December 2024 Social Platform Updates

Happy New Year, everyone!

Threads launched post scheduling just after Instagram announced DM scheduling. Meanwhile, X raised its Premium+ subscription price.

Here's everything you missed from social platforms last month...

Bluesky 🦋

✦ Launched 'Trending Topics' to explore popular conversations on the platform.

Facebook 👍

✦ Testing more visible affiliate links on creator posts to encourage more users to purchase products.

✦ Planning to add customizable AI avatars on Facebook and Instagram, equipped with bios, profile pictures, and the ability to generate content.

Instagram 📷

✦ You can now schedule direct messages, though it only supports text-based messages for now. 

✦ Updated broadcast channels, allowing fans to reply to messages and interact with others. Fans can also engage with prompts using text or photos within 24 hours.  

✦ Testing trial Reels, where videos are shown to non-followers. The feature, launched in May, helps creators test content anonymously.  

✦ Rolled out New Year's features, including story collages and a seasonal font. 

✦ Testing an unseen story highlights feature to catch up on missed content.

Today's issue of Social Navigator is brought to you by Measure Studio.

Want to make better social content?

Don’t try to go viral. Just get a little bit better with every post.

Measure Studio helps marketers apply the 20% rule to their social content:

• Measure Studio automatically benchmarks your content performance so you know what works (+20% better than average).

• From there, you can double your output of any content that’s +20%.

• Finally, cut any content that’s underperforming (-20%).

Snapchat 👻

✦  Replacing its Spotlight Rewards Program with a unified monetization program on January 31st. This will allow creators to earn from ads on Stories and Spotlight videos longer than one minute.

✦ Extended the max length of chat messages from 24 hours to one week.

Telegram 📝

✦ Introduced third-party account verification and enhanced message search filters.

Threads 🧵

✦ Surpassed 300M MAUs and 100M DAUs.

✦ Added a feature to reshare photos and videos without the original post, with the original poster's username still credited.

✦ Experimenting with scheduling tools for easier content planning.

TikTok ♪

✦ Launched TikTok Shop in Spain and Ireland, expanding beyond the UK. 

✦ The platform is still set to be banned in the U.S. on Jan 20th, unless the Supreme Court intervenes.

X 🐦

✦ Increased its Premium+ subscription price by 30%, from $16 to $22 per month.

YouTube 🎥

✦ Expanded its auto dubbing feature to all YPP creators.

✦ Released a new YouTube Studio setting that gives creators the option to allow third-party companies to train AI models on their videos.

✦ Testing a tool to help creators and celebrities find AI-generated content using their likeness.

Thanks for reading! Follow Measure Studio for the latest social media updates.

Subscribe here to receive Social Navigator in your inbox every month.