April was an interesting month for social media. Meta made big moves to boost original content on Instagram, while TikTok faced a possible US ban sending shockwaves through the creator community. If you blinked, you might have missed it – let's break down the month's hottest social media news.

TLDR

• Instagram's Big Bet on Creators: The new algorithm massively favors original Reels, giving smaller creators a fighting chance. Instagram's also rolling out an AI assistant, stickers you can make from your own content, and more user-friendly features.

• TikTok's Troubles: President Biden moved to ban or force a TikTok sale over national security concerns. Creators are scrambling to rebuild on safer platforms, and many are urging audiences to join their email lists.

• The Carousel is King: Both Instagram and TikTok are seeing huge success with multi-image carousels. Great news if you're not video-obsessed!

• Other Noteworthy Updates: Creators are buzzing about TikTok's new text-based feature, "Notes," and celebrating major milestones for influencers like Tunde Onakoya and Salem King.

What’s Meta Been Up To?

Let’s take a look at some of the changes and news from Meta since April

1. Instagram is rewarding original and creative content creators with their new algorithm upgrade!

Big accounts have always gotten the most attention on Instagram, making it hard for smaller creators to get noticed but that’s about to change.

According to a recent update by Instagram, they will be changing how they decide what Reels to show you and this is a huge win for smaller creators.

Here's the breakdown:

Small creators will get shown to more people: Even if you don't follow them, your feed might show Reels from smaller creators that fit your interests.

How will the new ranking work?

Your original Reels will be shown to a small, interested audience. If people dig it, your Reel will reach more viewers. The better it does, the wider it spreads.

Here are some things to note:

Instagram is prioritizing original content: Reels with fresh ideas get priority over reposts so that truly creative content gets more spotlight.

Automatic repost tags: Reposted Reels will now tag the original creator. This allows for automatic credits to the original creators and reduces stealing of creator content

Deprioritizing reposted viral content Accounts that constantly repost other people's stuff without adding any spice of their own will get less visibility.

What about aggregators?

Aggregators who license content or have clear permission from creators can still get recommended. If you repeatedly repost without adding value, expect less reach.

How Does This Help You?

• Small creators will have a better chance for original Reels to reach a larger audience.

• If you love Instagram: You'll see more fresh, interesting content from creators you might not have discovered otherwise.

2. Instagram’s AI search assistant is live

According to Instagram’s announcement of their virtual AI on Instagram, you can **“**Use Meta AI to help you get things done whether it’s coming up with ideas for captions, create an editorial calendar or craft a pitch email to work with your favorite brand! Find Meta AI in the search bar on Explore, at the top of your inbox, or within any existing chat by typing @ Meta AI”

Ps. I would create content with this new info if I were you and show my audience how it works/how i use it.

3. Create your own stickers

You can turn part of any video or photo in your camera roll into a cutout sticker that you can add to your story or reel with Cutouts!” Instagram announced this new feature weeks ago and we found it to be really fun. Check out this post by Instagram to learn more about how it works

4. Carousel Mentions

Instagram is trying out a new feature where you can tag someone directly on a specific photo or video within a carousel post. This means you can call someone out on a specific slide, not just the whole carousel.

5. Notifications Stickers

Instagram announced on their creators channel that creators can now add a “Notify Sticker” to stories. This allows anyone to easily turn on notifications to your content by clicking on the sticker

6. DM Filters are Live

You can now filter your dms to see messages from only people you follow, those you flagged and even find unanswered messages. I love this update and I think it is long overdue.

7. Updates from TIk-tok

Tik-tok has been the centre of so much conversation recently and we will tell you all we know about the ban.

8. Let’s break-down the Tik-tok ban

President Biden has enacted the "Peace Through Strength Act", effectively forcing the sale of TikTok or leading to its complete shutdown within the US. This dramatic decision underscores growing concerns that the Chinese-owned app poses a significant national security risk.

TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, now has 270 days (with a possible 90-day extension) to sell the app. Failure to do so will see it blacklisted by US app stores.

TikTok isn't going down without a fight. CEO Shou Zi Chew vowed to contest the ban in court: "This is a disappointing moment, but we're not going anywhere." The company asserts it would rather shut down the app entirely than sell it without its core algorithm.

The looming ban has triggered a ripple effect. Some industry experts predict doom for TikTok, with ad revenue drying up and influencers fleeing to safer platforms like Instagram Reels. Others, like Duolingo's Zaria Parvez, maintain that the creative spirit behind viral content will endure regardless of the platform.

This ban highlights the precarious and unstable nature of social media. It also raises a crucial question: how far should governments go to protect national security in the digital age?

So.. How does this concern you as a Nigerian content creator?

• There will be a huge influx of content creators on Instagram reels and Youtube shorts as they try to rebuild their audience. This means that you need to start creating content now and building your stance before the massive influx happens

  
  

• Lots of creators that have relied on Tik-tok to grow huge following are now about to loose their millions of followers - just like that. That’s why we advice content creators to always have an active email list and keep their audience there. Email will not fail you but as we can see with Tik-tok’s pending ban in the US, social media can.

9. Carousels are dominating and the algorithm is in it’s favour!

Carousels are the hottest format on Instagram and TikTok right now. Why? Photos in carousels reportedly get tons of engagement. 2 weeks ago we were worried about video getting all the spotlight so this is good news for every creator that’s not obsessed with video. Get on the trend and start creating multi-image posts your audience will love.

10. Tik-tok has launched a new App - Notes

TikTok Notes launched in limited regions. This new longer-form text feature could change content strategies as it rolls out more widely. We are still curious about how it will be adopted and used especially with the Tik-tok ban in the US. Is this even a good move from Tik-Tok? And do we really need another social media app?

Other Trending Creators News from April

We have another world record breaker!

Tunde Onakoya played chess for 58hours non-stop and broke the guiness world record for the longest chess marathon in New York and we are over excited over here.

What type of record will you be breaking? It does not have to be a guiness world record, it could be a personal record like growing your audience by 100% in 1 month - we both know that it is achievable.

While you celebrate Tunde’s win, I hope it inspires you to do something for yourself too.

Salem King Got Married!

You know Salem King right? The creators creator. He got married last weekend and after watching his entire journey up to this point, I cannot help but feel like a huge part of his journey.

We broke down the details of his wedding here, as well as how he started with creating black and white videos because of his poor quality camera at the time - he started small and so can anybody.

Overall Trends

• Originality Is Everything: Meta, across its platforms, is pushing original content and lessening the visibility of reposts.

• The Carousel Craze: Multi-image carousels are hot on both Instagram and TikTok, an easy win for non-video creators.

• AI Helpers: Meta AI on Instagram indicates a trend towards AI-powered tools for content creation and management.

As Nigerian creators, we must leverage these trends wisely. What worked last month might not be a guaranteed win today. The key for creators is to stay focused but flexible. Keep producing quality original content, experiment with the new formats and tools, but most of all – don't put all your eggs in one social media basket!