RED HOT SOCIAL HEADLINES: WHAT YOU MISSED THIS MONTH IN SOCIAL

Social platforms are making big moves, and this month’s headlines are all about expanding opportunities for creators, brands and advertisers. Instagram is experimenting with longer-form video, Meta is sharing fresh insights into what’s driving engagement, LinkedIn is opening new doors for creator monetization, and Reddit is tightening access to its data. Here’s what communicators need to know.

Instagram tests videos up to 90 minutes long 

Instagram is testing a new long-form video format called Features, allowing a select group of U.S. creators to post horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long.  

Key Details: 

• Creators will be able to share shorter clips of these long-form videos as Reels to help audiences discover the full video. 

• Instagram is also expanding video viewing to Apple TV and plans to make Instagram Live streams discoverable to people beyond creators’ followers. 
• Instagram has not announced a long-term ad-revenue-sharing model for creators, though it says it is exploring ways for creators to earn from brands, fans, and the platform.  

Key Takeaway: 

Instagram is making a play for longer viewing sessions and more varied creator content, not just short-form video. For marketers, the test is worth watching as a potential new setting for episodic storytelling, interviews, and other longer-form creative. 

Read more here. 

Meta shares new insights on platform growth 

Alongside its Q3 earnings, Meta shared usage and engagement updates for Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, highlighting growth in video viewing and recommendations across its apps.  

Key Details: 

• Instagram time spent per user reached a quarterly high, with Reels time spent increasing by more than 4% following recommendation improvements. 

• Nearly 45% of recommended Instagram Reels were less than a day old, and time spent on Facebook Reels reached an all-time high, growing by double digits year over year. 
• Meta said time spent on Threads per user increased by more than 20% year over year, and that the platform had surpassed X in monthly active users.  

Key Takeaway: 

Instagram is rewarding fresh Reels, Facebook video viewing is climbing, and Threads is seeing increased time spent. Marketers should tailor their approach accordingly, prioritizing timely Reels on Instagram and Facebook while exploring Threads as a growing space for audience engagement. 

Read more here. 

LinkedIn adds new creator monetization options

LinkedIn is rolling out a range of creator-focused updates and ways for brands to leverage talent on the platform.

Key Details:

• LinkedIn is testing pre-roll ads (promotional videos that play automatically before a video or stream begins) on creator content. This would give advertisers the opportunity to place ads alongside relevant creator videos while giving creators a share of the resulting ad revenue.
• The platform has also added new search filters to its Creator Marketplace, enabling brands to find creators based on audience focus, expertise, preferred content formats and other criteria.
• LinkedIn is also introducing Advice Sessions, which allow verified Premium users to offer free or paid one-on-one consultations directly through the platform.

Key Takeaway:

These updates signal the platform’s ambition to become a more valuable destination for thought leaders, experts and professional creators looking to build sustainable businesses around their content. 

Read more about LinkedIn’s creator monetization updates here.

Reddit phases out RSS and public API access

Reddit is restricting access to its platform to curb scraping and protect the value of its user-generated data.

• RSS feeds, which let people follow subreddits, profiles or searches without visiting Reddit directly, will shut down on November 13, with moderators directed to migrate alerts to Discord Relay where possible.
• Public API access will end by March 2027, affecting social listening tools, researchers, AI products and unregistered third-party apps.
• Access to Old Reddit will also be limited, while approved developers must register their apps by January 12, 2027.

Key Takeaway: 

Public API access ending by March 2027 will largely affect social listening tools, researchers, AI services and some third-party apps, making direct agreements with Reddit more important for social listening and research.

Read more here.