Talk surrounding AI is still going strong in February (read more about it here). Besides news on the potential of cutting writing time and streamlining better creative output with ChatGPT, social media platforms are evolving with the introduction of new features that might signal a change in content consumption and shift in content creation strategy for Marketers alike.

Google Launches AI Tool, BARD, Following ChatGPT Integration into Bing

Google has been actively engaged in discussions surrounding AI, likely motivated by the emergence of new competition in the search engine industry despite its long-standing position as the leading search engine.

The launch of their new AI “BARD” caused confusion among webmasters due to Google's longstanding emphasis against the use of AI-generated content.

Google quickly clarified through an update on their Google Central Blog after the launch of their AI that “not all use of automation, including AI generation, is spam”. 

“This said, it's important to recognize that not all use of automation, including AI generation, is spam. Automation has long been used to generate helpful content, such as sports scores, weather forecasts, and transcripts. AI has the ability to power new levels of expression and creativity, and to serve as a critical tool to help people create great content for the web.”

Stakeholders are closely monitoring the development of BARD and hoping it can match or exceed the capabilities of ChatGPT in terms of accuracy and performance. It’s known that the tool is still in its early stages and the current launch is aimed at gathering feedback to further improve its capabilities.

Source: https://blog.google/technology/ai/bard-google-ai-search-updates/

Twitter Updates Their Tweet Limit to 4000 Characters

Twitter rolled out an update where users in the US are now able to type up to 4000 characters in a single tweet, a large update versus the previous 280 characters limit. The reason? 

Elon Musk tweeted the day of the launch, “The goal is to allow people to publish long-form natively on Twitter, rather than forcing them to use another website. Twitter will continue to recommend brevity in tweets.”

The feature is only available for Twitter Blue subscribers in the US, although the longer tweet can be seen by all.

Despite the delay in the release to Singapore users, we anticipate that it would open up another channel for customer nurturing, keeping all updates within a single centralised platform.

Source: https://twitter.com/TwitterBlue/status/1623411400545632256 

Pinterest Stays Relevant with 450,000 Active Users

Pinterest recovers from their dip in number of active users in 2021, seeing a 4% increase in users at the end of 2022.

Their growth has been primarily driven by the launch of 'Idea Pins' in mid-2021, which allows creators to publish high quality, long lasting, save-able content directly on Pinterest. The format is similar to that of Instagram Reels and TikTok, which appeals to Gen Z users, who make up the platform's fastest growing demographic.

While this function is not yet available in Singapore, this case study highlights the potential of short form videos in increasing reach and engagement on visual heavy platforms.

Pinterest's story-like function offers businesses an additional channel to showcase their TikToks and Reels content. Unlike other platforms, where the content may disappear quickly, Pinterest's format allows the videos to be searchable and pinnable, ensuring that the content remains somewhat evergreen.

Source: https://s23.q4cdn.com/958601754/files/doc_financials/2022/q4/Q42022-Earnings-Presentation.pdf

Instagram Rolls Out Notes Feature within Direct Inbox

Despite plans of to shift its focus back to photos in 2023 after putting too much emphasis on videos in the previous year, Instagram’s recent introduction of Notes, a status update feature, has surprised many and raised concerns about whether Instagram is straying from its roots.

Instagram's Head, Adam Mosseri reassured their creators that the platform will be prioritising three key things, one of which is to "spark connections between people." From this perspective, the launch of Notes seems like a logical step forward.

‘Notes’ functions similarly to “tweets”, with a limit of 60 characters, but are only displayed in a user's IG inbox for 24 hours. This feature allows users to view and respond to each other's notes directly, promoting meaningful conversations and making it easier to receive recommendations.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoC5TYLNjnI/ 

Conclusion

At Heroes of Digital, we strive to keep our clients informed by searching for clear and comprehensive information on updates and new features, allowing us to act quickly on any necessary changes that will help minimize the impact on their campaigns.

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