At SmartBrief, we don’t like to waste time. In our more than 250 free newsletters, we scour the web for news about your industry to help you work smarter. In that same vein, we’ve started a Friday recap of the top news about your favorite — and not-so-favorite(?) — social media platforms. Below, you’ll learn about the changes and new features of the top social media platforms, as well as trends, how-tos and business news.
Latest on using social media platforms
LinkedIn adds brand safety features, marketing tools
DoubleVerify is offering brand safety and contextual tools for LinkedIn advertisers as part of an expanded partnership, reports Adweek. In other LinkedIn news, the platform also is introducing revenue attribution reporting, several ad formats and search engine optimization for newsletters and articles, reports The Drum.
TikTok testing social shopping among US users
TikTok is letting US users purchase products directly within the app via a TikTok Shop test after launching the service in the UK and parts of Southeast Asia. Select US businesses have been invited to participate. Learn more via Semafor and MediaPost.
Instagram Explores new ad placement feature
As of Nov. 11, brands can place ads on the home page of Instagram’s Explore tab via the platform’s Marketing API, which also provides performance data and preview capabilities. The feature doesn’t require updates to current software. Find out more on Search Engine Journal.
Quick hits
- Tumblr takes jab at Twitter with new Important Blue Internet Checkmark, via Adweek
- Report: Encrypted messaging may be in Twitter’s pipeline, via TechCrunch
- YouTube enables Q&As during livestreams, via TechCrunch
- TikTok adds demographic insights to Audience Manager, via Social Media Today
- Musk says “rock solid” Twitter Blue to return Nov. 29, via The Verge
Trends, studies & how-tos
More brands pause Twitter advertising, but still tweeting
More and more brands and ad agencies are pausing Twitter advertising and many are putting annual contract negotiations on hold amid fake brand accounts, brand safety concerns and staff instability, say ad buyers and advertisers, reports The Wall Street Journal. However, Ad Age, which also writes about brands’ concerns over fake Twitter accounts, quotes one unnamed agency ad buyer as saying organic Twitter activity remains strong: “Almost no one is stopping posting, right, which is fascinating, so like, organically, executives are still tweeting and brands are still posting from handles.”
Looking for a Twitter Plan B?
While organic Twitter seems to be steady, social media users are still very much on the lookout for alternatives. In this recap, ZDnet’s Steven Vaughan-Nichols takes a deep dive into four alternatives: Diaspora, Counter.Social, Tumblr and Mastodon.
Diving into Discord details
Discord’s popularity has greatly grown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, boasting more than 100 million monthly active users. While first known as a community for gamers, about 30% of users say they are on the platform for other activities, such as an alternative to internal chat platforms (such as Slack and Microsoft Teams), virtual book clubs and education. Science and Tech Reporter Anugraha Sundaravelu dives into Discord at UK’s Metro.
Is Mastodon viable for brands?
Marketers considering tapping into the growing ad-free Mastodon social platform, which has hit more than 1.5 million active monthly users, need to consider factors such as its operation across 4,600 servers that lack brand safety controls and pose challenges for mass reach and require specific marketing strategies. While there aren’t promoted paid posts, media reporters are joining servers that focus on their beats. PRWeek has more.
Steps to get started on TikTok — if it’s worth it
TikTok marketing can be a powerful way to reach out to people between the ages of 18 and 49, digital marketing executive Michelle Hummel writes on FranchiseWire. Watch some competitors’ posts before getting started, and then record a 15-second video and experiment with the effects tool, Hummel suggests.
Snapchat AR lens engagement comparable to TV
More than 80% of consumers who engage with Snapchat augmented reality lenses stick with the technology for more than two seconds, which makes the app’s AR engagement comparable to high-attention driving TV, per research from Dentsu Media’s Attention Economy team, as reported by Adweek. Brand recall via Snapchat AR Lenses was 1.3 times higher than Dentsu’s benchmark, with the top-performing content being personally relevant and using distinct brand elements.
Should you advertise on TikTok, Shorts or Reels?
TikTok is commanding the highest share of short-form video budgets due to its exponential user growth rate and engagement but demographics, ad formats, trust and brand safety also are among the key considerations when reviewing TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, media buyers told Campaign US. Experts also note that some brands still refrain from TikTok advertising due to its regulatory hurdles and relationship with China.
Business news
Social media platforms looking beyond advertising
Twitter, TikTok and Instagram are exploring subscription-based options and creator partnerships to become less dependent on traditional advertising revenue. However, new-kid-on-the-block BeReal is focusing on increasing market share and exposure without any ads. “We are at this time in social where the apps are trying to not be solely reliant upon ad revenue,” said Brendan Gahan, partner and chief social officer for Mekanism. Digiday has more.
Quick hits:
- Reddit poaches Pinterest, Google execs to boost ad operations, via MediaPost
- Omdia says TikTok’s global ad sales will top Meta, YouTube — combined! — in 5 years, via MediaPost
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