• Melissa Harvey
• 15 September 2025
• 7 min

Social in Six 98

1. Instagram has added two new Reels features to keep viewers hooked for longer 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

 
The story: 

• Instagram has introduced a Retention chart in Reels Insights, showing where viewers drop off while watching —flatter lines mean stronger engagement. 

• The platform has swapped out View Rate – which shows how many viewers watched over 3 seconds of your Reel – for Skip Rate, which reveals how many people skip a Reel within the first 3 seconds. 

• Plus, all users can now link to a related Reel while uploading a Reel, which will add a clickable prompt to “Watch – Part 2”, “Part 3” etc as an overlay in the Reels UI.  

So what? 

User retention is increasingly tough but crucial for brands juggling quick hooks with early product visibility. Tracking where viewers drop off highlights weaknesses in brand messaging and helps refine tone. Skip-rate insights allow testing of different hooks, showing if clickbait engages or repels. The real game-changer is the “Watch – Part 2, Part 3” feature: once viewers commit, they stay. On Instagram, this unlocks huge potential for episodic campaigns, extending content lifespans by naturally pulling audiences through each part.

2. Pinterest’s trends report reveals what we’ll be buying this autumn 

The story: 

• Pinterest’s 2025 Fall Trends Report points to a major shift toward vintage and thrifted décor, with searches like “dream thrift finds” and “thrifted kitchen” seeing an uptick. 

• Art Deco-inspired styles are also making a comeback, with growing interest in rich textures, bold colours, and geometric designs. 

• Home décor trends are leaning away from minimalism, with statement tiles in terracotta, blue ceramic, and retro patterns gaining traction for a more unique, handcrafted look. 

So what?  

Pinterest trend reports are a powerful way to spot cultural shifts before they peak, helping brands authentically tap into what’s next. With Gen Z making up over half of Pinterest’s users, understanding their future searches is key—especially in fashion, beauty, and homeware, but the insights go far beyond. For example, searches for Art Deco Decor are up +745%. Even FMCG brands can leverage this by using UGC creators in different kitchen styles, subtly aligning with trending culture without feeling forced or inauthentic.

3. Instagram is considering making screenshots a measurable metric  

View on Threads

The story: 

• Instagram boss Adam Mosseri confirmed that tracking screenshots is under consideration as a potential new metric to enhance how engagement and reach are measured. 

• The idea stems from how screenshots often extend content reach beyond platforms—extensive evidence exists showing that items shared via screenshots can generate far wider visibility than direct engagement alone. 

• Mosseri said he will discuss the idea with the internal team to determine its feasibility and potential integration into Instagram Insights. 

So what?  

This insight shows how content spreads across platforms, with many meme formats originating on Twitter and growing through screenshots. Measuring screenshots could reveal shareability, but most cross-platform screenshots are memes or pop culture—not marketable moments. With TikTok and Instagram’s save features reducing the need for screenshots, brands should prioritise creating content worth saving. Save-ability drives repeated in-app engagement, offering more value than a fleeting screenshot and positioning brands to stay relevant as trends adapt and grow across social platforms.

4. You can now only use 5 hashtags max on TikTok 

The story: 

• TikTok has introduced a limit of five hashtags per post, with users now seeing in-app notifications about the change. 

• The update is designed to reduce spammy tagging, clean up captions, and make content discovery more relevant. 

• It reflects a wider shift across platforms towards prioritising meaningful engagement signals over hashtag overload. 

So what? 

This TikTok update could significantly boost TikTok SEO, as Gen Z increasingly favours social over Google for search. By refining search functionality and filtering out irrelevant results, content discovery becomes sharper. For brands, this means rethinking hashtag strategy—simply tagging your brand name isn’t enough if it’s not commonly searched. Instead, the focus should be on consistently using and adapting trending hashtags within your market. This approach ensures better visibility, keeps content aligned with user behaviour, and improves overall discoverability on the platform.

5. Reddit has released a playbook to help you master organic engagement 

The story: 

• Reddit has released its Pro Organic Playbook, a 15-page guide to help brands build stronger communities and drive organic engagement on the platform. 

• The playbook argues a strong presence is “critical for influencing how your business gets discovered and cited by AI”, echoing a SEMrush study which ranked Reddit as the top source of information for AI chatbot responses. 

• The resource breaks down best practices for posting, commenting, and joining conversations in a way that feels authentic to Reddit’s community-first culture. 

• It’s designed to make Reddit more approachable for marketers who often find the platform tricky to navigate compared to other social channels. 

So what? 

Reddit is a highly engaged platform with over 110M daily users, but its communities are wary of overt marketing. Success depends on clear objectives: if a brand seeks clicks or sales, Reddit may not be ideal, but for feedback, audience insight, and dialogue, it’s invaluable. Moderators are crucial—they must align with your brand’s values to foster trust. Brands with cult followings, like Dr Martens and Adidas, thrive because community passion drives engagement. Assess if your brand has that cult status, and if so, leverage it effectively on Reddit.

6. YouTube has released its culture & trends report  

The story:

• YouTube’s Culture & Trends report recaps the past year’s platform trends, supplemented by surveys from users ages 14-49 about their interests and attitudes towards the internet. 

• It’s consistent with data showing that YouTube is on the up as a competitor to traditional TV, with over half of 14-24 year olds saying they find creator content more exciting than new TV shows or films.  

• YouTube has identified Creative Maximalism as a key aesthetic amongst young people, with four key qualities: audio/visual complexity; narrative co-creation; internet referential; and global influence.   

So what? 

YouTube has become a major competitor to TV, driven by the personal connection viewers have with favourite creators and the scale of their videos. While brands have been encouraged to adopt authentic, UGC-style content, the platform is now seeing a trend of ‘Creative Maximalism’—polished, high-production videos. To succeed, brands should partner with established creators who have strong audience connections. Leveraging these creators allows brands to cut through the polished long-form content, making sponsorships and campaigns more impactful and relatable.