Finn Partners Inc.
01/24/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/24/2025 12:18
BOOM SCROLL: JANUARY 2025
News and Insights
BOOM SCROLL: JANUARY 2025
January 24, 2025
Need to speed-read your social feed? Here's the social intel from last month you definitely need to know.
tl;dr
TikTok plot twists, Meta axes fact checking, YouTube lengthens Shorts, Reddit and Bluesky trend again, Meta unleashes the bots, and X marks up their algorithm.
#1 TikTok: Yes, No… Maybe?
In what might be the shortest shutdown in social media history, the TikTok saga had everything: Supreme Court drama, presidential plot twists, and enough suspense for a Netflix series.
The Boom
- The Supreme Court says no, TikTok goes dark, everyone panics.
- In less than 12 hours TikTok was back with a presidential pardon and a 75-day extension.
- The CEO of TikTok showed up at President Trump's inauguration.
Our take
When it comes to TikTok, we're all watching the same cliffhanger. But while the drama unfolds, smart brands are writing their own story.
The script: diversify your platforms. Get those videos going on Meta Reels and YouTube Shorts. Download your data and posts from TikTok. And don't put all your advertising eggs in one short-form basket. Also, review your influencer contracts-because the only predictable thing about this story, is its surprise ending.
#2 Meta: Fact Checking Checks Out
Meta's latest reality check: they're ending 3rd party fact checking and embracing a Community Notes function a la X.
The Boom
- This announcement immediately inspired outcry among many Meta users.
- X's Community Notes filters user comments through a Reddit-like voting system to boost the most widely liked notes.
- Meta has assured businesses that community notes will NOT pop up on paid content (boosts and ads).
Our take
Before we all start doom-scrolling, let's take a breath. Meta does not want to spook advertisers, so expect some guard rails to emerge - whether at launch or a "we heard your feedback" memo a few weeks later. Plus, this may only affect US users.
For now? Continue posting and engaging as usual. Also continue daily community management and social monitoring on organic posts and paid ads, and track your inbox.
#3 YouTube: The Long and Short of it
YouTube has announced that Shorts can now be up to three minutes long, making them more like, well, Mediums.
The Boom
- Back in March of 2024, YouTube said that Shorts get 70 billion daily views.
- The time cut-off for Shorts used to be 60 seconds.
- Ta da! Meta has announced that Reels can be up to 3 minutes long, too.
Our take
Are you posting short form videos on TikTok and Meta Reels? Time to start posting them on YouTube Shorts. Any video that's 180 seconds or less can now be posted to all three platforms. It's the content creator version of working smarter, not harder.
#4 Bluesky and Reddit: Best Trends Forever
With Bluesky adding trending topics, and Reddit launching Pro Trends, suddenly the race to track what's hot is trending.
The Boom
- Bluesky's trending topics feature lets users explore the latest, curated by smart detection of key terms.
- Reddit Pro Trends makes it easy to see everything that's trending on the app, all in one place.
Our take
The latest trends are perfect fuel for organic social content, ad campaigns, and figuring out whether your brand should play, or stay out of the fray. They're also catnip for journalists mining social data for stories. Since each network has its own native trends, discussions, and users, more tracking tools means more ways to stay ahead of the curve.
#5 Meta: The Bots Are Coming
Generative AI is going social as Meta considers unleashing millions of bot profiles across its networks, designed to engage like actual humans. What could go wrong?
The Boom
- AI-generated images, videos, and text are already surging on social media.
- When more users (human or bot) interact, engagement and reach will increase.
Our take
The social implications of Meta's AI bot profiles might seem dystopian, but the algorithms love it. When engagement goes up, reach follows soon after - whether those likes come from your fellow humans or your new bot besties.
#6 X: Turn That Frown Upside Down
According to Elon Musk, the latest X algorithm will prioritize entertaining, informative, and positive content - because sometimes even algorithms need good vibes.
The Boom
- As Elon said, "Our goal is to maximize unregretted user-seconds. Too much negativity is being pushed that technically grows user time, but not unregretted user time."
- The platform is taking notes from TikTok's playbook: show people what they like, and they spend more time on the platform.
Our take
X and negativity have been in a downward spiral lately, but this update could change that. For now, keep your content informative, educational, and engaging. Because who knows? If the algorithm can't say something nice about your content, maybe it won't say anything at all.