Welcome to the July edition of The Social Advantage, your monthly shortcut to the biggest shifts in social, and what they mean for your content, ads, and reporting.
This time, we’re covering:
👉 Why Instagram Reels might deserve a longer reporting window
👉 LinkedIn’s new video-powered newsletters
👉 TikTok testing broadcast messaging (Bulletin Boards)
👉 And X banning hashtags from promoted posts (yes, really)
There’s a lot changing in how people discover and engage with content. Let’s dig in.
Fresh data from Measure Studio shows a surprising pattern:
That’s a huge difference, and it means if you’re reporting on Reels performance after a standard 30-day cycle, you could be missing a significant chunk of their true impact. It challenges the old “monthly metrics” mindset, suggesting Reels need a much longer tail for meaningful measurement and evaluation.
Why it matters: Short-form video isn’t just a short-term play now. This slower burn could influence how you plan campaigns, set expectations, and communicate performance to stakeholders. A Reel might appear to underperform in the first month, only to surge in reach and engagement over the next month or two.
🧠 Takeaway for B2B founders & marketers: Adjust your measurement windows. Consider tracking Reels for at least 60–90 days, especially if you’re using them to build brand awareness, drive organic reach, or test creative concepts. Reels are a long game, not just a quick hit.
Source: Measure Studio / Andy Lambert
We’re noticing another “long tail” trend on LinkedIn: older posts resurfacing in people’s feeds days or even weeks after they were published. That’s great news for evergreen content; posts with long shelf lives can keep driving profile views, engagement, and inbound leads far beyond their initial burst of reach.
But it’s not all upside. If you’re sharing time-sensitive content, like an event with a firm deadline or a campaign with limited slots, older posts showing up later could create confusion or send people to outdated links.
Why it matters: LinkedIn’s feed is increasingly prioritising relevance and engagement signals over recency. While that can work in your favour for authority-building posts, it means you’ll need to stay vigilant with anything time-limited.
🧠 Takeaway for B2B founders & marketers: Embrace the long tail for evergreen posts, but for time-sensitive content, consider adding “in date” signals in your copy (for example, “this event runs until 30 July”) to avoid confusion if it resurfaces weeks later. And keep monitoring engagement on older posts to ensure the right message is reaching the right people.
LinkedIn has confirmed it’s rolling out video options for newsletter and article headers. That means your cover image can now be a short, engaging video, which will autoplay in-feed and show up as a thumbnail in subscriber emails.
Why it matters: Video is hot on LinkedIn right now. It’s seeing 36% growth year-on-year, and is 20x more likely to be shared than other formats. Adding video covers could boost engagement with your newsletters and help you stand out in a crowded feed.
LinkedIn recommends:
🧠 Takeaway for B2B founders & marketers: If you already run a LinkedIn newsletter (or want to start), test video headers ASAP. They’re rolling out globally, so now’s a good time to experiment.
Source: Social Media Today
TikTok is following Instagram’s lead on Broadcast Channels with a feature called Bulletin Boards. It lets creators and brands share one-to-many DM-style messages with their followers, including text, images, and video; up to 20 bulletins a day.
Fans can react, but they can’t reply, giving brands more control while keeping the conversation focused.
Why it matters: More users are spending time in DMs and private chats, and TikTok doesn’t want to miss out on that. Bulletin Boards could help brands push exclusives, sneak peeks, or promos straight to superfans.
🧠 Takeaway for B2B founders & marketers: If you get access, think of Bulletin Boards as another community-building tool. The first movers will probably see the strongest results.
Source: Social Media Today / Techcrunch
In classic Elon style, X (formerly Twitter) has decided to ban hashtags in promoted posts, arguing they’re an “esthetic nightmare” that distract from the ad’s message.
Why it matters: While hashtags can help with organic discovery, in a paid setting they can draw clicks away from your intended call-to-action, sending people off to explore the hashtag instead of clicking on your website or offer. That’s why even before this rule, X’s ad teams had long advised advertisers to limit or remove hashtags from ads.
Still, a total ban is a pretty bold step. It means advertisers can no longer promote branded hashtags or campaign tie-ins within paid posts, which could affect campaigns that rely on user-generated content or hashtag challenges. This is very much an “Elon decision” in style, prioritising aesthetic over broader strategic flexibility.
🧠 Takeaway for B2B founders & marketers: If you’re running ads on X, update your creative. Hashtags are now a no-go. It might help focus clicks, but could limit reach for hashtag-driven campaigns.
Source: Social Media Today
As you can see, platforms are shifting how they reward, display, and measure content, from long-tail Reels to newsletter video headers to the rise of DM-style channels.
If you’d like to talk through how these changes could affect your reporting, paid campaigns, or content plans, just hit reply or drop us a DM.
See you next month 👋
– Team Social Advantage
