This week in social media news, Twitch is testing brand safety scores for streamers, Twitter says it has earned brand safety accreditation from TAG and is working on a way to natively record conversations, Instagram is testing a closed captions functionality for Stories, Snapchat announces a resource hub and webinar to help advertisers navigate Apple’s privacy updates and more.

A Peek At Twitch’s Brand Safety Scores

According to PC Gamer, cybersecurity researcher Daylam Tayari has spotted code within Twitch’s internal application program interface (API) that suggests the platform is testing “brand safety scores” that rates streamers’ friendliness based on factors like chat behavior, ban history, manual ratings from Twitch staff, age and more.

Why it matters: Many Twitch streamers have been at the center of controversy for various reasons including misbehavior, using racial slurs and bullying. The brand safety score would give advertisers reassurance that their ads are being served to the correct audiences as well as enable streamers to facilitate brand deals.

The details: A Twitch spokesperson confirmed to PC Gamer that “nothing has launched yet,” but that it’s exploring ways to improve the Twitch experience for viewers and creators, “including efforts to better match the appropriate ads to the right communities.”

Twitter Receives Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) Brand Safety Seal

Twitter recently announced that it has received global brand safety accreditation from TAG, and that it’s rolling out ‘conversation settings’ to advertisers to enable them to choose who can reply to their promoted tweets.

Why it matters: The TAG accreditation will cover Twitter’s global operations, assuring advertisers and agencies that TAG safety standards will be applied to Twitter’s digital ad agreements, monetized content takedown practices, the use of inclusion/exclusion lists and the documentation of certain policies used to reduce the risk of ad misplacement.

The details: In the same announcement, Twitter says it’s expanding its conversation settings feature, which it rolled out to users in August 2020, to advertisers. This update extends the feature to brands’ promoted-only tweets and organic tweets, as well as to those who use the platform’s most popular ad formats.

Instagram Tests Closed Captions Feature For Instagram Stories

Instagram is testing an automated captions sticker that can be applied to Instagram Stories, as spotted by Matt Navarra and reported by Social Media Today.

Why it matters: The new functionality would eliminate the issue of a user watching content with the sound off, and thereby enable brands and creators to boost their engagement.

The details: As per Social Media Today, the feature would generate closed captions for users’ stories clips in four text style options. Once applied, the captions sticker would display a prompt that says ‘Transcribing audio…”

Twitter Plans To Create A Feature That Natively Records Conversations

During an interview on The Verge’s Decoder podcast, Twitter’s head of consumer product Kayvon Beykpour said the company is working on a feature that natively records conversations.

Why it matters: For moderation purposes, Twitter currently records conversations and keeps them for 30 days. The hosts can download that data as well as the transcription, whereas competitor Clubhouse only retains conversation recordings when a room is live.

The details: According to The Verge, Beykpour said:

“I think it should be a choice. If you think that the conversation was worth playing back, you ought to be able to do that. I personally am a little bit more bullish on two things. One, obviously the host should be able to save it and do whatever they want. Maybe you host a Space, you save it, then want to go edit it. You should be able to do that.”

He added that, “letting the audience pick sound bites and share them as clips could be really, really powerful.”

Snapchat Announces Guides, Webinar To Help Advertisers Navigate iOS 14 Updates

Snapchat has created a resource hub that outlines how its ad solutions will take Apple’s forthcoming privacy updates into account to help marketers navigate the changes.

Why it matters: Snapchat says its goal is to enable personalized ad experiences, maintain user trust and help brands succeed with “actionable preparation guides.”

The details: To address the largest iOS update, AppTrackingTransparency (ATT)—which requires apps to use Apple’s modal for users to opt-in to tracking across apps and websites owned by other companies—Snapchat says it will show the tracking modal to users and continue to collect identifier for advertisers (IFDA) for opt-in events on iOS 14.

The platform’s comprehensive guides provide recommendations for advertisers running Snapchat campaigns with app install, deep link attachments or website attachments. Snapchat will flesh out these best practices during a webinar on March 11, “How to Prepare for Apple iOS 14 Changes: Web & App Advertising on Snapchat.”

Snapchat And Gannett Form Partnership To Reach Small Advertisers

Snapchat and Gannett have inked a deal that will involve Gannett promoting Snap ads to local businesses in the US and Canada through Gannett’s network of more than 100,000 small business clients, reports Social Media Today.

Why it matters: The partnership comes as Snapchat reported a 62 percent year-over-year increase in revenue and doubling of advertisers in Q4.  

The details: According to Social Media Today, under the deal, Gannett’s sales force will have the ability to sell Snapchat advertising to SMBs, a move that Snapchat hopes will expand its reach among local businesses.

TikTok Announces A Free Summit For Small And Medium Businesses

TikTok will host a free event for SMBs, ‘Ready, Set, Grow,’ where it will share resources and best practices on how they can utilize TikTok to expand their business.

Why it matters: The event is part of TikTok’s larger effort to reach small businesses in the same way that its major competitors do, including Facebook and Google.

The details: ‘Ready, Set, Grow,’ scheduled for March 24 at 11 a.m. EST, will include a number of creators who discuss how they leverage TikTok as a business tool through SMB success stories and tips on setting up a business on TikTok with Shopify integration and creating original content.