Weekly social roundup

Features, releases, and new guidelines

It’s been an interesting week of social media news. We’ve got:

• Data on how often you need to post on Instagram to see actual growth (with real stats backing it up!)

• New guidelines from TikTok (with some people speculating that TikTok is putting measures in place before the ban in the USA on September 17)

• More and more people are being diagnosed with AI psychosis (don’t worry, I break it down below!)

• Meta AI chatbots doing the absolute most

• YouTube created new ways for creators to make more money on the platform

And so much more! It’s a good ‘un. Now let’s break it down.

Tools you need this week

How to see who unfollowed you on Instagram 👀

Last week, I went live with Ben from FollowBuddy in my Facebook Group to talk about Instagram, how to discover who has unfollowed you on the app, which apps are safe to use, and how to not fall for unfollow apps that are scamming you out of money … and locking you out of your Instagram account.

Listen to the full thing in Talk Social To Me’s Facebook Group! And learn more about FollowBuddy, the only safe app out there to find out who has unfollowed you on Instagram.

It’s time to post more and more

The key to growing on Instagram? Post more. 😬

We’ve been told over the years by multiple sources that you should be posting less often to your feed to grow on Instagram! You should be posting more often! You should be posting more on your Stories! You should be posting fewer photos! More carousels!

On and on and on it goes. 

But what’s the real truth? What does the cold, hard data tell us when it comes to growing on Instagram? 

Well, according to Buffer’s latest report, where they pull data from 2 million user posts, the trick is posting way more often. 

This might seem like a “duh” moment, but when there are so many different content creators and brands telling us what to do, it’s always nice to see what actual stats say. 

Buffer breaks down the full stats, and according to their information, you should:

• Post 3-5 times per week on Instagram to achieve both reach and growth “without burning out or sacrificing quality.” This will also more than double your follower growth rate, and boost your reach PER POST by “around 12% compared to your baseline.”

That’s not a small amount; that’s a significant increase. So, do you want to grow? Post consistently and watch your following and reach grow.

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Top Meta news from the week

• WTF? Internal docs leaked at Meta, and they allow AI chatbots to have … “sensual” chats with kids. 

• Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, says if you don’t post for a long time on IG, your reach will be impacted. Womp womp.

• The US government is stepping in and telling Instagram it needs to shut down Instagram Maps.

• Your Meta Professional Dashboard just got a serious upgrade (AKA: It’s actually usable!!!!). 

• Instagram video watch time is up 20% globally, according to Meta’s Q2 earnings report.

• Meta has been hinting that “big wearable” news is coming. Are the Meta Smartglasses not enough?!

• Businesses will now be able to report any scam ads impersonating their brand.

• Instagram has made all posts BIGGER! It is making all posts 1080x1440 on the feed, which is the same size as Reels previews.

• Edits just keep rolling out new features! In the latest update, there are improved analytics, safe zone mapping (so your videos don’t clash with Facebook and IG buttons), keyframe curves, and so much more.

• Threads is adding a “Snippet” feature, where you’ll be able to share long-form text.

• X better watch its back! Threads has officially hit 400 million users.

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Top TikTok news from the week

• TikTok updated its Community Guidelines, and a lot of people aren’t happy about it, stating it’s going to suppress more content.

• A new drafts folder has been added inside the TikTok Creation tab.

  Well, they did it. TikTok only allows 5 hashtags per post.

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Top X news from the week

• It’s here! All screenshots taken on X will now have a watermark.

• Google Drive 🤝 X. You can upload files directly from Google Drive into X from your desktop.

• Grok can now translate all posts on X into different languages. Does it do it well? That’s another thing entirely.

• Encrypted DMs are officially live on desktop.

• Grok 4 is free to all users worldwide.

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Top YouTube news from the week

• YouTube has added another way for Shorts creators to make money on the platform with co-branded ads. Creators can add the ad and create a custom CTA at the bottom of their Shorts.

• YouTube is the “most enjoyable social media platform,” according to Americans.

• Community Posts on YouTube have been given an upgrade! Creators can now attach more images to their posts.

• YouTube will be using AI to verify the ages of its users in the US starting this week.

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Top other social media news from the week

• Age verification might be against the Constitution, but states are moving ahead with it anyway!

• LinkedIn now allows all users to create a newsletter, no matter how many followers you have.

• And with that, newsletter engagement jumped to 47%.

• LinkedIn is now giving more insights into your posts through new analytics showing you follower growth, impressions, and more.

• Snapchat is allowing users to gift their friends a free week of Snapchat+ with its new Buddy Passes.

Uh oh, TikTok has some new rules

People hate TikTok’s new Community Guidelines 

TikTok announced new Community Guidelines last week, and a lot of people were really unhappy with the new rules.

All over TikTok this past week, there have been video after video speaking about how TikTok is looking to censor creators for speaking up about crises, events happening around the world, and more.

Especially as part of their updated guidelines states:

While that sounds as if TikTok won’t be pushing content that hasn’t been verified yet, to other creators on the platform, it sounds as if TikTok will be stopping individuals from talking about something happening in the moment to help spread the word.

Other changes to the guidelines surround going live on the platform, and one of the changes that makes me go “eeek!” is that creators are now responsible for anything that happens during a live. 

Yes, it states “anything.”

Now, what anything means is anyone’s guess, but a blanket term like that always makes me a bit nervous.

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Thoughts from the week

AI chatbots, psychosis, and the loneliness epidemic

I keep hearing the term “AI psychosis” more and more recently, and this article from the New York Times really dove into what can happen to the brain of a “perfectly sane man” after chatting to ChatGPT for 21 days straight. 

The man became convinced he was a real-life superhero and even asked ChatGPT for “a reality check,” which the chatbot reassured him was real. 

The entire article is about the man’s interaction with the chatbot and how it spiraled out of control. 

And not only is the New York Times talking about this new phenomenon, but other news outlets have been speaking out about AI psychosis more and more this week. 

Business Insider spoke with a psychiatrist who has been treating patients all year with AI psychosis and speaks about which red flags you should be on the lookout for. 

Mashable discusses what this new term means and how we should be mindful of our over-reliance on ChatGPT and other AI chatbots.

It’s easy to see how someone can go from 0 to 60 with a chatbot, especially lonely individuals needing someone to talk to. We’re in a loneliness epidemic, after all, and AI chatbots make people feel more or less lonely. 

The question is, when someone develops psychosis and/or passes away from the obsession they feel towards a robot, who should claim responsibility? Is OpenAI, Google, or Meta responsible? Or are we placing the responsibility on the individuals who “fell for the delusion”? 

We’re in a very sticky period at the moment, and I’m unsure where we will head next.

A curated list of fun things to read

My favorite read of the week

I spoke about this on my TikTok recently (humble plug!), but I loved Ad Age’s write-up about Sweet Loren leaning into the mistake one of their marketers made on TikTok (she accidentally changed the TikTok name to her own name).

With more and more people wanting authenticity from their brands and creators, it’s nice to see a brand creating content around the honest human error that anyone could have made.

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For great insights into marketing

Creator of the week: @seventhhousemarketing

@seventhhousemarketing

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If you’re ever looking for incredible social media tutorials, ideas, or looking for general inspiration for your own accounts, Seventh House Marketing has been my go-to recently!

And, THE END!

If you got to the end, thanks for reading! I love you all, and can’t thank you enough for the support.

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See you next week!

Mackenzie