Hello friends, 

What a week it’s been.

→ Justin Bieber went for full nostalgia during his Coachella set with his laptop, YouTube Premium, and the ultimate karaoke vibe. As Katy Perry said: thank god he had YouTube Premium.

→ I went on the Search with Candour podcast last week, talking about all things social media SEO, search intent, whether your brand should participate in trends, understanding meme lore + why the time you post your content doesn’t really matter. You can watch here. The theme of the podcast was “just keep trying,” “it depends,” and “experiment”.

(I’m still waiting for the official go ahead to release the social media SEO workbook I’ve been working on, but if you’re interested, reply “WORKBOOK” and I’ll send it to you anyway. I’ve had fab feedback from you guys already about this.)

→ I’m the trend correspondent for Pretty Little Marketer’s community, which is a big pinch me moment. I’ll be hosting quarterly calls discussing the latest trends and updates in the marketing world, and I fear it’s an exclusive so Sophie’s community because I won’t be doing webinars anywhere else.

Whew. And breathe.

As for this week’s social media updates? I can’t lie to you all, they aren’t that interesting — I haven’t even done a top story. I’ve mentioned this before, but I only ever include updates I think you actually need to know. If you want a more comprehensive overview of everything going on, I’d recommend: Social Media Today, TechCrunch, The Verge, Matt Navarra, Lia Haberman + Alessandro Paluzzi.

Even still, it’s time to grab your drink of choice + a snack, as we’re about to dive into the most lukewarm social tea.

Thank you to the lovely Carolina Barbosa who has submitted this week’s hot take.

→ You can now edit your Instagram comments.

→  Instagram is allegedly working on a dedicated Stories tab, which shows content from mutual friends, recently added to highlights and expiring soon. 

→ LinkedIn adds video playback controls.

→ Snapchat is trying to brand Snapcodes as a marketing tool. The brand says regular QR codes often fall short compared to Snapcodes, which allow advertisers to match their brand identity, as well as offering AR experiences and more analytic options. 

→ Content diversification is the key to growth on Pinterest.

→ Instagram head, Adam Mosseri, says that too many creators focus on high-value production vs. the actual raw content, the message they’re trying to send and the raw creative. And that what resonates with audiences the most has very little to do with production, and more to do with the content itself.

→ XChat, X’s standalone messaging app, is launching this week with features including: disappearing messages, screenshot blocking and video calls.

🎙️ Welcome to the Social Tea Hotline, and this week, our expert is the one and only Beth Thomas. She co-founded Slice with Michael Corcoran, after previously working at TikTok, Deliveroo, and Birchbox. Speaking of which, does anyone still subscribe to Birchbox?! Not only that but she’s a creator herself, a speaker and one of the nicest, most knowledgable people you’ll meet in this industry.

Beth answers this week’s burning question: Should brands actually jump on social media trends? Listen to find out!

(Transcript for this week’s episode can be found here.)

And that’s another week done and dusted. I’m glad it’s been another, somewhat, quiet week. But that does mean we’re due absolute chaos soon.

ANYWAY, if there’s anything you’d love to see in this newsletter, something you think is missing or that you’d find helpful, please let me know. I want this to be the most useful resource in your inbox that you’re actually excited to open.

Now it’s time for my favourite part of the newsletter… Which fake update should be included in my Wednesday roundup?

See you next week.

TTYL,

AM @ Girl Power Marketing xx