Back-Lush
Managing Social Media is Hard Enough — Staying Up to Date Shouldn't Be.
As we get ready to wrap up 2021, Collins Dictionary has announced its Word of The Year — NFT. This stands for non-fungible token, which Collins defines as "a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, that is used to record ownership of an asset such as an artwork or a collectible." I guess it's better than Collins 2020 Word of the Year (lockdown).
Here are today's top stories:
Lush drops a social media (bath) bomb
TikTok is coming to a living room near year
Predictions on the top social media trends for 2022
And the singer who won't create music just for TikTok
Read on ⬇️
Dropping a (Bath) Bomb
Amid the fallout from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen confirming what many of us already knew — that the social media-turned-metaverse-giant puts profit ahead of safety, at least one company is taking a stand. Meanwhile, the head of Instagram is preparing to testify before Congress. More details below, as well as what this means for your brand on social media.
Be Somewhere Else
That's the message from cosmetics company, Lush, which last week released its global Anti-Social Media policy. This policy includes "signing out from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, until these platforms can provide a safer environment for their users," the company said in a statement posted on its website. However, it is staying active on Twitter and YouTube, and Lush is promising "to build better channels of communication elsewhere." This is the second time the company has tried quitting social. In 2019, it signed off but later returned. This time, Lush says its "resolve has been strengthened by all the latest information from courageous whistleblowers."
Congress calls on Instagram CEO
Meanwhile, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri will, for the first time, testify before Congress to answer questions about allegations of harm caused by the app. According to the NY Times, Mosseri will appear before a Senate panel the week of Dec. 6th as part of a series of hearings on protecting children online. The global head of safety for Facebook's parent company, Meta, Antigone Davis, has already testified before Congress and disputed claims that Instagram causes harm to teens' self-esteem. As for what Mosseri will tell the Senate panel, he provided a preview in a video posted on Twitter, where he talks about how much the company has invested in safety, specifically mentioning parental controls. (Moms and dads, get ready to be told you have to do more).
What this means for brands
Expect Meta and its related companies (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger) to continue to have to answer questions about allegations of harm. Even so, there is no immediate chance Facebook will die out. In fact, their stock price is 20% higher than it was a year ago. But there are some things Meta should be worried about:
The number of strong alternatives to Facebook continues to grow. TikTok is expected to hit 1.5 billion users in 2022 according to App Annie, and YouTube is the most visited platform on a weekly basis, according to research firm Forrester. So while Facebook is a dominant platform, brands can be choosier about where they spend their time, and their $'s.
Companies are increasingly expected to take a stand and to show what they believe in. That's what happened in July 2020, when thousands of companies paused Facebook ad spending as part of the #StopHateForProfit campaign. It had little impact to Facebook's bottom line, and many companies returned, but perhaps this is only the beginning.
If Lush can take a stand and be more strategic about where they post — and succeed — other companies will likely be watching.
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SOCIAL SNACKS
TikTok is Coming to a Living Room Near You
If watching videos in the TikTok app felt like watching TV, you'll like this news. The company announced that in Canada and the U.S., TikTok is now available on Google TV and other Android TV devices, as well as Amazon Fire TV. According to a company blog post, you'll be able to watch videos from the "For You" and "Following" feeds, and find new videos on a "Discover" page. One bonus of watching TikTok videos on a TV set — you can use your phone to keep track of time.
Spotify Tests a Vertical Video Feed
Audio streaming and music services company Spotify has confirmed to TechCrunch that it is testing a TikTok-like vertical feed featuring music videos. Based on reports from product hunter Chris Messina, a new icon in the navigation bar takes you to the feed, where you can scroll up or down through videos, similar to TikTok. It's honestly a great way to watch videos, so it just makes sense that other platforms, like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat (ok, pretty much everyone), is attempting to copy it.
ICYMI
🔴 Twitter announces live shopping [Twitter Blog]
🔴 Instagram launches live test of longer videos in Stories [Social Media Today]
🔴 Facebook is paying musicians and creators up to $50,000 to use its live audio features [The Verge]
🔴 Pinterest agrees to spend $50 million on reforms to resolve discrimination allegations [NY Times]
About Those Flyers...
If you aren't following accessibility expert Alexa Heinrich on Twitter (@hashtagheyalexa), you could be missing out on some great social media accessibility tips. She actively encourages the use of alt text in images, and using Camel Case in hashtags (capitalizing the first letter in each word to make it easier for screen readers to read it). And in this blog post, Alexa talks about "5 reasons flyers don't belong on social media." Sure, she talks about accessibility concerns, but others as well. My personal favourite: Your flyer isn't what your audience wants.
TREND-LIKE
Hootsuite's Social Trends 2022
Social media management and dashboard company, Hootsuite, recently surveyed 18,000 people for a report on social media trends in 2022. The five trends include getting (more) help from creators, getting creative with ads (let's hope!), more confidence in being able to prove return on investment (perhaps), a shift to shopping on social media (I agree), and social being on the front line of customer service (which has actually been the case for years).
What do you think will be the biggest social media trends in 2022?
ADELE-LIKE
Not Working for TikTok
"If everyone's making music for the TikTok, who's making music for my generation? Who's making the music for my peers? I will do that job, gladly."
Songstress Adele released her latest album last week, 30, to rave reviews. When interviewed about her latest round of songs, she said TikTok came up a lot, and she was encouraged to make sure teens knew who she was — but Adele wasn't having it. "I'd rather cater to people that are on my level in terms of the amount of time we’ve spent on Earth and all the things we’ve been through." Read more in BuzzFeed. And in a touching moment that went viral on social last week, Adele was reunited with a former English teacher who changed her life. 💕
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