SOCIAL
Instagram Tests New ‘Following’ Tab Format with Users in India
Oh wow, Instagram Reels is trying to be even more like TikTok you say? What a surprise.
Instagram’s currently tweaking the design of the main Reels screen in the app, with users in India now seeing a new ‘Following’ tab alongside the main Reels feed.
As you can see in this example, posted by app researcher Salman Memon, Indian users now have a ‘Following’ tab a side-swipe away, providing another way to scroll through your latest Reels clips, in different categories.
Which mirrors TikTok’s ‘Following’ and ‘For You’ feed approach, with the algorithmically recommended clips in ‘For You’ enabling the app to showcase a much broader range of popular video clips.
That’s been the key to TikTok’s success. Rather than limiting your content streams to your personal network, TikTok’s able to take the best content, on an unlimited range of topics, and show them to you based on your interests. That means that the most popular clips have more chance to succeed, regardless of who each user is following, and while you can also filter through the latest uploads from people that you know and like, many users find that the main ‘For You’ feed is enough to give them their short-form video fix.
Reels has taken a similar approach with its Reels tab feed, while content from creators that you follow is now inserted into your main IG feed display. But with this alternating feed approach, you would have a more Reels-specific way to check out clips from the accounts that you follow, which could help to boost engagement, by further leaning into the short-form video trend.
Though even then, the true secret sauce for TikTok is its algorithm, which is increasingly good at learning what you like, and showing you more and more of that.
As outlined by Eugene Wei, TikTok’s entire UI is constructed around algorithmic optimization.
“Everything you do from the moment the video begins playing is signal as to your sentiment towards that video. Do you swipe up to the next video before it has even finished playing? An implicit (though borderline explicit) signal of disinterest. Did you watch it more than once, letting it loop a few times? Did you share the video through the built-in share pane? If you tap the bottom right spinning LP icon and watch more videos with that same soundtrack, that’s additional signal as to your tastes.”
In addition to this, TikTok’s internal classifiers as to what’s actually in each video clip are very specific, and it’s this loop of direct feedback and intricate entity labeling that makes TikTok’s system so good at showing you more of what want to see.
Instagram Reels isn’t at that same level yet. Though it is working on it.
In Meta’s most recent earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an interesting note about the company’s increasing reliance on AI recommendations, as opposed to implicit signals based on your social graph.
As per Zuckerberg:
“While we’re experiencing an increase in short-form video, we’re also seeing a major shift in feeds from being almost exclusively curated by your social graph or follow graph to now having more of your feed recommended by AI, even if the content wasn’t posted by a friend or someone you follow. Social content from friends and people and businesses you follow will continue being a lot of the most valuable, engaging and differentiated content for our services, but now also being able to accurately recommend content from the whole universe that you don’t follow directly unlocks a large amount of interesting and useful videos and posts that you might have otherwise missed.”
Which sounds like TikTok, right? Meta’s social graph has long been its key differentiator, enabling it to keep you informed as to what your friends and family are doing, and are interested in. But now, broadening that scope is more important.
“Overall, I think about the AI that we’re building not just as a recommendation system for short-form video, but as a Discovery Engine that can show you all of the most interesting content that people have shared across our systems. In the future, I think that people will increasingly turn to AI-based Discovery Engines to entertain them, teach them things, and connect them with people who share their interests. I believe our investments in AI, all the different types of content we support, and our work to build the best platforms for creators to make a living will increasingly set our services apart from the rest of the industry and drive our success.”
It’s an interesting shift, because as noted, Facebook, in particular, has long prioritized content from family and friends, and with more users than any other app, by a significant margin, that’s been a winning formula – while other platforms have been forced to find new and better ways to showcase the best content in their apps on a broader scale.
Reddit does this well, through crowd-sourced moderation (up and downvotes). Twitter remains horrendously bad at discovery. But TikTok has mastered it, to a large degree, which is why it’s so compelling, and has become such a time sink for people looking for quick-hit entertainment.
There are some questionable elements within this, in that TikTok feeds into more concerning interests by showing users more and more of the same. But it’s effectively shown that AI recommendations can be an effective way to maximize engagement, without the need for a social graph, opening up more competition in the social media space.
Now Meta’s trying to catch up – though including a ‘Following’ tab will also help to maintain that more close social connection aspect, something that TikTok is now also working to better incorporate as it looks to move into broader social connection.

Really, the ultimate social app would incorporate the two, facilitating optimal content discovery to maximize user engagement, as well as social connection to make it a more sticky, more universal experience. Social elements remain a critical component, while integrating such also means that users can conduct more of their sharing and engagement activity within a single app. If your friends are all sharing updates in TikTok, you don’t need to go to Facebook, while if you can keep finding the best, latest memes and trending content, Instagram becomes less relevant.
The same goes for Snapchat, or Pinterest as TikTok adds more in-app shopping. Broadening the use case is key, and while TikTok is working to incorporate such into its process, Instagram’s also seeking ways to build the same into the Reels experience.
SOCIAL
Elon Musk’s X and Amazon discuss potential collaboration

In a significant development in the social media industry, Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, is reportedly engaging in preliminary discussions …
Source link
SOCIAL
Threads Looks Set to be Made Available to European Users Next Week

Good news with EU social media fans, with Threads looking set for a December 14th launch in the region, just in time to capitalize on holiday engagement.
As reported by The Verge, EU Instagram users can now access a countdown timer at www.threads.net, which seemingly indicates the exact time for the upcoming EU launch. Meta hasn’t made any official announcement, but the countdown clock is only visible to European users, while EU users can also search ‘ticket’ in the Instagram app to find a digital invitation to Threads.
Which replicates the original Threads launch back in July, which included similar Easter eggs and indicators pointing to the launch date (like the above).
The EU launch of Threads has been delayed by evolving EU data privacy regulations, which, due to the timing of the implementation of these new rules, has put additional development burden on the Threads team to ensure compliance with the new parameters. Amid the initial Threads launch, Instagram (and Threads) chief Adam Mosseri said that it could take “many months” for Threads to reach EU users due to these additional complications.
But we have since seen indicators that Threads is coming.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta had an established plan to launch Threads to EU users in December, while app researchers have found various references to an upcoming “Threads EU Launch” in the app’s code.

Given the various strands of evidence, it does indeed seem likely that European users will get access to the app next week. And again, with social media usage increasing during the holiday break, that would also provide the best opportunity for Meta to capitalize on its opportunities.
Which are seemingly on the rise. As more people turn away from Elon Musk’s X project, largely due to Musk’s own divisive commentary, they’re seeking a real-time social alternative, and for many Threads is already filling that void.
That’s especially true for journalists, a common target of Musk’s attacks, who are now establishing new networks within the Threads ecosphere. And while live sports engagement remains high on X, Threads is also making a push to win over more sports communities, even placing ads courtside during the new NBA in-season tournament showcase in Las Vegas.

That’s seemingly prompting more sports fans to post in the app, which will expand again with the arrival of potentially millions more users in the EU region.
So how many more users can Threads expect to gain as a result of its European expansion?
Based on Meta’s EU disclosure data on active users, Instagram currently serves some 259 million monthly active users in Europe.
Instagram’s total, official user count is 1 billion MAU, while Threads now has over 100 million monthly users. So presumably, around a tenth of active IG users are also signing up to the app, which would mean that, at a rough estimate, we’re set to see around 25.9 million new Threads users incoming, if/when Threads is launched in the EU region.
Which is probably not as many as you might expect, but this is based on rough estimates, as Instagram reportedly has more than a billion actives now, and we don’t know the exact, current user counts of either app.
But either way, it will expand the conversation in the app, and enable more people to take part, which has its own expanded benefits. And with around 60 million X users also in the region, that could see a number of them looking to make the switch.
Which is the real aim here. Meta has created Threads as the X alternative, aiming to scoop up former Twitter cast-offs who are unhappy with Elon’s changes at the app. In order to do that, Threads needs to be available in all regions where X users may be looking to jump ship, so its EU expansion is another critical step in this respect.
It’ll be interesting to see what Threads user numbers rise to over the holiday period, and whether it can indeed become a genuine rival for X in total active engagement.
We’ll keep you updated on any official announcement on the Threads EU launch.
SOCIAL
The best social media hacks to blow up your following in just a year

-
WORDPRESS3 days ago
8 Best Zapier Alternatives to Automate Your Website
-
MARKETING6 days ago
How Does Success of Your Business Depend on Choosing Type of Native Advertising?
-
MARKETING7 days ago
OpenAI’s Drama Should Teach Marketers These 2 Lessons
-
MARKETING5 days ago
Intro to Amazon Non-endemic Advertising: Benefits & Examples
-
SOCIAL6 days ago
Paris mayor to stop using ‘global sewer’ X
-
SOCIAL3 days ago
YouTube Highlights its Top Trends, Topics and Creators of 2023
-
SEO6 days ago
The 17 Best Ad Networks For Content Creators In 2024
-
PPC4 days ago
12 Holiday Emails for Customers (Templates & Examples!)
You must be logged in to post a comment Login