And just like that, we’ve reached the end of September – and as we get set to enter the period of colder weather, darker nights and festivities we still have some social media news from the last month to look back on.
Here’s everything that’s been announced this month!
TikTok Saved In The US?
You may have been following the news regarding TikTok’s “will-it or won’t-it be banned” situation in the USA, and now it seems to all be over as American investors have been found to purchase the app. President Trump is expected to sign the deal at some point in the next few days, meaning TikTok, for now, is safe to continue operating in the USA – great news for businesses who are targeting a US based audience with their TikTok Marketing. In Europe, the app has reached a milestone user base of 200 million, up from 175 million in 2024 – making it nearly one third of the population in the UK & EEA using the platform. France, Italy and Germany have some of the highest active user
figures between 23-25 million, but the UK surpasses them – with 30 million reported back in June.
Instagram Hashtags – Are They Effective?
Noticed a drop in reach over on Instagram? CEO Adam Mosseri confirmed that hashtags are now actually serving more as a categorisation feature rather than one that drives reach. Whilst they’re still helpful to have on your posts, the algorithm has moved towards priority for keywords, alt text, locations, tags and engagement from users. You might have to switch your strategy a little, if you’ve been relying on hashtags to bring you the biggest audience.
TikTok Hashtag Limit
Sticking with the theme of our first two topics, if you’re frequently using TikTok you may have come across their recent feature which stops you adding more than 5 hashtags into a post. This is more than just a recommendation by the app – it literally will not allow you to add more than 5, pushing users to be more relevant with the ones they choose instead – helping you get a better reach. It’s being tested, so you may not have the feature just yet – but keep an eye out for it when it’s fully rolled out.
LinkedIn Post Analytics Update
LinkedIn have made a small update to their analytics, which could be helpful for those who use it as their primary posting platform. The new post-performance feature will update at 3 and 7 days after a post has been published – focusing on impressions, profile visits and new followers gained.
Instagram Reels Updates Metrics
Creators of Instagram Reels will now find two new metrics when checking their Reels performance – and they’re important ones. First of all, there’s now the ‘skip rate’ showing where viewers skip within the first 3 seconds, and the also retention charts showing where viewers drop off. Both are great to utilise, as they can help to identify issues and make your reels much more engaging from start to end by changing certain elements that keep the audience hooked in.
Threads User Base Update
New algorithm changes have firmly positioned threads as the leading alternative to X – and now they’ve hit 400 million active monthly users – a boost of 50 million in just 5 months. The changes to the algorithm have boosted time spent on the app to 35%, and whilst behind X is ahead by 200 million, its’s rapid growth rate is definitely something to watch out for – it may become a key platform for your marketing sooner than you think.
That’s all for September! Have a great October and we’ll be back to update you with next month’s updates soon.
Finally, your social media tip is: Analyse your Post Performance
Seeing which posts get the most reactions and reach is key to growing your visibility.
Simply head to your Facebook business page (on desktop), click insights and then click 'Posts' in the left column. Scroll down and you will see all your posts with their reach (how many devices it appeared on), reactions (likes, comments and shares etc).
From there, you can monitor what works and what doesn't.
Simply do more of what works and less of what doesn't.
