ICYMI: TikTok tests 60-min videos; YouTube aims for the Emmys

It's a new era of entertainment

⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY

• Meta is testing a multi-column experience on desktop Threads 

• Instagram was the most downloaded app in the world in April

• TikTok is testing 60-minute video uploads

• Reddit’s AMA sessions are getting an upgrade 

• YouTube’s CEO pushes the Emmys to reward creators

• Everyone from LTK’s Amber Venz Box and Something Navy’s Arielle Charnas to Instagram’s Adam Mosseri dropped a new media project this week

• Event reminder: Get insights and tactics for influencer marketing success*

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💻 ROADMAP

📲 Meta Updates

• Meta is testing a Tweetdeck-like experience on Threads. OG Twitter power users will remember it allowed you to pin multiple columns as part of the desktop experience so you could see everything at a glance. Threads will allow you to create pinned columns for your favorite searches, tags, accounts, saved posts, and notifications.

  It’s a super useful feature for social media managers and creators who want to see what’s trending and look for engagement opportunities while monitoring their own account. 

• Threads launched its own fact-checking program to review and rate false content on the platform.

• Instagram expanded access to its Creator Marketplace to new markets in South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Israel, Turkey, Mexico, Argentina, and Indonesia.

• Meta is winding down its enterprise business tool, Workplace. Customers will be able to use Workspace through September 2025. 

• Spotted on Instagram (which means these are just tests and may never actually make it to our Feeds)

  • a feature called Peek, one tap photos without edits or filters that disappear after being viewed. It’s giving BeReal meets Snapchat.

  • buttons at the end of Reel videos that encourage viewers to “Watch more Reels” and “Share”

  • a “Just seen” label similar to TikTok’s “Just watched” when you click on someone’s profile after seeing their video in your feed

  • the option to auto-tag a collaborator after you mention them in your caption 

📲 TikTok Updates

• TikTok is testing 60-minute video uploads to give creators the opportunity to experiment with expanded types of content and to allow for new styles of content to be posted, such as full episodes of TV shows. It also puts TikTok in a better position to compete with YouTube. If you’re in the beta group that gets this and decide to try it, let us know what happens!

• Spotted on TikTok: a slider sticker that seems like an exact dupe of Instagram’s.

• TikTok is testing AI-generated search results using ChatGPT. According to The Verge, AI results are now appearing at the top of some search results pages.

• TikTok released a beauty industry playbook. 

📲 Pinterest Updates

• Pinterest partnered with Real Simple for the publication’s first shoppable issue. QR codes on RealSimple.com and in the magazine’s June issue lead to a corresponding Pinterest board.

📲 Reddit Updates

• Reddit added new options to improve its Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions, including the ability to schedule and promote AMAs in advance and a “Remind Me” button that issues push notifications to interested users. 

• Reddit reintroduced its legacy awards program which allows users to give awards to posts and comments.

📲 Twitch Updates

• Twitch announced it was launching and updating Partner Discords, providing space for Partners to connect and collaborate. They’ll support nine servers across seven languages and regions with no limit to the number of Discords Partners can join.  

📲 YouTube Updates

• YouTube is expanding Creator Takeovers to more advertisers. The program gives brands all ad space on a single creator’s channel.

📲 Google Updates

• At its annual developer conference, Google announced Veo, an AI text to video tool.

• Also look out for AI Overviews in Search, which will be coming to everyone in the US. See more updates from I/O.

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🗓️ DIGITAL EVENT REMINDER

Under the Brand-fluence: Expert Insights & Tactics for Influencer Marketing Success

Are we really in our de-influencing era? 

Only 16% of consumers say influencers are the #1 factor in buying decisions. But nearly half still make at least one purchase a month based on influencer content.

While the industry may be shifting — it isn’t going anywhere! 

Join Sprout Social on May 21, 2024, as we dive deep into the current state of influencer marketing. Hear industry-specific strategies and tactics from experts Taylor Lorenz, Santina Rizzi and more! 

Date & Time: Tuesday, May 21 at 10 a.m. CT (8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET)

*sponsored

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🧠 POV

YouTube CEO: The Emmys Should Honor Creators

Creators are the new Hollywood and it’s time the Emmys recognized that, wrote YouTube’s CEO Neal Mohan in a Hollywood Reporter op-ed.

It’s an interesting argument: The Emmys are a celebration of the best of television, and they should reflect what viewers are actually watching on their TV screens.

That bodes well for YouTube. In case you missed the numbers: YouTube is number one in streaming watchtime in the U.S.; second only to the Walt Disney Company in total TV usage, according to Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge; and a Gen Z favorite. 

Mohan also pointed to production values of MrBeast and Michelle Khare’s Challenge Accepted as proof there’s very little that separates traditional TV from creator content in this new era of entertainment.

He’s not the only one championing creators as entertainment industry pros. 

At last month’s Creator Economy Summit, actor and TikToker Adam Rose predicted we're not far off from seeing the first YouTube show get nominated or win a Golden Globe or an Oscar.

And creators Colin and Samir recently interviewed Wesley Wang, whose 13-minute YouTube video racked up 4.8M views, hit the film circuit and ultimately caught the attention of Darren Aronofsky. The esteemed director saw the video and contacted Wang to write and direct a feature film based on the coming-of-age short under TriStar Pictures. 

“In order to maintain its relevance and emerge a leader in the digital age of entertainment, the Emmys should celebrate all kinds of content,” wrote Mohan, “especially the creators whose storytelling is pushing culture forward.” 

Why This Matters for Social Media Marketers: Beyond awards eligibility, it’s worth paying attention to the shift in where compelling stories are being told and sold!

YouTube is becoming a regular TV destination. But brands need to think bigger than pre-roll ads and consider producing or partnering on branded content series.

You don’t need to be Mattel with a $145M budget to make an impact through entertainment. Creativity counts just as much as high production value and every brand has the power to create storytelling that connects with their audience on a deeper level. 

📺 A Brief History of the Emmys

1949 - The first Emmys were held

1953 - TV shifts from black and white to color transmission

1988 - Cable programming was allowed to compete in Primetime Emmys race

2013 - Online-only streaming shows became eligible for Primetime Emmys nomination

Hank Green’s The Lizzie Bennet Diaries became the first web series to win an Emmy for outstanding creative achievement in interactive media

2014 - Television Academy members are able to vote online for nominations

2016 - The Television Academy added new short form categories for digital and streaming

2024 - Hot Ones, hosted by Sean Evans, successfully petitioned to be included in the outstanding talk series category.

Meanwhile, Chicken Shop Date, featuring Amelia Dimoldenberg, and Good Mythical Morning, created by Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, will compete in the outstanding short form comedy, drama or variety series category

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🍞 FRESH CONTENT

Was there a memo announcing this was the week to launch your new projects?!

• LTK co-founder Amber Venz Box dropped a podcast at the intersection of business and pop culture

• Something Navy’s Arielle Charnas launched a Substack newsletter to share her story

• Posture Media founder Winter Mendelson launched a podcast on brand building

• Instagram’s Adam Mosseri started a new video series with creator guests 

• Writers Hunter Harris (Hung Up) and Peyton Dix announced a new pop-culture podcast

• Amazon announced a new talk show called “Influenced” for Prime Video, hosted by a group of influencers 

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👀 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• LinkedIn is the social platform the most marketers worldwide (70%) are confident will deliver a positive ROI -EMarketer

• Billionaire Frank McCourt crowdfunding bid to buy TikTok with the support of the guy who invented the internet -Axios

• Eight TikTok creators sued the U.S. government Tuesday over the potential ban -The Washington Post

• Instagram was the most downloaded app in the world in April -AppFigures

• The most followed world leaders on social media in 2024 -DigiTips

• #Blockout2024: Why people are blocking celebrities on social media -Mashable

• Why social media is the most misunderstood job in Corporate America -Forbes

• A bold travel marketing move: Sending influencers with 20 million followers on a trip they couldn’t share -Netinfluencer

• Frankly, I’m surprised it took more than 24 hours for the New York - Dublin portal to get weird -Reddit

• After three rounds of layoffs, a trimmed-down Jellysmack faces an uncertain road ahead -Business Insider 

Thanks for reading!