Social Media News: Sneak Preview of Facebook’s Redesign and Twitter Data Showing an Epic Shift in Consumer Power

Every week (almost) I broadcast live on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, to bring da people news and commentary on the digital verse. In this week’s social media news, the theme is the push by social media creators to no longer be on the sidelines, but rather be seen and treated as co-creators with each other and with brands. A new Twitters trends report, which I’ll discuss later in this article gives more insights into this trend. But we’ll start with news from Facebook, then an Instagram update and we’ll end with the stunning Twitter data. Or you can scroll to the end and watch the 13-minute video where I break all of this down.

Is a New Facebook Desktop Design Coming?

I’m sure you all have been waiting for this news: the big Facebook desktop redesign. I have sneak previews for you of what they’re testing, thanks to Stan Schroeder at Mashable. 

We’ve been expecting that Facebook would move stories to the top since they have the proven success of this model from Instagram. 

You’ll notice the first “post” feature is Live Video, and underneath, you have “create room” live video chatrooms. Data tells them live videos get more engagement. Facebook has been making the shift to being a media company. You have the clubhouse effect, through which we learned people engage in live streams. 

I don’t even want to go into my reaction to the left double column. Actually, I will: it makes my brain shut down. 

What does this mean to you as a brand? 

The death of social media as we know it has already happened. It’s time we bury the old idea that social media work is “posts.” We are in the age of digital media production, which encompasses many of the old concepts of marketing disciplines. Some of it is social media posts, some of it is video. Or rather a LOT of it. There’s still room for blogging. And a LOT of room for collaborations, interviews, features, story-telling, showing, telling. Let’s say you are making some product packaging changes. The customers seem not to like it. But you have 20 good reasons why the new packaging is good for you and your customers. Give a live townhall a try – explain the benefits of the changes, invite comments, questions, and participation. 

But I want to hear from you: what do you think of this redesign? Let me know in the comments.

Instagram launches a new tag type

Instagram launched a new tag type so you can give proper credit to contributors.

There’s some history to this. In July of 2021, Black TikTok creators went on strike to protest a lack of recognition for their work. Imagine you just published a video with a dance that you created. Before you know it, millions of people are copying the dance, but the original creator is forgotten. This happened to  Jalaiah Harmon, a Black teenager from greater Atlanta, and her Renegade dance. The NBA invited several white TikTok creators to dance the Renegade at the All Start Weekend. Harmon was not invited until the NBA received pushback on social media. 

Think of it like this; if this was a ballet company, the choreographer will permanently have his creator stamp on his creation. But that’s not necessarily the case on social media.  

Additionally, content collaborations are huge, and just tagging someone may not show exactly how they contributed. Now, at least on Instagram, you’ll be able to specify who the photographer was, who the hairstylist was, and what that brand you’re tagging makes, etc. 

And here were are talking about collaborations again. You know there’s power in numbers. You know people are attracted to authenticity. Partnerships provide those benefits and more. I don’t care if you’re in B2B and B2C, add collabs to your marketing strategies, now before even micro-influencers will start charging for collabs. 

Twitter Reports a Rise in the Stanning Trend and Fans Wanting to Get Paid For It

Audiences no longer want to sit on the sidelines. A new Twitter 2022 brands report shows that fans and creators no longer wish to be on the sidelines, and digital communities are now calling the shots.

“The tables have turned. Fans no longer just follow, they’re calling the shots, while making the rules, and creating worlds they want to be part of. With a 51% decrease in the use of the term “stanning,” this is an epic shift in power. In thousands of niche communities on Twitter, fans are building and creating — collaborating with artists and each other. Even more game-changing? Shared ownership. Fans having a genuine stake in what they’ve made. And getting paid for it.” 

I know for a lot of brands, these are scary concepts. Letting go of control is hard. Brand identities are often carefully manicured, and the thought of letting go is daunting. You don’t have to dismantle the reflection of who you are to fall into trends. I am here to tell you about what’s to come and what is possible. 

But if you’re wondering why your social media numbers are slowly declining, it’s because the social airwaves have been taken over by content creators and stans, and collaborators. Whether you’re in B2B or B2C, the least you can do is start working on some collaborations. 

You can watch the full live video and more of my thoughts here: