgrounds and stickers to the posts… which sounds very familiar indeed! To share a text post, simply tap the + button like you would to create a TikTok!
We’ve got our fingers crossed for this next update! TikTok is testing a new option that will allow users to download videos without a watermark (and the crowd goes wild!!!!) There are a handful of creators our there who already have this option and it’s going to make repurposing content to other platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts so much easier!
Lastly for TikTok, they’re continuing to test a new Shop feed with selected users… the tab would display at the top of the screen alongside the For You and Following tabs. While nothing is officially put in place yet, this could be a good update to help retailers sell directly in the app… we’ll keep you updated!
First up with Twitter…the app is limiting the number of direct messages unverified users can send. While initially this sounds off-putting, it’s actually positive and being done to help reduce the number of spam messages.
Next up, we’re talking monetisation. Select Twitter users will soon be eligible to receive part of the advertising revenue the company earns from ads that show up in their replies! To be eligible, creators need to be verified, have at least 5 million impressions each month for the past 3 months and have a Stripe payment account.
We’re a big fan of scheduling content in advance and highly recommend it if you’re looking to save time! Unfortunately for Twitter users, if you’re using TweetDeck this is going to become a Twitter Blue exclusive feature. What does this mean for you? Essentially, you’ll have to pay to continue scheduling your content. But every cloud has a silver lining, so don’t worry! You can still schedule Tweets natively through Twitter.
And similarly to Meta, they’re testing calls within direct messages. While this is still in development it’s very similar to how Facetime and other video calling works. It’s hoped that this new feature will bring more unity to Twitter and, of course, fulfil Mr Musk’s plans for it to become an “Everything App”.
That’s not the only new feature being rolled out, as Job Listings have been added. This is an exciting update that would allow businesses to publish vacancies in a separate tab on their Twitter profile. Sadly, it’s worth noting that this update is currently available for verified users only.
You didn’t think we’d do a round up of July without mentioning X did you?! So, for anyone who has been hiding under a rock and have no idea what we’re talking about; Twitter is rebranding! Elon Musk has officially changed the name of the app to X (the everything app).
The company has already started taking the Twitter logo down from HQ, lit up the building with the X logo, changed the logo on desktop and mobile and uses X as its official handle. Tweets will apparently be called “X’s” and retweets will be completely updated, though it’s not clear what other updates are in store yet. But we will absolutely keep a close eye on it.
We hope you found the updates helpful and there are some in there you can check out and use to maximise your social impact. Got questions? Feel free to slide into our DM’s and ask us directly!
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