Social Media Landscape: 2023 vs 2024 (and beyond!)
As we wave goodbye to 2023, it's time to reflect on the notable shifts that have reshaped the digital landscape. From new emerging platforms such as Threads, to the rebranding of veteran platforms such as Twitter (now known as X), it’s safe to say that 2023 will be remembered as a landmark year in the world of Social Media. So buckle up as we explore the winds of change that have swept across the digital horizon, shaping the way schools communicate and connect as we embrace 2024.
X
To kick things off, let’s look at a platform rife with controversies, from lawsuits and layoffs, to a complete name change and rebrand: It’s undeniable that X has endured a pretty hectic year! According to TechCrunch, X’s global website traffic was down 14% in September 2023 compared to a year previously, showing that recent unpopular changes were taking their toll.
One functional change to be aware of is that X has changed the way posts can be viewed. To view a full post on X, users now need to have an account on the platform, while prior to 2023, users could view Tweets without being logged into a Twitter account. This means that parents who wish to view a school’s story would have to be logged in. However, given that those stories shared to X will integrate with our schools’ Storywalls, this isn't a change marketers with an Interactive Schools website should be concerned about.
The main functional changes we need to be aware of are those associated with changes to X Premium (formerly known as Twitter Blue). Paying for X Premium provides users with a verified account. The famous TweetDeck that many marketing teams would have used to monitor and engage with their school’s wider storytelling is now known as X Pro. X Pro is only available to users who are paying for an X Premium plan, making it more difficult for marketers to keep an eye on all of their school’s accounts in one place. If access to X Pro is beyond your school’s budget, we recommend ensuring that all of your school’s X accounts are added to a single X list, which will curate your school’s sub-accounts’ stories in one chronological list.
Looking to 2024, and to coincide with X’s goal to become an ‘everything platform’, November saw the channel roll out their job search tool. Unlike the professionals’ network, LinkedIn, all jobs advertised on X Job Search can only be applied for on external sites. However, it will be interesting to see how this feature grows and develops this year, and to see if this feature really can rival LinkedIn in terms of online school staff recruitment.
Despite the recent unpopular changes to X, it is important to remember that the functionality allowing the integration of social media stories to schools’ websites (API) remains the same. It’s imperative that yourselves in the school marketing department echo that X is just a facilitator for storytelling, and that use of the channel does not equate to the support of the views shared by other users, or even Mr Musk himself.
THREADS
In July 2023, following the decline of X, Meta launched its own text-post app, Threads. Threads accounts are linked to users’ Instagram accounts and use the same username. An Instagram account is required to have a Threads account, but a Threads account is automatically reserved for your existing username when setting up an Instagram account.
Threads allows text posts up to 500 characters and up to 10 pieces of media (including videos up to 5 minutes long). Upon launch, content could not be curated by #Hashtagging, but now they can. Despite not actually appearing as a #Hashtag, users can type the ‘#’ before the phrase they wish to have tagged, for the phrase to be hyperlinked.
Clicking on this hyperlink will take you to other content that has used the same tag. For example, the screenshot on the right, Durlston School have shared a New Year message with their community and are looking forward to welcoming students #BackToSchool. As you can see, the # has disappeared, but the text has changed colour to indicate its clickability.
Threads’ older sister, Instagram remains a suitable platform for schools to share all of the visually aesthetic areas of school life. Instagram too has seen some interesting updates this year; including the ability to schedule posts in-app with a business or a creator account, and the ability to add up to five links to your bio. This means that as well as having a link to key pages on your school website in your bio, you could also direct users to a GoFundMe or fundraising page for charitable events.
Instagram is also gradually rolling-out a functionality that will enable users to share content from your own Highlights straight to your grid. This would be particularly useful on occasions when schools wish to repurpose content from one school branded account, to another. For example, if your school athletics account posted a picture of the basketball team winning an important match, you could share this post to your story. From your own story, you can add that post to one of your own Highlights, and from that Highlight, select the ‘create post’ button at the bottom, resize the post, and write your caption as appropriate.
Whilst this feature has the ability to revolutionise the way we repurpose Instagram content, it is not yet available to all users - so stay tuned!
Similarly to the way in which X sought to capitalise on its users by offering more paid plans, Meta Verified was also introduced across Facebook and Instagram. For a more detailed insight into how Meta Verified can benefit your school, please see our blog on Social Verification.
Looking forward to 2024, there has been talk of Instagram increasing their Reel time limit up to 10-minutes, so it will be interesting to see if we start seeing more content on Instagram that would have previously been shared to platforms known for longer video content such as YouTube.
TIKTOK
TikTok too has attempted to become a more versatile platform, with the introduction of text-only posts. While the text-based posts never really took off, TikTok has maintained its popularity for its short-form video content (please see our TikTok blog for ideas on how your school can create the best TikTok video content).
VIMEO
As for those longer-form video platforms, Vimeo continues to offer a range of paid-for additional features and functionalities that can be purchased alongside existing plans, or as part of a bespoke package. Considering that Vimeo’s free plan is only limited to three videos at a time, many users are moving away from Vimeo, sharing private videos internally and videos intended to be viewed by a wider audience to their YouTube.
ISSUU
Similar to X and Instagram, Issuu has also introduced a new paid plan. On the free basic plan, users can now only have five publications at any one time, and if you had any more than five on your account when the restriction came into place, only your five most recent publications were available to view, meaning that unfortunately you need to prioritise the publications you wish to see or upgrade to one of the many paid plans.
Progressing to the world of social networking; in order to align with its Meta partner Instagram, Facebook has also made some updates to how their Reels work. Users can now sync videos with their favourite music, a functionality that has been readily available on Instagram for a while now, but indicates that Facebook is working hard not to be left behind.
LinkedIn has also made some useful changes, like Instagram, you can now schedule your LinkedIn posts in-app by selecting the grey clock icon at the bottom, saving you time and money instead of forking out for a paid scheduling tool. Similarly, 2023 saw the launch of readable and clickable PDFs, which are great for promoting job vacancies.
The most poignant takeaway from reviewing the 2023 Social Media landscape, is that platforms are veering towards monetisation for added extras whilst still offering a free plan. Most platforms are adding new features to try and achieve the ultimate title as ‘the everything platform’, but if we’ve learned anything from the downfall of X, it’s that even the most popular of platforms can lose their appeal. As we welcome 2024, we will see if X manages to regain popularity or if Instagram continues to lead the way in the world of Social Media.