• Melissa Harvey
• 16 December 2024
• 6 min

Social in Six 90

1. Instagram is letting you trial your Reels with non-followers   

The story: 

• Instagram is now rolling out a Trial option for Reels which, when toggled on in the upload process, will let creators share videos with a selection of users that don’t follow them first. 
• Creators can see insights on the trial Reel after 24 hours, and trial Reels are not visible on your profile. When posting, creators can also choose to toggle on an option that will share the Reel with everyone if it performs well in the first 72 hours.  
• Instagram says that trial Reels are being rolled out to select creators from this week, and they’ll be globally available “in the coming weeks.” 

So what? 

This is definitely a feature to play around with when it becomes available. Being able to gauge a Reel’s response enables the “test and learn” environment that’s essential to success, but without publicly showing the less polished or lesser performing Reels on your grid. Just remember that it’s a short-term test, so it can’t factor in how well the post performs over time.

2. Social platforms are responding to Australia’s social media ban for under 16s       

Image credit: Shutterstock

The story:  

• On 28 November 2024, the Australian government officially passed a bill that will ban under 16s from using social media platforms Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X. 
• Currently, users must state their age when they sign up to these platforms, but there aren’t any verification processes in place to check this – which will change in the next 12 months as the ban comes into effect, or else platforms could face up to a AUD $50m fine. 
• The law is one of the strictest in the world, and governments elsewhere across the world are looking at or have already implemented similar legislation – such as Norway, France and the UK. 

So what? 

The tricky part about this story is that there are a lot of unanswered questions on how the ban will actually work in practice. Rest assured the platforms will try their absolute utmost to ensure this won’t have a measurable impact on platform activity, because if their daily active user count suffers, so might their share price, which can have a domino effect on advertisers. Governments in Europe could follow in Australia’s footsteps, but it all depends on how this plays out. Definitely one to keep an eye on.

3. YouTube’s facilitating more brand and creator partnerships with BrandConnect

The story:  

• After a gradual rollout, every new video uploaded to YouTube that’s less than 3 minutes long will be a Short and will be eligible to be displayed in the Shorts feed. Videos uploaded in 16:9 are classed as standard videos. 
• YouTube’s also made it possible for Android and iOS users to access native editing tools like clip trimming, captions and location when they share a video to YouTube from another app – until now, this was only available for videos recorded in-app.  
• Previously in beta testing, the BrandConnect self-serve monetisation platform, which alerts creators to potential brand partnerships and lets them pitch to brands, is now available directly in YouTube Studio under the Earn tab for creators in the US, UK, Brazil, India and Indonesia. 
• This month YouTube is piloting BrandConnect Open Call for select US creators, which allows advertisers to request custom ad content for their brand including creative prompts and brand and payment info. Creators can browse opportunities and submit content to be considered for the campaign. 

So what?

YouTube is the OG creator-led platform, but it’s had more of a hands-off role in facilitating brand and creator partnerships until now. With BrandConnect, creators and brands both can use YouTube as the vetter and facilitator of the partnerships they’re seeking – you get creator content, creator gets opportunity, platform gets credit. It’s a win, win, win.

4. TikTok is allegedly working on mini apps

Image credit: Perfect Corp

The story: 

• According to reports, TikTok is working on a new feature called TikTok Minis. Reference to “TikTok Minis” was found in the notes of an update for a beta version of the app.  
• TikTok’s Chinese counterpart Douyin has a similar sounding feature called Mini Programs. These are essentially third-party apps within the app, which are used for shopping, ordering food, virtual tryons and more.   
• TikTok has ramped up its shopping push of late, making its ecommerce platform TikTok Shop available to Spanish users this week.   

So what? 

Although Mini Programs are hugely popular on Douyin, it doesn’t necessarily mean TikTok Minis will translate to Western markets. Sure, it’s nice to not flick between apps, but it’s not that much of a barrier, so third-party developers and brands will have to give TikTok Minis a social-first twist or an incentive like a discount code if they want to push shopping within their TikTok Mini app. Having said that, TikTok Shop is now growing in Europe and the US after an initially lukewarm response, so who knows?

5. Instagram’s introduced interactive updates for Broadcast Channels 

The story: 

• Replies in Instagram’s Broadcast Channels are now rolling out after a select number of creators gained access to this feature in September this year.  
• Creators can now post prompt cards in their Channel, which work similarly to the Add Yours sticker on Instagram Stories. Choose a preset prompt or write your own and followers can respond with text or photos for up to 24 hours and like their favourite responses.  
• You can now view total number of interactions, story shares and poll votes in Channel analytics, and you can set a goal for your Channel (either increase engagement, drive participation or maximise growth), which comes with a checklist of Instagram’s recommended actions to complete.     

So what? 

Broadcast Channels have seen significant uptake with creators but are still underused by brands – which is a huge loss, because this feature is a gold mine for community building (something we predict will be even more crucial for brands in 2025). With this new update of prompt cards, you can essentially farm UGC with a clever prompt and fuel your campaigns with it, with the superfans within this closed community at the heart.

6. Meta’s added a new conversion location for Instagram ads 

The story: 

• Meta is working on a new conversion location for Instagram ads that lets you send traffic to Facebook as well as Instagram.  
• Until now, you could only send traffic to your Instagram profile for an Instagram ad. With this update, you can choose to send people to Instagram, your Facebook Page or both.  
• The update is for the Traffic campaign objective only, and you can’t customise the CTA text, which is preset to “visit Instagram profile” or “visit Page”.   

So what? 

If you’re using Facebook in lieu of a traditional website presence or if your goal is to grow your following on Facebook, this is a useful update – but otherwise, it’s probably better to take users somewhere else, like have them download an app, buy a product or visit your website.