
March Social Media News Round-Up
2021 has just started, but there are already some major social media shakeups! At Mochee, we always keep tabs on the latest trends and news, so we rounded up a few of our favorites this month: The Emergence of Clubhouse For those who don’t know what Clubhouse is, it is basically an invite-only audio app where you can listen in on peoples conversations (in a non-creepy way). It first launched in March 2020 but gained popularity in 2021, which could be because so many celebrities are on it now. There are tons of conversational topics to choose from and follow, and you can also follow people with the same interests. If someone influential joins the room, the moderator can put them “on stage” to join the conversation. We’re primarily seeing this platform work for our clients in the B2B stage or for CPG products to sponsor a conversation in an authentic way. Since its only audio based, it can be tricky for a client to see how to participate in a non-aesthetic way while finding an executive who can hold the attention of a room. IG Live Rooms & Twitter Spaces Clubhouse competitors are coming in hot. Instagram is launching IG Live Rooms, which allow more than two users to live stream together, but with video. Twitter is launching their “Spaces” broadcasting feature for all users. While Spaces is already available for all Twitter users to listen in on broadcasts that interest them, they are working on allowing all users to be broadcasters. These new features that Instagram and Twitter are implementing could surely be the next big thing. Facebook Launches Test Option to Share Reels to Facebook While TikTok has been on the rise, Facebook is doing a lot to try to prevent users from migrating over there from Facebook and Instagram. After launching Instagram reels in 2020, they are looking to expand users’ audiences by allowing them to share their Reels to Facebook. It is only being tested in India at this stage, but the potential for greater exposure and monetization on Reels could lure people to post and use more. Say Goodbye to Likes! (Maybe) Instagram has been testing hidden like counts and exploring options for users to hide like counts to their viewers. On March 5th, 2021, Instagram accidentally tested this feature on more accounts than they wanted to. This confused and scared users who don’t want to get rid of likes, but was followed by this explanation by Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram: Users may be able to hide like counts on posts both within the composer before posting, and after posting. They are also testing another setting which would allow users to hide like counts on other people’s posts. Some are very alarmed by this, but rest assured that if Instagram follows through with hidden like counts, there will most likely be an option to keep them too. March Takeaways The main takeaways from monitoring these new social media trends and features this month are that live streaming is increasingly popular, cross-app integration may increase users of Reels, and that social media is ever changing. Users love the idea of feeling like they are apart of conversations that interest them and being in an exclusive, intimate setting (online of course) with their favorite influencers, celebrities, and even executives. Social media always brings about new trends and is always changing to keep users interested.