Verified Selfies on X, Musical Carousel Posts on IG, A Web App for Threads, and TikTok’s Holiday Guide

TikTok’s Holiday Guide

TikTok is staying ahead of the upcoming holiday season with a handy guide for marketers and businesses. The 2023 Holiday Marketing Guide is a helpful source to use when planning marketing strategies, with valuable tips and insights. It includes a timeline with guidance on pre-holiday, peak holiday and post holiday periods.

TikTok explores holiday opportunities and delves into the ways that it has become a search engine of sorts, especially in terms of trending products. TikTok explains that 15% of all product discovery begins on its platform, and 61% of TikTok audiences have made a purchase directly after seeing it on the app. 

The Holiday Marketing Guide is comprehensive with 17 pages. By using it, marketers will be able to care to the algorithm and make the most of the holiday season. It also includes tips on using TikTok tools to enhance your content, from CapCut editing to ad optimisation, creative tips, and eCommerce solutions. 

Verified Selfies May Be Coming to X

Rumour has it that the soon-to-be ‘everything app’ may require a selfie and personal identification if you’d like to be verified. There is a screenshot making the rounds detailing this alleged move, which would also details how X will also require users to use a device with a working, uncovered camera. 

This security feature is said to combat bots and catfish, however, teaming up with the third-party  identity intelligence company Au10tix has raised concerns. While the verification process is said to take 5 minutes, the ID and biometric data would be stored on a server for up to 30 days for verification and “safety and security purposes.”

X’s verification process has changed before, going from a visible blue tick on a profile by requesting it with links, an official email address, or a ID document. This changed in December last year with Twitter Blue (now X Premium), a premium account which included a paid subscription service. This lead to a lot impersonated accounts circulating, causing confusion about which accounts authentic. 

The potential new method of verification would be an optional feature for X Premium users. Whether this rumour will come to fruition is yet to be seen, with other alleged changes being the cancellation of the blocking feature (except for privately sent messages). 

Musical Creations and More Collabs on Instagram

Instagram is enhancing its creativity and connection features  with the introduction of music for photo carousels. Now, your ‘photo dumps’ can feature a soundtrack, which builds on the launch of music for photo posts. This feature is designed to  capture the essence of the moment, with Instagram users’ new musical capabiltiies making it a more immersive and experiential space.

Another new feature allows users to invite up to three friends to co-author a Collab post, carousel, or reel. This will expand the reach that content has by appearing on the grid of all the co-authors. Reels is also joining in on the fun with a new update which allows users to join their favours creators and artists via Reels. Creators can use the Add Yours sticker to invite others to create a response. Creators (celebs included) can then review the responses they receive and “favourite” them.

Meta Announces the Launch of a Threads Web App

A Threads web app is being rolled out to enable users to use the app via their desktop computer or laptop. They’ll be able to log in and then view your feed, post, and engage with others just as they would using the mobile app. The web app platform is especially helpful for businesses and journalists who need to monitor and make posts from a computer. 

While this initial launch does not include the ability to search or schedule posts, though these features will be added soon. People are keeping a watchful eye on this to determine whether interest in Threads will rise again, and if this can become a true contender for X.