Social Media News Round-Up: 17/09/21
Instagram adds new ‘Map Search’ tool to help business discovery
Instagram has launched a live test of a new feature, Map Search, which enables users to discover businesses and locations of interest on an in-app map. When clicking on Map Search in the Discover tab, users will see businesses including cafes, restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and more nearby. When clicking on each business, users can find out more about them, including opening hours and price information, as well as being able to click through to the business’ Instagram profile. This could be a great extension of the platform’s existing ecommerce options like Instagram Shops, allowing users to discover new products and support local businesses.
Twitter launches new ‘Communities’ feature
Twitter has launched its own communities feature, aptly called Communities, with a small number of invite-only, starter Communities including #DogTwitter and #AstroTwitter. Communities appears to be somewhere in between Facebook Groups and Reddit, with each one having their own moderator who has the authority to set community rules and invite and remove people.
Instagram is developing new ‘Montage’ and ‘Favourites’ features
More new features from Instagram! The first is ‘Montage’, a feature enabling users to easily convert their Instagram Stories into short Reels video clips using recommended audio that’s automatically synced by Instagram. The second is a new ‘Favourites’ audience selection tool which would enable users to select their favourite profiles, whose posts would then be given higher priority in their feed. This would pass some of the power from algorithm to user, giving them more control over what content they see on a regular basis.
Pinterest tests vertical scrolling feed for pin discovery
Pinterest is testing a new full-screen, vertical scrolling feed called ‘Watch’ to allow users to discover new pins more easily. ‘Watch’ mode is a nod to TikTok and includes both video and still image pins that appear one at a time as users scroll vertically.
LinkedIn adds long-form posts and expands live events for company pages
LinkedIn has added some new features to help brands deepen community engagement, including a long-form posting option for company pages called Articles for Pages. Articles for Pages are an extension of its existing long-form blogging option which has been available for personal profiles. Previously, company pages had been limited to character counts for organic posts, but this new feature instead gives brands more opportunity to engage with their LinkedIn audience and establish their expertise in new ways. Another of its new features is live events, which will pull together the reach and engagement of LinkedIn’s native live-streaming tool with the planning and targeting of LinkedIn Events into one simplified live event experience.
Information leak shows Facebook was aware of Instagram’s harmful effect on teenage girls
An information leak from Facebook earlier this week has shown that the company has kept internal research suggesting Instagram makes body image issues worse for teenage girls a secret for 2 years. Since at least 2019, Facebook has been studying the impact of its platforms on users’ mental health and has found that “teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression” and that Instagram “makes body image issues worse for one in three teen girls”. This directly contradicts the statements made by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg as recently as March 2021 that social media is more likely to have positive mental health effects.
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