What’s happening in the world of social media and digital marketing? We have the scoop! Here are some of the latest updates and stories to know about.
TikTok introduces business tools
We’ve talked a lot about TikTok and its rapid rise to popularity. Now, as more brands join the platform, TikTok is rolling out a Business Creative Hub exclusively for business accounts. The new tool highlights the top trends and provides a “cheat sheet” for creating engaging organic TikTok content.
As you may know, TikTok trends move fast. Brands will need to keep their finger on the pulse and act quickly if they want to take part in a trend while it’s still relevant. It’s also important to do thorough research on a trend (and hashtags!) to avoid coming across as insensitive or out of touch. The new Business Creative Hub tool should make it a little easier for brands to find and participate in the right trending content.
YouTube tests removal of “dislike” count
In an effort to reduce negativity and targeted “dislike campaigns” against creators, YouTube is experimenting with disabling the public dislike count from some videos. Users will still have the ability to dislike videos and express negative opinions in the comment section—and creators will be able to see their full like and dislike counts—but the dislike count will not be visible to the public. The idea is that the removal of total dislike numbers will make creators feel more comfortable sharing original content. This is similar to Instagram’s experiment of removing users’ total “like” counts, which is still being adjusted based on user feedback.
Say goodbye to Facebook Analytics
Facebook announced it will be removing Analytics from Facebook Pages on June 30, 2021. This means marketers will need to rely on other tools and resources to gather insights about their page’s performance. If you haven’t already, check out Facebook Business Suite, which enables you to manage your Facebook and Instagram business accounts and can show you detailed insights about your audience, content, and trends. To view, make changes, and see results for Facebook advertising campaigns, use Facebook Ads Manager. Finally, Google Analytics is the go-to for overall website performance.
Instagram for tweens?
Facebook is reportedly working on an Instagram platform designed for children under 13 years old. Currently, Instagram asks users to self-report their age, but this hasn’t stopped kids from creating accounts and potentially being exposed to age-inappropriate content. Instagram’s goal is to develop a platform that will be safer for a younger population to use. There aren’t many details about the new platform just yet, but it has the potential to open up a younger demographic for Facebook/Instagram advertising.
Although Instagram may have good intentions in creating a youth-based platform, age verification often proves difficult in the online world. On platforms just as YouTube Kids, many users inevitably ended up in the main YouTube platform, either intentionally or accidentally, so Instagram will need to find a way to keep this from happening. Another drawback is that starting social media earlier can be damaging to children, and it may put their privacy at risk (both socially and in a broader online sense) at an earlier age.
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