Senior class
The rise of the 'Granfluencer' on TikTok
Snapchatters were a bit freaked out last week after the “My AI” chatbot posted a random one-second shot of a wall and ceiling to Snapchat’s Stories. It also wasn’t responding to messages. Many suggested the chatbot had gone rogue or had become sentient, but Snap told TechCrunch it was a “temporary outage.” The thing is, My AI doesn’t have Stories functionality, at least not yet. Spooooooky. 👻
In today’s newsletter:
Senior class: The rise of the ‘Granfluencer’ on TikTok
Social Snack: Google starts to roll out social media links in business profiles
Four years: Celebrating my small business
The rise of the ‘Granfluencer’
If you ask many people who uses TikTok, you’ll probably hear “teens” or “teens who dance.” And sure, it might have been that way at one point. But this short-form video app (which has been downloaded more than three billion times) has a new influencer in town — Granfluencers. According to Distractify, Granfluencers are influencers who are 50+. They may be grandparents, but some are not.
In honour of World Senior Citizen’s Day today, I’m going to highlight a few of my favourite Granfluencers on TikTok. Let’s go…
1/4 We all need Babs in our life
Handle: @BrunchWithBabs
Followers: 3.9 Million
Category: Lifestyle Tips
Want to know the best way to pack a cooler, clean your pillows, or the different ways you can use charcoal? Then you need to follow Barbara “Babs” Costello, who at the age of 74 has amassed a huge following by offering tips that are simple but amazing. According to this article in People magazine, Babs started creating TikTok videos in 2020, which currently have close to 50 million likes!
One of my favourite videos: the best way to carve a pumpkin.
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2/4 Take me to the muthership
Handle: @themuthership
Followers: Close to 1 million
Category: TikTok Teacher
Helen Polise, 60, has gained a huge follower by providing TikTok tips and tricks. She’s a TV producer/director, but when the pandemic hit, all the work stopped. She was in the house bored, and jumped on TikTok. Helen realized she was really great at editing, and TikTokers started asking her for tips. So she started teaching others how to use TikTok. (Learn more in this interview).
One of her most popular videos: How to use stop motion on TikTok
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3/4 Nonna Pia’s kitchen looks like heaven
Handle: @NonnaPia
Followers: 3.5 million
Category: Cooking
There are a few popular Granfluencer TikTok accounts that were started by grandchildren. And this is one of them. Nonna Pia’s grandson started posting videos of his Italian grandmother cooking in her New Jersey kitchen, and the videos took off! Nonna Pia, 85, is serious about cooking, but does everything with a smile.
Watch her make 300 jars of homemade tomato sauce.
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4/4 Let’s dance…
In case you were wondering whether any senior citizens on TikTok like to participate in dance challenges, the answer is yes! Take Joan and Jim O’Shaughnessy (@twojays2), who have been married for 50 years, and love to dance. This video has amassed 47.2 million views and 4.6 million likes. And they aren’t the only ones participating in this dance challenge. Here’s a video from dancing brothers @hanelinetwins.
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🍭 SOCIAL SNACKS 🍭
Google starts to roll out social media links in business profiles
Google will soon allow businesses to add social media links in their business profiles for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter), and YouTube. According to the Search Engine Roundtable, this was first reported on Twitter by Elizabeth Rule. And indeed, there is a Google Support Page outlining the details.
A few things to highlight:
Does everyone have access to this feature yet? No. According to the document: “Social media links are currently available for select regions and may not be available for your Business Profile currently.” I checked the profiles for my clients, and I don’t see it yet. It’s likely still rolling out.
The document also says, “Google may add social media links to eligible Business Profiles automatically.” The two key factors are consistency and authenticity. Learn more about automatically added social media links.
ICYMI
LinkedIn offers new verification options for Canadian members [LinkedIn Blog]
NYC bans TikTok on city-owned devices [The Verge]
X slows down access to some rival sites [NY Times]
YouTube introduces a “Samples” tab in YouTube Music [YouTube Blog]
Four years 🎉
I’m so thankful to everyone who helped me get to the four-year anniversary of owning Platypus Marketing and Communications. My clients are wonderful. And my husband, family and friends have been so supportive. It’s honestly a dream come true. Here’s to many more years ahead!
