Social Media News Round-Up: 15/10/21
This week’s social media marketing news at a glance:
Scroll down to read the full news stories
📅 Instagram adds scheduling for Live broadcasts
🔔 Instagram adds new in-app alerts on technical issues
🔵 Twitter adds new features to Twitter Blue
🔊 Facebook expands access to Live Audio Rooms and adds dedicated Audio tab
🟣 Twitter rolls out Spaces tab to more users
💬 YouTube adds automatic captions for live-streams
🔇 TikTok outlines latest video removal stats and adds new mute option for live-stream comments
Instagram adds scheduling for Live broadcasts
Instagram has added the ability to schedule its live-stream broadcasting feature Instagram Live. Creators will now be able to promote, plan and prepare for upcoming Lives more easily, scheduling broadcasts up to 90 days in advance and promoting them via a Stories Sticker. Audience members will also be able to sign up for reminders and notifications so they are alerted when their favourite creators go live, which Instagram hopes will drive more awareness and increase engagement of IG Lives.
Instagram adds new in-app alerts on technical issues
Following the cross-platform Facebook outage earlier this month, Instagram has taken steps to alert its users of future technical issues and policy violations. Currently being tested in the US, the new notifications will alert users when certain parts of the platform aren’t working with the aim of making it easier for them to understand what is going on directly from the source. As well as this alert, Instagram is also launching a new ‘Account Status’ tool which will provide insights into potential content violations and other issues on creators’ posts.
Twitter adds new features to Twitter Blue
Twitter has added some new features to its new subscription service Twitter Blue, with the view to expand the service to more locations soon. The service already gives paying users in the test locations of Canada and Australia access to a range of additional features, including the ability to undo tweets within 30 seconds of posting, the closest the platform has come to an edit button. The new features that will be added for Blue subscribers include a Top Articles feature that highlights the most shared articles in users’ networks within the last 24 hours, as well as custom navigation, enabling users to set up their own Twitter tabs (i.e. Spaces, Communities, etc.).
Facebook expands access to Live Audio Rooms and adds dedicated Audio tab
Facebook has announced it is expanding access to its Live Audio Rooms by making them available to all verified public figures and creators globally, as well as adding a dedicated tab for them within the Watch tab. This signals the platform’s increasing focus on audio and makes audio broadcasts far easier for users to discover and engage with. It also encourages creators with existing followings on Facebook to continue using the platform, rather than say, migrating to Clubhouse or Twitter to use its popular Spaces audio feature.
Twitter rolls out Spaces tab to more users
This week, Twitter has begun rolling out its dedicated Spaces tab on the navigation bar to more users, starting with those using the platform in English and on iOS. The tab will showcase upcoming and ongoing live audio broadcasts, with listings tailored to users’ individual interests, as well as accounts and topics they follow.
YouTube adds automatic captions for live-streams
YouTube is now making automatic captions for live-streams available to all creators streaming in English. Previously access to this feature was limited, only available to some channels with more than 1000 subscribers. This expanded availability will allow more creators to maximise the accessibility of their content.
TikTok outlines latest video removal stats and adds new mute option for live-stream comments
TikTok has announced that it’s removed more than 81.5 million offensive videos in the last 3 months for breaking its community guidelines around hate and harassment. It says that 93% of these videos were identified and removed within 24 hours of being posted, while 87.5% of removed content had zero views - a significant improvement from its last report. As part of this push to improve the safety of creators on the platform, TikTok has also announced a new mute option for live-stream comments, which would allow live hosts to mute specific viewers for a specific period of time, or for the duration of streams.
Latest features
