It’s time to pack up your summer sandals and get your fall wardrobe in order. September is here and with a new month comes a slew of social media updates to help brands and marketers optimize their advertising and reach new audiences. From TikTok’s new Marketing Partner Program to Instagram’s US-wide Shopping experience, here’s what these social media platforms have in store for you this month.
Social Media Updates
TikTok
TikTok Launches Marketing Partner Program for Advertisers
TikTok has launched a new Marketing Partner Program to provide brands and marketers with the tools to create, measure and optimize ad campaigns on the platform. The program launched with 20 certified partners across various areas of expertise including campaign management, creative development, branded effects and measurement.
In recent months, the video app launched TikTok for Business as well as self-serve advertising solutions to support marketers in achieving their goals and take advertising on TikTok to the next level.
New Test Variations of Reels and Shop Tabs
If your Instagram looks a little different in the next couple of weeks, it’s not you – it’s the app. In an effort to further advance Instagram’s culture of creators, video and online shopping, Instagram is looking to expand its app core functionality and focus.
Heres what each of the 3 options look like:
As seen above, the new look could show ‘Shops’ and ‘Reel’ tab on the navigation bar with the ‘Search’, ‘Activity’ and/or ‘Create’ moved to the top along with the ‘Direct’ tab.
According to Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, the changes “reflect shifts we’re seeing from people, both in how they use the product but also how they push culture forward on Instagram: rise of creators, explosion of video, acceleration of online shopping. We want to adapt to these shifts while keeping things simple.”
It seems that the desired change will aim to push forward the adoption of said features. Whether or not it will actually simplify the Instagram interface is another story. Stay tuned!
Instagram Shops Expands to all US Businesses
If you’re looking to expand your eCommerce presence, now’s your time. Checkout on Instagram will finally be available to all eligible U.S businesses and creators with a Shop account, providing a seamless and secure way to sell your products directly on the app.
Businesses can open up a Shop with Checkout on Instagram using Commerce Manager, or through integrating with platform partners like Shopify and BigCommerce.
With Checkout, you can take advantage of streamlining the path to purchase, gaining access to other shopping tools, additional ad products and product launches. Happy selling!
Facebook Adds New Sponsored Post Options for Groups
Over a billion Facebook users regularly engage within groups and the social network is looking to add another potential revenue pathway specifically for group admins, with new brand partnership posts built into the Groups feed.
The new sponsored posts within groups are an extension of Facebook’s existing Branded Content tools and will include a similar Paid Partnership tag to signify the monetized posts. This update could provide a significant opportunity for group admins, who will now have a clear process for partnering with brands, and essentially selling them on their group’s reach.
YouTube
YouTube Updates Video Analytics and Adds Quick Stories Insights in the App
YouTube is updating its video analytics with new insights to its Creator Studio dashboard, along with a new display for Stories analytics in its mobile app.
The video analytics overview layout will soon resemble the channel analytics format and will include a new real-time performance indicator section.
As for stories, YouTube is also rolling out a new form of basic analytics within the mobile app by displaying aggregate views and subscribers gained from Stories posted in the last 14 days.
The additional insights will help creators maximize their content while also increasing transparency on the platform.
Google Adds Lead Form Extensions on YouTube and Discovery Campaigns
After testing lead form ad extensions in Search campaigns since last October, Google is extending the feature to YouTube and Discovery campaign ads. Similar to Lead Generation ads on other platforms, the new features lets users submit their contact information in a form to show interest in a product or service.
For example, advertisers can customize their lead forms with a title, description and message, along with specific information such as the customer’s name, email and phone number, as well as business contact information, like company name, job title, work email and work phone.
Twitter Officially Launches New ‘Quote Tweets‘
After rolling out a new, separate listing of ‘Retweets’ and ‘Retweets with Comment’ within each tweet, Twitter has officially settled on ‘Quote Tweets’, which has replaced the ‘Retweets with Comment’ listing. Users can tap into a tweet and then click on “Quote Tweets” to see them all in one place.
This update reflects Twitter’s effort in providing more transparency on engagement, making it easier to find Retweets with Comments and see how people are reacting to each tweet, which could even spark more, similar engagement.
Quick Recap (Social Media Updates):
- TikTok: Marketing Partner Program for Advertisers
- Instagram: New Test Variations of Reels and Shop Tabs, Instagram Shops Expands to all US Businesses
- Facebook: New Sponsored Post Options for Groups
- YouTube: Updated Video Analytics and Adds Quick Stories Insights in the App
- Google: Lead Form Extensions on YouTube and Discovery Campaigns
- Twitter: New ‘Quote Tweets’ Feature
Tune in next month for another round of social media updates!
If you are looking to improve your social media results or have questions regarding the latest platform updates, we’d love to chat!