Welcome back to this week’s TEAM LEWIS Social Round-Up. Australia’s social ban for teens has got the platforms talking, Meta’s pushing smarter lead gen through AI, and Instagram’s finally letting us peek at competitor stats. Meanwhile, YouTube Shorts is officially outperforming long-form content; LinkedIn’s comments are on the rise; Pinterest has a new AI shopping sidekick; and Bluesky has cracked 40 million users. Oh, and the Christmas ads have landed.
Let’s get into it 👇
Latest News
🇦🇺 Meta, TikTok & Snap Will Comply with Australia’s Youth Ban (But Still Oppose It)
Australia’s landmark under-16 social media ban takes effect on December 10th. While Meta, TikTok, and Snap all say it won’t work, they’ll comply with it. Platforms will begin deactivating the accounts of users under 16, over a million nationwide, and use AI behaviour tracking to spot teens posing as adults.
The move marks one of the toughest digital safety laws anywhere in the world. The big question? Whether it genuinely protects kids or they’ll find ways to circumvent it. Either way, it’s a test case governments globally will be watching closely. 👉 Read more
🤖 Meta Adds AI-Powered Tools to Lead Gen Ads
Meta’s giving its lead generation ads a brain boost, rolling out Advantage+ Leads Campaigns globally, complete with AI audience targeting and new verification tools to stop spam submissions.
Advertisers can now require SMS or work email confirmation, ensuring real people fill in forms. With Meta reporting 14% lower cost per lead and 10% better lead quality, the update’s designed to make post-Christmas “Q5” campaigns perform smarter, not just cheaper. 👉 Learn more
📊 Instagram Adds Competitive Insights
Instagram’s Professional Dashboard is getting more strategic. Creators and brands can now compare up to 10 competitors for follower growth, posting cadence, and content mix across Reels, feed, and ads.
It’s a light-touch tool (no click or conversion data yet), but it’s a useful pulse-check for benchmarking. Think of it as social spying made semi-official, and a quick way to justify your next “why our engagement is better” slide in a client deck. 👉 Read more
🎬 YouTube Shorts Outperform Long-Form Videos
In Google’s latest earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that YouTube Shorts now generates more revenue per watch hour than long-form video. Shorts ad offerings have exploded, brands are embracing vertical content, and the results are in: the bite-sized format is officially big business.
For creators, that could mean rethinking production time and format strategy. For marketers, Shorts are no longer just an awareness play; they’re a performance channel. 👉 Read more
💬 LinkedIn Engagement Soars
Microsoft’s latest earnings report shows steady growth across LinkedIn, with CEO Ryan Roslansky revealing 24% more post comments this year and three straight quarters of video growth. Video uploads are up, and short-form clips are shared 20x more than other post types.
While revenue rose 10% year-over-year, the platform is also cracking down on fake engagement pods and bot comments. The trend is clear: real conversations and human storytelling are outperforming generic thought-leadership fluff. 👉 Learn more
🟦 Bluesky Hits 40 Million Users
Bluesky, the decentralised alternative to X and Threads, now boasts 40 million users, up slightly from August’s 38 million. Growth has slowed, but its loyal community of journalists, developers, and digital idealists keeps the conversation alive.
It’s not about reach, it’s about tone. Bluesky’s carving a niche as the calmer, cleaner social feed, and while ad options don’t exist yet, it’s one to watch if your brand values meaningful conversation over mass audience. 👉 Read more
🧭 Pinterest Launches AI Assistant
Pinterest’s new AI Assistant blends voice, vision, and shopping in one go. Say “show me a lamp that matches this sofa” or “what shoes go with these jeans,” and it returns visual results you can buy, powered by its visual-language AI.
The tool’s rolling out in beta to U.S. users (18+), with plans for global expansion. It’s Pinterest’s biggest leap yet toward merging search with style advice, and it could reshape how users discover and buy what they love. 👉 Learn more
🔧 Quick Tip of the Week
If you haven’t already, start building your Christmas content bank now. The best-performing posts in December are often the ones planned in advance. And why not try something different this year, think emotional, human, and nostalgic. Whether it’s heartfelt storytelling or cheeky festive humour, start drafting now so you can focus on mince pies later.
✨ Campaigns We Love ✨
🎄 The Best Christmas Adverts of 2025
The UK’s biggest brands are unwrapping their Christmas campaigns, emotional, absurd, and everything in between. John Lewis, Aldi, and M&S are back in full tear-jerker mode, while newcomers are going bold with humour. The festive arms race has begun. 👉 Watch them all
🚙 Jeep Turns Up the Heat for the Grand Wagoneer
Comedian Iliza Shlesinger stars in Jeep’s risqué “boardroom pitch” parody, inspired by a review calling the SUV “the best vehicle to have sex in.” The result? Brilliant comedy that doubles as brand awareness gold. 👉 Watch the spot
🗓️ Mark Your Calendars
Opportunities to celebrate this week
- Wednesday November 5 – National Stress Awareness Day 🧠
- Thursday November 6 – National Nachos Day 🧀
- Friday November 7 – International Merlot Day 🍷
- Saturday November 8 – World Town Planning Day 🏙→
- Sunday November 9 – World Freedom Day 🕊
- Monday November 10 – Sesame Street Day 🧸
- Tuesday November 11 – World Origami Day 🦢
And next…
- Wednesday November 12 – World Pneumonia Day 💙
- Thursday November 13 – World Kindness Day 🤝
- Friday November 14 – National Pickle Day 🥒
- Saturday November 15 – Steve Irwin Day 🐊
- Sunday November 16 – International Day for Tolerance 🫱🏽🫲🏼
- Monday November 17 – International Students Day 🎓
- Tuesday November 18 – Apple Cider Day 🍎
- Wednesday November 19 – World Toilet Day 🚽
That’s a wrap for this week!
With Christmas campaigns multiplying faster than Mariah Carey streams, I’m off to drag the tree out of storage and untangle last year’s lights.
Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to learn more about any of the updates this week, and please don’t forget to subscribe if you want this delivered in your inbox every week!
See you next week, bye 👋🎄
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