New Social Media Features for 2024

Important Updates to Your Favorite Platforms

In an ever-evolving digital landscape, the only constant is constantly changing and updating features across social media sites. From an increased emphasis on privacy and AI integration on popular apps, 2024 has already seen a plethora of new features in social media platforms.

We’ve done the research and rounded up the most significant changes for users, creators, and marketers on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Reddit. Stay ahead of the curve with Meerkat Media Group, your friendly guide through shifting social media algorithms and regulations. 

New Social Media Features & Updates From Facebook

Facebook recently rolled out Link History. This feature tracks the website visits of Facebook users within Facebook’s in-app, mobile browsers. It is important to note that it only tracks website visits within the last 30 days. 

Link History allows Meta to gather more precise data regarding user activity within the Facebook app. It respects the privacy preferences of consumers, as well as providing agencies and businesses with more accurate data for targeted advertising.  

Facebook has also begun incorporating generative AI into Facebook Messenger. With Meta AI, users can create AI-generated images with text-based prompts in Messenger, similar to DALL-E or Midjourney. Users who are interested in exploring the capabilities of Meta AI can test the feature out here. 

New Social Media Features & Updates From Instagram

Instagram has announced new features and updates that allow for more personalization in direct messages, expand access to Creator Marketplace, and more. 

Some updates make it easier for Instagram users to express themselves in their direct messages. Users are no longer limited to text to respond to friends and family! They can also use stickers, GIFs, videos, photos, and voice memos. 

There are a few more updates to messages to keep in mind: 

• Edit messages up to 15 minutes after sending.
• Pin chats to the top of the inbox.
• Toggle read receipts on/off for direct messages.
• Personalize your chats with custom themes and backgrounds. 

Instagram announced that it would be expanding its Creator Marketplace to eight new markets. Just like Facebook Marketplace, Creator Marketplace is an avenue where both influencers and brands can join and connect through the service. 

This marketplace allows influencers and creators to create a portfolio of social media highlights, indicate their interests and be discovered by brands that are interested in partnerships and collaborations. 

Instagram has updated its advertising algorithm to create the most optimal results for Advantage+ catalog ads. Advantage+ advertising uses AI to supply advertising to consumers with interest-based targeting. These ads are optimized for short-form video content, such as Instagram Reels. 

New Social Media Features & Updates From TikTok

Disclaimer: Congress voted, on March 13, 2024, to require TikTok’s parent company to sell TikTok or face a total ban within the United States. It is unclear if a ban on TikTok will be successful, but the White House has indicated their support for a national TikTok ban. 

TikTok has announced that it will be introducing Creator Academy. It has also announced two major updates: the full launch of the Creator Rewards Program and expanded access to TikTok LIVE Subscriptions. 

In a recent press release, TikTok announced that Creator Academy would be available to creators within a few weeks. TikTok’s Creator Academy is billed as a comprehensive educational hub of resources that creators and influencers on the platform can use to understand how TikTok works. This resource will include regularly updated resources, learning courses, articles, videos, and additional insights. It will address questions and concerns regarding account health, monetization features, skills and tools for content creation, and more. 

TikTok will fully launch the Creator Rewards Program. It is a revenue sharing program that allows creators and influencers to earn money through the creation of high-quality, valuable, and engaging content. This program requires all eligible content to be over a minute long and prioritizes four key areas: originality, play duration, search value and audience engagement. 

Lastly, the platform is expanding access to LIVE Subscriptions. With a LIVE Subscription, TikTok users are able to engage with their favorite content creators through subscriber-only live streams and chats. Other benefits of this program include exclusive subscriber badges and custom reaction emojis that can be used during live streams. 

New Social Media Features & Updates From LinkedIn 

LinkedIn has introduced new career planning tools that allow professionals to track their career development and discover new job openings. 

Professionals can use LinkedIn Learning to receive relevant training and certifications, discover potential new positions with Next Role Explorer, and more. With this update, working professionals can use LinkedIn Learning to find and apply for internal roles within their current company.  

New Social Media Features & Updates From Reddit 

Leading up to the company’s initial public offering (IPO), Reddit is launching new features that make the platform more appealing to agencies and businesses called Reddit Pro. 

This interface incorporates an interactive dashboard of performance analytics, trend analysis tools, and publishing tools that make it easier to draft and schedule posts across the site. 

Some important features of Reddit Pro are:

• AI-driven recommendations that suggest topics and conversations that are timely and relevant. 
• The Pro Dashboard measures organic engagement and incorporates performance analytics to measure engagement across Reddit. The most significant metric included is sentiment scoring: brands will be able to quantify user sentiment toward the brand using these analytics. 

Feeling Lost? We’re Here To Help. 

Social media is an essential component of digital advertising. Still, these changes can be confusing to navigate. 

Meerkat Media Group is here to help: our team is experienced, reliable, trustworthy, and adept at navigating the social media landscape. Consider working with us to take your digital marketing to the next level!