Design
Find out what’s new in the world of social media
Adobe Express
12/07/2023
Our favorite social media platforms are constantly releasing new features and updates, which is awesome for marketers, businesses, and personal users, though difficult to keep up with.
Check out our roundup of all the key headlines from November 2023 so you can get your fix of social media news and make sure you're up to date on all the latest developments.
New tools for Reels Creators
Live soon
In an effort to encourage creators to make more Reels, Meta is introducing many new features for Reels, including the ability to A/B test Reels — a new way to create Reels from your own video clips — and account highlight cards to provide an overview of content performance. Additionally, there will be a new content management element added to the Professional Dashboard where users will be able to view all of their posts, Reels, and videos in one place.
Meta adds new tools to provide more opportunities for Creators
Live soon
Meta is adding a number of new tools to help Creators during the holiday period, including an expansion of digital gifts, new ways to promote their accounts, and an invite-only “Holiday Bonus” program that will reward top creators based on the number of Reel plays and photo views they receive during the bonus period.
Updates for Lead Gen Campaigns
Live soon
Lead objective ads are soon to be expanded to include the option for those who click to begin a WhatsApp chat. Additionally, those who complete a question-and-answer flow through Instagram DMs from a lead objective ad can now be offered a discount from the business with which they have conversed. Meta is also testing an “Instant Form” ad format which enables people to select multiple businesses to send their information to, as well as the ability to make phone calls through Facebook from a business page.
Meta joins forces with Amazon
Live soon
A new arrangement between Meta and Amazon will allow Facebook and Instagram users to make purchases from Amazon in-stream.
Threads rolls out toggle to opt out of having posts appear on Facebook and Instagram
Live soon
Meta is currently testing the ability for Threads users to opt out of having their posts become visible on Facebook or Instagram within highlight modules.
Meta’s ad-free subscription packages restricts capacity to run ads
Live soon
Many users are coming to the realization that subscribing to Meta’s ad-free package also means that there are restrictions when it comes to running ads themselves.
Meta previews new Generative AI tools
Live soon
Meta has unveiled its latest Generative AI tool, Emu, which is a new text-to-video model that can respond to text-only, image-only, or combined text and image prompts to generate a high-quality video.
Instagram launches new creation tools for Reels and Stories
Live soon
Instagram is soon to launch a variety of new features for Reels and Stories, including new English text-to-speech voices, new text fonts and styles, new photo filters, the ability to add clips with audio to Reels, and a new “Replay stats” metric for Reels insights. Instagram is also making it easier to edit in-progress draft Reels by giving you a streamlined view of all drafts.
Instagram is retiring its “Guides” option
Live soon
Instagram has announced its intention to retire its “Guides” option next month. On December 15, all Guides will be converted to Collections.
Instagram enables users to download publicly posted Reels clips
Live now
All Instagram users can now download any publicly posted Reels. This new download option will appear within the “Share” options.
Instagram experimenting with new Notes showcase
Live soon
Instagram looks to be trying out a new way to showcase multiple Notes on your main Instagram profile. It’s unclear what the use cases might be for this new feature, as of yet.
Instagram rolls out Achievement awards for creators
Live now
Instagram is looking to incentivize creators with its new “Achievements” display within Creator Mode, which will reward creators with badges when they reach milestones such as 100 posts, or 1,000 video plays. Meta is also looking to incentivize Creators (aged 18+) to finish all progression levels claiming that they will be eligible for increased visibility in the Feed or have the Rising Creator label feature on their page or profile.
Share Reels and Feed posts with “Close Friends” only
Live now
You can now publish feed posts and Reels to be visible for those within your Close Friends list only.
Instagram add three new Reels creation updates
Live now
Instagram has added new editing options that allow you to scale, crop, and rotate individual clips within your Reels, as well as new buttons to make it easier to find popular editing tools. Finally, Instagram has added “Undo” and “Redo” buttons to make it easier to rewind mistakes.
Threads adds option to delete profile without impacting Instagram account
Live now
In response to user concerns, Instagram has now made it possible to delete your Threads account, independently of your Instagram account.
Instagram tests new features for private sharing
Live soon
Instagram is currently testing three new features that will allow users to continue to interact with one another more privately. Firstly, Instagram is looking to release new ways to engage with inbox Notes, through audio, photos, videos, GIFs, and stickers. Instagram has also been testing “Events,” which would allow users to create chat groups around a specific gathering. Thirdly and finally, Instagram has been working on a “Nearby” feed for Stories which would show public Stories from users in your area.
Highlight post replies in Stories
Live now
It’s now possible to re-share the comments on your posts as a sticker alongside the original content on your Story.
Instagram adds song lyrics display in Reels
Live now
As with Stories, you can now add song lyrics to display within your Instagram Reels.
New option to embed videos in isolation from posts
Live now
When publishing video content to X, you’ll now be able to choose if you want to embed the video element in isolation, or the whole post, as normal.
X tests new “Grok” AI chatbot
Live soon
X is said to be testing a new AI chatbot named “Grok,” soon to be available to X Premium subscribers.
X returns post headlines to link previews
Live now
URL previews on X will again include the post headline due to their initial removal causing confusion.
X adds new job search feature
Live now
X's new job search feature allows you to enter keywords and the location of the role you seek, and the search tool will provide you with a list of all the job ads that match your search terms.
X launches timestamp links for video uploads
Live now
It’s now possible for users to add timestamp listings to their posts when uploading a video to X. Users can then tap the timestamp from the post to skip through to the segment that interests them the most (available for IOS only).
X adds new live stream chat display for gaming streamers
Live now
It is now possible to view the stream chat on the same screen as the playback in the desktop version of the app.
X adds notifications for posts with a Community Note
Live now
The Community Notes feature is X’s way of fighting misinformation on the platform. With this new update, users who engage with a post that later receives a Community Note will now be sent a notification to alert them of such.
X looking to charge $50k for dormant handles
Live now
X is putting together a program to sell dormant X @handles with a starting price of $50K.
X expands third-party ID verification program
Live now
X’s ID verification program allows users to verify their identity by providing their government ID. This program has now expanded to subscribers in the UK.
GIF profile pictures might make a return
Live soon
Rumors suggest that GIF profile pictures are on the X team’s radar and may make a return to the product after more than a decade.
LinkedIn adds tools for job-seeking healthcare workers
Live now
LinkedIn has made some updates to better support healthcare workers seeking jobs, including new job search filters for specialty, shift, schedule, and license that will appear when searching for a nursing job. You can also set job preferences when you switch on “Open to Work” on your profile to better highlight what you’re looking for in the next healthcare role. Finally, more than 65 new nursing credentials and 35 new skills have been added as options to the “Top Skills” highlights on LinkedIn profiles.
New ad performance measurement updates
Live soon
LinkedIn has announced a few new features to improve ad performance measurements, including a new Conversions API that will allow for improved website actions tracking, as well as more options to utilize Document Ads and track their performance.
LinkedIn expands ID verification
Live now
LinkedIn’s new ID verification process allows users to confirm their identity by presenting their government ID to Persona in order to get a verification badge added to their profile. This update will allow for ID verification to be possible for many more additional regions alongside the US, Canada, and Mexico, as well as Australia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and many more.
LinkedIn shares successful results regarding Collaborative Articles
LinkedIn has recently shared Insights relating to their Collaborative Articles features indicating that it’s the fastest-growing traffic driver for LinkedIn, as well as reporting a 74% month-over-month increase in the number of Collaborative Articles read by LinkedIn users. Read the full report here.
New relationship management elements in Sales Navigator
Live now
Two new elements have been added to Sales Navigator to assist in relationship building. The first is a new tool called “Account IQ” which uses generative AI to provide an overview of a specific business, including information such as the company’s performance, its strategic priorities, top executives, and more. The second element is a “Relationship Map,” which is a visual representation of buyer circle hierarchies within an organization.
Carousel posts will be deleted next month
Live soon
LinkedIn plans to get rid of carousel posts, profile videos, and its in-image linking option which means that any previously posted carousel posts will be deleted next month, alongside the deactivation of in-image links. The change is seemingly due to lack of user-interest in such features.
New AI summary tools
Live soon
LinkedIn expands the use of AI on the platform with two new features, the first of which is a tool that will analyze your feed posts and create a summary for you to understand what actions you can take. Additionally, LinkedIn’s new job seeker experience uses AI to help you understand whether to apply to a role by summarizing the requirements for you and guiding the application process.
TikTok’s new “Artist Accounts” help promote new musicians
Live soon
TikTok is looking to solidify its relationship with the music industry with new “Artist Accounts” that come with a variety of tools to help musicians promote their content.
TikTok launches “Creative Cards” for content inspiration
Live now
TikTok’s Creative Card desk is essentially a digital deck of cards that provide content inspiration based on community growth, creator tools, trends, and storytelling tips. There are more than 100 digital cards available that you can get access to from here.
TikTok adds conversational UI to help guide algorithms
Live now
A new “Customize Feed” option will allow users to enter — in a conversational tone — guidance on what they want to see more or less of in the app. For example, “I’d like more pets in my feed” would be a perfectly acceptable statement.
TikTok adds metrics for insight into how ads drive conversion
Live soon
TikTok is implementing a whole new measurement that will help users to understand how their ads are driving conversion. The new “Engaged View-Through Attribution” metric will measure conversions that take place where a user views an ad for six seconds or more, doesn’t click, but does convert within the next seven days.
All TikTok users will soon be able to create AR effects
Live soon
A new AR effect creation option will enable all users to create their own custom AR effects and experiences.
TikTok launches integration with music streaming platforms
Live now
A new “Add to Music App” option will allow users to add tracks they hear within TikTok to their music library on either Apple Music, Spotify, or Amazon catalog.
TikTok launches updated Events API
Live soon
A new Events API will facilitate server-to-server integration with TikTok which enables advertisers to crossmatch internal data with TikTok via a secure connection.
Snapchat test new ad-free subscription
Live soon
Snapchat is the latest app to begin testing an ad-free subscription option with a more expensive subscription option that will remove the majority of ads from their in-app experience.
