Social and Performance Hub

Instagram is going to another level by testing the latest new feature called “Take a break”. This feature is letting people to take a break from the platform itself, since the addiction to social media is becoming a common problem and it’s impacting many social lives, especially the younger generations.

Instagram will give you the daily average of time spent on the app and based on that you can set a daily reminder with a specific time to remind you that you have reached this period. It can be from 0 seconds to 24 hours. And if you don’t want to limit your time, this feature can be never activated and it’s optional.

In addition to the above, Instagram will give you alternate activities you can do to help you get away and disconnect from social media, but till now it’s still not added to the tool.

Both platforms now Instagram and Facebook, will be offering a tool to better manage your time in each app, while Facebook also has a “Take a Break” option to mute individual users whose posts are getting on your nerves.

In fact, Facebook and Instagram has already had the time limit reminders since 2018, but the difference now that new prompts are added.

But does it really add any value to the users? It doesn’t add this much of value, since the Time limit feature and the Take a break new feature both are optional and have the same concept, but we can say that the new one easier to use.

The Take a break feature is available in all countries, and this is a message to show that Meta is giving a chance to all users around the world to try to take a break from social media platforms and focus on other main things.

In other hand, let’s say that all users started using this tool, it will impact Meta in a bad way since people will stop using social media and will get used to the alternate activities. In Fact, this tool is trying to show us that people are addicted to social media and it’s very hard not to be interested in such things.

So, the question here, is it effective? Meta is giving users the tools to better manage their time, but it can’t be responsible for dictating your time. You either choose to set limits or you don’t.

The fierce competition between social platforms is getting stronger by the day; it only takes few days for an app to share the same feature shared earlier by another. TikTok now announced its newest feature called “Jumps” that allows creators to link their clips to third-part apps.

Jumps enables you to link your content to other mini services and programs including quizzes, recipes and many more. As you can see in the picture below, “Jumps” are now displayed as links at the bottom of your video on which you can tap to be redirected to a selection of third-party apps during the process of uploading. The selection includes up to 9 programs that users can benefit from.

The platform stated that they’re excited about the “Jumps” feature that includes movie reviews, beauty lessons and many more topics – which will boost users’ creativity in content creation. We believe that this is an important feature to boost cross-promotional campaigns, which means that this new addition could be a revenue booster. If a business is new to TikTok, it can link its content to other apps to help the clips reach a higher number of people withing their target audience.

When it comes to our clients, any brand can benefit from this new addition. For example, if a new fitness study is done and the article is shared on Buzzfeed, Body Masters can share a piece of content on TikTok and link it to BuzzFeed. This could give boost the brand image and positioning in the market.

The “Jumps” update reminds us of Snapchat’s addition – “Spotlight”. The process is very similar because users can also link their videos to third-party apps which has proven to boost users experience within Snapchat.

Both platforms are approximately using the same algorithm in terms of engagement and target audience, so we’re interested to know which one will win this battle of add-ons – are you excited too?

Instagram has just rolled out some new features to its Branded Content tools that will help creators and brands to manage requests and approvals related to this content specifically.

The platform allows you now to tag up to 2 brands in only 1 post! Fantastic, isn’t it? When you tag more than 1 brand you help your post get more exposure and you increase the cross-promotional options between the various platforms. We believe that this new addition in very beneficial in terms of boosting the customer-business relationship which plays a big role in increasing the Reach for each brand separately.  

On a side note, Instagram allows you to share posts before having the approval from the tagged brand, which means that the content won’t have a pending response, so each brand can see the other before approving any message.

In fact, this new update is important for creators/marketers, as they will be freer when it comes to content-publishing, without having to wait for the long procedures from brand partners – given that some posts are time sensitive, this can be critical sometimes. This way brands can take as much time as they want to give the needed approval. However, creators will now have the capability to send requests in their Settings, so brands will have the option to accept or deny any request.

In addition to all of that, Instagram stated that it has given businesses the access to branded content just like they did for Reels and IG Live earlier this month. We believe that this new update would be of interest for businesses to have a better overview about the response rate of their promotions and cooperation with other brands.

Actually, influencers or celebrities can offer a great potential for brands to maximize their messaging and Reach. For example, Persil is already collaborating with Nancy Ajram for its campaigns – now Persil Gel can share a piece of content tagging both Nancy Ajram’s account and Henkel’s account for example. This would strengthen the brand image and might boost engagement or Reach.

Instagram's Branded Content tools are considered the ultimate way to implement a transparent and collaborative way. So, Instagram stated that all these new Branded Content additions will be available for Live, IGTV, Reels and Stories over the coming weeks.

Just like the way you can share your feelings through emoji-style reactions on Facebook, Twitter is still working to bring you this same luxury to your tweets. Liking the tweet isn’t always the way you want to express your feelings or feedback about the topic shared, so having more options will create a better user experience on the platform.

As shown in the picture above, the reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong tweeted about this matter stating that Twitter will have the following new reactions: “Cheer”, “Hmm”, “Sad”, “Haha” in addition to the “Likes”. In fact, the platform worked on a research in December to know what are the top 10 most used emojis within tweets throughout 2020 – and the list is as follows:

We believe that this new way is an integration of these most trending emojis, which provides easier and faster responses and interactions with tweets. This new addition will help both Twitter and the brands investing in the platform itself. The new range of emojis will insert a different set of considerations in the process adding new data points for Twitter to generate insights about user responses/reactions. On the other hand, it will benefit the brands using the platform to better understand the behavior of their customers. When users react to the tweet with a specific emoji expressing their emotions: Laughing, Crying, Thinking… this will give the brand an overall overview of the target audience’s opinion about the topic. For example, if Body Masters wanted to open a new branch, they can share a tweet and see the reaction of the users about it.

Although Twitter is sharing few teasers about the new feature, it is still in the testing process, without providing any hint about the experiments or eventual roll-out plans.

Facebook is always known for its ongoing updates and introduction of new features. Now the platform is going the extra mile in supporting its eCommerce push strategy by launching the new "Live Shopping Fridays" series.

What is this new feature about?

"Live Shopping Fridays" series is a new Facebook live videos where you can see the platform host live-streamed shopping experiences. Meanwhile, selected retailers, will have be able to invite viewers to ask questions about products and make purchases online.

Facebook explains that every Friday from now until July 16th, users will be able to enjoy live videos for beauty and fashion brands, on-stream through the platform – as shown in the picture above.

Is this feature beneficial?

We believe that the new shoppable videos will be of value for customers, businesses, and Facebook.

For customers, the live stream will allow them to discover the latest products launched by their favorite brands and stay updated about everything. They can also ask questions about all the details (size, fit and tips in real time). Which means that the new feature will help change their behavior on platform from checking out the product in a post to technically owning it

For brands, Live Shopping is a simple, engaging way to boost the online shopping behavior. It will help brands create a better customer-business relationship providing new ways to keep them interested and excited. Brands can directly know what their consumers are thinking about, what are their concerns regarding the brand, or a certain product offered, which will help them make the necessary adjustments. But also, this feature will provide users with a fast and convenient process for shopping.

For Facebook, this will help incline the user activity on the platform, increasing the amount of time users spend in-app. Having high numbers like these will attract big businesses and brands to invest in Facebook and run considerable paid campaigns.

When will this feature roll out?

Facebook is still working on the launching of Facebook and Instagram Shops in all regions, as well as fully integrating Facebook Pay, to simplify the in-stream purchase process. But eventually, Facebook is aiming to make the higher percentage of its posts shoppable, where users can spend money which will boost their strategy in evolving their eCommerce.

Humans are social beings. Take the social communications out of them, and everything becomes dull, uninteresting, and, well, kind of impossible. With social interactions being narrowed down to a bare minimum minding the social distancing, lockdowns, and absence of physical contact, people around the globe resorted to social media to stay connected with their families, friends, and the outside world. Even ‘Work from home’ became a very familiar notion that seemed pretty impossible pre-Covid. People depended heavily on tools and platforms that made communicating easier. With these booming, social media platforms had to adjust and cope by looking for ways to suit the new norms and lifestyles.

Last year, Twitter introduced Spaces, which are live audio conversations that allow users to talk to each other in real-time.

In case you haven’t seen one yet, Spaces appear on the top of your timeline in the form of purple bubbles with the name of the host (whom you follow) under it. You can click on it directly to join the room.

If you’re in as a listener, you can react with emojis, engage by Direct messaging or Tweeting the Space hosts, or request to speak. People can discuss trending issues, topics in common, or just catch up to build relationships with other tweeps.  

The hosts on the other hand have control over the virtual room by being able to invite other users, choose who gets to speak, and mute/remove any attendees as needed, pin tweets,

After select users and accounts tested this exciting feature, it has been rolled out to all users with 600+ followers. This step is anticipated to get more people involved and talking, especially that the platform promised that they are always on the lookout for ways to further improve the experience.  

In hopes to monetize this space, Twitter announced earlier this month that a feature called “Ticket Spaces” is in the works. It is a way to monetize this platform by allowing users to create rooms that are only accessible for users who purchase tickets. This can help creators build exclusivity, niche communities, and get monetary revenues in return. How this works is that host will get the majority of the tickets’ sales, set the price of each ticket, and specify how many will be available for sale. This feature will be rolled out in the coming months to a limited number of users.

From a marketing perspective, brands can definitely jump in on this trend by hosting audio-conversations with followers on the platform and personalize the brand. An easy idea to leverage this is by collaborating with relevant brand ambassadors/influencers who would take over the account, tease about it by using the schedule and set reminders options, then go live on Spaces to discuss a certain topic, introduce a new product and whatnot. Each brand’s guidelines, tone of voice, and services dictate the possible directions to make use of Spaces.

Nour El-Hoss, 

Senior Social Media Executive,

Mindshare MENA.

Social media platforms have been making it easier for businesses to build an online presence and promote themselves. Facebook and Instagram made sure to differentiate business accounts from personal ones. And now Twitter is joining them!

Twitter has announced that it will be launching a new type of profiles for businesses called “Professional Profiles”. This will be a new way for brands to be present on the platform and to distinguish themselves from personal profiles. Those professional profiles will also have specific tools and features associated with their accounts. Twitter explained that the new update will allow all profiles that are dedicated for work to present specific information directly on their profile. The information includes address and contact information within the main profile section and an “About” section which contains the location’s map and the working hours along with two buttons to either get directions or contact the business. Some talks mentioned the addition of more elements such as photo gallery or product display panels, however nothing is confirmed about this.

What does this update bring to brands?

Having a professional profile on Twitter can make it easier for businesses to operate on the platform and can create more opportunities for the brand regarding promotions. It will support brands in better managing their exposure and reach on the platform. If the platform ends up following Facebook’s footsteps, it could decrease the reach of business profiles to increase investments in paid promotions and ad spend. It can also be a chance for brands to launch products on the platform and have access to conversation tools that were not available previously.

The update is going to be tested with a few businesses in the US and will gradually be available for more businesses throughout the coming months. Although, businesses are already immersed in the Twitter world and users are already following their favorite brands, I am curious to see how the shift to business profiles is going to happen.

In line with its continued development, Facebook announced the launching of some interesting new features, like scheduling of stories, in addition to a new business discovery process from its feed.

And we introduce you to each update separately.

Stories Scheduling The first option is that you’re now allowed to compose and schedule a story to be shared at a specific date and time.

As you can see above, you can select all the details you need for your story to go live. This feature was previously available for posts (videos, IGTvs, images…), however it is now available for stories too. Also, Facebook will allow you to save your stories in a specific section in the Business Suite so you can edit or change anything you need. This feature would be very beneficial for community managers, to create the perfect story and share in the perfect timing to ensure maximum Reach and Engagement – life saver, isn’t it?

Knowing that more brands are currently investing in Stories makes it logical for Facebook to have continuous updates related to this feature to maximize the user experience and improve the content creation. We believe that the stories’ scheduling feature will help both marketers and brands reach their desired brand objectives.

The new business discovery element Facebook is testing the option to add a new business discovery element, through Page Recommendations in the News Feed section. The new update will show you content related to the posts that you spend time watching or dwelling over. So you can tap on the specific section (See All) to see a listing of images that might be fall under the umbrella of your interests.

As we all know, Facebook has been working on developing recommendations based on topics. However, this new update focuses on new business discovery which is very beneficial for startups or businesses wanting to raise more Brand Awareness. The new feature will be divided into categories like beauty, fitness, clothing, and restaurants. We believe that this a very important feature encouraging brands to reach the people they weren’t aware of but are interested in their offerings.

At the moment, the Business Discovery option will be available for a small group of people.

New Ad options In addition to all of this, Facebook announced the launching of new ad options:

A new 'Conversion Leads' goal for Lead Ads which will help you to optimize for Leads rather than Reach.

A new option to convert Lead ads into Messenger in order for brands to track the user history and follow up with them when needed

A new “Call Now” CTA that redirects the user to make a phone call once they click on the button, which will encourage a faster customer service

We believe that these new additions will enhance the connection between brands and their users, but also it will help businesses achieve different optimization goals within their diverse Marketing and Advertising strategies.

We will keep a close eye on Facebook, and will update you once these new featured a officially rolled out…

A moment we’ve been all waiting for is finally here! Stories have been playing a major role in Instagram as we’ve seen their popularity increase tremendously over the past years with new features being introduced to them regularly. Today, the social platform is launching a new functionality allowing users to draft their stories and save them for later use.

Instagram users know that in order to share a story, they need to create it and publish at the moment. However, Instagram announced that users will soon be able to create stories and save them as drafts so that they can publish them later on just like they now do with regular posts. Sometimes, posting a story requires more thought and this update might be helpful to the people who need that time.

The process is pretty simple especially if you’re used to using Instagram stories. Once users try to leave the story that they’re crafting, they will get a dialogue box giving them the options below:

Discard the story and start a new one. This option will let users to erase all edits made to the story and won’t be recoverable.

Save it as a draft and come back to it later.

Cancel it and go back to story creation

Many businesses have Instagram stories included in their social media strategies and this can be reflected by the fact that 1/3 of the most watched content on stories is actually generated from businesses. One in five of these stories receives a direct response from users who engage with the brand though direct messages. This shows that the feature is effective in building exposure to the brand and generating engagement from users. Additionally, influencers have been relying heavily on Instagram stories and we can see it clearly in the MENA region.

All of that is being said to highlight how story drafts are important and worth considering. Being able to schedule stories will give more flexibility to businesses to craft their content and publish it at a preferred time. Ideally, brands should make sure their stories are available when their target audiences are active on the App. Last but not least, this feature could mean a lot to content creators who will be able to collaborate with their teams by adding and editing stories before they go live. If you’re a marketer, you will totally understand what I mean!

Finally, I am personally looking forward to having this new feature implemented for all the reasons stated above. I am certain that it will leave a positive effect on marketer’s workflow and make it much easier for everyone to craft stories and schedule them for a later time.

Ramadan, the month of prayer, reflection and community is celebrated by more than 2 billion people worldwide. But, once again, this celebration comes amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic affecting all rituals and traditions. Having said that, Social Media platforms are always trying as hard as possible to facilitate connection and celebration.  

Ramadan’s main purpose is to bring communities together, yet the new limitations and restrictions has made it a difficult time for a lot of people. That’s why it's crucial for social platforms to provide alternative ways to help these people while staying connected to the broader world. This would be beneficial for the users and the brand similarly – it’s what we call a Win-Win.

Facebook’s 2020 statistics revealed that users exchanged more than 20 million greetings posts during Ramadan on Facebook and video calls significantly rose on the first day of Eid on WhatsApp. Accordingly, the brand has launched a series of 30 new ideas under the #MonthofGood initiative.

As shown in the picture above, Facebook chose this theme to emphasize on the main pillars of this month which consist of doing good and giving back to the community. The platform will also collaborate with creators, publishers, and NGOs to emphasize on people who are doing a positive impact on others throughout the Holy month.

Another main pillar of Ramadan is Zakat – that makes people pay a certain amount of money to the needy. And now Facebook has given you this opportunity, if you are looking to make these charitable donations during the month, you can turn to Facebook and Instagram and look for some nonprofits to help fulfill your Zakat obligation.

In addition to the launched theme, Facebook will add Ramadan-related stickers, effects, and new features for Messenger. We believe that our brands can use these new features to share some Ramadan engaging content with their fans and followers to increase brand loyalty especially during these times where a big number of people communicates through apps and social media platforms.

We believe that Facebook has done a great initiative to reduce the distance between people during this restricted celebration. Hopefully, Ramadan 2022 will look like the ordinary Ramadan that gathers everyone on one table enjoying the Iftar.

As we may all know, COVID-19 has left a drastic impact on social connections and has pushed social media platforms to adopt new features in order to facilitate communication and encourage people to maintain their connections. Clubhouse, you might have all heard of it by now but are not sure how it works. Here’s what I have to tell you about it today.

Clubhouse is a social media app that is used through invite and that allows people to create, join or host rooms to chat and have discussions via audio only. Users have the option of creating “closed” or “open” rooms based on their preference whether they would like to limit the number of people in the room or welcome more. The app enables people to follow each other and even follow clubs. Once in a room, a user can choose his role as either a listener, speaker or moderator.

The process on how it works is pretty simple and goes as follows:

You can find people, chatrooms and clubs: By searching the directory, you can stay up to date about the upcoming events and discussions that will be taking place.

You can grow your fanbase on the App by finding relevant chatrooms with fewer people that will give you the chance to shine. Once you’re on a stage, you need to aim to deliver a valuable discussion to the people who are listening and to build relationships with those who join these groups. It is also important to make the best out of your bio and engage with other users.

You can host rooms by creating one and being the moderator in it. Your role includes organizing the discussion by bring order to the room and hosting people who will share value about different topics.

The platform is also a place for brands who can benefit from it in different ways.

If you’re a small brand, the app can allow you to gain more exposure as you’ll be attracting more people to your content and gaining for followers.

When delivering good value to your audience, you’re building your network and forming relationships which is very important for a brand.

Small brands are offered a channel to have a voice. In a social world as cluttered as ours, having a voice can be really challenging and Clubhouse can assist in that.

What is nice about the platform is that it allows storytelling. Brands can create their stories and share them with their audience easily.

In my opinion, I think it’s all about the human engagement! The app enables discussions, interactions, connection, engagement whatever you want to name it and this is very important to gather insights.

If the brand would like to test an idea then this is the place for it as they can suggest them and get feedback from users in real-time.

 Finally, the App has seen a sudden rise as more and more people have been adopting it. In the MENA region, I have seen many influencers already hosting discussions on it about different topics. In my opinion, it is nice this kind of app as it plays different than other platforms but at the same time I wonder how long will it be able to survive before the big player start looking for ways to capitalize on its functionalities.

Instagram is currently creating a new platform specified for kids aged less than 13 years old. In fact, the platform has been recently blocking users aged 13 or less from creating a new account. The company believes that having a separate platform for kids will help them keep up with their friends as well as discovering some new hobbies or interests while having a safe first experience.

As stated by the Instagram Chief, Adam Mosseri, creating an Instagram version for kids with their parents’ control – can actually save them from a big risk that social media may put them through. Mosseri said that they might name it “Kidstagram”, but the version is still under study and nothing official is yet stated.

We believe that this new idea will help kids belong to communities of people with their same age range and interests. Because now kids are exposed to different types of content on their home feed everyday without having the enough knowledge or experience to differentiate what’s right and what’s wrong. In addition to the high number of predators’ cases reported on this platform.

However, this new idea can also be very threatening for kids if the appropriate necessary tools weren’t installed and updated. The platform should be able to protect kids from bullies, abusers, predators as well as any other adult that may cause a high risk for these young people. This means that the new platform should be fully equipped in terms of strict rules and supervision options or else “Kidstagram” will only be another risky way that facilitates engagement.

In addition to all of that, Instagram team should keep a close eye on the ads running on this platform bearing in mind the young age range available. These could be the target audience of very specific brands. For example, Americana Bakeries can invest in this new platform when launched, because kids who go to school are within the target audience of the brand.

As part of the ongoing updates on TikTok, the brand has decided to give creators more control over the comments received on videos. As a creator of a certain clip, you now have the ability to filter all your comments to decide whether to show or hide them depending on your perspective.

As shown in the image above, you can see the new “Comment Filters” section that allows you to filter all comments or some of them based on abusive or offensive meaning or based on specific keywords. This way creators can limit the hors-sujet comments that might be received regarding a certain topic. Once you enable this feature, comments don’t appear unless you approve them.

Although TikTok has already a system that allows you to filter spam comments or specific keywords you choose. Whenever someone is considering sharing a negative though on a certain video, they will get a pop-up message asking them if they’re sure about this action. However, the new feature gives the creator more control on all comments that can or cannot be displayed on the content shared.

We believe that this will improve the user experience on the platform, but also it will help brands decide what Brand Image they want to focus on.

What differs this from other platforms who already worked on similar features is that on TikTok you would have to read all the comments and approve/decline them one by one. While on YouTube, for example, there’s an algorithm that detects potential offensive or abusive comments and puts them in a separate section called “Held for Review” – and though if the creator doesn’t approved them within 2 months, the comments are automatically removed.

However, although for TikTok you need to review all comments, but we believe that is a positive rather than a negative thing since you will have control over everything showing on your clip, and you can decline a comment that you personally didn’t like – though it doesn’t have to be aggressive or attacking. This might be a way to stop people from writing negative statements on your clips.

On a personal level, the new feature will help in reducing cyberbullying. As we know, the userbase of TikTok are mostly teenagers, and receiving criticisms at this age is not something anybody wants. So, when the creator can simply remove any comment that she/he doesn’t like – is a way for the brand to tell them “We can protect you”.

From a more professional and business-related perspective, having the ability to control comments will help brands to build the Brand Awareness they desire. Businesses who want to invest in this new booming platform, can do so now – without being concerned about the negative or aggressive comments they might receive from users, because these can sometimes lead to brand crisis.

Although it’s difficult to completely solve all these concerns in this rapid digital world; these new tools can help pave the way.

With the rise of e-commerce, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, social media platforms resorted to launching new features that would meet the popular expectations of users. We’ve seen a shoppable experience on Instagram and Facebook, and now it’s Twitter’s turn to join the game. So basically, with a simple click on a video or image, users will be able to have an immediate purchase through their preferred channel.

A few weeks ago, Twitter confirmed that it is testing new commerce options that will be available for users on the platform. A new way of display will be rolled out allowing users to link their tweets to e-commerce product pages. This type of tweets will be presented in a new Twitter card format with a big “Shop” CTA button, re-directing users to a transaction page. The card would also include the product information such as the product name, shop name and price that would be taken from the product page on the business’s website. All of this makes it look an easy and practical online shopping space for users.

This experiment was identified by a user in Qatar who has seen it on an Android device. Twitter has stated that they’re testing many features related to online shopping but that are still in the early stages of development. That being said, what was explained in the above paragraph is not guaranteed to happen. The social platform believes in the importance of sequencing which includes working on different prerequisites of the new feature such as the performance ads, the MAP, the clicks and the conversions before rolling out it out.

Twitter acknowledges the opportunities that it could create through the feature. People use Twitter as a way to engage with their favorite brands and products. Many businesses have already tried to push for sales through the platform so imagine the potential that the App has when a shoppable experience, as easy, is introduced. Having real time conversations combined with potential buyers will be a great way to achieve purchases with just a click.

Back in 2015, Twitter tested a functionality called “Product and Place collections”, which allowed some users to promote products in a section on their profile. This section included a “Buy on Twitter” option to make it easier for users to shop. We never know but this option might be re-introduced for example with a link to an ecommerce provider to facilitate purchases made on the App.  The whole idea of having an ecommerce experience on Twitter enables brands to connect with their audiences and share products via Tweets in a way to encourage purchases.

In conclusion, the new online shopping experience that is being tested on Twitter presents a great potential for the App and brands especially if we look at the rising popularity of ecommerce options nowadays that have been made available through many other online channels. I am looking forward to seeing what Twitter’s final result will be and how brands will be putting it in use.

YouTube has introduced a new TikTok-like short-form video called “Shorts”. Company stated that “Shorts” is a way to make people’s lives easier, given that users believe that the platform raised the content creation bar so high. However, with this new feature, users can create fast creative and nice videos only using their phones without the hassle of editing to make the video look professional.

“Shorts” were available in India solely as of December 2020, right after the Indian government banned the usage of TikTok. We believe that this is a smart pioneering strategy for YouTube that allowed them to gain millions of TikTok users in the country, stating that Indian Channels who use “Shorts” drastically increased since then and that videos are getting more than 3.5 billion global daily views.

However, the YouTube’s Chief Product Officer confirmed that the feature will now be available for users in the US as of March 2021.

In fact, anyone anywhere in the world, can now shoot a clip in a vertical format and less than 60 seconds, upload it on YouTube with #Shorts hashtag in the title – this will make your video eligible to be shown in the Shorts’ feed within the app. But Indians have more details and features with a specific “Shorts Camera”.

We believe that this new feature would be of value to personal users as well as businesses who would want to grow their fanbase by adding YouTubers to their existing audience. When this feature will be available in the GCC, several brands can benefit from it to grab the attention of users. For example, Halabi Nuts in UAE has a funky hyped-up Tone of Voice, which allows them to invest in a feature like Shorts to attract potential followers.

The platform is benefitting from the hype and fame that TikTok has gained over the past year. But also, they’re sharing tips and tricks on how to use the feature in the ultimate way and providing users with reports on key insights. Which means brands and creators should always keep a close eye on YouTube’s ongoing growth and development to see when the best time would be to invest in this feature to meet a given objective for their brand.

In addition to all of that, YouTube Shorts are investing in e-commerce making it possible for users to shop through the clips shared – given that consumer behavior towards online shopping has lately shifted to a digital habit. The platform is currently testing a new shopping experience allowing users to tap on the video and make direct purchases on YouTube. This will be further explained with all the needed details throughout 2021.

With the rise of the COVID-19 and people having to stay at home, many resorted to live-stream services that witnessed a surge over the past year. On Instagram, livestream videos are available through Instagram Live which can be accessed through the stories. This feature currently allows two people to go live at the same time together. But in a few weeks, some changes will be made to it as more participants will be allowed to join!

Today, Instagram is trying to catch up on the live-stream trend that is currently booming all around the world. In fact, the chief Adam Mosseri disclosed that more participants will be able to join a live-stream video in the next few weeks. The new update will actually allow up to four participants to be present in the video chat at the same time. Over the past year, Zoom and Houseparty, which are multi-participant video chat Apps, witnessed a huge increase in usage. This says a lot about what type of services users are leaning for and explains why Instagram is going for that update.

Back in December, the platform started testing this feature in India given the rising interest in live-streaming and the ban on TikTok there hoping that it will build the users’ interest. However, this update has been talked about from a long time, even before the pandemic! But the pandemic was kind of the trigger to bring it up as people were looking more and more for ways to stay connected during the various lockdowns and movement limitations. In fact, a Q&A conducted with Mosseri last March revealed that the platform was looking into expanding the feature for more than two people but wasn’t  directly accomplished as they had other projects to think about such as getting stability, incorporating more features and making it available on the web. But today, it seems that it will be launched soon, offering people another way to communicate and engage with audiences.

All of that being said, it is important for us to mention the possibilities that it offers for brands and businesses on the platform. The brand will be able to make interviews, invite fans and customers to share their experiences, collaborate with influencers etc. For example, I think Fine Baby could benefit from this update to host influencers and mothers to eventually engage with them and build a relationship. In addition to that, this can have an impact on the quality of the branded live as it can be more comfortable to have more people in the video rather than one person addressing the audience. We need to keep in mind that users are looking for an authentic experience to be able to connect with the brand.

In conclusion, the update is pretty important for Instagram and its users. No matter the use of it, whether its for brands or for personal conversations it is interesting to see how it will evolve and how people will react to it. There is still no specific date for the launch but I am looking forward to watching and engaging in multi-participants live.

Over the past year, TikTok witnessed a tremendous growth on a global scale as it became the go-to platform for creators to produce and share videos. The App includes everything from comedy, entertainment, challenges, tutorials, dances and even more! The impact that the App has left on the whole industry is insane and Instagram is one of the social media platforms that has been affected by it.

Following the rising popularity of TikTok, we have seen many platforms adding some features inspired by Tiktok’s feel into their own App offerings. Today, Instagram is working on a new functionality that would offer to the users Vertical Instagram Stories. We are all aware that to be able to go from one story to another, we need to tap or swipe horizontally – a features inspired by Snapchat as well. But now, things have changed for the whole social media landscape where even Snapchat is adopting ideas from TikTok!

So let’s dig deeper and explore what’s the real insight behind this update. In many ways, it actually feels more natural to swipe vertically through stories rather than to tap or swipe horizontally considering that all the navigation done on our mobile phone such as visiting the web, or even Facebook is done vertically. With more and more users used to TikTok’s feed, it also makes sense to adopt that same UI. In fact, research has shown that TikTokers are spending more time on the platform than other social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Mesenger. But The real key element that Instagram is looking forward to achieving is the growth such as the one that TikTok accomplished. Many platforms are jumping into what’s trending hoping that they will be able to retain their users.

That being said, this new update that is currently being tested will be significant change to the platform. It could also be the trigger for a shift from static content to videos just like TikTok. This also reminds us of Reels which were also created as a result from TikTok and that’s pushing Instagram to alter its algorithms and design to prioritize Reels.

All of these new updates inspired by TikTok make us ask ourselves some questions. We all know that stories are already extremely popular and used by 500 million people every day. Is adding a new feel to it the right move given how popular it already is? Platforms should keep in mind that cluttering the App will just make it harder for users to use it and enjoy spending time on it.

This new update is currently an internal prototype and has not been publicly tested yet. In my opinion, we need to wait and see how users are going to react to this change. Instagram shouldn’t lose its authenticity and identity by adding all these new updates inspired by TikTok. I am looking forward to the next stage!