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 Live Test of Pinned Posts on User Profiles

Instagram’s been hinting at it for a while, and now, it’s launched a live test of a new option to pin images on your profile for selected users.

As you can see above, posted by user Salman Memon, some Instagram users are now able to select a ‘Pin to Your Profile’ option on their IG posts, which enables you to then dock your chosen updates to the top of your post grid on your profile display and highlight key elements, like special offers, product displays, your best performing posts, etc.

As noted, Instagram’s been working on the option for some time, with an initial variation spotted in testing back in January, then updated a month later.

Instagram’s also testing an ‘Edit Grid’ option, that would enable you to re-arrange your profile gallery as you choose, regardless of when each was posted. That could provide even more creative capacity and control, which could be of major benefit for Instagram marketers.

Would you utilise these updates or do you prefer Instagram the way it is?

Instagram Tests Out ‘Templates’ for Reels

More from Instagram! There could be a new way to help users create more engaging Reels clips on the way, while it’s also testing a new option to promote Reels in your main feed, as it works to compete against the rising threat of TikTok.

First off, as first reported by Business Insider, Instagram’s testing a new ‘Templates’ process with some Reels creators, which enables users to replicate the format of a Reels clip that they’ve seen in their own content.

As you can see above, shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, the Templates process enables creators to use any Reels clip as a template, which then creates a framework of clips that matches the time stamps of that Reel. You can then insert your own clips into these frame markers, enabling you to essentially copy the format of the clip.

It could be a simple way to improve the timing of your Reels clips, by using any other clip you see as creative inspiration. And if you’re having trouble coming up with new ideas, or your uploads just don’t look as cool as those you’re seeing in the app, this could be a simple option to construct better content – though it could also encourage plagiarism of other people’s ideas.

Does this make you want to create more Reels?

Twitter’s New Edit Option Looks Set to Have a Full, Publicly Viewable ‘Edit History’ Element

Tweet editing is coming, and last week, there’s been more insight into just how Twitter’s edit option will work, and how users will be able to track changes to ensure transparency in the process.

The reason that Twitter hasn’t implemented tweet editing in the past is because the brief nature of tweets theoretically leaves them more susceptible to subtle changes which could misconstrue the original message.

As explained by tech journalist Casey Newton: “The tweets-are-sacred crowd’s biggest fear, so far as I can tell, is that someone will use the editing feature maliciously to make those who liked or retweeted the original tweet look terrible. For example, a picture of an adorable puppy might be edited, after it has been retweeted thousands of times, to display a picture of something deeply offensive, such as the president of the United States.”

Looks like Twitter’s approach to Edit Tweet is immutable, as in, instead of mutating the Tweet text within the same Tweet (same ID), it re-creates a new Tweet with the amended content, along with the list of the old Tweets prior of that edit

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) April 16, 2022

Is that any more true of Twitter than it is of, say, Facebook, or Instagram? Probably not, but the viral sharing mechanics of Twitter, through the habitual usage of retweets, could arguably make this more of a concern in the app.

So if Twitter is going to implement tweet editing, there would ideally also be a publicly accessible log of changes, so that users can check in on what the original message was, which could lessen concerns on this element.

Sensible! But at least we can make changes to posts if necessary! Let’s see how this one unfolds…

Want to be the first to the latest news in social media? Subscribe to our email newsletter and we’ll send the latest updates straight to your inbox every other week.