Social Media Tips – Week of December 23, 2024
Social Media Tips – Week of December 23, 2024
The holiday week brings some significant platform shifts! Here's what you need to know:
🚨 Instagram Says Goodbye to Hashtag Following
Effective December 13, 2024, Instagram officially ended the ability to follow hashtags. Posts from followed hashtags no longer appear in feeds, and you can't follow new ones. This is Instagram's biggest move yet away from hashtag-driven discovery toward algorithm-powered personalization.
What this means for school districts:
Hashtags still work for search and the Explore page
Focus on keyword-rich captions instead
Double down on building your follower base directly
This pairs with last week's news about the 3-hashtag limit test — Instagram is clearly deprioritizing hashtags overall
📈 Bluesky Explodes to 25+ Million Users
The X alternative grew from 3 million users in February to over 25 million by year's end, a 763% increase. In the last six weeks, they have added 13 million users. The platform just launched Trending Topics on December 26 and now offers DMs, hashtags, video sharing, and starter packs.
Should your district be on Bluesky?
It's still primarily attracting journalists, creators, and tech-savvy users
Worth monitoring, but probably not essential for K-12 communications yet
If you're curious, create an account to secure your district's handle
⚖️ TikTok Ban: Supreme Court to Decide January 10
The January 19 ban deadline looms. Here's where we stand:
December 6: The Appeals court upheld the ban
December 18: The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case
January 10, 2025: Oral arguments scheduled
President-elect Trump has asked for a delay to pursue a negotiated solution
For school communicators: Continue your TikTok strategy for now, but ensure your best content also lives on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts as backup.
📊 LinkedIn Adds "Saves" and "Sends" Metrics
LinkedIn rolled out two new analytics metrics:
Saves: How many users bookmarked your post
Sends: How often your post was shared via DM
These give better insight into content that resonates beyond simple likes and comments, particularly valuable for superintendent and district leadership accounts building thought leadership.
🎬 YouTube Expands AI Tools and Title Testing
YouTube continues rolling out creator-friendly features:
Title A/B testing now available to more creators
Expressive Captions with animations rolling out across all devices
AI editing features, including greenscreen backgrounds, expand access
For districts creating video content, the title testing feature is particularly useful for comparing what headlines drive the most clicks on your board meeting recaps or event highlights.
💡 Quick Tip of the Week
With hashtag following gone on Instagram and the platform testing 3-hashtag limits, now is the time to audit your caption strategy. Instead of loading up on hashtags, focus on:
Natural keywords in your first 2-3 sentences
Strong hooks that stop the scroll
Clear calls to action that encourage saves and shares
Happy Holidays! 🎄
Tips return next Monday. In the meantime, this is a great week to create some winter break content in bulk and plan your January strategy.
Be on the lookout, tips drop every Monday!
