Social Media News For You In March
Let’s get right into the social media and influencer news you can use to start your week. This week, I’ll be covering TikTok experimenting with in-feed shopping, the struggles content creators and influencers face, and the latest app update from Spotify that feels a lot like TikTok.
Looking for more social media news worth using? You can see more of my latest social media updates and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog if you’re new to my website.
TikTok Experimenting with in-feed Shopping.
While most social media platforms have had limited success with in-app shopping, TikTok is pushing ahead with its in-stream commerce initiatives.
According to AdAge, several US retailers now appear to have a new in-stream shopping tab enabled on their profiles. In contrast to the regular TikTok shop functionality, which redirects users to the retailer's website for conversion, the in-stream shopping flow includes a shop overview and direct purchase capability within the app.
TikTok, in particular, relies on in-app purchases as part of a larger strategy to provide more revenue potential to app creators. If TikTok users do not behave similarly to those on Douyin, TikTok's revenue opportunities will be limited.
Content Creators Struggle as Social Media Platforms Evolve
It's no secret that the social media landscape is constantly changing. It takes time to keep up with changes, such as which platform is most popular, which medium is most effective, algorithm updates, and more. These trends are having the most impact on social media content creators, who are still caught in the middle.
Content creators are under pressure to publish content on every platform and meet their followers where they spend their time. This includes legacy and new apps, such as BeReal and Hive. However, not all platforms are where a content creator's audience lives, which is ultimately detrimental to the creator.
The ever-changing algorithms on each platform also play a significant role in some of the difficulties these creators face. Creators say dealing with Instagram's constant shifts is particularly discouraging and troublesome. Learn more about the challenges that content creators face here.
Spotify Unveils New App Design Inspired By TikTok
The audio streaming service recently redesigned its mobile app, similar to TikTok. The most noticeable changes include vertical, TikTok-style discovery feeds for music, podcasts, and audiobooks that allow users to scroll through previews of each type of content. What else makes this Spotify update similar to TikTok?
Spotify also added a "Smart Shuffle" mode for premium subscribers, which suggests new songs for your queue while you listen to a playlist.
And when you finish a podcast episode, similar podcasts will start playing automatically.
Spotify joins Reddit, Netflix, Instagram, and YouTube in capitalizing on people's desire to see bite-sized versions of content while using their phones. Some of these features were rolled out on Wednesday, and the company announced additional updates coming later.
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