ICYMI: Instagram's In Its Anti Social Era
Here's what happened on social media this week, February 16, 2023
Thanks for reading! ICYMI is news, trends and insights curated specifically for creators. No AI was involved in the writing of this version ☺️
💻 ROADMAP
📲 Instagram Updates:
Mark Zuckerberg just announced Instagram Channels, a new “broadcast chat” feature Meta is testing with select creators. You can find a full list of creators participating here and can apply for early access to the feature here.
As a creator, "Channels" will allow you to DM followers with exclusive conversation and content that they can’t get in your Feed or Stories. (Not to be confused with paid creator Subscriptions or Notes or Group Profiles.)
Followers will be able to read, react and vote in polls but can’t respond to the DM channel — which takes the social out of social media, even as Instagram says the feature is meant to help creators "form deeper connections with their communities."
Instead, this monologue format completely removes any opportunity for connection or conversation between creators and their "community." It also eliminates the engagement that happens between followers in the Comments section. That’s not community, that’s a return to an old school media model of one-to-many messaging.
Basically, Instagram just invented the press release.
*Side note: When I tried to join Zuckerberg’s channel, the prompt said “Only followers of zuck can preview and join this broadcast channel.” CEOs seem to be in a thirst-for-followers era with Zuck taking lessons from fellow tech bro Elon Musk.
After Musk’s Super Bowl tweet got worse engagement than President Biden’s, Twitter’s CEO ordered major changes to the algorithm so users would see his tweets first, whether or not they were following him.
Instagram is scrapping live shopping, meaning users will no longer be able to tag products while livestreaming. It signals the end to Meta’s live shopping efforts, following a similar shutdown on Facebook last year.
Instead, Instagram plans to focus on advertising as one of the main ways for people to discover businesses and shop on the app.
On the flipside, Amazon, TikTok, and YouTube are being hailed for their livestream shopping programs in this CNBC article, which points at China as the model to follow.
📲 YouTube Updates:
YouTube is pivoting its influencer-marketing program to a self-service model after cutting staffers, according to Insider. The BrandConnect program previously operated more like a bespoke agency, pairing creators and brands by email. YouTube is now testing a self-service BrandConnect pilot with a hands-off approach in the wake of January’s tech layoffs.
YouTube just launched its new music licensing feature. Creators with access to the new Creator Music program can either pay upfront to use a track in a video or split future ad revenue with a song's rights holders once the video starts earning payouts through Google's AdSense program, according to Insider.
📲 TikTok Updates:
TikTok is reportedly working on Creator Fund 2.0 and developing a paywall feature, according to The Information. Their new creator fund aims to offer higher payouts but would limit the number of creators who can join.
TikTok announced it’s launching a live ‘TikTok Trivia’ week February 22 through February 26 with $500K in prize money.
TikTok’s leaning into #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt with an in-app checkout feature that allows users to buy products without ever leaving the app.
📲 Pinterest Updates:
Pinterest now allows creators to upload up to five minutes of video content as Idea Pins.
Pinterest is rolling out a revamped e-learning platform: Pinterest Academy with short courses and a digital badge for completing the Pinterest Advertising Essentials learning path.
One of my predictions for 2023, was we’d see a lot more educational resources coming from platforms, retailers, and marketing agencies to help creators find new ways to create content, connect with audiences and monetize their influence.
For example, Amazon just sent out an invite to its Creator Academy meant to help onboard and educate influencers using its platform.
And a variety of courses and resources are already available on the following platforms:
YouTube Resources (the Creator Academy seems to have disappeared)
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
▶️ YouTube Turns 18 — Susan Wojcicki Leaves
YouTube turned 18 this week and CEO Susan Wojcicki stepped down — it’s like waiting for the kids to go to college before getting divorced.
In a note sent to employees that feels very on brand for 2023, Wojcicki said she plans to start a new chapter focused on family, health, and personal projects.
Also something else to note, with Wojcicki leaving and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg stepping down last year, that now leaves TikTok’s COO V(anessa) Pappas as the most visible woman in an executive leadership role at a social network.
I really appreciate journalist Chris Stokel Walker including my thoughts in this Fast Company piece on Susan’s legacy because her departure leaves a huge gap for women seeing themselves represented in Silicon Valley.
💰 Influencers Get Paid More on Instagram Than TikTok
TikTok may be having an oversized impact on culture — but influencers are still earning more brand dollars on Instagram. That was one of the findings in Hashtag Pay Me’s recent report on 2022 pay data trends for creators.
Full disclosure: I’m quoted in the report because I’m a huge fan of payment transparency platforms not only for creators but as a resource for brands to set a competitive benchmark and take the guesswork out of sponsored content rates.
Some of the other findings from the report:
Marketplaces (especially creator marketplaces run by Instagram and TikTok), pay significantly less than working directly with a brand or agency.
The highest proportion of sponsored content deals were in Fashion, Food & Drink, Consumer Goods, and Beauty.
Brands in high growth mode tend to allocate more spend to creators and brands who have an in-house team pay the best.
🏈 The Top Searched Super Bowl Commercials, US
Budweiser
The Flash
Bud Light
MrBeast
NFL Flag Football
Google Trends sent out a special email dispatch after Super Bowl LVII with the above information. It’s a win for MrBeast who’s the only creator to make the most-searched-Super-Bowl-commercials list. But the honor doesn’t seem as great for the actual NFL "Run With It" commercial that featured MrBeast’s cameo.
Other quick hits from last weekend:
Serena Williams was in two Super Bowl alcohol commercials.
Takeaway: exclusivity is expensive
The most-watched Super Bowl LVII ad on YouTube on Sunday was Melissa McCarthy’s Booking.com spot.
Takeaway: Celebrities are the OG influencers and that appeal hasn’t diminished yet
The hashtag #SuperBowlLVII on TikTok collected 225 million views, more than double the game’s TV viewership, according to new findings from Captiv8.
Takeaway: Social ad campaigns can help brands get more for less.
Thanks to Kristen Bousquet for having me on the Soulcial Scoop podcast to talk about Lashgate, influencer trips and TikTok’s #deinfluencing trend!
🔨 RESOURCES
10 Social Media Design Tips to Stand Out on the Feed -Hootsuite
How to become a UGC content creator -Passionfruit
📖 ALSO ON MY RADAR…
Influencer management company Digital Brand Architects (DBA) just launched a UGC division -Tubefilter
Streaming predicted to top traditional TV viewing for first time -CBS News
Navigating the ‘slippery slope’ of personal endorsements in podcast ads -Marketing Brew
TikTok made Remi Bader a body positive influencer. Behind the scenes, she struggled with an eating disorder -The Cut
A YouTuber Breaks Down a Brand Scam -Sarah Renae Clark’s Twitter
First Look: New Emojis in iOS 16.4 -Emojipedia
Black TikTokers say having millions of followers sometimes isn't enough to make a living -Insider
Paris Hilton helped shoot a 10-minute TikTok to promote Hilton hotels -Hilton’s TikTok