Social Media News Round-Up: 12/02/21

Feb 12

Instagram announces it will deprioritise content recycled from other apps, including Reels with the TikTok watermark

Instagram has announced that its algorithm will now start making content recycled from other apps like TikTok less discoverable on Reels. All low-quality video content and videos containing logos or watermarks will be deprioritised on the platform going forward, making it more difficult for brands to reuse content from platform to platform. Instagram’s @creators account made the announcement and has said it will be sharing the latest information and best practices on Instagram to help brands and creators adapt to the shift. You can also download apps like SaveTok which allow you to save TikTok videos without the watermark. You can find out more top tips like this one in our weekly social media round-up on Clubhouse ever Friday at 11am!

TikTok expands relationship with Universal Music and partners with UEFA EURO 2020

TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG) have announced a new “expanded global alliance” this week. The two companies’ new relationship comes as UMG, which is the world’s largest record label, removed all of its songs from the video sharing app Triller, the fast-growing rival to TikTok. The new agreement means that TikTok users will be able to incorporate clips from UMG’s full catalogue music, benefitting both creators and the musicians signed to the UMG label.

This week, TikTok also announced that it has become an official partner of the UEFA EURO 2020 - the biggest sporting event in Europe. A post by the European Strategy Manager at TikTok read, “Football content is the fastest growing category on TikTok and there will be plenty more videos to enjoy as we celebrate this amazing event.”

Twitter explores new subscription options

In a move to reduce its reliance on ads, Twitter has confirmed it is considering several new subscription and revenue options, including a subscription model which would add a paywall to its Tweetdeck app. The confirmation comes after Twitter’s acquisition of newsletter platform Revue, as well as its focus on its own audio-based networking feature and Clubhouse rival Twitter Spaces. Clubhouse has already confirmed that it will be looking to expand e-commerce capabilities on its platform and Twitter could follow suit with Spaces, launching a tipping or subscription feature there too.

Snapchat’s Spotlight hits 100 million monthly users as it gives rival TikTok a run for its money

Snapchat Spotlight, the app’s TikTok competitor, has already reached more than 100 million monthly active users since its launch in December. As part of its Creator support scheme, Snap has been giving out $1 million a day after the new year to creators (despite Spotlight still remaining unmonetised for now), encouraging them to create content on the app. And it’s clearly worked. Snapchat Spotlight is now giving TikTok a run for its money, capitalising on the very best features of TikTok while staying different in a few key ways, including its lack of a heavy algorithm personalising each user’s feed (the app doesn’t care or ask who users follow) and allows creators to remain anonymous while still posting, and making money from, content.

Snapchat rolls out new safety feature and encourages users to tidy up their friends lists

Snapchat has launched a new feature called Friend Check Up which will encourage users to tidy up their friends lists and increase the safety and security of their accounts. The feature will come in the form of a notification which will suggest users review their friend list to see if everyone on it is someone they still want to be connected with.

TikTok expands e-commerce features, reportedly preparing to launch a new livestream shopping feature

TikTok is reportedly preparing to roll out a new livestream shopping feature which will allow users to buy products they see during a livestream, similarly to how TV shopping channels operate. Alongside the feature, businesses will be able to display catalogues and a feature that will allow creators to link to products and earn money from sales. The new e-commerce features, which are a really exciting addition to the app for businesses, are reportedly set to roll out as soon as this year.

Shopify expands Shop Pay to its merchants on Facebook and Instagram

Shopify announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Facebook to expand Shop Pay, its payment option, to all merchants using its platform selling across Facebook and Instagram. This will be the first time that Shop Pay has become available outside of Shopify’s own platform. Prior to the expansion, Facebook has been one of Shopify’s most popular sales and marketing channels for merchants and very much confirms the trend of increasing use of social commerce.

Clubhouse gets banned in China

Just as Clubhouse began to rapidly gain users in China, the app has been banned, with Chinese users unable to access the app. Some users have been able to gain access to some of the app’s features, either through foreign App Stores or using VPNs, but the likelihood of China officially lifting the ban is reportedly very slim.

Facebook bans vaccine misinformation and rolls out new features for safety on Messenger and the presence of political content on its platform

Facebook has finally banned posts containing misinformation about vaccines on its platform. The move comes after years of users and experts alike calling for more to be done after witnessing harmful and unfounded claims spread across the platform. Alongside its vaccine misinformation ban, Facebook has also rolled out new features to improve user safety on Messenger, which include more ways for users to easily manage who can contact them through the app. The platform is also testing a new feature that will downrank and reduce the distribution of political content in users’ newsfeeds to explore how it can have better control over political content on its site in the future.