The Social Scoop - February

say goodbye to custom identity on TikTok

TikTok will remove the option for Custom Identity in early 2026. From then on, all ads must run from a verified brand account – otherwise your campaigns risk being paused. Custom Identity let advertisers run ads without an official profile, which was beneficial for TikTok, because more businesses could run more ads, but it blurred who was behind a promotion. TikTok says linking ads to a real profile builds trust and can boost results – its tests show 59.3% of advertisers saw CPA drop 10%+ after linking. So: verify your brand account and link it in Business Center ahead of the change.

a little 2026 Instagram crashcourse

Instagram is shaping its best practices for the new year: only five hashtags per post, putting even more weight on shares and saves and a clear push toward DMs. 

1. Sharing is the new liking and DMs are the new community space, with brands shifting more budget into messaging and using Broadcast Channels to scale.
2. Interestingly, carousels are quietly winning reach right now because they hit both followers and non-followers, often earn more saves and reposts and aren’t gated by watch time the way Reels are. 
3. Layer on social SEO: write search friendly captions and keywords so your posts are findable on Instagram and Google. Since July 2025, public Instagram posts have been getting indexed in Google search results across more regions, extending reach beyond your followers. And younger users increasingly start their discovery on social – so being searchable where they look is non-negotiable.
4. Treat comments as your live focus group. This is where you get your feedback.

the next generation of social tools

After acquiring Manus in late 2025, Meta Platforms relaunched it as a deeply integrated execution layer across its ecosystem. Unlike tools like ChatGPT or Gemini that focus on reasoning, MANUS is built to finish jobs: running multi-step workflows reliably with minimal prompting. Its real advantage? Native integration into Meta platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. This makes it possible to build fully custom tools and workflows via Manus, tailored precisely to how your brand or agency operates, not generic solutions, but purpose-built systems designed around your exact needs, long before they exist as off-the-shelf products.

Reddit goes full AI: max campaigns in beta

Reddit is rolling out Max Campaigns, a new automated campaign format designed to help advertisers achieve better results, with less manual optimization. Powered by AI and Reddit Community Intelligence™, Max optimizes everything from targeting and creative to budget and placements, while still keeping brands in control. Early testers are seeing impressive results: on average 27% more conversions and 17% lower CPA, all without manual adjustments. Max Campaigns also provides unique audience insights: Top Audience Personas reveal which users are most engaged and what topics are currently trending.

Reddit overtakes TikTok in the UK

Reddit is now the UK’s fourth most visited social platform, fueled by Gen Z and smarter search algorithms. Its reach has jumped 88% in two years, with three in five Brits now visiting the site. Young users are driving growth: Reddit is now the sixth most visited organisation among 18–24-year-olds, up from 10th last year. Once male-dominated, the platform is now more diverse and gender-balanced, with women making up over half of UK users. Subreddits on parenting, skincare, and women’s football are popular. Algorithm changes are helping too. Google’s updated search and Reddit’s deals with Google and OpenAI are sending more users to the platform, where its human, unpolished advice is increasingly valued over AI-driven content.

OpenAI’s next move? Pinterest in sight

OpenAI may be looking to acquire Pinterest, according to recent reports. The deal would give OpenAI access to massive amounts of human-generated data, especially around product searches, helping it expand ChatGPT as a shopping and ad platform. Pinterest is already a leader in discovery and e-commerce, with 600M+ monthly users and AI-driven product search tools. A merger could give OpenAI a competitive edge in both AI and online shopping.