Social Media News You Can Use In March
Let’s get right into the social media and influencer news you can use to start off the month of March. Today, we’re cover the latest around TikTok’s potential ban in the U.S., see how a CPG brand used influencers to reach GenZ, and why your brand needs to utilize organic and paid social to achieve your goals.
If you want more ways to build advocacy for your or your client’s brands, check out the latest of my freebies. I even created a quick infographic that contains a five-step framework for building brand advocacy on social media.
U.S. TikTok Ban Moves a Step Closer
You might need to find a new way to kill time on your phone. On Wednesday, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to give President Biden the authority to ban TikTok in the United States. But what exactly does this mean?
The White House already has a total ban on TikTok on government-owned devices, and Biden now needs Senate approval before the ban can be implemented nationwide. Former President Donald Trump demanded that TikTok be sold to a U.S. company or face a complete ban, which may still be an option now.
Much depends on China, and whether or not they continue to cause friction with the United States, as security officials are concerned about TikTok. If this concern has already resulted in a ban on government devices, it may soon apply to all citizens.
How IPG Talked to GenZ About Healthy Food Choices
Plenty of articles about how agencies and brands want to reach Gen Z for their advertising efforts. Instead, let's look at how one holding company and its client took on that challenge. To encourage Gen Z consumers to "dare to try" new foods for the sake of the environment, Unilever's Knorr has resorted to the power of influencers.
To drive engagement with Gen Z on TikTok, the brand and its agency IPG partnered with 11 well-known influencers from different countries for a game of "Truth or Dare" in which they have to try, for example, eating insects.
And to help connect things back to the brand, Knorr created a series of recipes to show how dishes can use diverse ingredients that reflect more sustainable choices, and he encourages people to be more mindful of what they eat.
Organic vs. Paid? Why Brands Need to Use Both
The headline tells you right away, but I firm believer of utilizing both organic and paid social media to help my clients achieve their goals. I’ve written about this before on my website, but paid and organic social media are separate beasts that should be used in conjunction, albeit for different purposes. Knowing the benefits and downsides of each is essential for a comprehensive approach that balances awareness and conversion.
Social media strategies that move the needle for their clients and often gain industry recognition are built on using organic content to satisfy their existing consumers while bringing new consumers into the marketing funnel with paid ads. See how brands like Impossible Foods, Publix, and Auntie Annes use paid and organic social to help achieve their business goals in this blog post from Sprout Social.
That’s all for today, but thank you for taking the time to read my blog post! 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.
