GU Live Lunch – Ep 189

Christina, Kim and Nicole discuss what’s been hitting the headlines in the world of social media.

Key Takeaways:

05:19 – Thread is now testing the ability to save threads within the app which is something users have been requesting heavily. Threads’ new “Save” option will be available in the three dots menu on any post in the app. Saved posts will then be available in your profile menu options, the same as they are on Instagram. Source: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news…

07:15 – Threads now has 130 million monthly active users, and is growing steadily according to the latest insights released by Mark Zuckerberg as part of the Q4 2023 earnings announcement. Source: https://investor.fb.com/investor-even…

09:55 – Snapchats’ monthly users have risen since February 2023 with the platform boasting 800 million monthly users. While Snapchat has added 50 million more users in 12 months, almost all of that growth has come from outside of its core revenue markets, in North America and the EU. Source: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news…1

5:20 – Meta has shared insights into how the Threads feed algorithm works. As well as the the things you’d expect such as likes, comments, shares etc. – how many posts you’ve seen in your feed, how long it’s been since you were active on Threads, and how many times the author’s profile has been clicked will also have an impact on the algorithm.

16:58 – YouTube live streams will now appear in Shorts feeds. A preview of a creators live video will can be seen in the Shorts section, encouraging users to click and watch the live stream. YouTube has also announced that podcasters can now upload their RSS feed in YouTube Studio, providing another way to distribute podcast content. When creators connect their podcast feed to the app, YouTube will then generate a static image for each podcast episode, giving people more ways to follow your content, and listen in via the app.

21:26 – LinkedIn’s new templates feature was released at the weekend giving users a way of creating content that will (hopefully) stand out in the field.

26:08 – Instagram is testing a new option for users to preview post placements in their feeds before posting them. Some users are now seeing a new “Show preview” button within the post composer process. Tap on it, and it’ll then give you a preview of where the post will fit into your current profile format, including pinned posts.

30:28 – Facebook tests generative AI prompts for better post captions which enables you to create a post caption via generative AI, in order to help you come up with better content.

33:46 – LinkedIn’s looking to make it easier to manage your professional interactions in the app, by splitting its “Network” tab into new, dedicated “Grow” and “Catch-Up” feeds, with the latter designed to highlight daily outreach opportunities, while it’s also adding new AI-powered message prompts to help improve your outreach.

41:50 – LinkedIn is removing its creator mode, though it’s still keeping most of its Creator Mode elements as optional tools for all users, even if you haven’t switched Creator Mode on in your settings.

See you next week!