As 2021 comes to a close and businesses start winding down for Christmas, the social media giants don’t seem to be following suit and slowing down their pace. November saw Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok all make changes and upgrades to their platforms. The world of social media is constantly evolving, so here are 3 key social media updates to be aware of in December and beyond…
3 Social Media Updates To Be Aware Of In December 2021
01. Instagram stories up to 60 seconds long
Rather than longer stories being broken down into 15 second sections, stories can now each be up to 60 seconds long. This will make both watching and creating stories even easier. This feature is currently being tested with a small group of users and if successful will be rolled out to everyone.
02. TikTok gaming could be on the horizon
Early experiments are in play with mobile gaming giant Zynga. In early November, Zynga announced its plans to launch a new HTML5-based game, “Disco Loco 3D” exclusively on the TikTok platform. While TikTok says the game is meant to test the general interest in gaming within its app, the company has confirmed that discussions with other game makers are already underway.
03. Instagram is testing posting all videos as Reels
Instagram is currently testing an expansion of their Reels format. As part of this, any and all videos on the platform will be published as reels, regardless of length or aspect ratio. For any businesses that make video content this could be a very beneficial addition, as it could increase the likelihood of your videos being seen as Instagram continue to push their Reels feature.
Other social media updates to be aware of in December:
– Facebook is shutting down facial recognition
They have announced that they are ending their facial recognition programme and also deleting all of their facial recognition files. This means that they will no longer identify people in pictures nor store any of this information.
– There is an improved Twitter analytics design
Twitter is rolling out an updated tweet analytics card, which provides more specific insight and has a better user interface. There are also extra engagement elements in the data.
– YouTube have removed dislike counts
Earlier this year, they tested removing dislike counts to see if it would reduce dislike attacks on creators. YouTube found that this reduced the attacks and now the public dislike count is going to be kept private. Viewers can still dislike videos (which will guide their personal recommendations). However, viewers won’t be able to see the dislike count, only the creator can.
– Profile search has come to Twitter
Navigating Twitter has just become even easier. You can now look for specific information or tweets on someone’s account. For brands, this might make customer service even easier as customers can search for FAQs on your profile before getting in touch.
As we move into 2022 what is your social media strategy going to be? Which platforms are you going to focus your efforts on? If you’d like help growing your social media following, we’re here to help. Our product Connect encourages your customers to like and follow your social media automatically when they visit your business. If you’d like to hear more about how it works, please enter your contact details in our form below.
