ICYMI: Gen Z Doesn't Google, They TikTok
Here's what happened on social media this week, July 15
[Source: tWitch and Allison Holker UCG cameo in Beyonce’s first TikTok video]
This a recap of news and trends for and about creators — or anyone interested in social media and marketing. Thanks for reading!
💻 ROADMAP
💵 Instagram Subscriptions: Instagram is expanding its Subscriptions feature and making it available to more US creators. It’s one way for creators to ensure more “sustainable and predictable” income, according to a video released by head Adam Mosseri, while, “fans to get exclusive content from creators that they love.”
The subscription-only content will include:
Subscriber Chats in the DMs
Subscriber Reels or Feed Posts
Subscriber Home where all the exclusive content is housed
Subscriber Stories
Subscriber Live
📝 Instagram Notes: Instagram is testing a Notes feature and people are very confused over the need for this update. Notes appears in your DM section and allow you to post messages of up to 60 characters to your “Close Friends” or followers. Now the app just needs to explain why it matters to people like this guy: “Who asked for this Instagram update 💀 Like what is the purpose of the notes”.
🏦 Instagram’s Creator Marketplace: Instagram provided a look at the dashboard for its invite-only Creator Marketplace, meant to connect brands and creators. Using the platform:
Brands will be able to filter creators by: gender, age, number of followers and interests.
They’ll also be able to filter for creators based on the demographics of their engaged audience, using filters including gender, age, interests, country and city;
They’ll be able to see creators who have expressed interest in working with them, have tagged them or follow them;
And brands will be able to see similar creators to those they’ve already found through the filters; and can organize their creator research by adding them to saved lists.
So what does this mean for creators? It underscores the importance of having a descriptive bio, using keywords, key terms and hashtags relevant to their interests and regularly tagging or following brands they want to work with to make themselves easier to find.
🖥 Instagram Live Producer: Instagram just leveled up live streams by enabling in-app broadcasters to stream from a desktop PC, and via various third-party streaming platforms through its Live Producer tool.
🕹 TikTok Controls: TikTok is rolling out Content Levels to give users more control over the content they see. A new tool will let people filter out word or keyword-related videos they don’t want to see, while content will be automatically moderated based on “thematic maturity” to avoid certain problematic content themes, such as dieting, extreme fitness, sadness.
🔵 Twitter Unmentions: Twitter rolled out a new Leave this Conversation tool that allows you to leave a conversation you’ve been tagged in. The feature will allow you to untag your username from the original tweet and all replies, stop future mentions and stop notifications on the conversation.
[via @YourSocialTeam Instagram]
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
🔍 Google exec suggests Instagram and TikTok are eating into Google Search and Maps
“In our studies, something like almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search,” Senior Google VP Prabhakar Raghavan was quoted saying at a tech conference, “They go to TikTok or Instagram.”
The news that Gen Z uses TikTok and Instagram for search, not Google isn't actually new. Hootsuite shared data earlier this year suggesting younger generations turned to social networks to research brands more than search engines. This is just the first time we're hearing Google acknowledge it.
A lot of people on Twitter rolled their eyes at this update, which I attribute in part to the shift from SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) to Vibe Search (that’s what I’m calling search on social, where audio, video, and images dominate over text ). Understandably, if you’ve made your career as an SEO-SEM expert who understands the ins and outs of Google, this isn’t welcome news.
But it is an interesting area of opportunity for people who understand search on social and can help other creators and brands make an impact.
*Conspiracy theory alert: Marketer Mandy Hoskinson pointed out a theory floating around LinkedIn that this could be part of an antitrust narrative Google is shaping to portray TikTok and Instagram as large competitors in search. Stay tuned.
🚨 How aspiring influencers are forced to fight the algorithm
Figuring out social media platforms’ hidden rules is hard work—and it falls more heavily on creators from marginalized backgrounds, according to this fascinating MIT Technology Review article.
It’s part of a larger research project from Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor at Cornell University, and graduate student Colten Meisner, on how creators, particularly those from marginalized groups, navigate the algorithms and moderation practices of the platforms they use.
🎙 Clubhouse Isn’t Dead Yet
The social audio app has lost users, creators and Silicon Valley cachet, reports The Information’s Kaya Yurieff. “But it raised piles of cash and hasn't blown it on a wild spending spree… And it has time.” According to Yurieff, Clubhouse has enough cash to fend off existential questions for several years.
📲 How Disney Creators Lab Is Providing Influencers With New Brand Opportunities
Disney announced the launch of its Creators Lab program in September 2021. Now, NetInfluencer is spotlighting some of the creators who joined the program.
And the problematic aspect of this program persists: Should a blue-chip company run an influencer marketing program that pays in exposure — even if the creators are superfans who love the brand and volunteer for the assignment?
The weeklong program, aimed at emerging creators from diverse backgrounds, included an all-expenses paid trip to Walt Disney World as well as a trip on the Disney Cruise Line. But there was no financial compensation provided for the required posts on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. The creators “need opportunities to grow,” Disney said at the time about its unpaid program.
💡 DO IT FOR SCIENCE
☑️ A sociology grad student at the University of Calgary in Canada is doing research on shadowbans! While I’m confident everyone reading this could write a thesis on the matter, Milana Leskovac is actually doing academic research on social media user experiences with being blocked or partially blocked on Instagram and TikTok. So, if you’ve been shadowbanned - and feel comfortable talking about the experience - please take the survey.
🔨 RESOURCE OF THE WEEK
Don’t sleep on these links because these free resources may only be available for a limited amount of time.
❤️ Brilliant social strategist and attorney Lauren Hug (her name literally exemplifies compassion) is offering a free digital download of her book Digital Grace and companion workbook Digital Kindness this week.
Audience: Teachers, community leaders, activists and anyone having conversations about community and connection in social spaces.
📚 VC superstar Li Jin just made videos and materials from her creator economy course available to everyone. Last year, she taught a 4-week long course about the creator economy that covered the history of the industry, building for creators, opportunities as an investor, a Web3 workshop and future predictions.
Audience: Founders, business leads and investors.
🎤 TikTok just launched Follow Me, a 6-week educational experience for SMBs (small to medium sized business) that provides step-by-step guidance on how to start and grow on the platform.
Audience: Founders, entrepreneurial creators and small business owners.
(Note: none of these are sponsored links but they could be in the future.)
📣 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"TikTok's algorithm — the very thing that propelled many TikTokers to stardom — also makes it difficult to maintain success. The viewer doesn't choose who they are watching, TikTok chooses for them."
- Amanda Perelli and JP Mangalindan in their Insider piece that explores TikTokers struggle to form a lasting bond with fans, Why TikTokers may face problems forming deep connections with fans.
🧮 NUMBER OF THE WEEK
“$6000 for 62M views is...not great”
-Hank Green sharing on Twitter that he made $6,000 for 62 million views on his YouTube Shorts this year. Better than TikTok, but still not great.
📖 ALSO ON MY READING LIST…
Doja Cat loses thousands of Instagram followers after Noah Schnapp TikTok controversy -LATimes
Beyoncé — and her music — is now on TikTok -The Verge
Kids and teens now spend more time watching TikTok than YouTube -TechCrunch
Twitter sues Elon Musk, says he can’t “trash the company… and walk away” -ArsTechnica
TikTokers are supposed to disclose their ads, but nothing happens when they don’t -Vox
How to Create Instagram Reels When You Don't Have a Video Team -Later
Linktree’s got a new mobile app to manage your account -TechCrunch
What creators say separates TikTok from Instagram Reels from YouTube Shorts -Digiday
Nantucket Is Courting Influencers — And It's Working -BuzzFeed News
Creator merch company Spring has laid off staffers -Business Insider