Instagram Allowing Up to 5 Links in Bio…

Instagram users no longer have to decide on one external link to use in their profile, as the platform has announced it will allow up to five links per bio.

Previously, Instagrammers would have to use a service like Linktree to drive traffic to more than one source outside the app, with Instagram wanting to maximize its in-app use. Any of the five links clicked on by users will open inside the Instagram app.

To add more links to an Instagram profile, select “links” from the “edit profile” menu, and tap “add external link.” Users can choose the order in which they’d like their links to appear in their bio.

Twitter to Require Advertisers to Be Verified…

Twitter seems to be finding more ways to force users to pay for its verification service.

The platform reportedly told its advertisers last week that a checkmark will be required to advertise on the app, saying in an email: “your @account must have a verified checkmark or subscribe to either Twitter Blue or Verified Organizations to continue running ads on Twitter.” Exceptions will be made for business accounts that already spend in excess of $1,000 per month on Twitter.

It’s another move by Twitter owner Elon Musk to push for more users to pay for their blue checkmarks, even as many, including celebrities, opt not to do.

Facebook Testing AI-Generated Stories…

Facebook is testing an AI feature that generates stories for users based on content they’ve uploaded in the past.

“Allow Facebook to suggest high-quality, ready-made stories for you using advanced photo and video data, including image quality, location, the presence of people or animals,” reads an option offered to some Facebook users. The company is calling the feature “advanced stories.”

While at this point, advanced stories seems mainly a convenient way to get users to share more content without having to spend time creating it, if expanded to a wider audience in the future, it could be a beneficial tool for brands to take advantage of.

YouTube Seeks to Improve Live Shopping…

Although Meta has scaled back live shopping on Facebook and Instagram, YouTube is pushing improvements to the live shopping experience.

Previously, YouTubers would have to upload details about a product just before going live if they planned to showcase the product via livestream. But the new process offers an opportunity to tease a product (disguised on the profile with a question mark) and then have it appear immediately on the livestream.

“With Product Drops, creators will be able to release products for the first time during a livestream, without disclosing them before the drop moment,” an announcement from YouTube said. “Creators with connected Shopify stores or direct access to the Google Merchant Center of their connected stores will be able to set up Product Drops on YouTube using the Live Control Room.”

The change might be an attempt to maximize the hype around product drops, with products being teased on a user’s page in advance of their debut.

Photo: Getty Images Plus/pressureUA

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