ICYMI: Did YouTube Just Win the Video Wars?!
Here's what happened on social media this week, September 16
Thanks for being here! If you’re just joining us, this is a recap of the week’s key creator news and trends.
💻 ROADMAP
📲 YouTube Update:
This is a BFD: YouTube is bringing ads to YouTube Shorts and will pay creators a 45% revenue split, according to audio of a leaked YouTube meeting obtained by the New York Times. The news is expected to be announced Tuesday at a special Made on YouTube event the company is hosting in LA.
While the split YouTubers will get for Shorts is slightly lower than the 55% they would get from regular ads, YouTube is now be the only platform that compensates creators for their short-form videos with ad revenue.
Competitors TikTok and Instagram do offer payouts for high-performing videos but creators have been openly critical about the lack of transparency and consistency behind the TikTok Creator Fund or Reels Bonus programs. (Hank Green had so many feelings he created a YouTube video about it.)
YouTube’s ad revenue would create a new, more sustainable income stream for creators and could be the deciding factor in where they focus their efforts.
The company also plans to lower the minimum requirements to join its partner program, allowing more creators to benefit from the Shorts payouts.
We’ll learn more on Tuesday, but this seems like a mic drop moment for YouTube.YouTube Shorts announced it’s integrating songs you’ve saved on YouTube or YouTube Music into the video app, allowing creators to take advantage of its vast music video library.
YouTube announced it would enable creators to use comments as stickers within the Shorts camera app, similar to TikTok and Instagram’s video reply option.
📲 Instagram Updates
Instagram confirmed a test that would give creators the ability to create Media Kits on the platform which they could share with potential collaborators. It’s a potentially useful showcase feature but, as I was quoted saying in this Insider piece, this really only benefits creators if they're able to include cross platform data and creative samples. If they’re restricted to just Instagram, it limits the usefulness of this proposed media kit.
Instagram confirmed it’s testing a tipping feature called Gifts. Users would be able to send Gifts to eligible creators via a button displayed at the bottom of Reels.
📲 TikTok Updates:
TikTok joins Instagram and Snapchat in rolling out a BeReal clone. TikTok Now uses your device's front and back camera and sends a daily prompt to capture a 10-second video or a static photo to share what you're up to.
📲 Amazon Update:
Amazon is launching a Creator Fund for people who create radio shows on Amp. Apply here.
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
🤔 Instagram Stumbles in Push to Mimic TikTok, Internal Documents Show
This seems… not good? “Instagram users cumulatively are spending 17.6 million hours a day watching Reels, less than one-tenth of the 197.8 million hours TikTok users spend each day on that platform,” according to an internal Instagram creator report seen by the Wall Street Journal.
Even worse, Reels engagement has been falling. In August, it was reportedly down 13.6% over the previous four weeks and “most Reels users have no engagement whatsoever.”
It hasn’t been a great week (or a great season) for Instagram as they grapple with dissatisfied creators, a bug that make Stories impossible to mute, and previously viewed content appearing at the top of our feeds (technically this is a me problem, not a them problem. But it’s happening to so many people I’ve talked to!)
Despite the low engagement and lack of time spent, short-form video isn’t disappearing. It increases the time users spend on the platform, it’s easier to sell ads against and is the driving force behind cultural trends right now. Still, it’s nice to know the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, is finally listening to creator feedback and surfacing all these issues internally, not just in his folksy videos online.
🕹 Ninja and Pokimane, two of Twitch’s biggest stars, fly the coop
The news that Ninja and Pokimane have hit a wall live streaming on Twitch points to a larger creator trend pushing back against platform exclusivity. They’ve both expressed they’ll be trading single platform unpredictability and diminishing contracts to create videos across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Welcome to the era of creators making decisions in the best interests of their business and an audience that’s willing to follow them.
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📣 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Instagram “lag[s] behind TikTok and YouTube on all the dimensions that are most important to creator satisfaction.”
Memo from Adam Mosseri to Instagram staff, pointing out areas where they trail competitors such as “fun, reach, fair algorithm and care”. From The Information’s exclusive: Instagram Trails TikTok and YouTube On Creator Satisfaction, Mosseri Tells Staff
🧮 DATA OF THE WEEK
48% of people surveyed are open to sponsored content if the influencer offers a discount code or giveaway
“When you have enlisted content creators who are telling smart stories that focus on why a particular product or service is useful in someone’s life, the audience becomes engaged and doesn’t view it as sponsored content,” Aliza Freud, CEO of SheSpeaks tells AdWeek for this piece, How Much Do People Really Trust Influencers?
👩🏽🤝👨🏻 PEOPLE
Instagram Post From PnB Rock’s Girlfriend May Have Led to His Death -TheRoot
Fyre Festival’s Billy McFarland Is Out of Jail and Ready for His Next Move -NYTimes
YouTuber Trisha Paytas announces the birth of her daughter, Malibu Barbie -NBCNews
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary dominate Emmys Twitter -THR
Khaby Lame gets paid about $400,000 for each sponsored TikTok -TubeFilter
Michelle Phan’s next move: A digital course for aspiring creators -Glossy
📖 ALSO ON MY READING LIST…
2022 U.S. Emoji Trend Report -Adobe
Gifs are cringe and for boomers, says Giphy in Meta takeover filing -The Guardian
TLDR: Instagram Reels with shorter captions receive higher engagement and further reach -Hootsuite
Small Influencers Are Saying They’re Getting Fewer Brand Deals As Recession Panic Escalates -BuzzFeed
Instagram and TikTok Go to War at New York Fashion Week -The Daily Beast
Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter dodge questions on social media and national security -TechCrunch
Roblox jumps into online advertising as Robux revenue growth slows -CNBC
Substack is aggressively recruiting frustrated Instagram influencers -Insider (paywall)
How food influencers can make or break restaurants -LATimes
Wattpad seeks to empower writers with revamped creator program -Passionfruit
14 creator economy startups to watch in 2022, according to top VCs -Insider (paywall)