We're sorry or you're welcome

Aug 30, 2021

Social media managers everywhere will appreciate this meme-based Instagram account: Work in Social They Said. (Thanks to the friend/subscriber who sent it to me!). And speaking of work, I'll be taking the long weekend off, so the next newsletter will hit your inboxes on Tuesday, Sept. 7th. 🗓

Here are today's top stories:

Who's behind some of Twitter's top accounts
Instagram swipes right on Stickers
Twitter tests Ticketed Spaces
And this newspaper just hit a TikTok milestone

Read on ⬇️

Social media content calendar for Aug 30 2021

Secret social media sauce

One of my favourite tweets is this one from the @Twitter account (with 2.7 million likes, I'm not alone). "You can have an edit button when everyone wears a mask." Posted on July 2, 2020, it perfectly hits two issues right on the head at the exact same time. Amazing, and hard to do. So, when Bloomberg published an article about the person behind the @Twitter account, I couldn't resist sharing it here. It also got me thinking about other popular Twitter accounts, and their "secret sauce." Here's what I learned...

Behind @Twitter

In July, after Twitter decided to kill its Story-like feature (called Fleets) Ashley Tyra, the head of editorial and voice, got to work with a team of writers to break the news from Twitter's @Twitter account, according to Bloomberg. "we're removing Fleets on Aug 3rd, working on some new stuff. we're sorry or you're welcome." The approved tweet got over 514,000 likes. So, what's behind this success? According to Bloomberg reporter Kurt Wagner, Twitter has seen a big uptake since it shifted to a more conversational tone in 2018. "The secret is a small group of Twitter employees that are obsessively online, sharing funny and interesting tweets with one another in a shared DM thread they call the “social hive," writes Wagner. The team also keeps a Google document with 300 draft tweets that could be deployed at any time depending on the situation.
Secret Sauce: Keep It Conversational, and Keep The Ideas Flowing

Twitter tweets out an announcement about removing Fleets on August 3

Behind @steak_umm
In the early days of the pandemic, when the whole world was in lockdown, The Washington Post published an article about a Twitter account run by a frozen steaks company. Why? Because the account was blowing up on social media for its social commentary, which is still going strong. In one of its recent threads (with over 44,000 likes), it addressed "societal distrust in experts and institutions." It's also upfront with its audience that it's selling frozen meat. And the brand building seems to be working. In a tweet from @bruce1911, he writes, "Had my first @steak_umm tonight…pretty yummy. And yes, the only reason I bought it was because of their Twitter account." The account is run by the son of the owner of the Allebach Communications. According to The Washington Post: "Allebach keeps “multiple running notepads of personal thoughts throughout the day that come from podcasts, articles, content creators, or just the ether, then I spend time following cultural trends and conversations on Twitter itself to see how I could insert any semblance of helpful dialogue into the mix based on those thoughts.”
Secret Sauce: Stay Open and Honest, and Be Unique

Tweet from the Steak_umm Twitter account

Behind @CanadaPaintings

If you're looking for a short burst of happiness as you scroll your Twitter feed, I highly recommend following the Canadian Paintings account. This bright spot in a dark world was started by a teacher who loved to share art on her personal feed, according to this Medium article by Colin Horgan. The owner of the account (referred to just as "Michelle" in the article) created a standalone account in 2018 on the advice of your younger sister. In 2019/2020, it really began to take off. "This account has seriously been a mental health-saver for me during the pandemic. Art heals the soul!" tweeted @HamelHeather. Since then, many have shared their appreciation for Canadian artists — living and dead. "Content like this is why I joined Twitter," tweeted @BevGingras. Me too, Bev.
Secret Sauce: Bring Joy

Artwork by Jason Carter shared by the @CanadaPaintings Twitter account

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SOCIAL SNACKS

Instagram Swipes Right On Stickers

As of August 30, Instagram will retire the "Swipe Up" feature to link to an external website, according to a notification viewed by The Verge and confirmed by Instagram. Instead, the feature will be replaced with Stickers, which will take users to an external website with just one tap. But before you get too excited, not everyone will get access. Similar to the Swipe Up feature, only accounts with 10,000+ users will be able to use the Stickers. A source told The Verge that depending on its popularity with this first group, it may get rolled out more widely in the future. (I guess most of us will just wait here 🤨).

TikTok + Shopify = 🛍

Shopify, Canada's most valuable company, and fast-growing video-sharing app TikTok have expanded their partnership to allow more businesses in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. to reach consumers online. "TikTok Shopping will bring new features that help Shopify merchants create engaging, organic content that sends consumers directly to their online store for checkout, making it easy for people to explore and buy the products they discover on TikTok," the company said in a blog post. Not to be left behind, Instagram also announced it would be introducing ads in the Shop tab.

ICYMI

🔴 Facebook celebrates Messenger's 10th anniversary with new features [Facebook Blog]

🔴 Instagram breaks down how search works [Instagram Blog]

🔴 YouTube theatre takes the stage [YouTube Blog]

🔴 Snapchat introduces Scan [Mashable]

🔴 TikTok is building its own AR development platform [TechCrunch]

🔴 Clubhouse adds spatial audio to create more immersive audio chats [Yahoo! Movies]

TICKETS, PLEASE

Twitter is starting to monetize its audio chat feature, Spaces. On Friday, the @Spaces Twitter account announced that some iOS users would be able to created Ticketed Spaces (essentially, creators will be able to earn money from fans who want to listen to their audio chats). If you haven't checked out Spaces yet, they live at the top of the app, where Fleets used to live before that feature was retired in early August. Being able to monetize Spaces is a direct response to the Clubhouse app, which saw early success during the pandemic.

CONGRATS-LIKE

The Washington Post Hits a TikTok Milestone

Two years after launching its TikTok account, The Washington Post recently hit 1 million followers on the video-sharing app. Much of that success is due to video producer, editor and writer Dave Jorgenson, also known as "Washington Post TikTok Guy," who helps to create 10 videos per week featuring a variety of content to explain the news of the day. Following this success, the newspaper announced it is investing more in its TikTok strategy with two new roles: associate producer and community editor. Congrats to the (growing) team! 🎉

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