Instagram Flipside, YouTube RSS and TikTok pushes landscape videos

Welcome back to the first ICYMI in 2024, catching you up with all the latest digital marketing news. It’s been a busy month so let’s jump in…

Instagram

Instagram is working on the ability to add a message when you send a follow request, to provide extra context about who you are
Instagram is testing a new group chat “conversation starter” for Notes
You can now opt out of read receipts on Instagram
Instagram has introduced the ability to cancel in-progress Stories
Instagram ditches group profiles
Instagram is allegedly working on the ability to add to a Friend’s Story and request a mention in Stories
Instagram is reportedly testing Notes on profiles with the ability to post a Note on a friend’s profile
Instagram launches live test of Flipside, essentially creating two accounts within one which gives users the option of having an alternative “Finsta” profile that is only available to those selected
Instagram seems to be working on a “My Week” feature, which will allow your Story to be available for up to 7 days

You can now hide likes and shares on Threads
Post drafts could soon be launching on Threads
Threads is allegedly working on the ability to save posts
Threads accidentally launched an option to filter search results chronologically, then removed it
Threads may be finally catching on, having reached the top 10 after tripling downloads in December

TikTok is testing “AI Song” that will creates songs based on prompts that users enter as it experiments with multiple generative AI tools
TikTok is apparently incentivising creators to post long-form horizontal videos on the platform – yes, you read that right! TikTok is now pushing videos that are longer than 1 minute and are landscape.
TikTok adds a cutout option to the editor, allowing you to easily change the background of your clips
TikTok is testing 30 minute uploads
TikTok is reporting on traffic sources to your videos
TikTok test automatically identifies products in videos and offers purchase links
Universal Music Group, home to artists such as Taylor Swift, Adele, Drake and Billie Eilish, have announced that they will be withdrawing their music from TikTok as of February 1st after failing to reach an agreement on usage rights. Universal have published a public letter explaining their decision.

LinkedIn adds new tools for job seekers, including job listings by categories, job preference highlights and AI application assistant
LinkedIn removes lookalike audiences and instead recommends predictive audiences or audience expansion

YouTube is testing another way to incentivise live-stream donations. Any viewer can purchase a Super Chat, which is then highlighted in the stream and YouTube is now experimenting with Super Chat likes.
YouTube has provided instructions for podcasters on how to connect their RSS feeds to YouTube Studio
As we eagerly await the thumbnail A/B testing option, YouTube have said they have expanded testing but no timeline as of yet for when it will be released

During the State of the Word 2023, Matt Mullenweg mentioned that we are now moving into Phase 3 of the Gutenberg project with a focus on adding collaboration features to the editor.
Matt also spoke about his hopes for Data Liberation in 2024, improving migration tools, exports and even copy & paste functionality.
WordPress 6.5 is scheduled for release on March 26th and is set to introduce a new Font Library, support for Appearance Tools in Classic Themes, Data Views for templates and patterns, and new APIs like Interactivity, Custom Fields, and Block Binding.

Google announced an update to its guidelines around video rankings, with a focus on pages that are explicitly designated as “video-focused” or where video is the primary content
Google implements first stage in the removal of tracking cookies

There was a lot of panic over the sales tax from online selling via Etsy, eBay and Vinted, but Martin Lewis clears things up
BeReal looks to regain interest by announcing the launch of RealPeople and RealBrands. RealPeople is a feed of updates from celebrities and other notable users, while RealBrands will showcase promotions and offers from official brand accounts.
Gmail and Yahoo announce new email marketing requirements
Gleam Futures, one of the first digital talent-management agencies, shuts down its talent arm. If you were within the creator economy in the early 2010s, you’ll know how big of an impact Gleam on the industry.

That’s it for now! Interested in what the future of content creation might look like? Check out my trend predictions for 2024!