State of Social 05: Your May update

The month of May brought us Eurovision, an early general election and Google’s new generative A.I.

And of course, the ever-fluctuating World of Social delivered some blinders.

So get ready to get your fix of the latest digital, creator-led content; get comfy, grab a cuppa, and let’s dive right in.  

Nosy Threads

Taking inspiration from X, Instagram Threads has now added view counts to posts in a bid to allow users of the platform more understanding of their reach and engagement figures.    

For those seeking to build their online presence, the change will contain a few of the nuts and bolts to help improve their strategy and grow their audience and meet business goals.

But many have criticised the latest addition – claiming it may do more harm than good, especially given the decision made a few years ago to hide like counts and limiting comments on posts. If Thread view counts are high, yet vanity engagement numbers are low – is that a motivational driver to creators?  

TLDR; dependant on your perspective and goals, it could be a good thing!

Instagram tests notes on feed posts and Reels

After months of testing the Notes feature on posts and Reels, Instagram has now launched a live test of expanded Notes options.

The lucky few can now add Notes to in-feed posts and Reels to boost engagement by using Notes as conversation starter prompts on posts.  

Notes has been around since December 2022, and were created to provide a simple way to leave an engagement trigger for other users in the app.

Mainly popular with younger users, (teens are more 10x more likely to created Notes in the app than any other user age group), the Notes feature now appears on almost every element of the app to double down on its initial success with the important demographic.

So, will they be used? Will the teens care? We’ll be keeping a close eye to find out.

TikTok launches new creative AI suite platform

Calling all aspiring TikTok creators! TikTok has launched a brand-new dashboard: ‘TikTok Studio’ which will enable creators to manage every aspect of their account – including their presence, video uploads, insights, editing, and performance.

TikTok Studio has replaced the old ‘Creator Centre’, and includes an updated version of the previous platform, but all in one easy-to-find place – that’s now desktop accessible. The platform also features more of a push on its monetisation tools, allowing creators to manage all aspects of monetisation within the platform.

As well as Studio, TikTok also launched its new Symphony platform recently, described as a ‘new Creative AI suite that blends human imagination with AI-powered efficiency to help marketers scale content development, creativity, and productivity on TikTok’. The platform is designed to amalgamate all of its various AI ad tools into one place, with a focus on integration and to help advertisers create at scale.

 And last but not least...

WhatsApp Backtracks On Capital Letters For Everything

No, this wasn’t an April fools…

WhatsApp recently caused a stir with fans after a minor yet very noticeable tweak appeared on the app.

WhatsApp users noticed a slightly different look to the platform last month, with some avid fans expressing they've been "disturbed" by the alterations - and took to social media to rally for the changes to be reversed immediately.

For over fifteen years, the chat interface has looked the same. With users seeing the same familiar message when checking the status and availability of their contacts. Users appear as "online", typing..." or "recording audio".

These indicators have never been capitalised, a detail some may not have noticed. Yet since the change around 6 weeks ago, users have taken to social media to share frustrations over the move, resulting in a social media outpouring of rage.

TikToker Ellie (@ellsdq), aired her grievances in a video, which has since gone viral, reaching over 1.2 million views, 61,600 likes and prompting 1,025 angry comments (which are hilarious).

Here are a few of our favourites –

"WhatsApp just lost its aesthetic."

"Omg I genuinely thought I was going (more) insane

"It is making me INSANE, it's like an itch I can't scratch."

Whether you noticed the difference or not, WhatsApp quickly backtracked on the update, with a spokesperson claiming it was a ‘small test – but it’s going back to normal now’. Brilliant.

Join us next month for another round up of the latest key news and events from the ever-changing landscape of digital, social, and everything trending.