The Social Media News You Can Use in March
This week, we’re looking at LinkedIn testing new video formats to lean into vertical video, how women in the creator economy are adjusting to macro-economic changes, and how brands can grow their YouTube presence with a focus on inclusive video content.
Looking for more social media? Be sure to check out more of my writing, covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. Or get the keys to gaining success with influencer marketing, and more deep dives on other social media or influencer marketing topics.
LinkedIn Testing Vertical Video In-Feed
Vertical video is a popular trend on social media that is unlikely to fade. More platforms are looking for methods to include the content style popularized by TikTok.
LinkedIn is now testing dedicated video feeds to make it easier for users to discover and scroll through full-screen, vertical videos. LinkedIn confirmed the beta test to Social Media Today, noting, "Videos are rapidly becoming one of our members' preferred formats to learn from other professionals and experts, so we are testing new methods to
It remains to be seen how content creators and influencers adapt their posting strategy for a more professional audience. Still, given the ongoing success of vertical video features on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and other platforms, the LinkedIn experience appears to evolve into a video-driven platform, not if but when.
Women in the Creator Economy
The creator economy has provided opportunities for many aspiring entrepreneurs, with women playing a leading role. As cultural attitudes toward the traditional 9-to-5 have shifted toward a desire for autonomous and remote work, more creatives are looking for opportunities that make that lifestyle their reality. According to a recent Morning Consult study, over 50% of Gen Z individuals desire a job as an influencer (or content creator) and see it as a respectable career choice,
This space enables individuals to create businesses based on their passions and talents, encouraging a new wave of female leadership. However, despite these advances, gender pay disparities continue. Even with women dominating the area in terms of content generation and influencer marketing, the gender pay gap persists, with men earning more than women in terms of revenue from their freelance/LLC efforts, according to ConvertKit data.
Motion continues to recommend to our clients that partnering with a diverse roster of influencers can help when brands have multiple target audiences they need to reach.
Grow Your YouTube Presence With Inclusive Video Content
In today's modern world, reaching a wider audience is crucial for a brand's YouTube channel to grow. So what can brands learn from YouTube's biggest creators, like Mr. Beast? This HubSpot article highlights the power of inclusivity and emphasizes the importance of creating content that resonates with a diverse audience.
One strategy for more global brands is to cater to a global audience by offering your content in multiple languages. This approach is exemplified by YouTube superstar Mr. Beast, who has created YouTube channels in various languages. Another effective method is to leverage subtitles and closed captions. This ensures your content is accessible to viewers who may be deaf or hard of hearing or speak a different language. Brands should start where they can and make improvements over time.
Social Media News For You In March
It’s one of my favorite times of year and March Madness is in full swing! I’ve been watching the men’s and women’s tournaments all weekend, and I told myself I could write this log in between halftime.
This week, we’ll be covering Instagram’s latest update to improve it’s search capabilities, March Madness ad sales reach record levels, and TikTok provides more tools for creators and influencers to create content.
Instagram Updates its Hashtag and Search Experience
SocialMediaToday noted a new Instagram update that has broadened the overall hashtag search results. Moving forward when you click on a hashtag, you will now view more comprehensive search results for that topic, similar to the explore page, rather than just the top posts associated with that hashtag.
The head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, wrote on Threads, "We're simplifying the hashtag and search experiences on Instagram to make it easier to see everything in one place. Now, when you tap on a hashtag, you'll see the search results for that hashtag. You will still be able to follow/unfollow or report specific hashtags."
While not a significant update compared to others on the platform, it is a strategic one that can potentially affect profile discovery, broaden discovery within the app, and expand user search behaviors. This leans into the consumer trend that more people are using social media as their primary search engine and social media platforms want to make sure their app is the one people use.
March Madness Ad Sales Hit Revenue Records
With CBS Sports and TNT Sports broadcasting all 67 games of the men's tournament on four national television networks: TBS, CBS, TNT, and truTV, both networks have "basically sold out" of ad space for this year's men's March Madness tournament.
According to Warner Bros. Discovery's EVP of Ad Sales, Jon Diament, "This will be the best revenue tournament we've ever had," Diament stated during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
Diament stated that the advertising on the live streams will be the same as those seen by linear viewers, whereas March Madness Live will have different commercial logs. The Women's Basketball Tournament is ready for an explosive year with ad space for women's March Madness, selling quickly, according to media buyers.
TikTok Adds Search Insights to Better Inform Content Strategies
Speaking of search capabilities, TikTok is introducing "Creator Search Insights," a new analytics feature that allows creators and influencers to adjust their overall content strategy based on user search volume in the app. These search insights will allow creators to see popular search terms related to their published content. Creators can also filter the results by topic or industry, such as "Food and Beverage," "DIY,” “Music” and more, to get more specific data insights.
Creators and influencers will also be able to search for "gap topics," which are topics that are often searched for on TikTok but there is a lack of actual content around said topic. This indicates an opportunity for creators to create content that should likely have more eyeballs on it over time. Whether or not this feature will be available if TikTok is forced to be sold off is up in the air.
Looking for more? Be sure to check out more of my writing, covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. Or get the keys to gaining success with influencer marketing, and more deep dives on other social media or influencer marketing topics.
More Social Media News For You in March
Here are three social media and influencer marketing-related news that you need to know in March. This week, we dive straight into the latest U.S. legislation around TikTok, Google adding social media posts to business listings and Meta continues to update it’s platform with new capabilities.
Is a Real TikTok Ban Approaching?
In a rare bipartisan action, the House passed legislation to effectively ban TikTok with a vote of 352-65 yesterday. This marks the furthest federal legislation targeting TikTok since lawmakers began wondering whether the app's Chinese ownership jeopardizes national security. The law that would force TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell or shut down the app is now before the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been noncommittal and has yet to state when he will bring the plan to the Senate floor, laying the groundwork for a potentially lengthy process to pass it. Some senators, including Rand Paul, are concerned that the plan may violate free speech.
For brands and advertisers, experts believe that creators and their followers will turn to Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat to compensate for the loss.
Google Adds Social Media Posts to Business Listings
In October 2023, Google added the option to integrate social media profiles via social icons into their business listings. Google has added a new part to its business search results that displays the most recent social media posts from related profiles in a sub-section called Social Media Updates.
This new feature allows businesses to highlight current material from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X, and TikTok through the Google Business dashboard. After linking the social profiles in the Google Business dashboard, social material will automatically populate and show near the bottom of the Google Business search results.
Meta to Update Advertising Features For Brands
Facebook and Instagram generate tens of billions of dollars in advertising income each year. Meta platforms are improving their capabilities, employing AI-driven techniques to provide more audience and creative alternatives for their advertisers, to keep their lead over other social media sites.
Meta recently announced changes to its automated Advantage+ programs. According to Meta, Advantage+ campaigns "leverage machine learning to help you reach valuable audiences with less set up time and greater efficiency... require fewer inputs during campaign creation, simplify audience options and streamline the creative management process."
These enhancements feature Advantage+ creative optimizations, such as automatically optimizing video uploads for Reels placements with a 9:16 ratio and letting companies to instantly generate various ad formats based on the assets they select.
Looking for more? Be sure to check out more of my writing, covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. Or get the keys to gaining success with influencer marketing, and more deep dives on other social media or influencer marketing topics.
The Social Media News To Help You in March
Happy International Women’s Day! Here’s to all of the amazing women in our lives and those that came before us. Here are three of the social media and influencer marketing-related news you need to know in March.
This week, we take a look at Rival IQ’s new social media benchmark report, recent U.S. legislation attempting to ban TikTok, and Instagram is discussing adding a new feature when it comes to direct messaging.
Rival IQ Shares New Social Media Benchmarks Report
Brands have relied heavily on social media to communicate with customers and market their products or services. However, with the ever-changing social media landscape, brands must keep up with the latest trends and metrics to evaluate their content's performance.
The most recent Social Media Benchmarks report from Rival I.Q. provides some further context, with insights into the average engagement rates companies in various industries are recording across the most popular social media apps.
Rival I.Q.'s research includes some intriguing insights into brand engagement and what we, as advertisers, can expect to see in terms of performance. But, in the end, the actual outcomes of our clients' content will depend on how well we understand their target audience and how we can drive action based on that.
U.S. Senators Raise New Push to Ban TikTok
Surprise, surprise. I‘m talking about TikTok again. According to a story published by Reuters, "a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is introducing legislation that would give China's ByteDance about six months to divest popular short video app TikTok or face a U.S. ban."
The new effort, led by Reps. Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi seek to "address national security concerns posed by Chinese ownership of the app."
And there even appears to be alignment with President Biden if this bill ends up on his desk. Will the United States succeed in banning TikTok this time after several attempts?
Instagram Adds New Features to Direct Messaging
Instagram's user engagement has shifted towards direct messages over in-feed postings. And, like any good platform, Instagram is embracing the shift and evolving to improve the D.M. experience.
They recently announced numerous enhancements to direct messages, including:
You can now edit messages for up to 15 minutes after hitting send.
You can pin your favorite or most essential chats (up to three!) to the top of your inbox for quick access.
Read receipts can be turned on or off for all or select chats.
Continue reading the updates and learn how to use them here.
Are you looking for more like covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. Or get the keys to gaining success with influencer marketing, and more deep dives on other social media or influencer marketing topics.
Social Media News You Can Use in March
This week, LinkedIn hints at a potential change to their algorithm, insights into how older adults use TikTok, and Meta looks to get ahead of challenges with political content.
LinkedIn Indicates New Algorithm Changes
On Entrepreneur's "Problem Solvers" podcast, LinkedIn's editor-in-chief Dan Roth discussed potential content changes and strategic approaches that could impact your brand’s platform strategy.
First, LinkedIn is shifting away from the “trend-chasing” tactics that are popular and effective in other social media platforms like TikTok. Instead, Roth sees LinkedIn's future as a platform where value is produced by publishing useful, evergreen content that helps users learn and identify business insights or opportunities. Roth said that LinkedIn users should focus less on trending topics and more on regularly sharing knowledge over time.
How Adults In The U.S. Use TikTok
Is TikTok geared toward older adults? Maybe not, but at the very least, the app is less focused on Generation Z than most headlines suggest. According to journalist Ryan Broderick, approximately 40% of TikTok users are in their 30s and 40s, also known as millennials (and some Gen Xers).
For comparison, a decade ago, that age group made up only 20% of Instagram's user population. Broderick discovered another remarkable data point that may scare the teenagers in your life into declaring that TikTok is no longer cool. Users between the ages of 35 and 49 are more likely to upload videos than those aged 18 to 34.
Overall, the article debunks the idea that TikTok is only for millennials and Generation Z. It emphasizes the platform's growing appeal among people of all ages and demographics, with each group having its usage patterns and motivations.
Meta's Looking to Reduce Reach of Political Content
Suppose you don't already follow accounts on social media that regularly post political content. If so, you're less likely to stumble across it this election season, as Meta is deliberately working to limit the reach of political content for users who aren’t seeking it. However, because so many things are in flux and even “evergreen” content might cross into the political realm as Meta currently lacks a clear definition of what will and will not qualify.
According to Social Media Today, "This is a significant shift, especially when you consider that historically, the best-performing posts in social apps have been those that generate a lot of replies, and the content that's most likely to trigger a response is that which sparks an emotional response." That could be joy or happiness, but it can also signify anger and outrage, which political content excels at." It will be interesting to observe the actual effects as Meta seeks to broaden this technique.
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.
More Social Media News You Can Use In February
Here are three of the social media and influencer marketing-related news you need to know in February. This week, Google has secured a partnership with Reddit to use its data for Google’s AI tools, Meta is testing cross-posting between Facebook and Threads, and Threads begins to mark political posts that have been fact-checked by 3rd party sources ahead of the election.
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.
Google To Gain Access To Reddit Data For AI Training
Google has announced an agreement with Reddit to gain access to its content through the Reddit Data API, allegedly worth $60 million annually. Google is paying Reddit for access to its publicly available content via an API to help train Google's large language models (LLM). Google believes its company's access to the Reddit Data API will "improve its products and services..." including "...more efficient ways to train models." How will this shake out?
Some believe that Reddit could be a bad sample set for training artificial intelligence compared to literature or magazines. On a social media platform like Reddit, grammar is fast and loose, there are a lot of memes and inside jokes, it's full of misinformation, and it's predominantly male
Meta Tests Cross-Posting Between Facebook and Threads
Earlier this week, Meta launched a new test of cross-posting between Facebook and Threads, with some users now encouraged to publish their Facebook updates straight to Threads. The feature is currently under restricted testing on iOS and will only apply to text and link posts (not video updates).
This will make sharing updates across numerous platforms much easier for brands, given Instagram and Facebook are already integrated. However, it raises the question of whether users prefer the same content posted on Facebook and Threads or if they would instead want to create more long-form written content similar to X.
Threads Debuts Fact-Checking Markers Ahead of Elections
Meta is also implementing fact-checking markers to Threads prevent the spread of false information during the upcoming election. These markers will be similar to indicators Meta has already used on Facebook and Instagram, which rely on a network of third-party fact-checking organizations to determine the validity of a post. As the ubiquity of AI deepfakes grows, fact-checking may become increasingly important in preventing the public from falling for false narratives.
However, not everyone sees things this way. Elon Musk, for example, sees professional fact-checking as a constraint designed to preserve specific narratives. X chooses a crowd-sourced model, allowing app users to determine what is true and what is not. And that does not seem to have worked for Musk to date, and I expect the misinformation to be worse ahead of the election.
Thanks for reading, I hope you found these stories insightful!
