2022 has been a busy year so far for social media changes and updates, with significant shifts being made frequently on every platform. We’ve zoned in on the most significant recent changes that will impact upcoming social media activity. Take a look at our round-up below!

Instagram implements an array of reel updates

On Instagram, all videos are now uploaded as reels, meaning that all future Instagram video content will need to be filmed and edited in reel dimensions. At the moment you are also unable to schedule reels. With this, 9:16 vertical photos are also going to be tested on the platform, with the potential to impact static posting too in a constant move toward a more TikTok style platform (despite significant backlash).

With this, users can now share reels to Instagram and Facebook at the same time if the profiles are linked, as is common with cross-platform story and post sharing, enabling users to reach a wider audience at this click of a button. This is great for social media marketers who adopt the same strategy across platforms, but if your strategy is differentiated then not so much we’re afraid!

The “Add yours” sticker, often popular on stories for monthly photo dumps, is now available on reels too and will always be attributed back to your page. It will be interesting to see how this takes off as a similar prior update allowing the poll function to feature on reels too, hasn’t caught on as widely as expected.

In the US they are testing “Reels Play” enabling micro influencers with less than 1 million followers to earn money directly from reel plays. Should this be rolled out globally, there will be a significant impact on the micro-influencer space which brands will need to consider, as this group will effectively be able to work more independently.

Facebook attempts to keep up with TikTok

Facebook is continuing to move toward a more Tik-Tok-style platform, as with Instagram, attempting to push video and recommended posts rather than strictly those from Facebook friends. This has been met with significant backlash amid the online community so it will be interesting to see whether Meta decide to backtrack on this, or continue to push to keep Facebook innovative.

TikTok infiltrates rival platforms

TikTok now allows TikTok stories to be shared to rival social networks such as Facebook and Instagram stories as part of a tested rollout, as the social giant continues to dominate the space.

This will mean seeing more TikTok-origin content across rival channels, ultimately bringing users attention back to TikTok, while browsing elsewhere – a sneaky update!

Twitter trials status updates

Twitter is continuing to test status updates, a feature familiar to Facebook which allows users to provide additional context to their posts.

This would be great, should it be implemented, as it creates another avenue for content to be found on Twitter as clicking on a tweet with a specific status will allow users to view other public tweets which have used that same status.

LinkedIn to streamline recruitment

In Q2 2023, LinkedIn will be introducing a Business Manager to control all ad accounts, pages, audiences on one dashboard. This should open up more opportunities and insights for reporting, beneficial for regular and campaign learnings.

LinkedIn are also testing a new discover feed with more contextual info on job listings and updates for groups. Should this be rolled out, this would be great for recruitment campaigns, to streamline this area on LinkedIn.

At Prohibition, we work with a range of brands across all sectors to create engaging social media marketing strategies that allow brands to stay up to date with the latest trends and updates. Get in contact today to find out how we could help you.

For more interesting articles from us check out these posts:

  1. 3D Avatars Launched by Instagram and other social media trends
  2. Moving to the Metaverse? Top 3 Brands Utilising Virtual Influencer Marketing
  3. The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising