POV: YouTube Hashtag Landing Pages & Other Social Platform Updates

Background:

There have been multiple updates to social platforms this week. YouTube has launched hashtag landing pages, changing the way the platform uses hashtags. LinkedIn and Pinterest have ‘story’ updates and TikTok has a new Q&A feature.

Details and Implications:

YouTube hashtag landing pages:  YouTube has launched hashtag landing pages to all users. You can now discover content using hashtags on YouTube with dedicated landing pages showing the ‘best’ videos at the top for each topic. The results are slightly different from those users experience on other social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, in that the content appears to be a mix of both new and old content – whilst on other platforms the newer content tends to be pushed nearer the top.

Each hashtag landing page will show the number of videos and channels already using that hashtag, so landing pages will function as a good research tool for creators who are looking to better leverage the hashtag format and discover either popular hashtags to include or less crowded ones that could help creators’ videos be found more easily.

To access the landing pages, users simply need to click on a hashtag on YouTube or use the URL format youtube.com/hashtag/[yourterm]. The landing pages are not currently available via the search feature although this is said to be ‘coming soon’.

Previously, when a user clicked on or searched for a hashtag, YouTube would come back with related videos and a mix of content related to the hashtag/topic, not just videos using that specific hashtag. Now, on the hashtag landing pages, YouTube will only show content that has been tagged with those specific hashtags by the creator.

Other social media updates: LinkedIn is adding a ‘swipe up’ links feature to its story format. The feature mirrors other social media platforms that have a similar function. It is aimed more at businesses and currently, it is only available to LinkedIn pages and individual members with 5,000 connections, with the ‘Follow’ button as the primary action on their profile (instead of Connect). It may be a useful feature for brands to drive more traffic to their websites. Also following the story trend, Pinterest is testing a new stories panel at the top of users’ feeds. Following in the footsteps of other social media platforms, Story Pins looks similar to the functionality of other platforms, however, the big difference is that they won’t be ephemeral like on other apps and will live inside a Pin.

Finally, TikTok is testing a new video Q&A feature that will allow creators to directly respond to their audience’s questions with text or videos, working across both video and livestreams. The test is currently only available to a select number of creators.

Summary:

Social media platforms are continuing to release new features that help creators reach bigger audiences, leverage the story format and engage with their followers.

Further Reading:

TechCrunch | Engadget | Social Media Today | Search Engine Journal | TechCrunch (TikTok)