ICYMI: 3 Things to Focus on This Week
Reddit, the Olympics and copyright vibes 🔖
It’s been a busy news week (!) but there aren’t many social updates, so the newsletter is a little shorter than usual. But I do recommend paying attention to the Reddit data, the TikToker vs TikToker lawsuit and all the Olympic headlines.
⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY
Among social networks, Reddit has seen the biggest growth in “time spent”
Instagram released a guide to going Live on its platform
TikTok now lets you upload custom thumbnails for your videos
A creator filed a lawsuit accusing another creator of stealing her aesthetic
People want to know if Gen Z will watch the Olympics on Peacock or TikTok?
President Biden making the most important announcement of his career on social media!
And I need your marketing book recommendations?!
💻 ROADMAP
📲 Meta Updates
Mark Zuckerberg announced two new Meta AI features: “imagine me” prompts and “imagine edit” to add or remove objects from images.
Instagram released a guide to going Live with step-by-step instructions and tips to make the most of going Live.
📲 TikTok Updates
TikTok released a back-to-school playbook of seasonal trends, audience insights and creative solutions.
TikTok enabled thumbnail editing which means you can now upload custom covers on new videos or edit older videos.
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
📈 Social network users are increasing their use of Reddit more than any other channel
Among social networks, Reddit has seen the biggest growth of average time spent per day by US active users, according to eMarketer’s June 2024 forecast.
There have been some interesting Reddit headlines this year that are worth having on your radar:
The platform launched Reddit Pro, a free suite of tools for businesses to establish and grow a meaningful organic presence on the platform, which has traditionally been a challenge for brands.
It’s frequently referenced as one of the best social listening tools for genuine feedback. Both Glossier and CeraVe credit Reddit as the source of conversations which inspired their respective campaigns this year: The Comments Section and Michael CeraVe.
It partnered with Google and OpenAI and, as such, became an important source of information that surfaced in AI search results. That’s resulted in some brands taking more of an interest in mentions and conversations about them on the platform in an attempt to influence AI-generated search results.
In May, Reddit announced new tools to make hosting and participating in AMAs (ask me anything) easier, which makes it worth considering for executives who don’t shy away from candid conversations.
🤬 TikTokker slaps rival content creator with lawsuit that could ‘change the influencer game’ as we know it
A fashion TikToker filed what could be a first-of-its-kind lawsuit accusing another content creator of duplicating her TikTok, Instagram and Amazon Storefront posts. Creators “borrow” creative inspiration from each other all the time so this is going to be fascinating to watch — can you copyright vibes?
🗣️ QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Real-life people don't think about whether content is premium or not. They just enjoy themselves. Video is video. If you're talking to an 18-year-old, they aren't thinking about whether YouTube Shorts or TikTok content is premium. The attention of the video itself and the format it's delivered in is what matters"
- John Terrana, Chief Media Officer at Vayner speaking to whether Gen Z will watch the Olympics on TikTok or Peacock.
Related:
📊 DATA DROP
54% of people in the U.S. ages 18 to 60 would quit their jobs if they could make a living as a full-time content creator
- from a study from influencer marketing agency IZEA in this TubeFilter article: It’s not just the kids. Half of American adults want to be influencers
👀 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
YouTube Shorts is gaining on TikTok among music fans according to a new report -Business Insider
Neither retailers nor consumers participated heavily in TikTok’s version of Prime Day this year -Modern Retail
Creator shopping app LTK announced a TikTok-style feed, pointing out that creator videos increase earnings by up to 46% -LTK
Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos downplays YouTube rivalry: The companies specialties “feed each other pretty nicely” -TubeFilter
Would you pay to be able to quit TikTok and Instagram? You’d be surprised (or maybe not) how many would -NiemanLab
The evolution of the “link in bio” and its role in shaping the creator economy -TechRadar
This Ballerina Farms “trad wife” article was all over my feed. I finally read it and it’s incredibly sad -The Times
Brands want to collaborate with “on the street” influencers, now there’s a solution -AdAge
Product seeding remains #1 strategy for creator acquisition and retention for both organic and sponsored campaigns -Traackr
The next time someone downplays the role of social media — or makes an intern joke — point out that President Biden made the most important announcement of his career on Twitter, Threads, Instagram and Facebook -Axios
It’s not just social media, this week’s breaking national news came from a variety of unexpected sources like PopCrave and LizaMinnelliOutlives -Taylor Lorenz
How the "brat summer" TikTok trend kickstarted Kamala Harris campaign memes -CBSNews
⏪ 💌 PREVIOUS ICYMI NEWSLETTERS YOU MIGHT LIKE:
Next month I’ll be sharing a list of your favorite marketing books for back-to-school season. Got a favorite? Leave it below!
Unreasonable Hospitality is a great read about going above and beyond to make sure your customers have the best experience!
If you’re reading this and run Reddit social strategy for a brand and want to collab on a primer (paid) for all of us, let me know!