While some of October’s social updates were designed to give users more ways to customize their experiences, others were specifically trying to tackle fraud and spam. Expanding revenue streams by offering new creative ad options to lure advertisers was another key focus for social media companies this month. From Twitter testing out unclickable hashtags so that brands pay for them, to TikTok and Meta pushing more creator-focused tools to help monetize their presence, the goal is clear: make more money!

But all that aside, we're going to see some big changes across the social media scene in the coming period with Elon Musk finally taking over Twitter and getting ahead with his “rescue mission”. The world is watching him as he attempts to turn Twitter, a company that loses money every day, into a gushing money fountain and users’ favorite social platform. Will he succeed? Only time will tell.

Until that happens, here’s our pick of the most important social media headlines of October, all in one place. Enjoy!

Facebook

  • Rolls out the ‘Advantage Custom Audience’ targeting option to help businesses reach out to new users better.
  • Tests new ad options for Reels, such as ‘post-loop ads’ and ‘image carousel ads’.
  •  Decides to shut down ‘Bulletin’, its newsletter subscription service, by early next year.

Instagram

  • Tests a function that allows users to add a song to their profiles.
  • Adds an anti-bullying feature that sends users reminders once they comment on a creator’s post for the first time or when they reply to an offensive comment thread.
  • Introduces ‘Creator Portfolio’, allowing creators to build an essential package from their Professional Dashboard in order to showcase their audience reach and their previous projects for potential branded collaboration.

Twitter

  • Considers canceling clickable unbranded hashtags.
  • Tests a feature that limits bullying by controlling who can mention you in tweets.
  • Adds product cards that will allow brands to highlight new products in tweets, and redirect users to their ‘Shop’.
  • Adds views counter for tweets to better highlight content reach.    
  • Adds a prompt that encourages users to share tweets with friends directly on Twitter instead of screenshotting them.
  • Adds more performance metrics to the Professional Account Analytics dashboard.
  • Tests a new NFT link preview display that will be generated from the URL details.
  • Allows professional accounts to showcase their location, product purchasing links, and apps, and add CTAs on their profiles.

LinkedIn

  •  Introduces ‘Person’ and ‘Page’ link stickers.
  •  Adds new security features that help in combating fraud and spammers.

TikTok

  •  Increases the minimum age for live streaming from 16 to 18.
  •  Adds ‘TikTok Pulse’, a program that gives creators more chances to earn money.
  •  Announces the ‘Profile Kit’ feature that allows creators to display their content on third-party apps.
  • Rolls out a collection of advanced in-house tools, allowing creators to customize their videos better without any external editing apps.

Snapchat

  •  Adds more features to Snapchat+ users, including Story expiration controls, new camera color borders, and more.
  • Rolls out ‘Director Mode’ to all users, which includes a green screen, variable playback speed options, improved editing tools, and Dual Camera controls.

YouTube

  •  Adds the ‘Moment Blast’ ad option that allows advertisers to highlight their offers for Connected TV users better.
  •  Rolls out a range of new design and UI updates including a pinch-to-zoom option.
  •  Introduces a new certification program for health-related channels.