If you happened to be offline for the past four days, you may have missed the outright chaos that took place on social media. From the sudden TikTok shutdown to Instagram launching a wave of updates, and then—just kidding—TikTok was back 10+ hours later. And it was, weirdly, some kind of political move?

For many of us, the back and forth was exhausting. My take? Just tell us if it’s working or not and let’s move on! But beneath the frustration, there’s a valuable lesson for businesses and content creators. Let’s break it down.

TikTok: Why Was This Such a Big Deal?

TikTok has become a powerful platform for businesses for several reasons:

• Creator Fund: Allows creators to make money directly from TikTok based on their reach and engagement.
• Brand Partnerships: Companies pay creators to make sponsored content.
• User-Generated Content (UGC): Brands pay creators to produce content they can use in ads.
• Organic Growth: TikTok’s algorithm is often perceived as easier to grow on than Instagram and favors less curated, more relaxed content.

The Lesson: Diversify Your Presence

Last week, I sent an email emphasizing the importance of having owned platforms like a website or an email list instead of relying solely on rented platforms like social media. The TikTok chaos underscored this point: If your entire business is built on one platform, you’re taking a huge risk.

For those who make their living on TikTok, this was a wake-up call. While TikTok remains a valuable platform, diversifying where and how you connect with your audience is crucial.

That doesn’t mean you need to be on every platform—just ensure you have owned spaces where your audience can always find you.

Instagram’s Response: Major Updates

Instagram took advantage of the TikTok chaos by rolling out several major updates, making the app feel even more like TikTok:

• 3×4 Feed Size
• Adjusting Preview (Covers) After Posting
• Nearby Feed
• With Friends Feed
• 3-Minute Reels
• Trial Reels
• New Edits App Coming Soon

Breaking Down the Instagram Updates

• Nearby Feed: A huge win for local businesses, tourism, and creators targeting specific locations.
• 3×4 Feed Size: Not a drastic change, but an adjustment for those who designed covers in a 1×1 (square) format. Moving forward, it’s best to adapt to the new size rather than updating old posts.
• Adjusting Preview Covers: A long-overdue update! You can now change the cover of a reel after posting by selecting a thumbnail from the video itself.
• Trial Reels: Instagram head Adam Mosseri mentioned that if you don’t want to overwhelm your followers with multiple posts, you can use “trials,” which are only shown to non-followers to boost reach.
• 3-Minute Reels: More room for storytelling but also a challenge to maintain audience attention.
• With Friends Feed: Shows content your friends have already liked—again, very TikTok-like.
• Edits by Instagram: With many losing access to CapCut during the TikTok shutdown, Instagram is launching its own editing app. Personally, I’m leaning towards Adobe tools to avoid losing access to my edits. 😅

Final Thoughts

Overall, these Instagram changes seem promising—though they arrived all at once. As Instagram is my primary platform, I’ll be creating content around these updates to explore them further.

If you have questions about how this affects your brand or business—or just want to share your perspective—let’s chat!

Surviving the chaos,
Julia