Qode Social

12/19/2025

Instagram Reduces Hashtag Limit to Just 5 Per Post - What This Means for Your Business

Big news from Instagram! The platform has officially reduced the hashtag limit from 30 to just 5 hashtags per post and reel. This change is rolling out gradually and represents a major shift in how content discovery works on the platform.

Key Changes:
✅ Maximum 5 hashtags per post (down from 30)
✅ Focus on targeted, relevant hashtags over generic ones
✅ Generic hashtags like and no longer help with reach
✅ Quality over quantity approach to improve user experience

What This Means for Your Business:
🎯 Be more strategic with hashtag selection
🎯 Choose hashtags that truly match your content and audience
🎯 Focus on niche-specific tags rather than broad, popular ones
🎯 Test and monitor which hashtags drive the best engagement

Instagram's algorithm now prioritizes AI-driven content discovery over hashtag-based reach. This change aims to reduce spam and improve content quality while encouraging creators to be more intentional with their hashtag strategy.

At Qode Social, we're already adapting our strategies to help clients maximize their reach under these new guidelines. Need help optimizing your Instagram strategy? Let's chat!

Instagram will now allow only five hashtags instead of 30, urging creators to focus on relevance over quantity as generic hashtags like no longer help with reach.

12/12/2025

Pinterest Expands Into Connected TV Advertising with tvScientific Acquisition

Big moves in the advertising world! Pinterest just announced its acquisition of tvScientific, a connected TV (CTV) performance advertising platform. This strategic deal marks Pinterest's first major acquisition since 2022 and signals a significant expansion into the rapidly growing CTV advertising market.

Here's what makes this acquisition game-changing:

🎯 Pinterest's 600 million monthly users generate high-intent shopping signals that will now power CTV campaigns
📺 tvScientific's AI-powered platform automates CTV ad buying and provides performance-based measurement
📊 For the first time, advertisers can combine Pinterest's visual search data with measurable TV advertising outcomes
💡 The deal validates the growing importance of performance-driven CTV advertising for businesses of all sizes

This acquisition represents a major shift in how brands can approach TV advertising - moving from traditional broad reach campaigns to data-driven, performance-focused strategies. For marketers, this means better targeting, clearer ROI measurement, and more accessible TV advertising options.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, with tvScientific continuing to operate independently under Pinterest.

What do you think about this move? Are you seeing more demand for CTV advertising from your clients?

It's Pinterest's first acquisition since 2022.

12/05/2025

Meta Launches AI-Powered Account Support Revolution 🚀

Big news for social media managers and businesses! Meta just rolled out a game-changing centralized support hub that combines Facebook and Instagram support into one streamlined experience.

Here's what's new:
✅ AI-powered search to find quick answers
✅ Unified support hub for both platforms
✅ Enhanced account recovery with clearer guidelines
✅ Proactive security checkups and alerts
✅ New AI assistant for personalized help (starting with Facebook)

The numbers speak for themselves - Meta reports account hacks have decreased by over 30% globally thanks to their AI systems. This could be a major win for businesses struggling with account security and support issues.

For social media professionals, this means:
• Faster resolution of client account issues
• Better security for business accounts
• More efficient support experience
• Reduced downtime from account problems

What are your thoughts on AI-powered customer support? Have you experienced Meta's notorious support challenges before? 🤔

The new support hub will connect users to security tools, account recovery options, and an AI assistant.

11/28/2025

YouTube Revolutionizes Content Creation with Advanced AI Video Generation

🎬 Big news for content creators! YouTube has officially integrated Google's powerful Veo 3 AI video generator into YouTube Shorts, making professional-quality video creation accessible to everyone.

Key highlights:
✨ Generate 8-second vertical videos from simple text prompts
🎨 Multiple artistic styles and visual effects available
🎵 Transform dialogue into songs with AI music tools
🔧 Enhanced editing features including object insertion and motion effects
🏷️ All AI-generated content will be clearly labeled and watermarked

This game-changing technology puts Hollywood-level video creation tools directly into creators' hands. With 92% of YouTube creators already using AI tools, this integration represents the next evolution in social media content creation.

For brands and marketers, this opens up incredible opportunities for cost-effective, high-quality video content that can compete with traditional production methods.

What are your thoughts on AI-generated content? Are you excited about these new creative possibilities? 🤔

While AI has been used to spread disinformation on YouTube, the platform hopes it can be used to aid creators in generating more neutral content.

11/21/2025

WhatsApp Launches Activity Notes Feature - A Game-Changer for Personal Branding!

WhatsApp just rolled out its own version of Instagram Notes, called "Activity Notes" - and it's bringing a fresh way to connect with your contacts! 📱✨

Here's what you need to know:
🔹 Share short text updates visible to your contacts
🔹 Perfect for letting people know what you're up to or why you might not be available
🔹 Updates appear at the top of one-on-one chats and user profiles
🔹 Disappears after 24 hours by default (but you can adjust the timer)
🔹 Choose who can see your status - contacts only or more publicly
🔹 Others can tap and reply directly to your Activity Notes

What makes this exciting for businesses and personal brands? It's another touchpoint to stay connected with your audience in a more casual, authentic way. Think conversation starters, behind-the-scenes updates, or quick availability notices.

While it's not as feature-rich as Instagram Notes yet (no videos or music integration), this could be the beginning of WhatsApp becoming more social and less purely utilitarian.

The feature is rolling out to mobile users starting this week. Have you spotted it in your WhatsApp yet?

WhatsApp users can now share their status with others through a new "About" feature.

11/14/2025

LinkedIn Launches AI-Powered Conversational Search: A Game-Changer for Professional Networking

LinkedIn just revolutionized how we find and connect with professionals! Their new AI-powered people search feature allows you to search using natural language descriptions instead of just keywords.

🔍 Instead of searching "Marketing Manager," you can now ask:
• "Northwestern alumni who work in entertainment marketing"
• "Investors with FDA experience for a biotech startup"
• "Who can help me understand the US work visa system?"

✨ Key Benefits:
• Uses generative AI to understand context and intent
• Ranks results based on your existing connections and relevance
• Goes beyond traditional keyword limitations
• Makes networking more intuitive and effective

📈 This follows LinkedIn's AI-powered job search launched earlier this year, showing their commitment to making professional connections more accessible through AI.

Currently rolling out to LinkedIn Premium users in the US, with plans to expand to all users soon. This could be a game-changer for how we leverage our professional networks!

All you need is a description.

11/07/2025

Instagram Launches Game-Changing Competitive Insights Feature for Business Accounts

📊 Big news for businesses and creators! Instagram has just rolled out a powerful new "Competitive Insights" feature within the Professional Dashboard that's set to revolutionize how brands benchmark their performance.

🎯 What can you track now?
✅ Compare up to 10 competitor accounts side-by-side
✅ Monitor follower growth trends vs. competitors
✅ Analyze posting frequency across content types (Reels, feed posts, ads)
✅ View individual post performance data - even from accounts with hidden like counts!
✅ Track competitor advertising activity

💡 Why this matters for your business:
No more operating in a vacuum! This feature provides crucial industry benchmarks to help you understand where you stand in your niche. Whether you're reporting to clients or planning your content strategy, you now have concrete data to guide your decisions.

🚀 The competitive landscape just got more transparent, and smart businesses will use this data to refine their Instagram strategies and stay ahead of the curve.

Are you ready to leverage these insights to boost your Instagram performance? Let us know how you plan to use this new feature!

Instagram's Competitive Insights helps businesses benchmark performance. Learn what metrics you can track and how to measure true engagement beyond follower counts.

10/31/2025

Pinterest Launches Revolutionary AI Assistant for Visual Shopping 🎯

Pinterest just rolled out its game-changing AI Assistant that's transforming how users discover and shop for products! This voice-activated tool goes beyond traditional search by understanding conversational queries and providing personalized recommendations based on users' saved boards and preferences.

Key Features:
✨ Voice-first interaction - users simply speak their requests
🎨 Visual-first AI that processes audio, images, and text
🛍️ Personalized recommendations based on user behavior
📱 Multimodal experience combining spoken queries with visual results
🎯 Handles open-ended requests like "pillows that match my living room decor"

What This Means for Marketers:
With Pinterest's 600 million users (over half being Gen Z), this AI assistant represents a major shift toward conversational commerce. The platform is positioning itself as an "AI-powered shopping assistant" that could revolutionize how brands connect with consumers through visual discovery.

The assistant uses Pinterest's proprietary data combined with off-the-shelf AI models, creating a unique shopping experience that's "closer to how people shop in real life."

Currently rolling out in beta to US users 18+, with wider availability coming soon. This could be a game-changer for visual marketing strategies!

You can channel your inner Miranda Priestly and tell Pinterest’s assistant to find you a cerulean sweater.

10/24/2025

YouTube Reaches Historic $8 Billion Payout to Music Industry

YouTube just announced a groundbreaking milestone: over $8 billion paid to the music industry in just 12 months (July 2024 - July 2025)! 🎵💰

Key highlights:
• $2 billion increase since 2022 (up from $6 billion)
• Powered by YouTube's "twin engine" of ads and subscriptions
• 125+ million Music and Premium subscribers globally
• 2 billion logged-in viewers watch music videos monthly

This massive payout demonstrates YouTube's growing dominance in the creator economy and shows how platform monetization continues to evolve. For content creators and businesses, this reinforces YouTube's position as a major revenue driver in the digital landscape.

What does this mean for your content strategy? YouTube's investment in creator payouts signals continued growth opportunities for brands and creators alike.

The milestone marks a new record for the platform, as YouTube’s annual music industry payout increased by $2 billion since 2022.

10/17/2025

Pinterest Takes Action Against AI Content Overload

Pinterest has finally responded to widespread user complaints about AI-generated content flooding the platform! 🎯

The visual discovery platform is rolling out new features to help users identify and control AI content:

✅ Automatic AI labels on generated/modified images
✅ New filtering options to "see fewer" AI images in specific categories
✅ Detection systems that work even without metadata markers
✅ User appeal process for incorrectly labeled content

This is a significant move as studies show AI-generated content now makes up 57% of all online material. Pinterest users had been struggling to find authentic reference materials and real products among the sea of AI-generated pins.

For marketers and content creators, this represents an important shift toward platform transparency and user control over AI content consumption.

What are your thoughts on platforms taking steps to label and filter AI content? 💭

Pinterest is rolling out new controls that let users limit how much AI-generated content appears in their feeds. The company is also making its AI content labels more visible.

10/10/2025

Meta Expands AI Translation for Reels: Breaking Language Barriers for Global Content

Meta has just announced a major expansion of its AI-powered translation feature for Reels, adding support for Hindi and Portuguese alongside the existing English and Spanish options. This breakthrough technology is set to revolutionize how creators connect with global audiences.

🌍 Key Features:
• AI-powered voice translation that preserves the creator's original tone and inflection
• Advanced lip-sync technology that matches mouth movements to translated audio
• Automatic dubbing that sounds authentically like the original creator
• Clear labeling so viewers know when content has been translated

📈 Why This Matters:
With this expansion, Meta is targeting two of its largest markets - India and Brazil - where Hindi and Portuguese are widely spoken. Creators can now reach audiences beyond their native language without losing their authentic voice or expression.

🎯 For Businesses:
This opens incredible opportunities for brands and content creators to expand their reach globally. Imagine creating content once and having it automatically translated and dubbed for multiple markets while maintaining your brand's authentic voice.

The feature is free for creators with 1,000+ followers on Facebook and available for all public accounts on Instagram in supported regions. Meta has confirmed more languages are coming soon.

This is exactly the kind of innovation that's reshaping social media marketing - making global content accessible while preserving authenticity. What languages would you want to see added next?

Meta is expanding its AI-powered translation features for Reels with support for Hindi and Portuguese to target markets like India and Brazil.

09/26/2025

Meta Launches Revolutionary AI Video Feed Called 'Vibes'

Meta just unveiled its latest AI innovation - Vibes, a dedicated feed of AI-generated short-form videos now available in the Meta AI app and on meta.ai. This groundbreaking feature allows users to:

🎬 Create AI-generated videos from scratch using text prompts
🎵 Add music and customize visual styles
🔄 Remix existing videos from the feed
📱 Cross-post content directly to Instagram and Facebook Stories/Reels
🎯 Discover personalized AI video content that adapts to user preferences

What makes this significant for marketers and content creators:
• Meta is positioning itself as a leader in AI-powered content creation
• The feature integrates seamlessly with existing Meta platforms
• It opens new possibilities for creative advertising and brand storytelling
• Users can now generate professional-looking video content without traditional production costs

This launch comes as Meta reorganized its AI efforts under 'Superintelligence Labs' following setbacks with their Llama 4 model. The company is betting big on AI-generated content as a new revenue stream.

The implications for social media marketing are huge - we're witnessing the democratization of video content creation through AI. What are your thoughts on AI-generated content in marketing strategies?