ICYMI: You're "Sleeping on Snapchat"
+ more from the Creator Economy Summit — April 21, 2023
⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY
Instagram now allows up to 5 links in bio — brands are going to want those spots!
Report: Brands earn 5x the engagement from creators vs what brands receive on their own*
Charli and Dixie D’Amelio are just some of the creator embracing Snapchat
Thousands of people lost their Twitter verified checkmark Thursday, including me 🤷🏼♀️
💻 ROADMAP
📲 Meta Updates:
Instagram will now allow you to include up to 5 links in your profile section!
Mark Zuckerberg announced the news on his broadcast channel Tuesday, saying it was one of the most requested features they’ve had.
On the pro side, PR pro Alice Moon: “I’m excited because now influencers I hire can add links to their bio for client campaigns to boost visibility to the client’s website”
On the con side, brand builder Sandra Colton Medici: “I’ve had the option for links for months & I went back to having a singular link to redirect to multiple links. I just think it does a better job to get people off platform than making them pick a link and then go back to the others on IG.”
My take: This seems like good news for creators and brands who want multiple links in their bio — but it doesn’t signal the end of services like Linktree or Linkin.bio just yet:
There is no analytical data available for the links yet, thought Instagram told me analytics will be added under Insights.
Instagram likes to drop new features and then forget or remove them. I’d like to see more commitment to the feature before endorsing wholeheartedly.
If you use a link in bio tool on other platforms, like TikTok, Twitter or Snapchat, it’s probably a cleaner and more consistent experience to keep using a service cross-channel.
Final thought: Regardless what creators think, brands will be all over this. Sponsors are going to insist on being in your list of native links, like the business version of getting a spot in your MySpace Top 8. Start including those placements in your media kits and rate sheets.
📲 Snapchat Updates:
Snap’s Partner Summit on Wednesday revealed several creator-friendly updates, including:
A public Stories option (you must be 18+)
A Stories revenue share program for creators (criteria: 50K followers, 25M monthly views and 10 Stories a month)
Creators will get more exposure on Snap Maps
Exclusive Linktree partnership as the link in bio option
Related: Snapchat is releasing its AI chatbot to everyone for free
🧮 DATA OF THE WEEK
Vogue Scandinavia’s Avg. Percentage Viewed on YouTube is 108%, meaning that, on average, every viewer watches the brand’s videos to completion!
Dash Hudson just unleashed a TON of useful insights you can borrow in their 2023 Cross-Channel Social Media Benchmarks reports (like going to check out Vogue Scandinavia’s channel!).
It includes engagement and growth trends across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, plus a deep dive on specific platforms trends and brand examples across categories including Beauty, Fashion and Luxury, Media and Publishing, CPG, Food, and Beverage, Retail, and Home. For example:
📲 On Instagram:
Brands earn more meaningful engagement from creators, with an average Engagement Rate 5x higher than what brands receive. Nano and micro creators receive strong Engagement and Effectiveness Rates, compared to mid and macro creators.
📲 On TikTok:
Brands grow faster on TikTok than they do on Instagram and YouTube. Growth on TikTok is 181% higher than on Instagram and 107% higher than on YouTube.
📲 On YouTube:
Brands are still slow to adopt Shorts into their strategy even as Shorts have strong engagement. And brands aren’t posting them nearly as often — for every Short, brands post 3 Reels or 4 TikToks.
*sponsored
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
🎙️ Creator Economy Summit Recap
The Information news organization hosted a Creator Economy Summit in LA that was a meetup of some of the smartest and funniest people in this space. If you weren’t able to make it (or following along on Twitter), here’s a recap:
What happened: The Creator Economy newsletter writer Kaya Yurieff and The Information’s CEO Jessica Lessin brought together a bunch of smart folks at the London Hotel in West Hollywood for a day of panels and networking sessions.
Who was there: A mix of entrepreneurs, investors, media people and creators such as Hank Green, Jon Youshaei, Amanda Diaz, Samir Chaudry, Heidi and Marc D’Amelio (Charli’s parents) and more.
Why: It was a business-forward look at the issues creators and companies are facing, from new technologies and tools to platform trends (don’t sleep on Snapchat) and the future of creator economy startups.
Top Takeaways:
✅ AI is top of mind for everyone and being incorporated everywhere, especially as it helps with content creation, distribution and aggregating data. But companies are also being super cautious how they speak about it:
“We think a lot about trust and safety” -Descript’s Michael Sippey
“We’re thinking about it ethically” -Adobe Express’ Ian Wang
“We should embrace it and try to control it at the same time” -Visa’s Marie-Elise Droga
✅ Reps for TikTok and YouTube were on hand but Snapchat seemed to be the sleeper hit of the day. TikTokers “Dixie and Charli are always snapping their friends,” their dad and business partner Marc D’Amelio told the audience.
The sentiment was later echoed by creator Jon Youshaei, who said, “People are sleeping on Snapchat. We pitched a show six months ago and that’s been a great source of revenue.”
✅ Creator Economy startups are in for a reckoning, according to the VC panel: “We’re all super duper f**ked,” said Cleo Capital founder and general partner (and v. funny investor) Sarah Kunst, who explained that the market was getting corrected for bad ideas that had been funded.
“Venture is a gravity game, what goes up tends to go down. We’re in a down-ish moment. It has little to do with the company you’re building or the needs of creators or brands and advertisers. You’re caught up with gravity now.”
✅ TikTok really wants to make Shop happen and part of that includes the TikTok Affiliate program that’s live in the UK but still being tested in the US.
“What the affiliate platform does is it enables brands to put products out to creators for creators to then earn commission on those products. Creators can then use links in videos or go live with those products and earn commission on it,” explained Sandie Hawkins, TikTok’s general manager of US e-commerce.
The criteria for eligibility in the affiliate program is the same as the threshold to join TikTok’s Creator Marketplace.
✅ There is a world beyond sponsored content, which is currently the number one revenue source for creators.
“The money I personally make comes in two forms: Speaking gigs and books sales,” explained Hank Green. “The speaking gigs are fucking nuts. Since becoming big on YouTube and being a credible science guy, colleges will pay me a lot of money…. The money that my content makes goes to my company, which pays me a nominal salary of less than six figures. All of my TikTok revenue is donated, all of my subscription revenue is donated.”
“Consulting. That’s our big source of revenue,” revealed Jon Youshaei. “Number two is courses. Public speaking, that’s been a great source of revenue. And sponsorships has been another one.”
⏳ Are Shorts Worth It?
If you’re still struggling with your Shorts strategy, YouTuber Paddy Galloway and analyst Chris Gileta might have some answers. They looked at 5,400 Shorts across 33 channels to dig into key questions, such as the ideal length, the metrics that matter most and whether Shorts actually help creators grow?
The ideal length for Shorts:
“The shorts algorithm does (unsurprisingly) appear to favour longer videos that hold viewer duration well. However, there were outliers at all lengths. So don't feel you have to make your video a certain length.”
What helps Shorts go viral?
“It's important to make your first second really punchy and engaging to hook viewers early into the video. Treat your intro like a thumbnail.” According to Galloway, YouTube seems to prioritize recommendations of Shorts based on attention (did people watch or swipe away?) versus engagement metrics.
Will Shorts help you grow?
“...on average long-form videos still convert subscribers better (per 10,000 views) than shorts,” but for platforms with over 1M subscribers, Shorts actually outperform in converting viewers to subscribers versus long form content.
The verdict: “If you can do them without taking away focus from your long form videos, go for it!”
Related: From MrBeast to Big Brands: Why Top YouTubers Are Hiring Paddy Galloway
📖 ON YOUR RADAR…
Twitter’s legacy check mark removal hits celebrities, reporters and even the pope -NBCNews
MrBeast turned on paid Subscriptions on Twitter and guess who’s now paying him $5 a month for YouTube tips -Twitter
Adam Mosseri moving back to the U.S. as Meta shutters London office -Fortune
Spotify partnered with Jellysmack to build out their video offerings -THR
TikTok vs. Instagram vs. YouTube: Which one is easiest to monetize? -The Leap
TikTok, Biden-connected firm split after influencer fly-in campaign -The Washington Post
How Coachella Became the Influencer's Met Gala -Hypebeast
Hank Green wants to be a LinkedIn influencer -YouTube
The annual Shorty Awards finalists were announced, including the Influencer & Celebrity Partnerships category -The Shorty Awards
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*Sometimes the internet does provide, and as far as I can tell Wes Anderson’s takeover of my FYP on TikTok is entirely organic and not an early Focus Features campaign to promote this summer’s Asteroid City. This doesn’t actually have anything to do with creators but it’s just a personal favorite!
Like the one second summary addition.
"Instagram likes to drop new features and then forget or remove them." lol how true!
Re: Shorts, we've been recycling content from Reels for shorts and while not every video is a hit, we've had some unexpected successes on YouTube that didn't perform as well on IG
Also, so much praise for the Wes Anderson trend!