New Instagram Features to Help You Connect We’re launching features that make it easier to connect with your friends on Instagram.

Read the full story:

I'd expect people may be less inclined to interact, as they won't want people to see what they're engaging in all the time. Not to hide things, but you may not want to share certain personal interests, such as political views, with everyone. You can't switch this off either. Some refinement needed!"

Our Digital Director, Christina, says, "Three quite significant updates for the platform that not everyone seems thrilled about. Not everyone has these features as yet, but it will be interesting to see how the 'Friends' feed is used in particular.

3.📱 There is now a ‘Friends’ feed in the Reels tab where you’ll see content your friends are enjoying.

2, 🗺 Friend Map, you can choose to share your location with friends. The Head of Instagram has already come out with a clarification on this. It's set to off by default, but can be switched on if you share a location in Stories and posts. You can choose to share with specific friends or everyone.

🚨 3 new features announced by Instagram this week that you may not know about:

1. Reposts: You can now reshare public content from your favourite creators, and it will appear in a new tab on your profile or in your friends’ recommendations.

🧵 Continued in the next post...

Art, Theatre, Film: A Cultural Catch-Up That Isn’t About the Kardashians Why it's important to have a look at what's happening in adjacent sectors, and what our team is looking forward to for summer and beyond.

Have you read our latest #substack?

We delve into the events and cultural moments the team is looking forward to most this summer, and discuss the importance of keeping up with news beyond our sector.

Have a read: sandfordpr.substack.com/p/art-theatr...

YouTube Expands Hype Creator Support Program, Adds Summer-Themed Stickers YouTube's Hype program aims to help boost exposure for lesser-known channels.

YouTube expands Hype to 19+ new regions, helping boost smaller creators through viewer upvotes. The Trending tab is being replaced with category-based Charts to reflect more personalised and relevant content discovery:

Instagram grid customization is coming next week Choose your own profile layout.

Instagram is making it easier for users to express themselves through music, reels, and says it’s “exploring” ways to support posts that can appear on your profile without being pushed to followers’ feeds.

Meta Adds More Business Messaging Features With messaging use on the rise, it may be worth digging into Meta’s latest business messaging options.

Meta is reshaping business messaging: WhatsApp will now support AI chat, in-app browsing, and voice calls, plus unified ad tools across all Meta apps.

A clear step toward turning messaging into a primary space for commerce and customer experience.

More:

TikTok Launches Bulletin Boards for Broadcast Messaging From Creator and Brand Profiles The option is similar to Instagram's Broadcast Channels.

TikTok is testing Bulletin Boards, a new broadcast messaging tool for creators and brands. It’s a one-way DM feed where profiles share updates that fans can follow and react to. Still early days, but it could become a powerful way to boost audience engagement:

X Will Soon Charge for Ads Based on the Size of Visuals Another consideration for your X campaigns.

Elon’s X will soon charge more for ads that take up more screen space. Larger images and videos will mean higher costs.

No official rollout date yet, but the change is coming.

Time to reassess creative strategy and ad format efficiency on X before these take effect:

Report on Digital Media Consumption Highlights the Rise of Influencers as News Providers Online personalities are increasingly being cited as a news source.

Social media is now the top news source in the U.S., and influencers are rising as trusted news voices. Traditional media is losing ground, especially with younger audiences. Get the latest info:

Pinterest Partners With Instacart To Help Maximize Ad Targeting for Retailers The collaboration will provide more data for Pinterest ad targeting.

Pinterest partners with Instacart to boost ad targeting. Brands can now use real purchase data to reach high-intent shoppers, and users can shop directly from Pins via Instacart.
🛍 Big win for consumer packaged goods:

Meta Looks To Invest in AI Infrastructure Partnership A potential investment in Scale AI could better position Meta as a provider.

Meta may invest $10B in Scale AI to supercharge its AI infrastructure in its bid to lead the global AI race. Big implications for Meta's future in VR, wearables & beyond. We'll be watching this space!

The media landscape is shifting. Audiences aren’t loyal to platforms; they’re loyal to stories that resonate. What does this mean for design and architecture brands? A new way to show up, connect, and stay relevant.

Read our latest Substack for the full take: https://f.mtr.cool/edrwhyroop

Pinterest Adds AI-Powered Collages, Updated Trend Insights Some new AI-powered tools to help customize and optimize your Pin displays.

Pinterest is rolling out AI-powered shoppable collages alongside trend tools. What do the new changes entail? 

- The platform will automatically group products into shoppable visual collections
- New insights will be available to help marketers stay ahead of the curve

AIA reveals winners of 2025 architecture awards The AIA has named ten winners for its 2025 Architecture Awards program including a campus in Rwanda by MASS Design Group and an astronomy museum in Shanghai

The AIA has just unveiled the winners of its 2025 Architecture Awards, and the lineup is incredible. From a solar-topped steel mill in Pittsburgh to a cosmic museum in Shanghai, these 10 projects are redefining what architecture can be.
Read more about the winning projects:

TikTok’s new content filters offer more user control over what they consume, but also highlight how platforms subtly shape what we see. As recommendation systems evolve, where’s the line between personalisation and passive content steering? Read more here: https://f.mtr.cool/omqbgcoaop

Instagram Adds New DM Options, Including Voice Clip Transcription Also, longer audio messages for all users.

🎙️ Instagram just updated their DMs. Now, you can read transcriptions of voice messages, send audio clips up to 5 minutes long and quickly follow everyone in group chats with one tap.

A small change to align with routines, where communication happens on the go: 

Surli redirect page

[DRAFT] LinkedIn’s levelling up post analytics 📊 You can now track how your content drives profile views, new followers, and link clicks — helping you understand what really sparks engagement and grows your network. Will this make your content strategy smarter?

X Implements New Measures To Detect Manipulation of Community Notes X has added a new method to detect coordinated notes activity.

X has introduced new safeguards to detect and limit coordinated manipulation of its Community Notes system, aiming to preserve the integrity of crowd-sourced fact-checking:

Meta is testing new ad features across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. These include new tools to help businesses connect with top creators and expand their reach across platforms, whilst boosting their overall performance: https://f.mtr.cool/rvjstbxjgd

AI in the design world: problematic or practical? How AI is Changing the Design, PR, and Marketing Landscape

🤖✨ AI is revolutionising design - but at what cost? From copyright chaos to creativity crises, this piece dives deep into the real issues. Designers, this one’s for you!

sandfordpr.substack.com/p/ai-in-the-...

#AI #DesignEthics #CreativeAI #DesignCommunity

YouTube has introduced a game-changing AI-powered tool to help brands discover the right creators for their campaigns. The new feature uses Google’s tech to refine creator searches based on specific topics and conversational queries: https://f.mtr.cool/xmqxyflmrf

Meta Provides Guidance for Advertisers Based on Latest Engagement Trends Some recommendations for your Meta promotions based on the latest engagement trends.

Meta recently shared five key stats aimed at helping advertisers succeed on its platform. While these insights may prove useful, they highlight the platform’s growing shift towards a ‘pay-to-play’ model.

Read here:

LinkedIn reports record engagement again, with sessions up 9% and 985M members globally. At Sandford, we're leveraging this momentum to craft impactful B2B strategies that resonate. Let's connect and elevate your brand's presence. Visit https://f.mtr.cool/beaemunfcu to find out more.

Threads Reaches 350M Active Users Threads is closing the gap on X as the real-time social media platform of choice.

Threads just hit 350M monthly active users and a +35% in time spent on the platform in the last quarter. Could Threads be positioning itself as a top alternative to X?

Foresso’s commitment to low-carbon manufacturing and ethical business practices aligns seamlessly with our values, and we look forward to enhancing both their PR and digital presence with our combined service offering. 

Find out more at www.foresso.co.uk and look out for further updates!

💫 NEW CLIENT 💫

We’re delighted to welcome @_foresso, a Birmingham-based company renowned for creating innovative materials from wood waste. Their flagship product, the Timber Terrazzo, exemplifies circular design by transforming offcuts and wood waste into functional surface solutions.