Wow, can you believe we're already a few months into 2023? This year's social media landscape is already proving to be frenetic, with so much going on. TikTok, the platform with the strongest sense of identity, is in the news daily as different governments propose bans of the app. Twitter is evolving into a "pay to play" space, and Instagram is constantly switching between being a community-driven channel and a media-discovery channel. It's hard to keep up, but don't worry - we've got you covered! Here are the key social media headlines for this quarter and what they mean for your employer brand strategy.

LinkedIn has introduced a new feature called Talent Interest Pipeline, and it's causing quite a stir in the talent acquisition community. New Company Page functionality (rolling out now) allows people to share that they're interested in a role at your company, even if you're not hiring or not hiring for their talent segment yet. It will turn on for your page by default, pulling interested candidates into your Recruiter back end. Some people see this as a strongly positive step forward in allowing people to opt into a talent pipeline, while others predict an avalanche of interest. But here's our take: isn't brand building all about getting people to express an interest? Maybe this feature will expose the pinch point between employer brand and recruitment.

LinkedIn: March 1st Algorithm update changes functionality that we think is mainly positive.

• Firstly, editing your posts no long de-ranks your content. Previously, it was recommended to not tweak your posts for a few hours after posting (e.g typos). If you did, LinkedIn would de-rank your post, potentially causing it to have fewer impressions. Now though, you can fix and edit any pesky typos and not get limited post results!
• Secondly, there’s some new organic business page post targeting options. Additional “Target Audience Settings” are now available when posting on LinkedIn organically. In addition to language, location and job function, there’s now university, company size, and more seniority levels.
• Lastly, though, it seems that many LinkedIn creators saw a reduction in post impressions and reach. It seems it’s impacting creators with 50k+ followers the most, which could be LinkedIn trying to make space for lesser-known voices. Other people, however, have said that Jan-March is often a slower period (being post-Christmas, and end of the financial year leaving people super busy). So whilst this isn’t great for now, it’s more important to track if this continues or not.

Meta is rolling out a new feature called the Variance Reduction System (VRS) for employment ads soon. This feature, developed by Meta to increase the equitable distribution of ads, will use machine learning to ensure that ads across a handful of segments, including employment, are distributed proportionately to various groups, eliminating unintended bias from within the ads engine, and increasing breadth of exposure. Right now, VRS is in beta in the US, but we expect it to hit the wider Meta ecosystem soon.

Have you heard about Instagram's latest feature, reminder ads? We think it could be a game-changer for recruitment events. This new feed ad option, rolling out to all advertisers, is designed to help build awareness, anticipation, and consideration for upcoming events. Users can opt-in to be reminded one day before, 15 minutes before, and at the time of the event. So if you're working towards a deadline or running a candidate event, it's definitely worth considering.

In other Instagram news, have you tried out the 'channels' broadcast feature? Launched in February '23, this public, one-to-many messaging tool allows brands to invite all of their followers to join a channel and engage with those who opt-in via one-way private messaging. It's similar to Circles on Twitter, or the way some people use Telegram. This feature seems to enable up-close and personal interaction with candidates, as you can send your messages straight into their inboxes, rather than rely on the algorithm to distribute your messages to the right people in their feeds. That's pretty powerful!

And finally, the ones to watch: Artifact and Meta's BlueSky alternative.

Artifact is a new platform from the founders of Instagram, offering a "TikTok, but for articles". It will provide users with a personalised news feed that uses machine learning to understand your interests and serve you related articles. There's also the option to discuss those articles with friends, much like how TikTokers can comment on videos. It's definitely worth giving it a try, and you can sign up here.

Meta is working on a product in response to BlueSky, the Twitter spin-off, highlighting a tussle between three of social media's big beasts: Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. Dorsey developed BlueSky within Twitter when he was still CEO there. Now that Elon has taken the reins, Dorsey calls BlueSky the "Twitter-killer". But that remains to be seen. Meta has now weighed in with its own product (yet to be named). Time will tell which, if any, leads the pack.

If you’d like to hear more about any of these stories, or simply chat about the direction you’d like to take your social media channels in 2023, drop us a line.