Still not getting it
Managing Social Media is Hard Enough — Staying Up to Date Shouldn't Be.
Pinterest has a new (female) Head of Design. And it looks like @LMindler is just as savvy at using Twitter, because she chose to only allow followers and those she mentions to reply to her role announcement. 👍
In today's top stories:
Facebook says it will 'nudge' teens
Instagram leans into its video strategy
What happens on the Internet every minute
And this ad is head and shoulders above the rest
Read on ⬇️
Facebook Fallout
I don't normally like to focus on the same platform for two weeks in a row, but it's hard to ignore the week that Facebook just had. Between (two) outages and whistleblower testimony before U.S. lawmakers, the platform is really taking a hit. But it feels like the company is still not getting it. Here's the latest news...
A "Nudge"
While Facebook continues to says that its platforms aren't that damaging, it is preparing to introduce new safety measures for teens. Speaking to CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday, Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said they are going to introduce new (optional) parental controls. They are also going to "nudge" teens away from content that they repeatedly look at that may be damaging. And thirdly, they will introduce a "take a break" feature that will prompt teens to log off for a while. These updates come after former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents that showed the company knows Instagram is damaging to teens' mental health. On Sunday, Clegg maintained that the teens affected are just a "minority" of Instagram users. He also refused to say whether Facebook played a role in inciting the violence that took over the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Democracy + Technology
Haugen testified before Congress last week, telling U.S. lawmakers that Facebook puts profit ahead of safety. A key issue is a change to the ranking algorithm that essentially moved away from chronological updates and towards pushing out content that reflects what you already engage with (which tends to create an echo chamber). To be fair, other platforms also use this type of system. But they also don't have 3+ billion users. It should also be made clear that Haugen doesn't want to break up Facebook — she just wants more regulation. Tristan Harris, an American technology ethicist, told the Daily Show that we have to ensure democracy is employing stronger technology. "It's not anti big tech; it's how to do we make sure technology in open societies allow us to create something more humane and positive for people."
Facebook Out
As Facebook was dealing with the fallout of the whistleblower reports, it suffered a major outage last Monday (and a second one on Friday) that also impacted Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. As a result, many people flocked to other platforms. (I was on Twitter scrolling through some of the funniest content I've ever seen). According to mobile app analytics firm SensorTower, Snapchat was the No. 1 place that people migrated to during the outage, followed by rival messaging apps Telegram and Signal, as well as Twitter and TikTok. And while for some this was a fun break, it was a major disruption for others, such as small business owners who rely on these apps to make money. It also affected organizations in countries that use these apps as life-saving services. As a New York Times article points out, in countries like India, Latin America and Africa, which rely heavily on WhatsApp as a communications tool, an outage means being cut off from the world.
Clearly, Facebook has become an essential service. Now it just needs to become an ethical one.
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SOCIAL SNACKS
Leaning Into Video
A few months ago, Instagram said it was no longer just a photo-sharing app. And as it leans into that new strategy, the platform announced a series of video updates. Essentially, it is combining IGTV's longer-format videos and Instagram feed videos into a new format called "Instagram TV." You'll be able to find the videos under a new tab in the navigation bar (beside Reels). If you tap anywhere on a video in feed, it will open up in full-screen video mode, and you can swipe and view more videos. And previews in videos will go up to 60 seconds (from 15 seconds) except for monetized videos. "We're trying to figure out how to reconcile Reels, how to do better by vertical video, how to get better at ranking. So, expect more announcements to come over the next couple weeks," Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said in a video posted on Twitter.
Making $$$
Social media as a shopping destination isn't going anywhere. Here are the latest e-commerce updates:
Instagram released a step-by-step guide on how to add shoppable tags in your feed, Stories, Reels, Instagram Video and live shopping.
Pinterest introduced new shopping features, including slideshow for collections, a Verified Merchant Program, and Idea Ads with paid partnership
Meanwhile, Snapchat offered up six Black Friday marketing tips to drive sales
ICYMI
🔴 Facebook announces $10-million Creator Fund for Horizon [Facebook Blog]
🔴 Snapchat says Lens Sharing and Birthday Minis are now available [Snapchat Blog]
🔴 LinkedIn explains how to design a full-funnel marketing experiences [LinkedIn Blog]
🔴 TikTok helps brands unlock the power of music and sound [TikTok Blog]
🔴 YouTube rolls out background listening to music listeners in Canada starting Nov. 3 [YouTube Blog]
DATA-LIKE
In An Internet Minute
The 9th edition of the Data Never Sleeps report from DOMO illustrates what happens on the internet every minute. 🤯
AD-LIKE
Head and shoulders above the rest
The marketer in me is always looking for great examples of ads and content that I can share with others. And I came across a really interesting one on TikTok last week.
The product: Head and Shoulders shampoo
The influencer: Bill Nye the Science Guy (8 million TikTok followers)
The ad: There's No Fungus Among Us
The strategy: Talk about the science behind dandruff, as well as the different options that can treat this fungus. And then show the science behind why H&S is the best option.
The results: 14.8 million video views (which likely translated into some pretty big sales for H&S)
Why I think this ad works: Instead of just taking a TV ad featuring some guy with a black shirt dusted with dandruff and repurposing it on another platform, this ad uses a key (science) influencer, talking about the product in a genuine way.
I think TikTok is honestly going to change how ads are created across all platforms. We'll see...
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