ICYMI: Bluesky, Threads, TikTok, Instagram... Social's Great Shakeup

The 2024-2025 platform shuffle is real

Nov 22, 2024

Message via username kingrowletx: So you're telling me I have to post to Instagram, reels, stories, tiktok, YouTube, threads, AND Bluesky, AND actively engage with others across every platform every day, AND work my full time job, eat, sleep, chores, AND make new content without wanting to give up and rot in bed? 🥵💀

⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY

TikTok released a “Q5” playbook (the period right after the holiday season)
TikTok is considering TV-style minidramas; 3 reasons this could work
Instagram now offers an option to reset your recommendations
You will no longer be able to follow hashtags on Instagram as of December 13
Threads introduced custom feeds this week
YouTube will let you buy ‘jewels’ to support live creators
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is the latest exec to start posting to LinkedIn
Deep Dive: Should Bluesky be incorporated into your 2025 platform rotation?
Report: The bulk of news influencers on social media are men
Holiday Shopping: Gen Z and Millennials discover new businesses IRL — why that’s important
You’re invited to the new ICYMI 2025 Events Database

💻 ROADMAP

📲 TikTok Updates

TikTok released a New Year New Me playbook timed to Q5, the period right after the holiday season when social audiences are actively seeking new deals, trends, and products to kickstart their new year.

TikTok is considering TV-style minidramas as a way to widen the appeal of the app, according to The Information. It would also expand revenue opportunities from ads to tipping and payment to watch series. Here are the reasons I think TikTok’s series focus could work where others have failed:

👉🏻 The platform’s already captured people’s attention (users spend an average 2.48 hours per day on the app)

👉🏻 TikTok excels at helping people engage with and share content they enjoy (eg. Repost, Duet, Stitch, Share as a GIF)

👉🏻 And audiences are primed to watch serialized content on social (eg. Reese Teesa, Alexis Bittar, Julian Sewell’s ‘80s series)

TikTok introduced affiliate links in organic creator posts. This got buried in last week’s newsletter but is worth surfacing again for visibility. Thanks to Social Media Today and Modern Retail for including me in their coverage.
More creators seem to be getting access to TikTok Collaborations. The option to add up to five collaborators is on the posting page and TikTok currently limits collaborations to 4 times per month, according to creator Helen Polise, otherwise known as TheMuthership. (h/t Anthony Delconte for flagging this.)

📲 Meta Updates

Instagram now has an option to nuke the algorithm and start fresh with all new Recommendations Reset for your Feed, Reels and Explore. If the option is available to you, it’s under Settings > Content Preferences > Reset Suggested Content.

Spotted: Screenshots posted to social suggests you will no longer be able to follow hashtags on Instagram as of December 13. This is the latest in a long string of confusing signals from Instagram about hashtags.

Spotted: Instagram has added a new option to clean up your follower list with a tab called “Deactivated accounts.”

Adam Mosseri says they’re testing moving Highlights so they can get more Instagram Feed content “above the fold.”

Threads announced a new way for people to create custom feeds of topics and people they want to follow around a given subject. “Pull down on your Threads home screen to reveal your custom feeds,” wrote Mosseri.
Threads will now prioritize content from people you follow, with less of an emphasis on recommended content from accounts you don’t follow, says Mosseri.

📲 YouTube Updates

YouTube will let you buy ‘jewels’ to support live creators. The feature is rolling out in the US over the next few weeks for eligible creators in the YouTube Partner Program.

YouTube revealed more details about its new Hype program to support emerging creators. The trial will be available to Brazilian creators first.

📲 Snapchat Updates

Snapchat launched its first branded handbag partnership, adding Prada and Miu Miu bags for Bitmoji.

📲 Pinterest Updates

Pinterest launched a holiday hub for advertisers.

📲 LinkedIn Updates

LinkedIn is retiring Audio Events as of December 31, 2024 and merging the format with LinkedIn Live.

📲 Canva Updates

Canva released its 2025 Design Trends report with aesthetics such as Opulence Era, Analog Meets AI and Refined Grit.

🦋 🌐 SILICON VALLEY’S SOCIAL SHAKEUP

It’s a weird time for creators, social media managers, and audience growth experts. People are bailing on X, Bluesky seems to make headlines daily, and looming government regulations suggest next year’s social media landscape could look wildly different.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the platforms vying for stability:

X

The exodus is real. Ever since Elon Musk took over, users have been eyeing alternatives. After the election, over 115,000 US users deactivated their accounts, including high-profile celebrities and media outlets like The Guardian, which called X a “toxic media platform.” The platform’s sheer size and the fact that so many brands already have an established presence make it hard to ignore — for now. But let’s face it: sticking around might just be a sunk-cost fallacy.

Bluesky

Bluesky is having a moment. The election gave the platform a big (1M users) boost as people looked for alternatives to X; CEO Jay Graber just announced the platform has hit 20 million users; and celebrities are hopping on board. Is it enough to justify making Bluesky part of your platform strategy? Not quite yet, but the growth trajectory makes it worth watching closely — especially if you’re in media, sports, entertainment, or politics. Pro tip: secure your handle now.

Threads

With 275 million users, Threads is flexing where it’s thriving — especially compared to Bluesky. Some say Meta’s nervous about Bluesky’s buzz (see here, here, here and here). But Threads isn’t without challenges. Ads are coming next year, and while that might interest advertisers, it’s risky. If ads aren’t seamlessly integrated, users could bail. Threads isn’t yet a must-have for creators, brands, or, most importantly, mainstream audiences.

TikTok

What’s next for TikTok? Nobody knows. Some see Donald Trump’s 2024 win as a potential lifeline since he opposed a TikTok ban during campaigning. But his pick for FCC head, Brendan Carr, is in favor of banning it, citing national security threats. Unless President Biden grants a 90-day extension, the ban will take effect January 19, 2025 — a day before the inauguration. The suspense!

Instagram

Maybe not yet on everyone’s radar, the FTC is trying to break up Meta, claiming its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were meant to squash competition. A major antitrust case could force Meta to sell off Instagram unless the new administration changes the game (cough, cue Mark Zuckerberg’s fawning). It’s hard to anticipate the consequences if Meta was ever forced to sell off Instagram.

The Bottom Line

The only certainty about 2025? It’s going to be a bumpy ride for anyone who depends on online audiences.

And let’s not forget: to stay relevant, all of these platforms need to win over Gen Z. Bluesky seems to have a lot of goodwill going for it, but does it have enough regular people? Right now, it’s too many journalists, too many people talking politics, and too many people talking about Bluesky, writes Business Insider’s Katie Notopoulos. “You need teens.”

Bluesky Basics

Bluesky is available on iOS, Android and desktop
It’s a decentralized microblogging site
Posts have a 300-character count limit
You can attach images, video or GIFs to posts
Bluesky posts and likes are public
It has custom feeds that allow you to follow specific topics
“Starter packs” refers to curated lists or groups of people to follow

💼 WORTH NOTING

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff started posting on LinkedIn three weeks ago. He joins other notable 2024 accounts, including the White House, actor Simu Liu, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn and NBA veteran Russell Westbrook — in case you’re still working to convince executive leadership to start posting.

Related:

📊 DATA DROP

News influencers are mostly men (63%), compared with 30% who are women. But of the five major platforms — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube — TikTok has the smallest gender gap: 50% of news influencers on TikTok are men, while 45% are women

-via the Pew Research Center study on the news influencer universe and its audience in the US

🛍️ HOLIDAY SHOPPING DATA

Just in time for Small Business Saturday, November 30, American Express dropped its 2024 Shop Small Impact Study.

It shows 88% of Millennials and Gen Z planning to Shop Small this holiday weekend. Even more interesting is this gem:

90% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers discovered small businesses just by walking around their communities, outpacing the 80% who say they discover new small, independent businesses via social media

This shift from online spending to in-person purchasing pairs with a new TikTok mall trend highlighted by Business Insider, blending live streaming with in-person retail.

E-commerce startup Outlandish is turning TikTok Shop into a physical experience with a two-story emporium in Santa Monica. Think of it as “As Seen on TV,” reimagined for the TikTok generation.

Livestream commerce hasn’t hit big in the US like it has in China — and sterile studio setups just aren’t clicking with American audiences. But this hybrid approach of in-person spectacle meets online shopping might be the key to grabbing people’s attention as they stroll around their neighborhoods.

Why your brand needs a B2B newsletter — and how to make a good one (featuring me!) -Hubspot
How Reddit got its “shit together” and went mainstream (thanks in part to Google prioritizing Reddit's results) -Business Insider
Despite gains among its rivals, Twitch still accounts for 82% of streaming hours -Tubefilter
AI avatars that resemble creators are arriving on the Chinese version of TikTok; but the idea might take a minute before it catches on in the US -Tubefilter
Of the 4.2 million podcasts out there, the top 25 podcasts account for half of listening -The Rebooting
Inside Amazon Prime’s sponsorship of Gen Z-favorite social media series Boy Room -AdAge
A masterclass in franchise development: Inside Paris Hilton's booming media business 11:11 -Axios
Kai Cenat is redefining what to expect of Twitch streamers -Reed Duchscher
With an assist from Rebecca Gann, I’ve launched the new 2025 ICYMI Event Database. It’s still light on events but if you have something in the works, let me know and I’ll add it -2025 ICYMI Event Database

Thanks for reading! There will be no newsletter next week due to American Thanksgiving