June 2023 Social Platform Updates

This is a monthly newsletter about social platform updates and new features. To receive Social Navigator in your inbox each month, subscribe here.

YouTube's working on an A/B testing feature for thumbnails. Twitter limited the number of posts users can view per day. And TikTok shut down TikTok Now.

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

BeReal. ⚡

✦ Working on a chat feature called RealChat.

Discord 💬

✦ Announced a beta program for Media Channels, which allow creators to offer exclusive content to paid subscribers.

✦ Testing Server Shop, a single home for server owners to sell Server Subscriptions, Downloadables and Premium Roles.

Facebook 👍

✦ Leaked the app icon for Threads, its forthcoming Twitter competitor.

✦ Added an Inspiration Hub to the Professional Dashboard.

✦ Released new Reels metrics, including page and profile-level insights on reach and interactions and individual analytics such as new followers attributed to a Reel, distribution health, and retention graphs.

✦ Reduced partnership ads eligibility requirements.

✦ Lowered some of its monetization eligibility requirements for Stars.

✦ Added app promotion ads to FB Reels.

✦ Testing music optimization in FB Reels.

Instagram 📷

✦ Testing a new AI chatbot in DMs.

✦ Improved Notes by allowing users to share music clips and translate Notes into different languages.

✦ Added app promotion ads to IG Reels.

✦ Testing the ability to cross-post IG branded content reels and stories to Facebook.

✦ Rolled out its Channels feature for broadcasting messages globally.

✦ Enabled users to download publicly posted Reels.

✦ Expanded Reels ads to Instagram advertisers.

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LinkedIn 🤝

✦ Working on an AI assistant to summarize posts and articles and answer questions in DMs.

✦ Enabled company pages to send and receive DMs.

✦ Testing AI Copy Suggestions for ad creative.

✦ Updated collaborative articles to allow authorized users to invite other experts to contribute.

Post 📮

✦ Launched on iOS.

Reddit 👽

✦ Faced public backlash and subreddit protests after announcing an API price increase.

✦ Launched new keyword targeting options and product ads.

Snapchat 👻

✦ Working on an AI-powered crop tool.

✦ Announced that its Snapchat+ subscription product crossed 4M subs.

Spill ☕

✦ The Twitter alternative launched in beta on iOS.

TikTok ♪

✦ Expanded its Series monetization feature to more users.

✦ Added an AI-powered Script Generator to outline video concepts based on prompts.

✦ Introduced the TikTok Creative Challenge, which lets creators submit video ads to brands and receive performance-based rewards.

✦ Deprecated its BeReal clone TikTok Now.

✦ Formed a youth council to help create safety tools.

Twitch 🎮

✦ Changed its brand guidelines to restrict the size of on-screen logos and prevent creators from promoting financial products or political content. Reversed coursed the next day after public backlash.

✦ Launched shoppable streams.

Twitter 🐦

✦ Increased post limits for Blue subscribers to 25K characters and 4 inline images (called “Twitter Write”).

✦ Changed the time limit for Blue subscribers to edit a post from 30 mins to 1 hour.

✦ Elon announced that Twitter creators will be given email addresses for their subscribers.

✦ Introduced temporary limits on how many posts a user can view per day amid global outages.

YouTube 🎥

✦ Updated its policies to no longer remove videos that claim 2020 U.S. election fraud.

✦ Lowered YPP eligibility requirements for certain monetization features to 500 subscribers and 3K watch hours or 3M Shorts views in the last 90 days.

✦ Piloting an A/B thumbnail testing feature, which should roll out to all users next year.

✦ Changing its music revenue share calculations from a viewership to watch time basis effective August 1st.

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