This week in social media news, new Pinterest research found the platform predicted 8 in 10 trends two years in a row, YouTube expands Super Chat and Super Stickers access to more markets, Facebook says it’s underreporting iOS web conversions by about 15 percent due to iOS updates, TikTok highlights the power of product recommendations on the app, Instagram debuts a new global campaign and more.
New Pinterest Research Shows Trends On The Platform Grow Faster, Last Longer
Each year, Pinterest publishes what it calls a ‘not-yet-trending’ Pinterest Predicts report that outlines all the trends it anticipates will blow up in a given year. What it found after its last report is that 80 percent of the trends in its annual report continued to climb throughout the year and that trends sustain monthly growth longer than trends on the rest of the internet.
Why it matters: Pinterest partnered with Black Swan Data to compare how trends played out on Pinterest compared to other platforms. Pinterest trends, it turns out, grew much faster than trends spotted elsewhere on the internet; Pinterest trends increased about 56 percent in their first six months while trends on other platforms only grew about 38 percent in that same time.
The details: Pinterest says it predicted 8 in 10 trends two years in a row. Among the trends it accurately predicted would go big in 2021 include ‘athflow,’ ‘skinimalism,’ and ‘vibey lights.’
Another theme Pinterest predicted in 2021: the ‘Bland is Banned’ food trend. Last year, Pinterest spotted the jalapeño pepper jelly trend. Indexed searches for these recipes grew 30x over six months once the trend picked up momentum, according to Pinterest.
Dawn launched a trend package based on the ‘Bland is Banned’ trend and saw 24 percent more efficient CMPs than Pinterest’s benchmark for household good ads.
According to Black Swan Data’s findings, on Pinterest, trends sustain monthly growth more than 20 percent longer than trends on the rest of the internet. For example, indexed searches for ‘forest resort’ sustained growth for 13 months.
Plus, trends on Pinterest usually evolve beyond their original use case, according to the platform, which gives marketers a unique opportunity to highlight ways consumers can apply these trends in all areas of their lives.
Pinterest will reveal its 2022 predictions in a report launching on December 7.
YouTube Expands Super Chat And Super Stickers Access To Streamers
During the latest video in its ‘Creator Insider’ YouTube series, YouTube announced that it’s expanding Super Chat and Super Stickers streamer donation options to users in additional markets.
Why it matters: The full rollout comes four years after YouTube first debuted Super Chat and almost two years after launching Super Stickers in 2019, a way for fans to donate to livestreamers via animated characters.
As competitors like TikTok and Facebook continue to beef up their monetization opportunities for creators, YouTube in July also launched its Super Thanks feature, an animated GIF fans can purchase to show their support for their favorite creators.
The details: With Super Stickers, fans can place stickers in comment streams. The creators then earn a percentage of the purchase price of each sticker.
In addition to expanding Super Chat and Super Stickers, YouTube is launching a new button in its mobile app that translates comments in-stream.
Lastly, YouTube is testing new filters on the ‘Uploads’ page to help users sort videos according to upload date and video popularity.
Pinterest And Albertsons Cook Up Shoppable Recipe Pins
As part of a multi-year agreement between Pinterest and Albertsons, Pinterest users can connect their accounts and shop saved recipe pins on the Albertsons app.
Why it matters: According to Pinterest’s chief revenue officer Jon Kaplan:
“At 4:00 p.m. every day, the number one food search on Pinterest is what’s for dinner, and Albertsons Cos. is delivering inspiring and intuitive experiences that help our Pinners answer that question every day.”
The partnership follows Albertsons’ collaboration with DoorDash, which saw the creation of a Tetris-like game called ‘The Bag’ where users could score up to $40 off their Albertsons order.
The details: The new Albertsons integration on Pinterest will also recommend recipes to consumers based on past searches, saves and purchase history.
Additionally, Albertsons has tapped 20 of its associates to become Pinterest creators who will use the platform’s Idea Pins to create content around their areas of food expertise, including meat, wine and patisserie.
Facebook Shares List Of Actions Businesses Can Take To Counter Impact Of iOS Updates
As part of an update and a best practices guide on navigating Apple’s privacy changes, Facebook said that in aggregate, it’s underreporting iOS web conversions by about 15 percent and that it’s heard from many marketers that the impact on their ad investment has been greater than they expected.
Why it matters: During its earnings call in July, Facebook said it expected increased headwinds from the recent iOS changes to have a bigger impact in Q3 compared to Q2.
Since that call, Facebook has expanded conversion modeling capabilities in its default attribution setting of 7-day click and launched improvements for 1-day click attribution to improve conversion reporting accuracy.
Earlier this month, Facebook expanded modeled reporting for Website Purchases Conversion Value, so businesses may see an uptick in reported conversion values and other associated metrics such as return on ad spend.
Other actions Facebook is taking to counter lost conversions include extending its ability to measure in-app conversions that SKAdNetwork can’t track and launching capabilities to allow advertisers to track web conversions even when they don’t own the top-level website.
The details: First up on the detailed list of actions Facebook suggests brands take in response to the iOS updates is allowing time before analyzing performance—a minimum of 72 hours.
Next, Facebook recommends analyzing reporting at the campaign level, not the creative. In addition, to optimize ad campaigns and decrease cost per action, businesses should consider adding the Conversions API to their existing marketing data setup.
Click here for Facebook’s full list of best practices.
TikTok Highlights Commerce Benefits #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt Phenomenon Provides
As social media giants continue to enhance the in-app shopping experience, TikTok has shared an overview of what makes the digital word of mouth that spreads via TikTok so powerful for brand success.
Why it matters: Ecommerce is expected to grow 14 percent this year and one-third of people want commerce to be more entertaining. For brands, the beauty of TikTok is that users are seeing content they actually are interested in through its discovery-based ‘For You’ page. This type of content invites users to connect in the sharing or creation of content as opposed to advertising that prioritizes selling at consumers.v
The details: According to TikTok, the majority of users report feeling entertained when they use the platform and people say that ads on TikTok are the most fun and entertaining compared to the ads they see on competing platforms. This type of user engagement fuels the power of product recommendations on TikTok.
As TikTok notes:
“Community Commerce, on the other hand, encourages audiences to create entertaining, compelling content that just so happens to feature brands. That content is then shared with and enjoyed by those creators’ trusted communities. In essence, it’s the digitization of word-of-mouth marketing—and it empowers brands to form genuine connections with people in a way that drives awareness, favorability, and sales.”
On TikTok, users can go from discovery to action in mere seconds—from seeing a video about a product to then visiting the brand’s site. As the platform notes, all of this takes place within the TikTok app and happens so seamlessly that the user can return to scrolling their feed as soon as they’re done.
“In that sense, TikTok doesn’t push users along the marketing funnel so much as it guides them through a flywheel—a continuous loop of awareness, consideration, and conversion that happens in the TikTok environment,” said the platform.
Pew Research: Over Half Of Twitter Users Regularly Get News From The Site
According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted between late July and early August, 48 percent of US adults say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes,” a 5 percentage point decline compared with 2020.
Why it matters: Overall, the percentage of users of each platform who regularly get news there has remained relatively stable since last year. Yet as Pew found, Facebook and TikTok buck this trend; the number of Facebook users who say they regularly consume news on the site has declined 7 points since 2020. And on TikTok, the number of users who regularly get news from the app increased by 7 points.
The details: Nearly a third of Americans regularly get news on Facebook, followed by 22 percent on YouTube, 13 percent on Twitter and 11 percent on Instagram.
Twitter is used by 23 percent of US adults yet 55 percent get news on the site regularly. While YouTube is more widely used, it sees a smaller portion of its users—30 perfect—turning to the site for news.
Stark demographic differences also exist between the users who turn to each social media site for news. For example, white adults comprise a majority of the regular news consumers of Facebook and Reddit (60 percent and 54 percent, respectively), yet only 36 percent of Instagram news consumers are white.
Both black and Hispanic adults each make up a sizable portion of Instagram’s regular news consumers (20 percent and 33 percent, respectively).
A majority of regular news consumers on LinkedIn (57 percent) have a four-year college degree or higher. Additionally, adults ages 18 to 29 are far more likely to regularly get news on both Snapchat and TikTok than other age groups.
Snapchat’s Vice President Of US Ad Solutions On Getting The Most Out Of Advertising On The App
In a recent interview with Social Media Today, Snapchat’s vice president of US advertiser solutions Luke Kallis said that the Snap community opens the app 30 times a day on average and globally, the Snap generation carries over $4.4 trillion in purchasing power.
Why it matters: Though TikTok just hit 1 billion users worldwide, young audiences continue to use Snapchat for more intimate forms of engagement. According to the platform, Snapchat now reaches 75 percent of millennial and Gen Z users while its users spend over 30 minutes per day on the app, on average.
The details: From awareness and shares to clicks, visits, purchases and more, Snap offers a variety of goals and bidding options across the marketing funnel.
As Kallis told Social Media Today:
“We also believe that for advertisers of any size, seeking any objective, there is deep, long-term value in reaching our audience of 13-34 year-olds. This audience is passionate and engaged, and many are at the ages when they’re beginning to build brand loyalties as they go through major life milestones.”
One key to an effective marketing strategy on Snap, according to Kallis, is leveraging multiple ad products tied to a defined advertising goal. For example, Kallis says a great brand awareness booster is combining an AR Lens with Snap Ads and/or Commercials (video ads).
“This type of multi-product execution tends to achieve stronger overall results than any individual ad format in isolation,” said Kallis.
In addition, many brands are finding success running ‘always-on AR.’ When added to a Snap Ad campaign, AR reaches an incremental 31 percent of Snap’s audience who are using the camera.
Warner Music And Twitch Partnership Will Launch Various Recording Artist Channels
As part of Warner Music Group and Twitch’s new partnership, the companies will launch multiple WMG recording artist channels and a standalone music space featuring music-centric programming.
Why it matters: As noted in the press release:
“The move empowers Warner Music’s talent to tap into Twitch’s unique creator-driven model, opening up additional income opportunities, as well as access to Twitch’s fan engagement tools to get to know their audiences better.”
The details: Among the artists that will be featured on WMG and Twitch’s new artist channels are Warner Records singer Bella Poarch and Saweetie plus Atlantic Records singer/producer Sueco.
The standalone WMG space will include original programming curated by IMGN as well as music discovery and regular appearances from top artists. Programming will include ‘The Drop,’ featuring hosts and audiences discussing the latest music news with special guests and performances; ‘Freestyle Throwdown,’ where Twitch rappers have to impress the panel while playing games; and ‘The One,’ where guest artists perform the song that inspired them to become a musician and take audience questions.
TikTok Hits 1 Billion Active Monthly Users
TikTok now boasts 1 billion global users, the platform’s chief operating officer Vanessa Pappas announced in a video on TikTok’s official profile.
Why it matters: The news comes a day ahead of TikTok’s first-ever global summit for businesses, a virtual event where marketers can learn about TikTok’s full-funnel ad solutions, case studies from TikTok clients and what’s in store for TikTok’s future. Plus, TikTok creator David Ma will share how brands can embrace the platform and create must-watch videos.
The details: ByteDance-owned TikTok has had its fair share of ups and downs, from almost getting banned in the US to getting heat for its fatal, viral challenges. Nevertheless, it’s thriving and reportedly has experienced a 45 percent increase from July 2020. Comparatively, Facebook announced it reached 2.9 billion active monthly users.
Facebook Invests $50 Million In Programs To Build The Metaverse
Facebook wants the time users spend online to be more meaningful, so it has announced the XR Programs and Research Fund, a two-year $50 million investment in programs and external research aimed at creating a set of virtual spaces where users can create and explore with people who aren’t in the same physical space as they are. This ‘metaverse,’ which Facebook dubs “the next computing platform” will be fully realized in the next 10-15 years, according to a blog post.
Why it matters: Facebook is emphasizing the ways it plans to build this metaverse “responsibly,” which includes anticipating risks and addressing issues around economic opportunity, privacy, safety and integrity and equity and inclusion. To do that, its $50 million fund will produce collaborations with industry partners, civil rights groups, governments, nonprofits and academic institutions.
The details: As outlined in Facebook’s blog:
“As we focus on helping to build the next computing platform, our work across augmented and virtual reality and consumer hardware will deepen that human connection regardless of physical distance and without being tied to devices.”
A few of the platform’s initial partners in building the metaverse include the Organization of American States, Africa No Filter and Women In Immersive Tech. Some of the global institutions that it’s working with to facilitate independent external research include Seoul National University, The University of Hong Kong and Howard University.
Instagram Launches A New Global Ad Campaign
Instagram has rolled out a new global advertising campaign called ‘Yours To Make’ to highlight how users are using the app to explore their identity.
Why it matters: As the platform noted in its announcement of the campaign:
“For young people, identity isn’t defined, it’s something that’s constantly explored. Whether that means connecting more deeply with the people that matter to you, discovering and experimenting with new interests, or sharing your perspective, however a work in progress it may be.”
The details: Instagram’s latest campaign includes a 90-second spot that features creators and everyday users engaged in different activities such as discovering new products, trends and features via Instagram.
Those featured in the spot include hip-hop artist Topaz Jones, gymnast Morgan Hurd, Native American makeup artist Madrona Redhawk and digital creator Justin Yi.
With the tagline “Let’s see who we can be” encouraging people to stay true to themselves, the campaign is already live in the US and UK, and will launch in additional countries later this year.
