Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup

LinkedIn’s Rolling Out Company Page Messaging To All Brands 

LinkedIn has confirmed that it will soon roll out ‘Pages Messaging’ to all businesses. This new functionality adds a “Message” button to your company profile in the app, enabling visitors to get in contact with your businesses more effectively. In addition to its direct in-app messaging expansion, LinkedIn is also partnering with various third-party platforms to facilitate company messaging via social management tools. Given the rising use of DMs as a connection tool, it is appropriate for LinkedIn to be providing more ways for users to connect with opportunities via private message.

Instagram Tests Option To Comment On Specific Frames Within A Carousel Update

Instagram is testing a new feature which will allow users to comment on specific images within a carousel post by linking their reply to a photo or video, based on its assigned number in the display. Carousel posts have become a key focus for Instagram as it looks to encourage more personal sharing in the app. Incorporating a simple way to specifically comment on each frame within a carousel could be of value to brands as it may allow for more engagement and interaction within the main Instagram feed.

Reddit Announces Data Partnership With Cision

Reddit recently announced a new partnership with Cision, which will enable Cision users to examine Reddit data to find more in-depth trend insights. The partnership will enable Cision clients to unlock the “full power of data on Reddit”, by providing access to the platform’s increasingly valuable trove of product insights via Reddit’s highly engaged communities. Cision says that the new process will provide richer audience insights for brands, “while also fuelling a pipeline of future innovations.” As AI development continues, input data becomes increasingly important, as well as the increased importance for authentic, human responses and insights. That’s why Reddit, along with X offer significant value in this respect as users discuss product-related topics.

LinkedIn Tests Dedicated Video Feed

LinkedIn is testing out a new dedicated video feed in the app, which displays content in a TikTok-style, full-screen format, leaning into the broader vertical video trend. LinkedIn has stated that: “Videos are rapidly becoming one of our members’ favourite formats to learn from other professionals and experts, so we are testing new ways to help members more easily discover timely, relevant videos to watch on LinkedIn.” There are some concerns over whether or not there will be enough entertaining business content to fill a short-form video feed daily. However, video drives more engagement, keeps users around for longer and provides more opportunity for expanded connection, therefore LinkedIn aligning with the video trend is inevitable, whether the platform facilitates such or not.

Pinterest Shares Algorithm Insights As It Shifts Focus To Non-Engagement Signals

Pinterest has provided insights into how its algorithm works, whilst warning users not to place too much focus on user engagement. The platform has revealed that excessive reliance on engagement to rank content can result in a negative user experience and proposed non-engagement signals as a solution. Pinterest has also provided a document titled ‘Field Guide to Non-Engagement Signals’ to encourage other companies to follow suit and contribute to “building a more inspired Internet.”

Reach Using Ai To Speed Up ‘ripping’ And Use Same Article On Multiple Sites 

Reach is introducing an AI tool to streamline the process of rewriting stories already published across its network. Since late January, the Mirror, Express, and Liverpool Echo publisher has been conducting weekly training sessions for its staff on how to utilise the new in-house AI tool, Gutenbot. A significant portion of Reach’s local and national news content is either rewritten or reposted from sister sites. These rewrites allow the company to maximise traffic without duplicating content. However, having duplicated content across the web can negatively impact Google search rankings, a vital source of traffic for many publishers. Dubbed “guten” by Reach employees, the new bot accelerates the process internally referred to as “ripping”, where one Reach site rewrites an article from another.

TikTok Launches Tv Ad Spot Opposing Potential Ban

TikTok has recently launched an ad campaign to oppose a bill that, if passed, would force ByteDance to sell to a company in the U.S due to concerns over data privacy and national security. The campaign uses testimonials from a diverse range of TikTok users highlighting the damage that could be done to Americans who rely on TikTok to make a living. The campaign will be aired on TV in the U.S. but will appear more in key election battleground states including Nevada, Montana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Meta Announces Major Audience Targeting And Insights Update 

Meta has launched new audience insight and targeting options within its Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns. These new capabilities allow brands to generate reporting breakdowns of their audience and target individuals interested in their products or services who haven’t yet made a purchase. There are multiple advantages to this update, for example: allowing brands to have a better understanding of their audience enables more effective campaign optimisation. Whilst precise targeting capabilities help brands reach high-value customers leading to increased conversions.

Reddit Leans Into AI With New Ad Creation Tools 

Reddit is integrating a new ad copy chatbot into its suite of ad-creation tools that creates AI-generated headlines, custom asset cropping and improved bid management options. Firstly, ‘Smart Headlines’ is a tool that uses AI to suggest to marketers which headline is likely to work best for their specific ad and target audience. Secondly, ‘Creative Asset Cropper’ uses AI to crop images to best fit Reddit’s ad format specifications, which may help advertisers save time cropping the same visual content for various platforms. Finally, Reddit has also introduced AI-powered bidding and budget management tools.

YouTube Announces Enhanced Audience Retention Analytics Tools

YouTube is expanding its audience retention analytics tools to offer creators deeper insights into viewer behaviour. Creators will be able to utilise this feature to compare viewer engagement among different audience groups, like new versus returning viewers, and subscribed versus non-subscribed viewers. This update will enable creators to make more intentional, data-led decisions to tailor their content strategy more effectively. Along with this, YouTube will begin giving creators full control over the For You section, transforming it into a customisable shelf on their channel page.

TikTok Is Bringing Its Dedicated Stem Feed To Europe

After initially launching in the U.S, TikTok has announced that it will be expanding their dedicated STEM feed across Europe – signalling its commitment to fostering educational content. The STEM feed will begin to automatically appear alongside the “For You” and “Following” feeds for users under the age of 18. The launch of the STEM feed comes as TikTok has been criticised for showing harmful content to kids and teens, with rights groups alleging that the app uses addictive design practices to keep users engaged for as long as possible. The EU has investigated whether TikTok has breached the Digital Services Act, which includes rules for keeping users safe online. TikTok is seeking to further present itself as an educational hub for millions of young users to counter such claims.

Chatgpt No Longer Requires An Account – But Theres A Catch

OpenAI is making its flagship conversational AI accessible to everyone, even those who haven’t got an account. Therefore, all users will be dropped right into a conversation with ChatGPT, which will be the same model and logged-in users. However, the set of features will not be the same for users without an account, for example, these users will not be able to save or share chats, use custom instructions, or other features generally associated with a persistent account.

Google Testing New Tools For A More Personalised Shopping Experience

Google is introducing new personalised shopping features including style recommendations, brand preferences, generative AI for product search, and virtual try-on technology. These features aim to provide users with a more customised shopping experience, potentially increasing engagement and purchases. Users can rate items to refine recommendations, select favourite brands for instant access to relevant options, and utilise AI-generated images to explore photorealistic product options. Additionally, a virtual try-on tool allows users to see how products look on real models of various sizes. These developments reflect Google’s commitment to tailoring the shopping experience to individual preferences and needs.

Instagram Tests Blend Feed For Private Content Sharing 

Instagram is continuing to test out more private engagement options, this time via a new option called “Blend”, which is a combined Reels feed, based on the Reels you’ve shared with a friend. This demonstrates that the app is trialling a more integrated way to facilitate Reels sharing, by tapping into the user behaviour of sharing Reels via DM. The option could make Reel sharing a more engaging, in-app element, where actual discovery is also a group experience.

X Adds Adult Content Setting For Communities 

X, formerly known as Twitter, has recently announced a new feature allowing users to create adult content communities with appropriate labelling. Despite speculation about a shift towards adult content, X clarified that this is a protective measure to filter out not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content for users who specify their age. This move isn’t indicative of a larger push towards adult content monetisation, although it remains a possibility. Past attempts by Twitter to monetise adult content have been derailed due to concerns about safety and policing harmful content. X’s ongoing efforts to improve safety may pave the way for future monetisation strategies. While this development doesn’t confirm intentions, it suggests a potential direction for the platform, especially given its struggling ad revenue.