Matthew Stultz @Stultzmatt

This sums it up. As a manager, I’d always prefer to have a strategy that takes risks and makes a few mistakes than a strategy that plays it safe and never makes an impact.

@R_PellegrinoTV Congrats, Rachel!

Social media updates you NEED to know: 👀 Instagram is testing rectangular previews on profile grids. 🤖 YouTube is testing a “Brainstorm with Gemini” option which will provide prompts, concepts, trend notes and thumbnail suggestions. 🚫 Instagram is working on blocking the ability to take screenshots in chats when media can only be viewed or replayed once. 🧵 Threads is (finally) working on advanced search, allowing users to filter posts by date and profile. 👋 X, FKA Twitter, is testing the removal of like, comment and repost buttons from replies. 💸 YouTube is testing picture-in-picture mid-roll ads for live streams. 🎧 Instagram is now allowing users to link their Spotify accounts to save songs to a dedicated playlist. 🪡 Threads is working on a custom feeds feature, allowing users to name the feed too. 🤓 Reddit is teasing AI-powered search features and paid subreddits. 🎥 Facebook looks like its testing two main chronological feeds, “Video” alongside the normal “Feed”. ❤️ LinkedIn is testing the ability for users to directly SAVE a post for later within the main post menu, with “repost”, “repost with thoughts” and “send as a message” under a “Share” button. ⚫️ TikTok have introduced a new feature called "It's Not A Phase" and it's an entire feed dedicated to Kerrang! after the music channel closed earlier this year (this is the fake update for the folks who steal Annie-Mai's content, still ly though). ⚖️ X, FKA Twitter, is suing the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), the World Federation of Advertisers and GARM members CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever after accusing them on an ‘illegal’ boycott of the platform. And that's all for now folks! I might see you next Wednesday for The Social Tea, but I am taking an ENTIRE week off 🥹💜 so see you soon, friends.

@Squwil91 @WTAJnews @MelindaRoederTV Congrats, sir! 💯

Social media updates you NEED to know: 👏 TikTok has (finally) introduced an “Upload Cover Image” option for videos. 🎧 YouTube adds an option for creators to save music from their Shorts feed. 🚫 X, FKA Twitter, is testing an option that would allow users to block links in post replies. 📝 Instagram has expanded its Notes feature to Reels and Feed posts. 📈 X, FKA Twitter, has launched Trend Genius Ads and using AI, it’ll be able to identify hot topics, and align ad placements within relevant mentions. 👀 Instagram is testing the DM button being in the middle of the navigation tab, where the create post button currently is. And it looks like the create post icon would move to the top, next to the notifications icon. 🤭 Facebook has made a historic move and has decided to go back to one of its older names TheFacebook. Turns out "Facebook" wasn't cleaner. If you know, you know. (This is the fake update for all folks who steal Annie-Mai's content). 🎵 TikTok has partnered with DistroKid, an independent music distribution service, which allows members to create their official TikTok Artist Accounts directly from the DistroKid dashboard. 🤖 Meta has launched a new AI feature called “Imagine Me” which creates an image based off of a photo and a prompt like “Imagine me as a Tim Burton character”. ICYMI last week: - Instagram now lets users add up to 20 songs in a single Reel. - Threads is testing a media re-share option that credits the original poster. - TikTok has announced a new partnership with Eventbrite, allowing users to promote event in-stream (appears like TikTok Shop links do). And that's all for now folks. As usual, the sources are in the thread. See you next week for more of The Social Tea 👋

Every quarter I release my Brand Social Trend Report. It recaps the the formats that took over and the themes that felt inescapable. It’s a little bit of science and a whole lot of gut. Kind of how I approach social strategy in general. Here's what's in the Q2 2024 edition:

Social media updates you NEED to know: 🎧 Instagram now lets users add up to 20 songs in a single Reel. 👯‍♀️ YouTube is working on “Community Spaces” which is a feature that provides a dedicated space for fans to interact via text-based posts. 📸 Instagram is working on a new sticker for Stories called “Pics Please” where users can collect photos that users send using that sticker. 🎟️ TikTok has announced a new partnership with Eventbrite, allowing users to promote event in-stream (appears like TikTok Shop links do). 👏 Threads is testing a media re-share option that credits the original poster. 🖼️ YouTube says it wont be introducing customisable thumbnails for Shorts at this stage but the platform is testing the ability to edit thumb frames, as well as being able to add text and filters. 💞 Instagram is allegedly working on a Super Like feature for Stories that users can only use once per day. 🫣 Instagram recently launched the ability for users to upload carousels with different sized images, but it now seems like you can’t boost posts with a 9:16 aspect ratio image included. 💬 Meta is testing AI comment summaries for Facebook, which does exactly what it says on the tin and summaries the comments under a post. 🤭 LinkedIn has announced that users who don’t disclose brand partnerships on the platform properly will be get a public badge on their profile - titled “LinkedInfluencer Naughty List” for misleading their audience (this is the fake update for the folks who steal Annie-Mai’s content). ⭐️ WhatsApp has introduced a “Favourites” filter feature which allows users to fid chats and calls from people and groups easier. And that's all for now folks. See you next Wednesday for the latest Social Media Tea with Annie-Mai 👋

The Link in Bio Guide to Getting a Job in Social Media is here! It's a free evergreen resource, written by @todd_needle, that anyone can refer back to during the job search process. Here's some context to why we published it and what it covers:

Another day, another deal… Exclusive: @Time strikes licensing deal, strategic partnership with @OpenAI More on @axios axios.com/2024/06/27/ope…

@krispykreme Blueberry (also miss the Original Kreme Filled!)

@ChrisBarrish3 @RyanMartin62822 ...#stultzalum always watching!

NEW: @AP launching a nonprofit to raise philanthropy dollars for local news — Looking to raise at least $100M initially — The "AP Fund for Journalism" will be a 501(c)3 charitable organization with a separate board More on @axios axios.com/2024/06/25/ap-…

💬"Why it matters: The Supreme Court's decision punts the issue of tech platforms' legal liability and any limits on content moderation back to Congress, where lawmakers are deeply divided and unlikely to pass any new laws in the near future." axios.com/pro/tech-polic…

Social media updates you *NEED* to know: 🔍 TikTok is levelling up its user experience, with location tags now showing categories such as food & drink, things to do, hotels, parks and shopping which are filled with relevant videos 👏 Meta is testing a feature that would allow users to A/B test Reels 👀 YouTube is testing ‘Hype’ which is a feature that allows users to “boost the likelihood of a video “appearing in the rankings with other hyped videos that week.” 📌 Pinterest now lets users “share dynamic videos” of their favourite Pinterest boards to other social platform via board sharing, and it enables users to include a link so that others can explore their board on the platform 🤝 YouTube has partnered with U.S. State Department to promote peace, focusing on micro-grants for social impact, supporting the creative economy, leveraging global events and english language learning through music 💀 Threads is working on self-destructing posts that disappear after 24hrs 🌞 LinkedIn have announced a new feature that notifies businesses in the UK that it’s too hot to possibly work in the office, and to let everyone go home to enjoy the sunshine instead (this is the fake update for the folks who steal my content!!!!) 📲 Threads users can now opt-in to fediverse sharing, meaning their content will be available on platforms like Mastodon. Alongside this, they will be able to see any likes and replies from other platforms in the fediverse directly within the Threads app 📹 YouTube now allows creators to edit videos that are more than 6 hours long 🤖 Apple and Meta have reportedly discussed an AI partnership ICYMI last week: TikTok launched a photo-sharing app called Whee, but like, seriously. And that's all for now folks! See you next Wednesday for more of The Social Tea with Annie-Mai 👋🖤

The greatest Mountaineer of all time, Jerry West 🫶 🔗: tinyurl.com/23a63yje #HailWV

@colin_c_rhodes 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Celebrating @krispykreme "crowned" #stultzalum on National Donut Day! 🍩

Social media updates you NEED to know: 👀 Instagram is testing unskippable ads in-feed 🫢 TikTok is looking at creating a US copy of its core algorithm, which according to Reuters may “result in a version that operates independently” from ByteDance 🔗 Instagram said that using certain call to actions can HARM your reach in a quickly deleted post, stating that if users ask for engagement (like shares, comments, tags etc) then they WON’T recommend it 🪩 The future of Facebook? Apparently, an increased focus on young adults and to do that, Facebook has made changes to its “core” product such as expanding AI capabilities, video improvements and creator opportunities 🇬🇧 TikTok has launched a dedicated in-app General Election Centre to provide UK users reliable and authoritative information 📈 Pinterest has published a study which shows drives 170% more “Total Attention” compared to other platforms 💭 YouTube has launched a live test of Dream Screen, its AI-generated video and image backgrounds ❤️ Snapchat’s latest campaign “Less likes. More love.” promotes connection as it continues to push the narrative that its not the same as other social platforms 💌 Instagram is releasing a dating app called InstaDAMN (this is the fake update!!! this isn't real and isn't happening!!! it's for people who steal Annie-Mai's content) 😲 According to TikTok, 92% of users globally take action after watching a TikTok video 📢 Instagram has introduced updates to Broadcast Channels including being able to go LIVE exclusively for members, custom themes, emoji moderations and QR codes 🔓 Brand and celebrity accounts on TikTok are being hacked via DMs - the compromised accounts include Paris Hilton and CNN - TikTok is aware and preventing it from happening in the future 🥹 ICYMI last week: LinkedIn is making link previews MUCH smaller in feed, unless you pay And that's all for now folks! See ya'll next week for the latest Social Tea 👋🖤

Social media updates you *NEED* to know: 🔗 LinkedIn is making link previews much SMALLER in the feed - unless you pay 🤭 Instagram is testing a CapCut-style feature, allowing users to scroll through trending memes to add to posts 📲 TikTok is launching a management platform for creators which will allow them to “create, edit, upload, manage and analyse” their account and content performance. 🌱 A new report by Sprout Social suggests the best times to post on *social media, and on LinkedIn, company pages can see the “most engagement” on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 10am-12pm 👀 Google’s 2,500-page document about how Google Search works has been leaked 🚫 MPs are urging the next government to ban smartphones for under-16s in the UK 👯‍♀️ Elon Musk claims that X, FKA Twitter, has 600M monthly active users 📸 Mark Zuckerberg has been spotted wearing a t-shirt with a quote from The Social Network saying: “Sorry my Prada’s at the cleaners, along with my hoodie and f*ck you flip flops” (this is for the folks who steal my (@anniemaisocial's content) ily 💌 Instagram is working on a feature called Lately, which highlights recent Stories on user profiles 👻 TikTok has added a floating player on desktop, which means users can watch TikTok videos while doing something else on their computer 👾 YouTube is rolling out in-app games to more users in the Australia, Canada, the US and the UK 🤪 AI-generated emojis could be coming in Apple’s iOS 18 *SO important to note here that these “best times to post” are a good STARTING point, but use your own data to get a good idea of when your audience is likely to be most active. And that's all for now folks! See you next Wednesday for your favourite, and OG, Social Tea 👋🖤