Instagram’s CEO reveals they are taking a step back from Long-form video and Threads turns 1 and reveals how their users have been creating communities on their platform. Not to mention that major TikTok advertisers are shrinking their ad spend in preparation for a US TikTok ban. There is so much Socials’ goss to be across in this week’s digital update, so let’s jump right in!

What’s new with Instagram?

Instagram Dishes 10 Hot Tips for your Next Reel

Getting stuck with your reels and need some help? Instagram has just dropped some ways to improve your Reels game! In the professional dashboard, some users are finding a new section called “Reels best practices” that is categorised under “Your tools”.

Our tip / key features:

• Hook: Use your first 3 seconds to keep audiences watching by saying something funny, relatable or unexpected
• Timing: Reels that are 30-60 seconds long see better engagement (90-second reels are too long!)
• Trends: Tap into trends, and trending audio
• Engagement: Look to drive direct engagement (specifically shares!)
• Reply to comments: Reply to comments within 7 days
• How many? Create 10 or more Reels per month, on average

Our thoughts: Let’s be real, some of these creation tips are oldies but goodies. But it’s nice to have some specific direction from Instagram itself, to try for your next Reel!

Happy Birthday to “Threads”: Here’s what we’ve learned so far

“Threads”, Instragram’s text-based “X”-like app, celebrated its first anniversary recently and shared new insights into how its 17.5 million monthly active users are using the app. X revealed how a study of 2,000 Threads users in the US have responded about their app usage and its value.

Our tip / key features:

• “One Year of Threads”: Thread has added a few celebratory features to commemorate the anniversary, You can use the “One Year of Threads” tag this week to get a confetti effect on your post or add a party hat to your profile picture.
• Connection is key: 60% of users surveyed say that connecting with others is the most significant part of social media
• Top Tags: Threads have reported the following tags to be among the most common on the app: “PhotographyThreads”, “BookThreads”, “GymThreads”, “ArtThreads” and “TTPD” (which is the acronym for Taylor Swift’s latest album). This highlights the theme of sharing creativity and artistic opinions, Threads even noted the significant community that Swifties have made on the platform!
• Text is back: Threads is breaking the mould! While other apps are dominated by photos and videos, Threads is all about good old-fashioned text. In fact, 63% of posts there are text-only. Think of it as a digital chat room where you can have real conversations without the pressure to post perfectly curated content.

Our thoughts: We think in the age where short-form videos are taking over, it’s impressive to see this text-based app make such a big splash in such a saturated social-media market!

Remove Accounts Flagged as Spam

We recently noticed this feature pop-up on our OMD account and thought it was worth mentioning in case your business account had this option too! When we went into our followers list, a new Category called “Flagged for review” appeared which lists all of the accounts that follow you that Instagram has flagged as spam or “irrelevant”. This might mean the accounts are inactive or are showing signs of spam behaviour.

Our tip / key features:

• Remove all: You have the option of completely removing all of these accounts in one go, which would be a significant time saver if you were looking to keep your follower base relevant and active.
• Got it wrong?: Instagram also offers the option of tapping the three dots to let them know if you don’t want to see an account flagged for review.

Our thoughts: This tool can help you ditch inactive accounts and keep your feed fresh with people who actually see and engage with your stuff!

Instagram’s CEO Reveals Step Away from Long-Form Video

When asked by a creator if Instagram was going to push long-form videos on Instagram, the CEO had a lot to say. In short, no; Instagram (like most social platforms at the moment) is set to focus on short-form video and he speaks further on this to reveal the reason why.

Takeaways

• Why?: The CEO explained that Instagram’s two key jobs are:

1. Connecting you with friends
2. Helping you explore your interests

He revealed that short-form video allows you to achieve both of these by sharing videos about your interests with friends, thus creating a connection. He goes on to explain that engaging with long-form videos results in less interaction and connection between friends, and users are less likely to share longer content.

Recommendations for Business Owners: With many social media platforms following suit and prioritising short-form videos, we can’t say we’re surprised! So if you’re not already using short-form video content (like Reels), consider giving it a try as it is proving to be the most engaging content right now! This could be a great way to reach new audiences and boost engagement on your profile.

Want to take Instagram off your hands? Book a free 20-minute-chat here and have a months worth of content scheduled at all time, your comments replied to and NEVER have to struggle with content ideas again!

What’s new with YouTube?

YouTube Uses AI to Help Users Avoid Copyrighted Music

Great news for YouTube creators who run into copyrighted music nightmares in their videos! YouTube has improved its audio removal options, making it easier to address copyright claims without having to mute the entire video or scrap it altogether.

This means you can keep your videos active, avoid those pesky copyright strikes, and potentially even monetize them! This update is rolling out to YouTube Studio on desktop and mobile in the coming weeks, so Australian business owners can take advantage of it soon.

Our tip / key features:

• Improved AI for Audio Removal: YouTube’s new “Erase Song” feature uses better AI to identify and remove copyrighted music from your videos, aiming to leave the rest of your audio (like speech or background sounds) intact.
• Choice Between Erasing or Muting: You can now choose to erase only the copyrighted music, or mute all sound during the specific timeframe of the copyright violation.
• Keep Your Videos Monetised: By addressing copyright claims quickly and easily, you can keep your videos active on YouTube and avoid demonetization.

This update is a win for creators! It gives you more control over your content and makes it easier to avoid copyright issues. Australian business owners who use YouTube for marketing should definitely keep an eye out for this update in the coming weeks.

What’s new with TikTok?

TikTok Restricts Ad Targeting for Teens and Gives Users More Control Over Their Data

TikTok is rolling out a bunch of new features to give users more control over their data and advertisers more transparency. These updates are in an attempt to improve transparency within its ad targeting process and address privacy concerns.

Our tip / key features:

• No teen targeting: Advertisers can no longer target teens in the US with personalised ads. This means teens will see more general ads, not ones based on their browsing habits.
• Why am I seeing this?: You can now see more details about why you’re being shown certain ads, and choose to see more or less of specific categories (like “Foodie” or “Travel”)
• Block advertisers: You can stop specific advertisers from using your data to target you with ads
• Clear my data: You can clear any data that advertisers have collected about your activity on other websites and apps.
• AI Ads must be labelled: Under TikTok’s new guidelines, advertisers must clearly label any ads that use AI-generated content with the appropriate tag.

Recommendations for Business Owners: This update gives users more control over their privacy and advertisers more transparency. Australian business owners using TikTok ads should be aware of these changes, especially the restrictions on targeting teens.

Big Brands Are Pausing TikTok Ads – Should You Follow Suit?

Huge names like Target and DoorDash are cutting back on TikTok ads because the app might be leaving the US in January. So what does this mean for Australian businesses, should we move away from TikTok?

Our tip / key features:

• Ad Spend Slashes: What are the numbers? Well, Target has reduced its TikTok ad spend by 30%, DoorDash has slashed its TikTok spending by 25%, this is a massive statement from these huge companies and shows that they are shifting their focus to different platforms in preparation for the possible TikTok ban in the states.
• What does this mean for Aussies?: If TikTok really does get banned in the US (only time will tell, but it is looking very possible), this will mean a huge portion of the total TikTok audience will no longer exist. If your business has a global customer base this will affect your ability to reach those US customers through TikTok and you may need to look at changing your socials strategy. If your business focuses on Australian audiences, you may still see a drop in your overall engagement with a major reduction in TikTok’s total audience.
• What does this mean for now?: At this moment in time, TikTok is still around and is thriving for that matter, so we wouldn’t make any rash decisions yet. With big advertisers stepping away, it could also mean an opportunity for smaller businesses to be seen with less competition. However, if the US market is imperative to your business, it might be a good idea to make sure TikTok is not your only sales driver.

Recommendations for Business Owners: This article is relevant to businesses of all sizes who use TikTok for advertising. Australian businesses should be aware of this news, but as the situation is still unfolding, it’s too early to say definitively whether they should adjust their marketing strategies just yet. What we do know is that TikTok can be a very powerful marketing tool, but like with many fields, balance is important so don’t put all of your eggs in one basket!

👀 Tests spotted on TikTok this week:

• Users have reported being able to upload a custom thumbnail from your gallery directly in the app, without having to choose it from your video. This feature is currently only available on the desktop version of TikTok Studio, so this is a well-needed update! While this still hasn’t become available on some of our accounts, we cannot wait for this to fully roll out!

Struggling to get results with TikTok? Book a free 20-minute-chat here and we’ll prepare a strategic content calendar, along with direction for filming, editing all of your TikTok’s, posting and community management. And we provide a monthly report so you can see exactly how it’s contributing to the bigger picture.

From this week’s digital updates, it’s clear that Short-form video is hotter than ever and with TikTok’s future in the US uncertain, this could be Reels’ golden opportunity to shine. Feel free to sign up for our weekly summary here so you never miss the best updates. AND don’t forget, if you do miss out you can always go back to last week’s blog posts here.

XOXO

OMD SQUAD