The Social Media and Influencer Marketing News You Can Use in June
As we get closer to the Juneteenth holiday, I am reminded of the progress we as a country have made so far, and how progress requires consistent effort. I hope we can all enjoy the time off and to reflect on this country’s history.
Let’s dive into this week’s news you can use, where we’ll cover the latest social media and influencer marketing news that you need to be aware of in June. This week, we’ll discuss two potential platform updates coming to Instagram, Snapchat’s user base is growing older and get a brief introduction on how influencer partnerships come to life behind the scenes.
Need a Gut Check Before Posting? Instagram’s Got Your Back With New Features
Instagram is testing out two exciting new features to enable users to get feedback on their Reels prior to posting them to the public. Both features are currently being tested on select accounts.
The first feature lets users send a preview of their in-progress video creation to friends. On a personal level, it's a chance to ask, "Do I look ridiculous in this outfit?" For brands, it's an additional review step to catch spelling errors, evaluate background music choices, check cuts, assess video length, and more. This process is completely private and visible only to those you choose to share it with.
The second feature allows users to share their Reels with a randomly selected audience of non-followers before officially making them public. For brands, this could be a way to test new concepts or edgier ideas and gauge reactions. You have 24 hours to decide whether to post it publicly or archive it.
Instagram's goal with these features is to improve content quality and encourage more users to give posting Reels a try by offering these safety nets.
Snapchat’s User Base is Growing Up and That’s A Win For Advertisers
Think Snapchat is just a playground for Gen Z? Think again. The platform is experiencing a significant demographic shift, with a growing segment of mature users. In an interview with Marketing Brew, Patrick Harris, Snap's President of the Americas, revealed that nearly a quarter of Snapchat's user base is 35 or older. This data point presents a compelling business opportunity for advertisers seeking to engage a diverse audience beyond younger audiences.
Snapchat's evolving brand positioning is underscored by a new ad campaign that sets the platform apart from its competitors. In conjunction with this campaign, Snapchat has rolled out an array of innovative advertising capabilities, including enhanced Dynamic Ads, generative AI and AR capabilities, and a suite of tools designed to empower advertisers and brands.
With a growing segment of older users and a revitalized ad platform, Snapchat is positioning itself as a potent force in the advertising landscape, ready to cater to the needs of a broader range of brands and businesses. And these efforts are yielding results as an advertising platform, with a reported 85% year-over-year growth in its small and medium advertiser base in Q1. This momentum is further bolstered by Snapchat's expanding user base, which recently surpassed 422 million daily active users.
A Brief Introduction to Influencer Partnerships (Through Legal)
Having a clear partnership agreement is crucial for successful collaborations. We wanted to share some behind the scenes info as to how we bring their content to life, while protecting our clients from any serious issues. Now you’ve probably heard the terms "contract" and "agreement" thrown around on status or internal calls, and are sometimes used interchangeably, but understanding the distinction is vital.
Agreements typically outline the partnership's scope, defining each party's responsibilities. For example, a brand might want an influencer to create content around a certain product and promote the product page on their Link in Bio.
Contracts, on the other hand, often delve deeper, specifying the terms under which the work is carried out. They might include restrictions on language use, guidelines on discussing competitors, and payment details.
Ideally, an agreement and contract are finalized and signed before any creative work begins. Now why are contracts and agreements important? They provide clarity by eliminating confusion by defining roles and responsibilities, ensuring everyone understands their part in the collaboration. And they help our clients mitigate risk by addressing potential disputes by outlining content expectations, how creative revisions happen, ownership of intellectual property, usage rights and termination procedures.
If you enjoyed this week’s “news can use,” you won’t want to miss the latest on TikTok in my blog update surrounding the latest legislation that is forcing TikTok to be sold or be banned in the United States.
Social Media and Influencer News You Need To Know In May
Welcome to this week’s news you can use, where we’ll cover the latest social media and influencer marketing news that you need to be aware of. Today, we’ll look at a TikTok user who brings his branding takes to the platform. Instagram is preparing a new feature similar to BeReal, and Sprout Social releases their latest influencer marketing findings now so that they can leverage Tagger insights.
Before you dig in, don’t miss my blog update about the latest legislation that is forcing TikTok to be sold or be banned in the United States.
How A Branding Expert Uses TikTok to Share His Professional Takes
Ashwinn Krishnaswamy, a TikTok user with a truly innovative approach, is bringing his branding takes to life on TikTok. His videos, a departure from the usual Twitter threads or LinkedIn thought leadership posts, offer a breath of fresh air. With his diverse background in design, product, and branding, Ashwinn adopts a unique 'teardown' approach to critique brands and provide builds.
For instance, he meticulously analyzed Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy’s watch brand Brick and then unveiled his vision for a rebrand. In another video, he even reimagined ad copy for Allbirds running shoes, with a "strong" suggestion (looking at Terry and Stefan): "All nerds wear Allbirds." Even for something considered more niche to the average consumer (e.g., branding), it's clear that entertaining and relevant content continues to be prioritized even if the topic isn't broad.
Instagram Working on a “Peek” Feature to Encourage User Interaction
Instagram is trying to revive the BeReal trend. According to researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, Instagram is developing a new Peek feature. This feature allows users to share a quick, unfiltered snapshot of themselves or their lives with friends. The recipient would then be able to view the image once before it was permanently deleted. The Peek feature is a response to the growing demand for more authentic and real-time content, a trend that is also shaping the influencer marketing landscape.
The Peek feature is similar to the BeReal trend in that it encourages users to share simple, real-time images that capture their daily life without the performance pressure of a regular Instagram feed. Like BeReal, the Peek feature is a response to the growing dissatisfaction with the curated, edited, artificial portraits that many people post online, depicting an idealized version of themselves. This dissatisfaction reflects a renewed desire for more 'realness' and authenticity in communications, a trend that is also influencing the evolution of influencer marketing.
BeReal is struggling to maintain its usage due to insufficient demand for its services. Such an option may make more sense in a larger platform like Instagram, where private group chats are increasingly used instead of public posts.
Sprout Social’s Influencer Marketing Trends Across Industries
As consumers grow more discerning, they are turning to influencers they trust for recommendations, bypassing traditional advertising channels. This shift underscores the importance of authenticity in introducing a brand to an unaware audience. It's a reassuring trend, indicating that consumers are seeking genuine connections with brands.
This article from Sprout Social delves into some recent influencer marketing trends relevant to advertisers and brands. Our goal is to help our clients recognize the growing importance of influencer marketing as part of their overall marketing approach, as it reflects their audience's values and enhances their brand's credibility.
If you’re looking for more of the latest and greatest in social media, ee sure to check out more of my writing. Such as, my favorite social media tools, like GoCharlie.ai. And you can also get the keys to gaining success with influencer marketing and more deep dives on other social media or influencer marketing topics.
What a Potential TikTok Ban Could Mean For You
Note: This piece was published on April 25, 2024 on The Motion Agency’s blog. We expect the below to change as ByteDance plans to contest this legislation in court.
On Wednesday, President Biden signed legislation banning Chinese-owned TikTok unless it is sold within a year. It is the most serious threat to the social media app’s future in the United States, escalating the country’s technological conflict with China. The legislation was included within a bill that included international aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and requires ByteDance to sell its ownership in TikTok within 12 months or risk being shut down.
This is the first time the United States government has tried to ban an app on a national scale. However, it has already ordered that all federal employees remove TikTok from government-issued phones, and 34 states have prohibited it from government devices. A Montana law prohibiting everyone in the state from using TikTok was put on hold after a federal judge ruled in November that it “likely violates the First Amendment.”
Why a TikTok Ban?
The FBI has warned that TikTok poses national security dangers due to the Chinese government’s alleged link with ByteDance. This link might allow the Chinese government to “control” software on millions of devices in the U.S. and conduct influence operations through the app by prioritizing specific pieces of content.
Many other countries, including members of the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, have also banned the app on their employees’ work phones. India and Nepal also made it illegal to use TikTok in their respective countries.
The advocates of the bill, as well as other countries that have banned the app, argue that TikTok is a question of national security and provides the Chinese government with a powerful instrument for spreading propaganda. They cite the Chinese national security legislation, which requires enterprises to comply with the Chinese government’s intelligence collection.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Chinese government plans to prevent ByteDance from forcing the sale of TikTok, potentially leading to its prohibition in the United States.
Critics of this bill argue that if passed, other governments may force American corporations to sell or transfer their local operations to a foreign entity. And based on the new law’s broad phrasing, it may also affect ByteDance’s other apps, such as Lemon8 and the AI-powered homework app Gauth.
Even if TikTok is sold to a new U.S. owner, creating it as a distinct firm with its own shares, ByteDance may diminish the strength of the transaction by not including TikTok’s algorithm in the sale. Without the algorithm, U.S. TikTok would not be as popular as it is now.
What Does a Potential TikTok Ban Mean for Your Brand?
Due to the nature of how the law is structured, TikTok users are unlikely to experience any immediate disruption. The app’s sale will likely be delayed for months as TikTok looks to challenge the legislation in court, and the earliest TikTok could be banned in the United States is January 2025.
So, if TikTok adds value to your business through organic content or paid advertising, the newly signed bill should not affect any aspect of your present TikTok strategy. Don’t get rid of an efficient media channel that can still have a positive impact on your business for nearly nine months. If you’ve developed an audience on TikTok, and you’ve fostered that community’s growth, there’s no need to abandon that audience just yet.
However, if your brand is primarily focusing its content efforts on TikTok and nowhere else, it may be time to align your content approach on TikTok to other social media platforms that have similar post formats Many view Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts as potential alternatives for brands looking to reallocate their TikTok resources to another platform. The TikTok ban might result in billions of dollars in additional ad revenue for Meta and Google, the owners of Instagram and YouTube, respectively, according to recent eMarketer research.
Because Motion encourages clients not to invest too heavily in any one platform, we believe our clients will be well insulated from any significant changes stemming from a TikTok ban. Being more agnostic when it comes to your content strategy and the channels you’re active on means there is less risk to your brand long-term, and you can weather turbulent changes like this.
If you were planning to launch your brand’s TikTok channel in 2024, don’t let this news dissuade you from doing so. Even if the ban takes place, you have nine months to help your brand garner greater reach, grow your online community and potentially create new sales opportunities.
While many advertisers continue to invest in more established marketing channels, TikTok has untapped potential for reaching new audiences that aren’t on other social media platforms. In January 2023, Sprout Social data showed TikTok had 850 million global users, with 40% of them not on Facebook, and 63% of them not on Twitter.
What Happens Next?
Currently, it appears more likely that TikTok will be sold off in some fashion, or the bill could be nullified after the election, as Donald Trump has reversed his position, saying that he is opposed to a ban.
Depending who you talk to, this legislation is either the culmination of months of work on Capitol Hill or a complete shock. Motion has been tracking the latest TikTok news in our monthly social media roundup, Social Commotion, for months. We’ll continue to provide updates as news progresses.
Don’t forget to follow Motion on LinkedIn to stay up to date on the latest.
The Latest Social Media News You Can Use In April
Welcome back to my blog where I cover a variety of influencer marketing and social media news for advertisers and marketers. This week, we’ll be covering the latest in advertising capabilities for LinkedIn; many of Taylor Swift’s most popular songs are back on TikTok, and research from TikTok shows the benefits of creating multilingual ads.
Are you looking for more of the latest and greatest in social media? Then, be sure to check out more of my writing, which covers my favorite social media tools, like GoCharlie.ai. You can also get the keys to gaining success with influencer marketing and more deep dives on other social media or influencer marketing topics.
LinkedIn Announces New Content Formats During Marketing Summit
LinkedIn unveiled ad formats at its B2Believe conference in New York City on Thursday, becoming the latest corporation to join the connected TV (CTV) advertising trend. Some of the highlights that Marketing Brew covered from the event include:
CTV ads: Advertisers can launch and distribute CTV campaigns with platforms such as Samsung Ads and Roku.
Live Event Ads: Advertisers can promote their company's live event before, during, and after it happens (and dynamically modify the timing). The company stated that it is actively testing live event ads.
LinkedIn Premiere: LinkedIn has partnered with NBCUniversal to promote CTV campaigns on NBCU content. Using their managed offering, advertisers can target based on interests, company type, and seniority. They can also use the new Brand Lift feature, iSpot, and Kantar to track campaign progress.
As always, reach out with any questions or if our clients want to learn more about anything social or influence-related.
Some of Taylor Swift’s Tracks Return to TikTok
In January, UMG said that it would be pulling its tracks from TikTok after the two parties could not agree on a new license deal. Universal Music Group is a leading music producer featuring notable performers, including Adele, Drake, Billie Eilish, and Taylor Swift.
With Taylor Swift's new album due next week, some of her songs have returned to the platform, though the deal's specifics are not clear at this moment. Variety also speculates that Swift may have an arrangement with TikTok for her new album, which explains why her songs are back on the social media app. However, the majority of UMG's tracks remain off-limits. UMG claims TikTok used its power as a “hit-maker” to leverage a licensing offer of "far less" than other social apps.
As a result, UMG is moving on from TikTok and focusing on other opportunities. The stand-off between the two is expected to last for some time. However, some UMG artists may still release their tunes on the app under short-term licensing partnerships like this.
TikTok Shares Research on the Benefits of Creating Multilingual Ads
If you're missing out on opportunities if you don't create and display ads in several languages! The latest TikTok Research Report examines how bilingual commercials affect TikTok users and suggests a method for marketers to increase brand affinity across language boundaries.
According to the survey, bilingual audiences are the future of marketing on and off TikTok, considering their significance in driving US population growth. To connect with this rising audience, brands can use the Spanish language in commercials throughout the year and collaborate with creators and influencers in local communities.
"Ads resonate most with bilingual speakers when they make use of both languages - an ad entirely in Spanish doesn't speak to the dual sense of identity these audiences feel. Layering English and Spanish creative elements to create balance ensures that brands can speak to bilingual users in a way that feels true to their identity as well as appeal to a broader audience"
Research shows that engaging multicultural audiences in their original language helps foster long-term consumer relationships, community, and brand engagement. This approach recognizes that multilingual audiences are fully integrated into both cultures. Check out the full report here.
Social Media Highlights from 2023 and Trends to Watch in 2024 - The Motion Agency
Note: This blog was originally published on The Motion Agency’s blog on December 27, 2023.
The holidays are in full swing, and if you’re someone like me who works in marketing or advertising, that can only mean one thing: the resurgence of trend articles making predictions for next year.
At The Motion Agency, we pride ourselves on always having a POV. So, before we all step away for some well-deserved rest and time with loved ones, we wanted to look back at some of the most popular social media trends of 2023 and what we can expect in 2024.
Here we go.
Social Highlights from 2023 and How They Will Shift in 2024
1. Brands put more money behind video production.
At the beginning of the year, brands recognized the need to create video content. The most popular social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, prioritize short-form videos shot vertically, so forward-thinking brands committed to investing more in video content creation to ensure that their brand stands out in an ever-evolving social media ecosystem.
In 2024: Video will still reign. If the conversation around short-form video needs at your organization has yet to begin, it’s time to start petitioning for more resources in the new year. Help your leadership team understand the risks of neglecting social media video assets and how they will help your organization stand out against its competitors.
2. Brands experimented with emerging (and re-emerging) networks.
There were plenty of social media changes in 2023, and as marketers, staying up to date on the latest platform changes can feel like a full-time job on its own. Thankfully, teamwork makes the dream work, and at Motion, we collectively kept an eye on the new social media platforms that launched this year.
Some platforms saw success in 2023, such as Meta’s new app, Threads. Since launching in July, Threads has become the fastest-growing app of all time, receiving more than 100 million downloads (and 70 million less than two days after launch, no less).
Other apps, like Lemon8, have struggled to grow their user base at similar speeds. Lemon8 focuses on lifestyle content, allowing artists to post photos or short videos categorized by niche. Lemon8 also enables creators to tag posts with product details, links and prices, bridging the gap between audience and influencer. Think of a combination of Pinterest and TikTok.
In 2024: Expect brands to lean more into existing platforms like TikTok, where the typical American spends 80 minutes in-app daily, while also taking the leap and expanding their social media marketing efforts on new platforms like Threads.
3. The creator economy continued to blossom.
At Motion, we view influencers as an effective marketing strategy for organizations looking to reach new audiences at scale. (Miss our crash-course on developing a successful influencer campaign? Check it out here.
And in 2023, we saw brands continue to leverage influencers to help achieve their marketing goals. In fact, one report shows that content creator and influencer viewership will surpass 10 trillion monthly views across all social platforms by the end of the year.
What does that mean? Influencer content will be watched 13.2 times more than traditional media and brand content by the start of the new year.
In 2024: Commit to exploring how content creators and influencers can help your brand. Need to know the type of influencers your brand should partner with? Start with your community. Look through your followers, superfans, customers and business partners. You’ll likely identify a few individuals who would love to collaborate with your brand to create sponsored content.
4. Employee advocacy steps in as the to-beat social media strategy for brand awareness.
Employee advocacy has long been a hidden social media marketing gem that can help organizations in nearly any industry, and it took center stage this year due to increased costs regarding paid social media advertising and dwindling organic reach.
Companies that have already launched employee advocacy programs reported increased brand recognition, qualified job seekers and greater control over brand messaging and thought leadership.
In 2024: As more success stories emerge, employee advocacy will become the preferred approach to establishing a brand presence in many industries, including B2B brands.
One platform we expect to see continued success in cultivating employee advocacy is LinkedIn. This platform gives brand a dedicated channel to best connect with their employees but also share ideas and forge relationships with potential customers and other industry stakeholders.
Social Media Trends to Expect in 2024
Now that we’ve looked at some of the most talked-about social media trends in 2023 and how they will continue to evolve next year, here are the 2024 trends every social media marketer should have on their radar in the new year.
1. Brands will turn influencer content into paid ads.
Brands’ top priority in 2024? Making the most of their influencer marketing collaborations and limited budgets. This entails prioritizing high-quality content that can be repurposed for web or paid ads to boost conversions and overall engagement.
More brands will routinely include paid ad content in their partnership agreements, especially when trying to reach a niche audience with authentic content. For one of our clients at Motion, we recently launched a multi-market influencer campaign where each influencer granted our client permission to run their sponsored content as ads across Meta and TikTok.
Brands: Be prepared to allocate more resources to your influencer campaigns to account for this additional marketing tactic.
2. Long-form video is here to stay.
We discussed how short-form video content was a priority for brands in 2023, but that doesn’t mean consumers don’t want to watch content that lasts longer than 90 seconds.
Platforms like TikTok increased its video duration for uploaded videos to 10 minutes in 2022. They recently claimed that number will go up to 15 minutes, indicating that long-form video content is here to stay. From vlogs to product reviews to educational content, well-known niches such as the beauty or tech communities are producing longer videos for users on TikTok and Instagram.
Short-form content like TikToks and Reels has relied heavily on trending audio tracks or sounds for creative inspiration. However, in 2024, depending exclusively on popular music is no longer a long-term approach for your brand’s channel. Instead, focus on a creative approach that’s authentic to your brand and grounded in strategic insights that will lead to educational, entertaining or informative content for your target audience.
3. Artificial intelligence (AI) will take on an increased role in content marketing.
When generative AI entered the mainstream in 2023, it caused a seismic upheaval, eliciting a wide range of emotions from almost everyone with an opinion. And yet, organizations report wanting to increase their use of artificial intelligence across multiple activities—sometimes doubling or quadrupling it.
Companies like Later embraced AI by adding features like Caption Writer, which can generate a social media caption in seconds. And this helps confirm social media marketers who have jumped on this trend. According to Hootsuite’s 2024 Social Trends Survey, marketers reported a 318% increase in how much organizations plan to use AI for customer support activities in 2024 and a 260% increase in how much organizations plan to use AI for editing images in 2024.
Although AI can be a helpful tool, but “human guidance and judgment is still required throughout the creative development process,” wrote Motion’s Vice President, Group Creative Director, Terry Mertens. “We may begin looking to AI to expedite ideation, perhaps, or to come up with creative concepts we might otherwise not, but we still need to direct its thinking, evaluate and refine its product and ultimately determine the viability of an idea based on strategic realities that an AI-engine can’t access without human direction.”
4. Brands will evaluate what the platforms they want to be active on.
With potentially less marketing dollars to work with, some brands will take a step back to decide what social channels are bringing value and which, frankly, aren’t.
Quality over quantity is the name of the game here. For brands trying to evaluate which marketing channels have the biggest impact on their overall business goals, conduct a social media audit. This will assist you in identifying your hero platforms so you can make informed decisions about how to proceed with your social media strategy in 2024.
Even if a platform delivers a positive ROI now, it may not be worth the investment later, especially if your other social media channels have better long-term potential. For example, if your brand on X is currently driving more impressions compared to Instagram, we wouldn’t recommend giving up on Instagram and doubling down on X. We’ve all seen the highlights (or lowlights) of Elon Musk and his changes to the platform formally known as Twitter, and who knows what changes will come in 2024 that could hinder brands on the platform even more.
As we look to 2024, brands must be more careful about where they devote their marketing resources and time. It’s critical to focus on what will most impact your company rather than hopping on a trend or a new platform just because it’s mentioned in the news.
If you need help figuring out where to start in 2024, let’s connect to create a results-driven social media marketing strategy that gives your brand the boost needed to accelerate growth.
The Latest Social Media & Influencer News In December
Let’s dig right into the social media and influencer news you can use his week. This week, we’re covering a new feature within Instagram Stories, how brands can leverage generative AI for their content needs, and looking back at some of the biggest social media trends of 2023.
Are you looking for more like covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. Or keys to gaining success with influencer marketing, and more deep dives on other social media or influencer marketing topics.
Instagram Tests New' Hype' Option In Stories
Instagram is experimenting with a new technique to encourage user interaction within Stories. Select users have begun noticing a new "Hype" option, allowing you to comment on a Story that other users can view.
Hype comments will be published on your Story so that everyone visiting it can see what others say about it. In the options section, you can alter how people can engage with your tales.
Any replies to a Story are routed to the creator as a direct message. Instagram sees the new "Hype" feature as another method to include more direct engagement and interaction capabilities into the platform.
Using Generative AI For Content
Another trend we expect to see more in 2024 is using AI, specifically generative AI, for content creation needs. At The Motion Agency, our partners at Popular Pays published a blog about how their AI studio allows brands to create fresh content based on their existing product photos easily.
Background Removal and Replacement: Brands can easily remove the background from any image and replace it with something new. This allows you to create fresh banners, still ads, and other visuals without needing new photos.
AI Enhancement: Most generative AI tools have an "enhance" feature that automatically improves your photo or video quality. This increases resolution and adjusts lighting and color for a more natural look. Just tap a button and AI does the rest - it's that simple!
AI Image Generation: Need new imagery but need more time or resources to create it from scratch? AI image generators can help! Describe the image in words, or upload an existing photo as a reference, and it will generate new, unique creative assets for you.
Looking Back At Social Media Trends in 2023
As we approach 2024, we've discussed social media platform changes and trends. Here are some key takeaways from HubSpot's recent article that are worth knowing:
Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are the top platforms to watch in 2023. These platforms are expected to continue to grow, and they offer a variety of features and tools that can help marketers reach their target audience.
Short-form video is the hottest trend in social media. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are leading the way, and brands are taking notice.
Brands are also investing in new platforms like Threads and Lemon8. These platforms are still relatively new, but they can potentially become major players in the social media space.
Be sure to check out the latest podcasts I’ve been on sharing my learnings and insights. If you’ve only got time for an article, then uncover the keys to gaining success with influencer marketing, and other deep dives on other social media topics.
