Social media is forever changing which makes it easy to miss an update from time to time. Twice a month, we look into three of the latest key updates from the past few weeks from the various social media giants. Here’s what’s been happening recently…

Instagram Launches New Moderator Option for IG Live Streams

Instagram’s adding more capacity to manage your live broadcasts in the app, with a new live-stream moderator option that will enable users to assign a moderator within a stream.

As you can see below, streamers on IG will now be able to assign a moderator, giving the mod the capacity to report comments, remove viewers from a stream and turn off comments for a specific viewer.

The option will provide another means to control the flow of content within a stream, and address concerns with inappropriate behaviour during IG Live sessions. Which, like all live-streaming options, has seen its fair share of concerning incidents.

Live stream moderation is inherently challenging, because it’s happening in real time, and some use this to their advantage, knowing that they can get away with harassing, harmful and offensive behaviour, especially on larger streams.

The addition of live mods, which Instagram has been developing over the past few months, will help, and should provide some additional security for IG Live streams, while also making it easier to manage your broadcasts.

Also worth noting – TikTok added the same option in July last year.

Creators can add a moderator via the menu icon on the comment bar. Within this, you can search for a specific user, or choose a user from a list suggested by Instagram.

Instagram Launches New Creator Lab to Help Creators Maximise their On-Platform Performance

Instagram’s looking to help creators get a better understanding of key posting best practices and processes via a new Creator Lab initiative, which hosts videos and insights from a range of successful creators on key elements.

The Creator Lab, which you can access here, includes specific sections on channel growth tips, monetisation, safety notes and more, all hosted by established Instagram stars.

Each section includes a range of video clips, which, while short, include helpful notes on strategy and optimisation. There are also specific tips and notes for each post type, and, yes, understanding the algorithm is a key focus.

Monetisation is a growing focus for Instagram, as it looks to combat the rise of TikTok. While hugely popular, TikTok’s monetisation systems are not as refined as those on Instagram or YouTube, which could be a key weak point in its process, and could eventually see more big creators move to the more established apps instead.

In order to win in this element, however, Instagram and YouTube need to highlight the revenue potential that they respectively provide, which is a part of what this new initiative is all about.

TikTok Launches New ‘SoundOn’ Program to Help Support Independent Musicians

TikTok’s looking to provide more direct support for unsigned musicians, and help them boost their presence, with a new initiative called SoundOn, which will enable any musician to upload and license their tracks for use on TikTok and its partner music streaming platform Resso.

As explained by TikTok:

“[SoundOn] allows artists to upload their music directly to TikTok and begin earning royalties, when that music is used. SoundOn pays out 100% royalties to music creators in the first year and 90% after that, and provides a range of promotional tools and support.”

Those support tools include audience insight and development notes, advice from a dedicated SoundOn artist team, access to TikTok’s song tab and promotional support through creator marketing in the app.

In addition to this, SoundOn artists will also be able to distribute their work to other music platforms.

“As a result, fans loyalty transcends TikTok and helps artists build audiences on other streaming services and DSPs.”

That could be a strong lure for those looking to make a name of themselves in the industry, with TikTok now playing a key role in the music distribution process, and connecting audiences to new tracks.

SoundOn is now fully launched in the US, UK, Brazil and Indonesia – you can check out the SoundOn website here.

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