Social media news round-up (December 2023)

We’re sharing the latest news and tips for social media marketing success

Welcome to the latest social media news round-up by The Content Emporium, your go-to source for current news, updates and trends in the world of social media.

Whether you’re a seasoned social media marketer or just starting out, we aim to elevate your strategy to new heights by providing you with actionable insights into the latest social media news.

This week's social media news includes Meta’s own AI image generator, Instagram testing new features and retiring old ones, a long-form video content push from TikTok and exciting developments on Threads.

Meta is launching its own AI image generator

Meta has announced the introduction of a new standalone generative AI feature called ‘Imagine with Meta’. This text-to-image-based feature enables users to create images simply by describing them.

Imagine with Meta is powered by Meta’s Emu image generation model and is currently available for free to users in the US. The platform generates four images per prompt, at least for the time being.

Image: Imagine with Meta

Recent testing on Instagram…

  • ‘Hype’

    Instagram is experimenting with a new 'Hype' feature in Stories. Designed to boost engagement and interaction, this option allows users to post comments on a Story, visible to others in the same stream.

    Currently, replies to an Instagram Story are sent as direct messages to the creator by default. However, the introduction of Hype comments offers an additional engagement option, aligning with Instagram's ongoing efforts to enhance direct engagement and interaction tools.

Image: Matt Navarra

  • ‘Wonder Wall’

    Instagram is also testing a new Notes feature called 'Wonder Wall'. DM Notes are short, text-based status updates located above your profile photo in Instagram DMs and, similar to Stories or BeReal, disappear after 24 hours.

    App researcher Alessandro Paluzzi has reported that Instagram users could soon incorporate Notes into their profiles, as the app is currently in the testing phase for a new display format called the ‘Wall’, showcasing these notes.

Image: @alex193a on Threads

Instagram is retiring ‘Guides’

It’s officially time to say goodbye to Instagram Guides, as from 15th December 2023, the  ‘Guides’ posting on Instagram will be gone and all existing Guides on profiles to be converted to Collections.

The decision to retire the feature is not particularly surprising as it wasn’t adopted by many users or brands. Nonetheless, Guides were a clever and distinctive approach to introducing more interactive content on the platform.

Image: @alex193a on Threads

TikTok’s push for long-form video content

After igniting a significant trend for short-form video content on social media, TikTok is now pushing efforts to encourage its creators to produce longer videos akin to those found on other platforms.

At TikTok’s private event for creators in New York last October, TikTok executives told creators that by embracing longer videos (of at least one minute), they could increase their earnings and have more time to effectively convey their messages.

Creators were also told by TikTok that users currently spend half of their time on the app viewing content that is longer than one minute. So it seems TikTok could be pushing longer videos and prioritising them in its algorithm.

Hashtags without and a hash symbol rolled out on Threads

After testing out the feature in Australia, Threads has now globally introduced its innovative alternative to hashtags, known as ‘topic tags’.

Instead, users need to input a # followed by a tag (which can include spaces), the # disappears, and then the tag becomes clickable. Clicking on the tag redirects you to other discussions about that topic. To deter spam, only one tag per post is allowed.

Image: Threads

Threads users now able to delete their profile without impacting Instagram

Threads users now have the ability to delete their Threads profile without impacting their Instagram presence.

In a post by Adam Mosseri, the Instagram head revealed this new option, which has been highly requested by Threads users as one of the main initial concerns when the platform was introduced.

Mosseri said: “We’re rolling out a way for you to delete your Threads profile separately from your Instagram account. To delete your Threads profile, visit Settings → Account → Delete or Deactivate Profile, then select delete.”

Image: Adam Mosseri on Threads

More in the world of social media…