“What a year!” – Social Media Managers, three weeks into 2025.
It’s safe to say that the new year has kicked off with a deluge of social media updates. Add in the drama surrounding the TikTok ban and it’s been a busy few weeks for social media marketers to keep up with!
We’ve rounded up the most pressing social media news and updates that clients need to know about.
TikTok’s Disappearing Act
In what was likely an elaborate stunt neatly timed in the run up to the inauguration, TikTok was taken down in the US for what turned out to be mere hours in the end, but there was, of course, mass panic from the app’s creator community. It quickly came back with “thanks” to Trump, who has since signed an executive order to pause the imminent ban.
Key takeaways for clients
Think about where your content lives and what data you own. Becoming over-reliant on channels where you don’t own your audience can be risky. Have smart back up plans such as your owned email database. On platforms like Substack you have full ownership of your audience’s data and can take it with you if you move elsewhere.
In terms of a TikTok ban in the UK, there are no current plans to extend a ban to UK consumers according to government ministers.
Instagram’s Going Through Changes
Let’s all collectively weep for the death of the legendary square grid. Yes, the 4:5 grid view has officially been rolled out.
Despite Adam Mosseri’s apologetic update post, us social media veterans can’t help feeling a sting of bitterness about this one. We’re used to the amalgamation of apps’ features, but we all know where the inspiration for this one has come from and we can’t quite get on board with the supposed reasoning behind this being inspired by the increased amount of vertical content in people’s feeds.
Speaking of copycat-ism, in a coincidentally (or not!) timed announcement while all eyes have been on ByteDance (TikTok’s owners), Instagram released a near identical copy of the Chinese-owned video editing app CapCut, called Edits.
They’ve launched this as a standalone app rather than as an add-on to the existing in-app functionality, with Mosseri describing it as a “full suite of creative tools.”
Key takeaways for clients
We’ll now be working on 4:5 ratio static posts and will be going through grid previews to re-crop and tidy them up as best as we can!
Poor Niall
Meta’s MAGA Makeover
Where to even start with Zuckerberg? With motives as transparent as Lauren Sánchez’s brassiere, Meta have announced a huge shift in policies and practices that steer the company to the right in the run up to the commencement of Trump’s second act. The most concerning of these was the transition to using ‘Community Notes’ instead of third-party fact checkers. Taking inspiration from X’s community notes system, with the new updates, users will be able to write and rate notes that can be added onto posts, which can provide additional context. In the age of disinformation, this is a concerning move.
Key takeaways for clients
One to keep an eye on. This update was rolled out in the US-only for now, but as the political landscape continues to shift and Zuckerberg nestles himself further into the orange-tinged Republican bosom, we’ll be prepared for any backlash and shifts in consumer appetite for Meta’s suite of apps.
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