What comes next: Social platform edition - June

The latest developments from all the social platforms, in one place, to help you identify what comes next in social

Search is being rewritten, moving away from traditional search engines and towards dynamic, conversational and multi-platform discovery. Across platforms, new features are being introduced allowing users to make hotel reservations, watch a series, or book sessions with a business expert without ever leaving the app. The lines between discovery and action are becoming increasingly blurred.

The power of video is also dominating. From the rise in the clipping economy to Instagram doubling down on long-form video and LinkedIn bringing back the video feed the message is clear - shorter attention spans don’t mean shorter content, they demand better content.

Welcome to the clipping economy

• Content clipping is the process of taking long form content (e.g YouTube video, livestream or podcast) and literally “clipping” it into short highlights shared across platforms like Instagram and TikTok

• Whilst that has been around for some time, the economy of Clipping is on the rise - with brands and creators paying “Clippers” to curate several viral-worthy short form pieces of content in return for a percentage based on the views their clips generate 

• It means content or memes that are seemingly being posted by “genuine” profiles could actually be part of a much bigger ecosystem of creators being paid per view (especially outside of the UK where disclosure laws differ) 

• And now Spotify has even introduced a tool that allows users to clip specific parts of a podcast to listen to later, share with friends or on other social platforms

Instagram continues to position itself as the app that facilitates real connections, as opposed to solely entertainment

• Instants landed on Instagram this month, allowing users to send filterless images to their friends (defined by Instagram as those who follow you, and you follow them) which can be viewed only once and disappear after 24 hours

• Instagram has been testing giving users the ability to display their interests on their profile and connect with those with similar interests. Up to five topics could be chosen, and this would also influence the content surfaced to a user. For brands, this could improve interest-based discovery and targeting, and especially more niche communities. It also means that there is power in content increasingly being designed for discoverability and relevance for interest and topic based searching  

• The platform has continued refining the carousel format (following recent updates such as being able to rearrange photo order after publication), testing a new update that would allow users to add a caption to each frame in a carousel. This would further increase the value of the already successful format, by enhancing storytelling ability and content clarity, which could yet again support more opportunities for discoverability 

• Instagram is looking at long-form content’s place on its platform, especially when it comes to consuming content on the bigger screen, according to the platform’s Vice President of Product. YouTube’s success in outperforming other video streaming services, such as Netflix, is significant, as is LinkedIn’s recent rollout of Connected TV. While this is not yet a confirmed platform change, it is indicative of a wider shift into long-form content and connected TV viewing

• Creators who regularly post AI-generated content will now have an AI-creator label. This shows the platforms’ push for transparency of “authentic” content and users

LinkedIn continues to refine its user experience by incorporating further AI features, reintroducing a video feed, and bringing business directly to users within the app

• LinkedIn’s dedicated video feed has officially returned to the UK and is now rolling out more globally, creating opportunities for content to surface beyond local audiences and existing networks. The platform has combined this rollout with advice for best practise video content, which includes consistent posting (with two videos a week being optimal), keeping to authentic points of view and clear communication

• LinkedIn is continuing to evolve from a networking platform into a business-generating platform, introducing a new feature which will allow consultants and experts to book paid sessions directly by users clicking on a ‘Get Advice From Me’ button on the consultant profile. This feature is available to LinkedIn’s Premium Business users currently and creates new opportunities for specialists, consultants and senior partners to generate leads and book 1-1s via their LinkedIn, making individual employee profiles an even more valuable tool 

• The platform is incorporating more AI tools to improve the recommendations shown in users’ feeds. AI-powered generative recommendations look at a user's entire activity ecosystem moving beyond isolated actions. It means better quality relevant content should you find it’s way to you, and opens up the doors for individuals to get discovered

Facebook continues to focus on AI with developments to an app to train AI, and developing AI agents. 

• Meta has launched a new app, Forum, which offers a separate place for authentic group discussion, not dissimilar from a Reddit-style forum. All the groups that a user is a part of on Facebook are transferred to the app. This app is likely created as a source for Meta’s AI to train on - Reddit is now one of the most cited sources for AI chatbot answers, due to answers and opinions being vetted and upvotes to show relevancy

• Meta is focusing on developing agentic AI tools, which would be able to undertake tasks such as shopping on behalf of users. Although not yet a confirmed platform update, this is in line with wider trends moving beyond AI being used as simply a question-and-answer tool

TikTok’s latest updates are indicative of a wider trend towards one-stop-shop  commerce platforms that seamlessly combine content discovery, advertising and in-app purchasing. 

• TikTok has introduced TikTok GO, which will allow users in the US to book local experiences, hotels and tours directly from the app. Users will discover these bookable options in the same way content is surfaced to them, and the platform has partnered with big names like Booking.com, Trip.com, and GetYourGuide. This will give content creators new earning opportunities, and drive bookings for businesses, while closing the attribution gap between a user getting inspired and making a purchase

• During the 6th annual TikTok World Summit, the platform introduced some new features.  Some key updates include:

  • The introduction of features such as AutoSelection and Summary, which analyse which ad content will perform the best and give actionable optimisation suggestions

  • Following the launch of its mini-series feature, TikTok has introduced the ad solution TikTok Growth Max, meaning creators and brands can automatically target and monetise their short-form shows directly in the TikTok app

Google has continued to deepen its enhancements to traditional search with AI features

• Google has published new Search guidance, confirming that traditional SEO fundamentals remain important for visibility in Google’s AI-generated results. It reinforces the importance of a strong SEO approach existing within a broader discoverability strategy for non-Google AI platforms 

• They’ve also added new AI features including, what they say is their biggest update in over 25 years, to the Search box. AI-powered suggestions can help formulate user questions, and it is possible to search across different types of media - using text, image, files or Chrome tabs as input

• The development of information agents continues this summer (first for Google AI Pro and Ultra Subsrcribers). These new agents will scope the web, looking at blogs, news and social information to update users on key changes around their searches

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