Social Media
Check out all the latest in the social media industry, and find out how big changes could impact your paid performance here
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Creator monetisation evolution
Social platforms are diversifying monetisation options beyond standard ad revenue, giving creators new ways to earn income:
- Standalone creator platforms like TopFan enable subscription, merch, and livestream revenue.
- In-app monetisation features across Threads, Instagram, and YouTube now include tipping, badges, exclusive content access, and revenue-sharing for short-form videos.
- This shift allows creators to own their audiences and monetise content more directly, reducing dependency on algorithm-driven ad revenue.
Takeaway for brands: Marketers should explore creator partnerships strategically, focusing not just on reach but on engagement and monetisation alignment, tapping into the revenue potential these new tools enable.
Read moreAI transparency & labelling on platforms
Platforms like X are introducing “Made with AI” labels, designed to indicate AI-generated content. The move is a response to increasing concerns about ethics, authenticity, and audience trust.
Implications for marketers:
- Brands must be aware that AI-generated posts may require explicit disclosure, especially for sponsored content.
- Transparency builds credibility; audiences are more likely to engage with content that clearly communicates its source or creation method.
- Platforms are moving toward AI accountability frameworks, meaning marketers need to adapt workflows to comply with content compliance standards, particularly in regulated sectors like finance, healthcare, or e-commerce.
This trend signals that AI is no longer just a creative tool – it’s also a compliance and trust consideration in modern social marketing.
Find out moreMeta Ads update: Messenger inbox placement removed
Starting November 11, the Messenger inbox ad placement will no longer be available. Campaigns that previously included this placement will continue running, but without the Messenger inbox option – including campaigns using Advantage + placements.
If Messenger inbox ads have been a top-performing placement for your business, now is the time to monitor campaigns closely and adjust your targeting, setup, and creative strategy accordingly.
Snapchat launches Apple Watch app
Since their launch in 2018, Apple Watches have become a key part of communication in everyday lives. Allowing users to see, read and respond to messages and calls, track their fitness, check emails and more, the smart watch technology means users don’t need to be on their phone at all times to still be in touch digitally.
As a result, apps over the years like whatsapp and messenger have ensured they work across the devices to allow users to stay in touch more efficiently, and seven years later, Snapchat have officially joined that group.
Snapchat users can now see messages, and respond via Keyboard, Scribble, Dictation or send an emoji.
With Snapchat being predominantly a photo sharing app, and the new smart watch version only allowing for a chat message communication, we’ll have to await to see if this takes off with it’s users.
Read MoreNew messaging service comes to X
Elon Musk has confirmed this week that X will soon be rolling out it’s own messaging service, titled ‘XChat’.
Available to all X paying users and premium subscribers as of this week, XChat is built on a new back-end architecture on the platform, enabling X to become more robust. The new chat feature will be fully encrypted by default, have disappearing messages up to four weeks to protect privacy, allow for users to send files to others and also conduct audio and video calls without the need for a phone number.
Read MoreNew creative insights for Meta advertisers
Ensuring ad creative is working on Meta is a key part of any advertisers role. It needs to be engaging, talk to the right people in the right way and work well within budgets and targeting to ensure it’s playing it’s pivotal part in the advertising journey.
And now, Meta has introduced new creative insights to ensure that this level of detail is even more transparent, by allowing users to view ‘Top Creative Themes’ in the Ad Reporting and Account Insights section of the advertising platform.
When viewed, the feature will identify what themes are apparent throughout creative, and how spend is being allocated across them. This helps both the platform and advertiser understand if the themes align correctly with the brand values, and also shows comparison against other themes within the industry to ensure ads are well optimised.
Examples of themes include:
- Vitality
- Promotion
- Escapism
- Comfort
- Happiness
- Joy
- Peacefulness
- People
Clicking on a theme name will then show a sub-report, that provides guidance on how to optimise the ad to fit the theme, whilst also showing industry examples.
Read MoreTikTok joins up with SoundCloud
In recent years, TikTok has been known to revive and popularise numerous older songs, bringing them back to the forefront and making them hugely popular with a new, younger audience.
And it looks like the platform isn’t stopping there when it comes to putting sound first, as they announce their music option expansion with their new SoundCloud integration.
Not only will this allow users to explore an abundance of music to use in their content, but it will also provide more opportunities for emerging artists to become centre-stage.
The new integration is labelled as the ‘Add to Music App’ feature on the platform and originally launched on some beta accounts in 2024. Since, billions of streams and billions of track saves have been generated and users can now make the most of the musical collaboration.
For users to try it for themselves, they need to click the ‘Add Song’ button next to a track name at the bottom of a TikTok video in their For You Feed. When first pressed, the user will get the choice to save it to their SoundCloud, or onto their preferred music streaming channel.
Learn MoreDedicated AI assistant for TikTok sellers
A new AI-powered chatbot tool has been added to TikTok’s Seller Centre to solely provide useful information for brands wanting to sell products on the platform.
The new ‘Seller Assistant’, available as part of the commerce management tools, will help brands with insight like:
- Advice on product listings
- Maximising visibility of the brand and products
- Performance data
- Personalised recommendations on marketing tactics
The new addition to the platform is said to be TikTok’s way of ensuring brands don’t just manage their shops, but also know how to optimise them easily and effortlessly.
Read MoreCustomer DMs now possible on TikTok livestreams
One element to the TikTok platform than no other platform has been able to replicate is the live stream feature: a powerful tool for creators to engage with customers, but also a clever tool for brands to increase their reach exposure and engagement.
Whilst users have always been able to comment and engage on live streams, there was no possibility for those conversations to continue once the stream ended… until now.
Now, users on Linkedin who are wanting to live stream, can switch on the ‘LIVE setup for client acquisition’ feature. Once selected, a CTA button will be added to the broadcast so viewers can get in touch, pushing the opportunity for lead generation for both creators and brands alike.
Learn MoreTikTok introduces AI alive: The opportunity to bring photos alive
AI is certainly becoming more prominent across social media channels, from content to copy and the use of the channels themselves. However this week, TikTok have now launched a new AI-powered feature that enables you to turn any static image into a video clip on a user’s TikTok story.
The feature, which TikTok describes as ‘a first-of-its-kind’, will use intelligent editing tools that give any user the ability to create short-form, engaging video, no matter what their creative or editing expertise may be.
To try it for yourself:
- Open story camera on TikTok by selecting the blue + icon at the top of the page.
- Choose any single photo from your album.
- Click the AI Alive icon on the right hand side of the edit page.
- Post!
Users can view any TikTok story from their For You, Following or Profile page, providing the opportunity for wide reach and potential engagement.
Where concerns have been raised, is with the content AI is generating on the platform. As a result, TikTok has prevented people from violating any policies with the new technology by ensuring safety checks on any content posted, before it’s shown to the creator and is able to post.
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