We’re not even two weeks into 2023 and it’s already been a busy year: Instagram is changing emphasis; BeReal and TikTok were tops in 2022; and young social guns are climbing the corporate ladder.
If you missed any of the top social media news from the past week, SmartBrief has your back.
Read through the below — and impress your colleagues with your social media insights.
Latest on using social media platforms
Meta says it’ll do a better job with teen-targeted ads
Instagram and Facebook will block ads that target members using gender or in-app activity for people age 18 or younger, starting in February, and will use location and age instead. Meta also plans to expand the range of ad topics teens can remove from their feeds. Read more via The Wall Street Journal, Ad Age/Bloomberg and TechCrunch.
Instagram prepares new home page interface
Instagram will update its home screen in February, following tests that began in September, in what CEO Adam Mosseri says is a focus on simplicity. Changes include shifting the Reels button, making the Compose button central to the navigation bar and removing the Shop tab while still maintaining its functionality within the app. See more via Social Media Today, Engadget and TechCrunch.
Fashion & beauty brands OK with Instagram pivot
With Instagram’s removal of the Shop tab from its home page, it seems some brands won’t miss it. While online boutique Jane has primarily used Instagram Shop for customer acquisition, beauty brand Kopari sees discovery, inspiration and community education as the primary value, says Vice President of Marketing and E-commerce Toral Patel. Get the full story at Glossy.
YouTube enhances creator analytics
This week, YouTube launched its first Creator Insider update for 2023, which includes data within YouTube studio related to subscribers gained by content type and viewer history by Shorts, livestreams and videos. YouTube also is giving Android creators the ability to pick a Short during uploads that will be highlighted as a thumbnail. Social Media Today has more.
Quick hits
- Tumblr Blaze opens up ads on WordPress, Jetpack plugin, via Adweek
- Sources: Twitter tests tipping, in-app purchase options, via Engadget
- “For You” is again Twitter default feed for iOS users, via TechCrunch
- YouTube offers hashtag suggestions for select US creators, via MediaPost
- YouTube details new Shorts monetization program, via TechCrunch
Trends, studies & how-tos
BeReal, TikTok among app stars for 2022
App downloads increased 11% year-over-year in 2022 to 255 billion, despite a 2% drop in spending, data.ai reports. TikTok led social apps for in-app revenue generation while BeReal added 5.3 million US users in August alone — the most any app has gained in five years.
TikTok’s lower CPM rates help drive market share gains
TikTok’s market share gains are driven in part to lower video promotion rates, ranging from 33% to 62% less than competitors in 2022, per VaynerMedia data reported by the Financial Times. “If TikTok can continue to keep its CPM prices low, allowing advertisers to reach more consumers (not to mention deliver high levels of engagement in the process), more ad spending will continue to shift away from companies like Meta, Snap and Twitter,” writes Insider Intelligence’s Jeremy Goldman.
Quick hits
- A guide to connecting with audiences via Facebook Groups, via Social Media Examiner
- A 2-step guide to use avatar stickers in WhatsApp, via Adweek
- A 3-step guide to automatically see if your TikTok videos use copyrighted sounds, via Adweek
Business news
Young creators, social managers move up corporate ranks
Generation Z content creators and social media managers are proving their marketing prowess and moving up the ranks with leading brands, including Nerf, Taco Bell and Dunkin’, such as 24-year-old Zaria Parvez, who created Duolingo’s Duo mascot and has amassed more than 5.2 million TikTok followers and earned the title of global social media manager. “These Gen Z’ers are not just in tune with the brand voice, but actively shaping it, and altering marketing departments along the way,” writes Sarah Lynch at Fast Company.
Quick hits
- Opinion: Bans on TikTok could limit studies often used in higher education, via Wired
- TikTok CEO meets with concerned European officials, via The Associated Press
- Meta to decide Trump’s future on Facebook, Instagram within weeks, via CNN
- More states ban TikTok from government devices, via The Hill
- Lawmakers: ESPN should remove TikTok as sponsor, via The Hill
Don’t want to wait a social media ICYMI? Subscribe to the free SmartBrief on Social Business newsletter to get the latest marketing news and insights direct to your inbox — every Monday through Friday.