It's a long story.
The 50-part series that changed social media.
Coming up this week: The US Supreme Court has until Jan. 19th to decide whether to uphold a law that would force ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to sell the app or face a ban in the US. The Supreme Court could also delay the decision until after president-elect Donald Trump takes office on the 20th. We’ll see what happens.
In today’s newsletter:
It’s a Long Story: Long videos are the new short videos
What the Zuck?!: Meta takes a stand on “free speech”
Trending: Digital cameras (smile! 📸)
IT’S A LONG STORY.
A year ago, I remember waking up extra early one morning and immediately logging into my phone. I was in the middle of binge watching a story about a nightmare of a husband. And no, it wasn’t on Netflix or any other streaming channel. It was on TikTok, and the series was called “Who TF Did I Marry?”
Creator @ReesaTeesa, who didn’t have a lot of followers at the time, felt compelled to share her story about a “pathological liar” she married, dated and divorced. She uploaded a whopping 50 segments. Each one was 10 minutes long.
Those 500 minutes of storytelling catapulted her to national fame, and changed the way many of us looked at social media content.
1/3 Why it worked
These are a few reasons it went viral:
Cliffhangers: Reesa Teesa, whose real first name is Tareasa Johnson, was fantastic at cliff hangers. I’m in awe of her ability to talk for 10 minutes, and understand exactly how to end each video on a significant detail yet to be released.
Relatability: Johnson often filmed the videos in her car, or in her house. Sometimes her hair was perfectly done, other times not. And she spoke looking directly into the camera. It really felt like you were just catching up with a friend.
Vulnerability: In TikTok’s 2024 Trend Report, it noted that “Creative Bravery” would be important for success in the coming year. And if revealing all of the red flags and issues with your husband, and how he lied to you isn’t brave, I’m not sure what is.
2/3 How it changed social media
A few months after this series, podcaster @brookeschofield1 released her own 14-part series about her relationship with musician Clinton Kane.
And then I started to notice that fictional series were becoming big on TikTok, including @JulianSewell's TikTok series, Paloma Diamond, and a host of other series by @nicholas_flannery.
So, why should you care? If you’ve worked in social media for a while, you’ve probably been told to “keep things short.” Even Instagram recently recommended that Reels should be 30-90 seconds for better distribution. But this series proved that it’s not true. If the content is compelling and personal, it doesn’t matter how long (or short) it is.
3/3 What this means for you
If you’d like to experiment with a series, here are some tips:
You don’t have to create a 50-part series. Consider starting with 3 parts.
A good story will always get watched. Don’t worry too much about the production quality.
Don’t identify people without their consent. In the “Who TF Did I Marry Series,” Johnson called her husband “Legion.”
It’s best to have a single narrator. Are you, or someone in your organization, comfortable being the face of the series?
Be brave and vulnerable, but don’t share anything you don’t feel comfortable with (or that would put a brand in jeopardy).
Brainstorm story ideas with your work team, or friends. It’s always good to get a second opinion.
Consider cliffhangers.
And, as always, consider these questions:
Do you have the resources to create a series? It’s going to take time to break down the story and film it.
How will this support your overall social media/marketing strategy?
And if you want to watch the full series, do it this week in case TikTok gets banned in the U.S.! Who TF Did I Marry.
🤦♀️ WHAT THE ZUCK?!
Mark Zuckerberg says he wants to “restore free expression”
It feels like we’re all saying this a lot recently, but I’ll say it anyway — I did not have any of these Meta updates on my bingo card. And, it’s probably only the beginning.
Here are some of the changes Meta has recently announced:
Removing third-party fact checking and putting an end to demoting fact-checked content. Instead, Meta is copying a system used by Twitter/X where users can add “Community Notes” to a post. This update will roll out first in the US market.
Meta is eliminating restrictions on certain words and terms. As quoted in a blog post about this: “We’re getting rid of a number of restrictions on topics like immigration, gender identity and gender that are the subject of frequent political discourse and debate.”
Meta is also killing its DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) program, as first reported by Axios.
And after telling us over and over again that it wasn’t going to do this, it turns out it is going to push political content on Instagram and Threads. (Note: if you need to know how to block, mute and report on Instagram, here you go).
If you manage a brand on a Meta property (Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, WhatsApp), stay tuned for an upcoming blog post about how to prepare for this new era of “free speech.”
📸 DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK
Digital cameras have been around for years
Creator @caseymorrowlewis recently posted a video about “What Gen Z got for Christmas.” Spoiler alert: The number one item was what everyone seems to be calling a “Y2K digital camera.” It’s basically the camera any of us who were alive in the 90s would have had, complete with a long tether to wrap around our wrist.
When I saw the video, I honestly thought there was no way digital cameras could be that big of a deal. But not long afterwards, I was watching the Golden Globes, and when the camera panned to Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet, there she was with her digital camera taking a photo of him. (In this article from InStyle, they call it “MySpace-era photos” 🤷♀️).
Whatever you call it, I’m sticking with my camera phone. I may be too old to go back.