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Why You Should Be On TikTok if You Want Better Engagement

Loves to write, loves to research, and loves the performance of all things social & blog strategy.

Andddd…Here Come The BeReal CopyCats

Happy Labor Day, all!

I hope you’re taking the well-deserved time off to relax, be present, and refresh.

And maybe even snap some vids for your socials — everything is content, right?

Fall is barreling towards us. Where did the time go? If you’re in a southern state like me, I’m sorry. It’s still a blazing 98 degrees outside with no colorful leaves in sight.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t turn the air conditioning down and deck the halls with pumpkins and spice (you already know where we’re going with this). The season, of course, is marked by Starbucks releasing its iconic pumpkin spice latte this week.

*Cue Ethereal Angel Music*

A PSA for your PSL: Expect a 4% price increase on your grande pumpkin spice latte due to inflation, and some stores are out of stock of the coveted flavor already… I learned this one the hard way.

Whether your store is in stock or not, I wish you all the festive vibes this season, and I’m so gourd you chose to spend a little time reading this… ok, reminder to self to stop using puns.

We’ve got updates from almost every major social media app this week, so you’ll want to read it all the way through.

Anna Klawitter
Editor | The SAUCE

the socialverse

The latest social media stories and updates we’re keeping a pulse on.

Here Comes the BeReal Copycats

Remember when every social app was copying Snapchat’s Stories — Instagram successfully so? Lately, that sort of copy-and-paste development cycle has been targeted at TikTok and, more recently, BeReal. Since the app has reached 30.7 million downloads, it makes sense that other apps are trying to jump on the bandwagon.

If you’re unfamiliar with BeReal, it’s an app that uses both front and back cameras. Users can only post once a day without filters or follower counts. Snapchat added the same dual-camera feature front and center into their app. The timing since BeReal’s rather triumphant entrance to the social realm seems a little too coincidental.

But let’s not forget about Instagram, the Queen B of unoriginal features.

Instagram already copied the dual camera feature on stories, but now they’re taking it a step further with “IG candid challenges.” A blatant copycat move as it would send Instagram users a notification giving them two minutes to capture and share an “IG Candid” photo to their Story. This is essentially the same mechanic BeReal uses today.

Sure, BeReal didn’t pioneer the dual camera, but it’s sad the amount of copycatting we see in the socialverse today.

Please, social platform gods. If you’re listening, give us something new for once.

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Twitter Plans To (finally) Add an Edit Button

After years of requests from users and a little push from Elon Musk, Twitter plans to allow edits to tweets up to 30 minutes after they’re sent.

So far, Twitter’s just testing the feature internally, but the company plans to roll it out to paying Twitter Blue subscribers soon.

Edited tweets will be marked with a label to let users know they’ve been changed, and prior versions of the tweet will still be viewable to prevent misinformation from spreading on the platform.

I think this will make Twitter a less stressful platform to post on. Of course, always double-check your grammar, but if you realize you made a mistake right after posting, hopefully, we’ll all soon have an option to edit.

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Twitter rolls out Twitter Circle more broadly

Twitter Circle is similar to Instagram’s close friends feature. Circle allows users to add up to 150 people to a group, and you can publish tweets that only people in that circle can see.

People included in a Circle will see a special green badge under tweets to indicate that the post is only available to that group and not the user’s public timeline.

The memes that have surfaced over Twitter Circle are worth the chuckle.

See The Memes Here

Instagram’s Newest Feature Scoop

Instagram is out with some new features this week, including an option to tell the app you don’t like what it’s recommending. When hitting the three vertical buttons on a post you find odd to show up in your feed, you can hit “Not Interested,” and the app will hide that post and other similar posts.

IG is also testing a feature that will allow you to choose to hide posts that contain certain words, phrases, or emojis in the caption or hashtags.

Instagram is looking to appease users and better present itself as creator-focused after it faced backlash over the past few months by trying to compete with TikTok.

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TikTok is Superior When it Comes To Engagement

The engagement rates on TikTok are through the roof. Even more reason for your brand to be on the app.

A social analytics company called Rival IQ recently released data that shines light on the engagement rates that brands see on the app.

I dropped some industry-related stats below for you number-driven folks.

  • Companies offering higher education: 9.9%
  • Sports teams: 7.6%,
  • Non-profits at 6.4%.
  • Food and beverage companies: 4.5%

Now, if your business isn’t in these categories, don’t worry; the average engagement rate for all niches is still 4.1%, meaning if you haven’t started an account on the app… what are you waiting for?

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LinkedIn To Introduce Native Scheduling

If you don’t have a scheduling platform and choose to post natively on socials, this update could be a life-changer. You should soon have the option to natively schedule posts in advance through the LinkedIn app.

With engagement on LinkedIn at record growth levels, you should keep an eye on this one.

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what we’re keeping a pulse on

Joe Rogan and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg chatted for almost three hours on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, released Thursday. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a drive from Chicago to Davenport, Iowa, but here are a few highlights if you’re not planning on making that trip.

VR headset: Zuck said Meta will launch the sequel to its Quest 2 headset at the company’s Connect conference, which has typically occurred in October. The headset will have eye- and face-tracking tech and beef up your avatar’s nonverbal communication to mimic real-life conversations.

Fact-checking: Rogan asked Zuckerberg if he regretted limiting the distribution of an article about Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020. Zuckerberg told Rogan that the decision was “pretty reasonable. “You know, we still let people share it, but obviously, you don’t want situations like that.” Zuck also said Meta spent $5 billion in 2021 on fighting disinformation.

Morning routines: Zuck said waking up every day is like being “punched in the stomach” by a barrage of messages. He spends an hour or more working out to cope with the stress. Zuck said he’s recently gotten into mixed martial arts and stopped running because “the problem with running is you can think a lot.”

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