Instagram has added a ‘Lead Form’ option for business profiles to help generate direct responses from users

In a new addition to the business profiles, Meta has added a new CTA option ‘Lead Form’ that helps users generate more information from potential customers to help them generate leads and target users better. Businesses can choose from a standard lead form that is prefilled to gather contact information, or create their own custom lead form with personalised multiple choice or short answer responses. It is not yet confirmed whether this feature is still being tested or is rolling out slowly as not all business profiles have reported access.

After his two year ban from Facebook and Instagram, former President Donald Trump is now allowed back onto the platforms

In 2021, Donald Trump was suspended for 2 years from Facebook and Instagram after he praised the people who engaged in anti-government violence that resulted in several deaths, as well as a string of unsubstantiated, harmful posts. Now 2 years later, the suspension has since been reviewed by Meta, who claims that as the political climate has changes, Trump now poses less of a risk and is therefore allowed back on the platforms. Meta has however imposed strict “guardrails” in place to discourage repeat offences. Many have criticised Meta for this reversal, claiming that the company is more concerned with profits than the safety of their platforms.

Twitter is testing a new conversion campaign objectives that promotes Tweets solely among specific results

Twitter has rolled out a new conversion campaign objective in the Twitter Ads interface called ‘Search Keywords Ads’ as a beta test. This new objective enables advertisers to bid to insert promoted Tweets solely among specific search results, easing advertisers' concerns that ads will appear next to controversial topics. This objective also aims to improve the ad relevance, and reach the right audiences. Twitter further explains “For now these campaigns will optimise only for conversations to advertiser websites, and they require the integration of the Twitter Pixel or Conversion API to maximise relevance”.

Google has created an AI that can generate music from complex text descriptions, though has no plans to release it just yet

Google has created an impressive new AI system called MusicLM that can generate music in any genre when given a text description. MusicLM was trained on a dataset of 280,000 hours of music to learn to generate coherent songs - and can create music from complex instructions, such as “enchanting jazz song with a memorable saxophone solo and a solo singer”. The AI can also build upon existing melodies and be instructed with pictures and captions too. Google has no immediate plans to release this AI however due to complications infringing of copyrighted music, which could cause an onslaught of legal battles for the company. Listen to the AI samples here.

Twitter has updated its Paid Partnership Policy to ensure more transparency in paid promotions for both brands and influencers

Amid the increasing scrutiny of influencers not disclosing sponsorships, Twitter is clamping down on its Paid Partnership Policy. The update makes it clear that all paid partnerships must be declared appropriately, and offers guidance on what this covers in line with changing regulations. Failure to properly disclose partnerships could result in ‘enforcement actions’ - though the lack of partnership tags like on Meta’s platforms means that Twitter is reliant on users compliance to the policy.

New Account-level negative keywords automatically apply to all search and shopping inventory in relevant campaign types

Google has expanded its negative keywords feature to Account-level meaning that any unwanted impressions or clicks can be prevented across multiple campaigns. This expansion will therefore save advertisers time and effort, making it easier to manage future changes. Negative keywords are a list of words that blocks ads showing up to irrelevant search terms. Utilising this feature can lead to higher click through and conversion rates, as well as saving on ad spend.

TikTok has expanded its DM settings to let users choose who can message them

Video sharing platform, TikTok, has quietly expanded its DM settings to give users more choice of who can message them. Previously users could only send DMs to people they were friends with, or were recommended to, whereas these options have now been expanded to include: everyone, suggested friends, mutual followers, people you’ve sent messages to, or no one. Many believe this is an attempt to rival the popularity of Instagram’s DM feature, turning TikTok into a place not just to consume content but also to communicate.

Twitter’s new platform rules are less restrictive of offensive content

Having recently reinstated thousands of formerly suspended accounts in Musk’s effort to create Twitter 2.0, the platform is now changing its response to offensive content. In line with Musk’s “Freedom of speech, not freedom of reach” approach, the platform will no longer remove offensive content, but rather reduce its reach algorithmically. Meaning that controversial content will not be able to be boosted or monetised. Musk explains “You won’t find the Tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from the rest of the internet”. Although Must has assured marketers that ads will not be placed next to controversial content, this move isn’t likely to make them feel more comfortable with advertising on the platform.