Industry Update: February 2021
Such a short month, so much happening on social media! Here’s what happened on your favourite social media platforms in February 2021!
As audio social platform Clubhouse continues to gain momentum, Twitter is working to quickly evolve and roll-out its own version of the same, with Twitter Spaces gradually trickling out to more users, and getting new feature upgrades in line with user response.
Right now, Clubhouse is leading the charge, but that could change quickly if more high-profile users realise that they can reach much larger audiences with the same on Twitter. Clubhouse currently serves two million users and rising, an audience that it's built via its exclusive, invite-only approach.
Instagram has launched it’s multi-participant live-streams! As explained by Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri:
"We have been working on live groups - finally. [...] We're releasing the ability to go live with more than one other person, so with up to four other people, in the next couple of weeks, which we're really excited about."
Instagram actually began testing this functionality in India back in December - with interest in live-streaming on the rise in the Indian market, and Instagram looking to capitalise on the ban on TikTok in the region, it launched a new trial of multi-participant live-streams to boost user interest.
TikTok
TikTok has been working on a process that is going to involve providing direct link options to enable creators, and businesses, to drive traffic and sales direct from the app. TikTok recently briefed advertisers on its coming eCommerce integrations, which will include tools that will facilitate product linking, with creators automatically earning a commission on any sales.
TikTok has started rolling out a new integration with recipe app Whisk, which enables creators of food videos to post a link to the relevant recipe, which is then overlaid on the video clip via a 'See full recipe' CTA.
YouTube
YouTube has launched a new option which enables parents to monitor their child’s viewing activity.
YouTube developed YouTube Kids, its dedicated platform for youngsters that runs separate from the main app, and doesn't facilitate links to all YouTube content. But at some stage, older kids will be keen to move on, and that can put parents in a challenging position. Now, you need to keep tabs on what they're watching, while also giving them more privacy and independence. To address this, YouTube has developed a new process that will enable parents to monitor their child's YouTube activity via a connected experience.
As explained by YouTube:
"Over the last year, we've worked with parents and experts across the globe in areas related to child safety, child development, and digital literacy to develop a solution for parents of tweens and teens. In the coming months, we’ll launch a new experience in beta for parents to allow their children to access YouTube through a supervised Google Account. This supervised experience will come with content settings and limited features. We’ll start with an early beta for families with kids under the age of consent to test and provide feedback, as we continue to expand and improve the experience."
Learned something new today? Let us know in the comments below! Which updates are you most excited to try out?
