The biggest updates and current trends in social media | December 2022
Summary/Overview
Social media is constantly evolving, updating, and developing. To help you stay in the loop, we’ve compiled all the biggest and most essential updates in social media from December 2022 so you can sit back, read through, and get caught up.
Video Social Media Update-Prefer to watch?
Every month, Andy and Jordan talk us through the key updates that you need to know to stay ahead of the social media curve. Watch their December roundup here:
Data
TikTok is in focus
Data from The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital show that TikTok remains the most downloaded app since 2018, with Facebook and Instagram in second and third place, respectively.
It is also indicated that TikTok is getting a high frequency of app visits from those who already have the app downloaded, with almost 30% of TikTok users on Android opening the app daily.
One significant differentiator between TikTok and other social media channels is TikTok’s entertainment value. Some would say that TikTok feels like more of an entertainment platform versus a social media platform and this could be a contributing factor to TikTok’s roaring success.
The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital have also collated the top reasons why people are using TikTok, with "mindless entertainment,” “comic relief,” and “listening to music” at the top of the list — these results further suggest that TikTok is being used more for entertainment than socializing.
Speaking of which, the same report also reveals that most Gen Z and millennial TikTok users say they’d choose TikTok over television.
Reach vs time spent
Data from GWI shows us that social media is the third most popular place in which people are spending their time — third to mobile use and laptop/tablet use. This makes a compelling case for businesses who are unsure where to put their marketing efforts and advertising spending as social media is seen to be occupying more of the public’s time than other media sources such as podcasts, radio, digital press, and TV.
Video consumption outside of TikTok
Let's step away from TikTok when discussing video content for a moment. Research from GWI shows that the channels (excluding TikTok) that are receiving the most video consumption are Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat, followed by Reddit and LinkedIn.
While Instagram’s first place ranking isn’t too surprising (especially considering the similarities between Instagram and TikTok), Reddit’s appearance is a little more unexpected; perhaps this is a nod to Reddit’s quietly growing popularity among younger generations.
Current Social Media Trends
Social media for news
Data from GWI reveals that people are increasingly turning to social media to get their news as opposed to news websites and news apps. This shift could be related to the pandemic and the distrust many developed toward news outlets.
In fact, TikTok, according to evidence from Reuters Institute and University of Oxford, is increasingly being used as a source for news, especially among younger demographics. This report even shows that users on TikTok trust TikTok internet personalities as a source of news a lot more than users do of internet personalities on other social channels. This is a testament to the power of the personal brands that have been developed on TikTok.
Product discovery on social media
When it comes to product discovery on social media, data from GWI shows us that Instagram is in the lead for product discovery with Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest in hot pursuit. This is a great indication of direction for those who are looking to grow an ecommerce business in 2023 and use social media as a tool to sell and promote their products.
Instagram vs TikTok: Engagement vs followers
Data from Batterhall shows, quite interestingly, that if you don’t have many followers, you'll still have a higher chance at getting engagement than you would on Instagram with the same number of followers. As a result, if you’re just getting started out on social media, TikTok could be the place to go in order to get some early-stage growth.
Social media news and new product features
New Instagram Updates
Instagram Communities is coming
(Live soon)
Instagram Communities will allow you to create a group using an Instagram Story Sticker and invite people to join via this sticker, kind of like a Facebook Group.
Instagram launches new “Group Profiles”
(Live soon)
Group profiles will allow you to share updates and stories with friends in a dedicated, shared profile. Content you post to a Group Profile will be visible only with group members.
Instagram launch “Notes” feature
(Live soon)
This new feature will allow users to add a 60-character “status” to their Instagram, usually as a prompt conversation. The “Notes” will appear as a bubble of text above your profile picture within the Instagram Stories section at the top of the Instagram feed and is only visible to an audience selected by you. These Notes will disappear automatically after 24 hours.
Instagram launches “Candid” Stories
(Live soon)
Instagram is soon to launch “Candid” Stories, a new feature that appears to be inspired by BeReal. Candid stories will allow you to take in-the-moment content that is prompted by the Instagram app.
Instagram launches “Add yours” nominations
(Live soon)
The “Add yours” pre-existing Instagram Story Sticker allows people to add their own story around a theme. However, with the addition of the “Add yours” nominations, you will now be able to ask friends to join and participate by hitting “pass it on” when prompted.
New Facebook updates
Facebook Groups Content Explorer
(Live now)
For anyone looking to grow a Facebook Group, this new feature recommends appropriate content to share within your Facebook Group to stir some conversation.
Facebook adds “Instagram DM” feature
(Live soon)
This is another feature that shows how Instagram and Facebook are trying to introduce more cross-platform functionality. With this feature, when sharing something via Facebook to your feed, you will also be able to share this same post to Instagram as a direct message.
Facebook “Ready-made” Reels
(Live soon)
Meta continues to focus on pushing Reels and this new feature can help to make Reel-creation on Facebook a whole lot easier. Facebook’s “ready-made” Reels section will take any content you have previously posted on Facebook and collate it into a ready-made Reel for you to post.
Target your Instagram followers through Facebook
(Live now)
When creating an ad on Facebook, you now have the option to target people on Facebook who have also followed, messaged, or engaged with your professional Instagram profile as well as your Facebook page. This is great for being able to target a larger and just as relevant audience.
New Twitter updates
Twitter relaunches “Blue”
(Live now)
Twitter Blue is Twitter’s paid subscription service offering access to a number of different features that improve your Twitter experience. This is an interesting concept to watch as subscription social media membership is not something we've seen a lot of before.
If you’re very focused on Twitter and growing your audience there, Twitter Blue does represent an opportunity. Some features could be very beneficial to those who are looking to take Twitter more seriously, such as the ability to upload longer videos, as well as getting prioritized rankings in conversations.
New LinkedIn updates
LinkedIn auto-captions
(Live now)
Another step forward in terms of accessibility, LinkedIn has released auto-captions for video content published to the platform.
New and useful features
(Live now)
LinkedIn has released a whole bundle of useful features in the last month, including:
- A new high contrast mode when viewing videos (only on mobile for now)
- A new LinkedIn emoji picker tool
- Newsletters: Any creator with a LinkedIn newsletter will have their newsletter appear prominently in search with results under their name.
LinkedIn updates competitor analytics
(Live now)
If you’ve got some competitors that you’d like to keep an eye on, LinkedIn’s new updates to competitor analysis allow you to view metrics regarding your competitors’ social media performance, including followers, new followers, growth, and engagement. This means that you can compare your own social media metrics to that of your competition to get a better idea of how you are performing.
LinkedIn improves Carousel creation
(Live now)
For LinkedIn, Carousel posts are the best performing content format that you can post. LinkedIn has made recent improvements to their Carousel post format including the introduction of templates.
LinkedIn templates are a great improvement on the part of LinkedIn but are still basic compared to our template offering on Adobe Express:
Try out Adobe Express for free
LinkedIn improved analytics for creators
(Live now)
If you have Creator Mode switched on within LinkedIn, you can get access to a slew of analytics that will help you to improve and grow your LinkedIn profile, including audience and post insights, follower insights like top demographics, top performing content, and more.
New TikTok updates
TikTok adds a “Posted Drafts” feature
(Live now)
This new feature from TikTok will make it possible to edit published posts. Any new TikToks published will now have a three-day window in which edits can be made.
TikTok launches full screen mode
(Live now)
TikTok now allows you to change your orientation to watch full-screen horizontal content.
TikTok location tagging
(Live now)
You can now upload TikTok content with a location tag, allowing clarity around the location of your TikTok and giving people the opportunity to discover more locations such as restaurants and tourist attractions.
New YouTube updates
New Shorts analytics
(Live now)
YouTube Shorts could provide a great opportunity for growth this year by representing a very similar offering to TikTok and could likely have the same growth trajectory. New Shorts analytics will enable creators to be more strategic with their YouTube Shorts content.
New Amazon updates
Amazon launches “Inspire”
(Live now)
Not for the first time, Amazon is trying to creep into a social media space with the launch of “Inspire.” This new platform is similar to TikTok but with content that revolves around Amazon products. This could be an interesting thing to try out if you currently own an Amazon store.
9 social media predictions for 2023
- Despite further threats of bans, TikTok will continue to be the most heavily used platform.
- YouTube Shorts will likely become a challenger to TikTok while providing brands with great growth opportunities.
- Micro-communities (like Reddit and Discord) will continue to thrive.
- Collaboration will be essential for growth (for example, thinking beyond your feed).
- LinkedIn will lean even more heavily on creators as personal branding continues to grow.
- Social commerce will continue to rise.
- Twitter will continue to keep us on our toes but will eventually emerge as a better platform for brands.
- The platform that provides the best monetary incentives for creators will win in 2023.
- Instagram will continue to look to other platforms for inspiration, but Reels will continue to be a big focus.
Want to hear more about Andy’s predictions for the year ahead? Check out our full blog featuring 10 trends and predictions for 2023.