The ever changing world of Social Media.
In this continually updated blog we’ll be rounding up the latest platform changes in social media.
We’ll be predominantly looking at the big 4 (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn) with occasional forays into other platforms.
Alex McCann, owner of Altrincham HQ, has guided thousands of businesses in social media strategy over the last 15 years. With a client list featuring BBC, Manchester City, Selfridges, and Costa Coffee, his Manchester-based company manages over 200 hours of campaigns monthly, adapting to social media shifts in real time.
A former journalist with blogs reaching over half a million readers, Alex also led a 15,000-capacity arts festival. With 700+ customer reviews, Altrincham HQ is ranked the UK’s top social media marketing service on Freeindex, working with businesses nationwide on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
More info on our Social Media Training and Social Media Management


Instagram Adds WhatsApp Connection Sticker for Stories
It might be a generational thing – but personally I only use Whatsapp for Personal Friends and Social Media Management Clients.
Anyone else in the business process is best dealt with on email.
But for the generation that lives on Whatsapp there’s a new story sticker to take the conversation from stories to Whatsapp.
The interconnected world of Meta.
LINKEDIN UPDATES ON RECORD LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT
Here are 3 #linkedin updates you should be aware of …
- We continue to see record engagement, with more than one billion members coming to the platform to connect, sell services, get hired, and share knowledge.
- More professionals than ever are engaging in high-value conversations on LinkedIn, with comments up 37 percent year-over-year.
- We also continue to invest in video as a powerful way for our members and customers to tell their stories and reach their audiences. Short-form video continues to grow on the platform, with video creation all-up growing at twice the rate of other post formats.
The 1st one it says all the time, but concentrate on the last 2
Instagram Tests Option to Rearrange Profile Grid Displays
Instagram has had the pinned 3 post option for a number of years.
They’re useful for evergreen content.
But what is you want to go the next step. You soon will be able to and totally re-order your entire grid.
Straight from IG chief Adam Mosseri:
“In order to maintain creator control we’re building a tool so you can re-order your entire grid and make it whatever you want.”
Caveat: Most people will consume your content in the feed rather than on your profile.
Instagram boss says ‘Hashtags don’t work’ for getting reach, likes, follows
A video has surfaces of Instagram Adam Mosseri stating exactly this.
And we’ve told this to clients a number of times.
In the old days they might make 30% different to the reach of your post. In 2025 it’s closer to 5-10% or less difference.

THREADS INTRODUCES SCHEDULING
We normally talk about the big 4, but this is helpful for those dabbling with Threads
Threads Rolls Out Post Scheduling to App Users
As explained by Threads
“Tap the three-dot menu on the composer, then tap Schedule. Choose a date and time, then tap Schedule again. Posts you’ve scheduled will appear in your drafts folder, where you can edit or delete them as needed.”
It’s one update that will make moving away from Twitter easier.
Although we’ve found you can only schedule 25 updates at any one time.
INSTAGRAM IS SET TO LAUNCH EDITS – IT’S OWN VERSION OF CAPCUT
In the weekend that TikTok got banned and unbanned in less than 24 hours.
Instagram announced so many new updates including this one.
Sounding very like Bytedance’s (TikTok) Capcut, the one advance of this is it’s going to be free
Adam Mosseri says
“Edits is more than a video editing app, it’s a full suite of creative tools. There will be a dedicated tab for inspiration, another to keep track of any early ideas you might have, a much higher quality camera which I used to record this video, all the editing tools you’d expect, the ability to share drafts with friends and other creators, and, if you decide to share your videos on Instagram, powerful insights on how those videos do.”
You can “pre-order” on the Appstore here
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/edits-an-instagram-app/id6738967378
INSTAGRAM NOW ALLOWS 3 MINUTES REELS
Adam Mosseri from Instagram just announced this yesterday with the TikTok Ban
“You can now upload reels up to three minutes long. We’ve historically only allowed reels up to 90 seconds given our focus on short-form video, but we’ve heard the feedback that this is just too short for those who want to share longer stories. “
You’ll know that longer isn’t always better – in fact the longer the video for Reels often means lower reach due to the retention rate of longer videos.
Our advice – keep Reels as short as possible whilst still adding value.
TIKTOK FACES A BAN FROM THIS SUNDAY
The US Supreme Court has affirmed a law that could see TikTok banned in the US unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells the platform by this Sunday.
TikTok contested the law, claiming it could infringe upon free speech rights for its reported 170 million US users. However, the court unanimously dismissed this argument. Now, TikTok must swiftly secure a buyer for its US operations or risk being pulled from app stores and web hosting services.
So what does this mean for TikTok and business?
– If you have all your eggs in the TikTok basket then it could prove a huge blow to your business
– Don’t ditch TikTok just yet – 170 million users in the US is huge but TikTok is still in the big 4
– Creativity is at the heart of TikTok – a large amount of the interesting posts on other apps come from TikTok so the impact will be felt on the likes on Instagram
– But for our UK audience – if less US creators are in the feed will this mean we start seeing more UK creators in the feed.
INSTAGRAM BRINGS BACK A REELS VERSION OF THE ACTIVITY TAB
Adam Mosseri at Instagram announced this news yesterday
“Bringing your friends to the Reels tab. We want Instagram to not only be a place where you consume entertaining content, but one where you connect over that content with friends. Now, when you go to the Reels tab, you’ll see a dedicated feed of reels your friends have liked or added a note to in the top right and start a conversation with them right there. We’re rolling this out in a handful of countries to start, more to come soon.”
INSTAGRAM USHERS A NEW RECTANGULAR GRID
The change is due to content overwhelmingly being vertical these days
Instagram is updating its profile grids to feature rectangular content instead of squares, announced Instagram chief Adam Mosseri in an Instagram Story on Friday.
“I know many of you have a fondness for squares. Square photos are part of Instagram’s legacy. However, nowadays, most uploads, including photos and videos, are vertical in orientation,” Mosseri explained. He noted that it’s disappointing to overly crop these uploads.”
FACEBOOK ENTERS THE POST-TRUTH WORLD
Widely seen as a move to appease Trump Meta will get rid of factcheckers, “dramatically reduce the amount of censorship” and recommend more political content on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Threads, founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced.
IMHO we’ve been living more and more in a post truth world since the pandemic.
You’ve probably seen random conspiracy theories shared by Facebook for the last 5 years.
But will this move make it a Twitter style hell-hole and should you leave.
Firstly. Don’t leave. How many people left Twitter for the paradise of Threads / Bluesky only to discover they went political.
Secondly. Facebook to a certain extent is a more closed network. You can choose your friends on there and you can block quite easily on the Meta platforms. You have a lot more choice in your feed than Twitter / X.
LINKEDIN LAUNCHES NEW AI RECRUITMENT TOOL FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Andrew Chimka, Director of Product Management at LinkedIn, has announced this on LinkedIn
AI agent for small businesses—an AI-assistant to help you find qualified candidates even faster.
The AI-assistant helps you start hiring by putting together a personalized hiring plan, including drafting your job post, searching and finding people to invite to apply, and even identifying your most qualified applicants for you to review. In other words, the AI-assistant helps with the most time-consuming parts of hiring, so that you can focus on growing your business.
Full details here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrewchimka_if-youre-a-small-business-youre-likely-activity-7285297376368418817–ZzX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
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Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk