2022 Wrapped: BeReal Is App of the Year
ICYMI: Here's what happened on social media this week, December 2
[images via Nish Godgrey TikTok]
Welcome to ICYMI, news and trends for and about creators. There are just 29 content days left in 2022, which means it’s time to haul out those best-of and year-in-review lists.
Speaking of which, How to Apologize in Influencer was the most popular of the 46 newsletters you read this year. Everybody loves a hot mess but there are also some useful tips in that issue if you find yourself in a crisis.
December is also the time to look ahead. I have an opening in my schedule and can take on one new consulting client in Q1 2023, so if your team needs some high-level help with your social or influencer marketing strategy, let’s make it happen: liahaberman@gmail.com
💻 ROADMAP
📲 YouTube Updates:
YouTube is experimenting with a feature that would let creators add quizzes to their posts. The quiz beta (similar to Community posts) is currently being tested with a select few creators before rolling out to more users.
YouTube is also experimenting with options to make Community posts more visual and engaging. Creators in the invite-only beta will be able to add filters, text and stickers to images for posts in the YouTube app.
📲 Snapchat Updates:
Snapchat announced Spotlight Challenges based on the use of specific Lenses, Sounds, or #Topics. Prize money will range from $1K to $25K and be shared between the winning Snapchatters.
📲 Pinterest Updates:
Pinterest announced it’s ending its Creator Rewards program, which benefitted creators who posted Idea Pins, and will instead focus on other creator programs and features.
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
🥗 Viral Sensation Tanisha Godfrey Claims Google Offered $500 to Buy Her “It’s a Chicken Salad” Sound
The Background: Tanisha Godfrey went viral on TikTok earlier this year after recommending the chicken salad from her local deli. Even Lizzo jumped on the “It’s a chicken salad” sound effect.
What’s Happening Now: Weight Watchers announced they’d worked with the TikTok star to develop The Nisha Chicken Salad. But they’re not the only brand to reach out to Godfrey. In an interview with another creator, she revealed that Google had reached out to buy her sound. “…they offered me $500. Then, $1,000. Then, $2,000. And I said, ‘Have a good day.’”
The Takeaway: It’s hard to put an exact price on a TikTok sound but $500 seems low. I asked someone in the music business what they thought a 10-second Google audio spot would earn them and they estimated about $10K. Plus, it doesn’t take much research to see Google has reportedly paid other creators at least $1,200 to $1,500 for sponsored Reels.
A trillion-dollar company doesn’t equal a trillion-dollar paycheck but in this case Godfrey was smart to hold out for more. Meanwhile, the optics aren’t so good for Google’s lowball offer. Let’s make 2023 the year we pay creators what they’re worth.
💸 Creators are getting whiplash from Instagram's unpredictable changes in how they can make money — and some are leaning away from the platform
Move fast and break things may be tech’s motto but Instagram’s constant changes and unpredictable monetization features have left creators feeling burnt out.
“Since 2020, Instagram has unveiled more than 10 features aimed at helping creators make money,” writes Insider’s Sydney Bradley.
“But there has been a big problem. Instagram's tendency to launch and then shut down or scale back these initiatives has left many creators with the feeling that the platform has repeatedly pulled the rug out from under them.”
Insider spoke with more than a dozen creators, talent managers, creator economy insiders, and former Instagram employees, to understand how the industry has been impacted by the platform's changes. Overwhelmingly, the verdict is burnout and confusion, with some influencers looking beyond the platform for alternatives.
🎉 2022 REPLAY
BeReal was crowned the App of the Year
Spotify Wrapped is out and people are basing their whole identities around it
Viva Magenta was named Pantone’s Color of the Year
YouTube shared the Most Popular Videos and Creators of 2022
Giphy announced their Top GIFs and Clips of 2022
National Geographic revealed it’s Pictures of the Year
Google shared their 100 Most Searched Products of the Year list
📣 QUOTES OF THE YEAR
These are some of my favorite 2022 industry quotes. Use any one of these pronouncements the next time you’re in a meeting and want to sound like you know exactly what you’re talking about…
“Over time, what people want to spend their time curating has changed. It used to be the image and now it’s the audience.”
-Mavrck’s Brian Hamilton, summarizing a conversation we had about public social media feeds versus ephemeral content on Snapchat, Instagram Stories and BeReal while I chatted with Life at Mavrck’s Podcast last week
“Production is more important than perfection”
-Creator Lynja Davis, to Passionfruit on the advice she’d give her younger self
“Work with creators as partners rather than posters”
-Ziad Ahmed, Founder and CEO of JUV Consulting, encouraging brands to invest in genuine, long-term relationships with creators in Retail Touchpoints
“It is more likely that TikTok will learn how to add shopping than Amazon will learn how to become social”
-Juozas Kaziukėnas, founder and CEO of Marketplace Pulse, speculating on the success of live commerce to NBC News
“If it’s a conversion play, you go to the micro, if it’s a branding play, you go to the macro”
-Lindsay Hittman, president and co-founder of BrandCycle on the value of micro-influencers in Digiday
🧮 DATA OF THE WEEK
62% of female social media users ages 18 to 29 say influencers or content creators affect what they purchase at least a little
-Part of a Pew Research Center study on how mobile devices and influencers have impacted shopping habits. The survey notes that among social media users, women are more likely than men to report buying something after seeing an influencer’s or content creator’s post.
🔨 RESOURCES
YouTube released a 67-page podcasting guide
Three tips for a better Media Kit from Hashtag Pay Me
2023 TikTok Trends for Businesses -Grin
🙄 PEOPLE
‘Nepo Babies’ of Famous Parents Say They Did It Their Way. No One Is Buying It -DailyBeast
Elon Musk meets Tim Cook, says Apple never considered removing Twitter app -CNBC
Mark Zuckerberg Calls Apple App Store Rules a ‘Conflict of Interest’ -Bloomberg
Kanye West [take your pick: won’t buy Parler, tweets swastika, praises Hitler, gets booted off Twitter] -BBC
📖 ALSO ON MY RADAR…
The 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards will stream live on Sunday, December 4 at 6pm PT.
TikTok Couldn’t Ensure Accurate Responses To Government Inquiries, A ByteDance Risk Assessment Said -Forbes
Klarna is launching a Creator Marketplace to connect UK influencers and creators with retail brands -Altfi
YouTube Is Dreaming of a Green Christmas With Live-Stream Shopping Bet -THR
Influencers were paid by Google to promote a Pixel phone they never used -ArsTechnica
Instagram Is Over -TheAtlantic
Influencing Is The Dream Job — But Is It Really Worth It? -Refinery29
