The Latest Social Media And Influencer News In March
March Madness is in full swing and if you’re like me, the first few days of the tournament are always the most exciting. And in even better news, my alma mater, The University of Missouri, has a chance to move on to the Sweet 16.
But you’re not here for college basketball, you’re on this page because you want to stay up to date on the latest social media and influencer news that can affect your agency or brand. This week, I’ll talk about the latest from the U.S. government regarding TikTok, some interesting stats about Instagram from Sprout Social, and how Sephora is collaborating with TikTok to create an incubator program.
TikTok Facing Another Hurdle
We've talked about TikTok a few times recently and how its future is in flux. Now the threat of a popular social media platform no longer existing in its current form is real. According to CNBC, the White House has urged TikTok to split from its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, or face being barred from operating in the United States.
It follows a series of bills in Congress that target TikTok to varied degrees and a successful push to ban TikTok on federal government devices last year. What does this mean for apps like TikTok that Chinese companies own?
Well, the thing is, some of the most popular apps in the US right now are from Chinese companies. The recent top three free apps on Apple's App Store were Temu, CapCut, and TikTok, while Google Play's were Temu, TikTok, and Street Fighter: Duel—with Chinese fast-fashion company, Shein chilling at No. 4. So stay tuned for what that means.
Instagram Stats You Need To Pay Attention To
Our partners at Sprout Social recently shared some interesting stats about Instagram and how brands can better understand the platform. Here are some of our favorites:
Data from the 2022 Sprout Social Index, 35% of US consumers use Instagram for customer support, placing it second only to Facebook as the most popular platform for customer support.
Instagram users continue to spend significant time on Instagram, and American users are on the platform for about 30 minutes each day.
According to internal Instagram analytics, 50% of users get more interested in a brand after seeing an Instagram ad for it. This speaks volumes about the power of Instagram advertising for our brands.
Sephora and TikTok Team Up
Wait, if TikTok may no longer exist in its current form, why are brands still investing resources into this platform? Let me explain why with a recent partnership between TikTok and Sephora.
Sephora and TikTok have collaborated to develop the Sephora x TikTok Incubator Program, connecting TikTok creators to brands from Sephora's Accelerate program to assist emerging beauty brands in raising overall brand awareness and growing their audiences on TikTok. According to Brent Mitchell, Sephora's VP of marketing, social, and influencer, the new relationship intends to assist brands in understanding creator content on TikTok, which is crucial for the success of beauty brands.
Beauty brands like Topicals, Eadem, and Hyper Skin will be among the first brands to join the Incubator Program. Companies taking part in the program will be able to learn about social content strategies and hear from popular creators. Sephora's business plan has been to increase its inventory with up-and-coming products founded by a diverse set of people and become a wholesale partner for numerous DTC brands.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read my writing! If you’re new to my blog or website, I’ve put together a bunch of freebies to help with your social media marketing efforts.
