This is our Social Media News Of The Week section, where we’ll talk about the things, events, and updates that happened over the last week.
In short:
Instagram users created a petition for the app to stop trying to be another TikTok
Meta launches music revenue sharing program
Instagram launches a new ‘Boost’ option for promoting Reels
And
Facebook is also trying to become more like TikTok by changing its Feed format
Instagram Users Petition For Bringing Back Their Beloved App To What It Was Before
Now, this is no good news for Instagram as they’ve tried to emulate TikTok’s success for quite some time now. The changes they made to their AI have turned Instagram’s feed full of short video content, even if it isn’t posted by your friends or the accounts you follow. On the one hand, this made the feed a bit more interesting for the users; on the other – it’s getting harder and harder to see the content of the people you are actually following.
And this didn’t ring well with the users, and they decided to take matters into their own hands by creating a petition on Change.org calling for Instagram to go back to what it was – an app where you can see your friends’ photos and follow the content of your beloved creators.
The cause does not only resonate with the 121,677 users as of the time this article is written, but two social media megastars – Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian – have also taken part in the petition. And as far as we know, these two always get what they want! So, should we expect a change in Instagram’s feed soon, or should we expect it?
Meta’s New Music Revenue Sharing Program
And now, for some good news – Meta has finally launched a music revenue sharing program. It means creators can now add licensed music to their content by sharing the video’s revenue with musicians. An absolute win-win.
This is how Meta describes the program themselves:
- We’re introducing Music Revenue Sharing, allowing video creators to include licensed music in their videos on Facebook and earn a share of in-stream ad revenue, opening up a new way to earn money for both creators and music rights holders.
- With Music Revenue Sharing on Facebook, creators can now include popular music from our expansive licensed catalog, featuring artists like Post Malone, Tove Lo, Grupo La Cumbia, Leah Kate, Bicep, and more in their videos.
- This feature is the first of its kind within the music industry. No other platform offers creators this type of revenue model at this scale.
Happy sharing, creators!
Instagram’s New ‘Boost’ Option For Reels
Instagram’s tactics of becoming the second TikTok might be backfiring with their audiences (note the petition we’ve talked about earlier), but it is nevertheless bringing in some good news to businesses. Just recently, Instagram created a new option for ‘boosting’ reels – an important tool for businesses to be noticed on a wider scale.
This is what the Instagram team tells about this option themselves:
“Reels is our fastest-growing format and an important part of Instagram, as more people watch Reels to be entertained, go deeper with their interests or discover new businesses.”
And here’s how you do it explained in their @instagramforbusiness account:
Meta’s Updated Feed Format
Seems like everyone’s trying to become TikTok these days, and Facebook is no exception. Their new Feed update is supposed to make it easier for you to find the content created by your friends and the accounts you’re following, but its strong fixation with video content tells us that Facebook is striving to be a doppelganger of another notable social media platform.
Here’s how Zuckerberg presented the news with a short video:
https://www.facebook.com/4/videos/1714157738934549/
“One of the most requested features for Facebook is to make sure people don’t miss friends’ posts. So today, we’re launching a Feeds tab where you can see posts from your friends, groups, Pages, and more separately in chronological order. The app will still open to a personalized feed on the Home tab, where our discovery engine will recommend the content we think you’ll care most about. But the Feeds tab will give you a way to customize and control your experience further.”
So yeah, it is supposedly to help you find relatable content that much easier, yet somehow we’re not completely buying it. It’s no secret that everyone’s trying to catch up with TikTok and Facebook’s intentions are pretty clear with this Feed update.
That’s it for the most important news about social media for this week. Stay tuned as we deliver you other short bits of useful information next time!
