⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY
Instagram now offers an option to cancel Story uploads in progress
5 digital trends (and 15 buzzy examples) to insert in your next slide deck*
Beauty TikTok’s drama follows a playbook that, sigh, we’ve seen before
A Snoop Dogg campaign that failed to convert probably didn’t get this CEO fired
Women-led brands selling sports merch had the best week ever
See the top consumer search categories on TikTok
💻 ROADMAP
📲 Meta Updates
Meta just rolled out Creator Management Tools for agencies in Meta Business Suite. The tool allows you to connect with and manage creators' accounts; connect creator page earnings to your payout account; and eliminates the need for credential sharing (full details).
*If you’re a creator, it almost goes without saying, but only accept requests from reputable agencies. This gives agencies unprecedented access to your account.
Instagram now offers an option to cancel a Story upload. That’s a major update for anyone who accidentally uploads the wrong content (and can’t delete until it gets posted) or whose Stories get stuck behind a file that refuses to upload but can’t be deleted.
Instagram continues to work on the ability to share your live location in chat by adding the ability to send a pinned location. Teens (and I) love Snap Map location sharing so this makes a lot of sense for users and could be a beneficial option for local businesses that get tagged.
Threads is working on "Today's Topics," based on the trending topics people are engaging with. Moderators will review topics to make sure they meet Meta guidelines.
Threads now lets you hide share counts on your posts. Previously, you could only hide the Like count.
📲 TikTok Updates
TikTok is experimenting with a feature called AI Song to create songs based on your text prompts. Based on this example, it looks like you’ll also be able to select genres… but it may not be a chart topper.
📲 LinkedIn Updates
LinkedIn announced you can now sponsor company articles for awareness, engagement, or lead gen.
LinkedIn rolled out 3 new job search features, including Job Collections, Preferences, and an “I’m Interested” button on company profile pages.
🚀 FEATURED TREND REPORT
What Do (Digital) Audiences Really Want in 2024
Arcade (a leading digital media agency) just released their special edition marketing trend report for 2024. This isn't just another trend report; it’s a deep dive into the worlds that exist online, IRL and how brands can continue to show up in them.
In it you’ll discover:
The top 5 2024 digital behavior trends every marketer needs to know,
Questions you need to ask yourself before you even touch a slide deck this year
Ideas on how to make each trend fit your brand or clients.
It's fun, digestible and unlike any report you've seen before. Plus, you can view it for FREE at the link below (no email sign-up required)!
*sponsored
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
TikTok’s Beauty Drama Seems Familiar
Is TikTok becoming the new destination for Dramageddon?
ICYMI: Last week, the founder of Illusion Bronze posted a video to TikTok blasting beauty influencer Mikayla Nogueira for failing to post about his product. He claimed “Mikayla’s lies” cost him $10,000.
But not as part of a partnership gone wrong.
Matthew Stevens originally reached out to Mikayla last October as a small business owner and fan and asked for a freebie. In a friendly conversation, the TikToker agreed to do a beauty product review.
Mikayla — who works with the likes of CVS, l’Oreal, Rare Beauty and Glow Recipe and is ranked in the top 10 most influential makeup creators — did not immediately review the self tanner.
They spoke again over the holidays and Mikayla said she would post about the product the next day. Stevens purchased $10K worth of inventory, expecting a major boost in sales. But the influencer didn’t post immediately, which led to Stevens’ rant. (She responded. He doubled down.)
There are a few takeaways from this:
Stevens seems to be trying to remedy the situation by rage baiting TikTok with accusations that Nogueira cost him $10K. This may lead to short term gains but burning bridges for clout doesn’t seem like part of a sustainable business strategy.
It’s also a tired playbook that stems from YouTube’s beauty community, circa the 2010s, when feuds were used to try and drive social growth and brand sales. No matter what growth hackers say, it doesn’t end well.
This is also a great lesson for brands and influencer marketing managers — if you don’t have an official contract and you’re not compensating a creator, they owe you nothing. It’s an unexpected and lucky perk if someone posts on your behalf but don’t depend on luck and unpaid collaborations as part of your marketing strategy.
Mikayla’s brand is a small business in and of itself — worth an estimated $7M, according to Forbes. So, just as you wouldn’t call a local contractor and ask for free services, people shouldn’t expect creators to do them “favors.”
In other TikTok Beauty News: TikTok’s Beauty Craze Turns to M&A
Two Unpaid Collabs That Did Convert
Female-owned businesses selling sports-related merch had the best week on social.
First, the founder of Coastal Caviar connected with influencer Alix Earle around a custom charm necklace she created for her. Their DM connection alone inspired some great content. Then Earle wore the necklace to the Dolphins-Chiefs game which spawned at least seven more videos from the small business’ account.
You might also have heard of Kristin Juszczyk, the wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk. She designed a custom puffer jacket for Taylor Swift, decorated with boyfriend Travis Kelce’s jersey number 87. Kristin and her custom NFL creations went viral, with the designer gaining more than 500,000 Instagram followers, after Swift wore the jacket to the Dolphins-Chiefs game.
Snoop Dogg Campaign Probably Didn’t Get CEO Fired
There have been some misleading headlines suggesting Snoop Dogg’s Solo Stove campaign resulted in the company replacing their CEO.
ICYMI: Snoop said he was “giving up smoke,” as part of a cheeky marketing campaign for smokeless fire pits.
The ad was a viral hit. It helped the company gain 60K new followers on social media and was ranked one of the year’s best by Ad Age. But it didn’t result in “the sales lift that we had planned,” according to the CFO. People have now taken that narrative and run with it on social.
The whole situation serves a good reminder to always be aligned internally on the goals of your influencer or celebrity campaign. The disconnect often comes from dueling priorities. For example, awareness versus conversions.
With a product priced at $350.00 and minimal follow-up to leverage Snoop’s social post, how many impulse purchases could the brand really hope to see?
Besides, companies typically don’t fire CEOs over one campaign. It may have been the last in a series of high-cost efforts that didn’t pan out. For example, the company also entered a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
It does, however, provide a convenient narrative if you’re trying to explain lower than expected fourth quarter results. And it’s great for engagement for every outlet sharing clickbait headlines.
Top TikTok Searches
Consumers who use TikTok as a search engine have looked for information on the following categories, according to an interesting Adobe survey:
New recipes
New music
DIY tips
Fashion advice
Workout routines
👀 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sheryl Sandberg plans to leave Meta's board of directors -Axios
Mark Zuckerberg’s new goal is creating artificial general intelligence -The Verge
YouTube Shorts saw a 700% year-over-year increase in marketing spend on branded partnerships with creators -Business Insider
Gen Zers are way more likely to have used TikTok to watch long videos in the past month than Instagram -Insider Intelligence
Brands find a new way to reach many consumers: over-50 influencers -The Washington Post (free article link)
The incredible shrinking podcast industry -Semafor
The creator economy is having an identity crisis; that might be a good thing -Business Insider
The creator economy is ready for a workers’ movement -TechCrunch
MrBeast is testing how much ad revenue he’ll earn from posting videos directly to Twitter (X) -MrBeast
The top beauty influencers to watch in 2024 -Traackr
The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer just dropped -Edelman
Twitch announced the dates for TwitchCon Europe (June 29-30) and TwitchCon San Diego (20-22 September) -Twitch
VidCon announced the event co-founders Hank and John Green would be among the featured creators this year (June 26-29) -VidCon
Thank you for taking the time to read each week and for all your continued support!