Another week of digital updates that you might have missed! Instagram launches a new Inspiration Tool that helps business owners cater towards their audiences. And provides clarification on anti-spam triggers of certain content, while Canva has a big announcement for its users! Did you get all that? Never fear, the OMD gals got you covered!

What’s new with Instagram?

Instagram Launches Inspiration Tool for Users

Instagram now has a personalised recommendation Inspiration Tool to inspire creators’ posts based on what their followers are loving. This can be used by tapping “Inspiration” in the professional dashboard to find ideas tailored to the creator’s audience. It includes popular reels, trending songs and audio clips. These suggestions are aimed at inspiring users to create content that will be loved by their audiences.

Key updates:

• Inspiration in Professional Dashboard: Popular reels, trending songs and audio clips are recommended to users based on what their followers engage with.
• Inspiration in Reels: Users will be shown curated reel suggestions that show what’s trending and popular with their audiences.

Recommendation for business owners: This feature can help assist business owners to tailor their content to their audiences using trending songs or sounds.

Instagram updates Broadcast Channels

Broadcast Channels have just gotten better! Instagram has rolled out fresh features that empower creators to personalize their Broadcast Channels, allowing them to foster unique connections with their most loyal fans.

Key updates:

• Go Live Exclusively with Channel Members: Users can recognise their most loyal fans in a more intimate space with exclusive access to their livestreams.
• Customise your Broadcast Theme: Choose a unique theme for your broadcast channel with a unique image that is fresh and relevant to the user.
• Emoji Moderation: Creators can choose and hide emojis emojis that their community can react with to keep their channel safe.
• Share your channel with a QR Code: Creators can use in real life events to grow their broadcast channel with a QR Code that takes your fans straight to your broadcast channel.

Recommendation for business owners: Businesses can consider creating Broadcast channels to foster a deeper connection with their devoted audiences.

Instagram provides clarification regarding single-word CTAs and longer Reels

Instagram has given clarification on their confusing announcement, now including extra details to make the potential impacts of the changes clearer. They have also shared more insights into anti-spam triggers that could affect calls-to-action (CTAs), and advised on how longer Reels will be affected.

Key updates:

• Single-Word CTAs: Instagram advise against attempting to artificially boost engagement: If we detect that your content overtly solicits engagement through shares, comments, tags, or other actions, they won’t promote it. For instance, asking users to comment with a specific word, number, or emoji falls into this category. They have clarified that open-ended questions and CTAs will not be targeted.
• Reels longer than 90 seconds: Posting Reels longer than 90 seconds may limit your chances for wider exposure, but longer Reels can still be shared to enrich engagement with your audience.

Recommendation for business owners: Businesses can consider creating Broadcast channels to foster a deeper connection with their devoted audiences.

Instagram rolls out more new updates to Notes

Instagram dropped some hot new goss in their Creators Broadcast Channel this week, announcing some fun new updates for Notes.

Key updates:

• Notes Prompts: Post a note and ask your audience to weigh in.
• Notes Likes: Send a little love in the form of a Note Like (by double clicking the note or reacting with a heart)
• Notes @ Mentions: Mention someone directly with an @ to grab their attention (but don’t be spammy!)

Recommendation for business owners: Instagram Notes is another great way to grab the attention of your audience, and build relationships by encouraging conversion in the DMs, and these updates give you more tools to do just that!

👀 Tests spotted on Instagram this week:

• Unskippable ads? Instagram has begun testing unskippable video ads that stop you from scrolling further
• Instagram begins testing on adding text overlays and different image formatting for carousel posts
• Instagram is testing audience feedback features for unreleased Reels clips. This feature enables users to send their Reels to friends as drafts before they are officially posted.
• Instagram is working on Nicknames 👀
• Instagram has introduced a new feature allowing some users to post their Live Photos either as a regular photo post or as a loop.

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 Includes More AI Recommendation Tools for Users

YouTube is enhancing its support for content creators by introducing a redesigned “Inspiration” tab within YouTube Studio analytics. This updated feature utilizes AI to offer recommendations for fresh video concepts, aiming to spark creativity and provide more inspiration. YouTube has repurposed its “Research” tab to “Inspiration,” with the updated tab now including lists of search trends and “Breakout” video clips.

Key updates:

• “Breakout” Videos: YouTube will highlight videos from similar channel that have performed well to give creators an understanding of what content is resonating with their audience.
• AI Tips: Creators can enter a topic into the search bar, which will prompt YouTube’s A.I. system provide ideas and notes based on what your channel viewers are likely to be interested in.

Recommendation for Business Owners: AI can be a powerful tool to generate ideas for social media content, however, this can also lead to unoriginality in user content.

What’s new with Canva?

Canva Introduces a Whole New Workspace, Designed for Work

Canva announced its biggest upgrade to their editing experience in a decade with the launch of a whole new editor designed for work. The brand-new homepage offers an intuitive editing experience, with content at your fingertips, effortless new navigation between projects, with a seamless interface to access team resources, locate and apply brand guidelines and share and collaborate Canva designs across your business. The new editing experience is available for the first 1 million users who use the portal from Canva’s homepage, and becomes available to all users from August.

Key updates:

• Streamlined design flow: The new workspace allows for intuitive shortcuts, powerful search and filters, and choosing your favourite templates.
• Customize your workspace: Star your most important designs, folders or templates.
• Intuitive Collaboration: Streamlined commenting, to filter and sort through comments for better, more efficient collaboration.
• Work Kits: Templates for HR, Sales, Marketing and Creative teams.
• Bulk create custom and personalized designs: By uploading a CSV or Excel file you can quickly update images, text, and graphics across various designs in just a few clicks, saving you hours of time.

We absolutely love this update are here for any tools that mean easier collaboration with our teams.

What’s new with Pinterest?

Report Reveals that Pinterest Captures more Total Attention than other Platforms

The study shows Pinterest ads generate 7.3 times more Passive Attention compared to ads on other platforms. When users engage with Pinterest, they spend more time scrolling past ads; at a pace 1.5 times slower than on other platforms.

Key updates:

• Put your content in context: Pinterest emphasizes that active attention is boosted when ads appear in relevant contexts e.g. displaying a handbag ad within fashion-related content. This strategy makes intuitive sense, and on Pinterest, there’s ample opportunity to showcase aligned products alongside related queries, thereby maximizing potential value for advertisers.
• Make your creative happy: Pinterest highlights that ads eliciting stronger emotional responses lead to increased reactions, with cheerful responses particularly capturing attention. According to the study, ads characterised by a significant presence of happiness and surprise garnered more total attentive seconds compared to ads with minimal happiness and surprise elements.

Recommendation for Business Owners: Don’t underestimate Pinterest’s advertising power, Pinterest can be a powerful tool for paid advertising.

Want some help running your Paid Ads? Book a free 20-minute-chat here and never worry digital updates again.

📔 Other noteworthy updates or tests:

• Instagram Posts can be automatically shared to Threads

Now that you’re all over Instagram’s “Inspiration” feature and all of the other digital updates 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 weeks blog posts here.

XOXO

OMD SQUAD