The Social Scoop - Week 39

Welcome to The Social Scoop! Your go-to bi-weekly update on all things social media: brand new features, key trends and platform shifts, all in one place.

Instagram attains 3 billion users 🎈

Meta has hit another major milestone: Instagram has joined Facebook and WhatsApp in surpassing 3 billion monthly active users. This means three of the company’s platforms now each serve nearly half the world’s online population.
For comparison, TikTok currently sits at about 1.5 billion users, roughly half of Instagram’s audience. The new number of users is remarkable when in fact one of the largest countries in the world, China, has no access to these Meta apps. Besides, some regions in the world still lack internet access. This means that around half of the people walking around are using Instagram, Facebook, and Whatsapp.

Celebratory Instagram Updates ✨

To mark the milestone 3 billion, Instagram has added new updates to the platform. Firstly, users are now able to change their interests or topics they want to see in Reels. In Reels via the adjustment icon, users can alter the content they want to see or not. The chosen topics will be highlighted in Reels. This update is a step for users to take more control over their content, besides what the algorithm shows. The next update, also focusing on Reels, has changed the menu of icons in the lower bar. Reels are now next to the home button and DMs in the middle.

Update on pinning: not just somebody else’s, but also your own 📌

As Instagram does, more updates are available for the platform. Instagram has added new options for pinning comments under your own content. Before, users could only pin three comments from other users. Now, users can also pin their own comments. While seemingly being a small change, the update offers new opportunities. For example, pinning your own comment can be useful for new updates, answering recurring questions or adding more context to your content than done in the caption. As pinned comments are easily visible, it might drive more engagement in the comments.

Instagram Might Finally Let You Fix Carousel Order!📱

Instagram is reportedly testing a new feature that would let users rearrange photos and videos in carousel posts even after publishing. This update could give creators and brands more flexibility to optimize their content without needing to delete and repost.

Meta Introduces Enhanced Ad Capabilities for Reels and Threads 🚀

Meta has announced a set of exciting new ad options at its Brand Building Summit. Trending ads on Reels are expanding, giving advertisers the chance to place their content alongside the platform’s most popular and culturally relevant videos, driving greater visibility and brand impact. On Threads, brands now have more flexibility with carousel ads, updated image and video formats, and the ability to run campaigns even without a Threads account by leveraging Instagram or Facebook posts. Additionally, Meta’s AI-powered value rules for awareness and engagement campaigns allow advertisers to prioritize high-value audiences more effectively, offering powerful new ways to optimize campaigns ahead of key marketing moments.