The Latest Social Media And Influencer Marketing News In July

The second half of the year is in full swing and I am not looking forward to when this warmer weather we’re having in Chicago goes away. Until then, I’m going to try to enjoy every moment. This week, we’re talking about how the SAG-AFTRA strike will affect influencers, how Meta is helping brands and content creators with Reels, and four key social media trends for the second half of the year.

But before you dig-in, you can read more of my writing, like covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog. 

SAG-AFTRA Says Influencers Are Part of The Strike 

If you've been following the latest strike affecting the entire entertainment industry, prepare for it to involve some brands and marketers. When SAG-AFTRA went on strike on July 19 to secure better pay and working conditions for its members, consumers' immediate impacts were clear.   

But this strike also affects influencers who work with brands that are members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), such as Disney, Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon. Influencers who are not part of SAG-AFTRA but "perform covered work or services for a struck company during the strike" will not be eligible for future membership in the union.  

 For those who are curious, some of the guidelines that influencers should follow include the following: 

• Not promoting screenings or content produced by struck companies. 

• Not working with brands that are members of the AMPTP on new projects. 

• Fulfilling existing contractual obligations with struck companies but not accepting new contracts. 

Get Inspired with Improved Instagram Reels Templates 

Do you or your team require assistance in splicing together your Reels? I've previously discussed the new editing tools for Instagram Reels. Instagram has now released new Reels templates and a dedicated browser that leans into the creative insights of high-performing Reels. 

Users can look for templates in categories such as "Recommended," "Trending," and Reels they've previously saved. This new browser provides a single hub for producers to explore templates, create video content, and stay on top of major trends. The templates browser can be accessed by selecting the camera symbol in the Reels tab. 

4 Key Trends for Social Media in the Second Half of 2023 

Want to know what social media experts believe will be the secret to effective social postings in the second half of the year? According to Social Media Today, four crucial elements must be met. According to Social Media Today, there are four key trends to focus on for the second half of the year: 

• The Fundamentals:  It is critical to follow best practices for each social platform and guarantee that you are reaching your target audiences where they are. Regardless of the latest developments, these best practices will likely remain consistent in social media. Thus, it's crucial to stay up to date on them. 

• New Trends: Once you've mastered the foundations, you may incorporate the most recent trends. Keeping up with the latest trends keeps your brand fresh and interesting to all audiences. Trends encompass the types of postings brands should lean into and the platforms that brands can use (such as Threads). 

• AI: Of course, AI will continue to be a focus of marketers in 2023. Remembering this while using AI to generate new social media content is critical. It will be valuable to us as social media professionals and intriguing to observe how social networks adopt AI into their platforms, such as Instagram's new AI chatbot. 

• Video: This should come as no surprise, yet video content continues to dominate social media platforms. After introducing Reels, Instagram reported a significant rise in engagement, and TikTok continues to see increased engagement and reach. 

Until next time!

How To Gain Success With Influencer Marketing

Are you looking to increase your brand's awareness and drive more sales with influencer marketing? Then you have come to the right place! In this blog post, we will discuss the keys to gaining success with influencer marketing. From building relationships through gifting to using follower overlap to reach a wider audience, we will cover everything you need to know to maximize your influence with influencer marketing. We will also cover topics such as content creation, networking, and ad whitelisting. By the end of this blog, you will be an influencer marketing master!

Unlocking Your Potential With Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is one of the most powerful marketing strategies that businesses can employ. It can help to drive traffic to your website, boost sales, and build a strong relationship with your target audience. However, it's vital to use influencer marketing wisely in order to maximize the impact of your marketing efforts. This blog post will outline the key factors you should focus on when selecting an influencer.

First, make sure your brand stays top of mind with potential influencers by consistently reaching out to more influencers than you will likely partner with within a given year. This doesn't mean you should spam them via Direct Messages on their preferred platform. Instead, send them a carefully crafted email introducing yourself, your business and explaining why you think they would be a good fit for your upcoming campaign. Ensure that the influencers you contact are relevant to your target audience and the markets where you operate. The last thing you want to do is partner with an influencer who doesn’t live where your products are available.

Also, be sure to consider the relevance of the influencer's content. Make sure that the content they are posting, both their organic and sponsored content is interesting and would be valuable for your target audience. Finally, ensure that the relationship between you and the influencer is positive – don't request favors or pull invasive tactics to get positive feedback from them. Instead, focus on building a lasting relationship based on trust and mutual respect.

Building Relationships Through Gifting

Influencer marketing is booming and for a good reason. By partnering with individuals who have an authoritative voice in niches most important to your business, you can reach a large audience quickly and easily. However, building a successful influencer campaign requires more than just targeting popular bloggers or influencers to work with. Relationships are key in influencer marketing, and gifting campaigns are a great way to build them.

If you aren’t ready to partner with influencers in an official capacity, you can try a surprise and delight” opportunity, where you can send them a sample of your products as gifts that they can use in their own content. This way, you and the influencer benefit from the relationship – the influencer gets valuable gifts that if it ever is featured, helps promote your products. In contrast, you get exposure for your product without spending money on advertising. This is an effective strategy for both parties involved, as it allows you to understand how your product fares with influencers and potentially their following.

Improve Your Paid Advertising Efforts With Influencer Whitelisting

Influencer marketing is one of the most popular marketing strategies for brands today and for a good reason. Influencers have a large following and are typically very engaged with their followers. When you partner with an influencer, you gain access to their large following and can run ads through them. This allows you to reach a wide range of people who might be interested in your business or products.

One of the biggest benefits of whitelisting an influencer is that it allows you to target your ads specifically to their followers. This means that you're not wasting your money on ads that no one will see, and it also means that your ad will be more likely to be seen by people who are interested in what the influencer has to say. Additionally, whitelisting an influencer allows you to target cold audiences and lookalikes – those who look similar but may not be followers of the influencer. This is a great way to reach new people interested in what the influencer has to say.

Finally, whitelisting an influencer can help grow your relationship with them over time by exposing them to new audiences with your ad campaigns. By working with the same influencers on a more consistent basis, they'll begin to trust your brand more and be more likely to post sponsored content on their social media page in the future – which means more money for you!

In Summary

Influencer marketing is one of the most powerful tools for businesses to reach their target audience and in time, generate conversions. By understanding the basics of influencer marketing and taking advantage of its potential, businesses can maximize their reach and see actual results from influencers. With the right strategy in place, brands can benefit from increased engagement and conversions through influencer marketing. So, if you are ready to unlock your potential with influencer marketing, now is the time to get started!

If you’re looking for more social media and influencer marketing news worth using, be sure to check out more of my writing. My covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog. 

More Social Media News You Can Use In June

Before we wrap up the first half of 2023, I have more social media news that you can use in June. This week, we’ll talk about how brands shift their operations for the latest TikTok trends, YouTube testing thumbnail testing, and Meta’s newest Quest+ subscription.

But before you get caught up on the latest social media news in June, be sure to check out more of my writing, like covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog. 

Brands Do As Tik Tok Commands

What do brands Starbucks, Chipotle, and many others all have one thing in common: TikTok rules everything around them. According to The Wall Street Journal, the app's 50 million+ daily active users' ever-changing whims transform how corporations design and release products. Whatever TikTok wants, restaurants change their menus and sometimes operations, to meet demand and reduce labor burdens. 

After customers trying to order it caused mayhem in shops, Chipotle officially added the "Keithadilla," an off-menu hack popularized by influencers Alexis Frost and Keith Lee — to its menu. And Starbucks' increasingly sophisticated TikTok drinks have become the scourge of baristas' existence, but the coffee company is no stranger to online demands. Starbucks added the famous "Pink Drink" developed by customers to its menu in 2017, before TikTok, and offered a bottled version in April. 

YouTube Launches First Stage of Thumbnail A/B Testing

According to SocialMediaToday, certain YouTube content creators are reporting they can now evaluate several thumbnail image options on their YouTube videos using YouTube Studio. Creators use YouTube thumbnails to capture the user's attention and hopefully urge them to click and watch their video.

YouTube will also track the performance of up to three thumbnails (using overall watch time as the primary indicator) and notify creators of their best-performing thumbnail to increase overall views and engagements.  Quick tip: a best practice for thumbnails is to select images of people's faces, especially with exaggerated expressions.

Say Hello to Meta Quest+ 

Meta is attempting to broaden the scope of its VR metaverse beyond gaming. The tech company announced the debut of Meta Quest+, a new $7.99 monthly Meta VR subscription package. This service will provide customers with two VR titles each month. Users will receive two titles to redeem and enjoy on the first of each month. Meta explains that for the first month's offerings, "we're pairing Cloudhead Games' physical action-rhythm FPS Pistol Whip with the nostalgia-fueled arcade adventure Pixel Ripped 1995 from ARVORE Immersive Experiences." 

Meta Quest+ subscribers can keep each title as long as they stay a Quest+ member, allowing you to keep playing your favorite games well into 2024. Meta Quest+ is available to all Quest 2 and Quest Pro headset customers and is forward-compatible with Quest 3. 

Until next time!

The Latest Social Media News In June

This week, we look at ways you can improve your social media content on LinkedIn, Instagram is testing out a feature to download Reels directly to their device, and TikTok faces another shakeup at the executive level.

But before you get caught up on the latest social media news in June, be sure to check out more of my writing, like covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog. 

LinkedIn Tips to Make Your Content Stand Out 

We're always looking for best practices and recommendations on how to stand out on LinkedIn for ourselves and our clients at the Motion Agency. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you get your LinkedIn paid and organic content noticed: 

Social media users are eager to participate in online conversations and is one of the reasons why they are online in the first place. To ensure they do engage with your content, try offering them something in exchange for their participation. This can be as simple as inviting them to vote in a poll.

• Content that challenges the status quo is more likely to be discovered. Encourage users to stop scrolling by providing engaging, fascinating, or disturbing material. Users are more inclined to pause and interact in this manner. Be aware, though, that they may disagree with the content. 

• Inspiration goes a long way. Triggering an emotional response is a good way to increase engagement.  

• Visuals can have an impact. Using the correct visuals in the right formats helps boost user engagement. 

• Concise headlines are preferable. Shorter, purposeful headlines are more likely to entice readers and urge them to read your content. 

Instagram Will Now Allow Users to Download Publicly Posted Reels Content 

SocialMediaToday is reporting that select users on Instagram can now download publicly uploaded Reels directly to their camera roll as an additional way to share video content and increase overall reach across numerous social media platforms. On the video asset itself, the downloaded clips will include the original Instagram creator's username. 

According to Adam Mosseri, this functionality will allow for more TikTok material to be shared, even without a direct link back to the creators' profiles, and can serve to promote users’ branding by including their username on the clip.

Creators can disable downloads in their Account Settings, and there are currently certain limitations, such as audio issues caused by Meta's music licensing arrangements. 

TikTok COO Vanessa Pappas to Step Down After 5 Years

Vanessa Pappas, the chief operating officer of TikTok, is stepping down from her role after five years with the company. Pappas will be leaving TikTok on July 1st, and she will be replaced by Leslie Lee, currently the company's chief financial officer. 

Lee's appointment as TikTok's COO is seen as a sign that the company is looking to strengthen its financial and operational capabilities. TikTok is currently facing a few challenges, including regulatory scrutiny in the United States and India. 

TikTok also faces competition from other short-form video platforms, such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. However, TikTok remains one of the world's most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion active users.

Thanks for reading as always! Until next time!

Ways to Increase Engagement on Social Media

In this blog post, I will discuss ways to increase engagement on social media. We'll talk about how engaging on social media can help grow your business and some tips and tricks for boosting your social media engagement. By the end of this blog post, you should better understand how to increase your social media engagement and why it's crucial for your business.

Why Community Engagement Will Help Reach New Audiences

Commenting and interacting as your business is happening offers an opportunity for potential followers to get closer to your brand and learn more about what you stand for. One tactic I love to use, especially for Consumer-Packaged Goods brands, is showing up where your target audience least expects it. On social media, that’s often in the comments or replies of relevant content. So by commenting and interacting with others within their content or other trending posts, you can draw in potential followers interested in what your business has to say. Over time, this strategy is a great way to build brand awareness and learn more about your target audience.

Additionally, being engaged on all platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. ) helps build a wider following, indicating that your brand or business is active on these platforms. Commenting and interacting as your business is happening offers an opportunity for potential followers to get closer to you and learn more about what you do. Ultimately, engaging on social media will help your business grow faster than if you didn't!

One of the benefits of being engaged on social media is that you can reach a larger audience by getting your content and comments in front of the right folks. By posting interesting and relevant content to your followers, you can ensure they will likely engage with it. Additionally, by following other businesses engaging with their social media content, you can learn from them and improve your marketing strategy. Furthermore, being engaged on social media will show potential customers that you are interested in what they have to say, which can lead to more business opportunities! Ultimately, engaging on social media will help your business grow faster than if you didn't and strictly post content.

Boosting Your Social Media Engagement

Garnering engagements via likes, comments, retweets, shares and more is vital for promoting your business, and products to a broader audience. Posting consistently is essential for achieving strong organic reach, and using personal profiles to amplify your business' visibility can help. For example, if you have a personal Instagram and LinkedIn page that you feel comfortable promoting your business, you may want to share some of your business’s top-performing content on your personal pages as well. Don’t just reshare it as-is; add some additional context so your audience knows why they’re seeing it. Utilizing engagement-first tactics (such as sharing content from your business page on your personal profile) can help increase the reach of your posts and bring in more attention from potential customers.

Not sure what content you should post for your brand to drive the most engagement? You may need to conduct a content audit to understand what types of content are best resonating with your audience. And tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social can help track how many people view and engage with each post, giving you valuable insights into how best to promote and grow your brand on social media.

Engaging With Industry Leaders To Grow Your Follower Base

Engaging with industry leaders is a crucial way to grow your follower base. Similar to the first topic we discussed, following the subject matter experts in your industry or field can help your business gain exposure by introducing it to an audience you know has at least some interest in what you have to offer. When relevant and providing value to the conversation, commenting on other people's posts is a great way to show interest in their work and increase your reach. Engaging with industry leaders can help you gain valuable insights that can help you improve your work.

You can start by searching for industry leaders on social media. Not all subject matter experts are active on every social media platform, so it's essential to prioritize your search based on the platforms you plan to use most. Don’t waste time on engaging with content on a platform you don’t plan to have a presence on.

Once you've found a subject matter expert or industry leader that aligns with your business or industry, follow them and engage with their content. Commenting on their posts is a great way to show your support and increase your reach. Additionally, you can ask them questions about their work or share insights you've gained from following them. By engaging with industry leaders and subject matter experts, you'll grow your follower base and learn valuable information that can help improve your work.

In Short

Engaging on social media is essential for any business owner who wants to promote their content and products. From meeting your target audience in the comments to engaging with subject matter experts and industry leaders, there are several ways to increase your social media engagement. And by utilizing these tips, you can boost your reach and grow your business. So what are you waiting for? Start engaging with your audience today!

Are you looking for more social media and influencer marketing news worth using? You can read more of my writing, covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog. 

More Social Media News You Can Use In June

This week, we’re talking about everything you need to know about Meta’s new Twitter alternative, Instagram Notes is now adding music tracks, and LinkedIn came out with their 2023 B2B Benchmark Report.

Before you dig-in, you can read more of my writing, like covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog. 

Meta's Alternative to Twitter: P92 

Meta is working hard on their latest program, P92, which appears to be a Twitter clone. The new software will be a stream of text updates, but users will be able to add photographs and videos to each post, much like Twitter. Users will be able to respond to individual messages and like and share them. The app's home feed resembles a current DM thread, with four tabs for the main feed, favorites, your profile, and a compose button. 

Users will be able to create accounts using their Instagram credentials, and their username will be the same as their Instagram profile. Meta still needs to provide a release date or timeframe for the new app, though there are reports that it may be available this summer. Read more here.

Add Music Tracks to Instagram Notes  

With the addition of music tracks to Instagram Notes, Meta is introducing a new way to engage via Instagram DM. SocialMediaToday states that users will be able to share song excerpts with your followers via Notes, and your chosen music track will appear at the top of your followers' inboxes next to your profile photo. Instagram reports that Notes are popular with teenagers, with over 100 million teen accounts sharing notes in the last 90 days. What song would you recommend? To get started, follow these step-by-step instructions: 

 LinkedIn 2023 B2B Benchmark Report  

I wanted to share the 2023 B2B Benchmark Report from LinkedIn. This report provides insights into the latest trends and strategies in B2B marketing. The report found that B2B marketers increasingly focus on data and analytics to drive results. They're also investing more in content marketing, social media marketing, and thought leadership. Here are some highlights from the report:  

• Roughly 50% of B2B leaders say they are optimistic they can drive revenue in the coming year. Increasing budgets may fuel this optimism. 

• While some minimal differences exist, B2B leaders across regions expect budgets and spending to increase in the coming years. 

• Roughly 2/3rds of C-suite members say the role of the CMO has increased in importance over the past two years, while around half say CMOs have a more direct role in driving revenue and growth now.